The language of the Kingdom

The term ‘Kingdom of God’ is one Christians use often; yet, like me, many people unknowingly have a misunderstanding of its meaning. One of the ways our struggle to grasp its meaning is evidenced is in the language we use to talk about it. I have found this insight from Darrell Guder (in his book Missional Church) to be greatly helpful. I hope it helps you too.

2 misconceptions of the Kingdom of God:

• We build it…as if it were a social project “over there”
• We extend it…as if it were a sales project 

What the Bible says about it:

• We receive it…as a gift; as co-heirs with Jesus Christ
• We enter it…as a realm; as a real, tangible reality

Filed under: Theology

Book list for spring quarter

My two-week break between quarters will soon come to an end. Here is the list of courses I will be taking this spring, along with their corresponding textbooks. You may read descriptions of these books on my Currently Reading page (hover your mouse over the title and an information window will be displayed).

History of Christian Mission

• A History of Christian Missions by Stephen Neill
• From Jerusalem to Irian Jaya: A Biographical History of Christian Missions by Ruth Tucker

Hebrew Exegesis

• Biblia Hebraica Stuttgartensia (The Old Testament in Hebrew)
• Hebrew Syntax: An Outline by Ronald Williams
• A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament by Brown, Driver, Briggs
• A Student’s Vocabulary for Biblical Hebrew and Aramaic by Larry Mitchell

Christian Theology I

• Faith Seeking Understanding: An Introduction to Christian Theology by Daniel Migliore 
• Christian Theology by Millard Erickson
• Christian Theology: An Introduction by Alister McGrath

Filed under: School

C.S. Lewis: An apologist’s evening prayer

“From all my lame defeats and oh! much more
From all the victories that I seemed to score;
From cleverness shot forth on Thy behalf
at which, while angels weep, the audience laugh;
From all my proofs of Thy divinity,
Thou, who wouldst give no sign, deliver me.

Thoughts are but coins. Let me not trust, instead
of Thee, their thin-worn image of Thy head.
From all my thoughts, even from my thoughts of Thee,
O thou fair Silence, fall, and set me free.
Lord of the narrow gate and the needle’s eye,
Take from me all my trumpery lest I die.”

Filed under: Mission

Missional habits for churches

One of the attenders of the Ecclesia Gathering I just returned from was David Fitch, pastor of a missional church in Chicago and professor at Northern Seminary. He has been very influential in the recent movement to recover the missional nature of the church. In his most recent blog post, he lists practical ways for churches to instill missional practices. I list some of them below, but I would encourage you to visit his site for the full list and explanations. 

• Reject doing outreach events; instead direct imagination toward ways of connecting with people where they are.
• Reject evangelism as a one-time hit on a target; kindle imagination toward seeing mission as a regular rhythm of daily life.
• Reject one-on-one evangelism and apologetic persuasion; direct imagination for inhabiting places by twos, threes, or more.
• Reject Sunday worship as an evangelistic event; fire up imagination for the formation that comes from a communal encounter with the living God in Jesus Christ.
• Reject coercive persuasion and argument in our witness; instead stoke the imagination of people to seek one person of peace (Luke 10) among the lost of their neighborhoods.
• Reject presumptuous postures of power; instead direct imagination toward the way Jesus always enters the human situation in humility. 

Again, this is an abbreviated list. Visit Fitch’s site to read more.

Filed under: Church, Mission