Rediscovering a Vision for Kingdom Transformation

May 6, 2010

In a particularly gripping scene in Mel Gibson’s powerful film The Passion of the Christ, we see Jesus being aided by his mother after stumbling as he struggles to carry his cross up the Via Delarosa. As Mary looks into her son’s blood stained face, Jesus says with an aura of victory, “Look mother, see how I make everything new.”

These words are indeed found on the lips of Jesus, not in the Gospel accounts of the passion, but in Revelation 21: 3-5:

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

Many of us in the international ministry community long for unity. Yet unity requires a common vision—and a common vision is precisely what we lack. Many in the missions community are driven by a vision of spreading the gospel and planting churches in the last unreached pockets of the globe. Many Christian relief and development workers are motivated by a vision of aiding poverty-stricken communities through various projects aimed at meeting basic human needs.

It is my belief that these visions are laudable, but incomplete. What ought to be our vision? Read Revelation 21:3-5 again. Here is the answer in a word: Transformation. A vision of a world made new. Of “no more death, mourning, crying or pain.” Of no more disease, corruption, hunger, poverty, injustice or war. A vision of completely and utterly transformed individuals, families, communities, and nations. Surely this is the vision for which Jesus lived, labored, suffered and died, and which He entrusted to His disciples and the church.

In fact, evangelizing, planting churches, and doing projects to help the poor are all means to this greater end, and here is where a central problem lies. People tend to accomplish what they set out to accomplish. If our goals are limited to planting churches or implementing development projects, we can do that—but we are in real danger of not pressing on towards the ultimate goal of transformation.

Some will undoubtedly argue that such transformation will only come on the other side of Christ’s return. Until then, things will only go from bad to worse. There is truth in this. Paul starkly warned Timothy, “there will be terrible times in the last days” (2 Ti. 3:1-9). But is this the whole picture? No! Jesus overcame Satan on the cross. He appeared to His disciples before his ascension as a victorious King—the supreme authority of heaven and earth. He taught them, and us, to pray for His Kingdom to come on earth—now—as it is in heaven.

In the words of J.I. Packer, “The Kingdom of God is present in its beginnings though future in its fullness; in one sense it is already here, but in the richest sense it is still to come.” Francis Schaeffer put it this way: “Christians who believe the Bible are not simply called to say that ‘one day’ there will be healing, but that by God’s grace, upon the basis of the work of Christ, substantial healing can be a reality here and now.” The word “substantial” is key. Not full or complete healing, but real and substantial. This must be our vision.

For real, substantial healing in every life, family, community and nation here and now, and full, complete healing when Christ returns. Do we long for unity within the church and within the mission community? Unity requires common vision. Scripture provides us with a common vision. A definite goal to work for, live for and die for. We must lift our eyes to a farther horizon. One that goes beyond evangelizing, planting churches and doing relief and development projects. A vision that understands these to be means, and not ends. Our vision must be Jesus’ grand vision of global transformation. His vision of the world, and everything in it turned right side up through Christ’s shed blood on the cross.

An Inside-Out Process

Our vision determines our purpose. If we have unity of vision, we can share unity of purpose as well. As Christians, our purpose is to advance God’s Kingdom on earth, here and now, as it presently exists in heaven. It’s to see the truth; beauty and goodness of Jesus replace the lies, ugliness and evil in this world—in every heart, family, community, and sphere of society.

This revolution happens from the inside out. It begins inside human hearts and minds, transformed through faith in the living Christ. Someone once said, “God’s law must be written on the individual’s heart, then later on the stone tables of the institutions of society.” If this is true, then our primary means of advancing the Kingdom is by proclaiming the Gospel in word and deed. Transformed people then transform the world—beginning with their families. Transformed husbands and wives raise godly offspring, and such children will truly shape the future.

As transformed families band together, they form communities called local churches, and local churches are the Holy Spirit-powered engines that drive Kingdom advancement. Not just any church however. Kingdom-advancing churches are ones that congregate to worship, pray, learn from the teaching of the Word, receive the sacraments, and meet each other’s needs. Then, having been equipped for works of service, they disperse into the community where they proclaim the Gospel, minister to the poor, and bring truth, beauty and goodness into every sphere of society by means of their vocations.

