The Church in Britain is popularly represented as an anachronism. To many it is.

Egon Bahr, former political advisor to the German Chancellor, Willy Brandt, said "You have to recognise realities in order to change them." These wise words carry a challenge to those wishing to change the spiritual landscape of Scotland and the rest of Britain.

Today 14% of Scots still attend church but 44% of the population say that religion has only 'a minor part' to play in Scottish public life, 9% said it played 'no part at all' and only 8% feel it played 'a major part'. To see how this could be changed, a special conference for theologians and church leaders was convened in Edinburgh by the Scottish Evangelical Theological Society and Evangelical Alliance Scotland.

A range of experts examined what could be learnt from history and how the church could be effective against the contemporary cultural backdrop. This book is an edited collection of the contributions made to the conference. Dr Geoffrey Grogan of the Glasgow Bible College was one of the prime movers behind the event - it is to him that this volume is dedicated.

Contributors: David Smith, David Bebbington, Will Storar, Chris Wright, Peter Neilson, Andrew Bogle, John Mackinnon, David Anderson.