The Kingdom is Near

I had lunch with a local pastor recently, and in thinking about the conversation that we shared, it dawned on me that he sounds a lot like the TSCC leaders over the last few years as he discussed PM and the “emerging church.” This PM reality is not a brand of cereal to try, or a new flavor of ice cream to order – PM simply “is.” It can’t be programmed or selected on the Purpose Driven jukebox. In saying that, I am pushed to consider the pastor’s offer to me to teach a series on PM at his church. It seems that he sees PM as a math problem to be dissected, or made simple like “Windows XP for Dummies.” Instead, we – all of us – must see that PM is the medium in which life is lived.

Promoting the “emerging” church as a program also raises the idea that this “flavor” (or experience) of church is better than church as the older folks know it be. Is it any surprise then that these same older folks are the ones who are often most resistant to change? Think, “You young folks had your turn!” and you understand my perspective.

All of this leads me to this thought: It is fruitless to push the PM agenda (whatever that means!) in your church, especially if it is historically established. The hurdles of tradition will likely prove too high. But if we take a step back, breath deep, and look at things objectively, perhaps we’ll find this: The church exists to make known Jesus Christ as the Son of God and glorify Him through works that bring His Kingdom to life. The church is not the place to have a debate about whether or not PM is affecting our culture. The basic underlying premise for the existence of a church must involve the question of whether or not Jesus is being made high and lifted up, and if so, what does that look like in that community? In answering that question, we open ourselves up to a deeper understanding of discipleship set in a context of connecting the hungers, passions, and desires that run through and connect the lives of the people that Jesus would have gather in His name.

Is it possible that Jesus being glorified looks like His people living in a sense of present tense Kingdom awareness? By that, I close my eyes and imagine Jesus followers living in such a way that the people in their circles of influence know healing, healthy relationships. They have enough food to eat. Their roof doesn’t leak. There is concern put into action over poverty and other social injustices. Valleys are walked through together. Voices are joined together to yell from mountaintops. Maybe Kingdom living is simply being free to live, and loving Jesus and people in the living.

This, then, is what churches should be teaching – Kingdom living in the present tense. Not seminars on PM and its influence of culture or debates about style. Let’s look beneath the nuts and bolts of philosophy and demographics to see how attitudes, actions, and communities are being formed. How are the eyes of the people Jesus wants to connect with judging our world? Are there chords that the church has yet to strike, and if they only would, could a new harmony begin to fill our collective ears? Could discipleship become less about facts and figures and more about learning from history, and hearing how Jesus proclaims throughout the ages that “LOVE WINS”? In an honest moment, I begin to understand that these are the very things that Jesus yearns to address, as we see His teachings on Kingdom living dominate our New Testament. May this become the focus of my efforts, and my understanding of what it means to follow Jesus. Care to walk this path with me?