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Transforming Power: Biblical Strategies for Making a Difference in Your Community | 
 enlarge | Author: Robert C. Linthicum
Publisher: InterVarsity Press
Category: Book
List Price: $15.00
Buy New: $8.94
You Save: $6.06 (40%)
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Rating:  3 reviews
Sales Rank: 128576
Media: Paperback
Pages: 216
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.6
Dimensions (in): 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.7
ISBN: 0830832289
Dewey Decimal Number: 261
EAN: 9780830832286
ASIN: 0830832289
Publication Date: October 2003
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Shipping: International shipping available
Condition: GREAT BUY!Brand New From US Distributor! WE ARE A 5 STAR SELLER with OVER 3,500,000 BOOKS SOLD!!! OVER ~ 600,000 FEEDBACKS ~ POSTED!!!
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Product Description
"Justice and power must be brought together, so that whatever is just may be powerful, and whatever is powerful may be just."--Blaise Pascal PProblems plague the world around us. Many in our churches and communities face injustice, crime, poverty, racism and other daunting evils. But often Christians have not known how to respond effectively. The issues seem bigger than anything the church can handle, and so we are paralyzed into inaction and offer halfhearted prayers at best. PYet throughout history God has empowered his people to stand up to injustice. When the situation calls for confrontation or structural change, our response must be more than personal piety, pastoral care or individualistic evangelism. Christians must become proficient in the practice and exercise of power. PChristians have often been wary of power, thinking of it as something inherently evil or oppressive. But God calls his people to wield power responsibly and to use it to promote his kingdom ideals of justice and peace. Robert Linthicum offers an integrative, biblical study of the proper use of power. Based on a thorough exploration of Scripture and decades of real-world experience in community organizing and urban ministry, Linthicum's model of relational power provides sound, practical strategies for changing individuals, communities, structures and systems. PWith insights from biblical mentors like Nehemiah and Paul as well as contemporary examples of Christians in action, this book offers hope for all who want to move toward the vision of the shalom community--God's intended best for communities and the world.
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| Customer Reviews:
 Economic Fantasy in Biblical Guise? July 6, 2008
David M. Hodges
While I think it's nice some other reviewers find Transforming Power (hereafter, TP) helpful enough to give it five stars, I confess that it strikes me as a typical product of the "religious left," urging use of government or group ("community") force to realize a certain vision of "social [or economic] justice." Though the text's vision of "how society should be" is put forward as being "the" biblical view, one notes how strongly it disagrees with the view of theonomists or dominionists (Gary North, Rousas Rushdoony, Gary DeMar, etc.), who likewise claim to put forward "the" biblical view. (As they are less selective in their present-day application of Old Testament law, I'd say the theonomists beat the lefties on consistency, though I think choice of allegiance here is more often a product of temperament than exegesis.) br / br /A good example of where TP's authors are coming from is found on p. 56: "What the biblical writers were insisting is that a nation's economy must be socially responsible...equitable....Equitable...suggests carefully constructed vehicles in an economy to periodically redistribute wealth so that no one in the economy experiences either extreme poverty or extreme wealth." Now, of course, this statement ignores economic realities and human motivation, but that sort of thing has never been a hindrance to social and political activists on the left. If you're a liberal Democrat, you'll probably like this book. If you're a conservative Republican, a Libertarian, or someone who frequents and has some understanding of the Ludwig von Mises Institute Web site, you might be tempted to use TP as TP. Though I can't endorse his metaphysics (he was no friend of Christianity), Hayek has some relevant thoughts on "social [and economic] justice" in The Fatal Conceit: The Errors of Socialism (The Collected Works of F. A. Hayek). br /
 Putting in transforming action September 6, 2007
Mary Nelson (Chicago, IL USA)
The book is an inspiring, practical Biblically-based manual for moving from br /charity to transformation of community. It is enriched by practical examples br /from real life experiences in low income communities and working with people with sound br /theological underpinnings. It is inspiring;one feels hopeful and not br /dependent on experts, but that transformation, step by step, can happen br /with committed people inspired by hope and small first successes. A must br /book for people working in low income communities, especially with faith br /connections.
 A useful theology of activism August 25, 2006
Paul Grant (Madison, Wisconsin, USA)
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
Transforming Power is Linthicum's challenge to the Evangelical World to be smart about power - not the smoke and mirrors power of politics, which he hardly mentions, but the real, daily life power of bringing positive change to neighborhoods and cities. Starting with a solid biblical theology of society, with its spiritual, cultural, economical and political strands, Linthicum then moves to a description of God's intentions for the world. His discussion of the shalom community will not be new to frequent urbana.org readers, but he manages to bring freshness to the topic. br / br /Linthicum's core message is what he calls the "Iron Rule of Power": never do for others what they can do for themselves. This notion, honed over decades of community organizing, means simply: don't create dependencies. Linthicum's case study is Nehemiah, who managed to enlist the residents of a decimated Jerusalem in the rebuilding of its walls. br / br /Moving to the New Testament, Linthicum discusses the difference between relational power, legislative power, and violent power. The former is the greatest, because it is the longest lasting, and the most effective. It is also the power wielded by Jesus to the tremendous frustration of the wielders of legislative power in his day. In the same way, Christians need to be great stewards of their relationships, in order to most effectively distribute God's empowerment among his church. br / br /Transforming Power is both a theoretical book and a practical book and is well worth the read. While it could have used a bit more discussion of spiritual realities and strongholds, the book should provide a powerful biblical framework for our use of, rather than our flight from, power.
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