The call to discipleship is a call to become a follower of Christ and live out a kingdom lifestyle,  promote a kingdom community, proclaim a kingdom message, and provide a kingdom ministry. It is an adventurous journey toward fruitfulness and a deeper relationship with our Lord. We learn about him and how to minister as he did as we go.

 

For far too long our "gospel" has been all about getting people to make a confession of faith and join our church; when, in fact, the church should be focused on effectively communicating and spreading the good news of the kingdom of God outside the four walls of our buildings through our words and actions, bringing God's love to those who live around us.

 

A kingdom lifestyle begins with a desire and commitment to put God's agenda first in our lives. Here in the United States, at least three major influences militate against kingdom life and priorities - individualism, careerism, and consumerism. Individualism has made us believe that our own life, or perhaps our family, is the center of the universe. The kingdom of God, on the other hand, according to Jesus, must have top priority and is designed to be lived in community. A kingdom lifestyle will require sacrifices to our personal agendas.

 

Careerism dictates that our jobs and personal advancement come first. We will give to God and his kingdom whatever time may be  left over. Leftovers are not what Jesus deserves. Seeking first God's kingdom means putting it ahead of everything else on our priority list. This kingdom mindset will challenge careerism to the core and make us draw a line in the sand against the dominance of the spirit of Mammon.

 

Lastly, consumerism is pervasive and has corrupted the hearts and minds of most Christians and influences us to search for an expression of church that offers the most to me and those I love. Consumerism teaches Christians to church shop, as they would for any other purchase, looking for the best deal. We tend to become spectators while professionals present us with a show. We go to church, see a gifted worship band, listen to a polished speaker, and receive the benefit of a plethora of well-designed programs for us and our kids. Often little thought is given to Christ's call to "go and make disciples" - not "go to church meetings." Consumerism influences Christians to evaluate churches by "what's in it for me." Consumerism leads us to choose the church that makes us look good and feel good about ourselves. Consumerism makes us think we have done our duty to God by simply attending a good meeting and hearing a good sermon, when, actually, our corporate gatherings should propel us out into the real work of the kingdom outside the church building and which goes on 24/7.

 

But what has consumerism to do with historical Christianity, especially the early church? In the first century, it was not cool to be a Christian. Greeters and ushers did not try to make a great first impression in order to nab visitors. Seekers curiously and cautiously observed Christians somewhat from a distance way back then because followers of Christ were hunted down and persecuted. To confess Christ and live a kingdom lifestyle meant becoming a target for oppression and harm. The church somehow managed to grow and thrive without big buildings, professional business practices, or cool marketing. God is calling us back to the early church experience when it was required to have a kingdom lifestyle, take up the cross, endure suffering, live unselfishly, and lay everything on the line for Jesus.

 

Focused: God wants us to join hands and hearts with others who love Jesus and want to see his kingdom advance. This will look different from traditional church. Instead of making the Sunday service the most important event of the week, meeting together one on one in discipleship relationships becomes our top priority. We study the Scriptures together, apply what we learn to our lives, hold one another accountable to keep the Great Commandment and Great Commission, and open up the deep places in our hearts for loving scrutiny. In other words, it's time to "get real."

 

Personal: The eternal Word or logos became flesh and came to live here on earth. (John 1:14) One translations says he moved into the neighborhood. God wants to live through his people so that those that do not yet know him can experience his love, presence, and power. This is the meaning of the Incarnation. God has a personal plan for ministry for each of his believers. The personal God wants to use you personally.

 

Welcoming: Kingdom community is also a welcoming community. This means that instead of requiring people to first confess Christ in order to belong, we invite and include seekers to be a part of our group. Think about it, none of the first disciples were Christians when Jesus called them. We invite seekers to experience kingdom life, love, and ministry so that they can "taste and see that the Lord is good." Our goal is to become a community that is not judgmental, sectarian, or cliquish, while maintaining our integrity and testimony.

 

Lastly, our journey is taking us deeper into the privilege of ministry to the poor, the hurting, the marginalized, the oppressed, and those whom we have often ignored in the past. We are realizing that Christ was in earnest when he told his followers that the way to life is through laying down our lives for those who are down and out. We have repented of having fashioned a man-made gospel that made us comfortable by simply believing in Christ, without ever grappling with and giving ourselves to the larger realm of seeking God's mercy and justice for "the least of these."

 Relying on the grace of God and Christ's life within, we are challenged to take personal responsibility for loving God, loving people and making disciples in our own "context," - be it our neighborhood, our work place, our school, our civic club, or wherever we can connect with people. We have developed what we call Mobile Ministry and Mobile Church, which we use to reach out to, pastor, and minister to people who may not even want anything to do with the traditional church because of past hurts, misconceptions, and disappointments. Our aim is to bring the church to them in a form they can accept. Our vision is to see our neighborhoods become Kingdom Communities, where people can experience God's blessings on a tangible level.

We believe that the time has come for Christians to move from being consumers to being on mission. Hugh Halter, in his book entitled AND, said it well. Being on mission is

...living well and being willing to give time, resources, and relationship to people who are looking for what you have. It's opening your home for dinners, inviting sojourning people (seekers) into your family time, recreation, and hobbies, and into your spiritual community. It's not rocket science or martyrdom at a biblical story level, but you do have to die to your natural bent to live exclusively to yourself. You have to let Christ's mission dictate how you live. It's really about the direction of your life, not a state of perfection. It's serious, but it's also a beautifully whimsical life without legalistic pressure or self-judgment. (p.117)

We don't exactly know yet where this journey will take us, but we do know the Way. His name is Jesus. Our confidence is that as we pray and minister to people and do what God shows us to do, He will do what only He is able to do - save people and build the kingdom. We are depending on God's Spirit to break through in people's lives in a way that will launch new expressions of his kingdom and the church. But first we must learn to live and minister as kingdom Christians. We do not have a formula, only faith in the Lord of the Harvest and a determination to persevere until we see the fruit of our labors.

We are looking for people who will join with us on this missional journey, who are willing to labor in the fields, sowing seed, and reaping the harvest.  If you would like to take this journey with us, please contact us so we can talk. This job is too big for one group. We want to partner with others of similar vision in order to reach our area with the gospel of Jesus Christ one person and one neighborhood at a time.