************* From Urbanministry.org ******************

Tom Sine is the emerging church’s answer to Thomas Friedman, realistic yet hopeful for the future of the world and God’s people.

The New Conspirators unhesitatingly portrays how globalization threatens the integrity of ancient cultures, the economic well-being of the most vulnerable, the ecological balance of the world, and the values of Biblical faith. Yet, in the midst of challenging times, Sine brings a word of encouragement: in Christ, God’s Kingdom has already come. Christians have reason to rejoice, as they show others what it means to be part of “the new world that is already here.”

The New Conspirators is divided into five major sections, which he calls “conversations”: “Taking the New Conspirators Seriously,” “Taking the Culture Seriously,” “Taking the Future of God Seriously,” “Taking Turbulent Times Seriously,” and “Taking our Imaginations Seriously.” The first, in which Sine introduces several new streams of thought and practice among evangelicals, may be the weakest, since he does not spend sufficient time distinguishing the emergent, missional, mosaic, and monastic streams from each other. However, the vagueness of this section does not significantly affect the book’s argument as a whole: it is enough to know that changes are afoot among younger evangelicals, regardless of how they label themselves.

The second and fourth sections of the book are excellent, and are what make Sine’s book an effective response to Friedman’s works, such as The World is Flat. In these, Sine deftly characterizes our consumer culture, contrasts its values with those of the early church, and shows how changing global realities threaten to make our lifestyle unsustainable.

Between these two sections, Sine takes a step back to imagine an alternative culture, one guided more by the desires of God than the desires catered to by the “global mall.” He stresses the concreteness of the new creation – that it will be a real place, in which not only our own personal pain is healed but in which the oppressed receive justice.

Christians hope for, and are promised, a Kingdom of universal peace and justice. The Christian calling is to make this Kingdom visible now, even if only with faith as small as a mustard seed. In the final section of The New Conspirators, Sine describes the efforts of many who are living out this call.

If the last section, “Taking our Imaginations Seriously,” were all the book had to offer, it would still be worth reading. As it is, Sine’s book is both a reality check on the challenges of the 21st century and a refreshing glimpse of how God has planned to deal with those challenges. It is an invaluable resource for developing Kingdom imagination.