The Kingdom

Missing pieces: God’s design for government

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If God’s Kingdom began to influence human government, what would it look like?   There was a time not long ago when I would have been utterly clueless about that question.  The church wasn’t teaching it, and certainly Christian bookstores weren’t overrun with titles on the subject.  Yet government is a huge part of life, and God did not leave us in the dark.   So we’ll begin this short study with a look at the ideal, and then move on to the practical.  (Since we’re still living in a fallen world, we need to examine how to influence our fallen, imperfect government with the perfect government of God).

The first two things about kingdom government is that it begins with God, (not man), and it governs not from the halls of power, but from the hearts of servants.  Unless we firmly grasp the humility of God’s government we will become a stumbling block to our neighbors as we champion politics over love and relationship.  It’s difficult to point to a loving God and a selfless Kingdom in the heat of a political debate.

This is the government of the Kingdom:  “I will put my laws in their heart, and write them on their mind.” (Hebrews 10:16)

And what is the law?  “To love God with all your heart, and to love your neighbor as yourself” Matt. 22:38-40

Imagine a world, or even just a community where that simple law was universally honored.  Where would be the need for policemen, judges, prisons, divorce courts, and the Better Business Bureau?  Obviously we’re talking about the ideal.  But here’s the thing: Even though this simple “self-government” of love may never  fully blossom in our present world, to the degree that it does, it will influence everything around us, including the government we do have.   The more citizens are yielded to the love of God, the smaller the need will be for a large civil government with its laws and regulations.  That’s where we’ll start in the next post.

The Kingdom, Worldview & Truth

Missing pieces: discipling nations

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Once upon a time God discipled a nation.   He took a group of bedraggled slaves and changed them into such a glorious nation that foreign dignitaries were left speechless.   When Jesus told us to “make disciples of all nations” he was thoughtful enough to give us the stellar example of Israel to demonstrate what he had in mind.

Consider:  When Moses led the Jewish slaves out of Egypt,

And yet in the space of four centuries God had so transformed this ragamuffin people that the Queen of Sheba was dazzled by the glory of Israel.  (1 Kings 10:4)   Such is the power of God’s transforming Truth for any nation from broken Bosnia to impoverished Haiti to floundering America.   And it is God’s dream for the nations.

The Gospel of the kingdom begins with the promise of redeemed hearts (Ezekiel 36:26), and goes beyond to the transformation of nations.  There’s not a hint of heaven or eternal life in this promise: “If you indeed obey the LORD your God and are careful to observe all his commandments I am giving you today, the LORD your God will elevate you above all the nations of the earth.” (Deuteronomy 28:1).  The commandments God is referring to here have nothing to do with heaven and the hereafter,  but about the everyday truth of living together in peace, ensuring justice, conducting business, educating children, caring for strangers and the environment, growing crops, practicing good health, and a host of other “how-tos” that will produce blessing and life.

The gospel of the Kingdom bids us pick up the dream of God for every person, every nation, and every sphere of life.   Check back soon for some pieces of God’s dream for government.

The Kingdom

The missing pieces in Haiti

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As much of our prayers and attention are being directed towards the suffering and tragedy in Haiti, this might be a fitting time  to focus more clearly on God’s heart and purposes for that nation.

I personally don’t believe God is judging Haiti.  There will be a judgment for the nations at some point in the future, but for now Jesus tells us “the Father judges no man, but has committed all judgment to the Son:” (John 5:22), and John further assures us that “God sent his Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but to save the world.” (John 3:17)  All that destruction in Old Testament times was something very different from the New Covenant, when “God was in Christ, reconciling the world to himself and no longer counting people’s sins against them.” (2 Cor. 5:18)   What happened in Haiti was not about their sin, (after all, we are still standing), but the result of a world convulsed by the sin of our first parents.

And that’s what these missing pieces are about:  Jesus Christ entered the world to undo the effects of sin, and to restore the universe to it’s original purpose.   Even though that process will not be finished until He returns, the cornerstone was laid at the cross, and the work commenced at His resurrection.

Consider Ephesians 4:10:

Forgiveness on a personal level is just one glorious aspect of the Gospel.   The “gospel of forgiveness” really IS great news because it means the sin issue is finished and we are forgiven.  Hallelujah!

But the same one who procured our forgiveness boldly proclaimed “the gospel of the Kingdom,” which is about Him filling all things.  This is good news for Haiti because even though the partial gospel of forgiveness has been embraced by many, the absence of the rest of the Gospel which lifts up the poor, transforms government, and celebrates justice and right relationships has kept the Haitian people enslaved to poverty, oppression and corrupt leaders.

