Congregations, so long the normative form of church life, are under threat. Haddon Willmer demonstrates how the threats come from social and economic forces. The situation is made worse by the internal loss of bearings in churches themselves. In particular he identifies the flight from a critical intellectual life and the problems of inculturating faith in our twenty-first century world.

Wilkinson argues for a form of Christian apologetics which is not merely confrontation or defense on the intellectual level. He emphasizes a personal and holistic method and one which takes contemporary culture seriously.