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- Herausgeber: IVP
- Kategorie: Religion und Spiritualität
- Sprache: Englisch
- Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2018
"These who have turned the world upside down have come here too." (Acts 17:6) When Paul and Silas came to Thessalonica, they changed the community. How? By collaborating with God to bring his kingdom on earth. Will you collaborate on God's kingdom work in your community? If you're ready to see God move in all areas—business, education, media, arts, healthcare, spiritual growth, and more—this is the book for you. Leadership expert Reggie McNeal offers eight signature practices for leaders who want to partner with God and others for kingdom growth. Readers will gain practical advice to help people experience life as God intends.
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To all kingdom leaders.Thanks for turning the world right-side upby turning it upside down!
EVERYONE KNOWS that something big is up. The world is changing in ways that challenge every aspect of our lives, including our spiritual journeys. Not that long ago, people who were looking for God went to church to find him. There they assumed someone with superior spiritual understanding would tell them what to do. Teachers and church leaders provided instructions and activities to guide their development. These same leaders managed the church institution to make sure it marketed and delivered its spiritual goods and services to religious consumers. The size of the crowds and offerings on Sunday served as a public scorecard on the leaders’ performance.
This fast-receding world demanded certain competencies of its leaders. They needed to be good Bible teachers (a love for studying ancient languages didn’t hurt), able administrators, program developers, project managers, and soul-care experts who were politically savvy and able to demonstrate their command of parliamentary procedure. Those who experienced “the call to ministry” sought to master these skills with the clear expectation they would establish their ministry agenda in a church or church-related organization.
Fast-forward to today. Increasingly, people looking for meaning don’t search for God at church on Sunday. They certainly don’t think the church has a monopoly on the truth—spiritual or otherwise. Nor are they tempted to interrupt or change their life rhythms to become a church person to enhance their spiritual journey. They’re just as likely to read a book (not necessarily one with a spiritual theme or written by a spiritual guide) or watch a movie, though they may discuss their spiritual interests with someone they respect.
So what kind of spiritual leader does this world demand? A different ilk of leader than the typical church-as-institution manager just described. The situation calls for kingdom collaborators. Those who are feeling the call to this leadership serve not only in church roles but also in jobs in every domain and sector in society (government, education, health care, the arts, business, the social sector, media, etc.). They evidence a signature set of competencies as they serve the church-as-movement, connecting God’s work with people right where they live, work, play, go to school, work out, whatever. Kingdom collaborators have an affinity for community engagement and altruism and a love for God and neighbor that’s both compelling and contagious. Because of their sense of call, they are intentional about both their life’s meaning and their contribution. Underneath all this is their bedrock conviction that God is at work in every person in every situation in every area of life.
A powerful motivation drives these leaders. They hear the call to follow Jesus as a summons to focus on what he focused on: the kingdom of God. They believe that Jesus meant what he said when he taught us to pray “thy kingdom come.” And they’re looking for this kingdom to show up “on earth as it is in heaven.” Viral kingdom leaders—leaders who infect those around them with their values—aren’t just hoping for a better life in the hereafter; they’re working to make it possible for people to enjoy a better life in the here-and-now. They see themselves as collaborators with God and others in answering this prayer.
VIRAL KINGDOM LEADERS AREN’T JUST HOPING FOR A BETTER LIFE IN THE HEREAFTER; THEY’RE WORKING TO MAKE IT POSSIBLE FOR PEOPLE TO ENJOY A BETTER LIFE IN THE HERE-AND-NOW.
Their perspective flows from their understanding of the kingdom. In their view, the kingdom can be characterized as life as God intends. Life is God’s intent. There is life because God is. All life carries God’s fingerprint because it emanates from him. It doesn’t accidentally or randomly arise. Life has an intended purpose and quality because of God’s will and character.
The kingdom, Jesus taught, is the major work of God on planet Earth. God is busy in the world, reclaiming territory held captive by a usurping dark kingdom. This resurgence is the good news of the kingdom—and it is the gospel that Jesus proclaimed and lived out. He not only taught a kingdom message, he also lived the kingdom. He healed the sick, comforted the afflicted, and inspired hope for a better world. He embodied the life that God intends.