The Root Problem

Why do we see nations that have been evangelized still trapped in a web of poverty, corruption, violence and brokenness? In evaluating the results of the global missionary enterprise over the past 200 years, we are forced to conclude that saved souls and transformed hearts are essential—but not adequate—for true Kingdom transformation. Minds must be transformed as well.

This is a fundamental truth that has been neglected by both those in mission and relief and development communities alike. For the Kingdom to advance—for true transformation to occur—we must get to the root of the problem. Yet roots, by their very nature, are below the surface and thus often neglected. What is at our innermost core? It is our mind—our ideas, beliefs, and assumptions. These “roots” drive our emotions, feelings and values, which in turn shape our decisions and choices, and these determine the kind of lives we will lead. They also shape the kinds of societies we will live in.

For nations to be transformed, churches must be transformed. For churches to be transformed, families and individuals must be transformed—and this transformation must go all the way to the root. Human brokenness and misery then, is not only rooted in lost souls, but equally in darkened minds. Dallas Willard describes the problem this way:

Christian spiritual formation is inescapably a matter of recognizing in ourselves the idea system (or systems) of evil that governs the present age and the respective culture (or various cultures) that constitute life away from God. The needed transformation is very largely a matter of replacing in ourselves those idea systems of evil (and their corresponding cultures) with the idea system that Jesus Christ embodied and taught and with a culture of the Kingdom of God. This is truly a passage from darkness to light.

This brings us to the topic of worldview. Worldview is simply another word for the “idea systems” spoken of by Dallas Willard. Our worldview—and we all have one—is the sum total of all the assumptions that we hold about life which forms our view of reality. These assumptions are so pervasive and essential to how we think and how we approach life that we often do not even know they are there or understand when and how they are at work. They form within us from earliest childhood from the teachings, expectations and behaviors from family and community members. Humans are social beings. We develop our mindsets—our way of seeing the world—from our culture. We tend to think what our culture thinks and value what our culture values. This is part of what it means to be human.

The Solution

However, when we accept Christ as Savior, our mindsets need to be renewed. The word “repent”—from the Greek word metanoeo—literally means to change one’s mind. Repentance results in seeing the world the way God created it, then living within that framework. Those who are saved must put on the mind of Christ. They must repent from the “hollow and deceptive philosophies of this world, which depend on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ” (Col. 2:8). They must “no longer be conformed to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of [the] mind” (Rom. 12:2). They must “take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ” (2 Co. 10:5). It is important that we understand that this means more than simply assenting to certain key biblical doctrines. It means seeing the world and everything in it in a whole new light, and then living accordingly.

The error of the relief and development community is in not digging deep enough, and not getting to the root of the problem. Does the community lack clean water? Let’s do a water project. Do people lack an adequate, balanced diet? Let’s do an agriculture project. And if we are Christians, then let’s do these projects “in the name of Christ” and hand out Gospel tracts on the weekends. But what if the lack of clean water or food is the result of poor choices, which in turn, are rooted in false, destructive beliefs? Then clearly these projects will have little or no impact.

The error of the mission’s community is quite similar. Evangelizing and planting churches is essential to, but not adequate for Kingdom transformation. They are means to an end—not ends in themselves. New believers, unless they are carefully discipled down to the level of their mindset, or nations, at the level of culture, will continue to be trapped in many of the false, destructive beliefs they had before coming to Christ. Being converted doesn’t automatically entail a complete shift in beliefs. The transformation of the mind is a lifelong process that is central to sanctification, and sanctification is central to Kingdom advancement. Here is precisely where many missionary efforts have failed.

Too often, their vision ends with numbers of conversions, numbers of churches planted, or the size of church growth . When this is the case, there is little motivation for discipleship. There is little or no vision to see these precious new churches operate as engines of Kingdom transformation. Many missionaries either don’t care that these things happen, assume someone else will do it, or that somehow it will happen automatically.

A Case Study in Transformation

The following is a true story.

The Pokomchi Indians are among the poorest people in the poorest state of Guatemala. A generation ago, missionaries came to evangelize and plant churches. Many Pokomchi accepted Christ, but their communities remained desperately poor. The young Christian converts gained hope for the future, but no hope for today. In fact, they were literally waiting to die, so they could leave their miserable existence on earth and go to be with Jesus in heaven. After awhile, several relief and development organizations came to work with the Pokomchi, interested in helping them overcome their physical poverty.

