The promise and plan of God to Abraham in Gen 12 was for his treasured people to become a blessing to others. When they received his law on Sinai it focused on loving Him and looking to the interests of their neighbour. Jesus emphasized the same mission and helped us understand who our neighbour is. The same plan and mission of God exists for his 21century churches. Do neighbourly kindness and so point people to the living and true God, so they discover His love by being loved by someone the way He loves.
Before the Church was born [Acts 2] the people of God were to represent His purpose and values in the world. God’s plan has always been to change the world via His people. We are His agents of transformation in the world; transformation begins with us, then extends by our good works to others. The church is both a sign and foretaste of the eternal kingdom. Why have some evangelical movements focused only on evangelism by grace and steered clear of good works [Eph 2:10]? The gospel clearly calls our faith to works; the gospel of Jesus included what we call social action. In too many movements and churches, we disenfranchise the people of God from loving their neighbours by reducing their calling to donating money to the department which looks after the poor.
An effective way to transition members of a congregation from being too focused on church activities to being socially active is for the church leader(s) to engage in a regular social ministry outside of church, and take others along to get involved or be inspired to do their own thing. To be the church outside the property boundary and serve in the local community or for a charity group etc, is to imitate Jesus and love our neighbours. Leaders can preach this every week, but a culture will develop via a contagious virus only when leaders are active and intentionally take others with them. More than that, the role of leaders is to equip and empower people to pursue their own vision of how to do Kingdom mission and to resource them with training and support.
Another strategy is to fund social action in addition to evangelism, either within or outside your facilities – some such projects attract government funding. I can think of a church whose strategy is to care for the needy by setting up various facilities on site, such as room for the homeless to sleep overnight. Sadly, a difficulty was the resistance of members to having homeless people at their church. But the reputation the church is earning in the local community is growing immensely, especially when it serves the community in other ways as well. When we do neighbourly kindness God sets up situations, moments and conversations by His Spirit that honour Christ.
Have we made “church ministry” the main story, instead of discipleship and mission as Kingdom agents? Have we privatised faith and focused on converting people to save them? Salvation is actually about a totally restored creation, key agents in which are the disciples of Jesus. They must become the change they want to see in the world [Ghandi]. The biblical vision of God is to unite all things under Christ – a restored creation. Are we stewards looking after all His creatures and creation itself? Do we have a glimpse of what the Holy Spirit is doing outside the Church? Are we passionate about joining in that activity? Are we doing neighbourly kindness and taking others with us?
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Monday, July 5, 2010
Step 6. Structure follows strategy (strategy does not follow structure)
A great challenge for those of us who are trying to lead a change process is that we have existing structures in place which appear almost impossible to change. We want to try new things, or simply make a small but significant change, but the structures in the system are too strong. The people in the system always resist change and want to restore equilibrium/status quo.
The truth we must face and act upon is that structure follows strategy. Strategy determines structures. The structures most of us have, of Sunday services along with various ministries and programs, are the product of a strategy that needs to change. The strategy was to bring people to us, visit our site, and find Christ. If you want a different strategy you will need different structures. You cannot pursue a new strategy for making disciples without altering your structures.
Time for a deep breath, and prayer. Here’s where all the ‘leading change’ stuff is helpful. Most church leaders have never been trained in implementing change, yet taking those you lead on a journey of change is one of the most important skills a pastor needs [ACOM has a great course]. In my book The Journey Ahead, I wrote: “An important, immediate function of church leadership is to take people on a journey of constant adaptation to change. When the expectation among church members is that leaders provide stability rather than engineer change, taking people on such a journey becomes very difficult”. Courage is needed to lead and model change!
John Kotter and others have great books on leading organizational change. A key factor for churches of course, is to make clear the priority of discipleship formation. If that is the goal and the strategy is to encourage personal life-change, then organizational structures are required that are additional to what you already have, to facilitate formation. A proven change strategy is to add something new and allow time for change forces to work and people to adjust, rather than suddenly replace the old with the new - eg start a new structure that facilitates authenticity, support and accountability, such as same-gender triplets or Neil Cole’s Life Transformation Groups. Whatever the structure you start, it begins with you – you must shape the group you start. You can also seek to shape the groups you already lead, such as a ministry team, elders and church council.
