Short version … for those on the run …
Our Gospel mandate is nothing less than the present (and increasing) Kingdom of God manifest on earth. Too often we’ve settled for false finish-lines captured most notably in phrases like, “The gospel of salvation” or “The gospel of the church”. As incredible as the miracle of salvation and God’s design for the ekklesia is, when we make either of these the goal we miss the bigger picture. On the one hand, we settle for an individualistic me-centred gospel; on the other, we build our own empire and call it “church”.
The Kingdom of God is the primary context – the foundation, the big picture, the backdrop, the reference point – from which we are to understand salvation and embrace our purpose as His church. For this reason, we refer to a “Kingdom-shaped church” to describe the all-embracing, eternal purpose of God manifest in and through the King and His Kingdom come.
Tweaking a well-known saying, it is next to impossible to teach old dogma new tricks. Embracing the Gospel of the Kingdom requires more than just making cosmetic adjustments; it requires a radical overhaul of thought, attitude and perspective.
In the “long version” (below) we look at how we’ve been duped into settling for false finish-lines and outline the shift required to embrace the Gospel of the Kingdom. Can there be a more important issue than this?
Continue reading ‘What is a Kingdom-shaped church? “The King’s Speech”’
