I submitted a proposal for my new book to a publisher yesterday. We’ll see if they bite. I decided to start with Wipf & Stock, because I appreciate the books they publish, the community (Church of the Servant King) that they’re connected with, and in particular because they published 12 Marks of the New Monasticism.

Here’s the proposed contents of my book, which I’m tentatively calling Resistance: Allegiance to Christ in the American Empire. I’ll include a brief description of what exactly I’m picking on within American culture for each chapter.

Introduction: Against the world, for the world (If you’ve read Hauerwas, you know where I’m going with the introduction. If you haven’t, then read some of the comments here to get an idea).

Chapter 1: The Kingdom of God and the American Dream (This basically challenges the way in which Christians understand their identity within America. Nationalism, patriotism, and partisanship are enemies to living as citizens of the Kingdom. I know that some of you may disagreee with that statement, and indeed it depends upon how one defines these words.)

Chapter 2: Rugged Individuals Need a Hug (The critique against individualism has been pretty well developed. However, developing practices which resist individualism haven’t).

Chapter 3: The Consumption of Faith and the Faith of Consumption (If you’ve read my blog for very long, you know I have alot to say about this. Here’s one of my posts about the subject).

Chapter 4: Why Pragmatism Doesn?t Work (Americans are results oriented. We measure success quantitatively. We tend to justify our means through our ends. This can be seen everywhere from the seeker megachurch movement to our justification for bombing Hiroshima and Nagasaki).

Chapter 5: Going to War with Militarism (We live in a violent world in which America is the the most powerful nation. Christians must not buy into the myth that violence brings peace. We know that peace comes from Christ. So instead of partaking of the cycle of violence, we must resist violence, in all of its forms, with our peaceful presence.)

Conclusion: A Call to Resistance

My intention with this book is decidedly NOT to simply “bitch and moan.” While I certainly want to name some of the things that have erroded the counter-cultural nature of the Church in America, my goal is to move from critique to resistance. That is, I want to point out communities that are doing something about these systemic forces which errode the church and offer some ways that we can fight back, spiritually. Our struggle is NOT against flesh and blood. Our warfare is spiritual and requires spiritual, non-violent, resistance. We must live as a counter cultural community.

So, readers, can you think of communities that embody resistance against these systemic forces–these “powers?” Your imput will help me in my research. I’d prefer it if you share communties that you KNOW about rather than have READ about.

About Mark Van Steenwyk

Mark Van Steenwyk is a member of Missio Dei. He is a speaker, writer, educator, and grassroots organizer. With the support of the Central Plains Mennonite Conference, he travels to radical and intentional communities around the country to help network and offer support.