386 - Christian Maturity and Christian Success

Christian Maturity and Christian Success
By Daniel Jenkins
Philadelphia, Fortress, 1983. 144 pages. $6.95.

With broad, penetrating strokes, the Professor of Systematic Theology at Princeton Seminary surveys our contemporary world and places it alongside of Jesus "as a man of power, the lion of Judah who comes conquering and who will conquer … His teaching about humility and about the necessity to exercise authority only in the form of a servant would have had no point … unless it had been delivered from a position of strength."

Power is the theme of this book-the power of the mature Christian who knows the uses and abuses of power, and who exercises spiritual power with the "meekness" of "a gentle giant" held in check. Often referring to the

387 - Christian Maturity and Christian Success

ethics of Reinhold Niebuhr and the theology of Karl Barth, Jenkins applies the ethic of Jesus to a host of issues: the proper understanding of success ("the New Testament is, above all else, a success story"), what it means to be mature ("the arts of diplomacy, thoughtfulness, coolness, and unwearying patience … not with chips on our shoulder, spoiling for a fight"), liberation ("a passion for righteousness that is not linked with a gentle spirit is peculiarly dangerous"), ecumenism, men and women, youth and age, work and play.

This is solid, strong stuff, the kind of thoroughness we have come to expect from Jenkins. Its provocative treatment lends itself for use in small study groups interested in a fresh statement of the Christian ethic. While the words in the title, "maturity" and "success" evoke a quick response today, I feel they do not capture the unique quality of the book, which lays its stress on the kind of power the Spirit releases. Chapter 7 is entitled, "Mature Christians and the Power of the Spirit." That might have been a better title for the whole book.

David B. Watermulder
Bryn Mawr Presbyterian Church
Bryn Mawr, Pa.