Road Party (Part II): Kingdom in Small Packages

Read Road Party part I HERE.

Jesus never said, "The kingdom of God is like Chuck Norris, a quick roundhouse to the temple of a broken world."

or

"The kingdom of God is like Wrestlemania with bulging neck-vein laden threats."

or

"The kingdom of God is like a Sly movie of fanfare explosions."

Jesus says:

God's kingdom is like yeast that a woman works into the dough for dozens of loaves of barley bread - and waits while the dough rises. (Matthew 13:33)

Most of God's reign breaks into the world without headlines: subtly, covertly, humbly.

North Point, Willow Creek, Saddleback, Life Church, New Spring...We all know these churches, churches for which I'm thankful and pastors who have greatly shaped my ministry. I call Andy Stanley my digital mentor. He speaks into my life without knowing I exist, and I'm not going to lie, sometimes I wish I could be the next Andy Stanley. Most pastors I know wish their church were next in the line of superstars (whether we admit it or not).

But for every North Point, 100 churches exist who will never hold a conference, whose pastors the White House will never invite to the National Prayer Breakfast, whose music ranges between fair and "eww," and believe it or not, who might not have a website (gasp). Yet here, in these kingdom harbors, heaven touches earth:

• The gospel is preached.
• The gospel is lived.
• The hungry are fed.
• The wounded are healed.
• The lost are found.
• Grace is extended.
• Communities are improved.
• People are loved.
• Teens are mentored.
• Elderly are nurtured.
• Disciples are made.
• The resurrection is practiced.
• Jesus is Lord.

Grants Church of Christ is one such community: a diverse church, a theologically rich church, a loving church, a progressive church. I first preached at Grants C of C. It raised me as a preacher: offered me grace, gave to me sacrificially, and most importantly loved me. I'm forever indebted to this wonderful community of Christians. 

After a 5-year absence, my family returned to visit our dear friends at the Grants C of C this Spring Break. One of my best friends Matt Clark serves alongside the Grants C of C Jesus-followers and is doing a phenomenal job. He is a legit pastor, in the truest sense of the word...not just to the church but to the community. 

I'm thankful for Grants C of C and the thousand other Churches leavening all the nooks and crannies of God's creation. The video below highlights a bit of our time in Grants, NM.

The Gospel as a Pistol: A Confession

In the third season of Prison Break (2005-2009 Fox television series), the main protagonist finds himself locked-up in a ruthless South American prison, a prison so dangerous guards refuse to serve inside the walls. Instead, military sharpshooters, crouched on watchtowers, "take out" anyone attempting an escape. Periodically, military convoys drop off food within the prison walls but what happens inside is much like Vegas: what happens there stays there. As a result, the prisoners developed their own system of government, one that is a far cry from democracy. It's a dictatorship. The "baddest hombre" gets to call the shots.

In one of the episodes, a subordinate manages to acquire a pistol. In a community where shivs are atop the weapon pyramid, a pistol means one thing: POWER! With gun hand, the inmate must decide how he will leverage this new acquired power...create equality, democracy, justice or seize the opportunity to get on top. Whether you've seen the series or not, you know the answer. He removes the current dictator from power and assumes his "throne."

Human nature tends to leverage instruments of power for self-gain - including the gospel!

A couple of weeks ago I ran into the social media hubbub surrounding a letter from a Senior Pastor in Houston, TX. Take a look:

 

I felt disgust when I first read this letter, "How could a pastor prey upon believers by leveraging the influential power of the gospel? How could he use it for his own personal gain at the expense of his congregation?" I was angry!

But then, as God often does, he shoved my anger and disgust in my face! The gospel is powerful. It fuels hope. It promises that evil will not have the last word. It speaks to the deep recesses of the human heart. It persuades. It convicts. It transform. It changes individual lives. It changes communities. It has left a lasting legacy on the world. It is powerful, but as is often the case, we I leverage the gospel for personal gain.

No, we don't have an Aviation Department at TCOC. We don't even have a bathroom in our Teen Center...but we have a Teen Center (you get the idea). Honestly, I do not struggle with leveraging the gospel for money. Money annoys me (although I do like having it). But I AM guilty of leveraging the gospel for personal gain. Confession time:

• I have leveraged the gospel to boost a ministry career.
• I have leveraged the gospel to try and build a "fan base" for my preaching.
• I have leveraged the gospel to foster a respectable reputation.
• I have leveraged the gospel to secure employment. 
• I have leveraged the gospel in search of notoriety.

Fortunately, but in the most unfortunate of manners, I detonated a nuclear bomb on all of my gospel-exploited ventures. That does not make me immune from gospel exploitation. I still plead guilty (nearly daily), but it has given me a greater awareness of those moments when I do leverage the power of the gospel for self-gain.

Bishop Hilliard's exploitation of the gospel might be easier to see, but I am guilty of the same crime.  I struggle daily to leverage the gospel for the Kingdom of God rather than for personal gain. Perhaps you do too.

My prayer is something I tweeted recently: God, I want to close the gap between my desire for the Kingdom of God and my understanding of it.  I have studied and dissected the Kingdom of God. I believe I have a decent grasp on what the Kingdom looks like. I pray that my desire for God's Kingdom match my current understanding of it. I invite you to pray this prayer with me so that we might leverage the gospel for God and God alone!