"Drawing on the deep wellsprings of biblical theology, Jason Stellman explores the Christian pilgrimage with extraordinary insight, humor, and relevance to our contemporary context. Exegeting our popular culture as well as Scripture along the way, he draws us beyond the familiar clichés and exposes us to the strange new world that is dawning in Jesus Christ. Refreshingly, he does not call us deeper within ourselves or offer jeremiads on the moral condition of our secularized culture, but attends closely to the persuasiveness of the Christian story to narrate our lives in this present age. Going beyond Bunyan’s image of a lonely pilgrim, Stellman points us to the communion of saints below and the “cloud of witnesses” who cheer us on from the heavenly stands.
"I do not know of a book quite like this one. It is a devotional theology of the Christian life that is far richer than the standard fare on offer in the “spirituality” and “Christian disciplines” sections of Christian bookstores. Yet it is also a down-to-earth account of how the gospel and its public ministry of Word and sacrament provide the right coordinates for our pilgrimage at a time when we are easily drawn off course by the winds of fashion and consumer tastes. After reading this book, you will doubtless be provoked, as I was, not only to ponder our precarious location at the intersection of “this present evil age” and “the age to come,” but to praise the God who leads us by his Word and Spirit as we journey on. Digesting this book will lead you to sing with greater gusto those closing words of another hymn: “Solid joys and lasting treasures, none but Zion’s children know.”
- (From the Foreword) Michael Horton, Westminster Seminary, Escondido, California
“The subject of Christ and culture has never been as popular among conservative Protestants in the United States as it is today, and the topic has never needed as much attention from the perspective of the church. It gets that attention in this important book by Jason Stellman. Dual Citizens will certainly upset those used to thinking of Christ as mainly the transformer of culture. But for genuine wisdom not only on the culture wars, but on the culture, ways, and habits of the church, Stellman’s discussion is the place to go.”
- Dr. D. G. Hart, Director of academic programs Intercollegiate Studies Institute, Wilmington, Delaware
“For too long I struggled to recommend reading on the subject of living the Christian life as a ‘resident alien.’ Often I was reduced to directing readers to liberal Methodists (such as Hauerwas and Willimon) as the best embodiment of Christian convictions. At last I can point to practice that is firmly grounded in Reformed theology. Dual Citizens is written by someone who loves the world: its movies, its music, and its authors. But this is a rightly ordered love because it is a penultimate love. Here is a robust pilgrim theology that marches on to Zion while avoiding the pitfalls of asceticism and legalism. By putting earthly kingdoms in their proper place, Pastor Stellman demonstrates how rightly to use the present world even as one eagerly awaits the next.”
- Mr. John Muether, Professor of church history/library director, Reformed Theological Seminary, Orlando, Florida
