One of the biggest things i believe God has been speaking to me in the last few years is the idea that He's in the business of transformation, not just salvation. It dawned on me after a few years of working with teams of youth that would come down to work with local churches for a week and minister to the people through drama, kid's ministry, door-2-door bible distribution and mercy ministires. It was good work, and we saw many people pray Jesus into their hearts. And i believe some of those prayers were sincere and honest. But i saw a downfall to this kind of ministry. It could become just that...ministry. Numbers. Results oriented. A race for numbers. Don't get me wrong. God works thorugh all of these ways and there's a place and a time for it. But the more i think and meditate on it, the more i believe there should be more to our "ministry" than that. The more i read the word and mediate on what God said through His Son Jesus, "Go and make disciples of all nations", the more i think we are missing something. Somehow the "disciple all nations" has fallen thorugh the cracks, only to give place to "flashy ministry" and "emotional results". The reason why i think this is because i see so many of these souls not being taken care of. Not being followed up with. Not being trained in the things of God's kingdom. As a church, i believed we have failed in the process that it takes a person from hearing about God, opening their hearts to Him and then letting Him come and transform their world and turn it upside down, or inside out. You see, i believe that when the Spirit of God comes into someone's life, it should change and transform the way that person thinks, lives and relates to others. But it should be in a powerful way. Let's say it this way. If the kingdom of God came to that person, and that person lives "kingdomly", wouldn't the way they live, love, speak, act, respond to their world's needs and their community be different? Let's say that if the kingdom of God truly came into a community through the salvation of many and the presence of a body of believers, shouldn't that community be affected by the presence of those who claim they know Jesus?
What are the components present in a community? Loren Cunningham, the founder of Youth with a Mission, said there were 7 spheres that influence or are a part of a society; CHURCH, FAMILY, MEDIA, GOVERNMENT, EDUCATION, BUSINESS & THE ARTS. If God comes into our lives and we live in a community that revolves around these 7 areas, then the presence of christians in these spheres should make a difference, right?
That is why this idea of "Holistic" ministry is so right. WE cannot continue in our ways of believing that just by "praying the prayer of salvation", a person is ready to go to heaven and that is it. God called us to live in the world but be not of this world. This did not mean to "be like the world", but to live in this world as Kingdom people, leading the way in the transformation God is wanting to bring to every nation through the discipleship that happens in every area of society through everyday relationships.
Just to quote from the book we have been reading called "His Kingdom Come";
"There are pockets of dynamic disciples in many nations, but there's not one nation on earth today that could be called a truly discipled nation. A discipled nation would have christians in every sphere of society who had been taught to obey every commandment that Jesus taught His original disciples, and they would be free and passionate to be teaching others in every realm of society".
AMEN
1 comment:
Thanks for starting this blog, David. It's good to read what God's speaking to you through the somd. The cool thing is that He's been teaching us the same things as you wrote about here over the past year or two as we've been working in the local church. Sweet!
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