The second edition of Peter J. Leithart's book, The Kingdom and the Power: Rediscovering the Centrality of the Church, is now in print through Theopolis Books.
Activist Christians tend to assume that, if the church is to be politically influential, her first task is to become more political. National political issues have, as a result, displaced theological and ecclesiastical concerns in the “agenda” and priorities of many churches. As a result, churches, especially those dominated by an activist model of the kingdom, fail to address the world in a distinctively Christian manner—that is, as the church.
In his book, The Kingdom and the Power, Peter J. Leithart shows from Scripture that Christians must neither retreat from the world or idolize power and mammon to influence the world but engage the world—as the church. For wherever Christ is present, there is the kingdom. That means the kingdom of God is in the church, the body of Christ.
You can order the book here.
WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING
"With great clarity and rigor, Peter Leithart helps us to grasp the political nature of all life, from breathing our prayers to signing petitions to watching for signs of spiritual maturity in Christian community. Kingdom, or as some have called it, “empire,” is not a hastily chosen idea by Jesus, nor was kingship in the Hebrew Scriptures. Leithart deftly integrates the political vision of Scripture with the return of the King and Judge. For those who struggle to see how Scripture teems with such themes, and for those who don’t see its relevance, The Kingdom and the Power skillfully lights the path of biblical teaching. Compelling reading all the way through."
Dr. Dru Johnson, author of Human Rites: The Power of Rituals, Habits, and Sacraments, and co-host of the OnScript Podcast
"Since its publication thirty years ago, I have used Peter’s book in many different contexts—in men’s and ladies Bible studies, as supplemental help for seminary students studying biblical theology, and as the ideal give-away book to anyone interested in an easy-to-access introduction to biblical eschatology. Now I can stop hoarding my old out-of-print copies and start giving this book away again."
Pastor Jeff Meyers, Providence Reformed Presbyterian Church in St. Louis, MO
"The Kingdom and the Power offers a solution to the fashionable and trendy trust in horses and chariots in the church today. It restores the place of the church to the status above other earthly institutions. But she is not glorious because of herself but because she was purchased with the blood of a great bridegroom. Leithart exhorts the church to be the church and to re-assert her role in society as the alternative city."
Rev. Dr. Uriesou Brito, Senior Pastor of Providence Church in Pensacola, Fl.
About the Author
Peter J. Leithart is President of the Theopolis Institute in Birmingham, Alabama, and Teacher at Trinity Presbyterian Church. He is author of a number of books, including Creator (IVP). He and his wife, Noel, have ten children and fifteen grandchildren.