Around Town: John Redekop on politics, Alpha: Sharing Jesus, Heart for Asia . . .

John Redekop’s timely book was launched this fall.

Veteran political scientist / author John Redekop just launched a timely book – Politics: God’s Other Arena.

The Abbotsford resident said in a recent article posted on The News site, that this book is “his most important . . . It is based on 70 years of reading, research, teaching, observation and experience.”:

In the book, Redekop asks and answers many basic questions about politics and government, such as: Has God provided a distinctive code of ethics for governments? What are the strengths and weaknesses of liberalism, conservatism and democratic socialism? Is war ever justified?

Other questions addressed include: Does God agree that killing people in civilian life is bad but killing a person while wearing a military uniform is good? Should governments legislate morality? Is civil disobedience ever justified? Is pacifism realistic? Why should voting be seen as a Christian’s duty? Can evil rulers be God’s servants? Why is liberal democracy the best system for everybody?

Abbotsford City Councillor (and former MLA) Simon Gibson hosted a book launch September 26.

Brian Stiller, Global Ambassador with the World Evangelical Alliance, wrote the Foreword to Politics: God’s Other Arena (Kindred Publications, 2026). He said, in part:

[W]hen I say that John’s book is worth reading, I say it as someone who has watched this man think, argue and pray through these questions for the better part of my working life. 

Who is John Redekop? Saskatchewan-born, prairie stock like me; a political scientist who spent 26 years at Wilfrid Laurier University, enjoying a public platform most evangelical academics never receive. He used it without flinching – debating a Marxist scholar on campus on whether the Marxist or the Christian worldview is more viable; writing a ‘Personal Opinion’ column for the Mennonite Brethren Herald for nearly 40 years; publishing over a hundred scholarly articles and hundreds more commentaries in newspapers across the continent.

He trained a generation of students, many of whom went on to shape Canadian public life, to think Christianly about power rather than merely reacting to it. In short, John thinks like a political scientist and prays like a Mennonite. 

In this, his 11th book, John offers an unabashed thesis: caring about politics is itself a Christian calling. It is a thesis evangelicals have handled unevenly.

William Wilberforce’s advocacy against slavery drew the evangelical world of the early 1800s into issues of social need, which led inevitably into the political arena, the only sphere with tools to correct injustice at its root. But the rise of theological liberalism and the Social Gospel made evangelicals wary, and a conservative backlash redirected us toward church planting and evangelistic outreach.

Dispensationalism reinforced the retreat, its message of Christ’s imminent return giving cover for withdrawing from societal matters and attending instead to the inner life of salvation, holiness and eternal preparation. 

In these pages, John presses us toward a different starting point: all of life is inherently God’s concern, and if it is his, it should be ours too. To avoid political engagement, he argues, is both a vain and a false expectation. Vain because withdrawal changes nothing; false because it pretends a neutrality no one actually holds. . . .

And the timing could hardly be more urgent. John’s reach extends across the Canada-US border, and both audiences need him now. We are living through a season submerged by competing waves of church and political conviction. Some of those viewpoints insist that the gospel, filtered through the belief that God has chosen one particular nation for his purposes, grants the right to wield political power.

In an age of such strident certainty, this book is timely, helpful and instructive, offering a way to see the wide and complicated construct of society in which Christ calls us to be in the world but not of it – to live as resident aliens, dwelling in tents, ready to move as the Spirit leads. . . .

Go here for the full excerpt.

Sharing Jesus

This one is happening right away – Thursday, October 15 at 10 am. Alpha Canada is hosting an online research seminar, Sharing Jesus:

Beyond the headlines, God is moving in Canada in ways that might surprise you. In partnership with Angus Reid Group and The Message Canada, we’re thrilled to launch a landmark study that moves beyond the checked boxes of religious affiliation, and explores the personal experiences that shape the Canadian spiritual landscape.

Let’s lean into this Canadian cultural moment and explore how we can join where God is already at work!

Register here. But if you don’t make it in time, I am quite sure that Alpha Canada will issue a report in the near future, so check their site. Here is a link to the Gen Alpha report they posted last October.

The results of the webinar will be interesting to compare with Reginald Bibby’s new book, The Canadian Transformation: Social Trends 1975 – 2025, about which James Coggins has just written a review for this site.

Heart for Asia

New Westminster Evangelical Free Church will be hosting two Heart for Asia events organized by OMF Canada next Friday and Saturday (October 23 and 24).

OMF is “a global fellowship of Christians with a heart for East Asia.”

•  How Will They Hear?

God longs for everyone to know his love and salvation. But how will they know unless someone tells them? Come see how you can be that person.

Nothing changes lives like the gospel of Jesus. It changes us and people we know. People around the world are discovering new life as they experience his love.

But did you know that millions have never had the opportunity to hear this good news? Millions more have never even met a Christian!

What if we could be the people who share with them the gift of new life in Christ? Starting with our friends and following where God leads?

At How Will They Hear? (Heart for Asia 2026) you’ll meet people who are doing just that. Come hear their stories and take an evening dive into the life and culture of East Asia, topped off with authentic Asian street food!.

Bring a friend and see what God will do next.

This evening event is aimed at youth, though “others interested in youth and mission – the young at heart” are welcome too.

• Faith Comes Through Hearing

Our next-door neighbour. Canadians everywhere. People around the world, including vast areas of East Asia . . . people need Christ. But how will they find faith if no one goes to tell them?

Faith Comes Through Hearing (Heart for Asia 2026) brings stories, learning and opportunities to participate in Jesus’ call to preach the gospel to all creation.

Join us to hear the creative ways God is working, in East Asia and here at home in Canada. Come see how we – you, our fellowships, our churches, all of us together – can participate in this glorious task.

Featured speakers will Brian and Faith Janssen, OMF Taiwan Field Directors.

Events are listed below, but there is also an Events page and a Jobs page on the Church for Vancouver site.