If any phrase should naturally follow the name John Sentamu, it’s in the words ‘speaks out’. The Archbishop of York is not a man to keep quiet: social care, the 2011 riots, marriage, international aid, bankers’ bonuses, equality, Lords reform and even the public interest in the Post Office, are just a few of the issues of the day where John Sentamu has left the nation in doubt of where he stands.

Starting out as an advocate and member of the judiciary during Idi Amin’s despotic rule of his Ugandan homeland, the Most Revd and Rt Hon Dr John Sentamu also knows the real cost of speaking out. In Uganda, and in his career as an Anglican churchman, John has witnessed the faith and courage of individuals prepared to risk all for Christian principles and for the greater good.

'The Greater Good' always means the greater good of someone else. And that might well be someone whose wellbeing is not in way helpful to your own advancement. Often, actively improving the lot of others is detrimental to the wellbeing of the activist. Good works has never been a guarantee of good fortune. History is littered with the corpses of those who stood up for the lives and liberties of others.

Yet without the people who are prepared to make the sacrifice, nothing would change. And without their faith stories there’d be no evidence that change can happen and no encouragement to make it happen. Recording and retelling stories of faith is of profound importance to changing lives for the better at every level of human society.

It’s worth noticing that faith stories are inevitably about individuals – what they witness, what they do, what they say and what they suffer. Yet what they achieve is almost always on much larger scale. The faith of just one individual changes the life of anything from a family or a community, sways a nation or has an influence on a global scale.

One of the most famous and shocking faith stories of the last century is that of Oscar Romero; Archbishop of San Salvador, murdered on the steps of his cathedral in 1980. Speaking to commemorate this sacrifice of a man of faith who spoke out for those denied a voice, John Sentamu compared Romero’s refusal to stay silent to Jesus’ reading of Isaiah 61 in the synagogue at Nazareth.

Said the Archbishop of York: “Most of us live a cautious life on the principle of safety first; but to live the Christian life there is necessarily a certain recklessness, a willingness to adventure – a venturesome faith. If faith can see every step of the way, it isn't really faith. It is sometimes necessary for the Christian to take the way to which the voice of God is calling them, without knowing what the consequences will be.”

Speaking out not only takes faith, it often shakes faith – into life. Faith challenges religion to move its focus from the external world to the inner world of the Holy Spirit. “Saints and martyrs,” said John Sentamu, “are risk-takers for God. Their eyes are fixed on God and his Kingdom; and not on their [own] plights, sufferings, and tribulations. Summoned by the vision of God, they act like Yorkshire terriers - never letting go - and only doing so in order to get a firmer grip.”

The life of Oscar Romero, and the lives of so many courageous men and women who took Jesus at his word and followed his example, are our real faith stories, and the real stories of our faith. – Les Ellison

The most authentic stories of Christian faith in the 21st Century come from the experiences of 'ordinary' people living 'ordinary' lives. In this unique book by compiled by John Sentamu, the Archbishop of York, 20 people with everyday lives, families and jobs explain what their faith means to them and how it makes an extra-ordinary difference. Some of these people face up to difficult personal circumstances on a daily basis - such as the widowed mother of two young boys, or the former soldier whose fellow soldiers were killed - others work for social justice in their local communities or use their unique gifts to communicate the good news of the gospel.

All stories are inspiring demonstrations of Christian faith in everyday action. Sentamu has written a personal introduction to each story and to the book as a whole. Each story includes a photo of the subject.