They brought in large amounts of outside money and completed many projects, labeling them successful. Now, there were latrines, but they were largely unused. There were school buildings, but very few children attended or graduated. Many of the projects intended to improve the physical condition of the Pokomchi were completed, but there was no transformation in the lives and communities of the Pokomchi. The people remained desperately poor.

This began to change when Arturo, a young Peruvian pastor, began to work among the Pokomchi in the early 1990s. Unlike earlier missionaries and relief and development workers, Arturo understood the importance of the biblical worldview for individual and community transformation. Likewise, he understood that authentic Christian ministry is to be wholistic—reaching out to every area of brokenness in the community. He began to work with illiterate Pokomchi pastors. He prayerfully took them through a comprehensive study of the Bible, in hopes of challenging their mindsets. Arturo understood that true repentance involves more than spiritual belief. It also requires a completely transformed frame of mind.

As Arturo taught them from the Bible, he used everyday illustrations to teach concepts, like God’s intention that mankind exercise stewardship over creation. A common problem among the Pokomchi was the lack of proper storage facilities for harvested crops. Often, peasant farmers harvested a good crop, only to have rats eat it before their children could be fed. Arturo asked the farmers, “Who is smarter, you or the rats?” The farmers would laugh and say, “The rats.” Arturo asked, “Do you have dominion over the rats, or do the rats have dominion over your lives?” The farmers reluctantly acknowledged that, in a real sense, the rats had dominion over them and their families.

Then, Arturo pointed out the truth contained in the Bible—that men and women were given dominion over creation. He pointed out that God had blessed them with creativity because they were made in His image. With their God-given creativity and a proper understanding of their role to subdue and care for creation, they could overcome this problem.

Gradually, the mindsets of these Pokomchi pastors were transformed. As their mindsets were transformed, the church was impacted. Through the church, the community began to be transformed. Children started to go to school because the people valued education, particularly education in God’s Word. Women learned to read because they understood that God cares equally for men and women. Men began to try new farming techniques because they wanted to be good stewards of what God provided. Women built stoves in their homes so their children would not fall into open cooking fires and get burned. Women also began to create small pantries to keep insects and vermin out of their food supplies because they understood their responsibility to exercise stewardship and provide for their communities.

A seminary professor from the United States visited Arturo. He witnessed how the lives of the Pokomchi had been transformed and tears welled up in his eyes as he said, “This is the coming of the Kingdom of God to the Pokomchi!”

The Pokomchi communities in this story are representative of millions of communities all over the world. Churches exist, but are making little or no transformational impact. The same can be said for relief and development projects. Hopelessness, fatalism, poverty and despair still reign. Yet here we see a spark of real transformation! What can we learn from this story?

What Was Needed?

In this case, the agent of transformation was not a project, but a person. Not just any person, Arturo was a pastor whose life had been radically transformed by an understanding of the importance of worldview and the power of the Biblical worldview. Arturo had the right vision. As for the earlier missionaries, they had come and gone. Churches were planted. Mission accomplished. Check it off the list and on to the next frontier. The same can be said for the relief and development workers. Projects completed. Photos taken. Check it off the list and on to the next community. But Arturo was looking for something far beyond churches or projects. He was looking for transformation. It hadn’t happened yet. There was still much to be done.

The comprehensive transformation that Arturo envisioned required a comprehensive response—or as some might say—a wholistic response. The “whole” is transformed lives leading to a transformed community. The “parts” are spiritual, physical, social and mental needs being addressed in a seamless, integrated manner. Arturo’s vision demanded a wholistic response. Simply addressing one of these needs while neglecting the others would not get the job done.

Furthermore, Arturo was trained to think “worldviewishly.” He correctly recognized that the root problem was not a lack of resources, or even lack of churches (which already existed), it was the beliefs; assumptions and ideas held by the Pokomchi themselves. Or more accurately, false, destructive ideas and beliefs that were still intact and operating.

For Arturo to recognize these problems took time. Short-term missions wouldn’t suffice. It required him to deeply acquaint himself with the community; its history, beliefs, and values. This necessitated him living within the community—becoming part of it. This is what it means to work “incarnationally.”

