Christopher W. Brooks - Urban Apologetics: Why the Gospel is Good News for the City

Chris Brookss Urban Apologetics is a timely and welcome work on such a critical issue. Brooks tells us flat out that to be effective in the urban environment (where family breakdown, religious pluralism, abortion, poverty, and a justified wariness of religious hypocrisy are rampant), the Christian apologists actions must speak more loudly than his words. Brookss book is a call first to understanding (of the gospel, the Christian worldview, and the urban environment) and ultimately to deeds of love in the name of Christ.

Alan B. Terwilleger, President, The Chuck Colson Center for Christian Worldview

Christopher Brooks thinks deeply, evaluates biblically, and researches exhaustively. In his Urban Apologetics he wades into some of the most difficult and complex issuesboth philosophically and practicallythat are perplexing todays analytical thinkers. His use of empirical evidence, combined with his rock-solid belief in the absolute truth of Scripture, enables him to peer into areas such as sexuality, the family, and social justice with extraordinary clarity and precision. Further, he has a good sense of aesthetics, acknowledging the place of art and the humanities along with research from hard science and social science in illuminating problems particularly cogent to urban families. This is not a quick readI recommend reading, rereading, and making Brookss chapters the subject of serious thought and discussion. Here is meat for the hungry intellect and drink for the soul thirsty to illuminate a relativistic society with the unchanging truths of Gods Word.

Bill Katip, PhD, President, Grace College & Seminary, Winona Lake, Indiana

I urge you to read Urban Apolgetics written by my dear friend, Christopher Brooks. There is such a hunger and need within our urban communities for truth, specifically Gods truth, and I am excited that Christopher has tackled this issue head-on. He brings sound theological principles in a contemporary way that engages the urban audience to learn and apply the teachings not only to their lives but to the broader, inner-city community.

Paul Cannings, PhD, Senior Pastor, Living Word Fellowship Church, Houston, Texas, and president of Power Walk Ministries

Until now, the discipline of apologetics has neglected a sizeable and needy audience: city dwellers. As such, those who live urban often doubt the relevance and veracity of biblical Christianity. With their questions ignored at best and stifled at worst, people of the city have sought answers from competing systems to Christianity, such as Islam. For this reason, I am deeply grateful for Christopher Brooks and his book, Urban Apologetics. It needs to be in the hands of every believer who has a passion to reclaim the urban centers of America for Christ.

J. Paul Nyquist, PhD, President, Moody Bible Institute

Far too often these days, the proclamation and defense of truth is sacrificed as we try to be relevant and missional to various segments of American culture. Chris Brooks both knows and acts differently, and in this book he describes how and why apologetics is still as necessary as ever, including in the urban context. Chris is both theoretician and practitioner, a rare combination. This book is both a significant contribution to the field of apologetics, and a call to those ministering in the urban context to not choose between love and truth; in that, it too is a rare combination.

John Stonestreet, Speaker and Fellow for the Chuck Colson Center for Christian Worldview and cohost of BreakPoint radio

Chris Brooks is an intelligent and compassionate voice in our day. His keen understanding and winsome style make Urban Apologetics a valuable resource for anyone interested in understanding the diverse issues that face those working and living in our major cities and learning how to address those issues in biblically practical ways. Urban Apologetics is a must-read for anyone interested in reaching the mind and heart of todays urban generation.

Abdu H. Murray, Speaker and author of Grand Central Question: Answering the Critical Concerns of the Major Worldviews

In the earliest days of the church, apologetics was an activity done in the urban centers of the Mediterranean region. Christopher Brooks transported me back to that rough and tumble ancient world using modern urban issues and categories. This is a much needed book that deserves a wide reading.

Craig J. Hazen, PhD, Director, MA Program in Apologetics, Biola University, and author of the apologetics novel Five Sacred Crossings

Urban Apologetics: Why the Gospel Is Good News for the City

2014 by Christopher Brooks

Published by Kregel Publications, a division of Kregel, Inc., 2450 Oak Industrial Dr. NE, Grand Rapids, MI 49505.

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S everal years ago I read the account of a remarkable young man of faitha visionary of considerable ability, integrity, and honesty. He held a key position on the staff of the leader of a major world power. Despite his humble sounding job title, he had major administrative responsibilities. He was a valued advisor to the countrys leader and determined who had access to him.

Most in such a position would consider themselves set for life, but this was not the case with this young man. His people were trapped in a dysfunctional urban situationthe hood. They were suffering the effects of a past ordeal that depleted much of the population while simultaneously experiencing a present oppression. Not only was the hood in bad shape, the whole city was degenerating because of bad public policy, dishonest politicians, and corrupt government. As a result, much of the city had deteriorated. Major structures were in ruins and the people were demoralized, apathetic, and broken. Furthermore, they were in the midst of a grave cultural crisis.

When a close family member informed this young man of the tragic plight of his people, he was moved with compassion as he fasted and prayed for them. Not only that, but he acted on that compassion in practical ways by taking a leave of absence from his prestigious job to bring on-site help and empowerment to his downtrodden people.