Action in Waiting

by Christoph Blumhardt, Rodney Clapp (Foreword)

A message to stir the embers of a dying faith. Given the number of people who’ve been “saved,” you’d think the world was becoming a brighter place. It could be, too, if more people would grasp the joy of losing themselves in service to God and each other. People like Christoph Blumhardt, who, in his quest to get to the essentials of faith, burns away the religious trappings of modern piety like so much chaff. Blumhardt writes with unabashed fervor, but his passion encourages rather than intimidates. His witness influenced theological giants like Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Karl Barth. But Action in Waiting is not theology; it is too blunt, too earthy, too real. Its “active expectation” of God’s kingdom shows us that the object of our hope is not relegated to some afterlife. Today, in our world, it can come into its own – if only we are ready.

Genres: Christian

253 pages, Paperback

First published June 10, 1998

About the author

Christoph Friedrich Blumhardt (1842–1919) was a German Lutheran theologian and one of the founders of Christian socialism in Germany and Switzerland. He was a well-known preacher. In 1899 he announced his support for socialism and joined the Social Democratic Party of Germany; for this, he lost his position as minister. The next year, he was elected to the state parliament of Württemberg.

He was a significant influence on the theologians Karl Barth, Hermann Kutter, and Leonhard Ragaz, who were also Christian socialists.

Reviews

[Georgia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Blumhardt’s collection of sermons are challenging in their very simplicity. As Karl Barth writes in the afterward, “He lets us experience the echo that the Bible aroused within him every day. He does not want to say anything brilliant, set off any fireworks, or strike any blow: he simply tells us the divine truth in the world as it meets him...Blumhardt always begins with God’s presence, power, and purpose. He starts out from God. He does not begin by climbing up words to him by means of contemplation and deliberation.”

Blumhardt espouses a Christianity of action that follows the natural consequences of believing God’s word. As he writes, “slackers wear their Sunday best.”

[Alice · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good book! Some parts I really disagreed with - Blumhardt is extremely damning of all church institutions it seems (!) - but I wonder if that's because I don't fully understand the historical context into which he was speaking.

Read this book:
(1) To be encouraged that God's kingdom is here and now, heaven on earth, not something we merely sit, twiddle our thumbs and wait for
(2) To be convicted, in a really motivating way, to die to oneself and lay everything down in pursuit of the greatest cause
(3) To be assured that one can work for Christ in every 'mediocre' part of life, that there is nothing and no area his glory cannot touch

"We should lay claim to our right on this earth - the right to victory over sin and death here on earth - not because of our faith, but because of God's power to make things right."

[Alex Parrish · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a slew read for me, and I think that is the best way to approach it. For someone unfamiliar with theology of this sort, anyway. There is a view of the kingdom of God present in this work, the view that I believe is much more in line with the teachings of Jesus, that is far out of line with modern thought. This takes some time to digest. I imagine it will require at least two readings, if all of this is to be fully absorbed.

[Brandon Corsi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Prophetic and refreshing.

[Jeff · Rating 5 out of 5]

"A comfortable Christianity will never change the world." - Christoph Blumhardt. This is an amazing little book. I'm not sure I agree with all the author has written here, but when is that ever the case? And, I'm not quite sure that I've been able to accurately track all that the author here asserts. The book is amazing in the point of view from which the author writes. He is not content to simply play church or play Christian and go along with the way things are all the while asserting that Jesus is Lord! Really? Lord of just what? He recognizes that the Kingdom will only finally come in its receptive fullness when God acts as he has promised yet to do. But he also recognizes that the Kingdom is among us. Now. Yes, this Now! Not yet! is now quite commonly acknowledged but less often lived into as if there was any hope for the Kingdom to actually gain traction in the world now, today. Blumhardt calls us to Action now! even as we await Gods promised future action to make all things new. A meaningful postscript written by Karl Barth is included and certifies the unusual nature of this book and Blumhardt's ministry which defies conventional labels. Try it, you might be moved to action..

[Johann Christoph Arnold · Rating 5 out of 5]

Available as a free ebook(.pdf, .epub or .prc) from www.plough.com.
Ours is a time of intense searching.Few of us are satisfied with what the church and society have served up. The honest among us will readily admit we lead fractured lives - with a disembodied spirituality on one side, and a soulless daily existence on the other. We are desperate for something more, for a faith with the power to transform both ourselves and our world.

Enter Christoph Blumhardt. With unabashed clarity of focus, Blumhardt's words cut through the clutter of our post-modern existence. He offers a concrete vision that inspires even the most disillusioned. His enthusiasm rekindles our passion to live a life of purpose.