which came first the kingdom or the church

Ever wonder what you could or should do to fix your church? Or even the Church?  According to Reggie McNeal, in his recent book Kingdom Come: Why We Must Give up Our Obsession with Fixing the Church - and What We Should Do Instead (Tyndale Momentum, 2015), that's the wrong question.

If I'm reading McNeal correctly, and not just reading into McNeal some of the things I wonder about,  we might just have some things backward.  We focus on growing our local congregation instead of joining God on His mission to grow the Kingdom.  We say 'church' as if it were some magical mystical thing when in reality we're talking about our denomination, or the building where a group of us meet on Sunday morning, or our local congregation, whether it's comprised of 50 people or 5,000.

McNeal points out the church was created as part of God's kingdom, (and he points out that 'church' is only mentioned a few times in the New Testament, while "Kingdom" is mentioned again and again: the Kingdom of God or the Kingdom of Heaven). But modern day Christians seem to want to fit the kingdom into the church. Much like people want to put God in a box, a box with dimensions of their own design.

Kingdom work is being done by people who often don't even realize that they're engaged in it. And wrapped up as we often are in our small c church worlds, we don't recognize it as such either. Funny how that works, if my church is doing it, it's kingdom work, if you, your church, or your non-church group is engaged in the same activity, you're just showing off, copying, or engaged in wanna-be activity.

Some great discussion starters  and questions are found at the back of the book.

A great book for church leaders, all of us who can stand to be reminded from time to time how God intends for things to work.

I was provided a copy of this book from Tyndale Momentum in exchange for an unbiased review.

5/5 

American Sniper, the Hollywood version of Chris Kyle’s journey as an American hero.

I had to put it that way, because the movie seemed a little too made up to be real.  First off let me offer a disclaimer: I haven’t read the book, but I have served in the military, and some of the scenes seem contrived. For instance, I can’t imagine that anyone out in the field, engaged in combat operations would be aiming a gun at an enemy combatant with one hand, and using the other hand to hold a phone and carry on a personal phone call. But on the other hand, the movie covers a lot of time in just a couple of hours, boot camp, special training, four combat tours along with a period of time after his discharge.  I also know that when people are in situations as intense as some of the ones depicted in the film that their language is not always family friendly, and again I've been in the military, so profanity is not necessarily unexpected. Having said that, it seems that the f-bombs were excessive.

But beyond that, I enjoyed the film. It can be viewed in so many different ways, and on many different levels. It’s the story of a descent into hell, and the ladder back up; it’s a portrait of PTSD and how it affects individuals and families. It’s a reminder that war is hell. It’s a vivid reminder that sometimes being a hero isn't all it’s cracked up to be

For those who haven’t served in the military, the movie offers insight into what we asked of the men and women who put on the uniform, and beyond that, what we ask of their families during the times when a spouse or parent is deployed. And for some it shows why we honor our troops when they return from those difficult deployments.

As I watched the movie, I found myself wishing that it were just the imagination of somebody sitting at a computer, but the harsh reality is that the world is not a perfect place. We invite young men and women to serve their country; we offer then special training, and then send them off to faraway places where they are exposed to horrors that no human being should ever have to experience, but we don’t have the mechanisms in place to adequately care for them when they return home. Some of them are shattered physically, and we can offer physical therapy and artificial limbs, but how do we help those whose injuries are unseen, but often hurt much more deeply.

The movie is rated ‘R’ for profanity, and with good reason. If you can get past that, it’s a movie well worth watching. 

My friends at Grace Hill Media have given me a copy of the Blue-Ray DVD as a giveaway for facebook friends/readers of my blog.  Comment on the blog, or on my facebook page before May 24^th, and be entered for a chance to win the DVD.

Love without fear

                Wouldn't it be nice if everyone loved like we want to be loved, or better yet like God loves us, and not just the way we think He loves?  In No Fear in Love: Loving Others the Way God Loves Us (Baker Books, 2015) Andy Braner points out several ways that we can learn to do just that, along with some of the obstacles that we so frequently encounter or create.  Braner's book is a lesson in loving others even when there is significant disagreement.

                Braner writes in the introduction that his hope is that the reader will learn to become a gentler, more caring and more compassionate follower of Jesus; that fear and hate would be replaced with a willingness to love others generously.  That sounds good on paper, but unless everyone in the world reads the book and agrees to follow the recommendations, it seems that generous love remains a lofty goal

                Our world is rapidly shrinking thanks to technology and as you'll read in the 2^nd section of this book one of the side effects of that shrinking world is that worldviews collide. Non-Christians from around the world come to what have long been seen as traditionally Christian countries; they come to study, to work, or as refugees. And with them they bring their world views founded in Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, animism and other belief systems.

                Christians have their own language and belief system, which work just fine when you're interacting with other Christians, but sometimes that language doesn't translate well when dealing with people from other cultures.   Although a goal of everyone loving fearlessly is admirable, my fear is that Braner does not go far enough in reminding the reader that Christianity involves following Christ exclusively.  Loving others is the Christian thing to do, but it's all too easy to cross the line into pluralism or inclusivism.

                But fear, one of the most prevalent emotions known to man can be replaced by love. We need to learn to love our enemies, to love those who think differently than we do, and be willing to share the gospel with them.

                I received a copy of this book in exchange for a review.

                4/5