The great Dutch theologian and statesman, Abraham Kuyper said, “There is not one square inch of the entire creation about which Jesus Christ does not cry out, ‘This is mine! This belongs to me!'” And if it belongs to Jesus, it will be glorious.  That’s where we’re headed with this talk of missing pieces.

News & Stories

Pat Robertson and me

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Scarcely a day goes by that I don’t say something I wish I could take back.   I had to remind myself of that this week when, in the midst of the horrible tragedy of the Haitian earthquake, Pat Robertson told his listening audience that Haiti had – at one time – made a pact with Satan.  As a follower of Jesus I want to distance myself from that kind of posturing.   Whether there’s any truth in that story or not, it’s like telling your children that the neighbors house has just burned down, but “don’t forget, the old man has always been an alcoholic.”

I haven’t the right to either excuse or judge Pat Robertson.  He’s an imperfect man just like me.  And the Bible explains that “If we could control our tongues we would be perfect and could also control ourselves in every other way.”  (James 3:2) But the fact that Pat is in the frightful position of having a microphone plugged into a worldwide television network presents a problem.

And it makes me want to clarify that Reverend Robertson doesn’t represent the hearts of most Christians I know.   This is not a time for sermonizing and theorizing about judgment.   It’s a time for grieving, giving, and prayer.  On the morning after the quake I found myself in a roomful of young people crying out to God on behalf of the Haitians and looking for ways to help.   That’s the kingdom response.

This past week in Denver was amazing.  It was one of the most responsive groups of students ever, and I fully expect them to change the world.  Next time I write I’ll do my best to follow through on that study of the “missing pieces.”  In the meantime lets keep our hearts, hands, and wallets open towards the Haitian people and our prayers covering their suffering and loss.


This week’s Discipleship Training School students in Denver.

PS:  Just a note to mention that CBN has issued a statement reminding us that Pat Robertson did not attribute the quake to God’s judgment, (as some critics have evidently charged), and that the humanitarian arm of CBN has been on the scene since the day after the quake with volunteers and millions of dollars worth of aid and medicine.

The Kingdom, Worldview & Truth

Tracking down the missing pieces

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When Jesus announced his mission in the synagogue in Nazereth, (Luke 4: 14-30), he declared a kingdom that would transform the world.   God’s dream encompasses all creation from streets to stars, from jails to juries.  E. Stanley Jones expressed it succinctly: “The Kingdom is God’s total answer to man’s total need.”

Yet at the beginning of 2010 the tragedy, in the words of G. K. Chesterton is that “The Christian ideal has not been tried and found wanting. It has been found difficult; and left untried.” Of course the gospel of forgiveness has been embraced by countless generations of glad people, but the gospel of the Kingdom has barely been taken off the shelf.

I want to initiate a little series here at the beginning of the year that will address the kingdom in regard to business, government, education and the “rest” of life.  It’ll take awhile to work our way through, (and I’ll almost certainly take some detours along the way), but I’m excited about the discoveries we might make in the process.  Not only will this help me to order my own thoughts, but hopefully it’ll help some others to grasp the Kingdom in a more concrete way.

Back in 1975 God spoke to three Christian leaders independently of each other about the imperative of reaching the seven “spheres” of society.   Loren Cunningham, (founder of Youth With a Mission), Bill Bright, (founder of Campus Crusade for Christ), and Christian thinker Francis Schaeffer were each impressed by the Spirit to begin focusing on raising a generation to reach these seven spheres with the truth of Christ and His Kingdom.  It wasn’t about Christians “taking control” of culture, (for the Kingdom is never a matter of “control”), but about serving and influencing these strategic spheres with humility, insight, and love.

Lets begin by having a look at these spheres:

“The same one who came down is the one who ascended higher than all the heavens, so that He might fill all things.” (Eph. 4:10)  The seven spheres include Education, Family, Media, Church, Commerce, Government and the Arts.

God’s kingdom plan is to bless the human race and to reveal his staggering beauty in each of these seven areas!   But the great tragedy of today’s gospel is that in forgetting the kingdom we have focused the spotlight almost entirely on the individual and the church.  And this in turn has banished the rest of life to the shadows, beyond the scope of God’s grace.

The consequence is a Christianity that is largely expressed within the brick and mortar walls of a church building while the rest of the “real” world slides quietly into darkness.   What are we to do?  What does the gospel have to do with media, classrooms, governments and Wall Street ?   I hope you’ll join me in the weeks to come as we try to shed some light on the missing pieces of the Gospel.

News & Stories, Poetry and Prayers

A different kind of Christmas

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I tried something different this year for Christmas.  Since I have everything a person could possibly need, I asked for my family to give donations to charity instead.  And I was even more encouraged when they decided I could do the same for them.  So at the end of the day, instead of having to figure out how to squeeze more clothes into my closet, or what to do with gifts I didn’t need, I had the joy of knowing that we had provided twelve chickens, a goat, ten mosquito nets, deworming medication for 2,000 children, and a contribution towards digging a well for the poor in Africa.  Though it sounds like a lot, it really wasn’t.  American money still goes a long way in Africa.  It was the best Christmas since I was a kid.

I wrestled about posting this because of the idea of “losing my reward.”  But at the end of the day, it’s not about a reward.  It’s about caring for our starving brothers and sisters.  I’m certain many, if not most of you reading this are involved in caring for the poor, but if this suggestion might inspire just one more person to take action, then that can make an eternal difference.

Here are a few stats:

  • One Billion people worldwide have no access to clean drinking water.
  • 25,000 – 35,000 people, (including 14,000 children), die every day of hunger-related causes.  (That’s about one child every seven seconds).
  • 2.6 billion people have no access to basic sanitation facilities.
  • There are about 12 million AIDS orphans in Africa.
The Love of God, The Trinity

The incarnation and today’s news

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The incarnation means that the Father of Jesus refused to give up on us.  Today’s news is full of reports of an American Father, David Goldman being reunited with his son, Sean, who was kidnapped and held in Brazil for more than half of his life.  For this Father it was unthinkable to “move on;” unimaginable to forget about Sean and to turn his focus to other things.

But the problem is messy in two ways: legally and relationally.  Legally, David Goldman battled for years to establish his claim over Sean and to answer any argument that would say otherwise.  In the story of God, that battle took place on the cross when Jesus shattered every claim the Enemy had over our lives through sin.

But an equally difficult challenge, in the case of nine year old Sean, will be the reestablishing of a relationship with a Father who has been maligned by five years of indoctrination by his adulterous Mother and stepfather.  Last night’s news gave a name for it that made me sit up and say “That’s the problem of the human race!” Parental Alienation Syndrome is what happens when a child, separated from a parent, begins an unjustified campaign to vilify the parent.  It happens through indoctrination as well as in the imagination of the child himself.

What a perfect description of the human race, lost in a jungle of religion that slanders God and paints him in harsh, demanding terms.  As I write this David is sitting on an airplane trying to regain the trust and affection of a nine year old who has been programmed with alien ideas about his Dad.  I wish him well in what may be a long journey.  In the case of mankind, Father approached this tragedy by sending Jesus to mirror his staggering love and affection towards us, and then to declare “The person who has seen me has seen the Father.” (John 14:9)

This Christmas I rejoice in two great realities:  I am no longer alone, and Jesus has shown me the true face of my Father.  I pray that you will allow the God who has come near to put his arm around you and pull you close.

Grace

Adding to grace

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I’m always wanting to add to grace.  You gotta admit it feels good to think you’ve done something to make yourself a little more acceptable, a little more lovable in God’s eyes.  But it just can’t be done.   Although a proper understanding of the Kingdom means I can “earn” greater rewards for my faithfulness, that’s entirely different from the grace that seats me squarely and eternally in the Father’s embrace.

In most of His works God chooses to partner with man:  We plant seeds and He causes them to grow.   We lay hands on the sick and He makes people well.  We teach and preach, and He changes lives.  But grace is different: it’s the one work that is entirely His.   In our helplessness He does EVERYTHING necessary to bring us home.

Grace is like the moving sidewalk at the airport.  Whether you walk or stand, you’ll arrive at the same place either way.  Grace carries me home and seats me so completely before the face of the Father that there’s nothing left to add.

The Kingdom, Worldview & Truth

A shocking observation

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I’ve made a shocking observation.  After nine years of teaching Worldview and the Kingdom of God to students from countless nations, I’ve just noticed in recent months an alarming increase in the number of young Believers who defend Socialism as the hope of the human race.  I’m speaking here of Christian young people, Christian Socialists.  It comes as no surprise, really, and the blame lies clearly with my generation and especially with the church of my generation.

