Tag: kingdom of god

The Kingdom of God

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Exploring Church Ministry BlogLeave a comment

 

          So, what is of first importance?  When it comes to ministry, what is to be of priority?  Jesus said in Matthew 6:33, in response to a lack of faith manifested through worry: “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness….” I suppose Jesus could have said a lot of things to seek first. Seek salvation, seek family, seek love, seek justice, seek the church, seek me. Yet, the kingdom really encompasses all that and more. 
 

 


The kingdom has to do with the rule and reign of God in this world. It is distinguished from the church in that the church has to do with the people within God’s rule. The church, then, might be said to be the means to the end of establishing God’s kingdom rule, and is not a cul-de-sac where we just try to get people to attend church services.  The kingdom may be said to be a broader concept than the church because it aims at nothing less than the complete control of all manifestations of life. It represents the dominion of God in every sphere of humanity.

Here is how it works (ideally!):  The church proclaims the gospel and brings people into the church. New believers then begin to enjoy all the blessings of God’s kingdom rule in their lives: victory over sin and the availability of the power of the Holy Spirit. If we lose sight of the kingdom of God, we become insular and think that our particular church or Christian organization is the goal of ministry, and that issues outside our ministry have no real merit for our attention. Apart from the kingdom, the systemic problems surrounding justice, racial reconciliation, and poverty all take a backseat to personal expressions of faith in my limited sphere of doing my own thing, man.

When it comes to any particular church, denomination, or para-church ministry, if we have a kingdom mindset, we desire to see God’s reign expand across our community and we will work collaboratively to see this realized. Then it does not become “my” ministry and “your” ministry, but our ministry. It is no longer you and me, but we as kingdom minded people. This takes time and effort. But after all, our focus is to be in seeking first the kingdom as priority for ministry.

How do you think a kingdom mentality would change the face of your life and ministry?

Simplicity

On By Tim EhrhardtIn Exploring Church Ministry Blog2 Comments

 

          For most churches the unofficial start of the year has begun with Fall ministries in full gear.  After a few weeks of programming it is a good thing to evaluate and reflect on how it all is going.  It seems to me that we must always come back to what is important to God and not make ministry such a complex beast that overwhelms us.

Jesus told us to seek first the kingdom of God, and when we pray to ask that God’s kingdom would come and be manifested on this earth. That is, since the fall of humanity, this world has been under the realm of Satan. God, however, is in the business of restoring his rule and reign. So, all church ministries must have this controlling agenda.

The kingdom of God is established and expanded through proclamation of the gospel in Word and sacrament. In other words, the means of God’s grace to us is through communication of the Bible and its central message of the redeeming work of Christ. There is now reconciliation between God and humans through the death of Jesus. God has united us to himself in order that we would enjoy him, and he us. As Teresa of Avila has said, “the soul is God’s paradise, being made by God and for God.” Intimacy with the divine is the purpose of our existence. Prayer, then, is the primary means by which to commune with God and is not optional equipment for the Christian.  Prayer is vital to seeing the kingdom grow and expand not only in our own hearts but in others, as well.

We must come back to the simplicity of this ministry. It is easy to become sidetracked and be content with erecting massive ministry structures, programs, and events that may please other people and feed our egos, but do little toward accomplishing what was important to Jesus and is necessary to seeing the kingdom of God realized in our communities.

So, then, maybe we need to ask ourselves such questions as these:
1. Is the kingdom of God a controlling goal for my ministry, and do I even understand what it is and how it works?
2. Do our ministries truly develop intimacy with God?
3. Is prayer necessary and central to everything we do?
4. Are our ministry structures simple and contribute toward the kingdom of God, or cumbersome and divert congregants away from this focus?

Just as football teams must never forget the fundamentals of the game in order to win, so we need to come back to what is important as defined by Jesus, and let this be the evaluative grid through which we look at all of ministry. Ministry may require hard work and sacrifice, but it need not be complex. Simplicity toward doing what is essential is required. May you experience joy in ministry as you see the kingdom of God come in all its power and grace.