No Competition in the Kingdom of Heaven

Faith in Jesus is the gateway to the Kingdom of God. It is both here & now and it is also eternal. It is a small seed. It is like touch of yeast in a dough. We as Christians are to work for the Kingdom and see it grow and advance in this world.

Unfortunately Christians and churches can be overly territorial and competitive. With good intentions we start to build our own kingdoms and lose sight of the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom of Heaven.

Churches and so called parachurch organizations compete of volunteers, money, time and campaigns. Instead of seeing one another as fellow kingdom-builders, we think “if they get this person or that grant, it’s a loss to us”. When in reality it is all for the same Kingdom.

Perhaps the root cause for this problem is our focus on our work or calling, instead of God.

The Creator of the universe does not lack in resources. HE himself builds the Kingdom through us. If we have a correct, humongous view of God, we can have a correct view of the Kingdom and also of our work in a church or ministry. Not the other way around.

For the Sake of the One

One lost person is more important to Jesus than the 99 that are safe. He says a good shepherd leaves the 99 that are safe and goes out to look for the one that is lost.

In another parable he tells about two brothers; one is obedient and serves the father faithfully while the other squanders the inheritance he withdrew prematurely. When the prodigal returns, the father is so overjoyed, that he throws a massive party, much to the older brother’s annoyance.

Both stories illustrate the focus of Jesus. He didn’t focus on the ones that were saved and safe. He focused on the ones that were lost.

Ironically the modern church has it exactly the other way around. We build fancy churches, hire ministers, organize programs for the 99 while forgetting the one. I would not be exaggerating too much, if I said that 99% of the resources in people, money, ministry go towards keeping the 99% well-fed. The one is neglected.

To put it plainly, 40% of the world’s population today have never heard the Gospel and about a percent or two of the Church’s resources go to reaching those.

Jesus’ focus and strategy was to expand, move forward, spread the word. Our strategy is to dig a hole and enjoy the safety.

The healthy don’t need a doctor, the sick do. Jesus came for them and said to his followers;  follow me, live as I live.

 

Read about the one.

Self-Sufficiency Kills

We like to be independent. I can manage just fine, without you.

But when it comes to faith, self-sufficiency is deadly.

Apostle Paul compares the Christian Church to a body. Jesus compares himself to a vine and his followers to the branches.  The point is clear, the members or the branches need to be connected to the source as well as to each other. Alone they die.

By insisting that faith is a personal and private matter we suffocate any potential for growth. Faith is like a muscle that needs to be trained. To grow stronger it needs  connection, context and energy. A muscle needs other muscles to function properly – it was never  intended to be a singular unit. Also, the other muscles need your muscle to operate. All the muscles together make the body move. A bicep by itself it pretty useless, no matter how pumped up it may be.

Too often I have seen people of faith stumble and fall, but no one is there to pick them up, because they insisted on doing it by themselves. Many want to do it alone, because they don’t like “the institution of church”. (I too am regularly frustrated  with the institution of Church and its shortfalls.)

Instead of walking out, we should understand that we are the church and we make it better or we make it worse. The problem with quitting Church is, that by cutting yourself off the body you cut off any life giving fluids that  flow into you and through you to others. After all it is not only about what you get. It is also about what you give to others.

Church Without a Mission Is a Mere Social Club

(This is a borrowed story from my pastor.)

A friend moved to a new town. She started going to a new church and attended the church camp. There were people her age and the church was known for its focus on building a sense of community. At the camp she felt like no one was interested in her. Everyone seemed to have their own little groups where they had fun. She felt like an outsider.

The next week she went into the meeting of a human rights organization. People were very welcoming and everyone wanted to greet her. She felt like she belonged.

The lesson? The human rights organization has one mission, which is to end human rights abuses in the world. When a new person walks in, they see that person as an opportunity to advance their mission and they act upon that conviction.

Perhaps church goers are interested in having a good time with each other.  Their mission has become to maintain their Christian relationships. A new person can be seen as a threat to the social balance of the groups. They have lost sight of the one mission Church has.

Ironically, God has established his Church, so that she would stand up against injustice and for truth and love. When the Church loses her vision of what she is called to do,  she is diminished  to a social club. And anyone can do social clubs, you don’t need Church for that.

On a personal note, I too like to go to church to have a nice time with my friends. Perhaps more often than not I too don’t want to talk to new people and I too have lost sight of the greater purpose of Church. Well, all that needs to change.

Tall Poppy Syndrome in Church

The tall poppy syndrome is somewhat true in Finland. If someone is  successful in something, we like to cut them down. There is even a saying, that if you compliment someone you will just make them proud.

This is strangely enough true in church.

Trying to introduce a time for testimonies to a church service can be surprisingly difficult.

“Oh, you mean that someone will come and tell how their life was in the gutters and now the don’t have any problems.”

“I don’t like those kinds of testimonies, because they make me feel like God helps everyone else except me.”

“Maybe we could have people share how difficult their life is?”

Is our faith so small, that if someone has experienced God’s help in their lives,  we refuse to hear about it, because “of course God does things in others’ lives, not mine”. What the heck? Isn’t exactly the opposite true? Because God has answered other people’s prayers, maybe he can get to me too.

Read Your Bible Because You Can

An African brother spoke at church today. African Christians can bring such fantastic passion and simplicity to our jaded and cynical Western minds. They have a lot to give. He spoke about the importance of reading the Bible.

Many of us (Finns) are over-educated on everything, but lazy at reading the Bible. He noted that we have this odd idea, that we become religious and ritualistic, if we come to church every week or if we read the Bible daily. We keep up with twitter and e-mail minute-by-minute, so why not so much more with God and his Word that feeds our souls?

He exhorted us to read the Bible because we can. He is doing his Master’s degree in Finland, but his own mother cannot read. The mother gets bits of Scripture from others and then asks his son to read them to her.

What a wonderful perspective and a point of view we never consider. Most of us don’t know anyone who couldn’t read.