Political Church: The Local Assembly as Embassy of Christ's Rule

Political Church: The Local Assembly as Embassy of Christ's RuleThe church is political. Theologians have been debating this claim for years. Liberationists, Anabaptists, Augustinians, neo Calvinists, Radical Orthodox, and others continue to discuss the matter. What do we mean by politics and the political? What are the limits of the church's political reach? What is the nature of the church as an institution? How do we establish these claims theologically? Jonathan Leeman sets out to address these questions in

The church is political. Theologians have been debating this claim for years. Liberationists, Anabaptists, Augustinians, neo-Calvinists, Radical Orthodox, and others continue to discuss the matter. What do we mean by politics and the political? What are the limits of the church's political reach? What is the nature of the church as an institution? How do we establish these claims theologically? Jonathan Leeman sets out to address these questions in this Studies in Christian Doctrine and Scripture volume. Drawing on covenant theology and the "new institutionalism" in political science, Leeman critiques political liberalism and explores how the biblical canon informs an account of the local church as an embassy of Christ's kingdom. Political Church heralds a new era in political theology. Studies in Christian Doctrine and Scripture, edited by Daniel J. Treier and Kevin J. Vanhoozer, promotes evangelical contributions to systematic theology, seeking fresh understanding of Christian doctrine through creatively faithful engagement with Scripture in dialogue with church.

Publisher: IVP
Type: Paperback
ISBN: 9781783594160

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Jonathan Leeman (PhD, University of Wales) is the editorial director for 9Marks, an organization that produces church leadership resources in Washington, DC. He is the author of The Church and the Surprising Offense of God's Love and Church Membership: How the World Knows Who Represents Jesus, as well as the editor of The Underestimated Gospel. He is also an occasional lecturer at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary and an adjunct teacher for The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. After earning undergraduate and graduate degrees in political science, Leeman began his career in journalism working as an editor for an international economics magazine. Since his call to ministry, he has earned an MDiv and a PhD in theology and worked as an interim pastor. He currently serves as an elder at Capitol Hill Baptist Church and lives with his wife and four daughters in a suburb of Washington, D.C.

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"Jonathan Leeman is one of the most careful, intelligent and skilled theological minds of our day, particularly in matters of ecclesiology. This new volume is a courageous defense of the centrality and indispensability of the local church. Political Church is a model for sound exegetical, biblical and systematic theology that makes a powerful argument. For anyone thinking seriously about ecclesiology, local church ministry, the relationship between church and state, or even religious liberty, this volume is a brilliant resource." R. Albert Mohler Jr., president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary