"Today's society is plagued by social injustices, extreme religiosity, and poor regard for authority caused by an extreme sense of individualism and apathy. The need for an affective healing ministry is great, but the Christian church is falling far short in accomplishing this task. The book, The Local Church, Agent of Transformation, is a group of essays written by twelve different Christian scholars, which focus on the practice of 'Integral (or holistic) Mission'. This book is geared towards the local church, however there are important words for 'mega-churches, ' too. Its goal is to present a clear ecclesiology so churches can learn to be 'salt' and 'light' to their community in the way that Jesus calls us to be."--Amazon.com.