Declining denominations, dropping church attendance, rising numbers of people claiming no religion—these recent trends are enough to keep church leaders up at night. Amid the barrage of bad news, Trevin Wax’s latest book, This Is Our Time, might seem oddly sunny. But it’s not because Wax—a blogger and Bible publisher for LifeWay and teaching pastor at Third Baptist Church in Murfreesboro, Tennessee—is out of touch. He sees the challenges facing the church, yet he believes they also create opportunities for a powerful Christian witness. CT Pastors contributing editor Drew Dyck talked to Wax about how Christians can respond to the current cultural climate and how pastors can lead the way.

We’ve seen a lot of books recently that offer different reactions to how Christians can respond to our rapidly changing culture. Some are saying, “Let’s hunker down and wait out the storm.” Others are saying, “Let’s come out swinging.” ...