In contrast to Jesus’ own robust life, the lives of most people seem to be a gross masquerade, a poor imitation of what God has in mind. So Jesus invites us into his life and clears the path for us through his passion, securing the better life by vanquishing sin, death, and the grave. His work on the cross and in the resurrection grant us full title to possess the life he offers. It’s real life—life as God intends.
Accordingly, a kingdom perspective focuses on the quality of life for people in our communities—physical, economical, social, as well as spiritual. This understanding of the kingdom carries several implications. First, any church scorecard that doesn’t extend to these dimensions of life doesn’t accurately reflect Jesus’ intentions for his church. I spent a lot of time making this case in my previous book (Kingdom Come), so I don’t want to rehash that here. Unfortunately, the colossal misunderstanding of mission in the Western church has caused many institutional church leaders to regard lightly the work of their parishioners in other domains of culture (education, healthcare, business, arts, government, etc.). This view stems from how the church-as-institution sees its role relative to society. Figure 1 illustrates the typical institutional perspective.
Figure 1. The church as institution
The assumption underpinning this view is that, to have its greatest effectiveness, the church should concentrate on its own domain. This errant understanding means kingdom efforts may receive only scant attention at best or may not be recognized, encouraged, or even acknowledged by the institutional church. In too many cases, kingdom work is resisted by church-as-institution because it’s viewed as activity that robs the church of vital resources it needs.
Figure 2. The church as movement
The reality is that most kingdom leaders operate largely outside the institutional church because they spend their lives in a wider bandwidth of human interest and activity. Embracing the church-as-movement paradigm recalibrates the church to be a people of God related to society as viral kingdom agents, positioned in every domain of culture. This thinking is illustrated in figure 2.
This shift reflects a kingdom narrative that acknowledges that God is at work in every domain of culture. Releasing and equipping the church to be the church where it is already deployed in the world—moving from the predominant church-as-institution perspective (church-centric thinking) to understanding church-as-movement (kingdom-centric thinking)—is the most critical challenge and opportunity for the church.
I’m not suggesting that past and current ecclesiology is unhelpful; I just think it needs a kingdom orientation. We need to regard the church through kingdom lenses, rather than looking at the kingdom through church-as-institution lenses. This is not the focus of this book, but it is a conviction that underpins it.
We need kingdom collaborators—kingdom leaders—to help navigate these new waters. (Throughout this book, the terms kingdom leaders and kingdom collaborators are used interchangeably.) Leaders who serve as apostles, prophets, teachers, pastors, and evangelists for the church-as-movement. Leaders who use their influence to work for people to experience the life God intends in every sphere and sector of society—from the board room to the classroom to the emergency room to the committee room to the workout room to the living room. In every cultural domain, in ways as distinct as the individual leaders involved, kingdom leaders must serve as co-conspirators with God to wreak havoc on the kingdom of anti-life.
While most kingdom leaders serve outside the church-as-institution, some kingdom leaders can be and are assigned to church-as-institution leadership roles. I’m happy to say that more and more leaders who hold positions with church-as-institution responsibilities are using their platforms to promote greater kingdom engagement by those who call themselves God’s people. Most of my work involves these church leaders, many of whom are experiencing a spiritual rebirth as they pursue a more kingdom-centric ministry agenda. They are helping the church recover its missional integrity to point people to the kingdom. This is precisely what qualifies them as kingdom leaders.
Please don’t hear what I am not saying. Church-as-institution serves a viable function in God’s work on earth. The institutional church is the largest bundler of social capital in most communities. If this capital can be catalyzed and released into our communities, the church can be a part of moving the needle on big societal issues (those things that weigh in on whether people can experience life as God intends—such as education, economic development, and race relations). Most of the congregations and church groups I’m working with are figuring out ways to address one or more of these areas in their cities and neighborhoods. As this happens, the church becomes the agent of transformation so desperately needed across our country.
