There was a time when evangelicals were chided for neglecting social justice issues. But in recent years, they have come to a fresh understanding of God's love for all people, His desire for justice for the weak and the poor, and the social responsibility that entails for those who declare their love for Him in return.
The new book Micah's Challenge delves into this change of heart in its most visible and world-transforming manifestation yet, the international Micah Challenge movement of Christians lobbying their governments to ensure that the Millennium Development Goals are kept promises.
That the book is endorsed in the UK by political leaders, including Prime Minister Gordon Brown, and leading Christian thinkers alike is significant in itself. It shows that on this issue, at least, church and government share a common agenda. What's more, the government has admitted it and others are behind on the MDGs, and they are looking to church for help.
Micah Challenge's vision is eloquently and earnestly set out in the book. Evangelicals have a responsibility firstly to God to care for the poor which stems from the concept of ... an Old Testament word encompassing the steadfast and unchanging nature of the love of God. Not only does this ... compel us to keep striving for justice through thick and thin, it also imputes on believers ...
This love-inspired responsibility to others manifests itself practically and politically in holding governments to account on the promises they have made to the poor, particularly where those promises are in danger of being quietly cast aside not for lack of ability but lack of will.
If Christians neglect their love-inspired responsibility to speak up on behalf of the poor, then the MDGs and other efforts aimed at cutting extreme poverty will be left unfulfilled and poverty will continue to cast a long shadow over the world for the foreseeable future.
What is more, the book goes on to define the redemptive nature of the Micah Challenge movement. For one thing, the movement stresses that it is not hostile to governments but desirous of a closer and more committed working together. For another, it places as much weight on deepening Christian commitment to social justice issues as it does to political advocacy.
This redemptive aspect, the book spells out, is exactly what the church needs to restore its credibility. By living in accordance with God's heart for the poor, Christians - evangelical or otherwise - really can be good news for those suffering in the midst of poverty and social injustice.
Micah's Challenge pulls together an impressive range of theologians and Christian thinkers, including the Evangelical Alliance's Joel Edwards and Justin Thacker, the Archbishop Njongonkulu Ndungane, Tony Campolo, and despite dealing with a very weighty issue for the church, retains a lightness and accessibility throughout.
Any Christian searching for a deeper theological understanding of the contribution they as a person of faith can make to ending extreme poverty in this world should read this book.
Micah's Challenge is out now on paperback by Paternoster, Eds Marijke Hoek and Justin Thacker, ISBN: 9781842276068
