The Pietist Option
Hope for the Renewal of Christianity
by Christopher Gehrz; Mark Pattie III
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Pub Date Oct 03 2017 | Archive Date Oct 31 2017
InterVarsity Press | IVP Academic
Description
Historian Mark Noll has written that historic Pietism "breathed a badly needed vitality" into post-Reformation Europe. Now the time has come for Pietism to revitalize Christianity in post-Christendom America. In The Pietist Option, Christopher Gehrz, a historian of Pietism, and Mark Pattie, a pastor in the Pietist tradition, show how Pietism holds great promise for the church—and the world—today. Modeled after Philipp Spener's 1675 classic, Pia Desideria, this timely book makes a case for the vitality of Pietism in our day. Taking a hard look at American evangelicalism and why it needs renewal, Gehrz and Pattie explore the resources that Pietism can provide the church of the twenty-first century. This concise and winsome volume serves as a practical guide to the Pietist ethos for life and ministry, pointing us toward the renewal so many long for. The Pietist Option introduces Pietism to those who don't know it—and reintroduces it to those who perceive it as an outdated and inward-focused spirituality, a nitpicking divisiveness, or an anti-intellectual withdrawal. With its emphasis on our walk with Jesus and its vibrant hope for a better future, Pietism connects decisively with the ideas and issues of our day. Here is a revitalizing option for all who desire to be faithful and fruitful in God's mission.
Advance Praise
"In an age in which the church is badly divided by politics and culture wars, The Pietist Option offers a better way. Chris Gehrz and Mark Pattie invite us to embark on a spiritual pilgrimage defined by loving our neighbors, living in hope, and listening to God. It is indeed time to reconsider the Pietist roots of American evangelicalism."
—John Fea, Messiah College, author of Was America Founded as a Christian Nation?
"Warning! The cheeky title of this book is misleading. You'll find no snark here, no polemics. If you're looking for a pugnacious encounter, go elsewhere. What you will find here is an immensely winsome vision, drawing on the riches of the Pietist tradition but addressed to all who seek 'to live as if Jesus Christ has actually conquered the grave.'"
John Wilson, editor, Education & Culture
"For many people, both inside and outside communities of faith, Christianity has become captive to blind allegiances that are driven more by fear than a concern for justice, more interested in building walls than expressing love and solidarity with neighbors who are different. If the church is going to break the stranglehold of these allegiances so that loyalty to Jesus and the kingdom he preached is placed back at the center of the life of faith, then the Pietist vision offered here will surely play an important role. Gehrz and Pattie offer a clear-eyed vision of faithful practice fired by the hope of the gospel that animated the original 'Pietist option,' and they do so without slavishly repeating seventeenth-century proposals. What is offered here is a compelling and practical vision that is geared toward our own contemporary challenges and context. This is a timely and much-needed work that should be warmly embraced by Christians from across the spectrum."
—Christian T. Collins Winn, Bethel University, coauthor of Reclaiming Pietism
"Mark and Chris love God, the church, and the world. Here they ponder, Does warmhearted Pietism have something to offer in a world of overheated debates? This book offers no certain paths forward, but it does remind us that Pietism, with its emphases on a living personal faith, deep commitment to wanting to be guided by Scripture, engaging in mission to the world, and generous fellowship, just might have something to offer."
—Gary Walter, president of the Evangelical Covenant Church
Available Editions
| EDITION | Other Format |
| ISBN | 9780830851942 |
| PRICE | $23.00 (USD) |
Featured Reviews
Scott F, Reviewer
I was already inclined to enjoy this book; I'm a part of the Evangelical Covenant Church, which was birthed out of the Pietist Movement.
Taking the classic Pietist text Pia Desideria as its launching-off point, the book takes an unflinching look at Christianity in the early 21st century, before putting forth six proposals:
A More Extensive Use of the Word of God
The Common Priesthood For the Common Good
Christianity As Life
The Irenic Spirit: Unity, Mission, and Witness
Whole-Person, Whole-Life Formation
Proclaiming the Good News Benediction
I have no idea why this is published under the Academic wing of InterVarsity Press. There's nothing that's especially aimed at pastors or other academics here. This is a book I believe any lay person interested in theology could pick up, understand utterly, and enjoy. To publish it as an "academic" book seems to unnecessarily limit its reach.
It's important that they didn't call this The Pietist Answer--even if they, and I, think it is. It's just a way, a possible way, of renewing our faith. But if we were to truly give this option a try, what could we accomplish as ambassadors of God? I've seen this in action in my local church, and it's transforming, and life-giving.