Evolution is a softer journey than revolution, but there is a place for major structural changes. Stopping a program, changing service structures or beginning a new initiative in the community needs careful strategy and courageous leadership – all seriously undergirded by prayer. The point (made earlier) of laying a preaching foundation is to pursue God’s agenda in bringing people to see themselves as disciples wanting to become like Jesus, where change is their agenda and God’s Spirit is their agent. But modelling of new emphases by the senior leader and other leaders is crucial.
Preaching and educating people does not produce life-change. Structures are needed to help people on their journey. Start with the introduction of small initiatives that you are a part of, which of course requires you to choose what you will stop doing.
The truth we must face and act upon is that structure follows strategy. Strategy determines structures. The structures most of us have, of Sunday services along with various ministries and programs, are the product of a strategy that needs to change. The strategy was to bring people to us, visit our site, and find Christ. If you want a different strategy you will need different structures. You cannot pursue a new strategy for making disciples without altering your structures.
Time for a deep breath, and prayer. Here’s where all the ‘leading change’ stuff is helpful. Most church leaders have never been trained in implementing change, yet taking those you lead on a journey of change is one of the most important skills a pastor needs [ACOM has a great course]. In my book The Journey Ahead, I wrote: “An important, immediate function of church leadership is to take people on a journey of constant adaptation to change. When the expectation among church members is that leaders provide stability rather than engineer change, taking people on such a journey becomes very difficult”. Courage is needed to lead and model change!
John Kotter and others have great books on leading organizational change. A key factor for churches of course, is to make clear the priority of discipleship formation. If that is the goal and the strategy is to encourage personal life-change, then organizational structures are required that are additional to what you already have, to facilitate formation. A proven change strategy is to add something new and allow time for change forces to work and people to adjust, rather than suddenly replace the old with the new - eg start a new structure that facilitates authenticity, support and accountability, such as same-gender triplets or Neil Cole’s Life Transformation Groups. Whatever the structure you start, it begins with you – you must shape the group you start. You can also seek to shape the groups you already lead, such as a ministry team, elders and church council.
Evolution is a softer journey than revolution, but there is a place for major structural changes. Stopping a program, changing service structures or beginning a new initiative in the community needs careful strategy and courageous leadership – all seriously undergirded by prayer. The point (made earlier) of laying a preaching foundation is to pursue God’s agenda in bringing people to see themselves as disciples wanting to become like Jesus, where change is their agenda and God’s Spirit is their agent. But modelling of new emphases by the senior leader and other leaders is crucial.
Preaching and educating people does not produce life-change. Structures are needed to help people on their journey. Start with the introduction of small initiatives that you are a part of, which of course requires you to choose what you will stop doing.
Friday, June 18, 2010
Step 5. Resource people development (not program development)
A strategic shift being made among churches is to harness resources to develop your people more so than developing programs. I need to go on record here and say that I believe passionately that the continuation of off-the-shelf programs in churches is relatively ineffective for kingdom growth, and depriving us of creativity, innovation and energy. God’s people, resourced and supported by their local church, are to bring hope to people ‘out there’.
This is the commission of Jesus to his disciples, now well-scattered beyond Judea and Samaria. There are three biblical main reasons for my plea:
So our focus needs to be on forming disciples and developing leaders in our local churches. Furthermore I suggest that to focus on formation and developing the people in our care, we need to make a significant change. We need to move to equipping and supporting his disciples to personally continue his mission in the world, not just invite others to church. We need to require less of their own time ‘at church’ and free them to be able to represent the kingdom wherever God places them. To think about: how many rehearsal man-hours are taken up by your worship band members preparing for meetings on Sunday? Imagine that time spent in mission by the same people, trained and fired up to relate to people who would not come to church.
I am not suggesting we cease having ministry teams and programs to specifically cater for the variety of people in our church, or cease effective evangelistic programs. But these always need to be evaluated, which tends not to happen in many churches – because it is too threatening and sounds very worldly. I am suggesting programs developed and marketed for use by churches to use are best avoided, in favour of planned activities and events that local leaders create and review, and a focus on forming our people.
