Our modernist heritage and postmodern sophistication have trained us well. We take care of ourselves, virtuously avoiding pain, rewarding ourselves with pleasure. Thanks to this thorough cultural training, we often approach the church with the same self-protective posture. Faced with the failures, hypocrisies, and faithlessness in the church, we fall back on the modern strategy we’ve learned so well: we simply keep our distance.

R. R. Reno, however, warns against this aloof ecclesiology. In the Ruins of the Church argues that the postmodern Western church is indeed in ruins and that to be in the church is to embrace a "broken way of life." Reno’s passionate call for Christians to "suffer divine things" also provides a message of hope: through intimate loyalty to the church, daily prayer, and serious reengagement with Scripture, we can dwell in and with the living Christ. We can abandon the "temptations of distance" and embrace the "imperatives of intimacy."

Reno’s bold exhortation will have enormous appeal for critical thinkers and Christians who are disillusioned with the church yet still desire to pursue a life of discipleship. The erudite yet impassioned tone of the book will appeal to clergy, lay leaders, and those interested in modern ecclesiology, as well as biblical and historical theology.

These coherently collected essays are Rusty Reno in his best action: bluntly honest, deeply analytical, and generally occupying an unexpected viewpoint. He means his title: the church really is in ruins, not just damaged, and we must abide life amid the stones if we are to be saved.–Robert Jenson, Center of Theological Inquiry

This well-crafted work presents the reader with a new way of interpreting the situation of the church in the modern world, together with practical suggestions for living in ruins without the politics of separation. Reno’s is a vivid, engaged, and important voice.–Stephen Sykes, Principal of St John’s College, Durham, and Professor of Theology at the University of Durham