3 years ago ACTS published a slim but very important volume called Gaining the World, Losing the Soul: How the Prosperity Gospel Distorts the Good News. It contained chapters from brothers Michael Maura and Ken Mbugua together with some material from John Piper. We reviewed it on this blog and it is available from the ACTS bookshop in Nairobi for only 100 KES. It remains hugely important not only in presenting a mature, measured, Kenyan rebuttal of the prosperity gospel but also in the way it gives us so much great positive gospel truth to savour – something that some attacks on the prosperity gospel are short on.

So it was very exciting to learn that ACTS and The Gospel Coalition have worked together to bring us a sequel to the first Gaining the World edition – Prosperity: Seeking the True Gospel – with chapters again by Mbugua and Maura supplemented this time with material from Conrad Mbewe, Wayne Grudem and John Piper.

We’re very grateful that Ken Mbugua and ACTS allowed us to preview his introductory chapter in CM.

“The prosperity gospel is a dangerous message because, while pretending to bring good news, it offers a false gospel that leads people away from God. It presents a small God who is valued as the means to material benefits. It misdiagnoses our greatest problem, sin and separation from God, and fails to identify and address our greatest need. This gospel is powerless to save as it diverts our attention from the glory of God to human inventions and temporary blessings. The prosperity gospel glorifies man and the things of this world instead of God. That makes it a false gospel.”

That’s the lead article and the theme-setter for our new issue of Conversation Magazine. Get your copy now to read the rest of Pastor Mbugua’s chapter and also:

• Steve Rasmussen on witchcraft and worldview in Tanzania
• Phil Morrison on leadership development for church planting
• Njeri Maina on sluggards, workaholics and zombies
• Elizabeth Adisa on God-centred missions
• Scott Postma on concerning trends in pastoral leadership
• Jesse Masai in the footsteps of Dietrich Bonhoeffer
• Collins Ouma giving an insider look at the Nairobi Church Planting School

And many more. Enjoy.