The Reason for Church: Why the Body of Christ Still Matters in an Age of Anxiety, Division, and Radical Individualism

​Rev. Brad Edwards

​​Lead Pastor, The Table; Christianity Today Book of the Year Award recipient; writer and speaker on ecclesiology, cultural fragmentation, and spiritual formation; co-host of the PostEverything podcast. 

​​Summary

​​Brad Edwards addresses one of the most pressing questions for contemporary ministry: Why the church? In a cultural moment defined by isolation, polarization, and the collapse of institutional trust, Brad argues that the local church—far from being optional—provides the very communal, sacramental, and relational resources needed for human flourishing. This seminar explores:

• ​​A theological vision for the church as Christ’s embodied presence in the world.

• ​​The cultural forces (anxiety, individualism, digital fragmentation) that undermine belonging.

• ​​How pastors can cultivate genuine community, deep formation, and mission in a disintegrating age.

• ​​Insights for helping disillusioned, de-churched, or skeptical people rediscover the meaning and necessity of the Body of Christ.

​​Pastors will gain language and imagination for casting a compelling vision of why the church still matters profoundly today.