If you serve as a kingdom leader outside the church-as- institution, I hope this book affirms you as a significant player in the church-as-movement, whether or not you’ve ever served in a leadership capacity in the institutional church. You haven’t come into your position of influence in your domain by accident. The King has strategically deployed you on purpose for a purpose. Your role in church-as-movement is no less valuable than serving as the leader of the largest congregation in your town or city.
I love what Michael Frost does in his weekly gathering of Jesus-followers in Sydney, Australia. According to him, the most treasured part of the worship experience is the ritual of calling out someone for “ordination.” That person’s gifts and talents are recited, his role in his everyday life is affirmed, and a prayer is offered commissioning him to kingdom service. The group lays on hands as part of the process. Frost declared, “I’m accused of trying to abolish the clergy. What I’m trying to do is to abolish the laity.”
My reason for writing this book is to share some observations about the distinctive character and competencies of leaders who serve as kingdom collaborators. These insights come from the intersections I’ve had with kingdom leaders across a wide range of cultural engagement. These leaders demonstrate eight signature ways in which they operate—in their life and ministry across all sectors of society:
1. They practice a robust prayer life that helps them listen to and look for God.
2. They foment dissatisfaction with the status quo.
3. They combine social and spiritual entrepreneurship.
4. They marry vision with action.
5. They shape a people-development culture.
6. They curry curiosity.
7. They call the party in their city for collaborative initiatives.
8.They maintain an optimism amid the awareness that the kingdom has not yet fully come.
Each of these elements is treated in a chapter of their own in the pages that follow.
Writing this book is one way I’m praying “thy kingdom come.” I dream that by focusing greater attention on kingdom leaders, we will get more of them. God knows we need them! Hopefully these pages will inspire, instruct, and release you to exercise your own collaboration to bridge heaven and earth.
Billy Graham is commonly quoted as having said this about Jesus’ early followers: “The men who followed Him were unique in their generation. They turned the world upside down because their hearts had been turned right side up. The world has never been the same.”
It’s happening—again!
LIKE MANY PARENTS, Cathy and I routinely engaged our two daughters for prayer time as part of their bedtime ritual. Our younger daughter developed a habit of praying with her eyes open. One night I asked her why she did this. “Because I don’t want to miss anything,” she replied.
Kingdom leaders harbor the same desire. They’ve accepted God’s invitation to join him in his kingdom mission, to become kingdom collaborators. Their efforts bridge heaven and earth. Kingdom collaborators believe God is at work in every person they encounter and in every situation they face. This means they stay on the lookout for what God is up to. They don’t want to miss a thing!
How do kingdom leaders maintain this high God-alert status? This question brings us to the first and foundational element of eight signature practices that kingdom collaborators employ. These leaders believe that Jesus meant what he said when he instructed us to pray that God’s kingdom would come on earth as it is in heaven. Accordingly, they listen for and look for God. These two dynamic engagements support God-conscious kingdom collaborators. They’re learned attitudes and behaviors, not competencies relegated exclusively to a few from birth. Nor do these characteristics depend on some special spiritual dispensation. In other words, all of us can incorporate these practices into our thinking and living.
THESE LEADERS BELIEVE THAT JESUS MEANT WHAT HE SAID WHEN HE INSTRUCTED US TO PRAY THAT GOD’S KINGDOM WOULD COME ON EARTH AS IT IS IN HEAVEN.
In this chapter, we’ll examine how our spiritual hearing and sight can be improved. Doing so will position us to be more effective collaborators with God in the kingdom that is unfolding all around us but can be missed if we aren’t paying attention.
ARE WE TALKING TO OR TALKING WITH GOD?
Some years ago, I arranged to have dinner with a counselor friend of mine since I was going to be in his city on a speaking engagement. We met at a restaurant close to his office so he could come straight from work. As we sat down at our table, I asked him, “Well, how was your day?” Instead of the usual “Fine. How was yours?” he said, “I just finished a counseling appointment with a couple I’ve been seeing for a while. As we got started in the session, I asked them how it was going for them. For the next solid hour, all I got to say was ‘I see,’ ‘Really?’ and ‘Hmm’ as they talked nonstop. At the end of our session, they stood to leave and said, ‘Thanks so much! We feel so much better now!’”
