Rules for Reformers

Why don't Christians win the culture wars? Douglas Wilson has a theory, and a manual. In Rules for Reformers, he does something audacious: he poaches the political craft of radical progressives and puts it to work for the Christian side. The primary target is Saul Alinsky's Rules for Radicals, the tactical bible of the left and required reading for a generation of progressive organizers. Wilson takes Alinsky's shrewd strategic insights, strips out the godless worldview that underlies them, and hands what remains to Christians who are tired of losing gracefully. The result is a spicy, bracingly readable blend of combat manual and cultural manifesto, part proclamation of grace, part Art of War, part anatomy of the cowardice and embarrassments that have hobbled Christian cultural engagement for decades, all coated in a generous application of what Wilson calls advanced knife-fighting techniques. This second edition includes a new preface. Rules for Reformers doesn't waste time mourning lost ground. It asks what winning actually looks like, what tools are available to those willing to use them, and why Christians keep surrendering advantages that their opponents would never give up. Motivating and provocative in equal measure, it's one of Wilson's most energizing books.