We are living in a time of upheaval. From racial equality to climate change, the clashes over how to chart a wiser and more caring path forward are stretching societies worldwide to their breaking points. Studies point to a mental health crisis. Democracies are stumbling. Change, it would seem, does not come without significant turmoil for those living through it. 

But is that inevitable?

J. Brent Bill doesn’t think so. In his new book, “Hope and Witness in Dangerous Times,” Mr. Bill explores what is, to him, something of a paradox: “In the divides of today, it seems we either have to tend to our soul or to social activism,” he tells me in an interview. “But that doesn’t seem right to me. These things feed each other.”

As a Quaker, Mr. Bill has spent his life at this nexus. For many Quakers, the witness of truth comes through the practical demonstration of divine goodness – in justice, peace, and love expressed. The Quaker tendency is to transform institutions, not convert people, Mr. Bill writes in his book. But, in a way, they are the same thing, he adds. 

“When we blend [spiritual health and activism], we bring a different flavor to the work,” he says. “It helps us focus on why we’re doing it. It helps us focus on the long haul.”

Among his insights, love is not inconsistent with rabble-rousing. We can speak difficult words, “but is love my first motive in what I do?” he asks. Or are we falling into the trap of today’s toxic politics – chronically being “against” things? He says “ ‘being for’ is important, so I don’t damage my own spiritual health.” 

Here is where prayer becomes more than “thoughts and prayers” but a way to drive change – starting with oneself, he argues. “Prayer is in many ways about changing ourselves and learning to listen.”