From the Back Cover
For centuries, Christians sought to rescue people from this world. Today, we’re trying to fix it. While this shift is helpful in some ways, in other ways it can be quite dangerous.
Endangered Gospel flips the script on this conversation by stressing the core gospel truth that, rather than ushering in a new world through social activism, God's people already are the new world in Christ. It’s not our job to make this world a better place, but to be the better place God has already made in this world. That's good news!
If we let go of this truth, we become servants of the world and not God. We also lose the great joy and abundant life that God intended us to have in community. Jesus himself said that the world will know we are Christians by our love for one another—not the fervor of our activism.
Social action makes us feel relevant and alive, but it can’t be the center of our new life in Christ. Endangered Gospel explores how we might enthusiastically embrace the social dimensions of the gospel, without divorcing them from the church or forcing them on the world.
Read this book, hear the gospel story afresh, and embrace the good news of God’s kingdom!
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Part One: The Case for a Better Place
Ch. 1 Yearning for a Better Place
Ch. 2 Incomplete Visions of a Better Place
Ch. 3 Toward a Better Vision of a Better Place
Part Two: The Bible’s Story of a Better Place
Ch. 4 God Creates a Very Good Place
Ch. 5 Humans Corrupt God’s Very Good Place
Ch. 6 God Uses the Powers to Make this World a Better Place
Ch. 7 God Forms a People to Prepare for a Better Place
Ch. 8 God Sends Jesus to Inaugurate a Better Place, Part I
Ch. 9 God Sends Jesus to Inaugurate a Better Place, Part II
Ch. 10 God Calls the Church to Embrace a Better Place
Ch. 11 God Calls the Church to Display a Better Place
Ch. 12 God Calls the Church to Proclaim a Better Place
Ch. 13 God Makes this World the Very Best Place
Part Three: A Better Place in Action
Ch. 14 The Better Place in Action
Ch. 15 Discipleship
Ch. 16 Leadership
Ch. 17 Fellowship
Ch. 18 Family Relationships
Ch. 19 Friendship
Ch. 20 Vocation
Ch. 21 Missions
Ch. 22 Witness to the Powers
Ch. 23 Conclusion
Appendix: Answers to Practical Questions