There are so many opportunities to work alongside people in the local community. As well as focusing on doing church together, our encouragement needs to be to equip and release people to be agents of God at work, home, coffee shop, leisure centre etc. Church commitments can dominate, and members can be content to see church involvement as an expression of their spiritual service for God. Can we get them serving beyond the church walls? Interestingly, there are thousands of non-church people getting involved in a ‘cause’ they can support with both their time and money. Such people are spiritually motivated but unlikely to meet anyone who can introduce them to Christ, because the latter are almost exclusively committed to what goes on at the clubhouse.
This is the commission of Jesus to his disciples, now well-scattered beyond Judea and Samaria. There are three biblical main reasons for my plea:
- Jesus invested his time and energy in people who would continue his mission, there was no programmatic approach.
- St Paul did the same, resourcing the people in the churches he planted to live for Christ through their homes and in the marketplace.
- Paul’s training of and instructions to Timothy and Titus clearly indicate the priorities of church leaders are to use their spiritual gifts to develop the gifts of others, and thus release the Church into the world.
So our focus needs to be on forming disciples and developing leaders in our local churches. Furthermore I suggest that to focus on formation and developing the people in our care, we need to make a significant change. We need to move to equipping and supporting his disciples to personally continue his mission in the world, not just invite others to church. We need to require less of their own time ‘at church’ and free them to be able to represent the kingdom wherever God places them. To think about: how many rehearsal man-hours are taken up by your worship band members preparing for meetings on Sunday? Imagine that time spent in mission by the same people, trained and fired up to relate to people who would not come to church.
I am not suggesting we cease having ministry teams and programs to specifically cater for the variety of people in our church, or cease effective evangelistic programs. But these always need to be evaluated, which tends not to happen in many churches – because it is too threatening and sounds very worldly. I am suggesting programs developed and marketed for use by churches to use are best avoided, in favour of planned activities and events that local leaders create and review, and a focus on forming our people.
There are so many opportunities to work alongside people in the local community. As well as focusing on doing church together, our encouragement needs to be to equip and release people to be agents of God at work, home, coffee shop, leisure centre etc. Church commitments can dominate, and members can be content to see church involvement as an expression of their spiritual service for God. Can we get them serving beyond the church walls? Interestingly, there are thousands of non-church people getting involved in a ‘cause’ they can support with both their time and money. Such people are spiritually motivated but unlikely to meet anyone who can introduce them to Christ, because the latter are almost exclusively committed to what goes on at the clubhouse.
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Step 4. Shape a transformative community (not just a caring one)
There is no way I want the latest trend in churches to be formation – the next thing after church growth, seeker friendliness, church health, etc. There is a great deal of writing on this subject at present; it just may be that we are starting to see God’s agenda for the post-Christendom Church. But this is not about trends for churches; it is about having our theology govern us. This century evangelical theology is being re-shaped, and along with it how we train people for ministry and how we ‘do church’. This time is a watershed in our history and God is doing a new thing. I believe theology belongs in the church, so here’s a very brief, practical theology of formation.
It has traditionally been called sanctification, the theology of the Holy Spirit’s work in the believer, separating us for the work of Christ and for the process of becoming like him. The key texts are Rom 5-8, Gal 5-6, Col 1:1-17, 2 Pet 1 etc. But we need to teach and model the effort needed on our part for the power of God’s grace, by His Spirit, to transform our hearts. I have found people struggle with grace and effort, but a passage like Titus 2:11-14 supports Willard’s insight that grace is not opposed to effort but to earning. Self-discipline, regular spiritual exercise, is the key for us to teach and model.
As we teach these texts, we could provide a vision for people of what they would be like if they could automatically do what Jesus would do, rather than having to stop and think ‘WWJD’. Paint a picture for people of involuntary obedience and the fruit of the Spirit. Motivation starts with a personal vision, a glimpse of me, thinking, relating, behaving as if Jesus was me. When you read Willard, you discover his formula for teaching formation: Vision, Intention, Means. The means is spiritual disciplines, or what I prefer to call healthy spiritual habits. They are very similar to, and more necessary than, the regular exercises which we include in our physical diet and lifestyle. People do not get the value of spiritual self-discipline unless they have a vision and motivation.
