Making the Best of It: Following Christ in the Real World [Hardcover]

How should the church relate to society? Two models seem to predominate. One is accommodation. Some churches seem either to completely withdraw from society or be so accommodated to culture that they have little influence. The other model is full scale transformation of society according to some perceived biblical imperative ... taking expression in everything from the Religious Right to Christian Progressivism to liberation theology.

Stackhouse offers us a brilliantly articulated alternative he calls Christian Realism although it is nuanced some from what has passed as Christian Realism in the past. Stackhouse walks us through the story of God's mission in the world, identifying four commandments. Two are creation mandates. There is the cultural mandate to make the best world we can ("make the best of it") and the mandate of the great commandments to love God and to love our neighbor as ourselves. There are also the redemption mandates. We are given a "New Commandment" to love one another as Christ has loved as ... thus giving witness to the world of God's love and vision of Kingdom community ... and the Great Commission to seek out others and bring them into community. The overarching principle is the pursuit of the greatest shalom possible in the world (in all the richness the term "shalom" conveys.)

But here lies the problem. We can never fully achieve shalom this side of the consummation of the Kingdom of God. Sin is with us until then. Furthermore, due to our sin and finite existence, there is considerable doubt that we ... individually or corporately ... can fully grasp what pursing shalom truly entails in our context. Ambiguity and paradox are ever present companions. It creates a powerful tension. Unfortunately, we all too often try to escape the tension through accommodation or through idealistic transformational crusades. (Some offer Anabaptism as an alternative but that tradition also fails ... as Stackhouse shows ... to successfully address the paradox. There is recurring respectful dialog with Yoder in the book.) So how to respond?

Stackhouse begins the book looking back. The first half of the book revisits H. Richard Neibuhr's "Christ and Culture" and then explores the Christian Realism of C. S. Lewis, Reinhold Niebuhr, and Dietrich Bonhoeffer. Unfortunately, many are ready to tune him out here ... especially emerging church folks ... , believing that John Howard Yoder has thoroughly discredited Niebuhr. Stackhouse is not calling for a revival of Niebuhr's work but also takes issue with how Yoder has critique of Niebuhr. Furthermore, Stackhouse notes that all these Christian Realists were seriously lacking in a Trinitarian perspective, the work of the Spirit, and the role of worshiping communities in transforming the world. The first half of the book is more about identifying themes from the past to inform us in our exploration of the issues.

The second half of the book is where Stackhouse articulates his view of Christian Realism and it is largely disconnected from the first half in any direct sense. The two halves could be read as separate books but together they give a completeness that is needed. I've already mentioned the four commandments. Stackhouse also draws on the idea of Scripture, tradition, reason and experience working together... through the guidance of the Spirit ... to lead us as we pursue shalom. I particularly like how he roots his ethics in the narrative of Scripture and God's mission in the world.

This is an exceptional book! It is easily one of the most important books I've read on Christian mission and ethics. It articulates many conclusions I've come to on my own, clarifies so many other issues that I've struggled with, and presents it all in a cogent engaging style. I can't recommend the book highly enough.

This is a great read for anyone who is interested in the question of what it means to think and act Christianly in the cultural context in which they find themselves. There are at least three important benefits to be derived from reading this book: 1) You will learn a good deal about three flat-out interesting Christians--Reinhold Niebuhr, C.S. Lewis, and Dietrich Bonhoeffer--and how they understood and practiced following Christ in their very different contexts; 2) You will get a compelling portrayal of the scope and contours of the Biblical story and how human culture contributes to and detracts from God's intentions for is world; and 3) You will receive an extremely cogent and compelling articulation of Christian discipleship that combines an appreciation of the complexity of the historical and cultural contexts in which Christians are located with the conviction that the way of Jesus really does represent the most God-honouring way to be a human being in any and all cultures.

Well worth the read!

Stackhouse, one of the most creative thinkers in current evangelicalism, is perhaps best described as "pragmatic". His pragmatism is the overarching theme in this book, centering around the concept of creating the maximum amount of "shalom". He rejects the concepts of asceticism or complete disengagement from culture (while conceding that in some overtly anti-Christian cultures, such as perhaps modern North Korea or maybe even the Roman Empire in biblical times, such disengagement would actually be preferrable). He also explores how Christians should interpret Jesus's Sermon on the Mount and comes to a less literalistic conclusion than other scholars - naturally, of course, providing examples.

As other reviewers have mentioned, the first half of the book is devoted to exploring the views of Niebuhr, Yoder, Lewis, and Bonhoeffer (and more specifically, the practical applications of these views). As a lay reader, I actually ended up reading the second half of the book first, wanting to get directly to the points Stackhouse wanted to make - I reluctantly have to agree with other reviewers who have noted that the first half is comparatively not all that illuminating and perhaps even boring, though it is well worth reading through at some point. Stackhouse's practical applications make this book well worth the (very reasonable) price tag for the thinking Christian wanting to know how to engage with the world and, well, make the best of it.