This book is Mudge's answer to what the role of the Church will be in a post-Christian, multi-cultural, multi-ethnic society inhabited by persons of various religions or no religion at all. Mudge approaches this question from an academic perspective, drawing on the disciplines of theology, philosophy and critical social theory. He defines the Church as holy catholic, apostolic and universal. He is talking about the general Church, not about local congregations or parishes. His vision of the future Church relies on progressive leaders and parishioners who will be tolerant and accepting of all persons. He mitigates this optimistic outlook by making a distinction between Church, ecclesiology and the people of God. Ecclesiology is the polity of the various traditions within Christianity. Essentially, it is the institutional structure of each denomination. Church is understood as sign, sacrament and instrument (Lumen Gentium, Vatican II) which empowers individuals within the Church to become the people of God. Not all Christians will be the people of God, only those who are agents for social justice, peace and freedom. This vision is inclusive because it allows all agents of positive social change to belong to the people of God regardless of their religious identity. The people of God includes more than just Christians. Mudge, who comes from the reformed tradition, states that this concept is different from Calvin's doctrine of election. He gives three examples of the people of God. The first is Martin Luther King and the assorted persons of differing backgrounds who made-up the civil rights movement. He recognized that not all local congregations nor parishes supported the civil rights movement. However, the individuals, no matter their religious identity, who joined the movement became the people of God. Mother Teresa of Calcutta and her work among the Hindus, Moslems and Christians of India is another example. The last example is the Protestant parish of the French village of Le Cambonsur-Ligon that created a network of assorted individuals of differing religious persuasions which assisted Jews in escaping Hitler's Gestapo. One of the chief role's of the Church and the people of God is to promote dialogue. This dialogue should initiate the emergence of the Kingdom of God. The Lord's Prayer, also known as the Our Father, states, "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as in heaven." This can only be fulfilled through dialogue. The absence of dialogue accounts for much of the brutality and war we experience. Dialogue can enable a conversion from traditions that foster exclusivity to new ways of reacting that will create new traditions of inclusively. The growth of this new tradition of dialogue and cooperation will nurture peace, justice and freedom. The essence of this dialogue within humanity is phronesis or the practical reasoning of common sense. Mudge believes that phronesis is the key to dialogue, not logic, philosophy or ideology. People are much more interested in what works than in abstract rectoric. The role of the Church is to provide a place where practical reasoning can be engaged; where the true human situation can be discerned and articulated; where the world-wide Christian network can be used for communication with all the world's people; and where prophetic and visionary questions can be asked. Mudge's dream for a world of freedom, peace and justice is my dream too. However, I think he has too much faith in the Church. It is not nearly as progressive as he imagines. The idea of the people of God, however, holds some hope. Mudge's greatest insight is the dialogue of practical reasoning within the human community. How and when this can be accomplished is anybody's guess. About the only thing we can do as individuals is to practice dialogue through acceptance of our fellow mortals and to encourage the institutions to which we belong to do the same.