They also need encouragement and support – transformation happens best in community.
Whatever expression of church you favour the goal is life change and that means formation is the focus. Forming the character of Christ within each of us must be the purpose of a local community of God’s people. This means a significant shift is probably required, to become a transformative community. There are a number of things churches do really well – building a caring community and a sense of belonging is one of them.
When we place people in nurturing small groups, the level of care will hopefully bring others into the life of the group. Some of us have moved to ‘connect’ groups, to re-engage the members in outreach, as well as praying and supporting each other. Whatever structure you have, it needs to facilitate formation. The focus for your church, in both celebration and cell, needs to be providing a structure that enables people to intentionally engage in a journey of transformation. That’s why community needs to be a safe place – not a safe place to hear a dangerous message, so much as a place safe enough to develop trust, and to be authentic and accountable. They are the keys to formative community.
It has traditionally been called sanctification, the theology of the Holy Spirit’s work in the believer, separating us for the work of Christ and for the process of becoming like him. The key texts are Rom 5-8, Gal 5-6, Col 1:1-17, 2 Pet 1 etc. But we need to teach and model the effort needed on our part for the power of God’s grace, by His Spirit, to transform our hearts. I have found people struggle with grace and effort, but a passage like Titus 2:11-14 supports Willard’s insight that grace is not opposed to effort but to earning. Self-discipline, regular spiritual exercise, is the key for us to teach and model.
As we teach these texts, we could provide a vision for people of what they would be like if they could automatically do what Jesus would do, rather than having to stop and think ‘WWJD’. Paint a picture for people of involuntary obedience and the fruit of the Spirit. Motivation starts with a personal vision, a glimpse of me, thinking, relating, behaving as if Jesus was me. When you read Willard, you discover his formula for teaching formation: Vision, Intention, Means. The means is spiritual disciplines, or what I prefer to call healthy spiritual habits. They are very similar to, and more necessary than, the regular exercises which we include in our physical diet and lifestyle. People do not get the value of spiritual self-discipline unless they have a vision and motivation.
They also need encouragement and support – transformation happens best in community.
Whatever expression of church you favour the goal is life change and that means formation is the focus. Forming the character of Christ within each of us must be the purpose of a local community of God’s people. This means a significant shift is probably required, to become a transformative community. There are a number of things churches do really well – building a caring community and a sense of belonging is one of them.
When we place people in nurturing small groups, the level of care will hopefully bring others into the life of the group. Some of us have moved to ‘connect’ groups, to re-engage the members in outreach, as well as praying and supporting each other. Whatever structure you have, it needs to facilitate formation. The focus for your church, in both celebration and cell, needs to be providing a structure that enables people to intentionally engage in a journey of transformation. That’s why community needs to be a safe place – not a safe place to hear a dangerous message, so much as a place safe enough to develop trust, and to be authentic and accountable. They are the keys to formative community.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
3. Preach and model making disciples (not converts)
Friends, we preach Christ crucified. Make no mistake. As pastors and leaders in his Church, we guard the gospel; we preach and live it as faithfully as we can. We are serious about evangelism and seeing others come to Christ. We have programs in our churches year after year to reach out to people. How we go about evangelism is a key question, especially now that the socio-cultural context has significantly changed.
I want to confess a significant shift in my philosophy of ministry from several years ago. There I was as part of a team making everything we did contemporary, training our people in witness and encouraging them to build relationships with others and invite them to church. Be “seeker friendly”; “invest and invite”. But the shift for me came with a gradual realization. I was privileged to see men in their forties come to Christ, but then they became totally enveloped in church life and lost virtually all other relationships they once had. Converted, but converted to what – local church membership?
To focus on evangelism can lead only to making converts not disciples. The imperative in the great commission is to ‘make disciples’ – ‘go’, ‘teach’ and ‘baptize’ are supportive participles, meaning they are part of disciple-making. I confess that I once saw the command as “go” (outreach), but there is no division in the great commission into evangelism (read conversion) followed by teaching. If the Church has very few new Christians, it may be because our church members are not serious about being disciples.
