Here is the verse we will use for this discussion: Luke 17:20-21 “The kingdom of God does not come with your careful observation, nor will people say, ‘Here it is,’ or ‘There it is,’ because the kingdom of God is within you.” Jesus clearly says that the kingdom is not a place that you can observe or see but that it is within you. This has some serious ramifications. The Lord’s Prayer talks about the kingdom of God in Heaven and on earth. Is the kingdom of God in Heaven a particular place that we go to when we die? … Continue reading Kingdom of God Study 4

Who gets into the Kingdom of God? Everyone wants to see the kingdom of God but Jesus points to some qualification on getting there. Let’s look at those verses: Luke 6:20 Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God. Mark 10:14-16 “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.”  Mark 10:24-25 “Children, how hard it is to enter the … Continue reading The Kingdom of God Study 3

 Something has been on my mind for the last few day so I am going to interrupt my study of the Kingdom of God for a quick non-related post. What does it take to get individual congregations to cross denominational boundaries for the common good? Jesus told us to be one as He and the Father are one. But it seems that that is an almost impossible task in today’s Christian world. Years ago when I was a Catholic I was told that I could go to another church as long as I “sat on my hands”. That is to … Continue reading Crossing Denominational Boundaries

What is the Kingdom of God?  Let’s look at a few places where Jesus talks about the Kingdom of God and what it might be: Luke 4:43-44 “I must preach the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.”    Mark 4:30-32 “What shall we say the kingdom of God is like, or what parable shall we use to describe it? It is like a mustard seed, which is the smallest seed you plant in the ground. Yet when planted, it grows and becomes the largest of all garden … Continue reading The Kingdom of God Study 2

These next couple of posts are very personal in nature. I will be revealing some of my soul in them. Please bear with me or if you want just skip over them.  I talk a lot about how we shape our futures by the God given free will choices we make. But, it was also very important for me to understand that God has a dream for how my life should run its course. If I were to totally give in to God’s will His dream would certainly be accomplished and I would be a much better person. Of course … Continue reading God has a dream for my life

Here is a quote from a book by Gregory A Boyd that is the basis for this post: The heart of Jesus’ teaching was “the kingdom of God”. He spoke about that topic more frequently than any other, and it pervades all his actions as well. Indeed, the Gospels make it clear that Jesus was the embodiment – the incarnation – of the kingdom of God. When Jesus was present, so was that kingdom (Matt 12:28 and Matt 3:2 & 4:17). Though the world as a whole was and remains part of the domain in which Satan is king, in … Continue reading The Kingdom of God vs. the Kingdoms of the World

I can’t find it right now but I do remember the verse about “to whom much is given, much is expected. I don’t think Jesus was against a person being worldly rich although he did tell that one rich man to sell everything :) . What he is against is people who obsess on money. These days we discover that seems to be many in the corporate world especially CEOs. How can anyone think they are worth what many of the CEOs make today. Especially when the company they run is going down the drain.  Most make more in one … Continue reading A Moral Disconnect

One of the many conflicts in churches today is whether to offer a “contemporary” service. There as very strong advocates on both sides of this issue. But even if a church decides to take the contemporary themed service off the table there are still many other outreach tools that can be used.  Let’s not limit ourselves to just the old arguments against doing something.  Let’s investigate how other churches have been successful with other methods. Let’s not take everything off the table just because some of it is tainted. Personally I don’t think the Lord would mind if we used … Continue reading Some Personal Views on Outreach – Contemporary Services

This is the last post of the review of Reggie McNeal’s book the “Present Future”. This time we will look at the last reality. The Rise of Apostolic Leadership. This last area obviously has to do with how we go about the paradigm shift in church leadership to accomplish making disciples rather than doing “church”. Again Mr. McNeal is rather blunt in his assessment. Let’s start out with another quote from the book:  Many church leadership groups apparently have not grasped the insight that each new generation now is a distinct culture and requires different leadership approaches. Most have never … Continue reading The Rise of Apostolic Leadership.

 Continuing on with my review of Reggie McNeal’s book “The Present Future” we will now look at his 2nd reality. The shift from church growth to kingdom growth. In this section Mr. McNeal is trying to tell us that we are more interested in doing “church” than we are of making disciples. Here is a meaningful quote: The North American church culture is not spiritual enough to reach our culture. In our self-absorption we don’t even see the people we are supposed to be on mission to reach.   In my words this means we are too busy preaching to the … Continue reading The Shift from Church Growth to Kindgom Growth

I recently received a desperate plea from the Salvation Army to contribute to them. I liked the quote from William Booth, the founder: You cannot warm the hearts of people with God’s love if they have an empty stomach or cold feet I find it embarrassing to admit that Christian giving trails off during hard economic times. I understand a family’s need may increase but organizations like the Salvation Army’s needs increase even more dramatically. In the financial world there is the mantra that you must keep contributing to your 401K even during market downturns and boy have we are … Continue reading Warming the hearts of people with God’s love

At first glance this post might not seem like one on outreach but, in my mind, it really is. Like it or not our actions put a face on Christianity to the current crop of unbelievers.  There was a recent article in the Christian Science Monitor entitled “The Coming Evangelical Collapse” http://www.csmonitor.com/2009/0310/p09s01-coop.html%3E . In it the author is described as: Michael Spencer is a writer and communicator living and working in a Christian community in Kentucky. He describes himself as “a postevangelical reformation Christian in search of a Jesus-shaped spirituality.” He lays out multiple reasons why Christians known as evangelicals … Continue reading The Coming Evangelical Collapse

 Continuing with my focus on Christian outreach, I want to give you an extended quote from Rick Richardson in his book “Evangelism – Outside the Box” I would highly recommend the book to anyone who is truly willing to look outside his personal or his churches box. Religious people tend to create programs and ministries that meet the needs of other religious people. Jesus knew that. He chose a different way. At the cost of his life, he chose to find the lost, to heal the sick, to cure the sinner. He wants his church to fulfill his ministry and … Continue reading Lost People matter to God.