Arturo relied on the whole council of God’s Word, both its breadth and depth. The breadth comprises the flow of Biblical history: Creation – Fall – Redemption – Consummation. The depth is the Biblical worldview, the basis and standard for Kingdom Culture of truth, beauty and goodness. With these firmly in mind, he was able to evaluate local beliefs and values and determine which ones were true and wholesome and which false and destructive. He was then able to effectively counter false beliefs with the truth. This was done in the context of informal and formal teaching using local illustrations. Yet for the truth to bear its fruit, the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit was required. At the deepest level, transformation is only possible through the direct power of the Holy Spirit translating, convicting, opening eyes, and empowering people to change their beliefs, values and behaviors. It is a work of grace. Genuine Kingdom transformation is always done by God’s power and for His glory.

Arturo built on the foundation that already existed. He started with the Christians in the community—the church pastors and leaders—because he correctly understood that the church is the key engine of Kingdom transformation. If a church hadn’t existed in this community, then Arturo would have needed to work towards planting one as an essential first step. Arturo first challenged the Christians to live out these beliefs in the context of their families. Husbands needed to see their wives in a new way. Parents needed to see their children in the light of God’s revealed truth. Families are the most basic of social units. If Kingdom transformation can happen within families—then it can spread to the entire community and beyond. That is exactly what happened in the Pokomchi community.

Equally instructive is to consider what wasn’t needed for transformation in the Pokomchi communities. It happened without large infusions of money, outside resources or technical knowledge. With the exception of Arturo, all the resources needed were already in place—eyes simply needed to be opened to seeing them. This is not to say that money; resources and technical knowledge are bad, just that we must be careful not to put our hope in them, and they must be introduced only if appropriate and then with great care.

Conclusion

Can this case study be replicated? Yes! In fact it must be. Our hurting broken world is crying out for transformation. Here we find real hope and vision for the broken nations of Africa, Asia and Latin America as well as for the confused, lost nations of the developed west. What is required? God’s vision combined with a clear understanding of the root problem and the inside-out process of Kingdom transformation.

http://rediscoveringthekingdom.info/blog/community-transformation/rediscoverng-a-vision-for-kingdom-transformation/

SCOTT D. ALLEN is President of Disciple Nations Alliance, Inc. DARROW L. MILLER is Disciple Nations Alliance co-founder and author of Discipling Nations, the Power of Truth to Transform Culture

For other resources and articles visit Disciple Nations

Greatest Potential for the Christian Movement rests on the Shoulders of Christian Business People

The greatest “unrealized potential” in the Christian movement for the next 20 years probably rests on the shoulders of Christian business people. That’s great news for every Christian person who loves business. Talk about a life of adventure. What more could you ask for when your faith and your love for business intersect?
The marketplace is the only institution that touches virtually every person on planet earth. Pastors are very limited in their direct exposure to the marketplace. At the same time, the marketplace in general terms doesn’t look to professional church staff for guidance on managing their business.  They do look to their pastors to help disciple them on how to live out their faith, but most haven’t showed them how to connect it to the marketplace.
Here is the $70 billion question.  What is our strategy to reach this world for Christ? Do we try to hire another 600,000 pastors, missionaries, worship leaders,etc??  Or do we unleash 6 million business people to take the Christian movement to the next level?

For too long, many faithful Christians have “out sourced” their responsibilities as believers.  They give generously to the church and then allow the “organized church” to do the work. Honestly, it’s easier. You can live your life in compartments.  There’s your task driven, results oriented, hard charging business world.  Then there is your church world.
But what happens when you are asked to combine your sacred activities and your spiritual activities?  Have we been indoctrinated to believe that oil and water do not mix?  No wonder many successful entrepreneurs and business owners can’t wait to “cash out” when they are 50 or 55.  For them, perhaps business was all about business.
There is a new generation of business leaders who see the world differently. For them, God has called them into business.  Their company is to be used by God for His purposes. They are passionate about creating products or services. They love marketing and sales. They are always mindful of the bottom line. But there is a higher calling. Everything that the church stands for is actually expressed in “real terms” in their business.Most people today, don’t think this way but we need to see that more do. I’m convinced that we can discuss terms like Business as Mission and Marketplace Ministry and so many other subtleties until we are blue in the face but unless the bridge between our sacred spaces of Sunday morning is bridged with our work, then we’ll continue to struggle in living a segmented life.

Labels: Sacred and Secular Divide

Everyday Evangelism: Christ in You

[Excerpted from The Monday Morning Church by Jerry Cook. Reprinted with permission from  www.jerrycook.org]

You are called not so much to do great things, as to be a great person–and that person is Jesus Christ. The Church is the resident presence of Jesus in the world.