We have been doing mission without making disciples. Making disciples is about shaping people to Christ-likeness; it’s about formation. Mission follows formation. Anyone who is passionately shaping their life to be like Jesus will be seeing life missionally and being missionally active, to use some recent terminology. If we focus on getting people into heaven, we miss the mark. Rather, as Dallas Willard says, we seek to get heaven into people. If we sow formation in our church, we will reap mission.
The elephant in the western Church is formation. We are about the Father’s ‘business’ of changing lives. Arguably, conversion may be the start we require, but inner transformation produces the fruit of the Spirit’s life-changing work in us. We only have to look in the mirror to know we can have a head-full of Bible knowledge and be strongly evangelistic, but if the ungodly attitudes, words and behaviours remain, we are not being formed into the mini-Christ that God desires us to be. His plan is to have mini-Christs serving Him, by loving others, all around the globe. Mini-Christs are the result of a formation focus, not head-knowledge and involvement in local church activities and programs. Transforming the world one person at a time starts with ‘me’.
A disciple is someone who wants to become like their master, not just believe and belong. The essence of discipleship is the journey to Christ-likeness; it is transformation. That is best done in community – Paul’s use of the term “you” is almost always in the plural. Those of us entrusted with congregational formation, must pay heed to our own inner journey to Christ-likeness, and invite others with us on that journey.
I want to confess a significant shift in my philosophy of ministry from several years ago. There I was as part of a team making everything we did contemporary, training our people in witness and encouraging them to build relationships with others and invite them to church. Be “seeker friendly”; “invest and invite”. But the shift for me came with a gradual realization. I was privileged to see men in their forties come to Christ, but then they became totally enveloped in church life and lost virtually all other relationships they once had. Converted, but converted to what – local church membership?
To focus on evangelism can lead only to making converts not disciples. The imperative in the great commission is to ‘make disciples’ – ‘go’, ‘teach’ and ‘baptize’ are supportive participles, meaning they are part of disciple-making. I confess that I once saw the command as “go” (outreach), but there is no division in the great commission into evangelism (read conversion) followed by teaching. If the Church has very few new Christians, it may be because our church members are not serious about being disciples.
We have been doing mission without making disciples. Making disciples is about shaping people to Christ-likeness; it’s about formation. Mission follows formation. Anyone who is passionately shaping their life to be like Jesus will be seeing life missionally and being missionally active, to use some recent terminology. If we focus on getting people into heaven, we miss the mark. Rather, as Dallas Willard says, we seek to get heaven into people. If we sow formation in our church, we will reap mission.
The elephant in the western Church is formation. We are about the Father’s ‘business’ of changing lives. Arguably, conversion may be the start we require, but inner transformation produces the fruit of the Spirit’s life-changing work in us. We only have to look in the mirror to know we can have a head-full of Bible knowledge and be strongly evangelistic, but if the ungodly attitudes, words and behaviours remain, we are not being formed into the mini-Christ that God desires us to be. His plan is to have mini-Christs serving Him, by loving others, all around the globe. Mini-Christs are the result of a formation focus, not head-knowledge and involvement in local church activities and programs. Transforming the world one person at a time starts with ‘me’.
A disciple is someone who wants to become like their master, not just believe and belong. The essence of discipleship is the journey to Christ-likeness; it is transformation. That is best done in community – Paul’s use of the term “you” is almost always in the plural. Those of us entrusted with congregational formation, must pay heed to our own inner journey to Christ-likeness, and invite others with us on that journey.
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Step 2. Preach on being disciples of Christ (not just members of a church)
I don’t know how many times we did a series on what it means to be the church. In trying to get people to belong to a church that is serious about evangelism, I have been part of a team that repeatedly preached on what church is, its mission statement, what it means to belong to church and how important it is to be inviting others to come to church events. The paradigm is well-intentioned: belong here, play your part in the body, be active in helping us reach out to people, invite them to church so they can hear the gospel and hopefully become Christians. This is a Christian community; we love and care for others, as Jesus commanded us to: seek the lost, care for the found.
