A Biblical Framework for Public Policy Engagement

We are created to flourish: to experience the wholeness (shalom) God desires and to be agents of bringing that flourishing to others. The Bible’s big story of “ought-is-can-will” provides the navigational grid that can animate an engagement with the world that’s marked by faithfulness, creativity, and hope.

Dr. Amy L. Sherman is a Senior Fellow at the Sagamore Institute for Policy Research, where she directs the Center on Faith in Communities. Named by Christianity Today in 2012 as one of the 50 most influential Evangelical women in America, Sherman is the author of seven books and nearly 100 articles in a variety of periodicals including First Things, The Public Interest, Policy Review, The Christian Century, Christianity Today, and Books & Culture, as well as various online platforms.

Sherman works closely with Made to Flourish, a pastors network for the common good focused on issues of faith and work. Her 2012 book, Kingdom Calling: Vocational Stewardship for the Common Good, was awarded “Book of the Year” status in the Christian living category by CT. Her articles appear regularly in MTF’s Resource Library and on The Green Room, a blog sponsored by the Theology of Work Project. Her forthcoming book with Intervarsity Press examines how the Church can live into God’s call to seek the shalom of the city.

Sherman is the founder and former executive director of a Charlottesville Abundant Life Ministries, an urban ministry in Charlottesville, VA. She served for several years as a volunteer Senior Fellow with the International Justice Mission. She is a long-time member of Trinity Presbyterian Church. She earned her B.A. in political science at Messiah College and her M.A. and Ph.D. in international economic development from the University of Virginia. Her life verse is Micah 6:8 “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God.”

BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS:

• Kingdom Calling: Vocational Stewardship for the Common Good by Amy Sherman
• The Drama of Scripture by Craig Bartholomew and Michael Goheen
• Missional Church edited by Darrell Guder
• Culture Making by Andy Crouch