No matter how big church attendance is on Sunday, it will never penetrate the culture with Jesus. The reason is clear: The church on Sunday is experienced by the church community; it is only observed by the unbelieving community.

However, Monday through Saturday, the church operates in the experience of non-believers. It lives on their turf, moves in their society, and operates in their culture. On Monday Jesus becomes incarnate through you. And because He can be seen and touched, He can be received or rejected. True evangelism is possible.

Your Strategic Placement
Most Christians have been trained quite well to be the church on Sunday. But what does it take to be the church on Monday?

The first step is to recognize your strategic placement. “Strategic placement” means this: each redeemed, Spirit-filled Christian has been strategically placed by Jesus, the Lord of the church. Where each believing man or woman lives and works is part of that strategy. Christians are people of destiny, purposely placed deep in our culture. We are God’s points of penetration. Because of us Jesus is present at the very heart of society. And it is this strategic presence of Christ that opens the door for his revelation as Savior to man.

Christians are people of destiny, purposely placed deep in our culture. They are God’s points of penetration.
Incarnational Christianity doesn’t try to get people to God. Many men and women don’t want to get to God. Others are unaware there is a God to get to! The incarnation was God coming to us; in a similar way, incarnational Christianity brings Jesus to man.

That’s the basis for true evangelism: in the believer the presence of Christ reaches out to others. It’s also the basis for true discipleship: in the believer the presence of Christ walks alongside the new believer. Thus, the two main activities of the church–conversion and discipling–are wed, as they were meant to be. The Great Commission, after all is not simply to go into all the world and make converts; we are to go and make disciples.

Jesus said simply, “I am the way. If you have found me, you have found God.” Unfortunately, the church often adds a debilitating step to the divine program. We say, “Jesus is the way to God, and the church is the way to Jesus. Come to the church and find Jesus, then Jesus will take you to God.” We must never allow the church institution to be the way to God. Jesus himself is the Way. The goal of the church on Monday is to make the Way present and visible in the world.

Open for Business
Of course, it does no good to have a strategic force in place if the people don’t know they are strategic, don’t know they are a force, and don’t know they are in place.

Most Christians give mental assent to this idea of strategic placement, but they have no concept of its implications. Some think of inviting hurting people to a church program, others think of using some type of soul-winning gimmick to make a convert. Most, however, don’t do anything with the idea at all. It simply floats around, untapped, in the background of their experience. They’re strategically placed, but they’re not “open for business.”

Through the gifts of the Spirit, you are fully equipped and capable of responding to the needs of others exactly the way Jesus would.
“Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Col. 1:27) means you are filled with the Holy Spirit and Jesus is present wherever you go. You are capable of responding to the needs of others exactly the way Jesus would. The gifts of the Spirit are how Jesus works through you to touch people’s lives.

Our time on earth is about being Jesus in our world. Jesus didn’t come to our planet on vacation; He came on assignment. Likewise, you and I have not been born here and now accidentally. We don’t just happen to bump into hurting people. There’s divine strategy at work. You are where you are because God strategically placed you there.

I’m convinced that if more Christians were open for business, then more business would show up. Evangelism as a primary goal is often artificial and powerless. But when it’s a serendipity of spirit-filled believers being Jesus in their world, it is natural and unstoppable!

Excerpted from The Monday Morning Church by Jerry Cook. Reprinted with permission from www.jerrycook.org.

The Monday Morning Church: Out of the Sanctuary and Into the Streets

Unless there is a church on Monday, the church on Sunday makes no difference. Drawing from the book of Ephesians, Jerry clearly lays out how Christians can be the church on Monday–not just in buildings on Sunday, but 24/7 in the clutter, confusion, and hard work of everday living.

Incarnational Christianity doesn’t aim to get people to God; incarnational Christianity brings Jesus to them. As Christians we are people of destiny, purposely placed by God deep inside our culture. We are his points of incarnational penetration, his strategic presence in the world.

As God’s redeemed people, filled with his Spirit, we have been strategically deployed into a hungry world to bring the presence of Jesus into the very heart of society. Not a list of clever techniques, this book describes a way of seeing, a way of understanding, a way of responding.