Here is the paradigm of Jesus: there is a kingdom greater than any earthly kingdom, it is an eternal kingdom; to have the eternal kind of life you need to repent, go on trusting and following me, and represent the purpose and values of my kingdom to all you meet.
While we want to build commitment and involvement in our churches, leaders need to teach and model being a disciple of Jesus and member of his kingdom. American author Reggie McNeal has exposed the dangers of churches becoming very club-like. When we give the view that the Christian life centres around church, we fall short of living the gospel of the kingdom of God. It can result in people seeing church activities as Christian and everything else as ‘secular’, when God’s kingdom and our involvement in it extends way beyond church. All that God has made is sacred, there for us to steward and enjoy.
Trusting Jesus means following him, which is the life of a disciple. The concept of a disciple, like KoG, comes to us through the Jewish people. It means following Jesus because you want passionately to become like him – being intimately close to him, trusting him, allowing his Spirit to shape you, on a journey of personal transformation. Being a disciple of Jesus is about intentionally seeking to become more like Jesus.
When I see myself as trying to become the sort of person Jesus would be, if he was me, then I am being a disciple of Jesus and honouring God. Christ-like character can be formed in me [Gal 4:19]. Formation is essentially spiritual, it continues to change me as I live by God’s Spirit. To live/walk by the Spirit includes being involved in the body of Christ, and it concerns other personal spiritual habits that require self-discipline in my private life as well. It means learning to master the natural human responses that we find ourselves so easily doing. It has the goal of involuntary obedience to God’s rule replacing involuntary disobedience.
Make this preaching series almost entirely from the Gospels. The term ‘Christian’ occurs 3 times in NT; ‘disciple’ occurs 269 times. Jesus only speaks of ‘church’ twice but always teaches about the kingdom. Transitioning a church requires a Gospel language and focus: as an individual, what does it mean to be a disciple of Jesus, representing his kingdom in today’s world? What are kingdom values? Collectively, is our church a visible expression of life in God’s kingdom – his purpose, his values? Are we showing the world what it looks like when a community of people lives under the grace and rule of Jesus Christ?
Trusting Jesus means following him, which is the life of a disciple. The concept of a disciple, like KoG, comes to us through the Jewish people. It means following Jesus because you want passionately to become like him – being intimately close to him, trusting him, allowing his Spirit to shape you, on a journey of personal transformation. Being a disciple of Jesus is about intentionally seeking to become more like Jesus.
When I see myself as trying to become the sort of person Jesus would be, if he was me, then I am being a disciple of Jesus and honouring God. Christ-like character can be formed in me [Gal 4:19]. Formation is essentially spiritual, it continues to change me as I live by God’s Spirit. To live/walk by the Spirit includes being involved in the body of Christ, and it concerns other personal spiritual habits that require self-discipline in my private life as well. It means learning to master the natural human responses that we find ourselves so easily doing. It has the goal of involuntary obedience to God’s rule replacing involuntary disobedience.
Make this preaching series almost entirely from the Gospels. The term ‘Christian’ occurs 3 times in NT; ‘disciple’ occurs 269 times. Jesus only speaks of ‘church’ twice but always teaches about the kingdom. Transitioning a church requires a Gospel language and focus: as an individual, what does it mean to be a disciple of Jesus, representing his kingdom in today’s world? What are kingdom values? Collectively, is our church a visible expression of life in God’s kingdom – his purpose, his values? Are we showing the world what it looks like when a community of people lives under the grace and rule of Jesus Christ?
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Step 1: Preach on the Kingdom of God
Preaching and teaching are the nerve-centre of ministry in a local church. Explaining the word of God to people who want to hear it is a huge privilege. If you are seeking to shift a congregation onto God’s agenda in the world, then the topic of the kingdom of God is the place to start. God’s agenda is his kingdom, its purpose and values.
Jesus preached and taught the kingdom, nothing but the kingdom. He focused on communicating kingdom of God purpose and values, especially with his disciples. Living in God’s kingdom is our purpose in life; it gives us our reason to live and a relationship with Jesus that richly sustains us. Jesus focused on living by kingdom values – he explained them in Matt 5-7 and in various instances as he had opportunity. His values are the inverse of earthly values, and if we live them our lives will honour God.
