I woke up with a jolt in my spirit this morning. This is how God jars me when I haven’t been paying attention. I got an utter voice in my head that told me I better get busy because there wasn’t much time. Not for the world but for me personally.
Too many followers of Jesus put the work of God into a box called the church with its services and programs.
There’s an old myth that claims that a goldfish will only grow to the size of it’s tank. What may not apply to goldfish definitely applied to people? People will only grow to the size of the vision that frames their lives.
The Kingdom is bigger than the church
Jesus was the first person to utter the word “church.” Yet, He framed His ministry in terms of God’d Kingdom breaking into the world, not into a church building. Mark 1:14-15 shows us how Jesus introduced His ministry. Jesus came into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel, and saying.
“Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, and saying. The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe in the gospel.”
Jesus framed His ministry in terms of the Kingdom of God, not the church. Don’t get me wrong. I’m not dismissing the church I think we need the church to connect as a group with God, and it helps us stay accountable as believers. The church is the Bride of Jesus and we should love her (Ephesians 5:25), the church is the body of Christ and we should build it up. Yet, it was Jesus who framed the gospel as good news about a new reality which is God’s Kingdom their the presence of Jesus.
The church and its activities can fit into the Kingdom, but we cannot squeeze the Kingdom into the church. When we try to fit the Kingdom into out church box, we create church people, instead of Kingdom people. There is a huge difference between the two:
- Church people – have a reduced ministry vision and can’t see past the church-bound categories of ministry. Church-bound ministries are ushers, greeters, children’s workers, and inviters of lost friends.
- Kingdom people – have Kingdom vision to think/act/dream outside the box. They want to heal the wounds of people and do what Jesus gave authority to His disciples to do.
- Church people – see the gospel in terms of good news about the afterlife. It’s how you can be sure you’re going to heaven after you die.
- Kingdom people – see the gospel in terms of good news about the Kingdom life. It’s about life in God and with God, both now and forever.
- Church people – understand discipleship as primarily about enjoying a closer relationship with God that grow “me” to spiritual maturity.
- Kingdom people – understand discipleship as the call to live their lives for Christ’s sake so they can participate in His family for His mission.
The Kingdom is not a means to a bigger church; the church is a means to demonstrate the Kingdom.
So let’s get out of the box and into the kingdom.
“It is clear that Jesus as Kingdom Bringer has been screened out of the church’s dogmatic tradition. Again and again, the church manages to talk about Jesus while forgetting the thing the Gospel kept on saying, and He was inaugurating God’s Kingdom.” – NT Wright
From Pity to Praise 