108 - Christians With Secular Power

Christians With Secular Power
By Mark Gibbs
Philadelphia, Fortress, 1981. 135 pp. $4.95 (paper).

Much has been written about the "principalities and powers" that exercise demonic influence in modern life through political, economic, and military institutions. This book speaks to, for, and about Christians who wield power within these structures.

The author is convinced that God has called the laity of the church to something more than the traditional role assigned to them by the clergy- to "turn up, sit up, pay up, and shut up." Vocation is not the private preserve of the pastoral aristocracy, but the privilege of all believers who view their life task as the place of divine service in the world.

Specific occupations addressed which afford special opportunities for such service include politicians, business executives, labor union leaders, leaders in the police and the military, and servants of the media. How the institutional church can best serve its members in such positions of power is discussed suggestively, even provocatively.

Thomas W. Gillespie
First Presbyterian Church
Burlingame, Calif.