Foreword:
Abbreviations;
1 – Introduction;
1.1. A personal search;
1.2. You Can’t Sit at Home and Wait;
1.3. Theological Perspectives Given;
1.4. Ecumenical Movement: A Red Flag;
1.5. The Question at Stake;
1.6. The Perspective Matters;
2 – God and His Mission in the Old Testament;
2.1. God – the Source and Foundation;
2.2. God Created the World with a Purpose;
2.3. Humans Are Set toFulfill God’s Plan;
2.4. God Reveals Himself in History;
2.5. God Seeks to Heal His Creation;
2.6. Israel – Example and Paradigm;
2.7. A Holy Nation among the Nations
2.8. The Messiah Comes from Israel;
3 – Mission and Politics in the Old Testament;
3.1. Creation and the Cultural Mandate;
3.2. Blessed to Be a Blessing for the Nations;
3.3. The God Who Saves and Restores;
3.4. Mission to All Nations;
3.5. The Messiah of Israel;
3.6. The Mission of God and Politics in the Old Testament;
4 – Mission in the New Testament;
4.1. The God of the New Testament;
4.2. Missio Patri –Laying Foundations;
4.3. Missio Christi – God’s Way of Transformation;
4.4. Missio Spiritus – God’s Praxis of Transformation;
4.5. The Mission of the Triune God;
4.6. Is God’s Mission Political?;
5 – The Nature and Mission of the Church of Christ;
5.1. Called to Be Responsible;
5.2. Sent to Be Light of the World;
6 – The Political Task of the Church;
6.1. Politically Responsible Institution;
6.2. A Communal Priest;
6.3. A Royal Servant;
6.4. A Prophetic Witness;
6.5. The Place of Political Involvement;
6.6. The Alternative Society;
7 – Missio Politica – a Mission of Peace;7.1. Men and Women of Peace;
7.2. Mission, Violence, and Peace;
7.3. A Person of Peace Promotes Peace;
7.4. Peacemaking – the Heart of God’s Mission;
7.5. Peacemaking in Context;
8 – The Politics of the Church – Moving into the Public Square;
8.1. The Point of Departure;
8.2. God in the World – Join Him;
8.3. People of the World – Partner with Them;
8.4. Strongholds of Darkness – Fight against Them;
9 – The Politics of the Church – A Practice Model;
9.1. The Need of a Praxis Theory;
9.2. Praxis Cycle – Towards a Contextual Theology of Political Involvement;
9.3. Acting with the People – Towards Participatory Involvement;
10 – Christian Community Development (CCD);
10.1. What Is Community Development?;
10.2. Christian Community Development – History and Development;
10.3. In Community for the Community;
10.4. The Cycle of Christian Community Development;
10.5. Examples from the Praxis;
11 – Community Centred Church – a Question of Leadership?;
11.1. Community-Minded Leadership;
11.2. Theologically Adequate Eldership;
11.3. Strategic Competence;
11.4. Spiritual Competence;
11.5. Communication Competence;
11.6. Mentoring Competence;
11.7. Theological Competence;
11.8. Less Is Fatal;
12 – At Home as Well as Abroad;
12.1. Local Roots and Global Wings;
12.2. Globalization – Structures and Powers of Injustice;
12.3. Seeing and Praying;
Bibliography;
Index.

Evangelical Christians in many countries shy away from politics. And yet, especially with the rise of the Pentecostal and charismatic movements, the interest and involvement in political activity is becoming a daily reality in evangelical circles. At the same time, evangelical politicians are not exempt from scandals of corruption and complaints of ineffectiveness. Are Christians unable to do better politics than others? Are they less prepared? Is even the whole political involvement of Christians under question?
In this book, Dr Johannes Reimer explores the answers to these questions by articulating a theology of the church’s political mission. The church is not a political party, but as God’s ecclesia, it has a prophetic voice and is called out of the world to take responsibility for the world