It’s time we stop doing church and time we start being church–in the world, on the streets, among the people. This book will show you how to be the Monday Morning Church, open and ready for business.

Table of Contents

Part I: Where is God on Monday?

• The Power of the Church on Monday
• The Radical Relocation of God
• A Window in TimePart 2: Who You Are
• Where Confidence Begins
• Will the Real You Please Stand Up?
• Embracing Your New Identify
• You Are What You BelievePart 3: What You Have
• Hope, Wealth, and Power
• Alive and Free
• Transformed and Courageous
• Welcome to the FamilyPart 4: How You Live
• A Worthy Life
• The Christian Lifestyle
• A Life of Love
• Not in My Neighborhood!
• God’s Plan for You

To order click on our “e-CATALOG” button and choose the AMAZON.COM search box to make your selection at an amazingly low price!

What does the Kingdom of God look like? I recently read an article concerning the coming of the Kingdom of God that was posted in Christianity for Today  (January 2006). [Full reprint of the article can be found at How the Kingdom Comes ]

For some time we have been seeking to bring to the forefront pertinent thought concerning the coming of the Kingdom in these turbulent and exciting days we live in. I am sure that you, like me can easily identify with the dilemma faced by Michael S. Horton the author as follows:

“It was confusing to grow up singing both “This World Is Not My Home” and “This Is My Father’s World.” Those hymns embody two common and seemingly contradictory Christian responses to culture. One sees this world as a wasteland of godlessness, with which the Christian should have as little as possible to do. The other regards cultural transformation as virtually identical to “kingdom activity.”

Certainly the answer does not lie in any intrinsic opposition of heaven and earth. After all, Jesus taught us to pray, “Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Rather, the answer is to be sought in understanding the particular moment in redemptive history where God has placed us. We are not yet in the Promised Land, where the kingdom of God may be directly identified with earthly kingdoms and cultural pursuits. Yet we are no longer in Egypt. We are pilgrims in between, on the way.

In Babylon, God commanded the exiles to “build houses and settle down,” pursuing the good of their conquering neighbors (Jer. 29). At the same time, he prophesied a new city, an everlasting empire, as the true homeland that would surpass anything Israel had experienced in Canaan.

So both of my childhood hymns tell the truth in their own way: We are pilgrims and strangers in this age, but we “pass through” to the age to come (not some ethereal state of spiritual bliss), which, even now in this present evil age, is dawning.

The challenge is to know what time it is: what the kingdom is, how it comes, and where we should find it right now”. The gospel proclaimed by Jesus was foremost a call to become part of God’s Kingdom, a call to live under God’s rule and reign. “Christianity is more than a matter of having a new understanding. Christianity is an invitation to become part of an alien people who make a difference because they see something that cannot otherwise be seen without Christ.” The unbelievers who first responded top Christianity did not view it as a new philosophy or another national religion. They saw a community of people who lived counter-culture to the world of which they were a part of at that time. The church of the first century was identified not by its theological teachings or its mystical revelations – in the beginning Christianity was a different way of life.

To become a Christian required a second birth (John 3:1-3), which created a totally new way of life (2 Cor 5:17). Christian conversion meant radical change, a redirection of life, characterized by a new allegiance at the center of the personality and by a new direction in social relationships.

When Zaccheus the Tax-collector was converted, he immediately responded by resolving to redistribute his wealth to the poor and those whom he had cheated. Jesus consequently declared when he saw the evidence of the inner change with Zaccheus “Today is salvation come to this house” (Luke 19:9).

In that Graeco-Roman world of vicious immorality, where wealth was worshipped, life was cheap, and purity and chastity were vanishing virtues, came a new moral influence. The extraordinary life of the Christians was a blazing torch of attractive moral witness that appealed to the tired world of its day.

Perhaps the most striking quality of the early followers of Jesus was their “agape” love, especially towards the most neglected of that day – the orphans, the aged, the sick, the prisoners, the slaves, and the abandoned. Tertullian once defended the Christian Faith from false accusations when he wrote in his “Apology” – “as a people we are one in mind and soul, and we do not hesitate to share our earthly goods with one another. All things are common among us, but our wives!”

In the beginning, the Christian faith was profoundly ethical. The earliest community of believers became known for their love for God, their love for their neighbor, just as Jesus had taught them (Matt 22:37-39), but sadly this truth was soon to be corrupted as the worship of the world and its systems became paramount to a persecuted church.

The Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard once wrote in his journal “I want a truth for which I can live and die.” He found that truth in Christ and the Word of God concerning God’s Kingdom being established in the hearts of men and women here on earth.

Have you found the truth worth living and dying for? We have free studies for those who are interested in pursuing the subject of the challenge of the two kingdoms and how to live a new way of living. Simply write and request a set be sent to you via email file attachment.

God bless, and have a great day loving Jesus, and of course those in your most intimate sphere of life,

Kevin Dyson

Bridging the Sunday – Monday Gap

By Derek Brown

For many Christians the highlight of their week is the Sunday service. Sadly many believe this is where the Kingdom of God is primarily expressed. Ministry is confined to that which is done within the church. This is demonstrated in the true story of a young lawyer who was asked what her ministry was. She replied “I teach Sunday school at my church” What a travesty!! Nothing she did during the week in bringing justice, compassion and resolution to the world in which she worked counted, in her mind, as having any spiritual value. How can we change people’s thinking to break free of this Sunday/Monday dichotomy?

Simply put we need to disavow the concept that divides the world into secular vs sacred, private vs public, faith vs work and charity vs justice.  When we understand the Kingdom of God it is evident that everything is sacred because God is the creator of all things and nothing exists outside of His love and compassion. Our faith makes us responsible to bring the Kingdom into every area of life. In the words of Justine, a Burundian living in Rwanda, “I see what Jesus meant by the kingdom of God. I see that it’s about changing this world, not just escaping it and retreating into our churches. If Jesus’ message of the kingdom of God is true, then everything must change. Everything must change.”

What a profound insight – when the Kingdom is expressed – everything must change. The change begins in us and then it finds its expression in the world in which we live and work. It is about bringing God’s mercy, compassion, justice and righteousness into every sphere of His creation. So our lawyer friend has the opportunity and responsibility to bring about change in her chosen field of endeavour by using her gifts, training and experience to be an agent for change – an agent for the Kingdom.

One of the reasons many people switch off from Christianity is that we represent a faith that has no relevance to them. Henry Drummond, writing to his own generation many years ago put it powerfully. “It is because to large masses of people Christianity has become synonymous with a Temple service that other large masses of people decline to touch it…..what they cannot follow, and must evermore live outside of, is a worship which ends with the worshipper, a religion expressed only in ceremony, and a faith unrelated to life.”  What a challenge – our faith has become self-centered and irrelevant to the real world.

What we are looking at is a rediscovery of Kingdom theology. This has many aspects but one of the starting points is the doctrine of the Trinity. In a recent Lausanne paper on ‘Market Place Ministry’ the following conclusion was presented. ”To bridge the gap in our partial perceptions of God’s work we need to be more thoroughly trinitarian instead of having in practice a unitarian (one person) theology playing favourites with the Trinity. We need to develop a three mandate/commission theology (see diagram)”

In these three commissions we see that the breadth of the Kingdom. “We are called to be part of God’s new creation, called to be agents of that new creation here and now. We are called to model and display that new creation in symphonies and family life, in restorative justice and poetry, in holiness and service to the poor, in politics and painting.” (Wright) The Kingdom is expressed in a wide variety of passions. Once we see the vastness of the Kingdom it helps understand how other people can be equally passionate about a range of issues that may not stir our hearts. This passion is an expression of the heart of God for His creation. We are to pursue the passion God has given us but equally to validate and appreciate the passion He has put in others.

When it comes to the church we can think of Sunday as the church ‘gathered’ and Monday as the church ‘scattered’. Sunday then becomes a time to strengthen, encourage and equip Christians to take the Kingdom into their world. As church growth expert, Eddie Gibbs says, churches should shift from an invitational, ‘Come’, seeker service strategy (which works in largely churched suburbs) to a ‘Go’ strategy of dispersal, with a sustained commitment to infiltrating each segment of this fragmenting world. The work place becomes a focal point for producing the Kingdom. As Kevin Costa, a London-based investment banker, states: “If the Christian faith is not relevant in the work place, it is not relevant at all.”

So from a Kingdom perspective there is no difference between Sunday and Monday. It can be argued in fact that what happens on Monday is more important.

So then, would you like to dialog more on these issues raised?  Well why not write direct to Derek Brown newsletter@usingthenet.com.au and discuss your point of view.