Here are some things to include in a series on the kingdom of God. The goal is to have people catch a kingdom perspective on all of life and a kingdom heart …
• It is THE theme of the Bible - from Genesis to Revelation. God’s invisible but systematic order of power over all things is exerted. The KoG is eternal, is exercised from the heavens, and can be compared to my kingdom, which is what I want and try to make happen.
• It is central to the mission of Jesus. Most clearly in the Synoptics, Jesus preaches the kingdom, announces its availability to all mankind, and calls people to follow him, the king. He also demonstrates the kingdom, bringing healing and salvation.
• Jesus’ mission was to inaugurate the kingdom on earth; to start a new order. It included his reconciliation of "all things", including creation, not just the salvation of individuals or a community. I live in the kingdom by trusting Jesus.
• Following the ascension of Christ, preaching and demonstrating the kingdom of God was entrusted to his disciples. Those who trust Jesus are part of his mission, his purpose and his way of living. The end goal is for his kingdom to come and his will to be done on earth, as it is in the heavens. That can happen through us!
• His Church was birthed and empowered by the Spirit to embody and witness to Christ and be a tangible expression of the kingdom of God. His Church is to be a sign and foretaste of his eternal kingdom.
Majoring on this theme gives our people a kingdom of God perspective on all of life. We are children of the king, called and empowered to live as kingdom representatives. We live the same purpose as Jesus; we live the same values as Jesus. We bring the kingdom of God to others when we act like Jesus towards others; loving them by serving them in any small way we can. This is not confined to church; KoG is much bigger than church.
The things that Jesus valued matter to us. With a kingdom heart and perspective on all of life, we have a view of family, work, friendships, church, and those in our self-destructing society that brings hope. We are agents of hope, instruments of change by bringing the goodness of God to others, one person at a time. The whole of life of the whole body of Christ’s disciples is fundamental to the impact of the whole church.
Jesus preached and taught the kingdom, nothing but the kingdom. He focused on communicating kingdom of God purpose and values, especially with his disciples. Living in God’s kingdom is our purpose in life; it gives us our reason to live and a relationship with Jesus that richly sustains us. Jesus focused on living by kingdom values – he explained them in Matt 5-7 and in various instances as he had opportunity. His values are the inverse of earthly values, and if we live them our lives will honour God.
Here are some things to include in a series on the kingdom of God. The goal is to have people catch a kingdom perspective on all of life and a kingdom heart …
• It is THE theme of the Bible - from Genesis to Revelation. God’s invisible but systematic order of power over all things is exerted. The KoG is eternal, is exercised from the heavens, and can be compared to my kingdom, which is what I want and try to make happen.
• It is central to the mission of Jesus. Most clearly in the Synoptics, Jesus preaches the kingdom, announces its availability to all mankind, and calls people to follow him, the king. He also demonstrates the kingdom, bringing healing and salvation.
• Jesus’ mission was to inaugurate the kingdom on earth; to start a new order. It included his reconciliation of "all things", including creation, not just the salvation of individuals or a community. I live in the kingdom by trusting Jesus.
• Following the ascension of Christ, preaching and demonstrating the kingdom of God was entrusted to his disciples. Those who trust Jesus are part of his mission, his purpose and his way of living. The end goal is for his kingdom to come and his will to be done on earth, as it is in the heavens. That can happen through us!
• His Church was birthed and empowered by the Spirit to embody and witness to Christ and be a tangible expression of the kingdom of God. His Church is to be a sign and foretaste of his eternal kingdom.
Majoring on this theme gives our people a kingdom of God perspective on all of life. We are children of the king, called and empowered to live as kingdom representatives. We live the same purpose as Jesus; we live the same values as Jesus. We bring the kingdom of God to others when we act like Jesus towards others; loving them by serving them in any small way we can. This is not confined to church; KoG is much bigger than church.
The things that Jesus valued matter to us. With a kingdom heart and perspective on all of life, we have a view of family, work, friendships, church, and those in our self-destructing society that brings hope. We are agents of hope, instruments of change by bringing the goodness of God to others, one person at a time. The whole of life of the whole body of Christ’s disciples is fundamental to the impact of the whole church.
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