When the church exchanged “Thy Kingdom come” for “Come quickly Lord” we opened a worldview vacuum that young people refuse to tolerate.  A gospel of death, (“Do you know where you’ll spend eternity?”) is a piddling crumb to throw at a generation that’s crying out to know “How then, shall we live?”

Greedy, materialistic capitalism remade us into an army of consumers, bankrupt, (literally), and bereft of spiritual values.  And now a younger generation surveying the landscape sees no alternative but the Babylonian “Yes we can” worldview of Utopian Socialism. “Let us build a city…. let us reach the sky… let us make a name for ourselves…” (Genesis 11:3-4)  Socialism is a Kingdom without a king, or perhaps we should say a kingdom with the wrong king.   It’s a kingdom of fallen man with darkened hearts and blinded eyes; a failed Utopia that has never once succeeded since Plato wrote about it in 360 BC.

How could Socialism, formulated in the mind of Karl Marx, who boasted “My objective in life is to dethrone God and destroy capitalism” be compatible with the glorious kingdom of the One who came to reveal the true face of the Father?   It’s a substitute, a counterfeit, and we’re in a heap of trouble until the church repents of it’s kingdomless message and begins to re-educate itself in the ways of God.

The Tower of Babel by Pieter Bruegel the Elder: 1563 AD
An early EU Poster. "Let's build... reach the stars... yes we can."

On a personal note, It’s good to be able to unpack at my Mom’s house in Maryland after twenty-three flights, six schools, and eight weeks of travel.  Highlights of my trip included:

  • Teaching for the first time in the Middle East, (Lebanon), and experiencing the unbelievable warmth and joy of the culture.
  • My first opportunity in Milan, and attending an Alpha Course in an ancient church where Barnabas baptized the first believers.
  • Meeting a young Kuwaiti and hearing his AMAZING testimony of how Jesus met him in the midst of his Muslim background.
  • Celebrating Thanksgiving with my international YWAM friends in Budapest.
  • The honor of joining YWAMers in Denver as they remembered their friends and victims of the shooting that occurred there two years ago.
  • Meeting new students from all over the world and having a small part in their dreams and passion for changing history one person at a time.
    • Worldview & Truth

    Why I am a Christian

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    Eight years ago I wrote a piece entitled “Why I Am A Christian” that generated a lot of response at the time. Now eight years further along the journey, I’ve revised it for those who may have missed it the first time.

    I am a Christian because the Biblical story offers the most complete and workable answers to life’s most enduring questions: “Where did we come from?” “Why are we here?” “What’s wrong with the world, and how can it be fixed?” “Why do I love beauty?” “Why do I have a passion for justice?”  While the Darwinists, the Marxists, and the Postmodern intellectuals wrestle to make sense of the world, the Biblical record quietly assembles the pieces into a storyline that offers a full accounting of life and existence. No other worldview even comes close.

    I’m a believer because Biblical Christianity produces beautiful and enduring fruit. I’m not talking so much about religion, or the institutionalized church, but Kingdom Christianity as practiced by the early church, and small groups of faithful believers over the centuries. No other worldview has built so many hospitals, fed so many poor, emancipated as many slaves, or established so many organizations to serve, educate, heal, and bless the human race as the true followers of Christ, who recognize that “inasmuch as you did it to the least of these, my brothers, you did it unto me.”

    I am a Christian because creation itself demonstrates a wondrous order that points to a loving Creator. Not only is the hand of God evident in the miraculous intricacies of animal instincts, hearing and sight, reproduction, the seasons, the water cycle, and the natural laws of nature, but man and animal alike exhibit a capacity for love and relationship that could never have arisen out of an impersonal time-chance worldview.  It’s just impossible for me to believe that dead matter could somehow spring into life, organize itself into DNA and living systems, become self-conscious, and write a symphonic masterpiece, apart from the work of a personal God.

    I am a follower of Jesus because the Biblical worldview offers the best and most enduring foundation for a civilized society.  It’s no accident that without exception the most stable, democratic, prosperous, and technologically advanced nations of the world have all find their historic roots springing from the soil of Biblical Christianity.

    And finally I am a follower of Christ because of the deeply personal way God meets me in everyday life; because of the way he steps into my darkness,  despair and separation with a redemptive love and quiet assurance  that I am not alone.

    As the years of my life pile up, the certainty of my soul deepens into the experience of C.S. Lewis, who so aptly expressed, “I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen; Not only because I see it, but because by it I see all things.