My friend went on with a chuckle, “It’s like they upchucked all over me and just got up and walked out. I had plenty of feedback for them, but they never stopped talking long enough for me to get a word in edgewise! Oh well, they’ll be back, and maybe I’ll have a chance then.” We both had a laugh and then settled into a discussion over the menu.
It hit me later that what my friend experienced was how I was treating God in my prayer life. “Dear God,” would be followed typically by an “upchuck” of my life circumstances and needs. Once I finished updating God and offering him a few suggestions for how he could help me out, I’d wrap up the session “in Jesus’ name” and rush off without giving him a chance to say a word.
God patiently waited a lot of years to get a word in edgewise with me. I grew up hearing the stories of prayer giants. George Mueller praying for milk and bread to feed the orphans in his care. Martin Luther quipping, “I’ve got so much to do today that I need to spend the first two hours in prayer.” Billy Graham being caught prone and praying behind his desk. Perhaps all these stories are true, perhaps not. But I picked up one thing from being exposed to them: you need to pray a lot if you’re going to do something big with God. But I confess, I often wondered why these great people of the faith needed to spend so much time with God. What was taking them so long to say what they had to say?
Boy, did I not get it! You see, in the spiritual tradition and tribe I grew up in, prayer was talking to God, not talking with God. We had formulas for working our way through prayer using categories of praise, confession, and thanksgiving, along with submitting requests (ACTS anyone?). Early in my writing career, my denomination asked me to write a set of lessons on prayer to serve as part of our Sunday school curriculum. I wrote thirteen weeks (a quarter’s worth) of instruction on how to get the right stuff said and stuff said right when talking to God. Not one lesson I wrote raised the possibility that God may have something to say back to us. Sadly, no one noticed.
Talking to someone and talking with someone are two different dynamics. Only the latter employs the essentials of a genuine conversation. We’ve all been subjected to one-way verbal exchanges that left our need for conversation unmet. Either the other person talked nonstop without giving us a chance to say anything, or when we had the chance to speak, we knew she wasn’t listening but was waiting for us to come up for air so she could take over again. In such cases, I typically lose patience and give up trying to have a conversation.
I’m afraid I’ve been guilty of both violations in my prayer life. Thankfully, God has much more patience than I do. He hangs in there, hoping I’ll give him a chance to speak into my life.
Some years ago, I started listening more in prayer in case God has something to say to me. Turns out, he has plenty! I listen because there’s no voice like his. His words penetrate to the core of my being, bringing calm, courage, correction, and confirmation like no one else or no other words can do. God sometimes uses Scripture to remind me of a truth he has already spoken. In other instances, he reminds me of things that people have said or brings to mind the words of a hymn or song or something I’ve read. God also uses images to communicate. These may include memories of events and encounters that have something to contribute to the current conversation. They can also involve metaphors that help me picture God in our exchange (like a father, counselor, friend).
All these communications not only take aim at my rational mind; they often address my emotions, providing information and instruction for my soul that transcend words, touching my spirit, aligning my thoughts with his.
A few years ago I met with a few dozen church leaders in Portugal. The group represented a dozen European countries. One woman from a former Soviet country asked if she could share something with me to get my comments. I had become quite impressed with how this woman, high up in the government of her country, unapologetically displayed her Christian faith (quite a remarkable turnaround from Soviet days), so I was eager to hear what she had to say.
She took a piece of paper out of her purse that had a drawing on it. “I received this image from God in a dream,” she said. “I don’t quite know what it means, but I think it is a clue as to how I am to proceed with a national ministry of prayer.” I told her that she had drawn a network system that was simple (but sophisticated) that would allow her to replicate her national prayer event (held in the capitol) in every region of her country if she built and staffed the system. She began to cry as we talked, telling me this very idea had been her vision for several years, but she had been unclear as to how to proceed. God had answered her in a dream with a network diagram! He loves to come to the aid of his kingdom leaders.
