The evangelical church has a social responsibility. But what is that responsibility and what does it look like in practice? This collection explores the nature of the institutional church’s responsibility, but also explores deeper questions related to the church’s social witness: Why is the church significant? How should it speak and act—and who should do the speaking and acting? And, how might various contexts affect the form that Christian responsibility takes?

An indispensable tool for answering such questions is the distinction between the church as organism and institution. A proper understanding of this distinction provides the means to appreciate the complexity of social life in the modern world and to invigorate the church’s witness and action with both the rigor of institutional authority and the vitality of conscientious action.