Readers will discover that it is not possible to disengage John Howard Yoder’s practice of ecumenical dialogue from his vision of the church. Yoder’s approach to ecumenical dialogue correlates with his conception of the faithfulness of the church. His vision of the church poses challenges for Christians of all communions because he calls both for disciplined dialogue and for faithful servanthood that renders the confession of Jesus Christ’s lordship meaningful.

This collection of 17 essays on themes ecclesiological and ecumenical is intended to demonstrate the substantial unity of Yoder’s work over the past four decades. Many of these essays are often cited by researchers but have been till now unobtainable. Three of these texts have never been published before. Editor Michael Cartwright has contributed a substantial introduction on the “Yoderian” project, and a select bibliography prepared by Mark Nation catalogs Yoder’s writings—published and unpublished—on ecclesiology and ecumenism.

• Foreword, by Richard Mouw ... vii
• Acknowledgements ... x
• Radical Reform, Radical Catholicity: John Howard Yoder's Vision of the Faithful Church, by Michael G. Cartwright ... 1
• Theological Perspectives
  • The Otherness of the Church ... 53
  • A People in the World ... 65
  • Why Ecclesiology is Social Ethics ... 102
  • To Serve Our God and to Rule the World ... 127
• Ecumenical Perspectives
  • Peace without Eschatology? ... 143
  • Let the Church be the Church ... 168
  • Christ, the Light of the World ... 181
  • Christ, the Hope of the World ... 192
• Ecumenical Responses
  • The Nature of the Unity We Seek: A Historic Peace Church View ... 221
  • The Free Church Ecumenical Style ... 231
  • The Disavowal of Constantine: An Alternative Perspective on Interfaith Dialogue ... 242
  • Another "Free Church" Perspective on Baptist Ecumenism ... 262
  • A "Free Church" Perspective on Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry ... 277
  • The Imperative of Christian Unity ... 289
  • Catholicity in Search of Location ... 300
• Radical Catholicity
  • Binding and Loosing ... 323
  • Sacrament as Social Process: Christ the Transformer of Culture ... 359
• Selected Bibliography of John H. Yoder's Published and Unpublished Writings on Ecclesiology and Ecumenism, prepared by Mark Nation ... 374
• Index ... 383

"This volume is vintage Yoder, leaving no doubt why he is universally regarded as one of the most powerful, provocative, and unsettling authors in his field. No one interested in Christian social ethics can afford to overlook this splendid collection of essays." —George Hunsinger, Center of Theological Inquiry, Princeton University

"Yoder carries a vision of the church catholic that stands as a witness in and to a church on the road toward full communion, yet a witness that calls for reform at the deepest level for all Christians—Protestant, Orthodox, and Roman catholic. His is an unsettling but unavoidable voice in the ecumenical conversation." —Jeffrey Gros, F.S.C., Secretariat for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs, National Conference of Catholic Bishops