Growing the Church, Resisting the Powers, Reforming the World

Three admonitions for ecclesial faithfulness are frequently presented to North American Protestants in their current context. These are: the church ought to grow, the church ought to be an alternative community to the world, and the church ought to reform the world. This book provides an analysis of the theological rationales that support these admonitions by examining the works of three writers, each of whom is widely recognized as an important proponent of one of the three admonitions. Donald McGavran represents the admonition to grow the church. John Howard Yoder expresses the admonition that the church ought to be an alternative community to the world. Walter Rauschenbusch articulates the admonition that the church ought to reform the world. The book argues that Rauschenbusch's theological rationale is open to criticism and revision from the other two writers' rationales and at the same time has the capacity to endorse robustly not only his own practical admonition, but also the practical admonitions advocated by both McGavran and Yoder. Thus, the theological vision of Rauschenbusch is worthy of retrieval and revision.