Reckoning with Power - Print

Reckoning with Power: Why the Church Fails When It’s on the Wrong Side of Power

David E. Fitch

Soft cover 221pp
ISBN 9781587434150
Brazos Press (2024)

[Allow 4 weeks]

History is clear: Whenever the church has aligned itself with worldly, coercive power, it ends up on the wrong side of important justice issues.

But when the church cooperates with God’s power through his presence among the least powerful, its witness for Jesus transforms the world into a better place.

Fitch unpacks the difference between worldly power, or power over others, and God’s power, which engages not in coercion but in love, reconciliation, grace, forgiveness, and healing.

In a world where we can see the abuses of power everywhere – in our homes, schools, governments, and churches – Fitch teaches readers how to discern power and avoid its abuses and traumas. By learning from the church’s historical pitfalls, Fitch empowers Christians to relinquish worldly power and make space for God to disrupt and transform our culture for his kingdom.

This book provides a theology of power through the lens of the triumphs and failures of the church, showing that whenever the church has aligned itself with worldly power, it has been on the wrong side of crucial justice issues. But when the church submits to and cooperates with God’s power, the world is disrupted and changed.

Contents

Introduction: The American Church on the Wrong Side of Power

1. Defining Power: The Many Versions
2. Worldly Power and God’s Power: There Are Two Powers, Not One
3. The Persistent Temptation to Blur the Powers
4. The Lure of Christian Nationalism: The Refusal of God’s Power
5. Playing God with Worldly Power: The More Subtle Temptations
6. Living under the Power of Christ: The Church on the Right Side of Power

Epilogue: We Can Be a Different People; Getting Back on the Right Side of History

Brief Description:

This book provides a theology of power through the lens of the triumphs and failures of the church, showing that whenever the church has aligned itself with worldly power, it has been on the wrong side of crucial justice issues. But when the church submits to and cooperates with God’s power, the world is disrupted and changed