Neben Deinem Zitat gefällt mir (u.a.) auch der Inhalt ab S. 15 ff sehr gut. Dies beantwortet vielleicht auch manche „grundsätzliche“ Einwände mancher Christen in BRD gegen das „gesellschaftliche Engagement“.
Finde ich jedenfalls sehr gut, dass die Reformierten in den USA nicht die „Emerging Church“ nur durch eine „korrekte Lehre“ bekämpfen wollen, sondern anerkennen, dass hinter manchen der Ansätze von Emerging Church durchaus auch legitime, sehr biblische Grundanliegen stehen. Zum Beispiel ist es kein Zeichen von „falscher Lehre“, wenn man ein Herz für die Armen hat – und dies auch praktisch umgesetzt wird in Barmherzigkeitsdiensten in der Gemeinde.

Sehr gut finde ich auch den Aufruf, die „richtige Lehre“ zu verbinden mit Einsatz in WIRTSCHAFT, KUNST und POLITIK und anderen Bereichen.

Also, das eine tun, das andere nicht lassen.

All this rightly alarms many conservative Christian leaders, but some wrongly conclude that those who are strongly concerned to minister to the poor must abandon traditional Christian doctrine. Neither group is right. You do not have to change classic, traditional Christian doctrine to emphasize that ministering to the poor is important. Jonathan Edwards, who is hardly anyone’s idea of a “liberal,” concluded, “Where have we any command in the Bible laid down in stronger terms, and in a more peremptory urgent manner, than the command of giving to the poor?” Edwards saw a concern for the poor that was rooted not only in a doctrine of creation and the imago Dei but also in the doctrine of the substitutionary death of Christ and justification by faith alone.

Since Jesus had to die to appease the wrath of God, we know that God is a God of justice, and therefore we should be highly sensitive to the rights of the poor in our communities. They should not be mistreated because of their lack of economic power. And because we were spiritually bankrupt and received the riches of Christ undeserved, we should never look down on the poor and feel superior to the economically bankrupt. We should be willing to give our funds even to the “undeserving poor” since we are the spiritually undeserving poor who receive the free mercy of God. Edwards argues powerfully and tirelessly for ministry to the poor from classic evangelical doctrines.

Gospel-Centered Ministry Today
The Gospel Coalition is united by the belief that we must not ignore our context and setting, and we must seriously reflect upon our culture so that our gospel-ministry engages and connects with our culture. This is why we developed the Theological Vision for Ministry, which concludes that the gospel should produce churches filled with winsome and theologically substantial preaching, dynamic evangelism and apologetics, and church growth and church planting. They will emphasize repentance, personal renewal, and holiness of life. At the same time, and in the same congregations, there will be engagement with the SOCIAL STRUCTURES of ordinary people, and CULTURAL engagement with ART, BUSINESS, SCHOLARSHIP, and GOVERNMENT. There will be calls for radical Christian community in which all members share wealth and resources and make room for the poor and marginalized. These priorities will all be combined and will mutually strengthen one another in each local church.

So we in The Gospel Coalition believe that the gospel must always be defended and that one irreplaceable way to do that is to show the world and the church the power of a gospel-centered ministry. The best way to define and defend the gospel is to love, believe, embody, and propagate it. In our Confessional Statement, the Vision for Ministry, and The Gospel for All of Life, we map out some of the basic features of what a gospel-centered ministry should look like today in Western culture.
During the first three years of our walk together, we sought to unite a diverse group of people around this gospel center. Our meetings were provocative and exciting because they were not dominated by one theological tradition or by a couple of dominant personalities. And as we gave time to these issues, we grew to trust each other more and more and came to greater unity of mind and heart. … (etc)

Ich bin nicht sicher, ob alle Reformierten in BRD diese Statements so unterschreiben würden. Es wäre schön.
(Hervorhebungen von mir).

Auch gut diese Klarstellung:

The gospel deals with MORE THAN THE JUDICIAL, our standing before God, for it is the power of God that brings salvation (Rom. 1:18)—a comprehensive transformation. Everything is secured by Jesus’ death and resurrection; everything is empowered by the Spirit, whom he bequeaths; everything unfolds as God himself has ordained this great salvation.

Ich schließe mich voll und ganz Theo an, das Buch sollte schleunigst übersetzt werden.

Gruß
Peter

Wird im Missionskontext nicht schon lange narrativ und bildhaft gepredigt (wie das ja auch Jesus tat, nur so nebenbei). Einfach weil „oral cultures“ mit systematischen, abstrakteren Lehrtexten nicht viel anfangen können. Stellen wir nicht einfach nur fest, dass sich der Westen von der „written culture“ zur „oral culture“ entwickelt? Warum sollte bei diesem Ansatz die Wahrheit auf dem Spiel stehen?
Postmoderne hin oder her…