Other voices inside our heads also clamor for attention. Our self-talk channel runs 24-7, drawing from all kinds of sources: family, friends, critics, supporters, and what’s transpiring around us, just to name a few. Some of these inputs are audio recordings that we play from our past—from people in our family of origin to significant people in our lives who have helped to shape our personal narrative (more about this later). And, without fail, the enemy of our soul also maintains an active channel where he pumps fear, confusion, doubt, guilt—all designed to create static so we don’t hear the voice of calm, assurance, truth, love.
With all these competing voices in our head, how do we recognize the voice of God? We can always be sure that he speaks truth, so anything that doesn’t square with his work is not from him. Also, his words always line up with his character. He doesn’t say one thing and do another. His instruction and insight typically serve to heighten our relationship with and trust in him.
How do we put ourselves in a position to hear God’s voice in our prayer life? We help ourselves to hear God by expecting to hear God. He won’t usually force himself on us, but he wants to talk with us, so he patiently waits for our willingness to open up lines of communication. Our predisposition to obedience—an attitude of saying yes to what he says—also plays a big role in promoting a high-def signal.
Having said all this, know that hearing God requires practice. I think it was Luther who said, “There is one Voice that I have learned to hear above all others.” Learning takes time and involves mistakes. We won’t always get it right. But we can be sure that God wants to be in conversation with us, so don’t worry that your mishears will scare him off. Keep at it, striving to hear his voice. Jesus offered his encouragement to us, saying, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them” (John 10:27).
WHAT’S YOUR POSITION ON PRAYER?
This question isn’t about our physical posture when we’re in prayer (bowed head, kneeling, standing, prostrate—they all have their times). I’m thinking more about our perspective on the position we think we’re in as we engage God.
An insight came to me as I listened to a professional executive coach make a presentation about what he called “the three levels of coaching.” The first level, he said, involves identifying the problem. In this phase, the coach helps the client articulate the issue he or she wants to focus on. This clarification often helps the client move beyond the presenting problem to identify the real issues that are creating the dilemma. The coach then described the second level of coaching, where the coach assists the client in developing strategies for addressing the problem he or she has identified.
Then the coach began describing the third level of coaching. He commented that this level was more challenging than the first two, and rarely did the coaching make it to that level. He called this arena “the level of identity.” In this phase, the coach helps the client deal with self-perceptions and personal elements that impact their situation. These discussions help the clients understand what they are contributing to the problems they face. What are their fears, for example? Who are they unwilling to disappoint? Any number of issues can surface during this exploration. The coach also guides clients to claim the strengths they bring to the situation, helping them own the talent and expertise they possess that they can draw on to confront their situation.
As I heard this coach describe these levels that he moved through with his clients, I suddenly realized that he was describing various levels, or dynamics, of praying. This description actually captured the position many of us adopt as we communicate with God in prayer. Often we identify the problem to God as we see it (“Lord, I’ve got a problem,” followed by a summary of the situation). Next we outline several strategies he should consider in dealing with this (“would you just,” followed by our best ideas of what needs to be done or what outcome needs to be realized). We then punctuate our prayer with a fervent plea that he would hurry up and do something; or, if he can’t work on it right then, that he would help us have patience to wait it out.
But Jesus didn’t pray this way at all. He had a very different approach. He prayed from his position of identity—as a son talking with his dad. He didn’t dwell on clarifying problems or identifying strategies for the Father. His petitions were borne out of his relationship with God, not pled as a beggar or as a desperately hopeful player of the prayer lottery.
Nowhere was this more clearly demonstrated than in his last hours, when he was in the throes of his passion. In his high priestly prayer, he began his conversation in Gethsemane with “Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you” (John 17:1). Later, on the cross and with his last breath, he shouted, “Father, into your hand I commit my spirit” (Luke 23:46). The Son was always in conversation with his Father.
Jesus taught his disciples to do the same. When they asked him to teach them to pray, it wasn’t as if they had never prayed before. It’s just that they had never prayed like he prayed. So he gave them the biggest lesson up front by telling them to open their prayers with “Our Father” (Matthew 6:9). These are words that reveal a relationship, that reveal our identity. We are God’s children. This is the position we hold. This perspective colors everything about our conversations with him.
I can take the typical approach in my prayer life of updating God on my finances (or whatever) and asking him to help if he wants to (I know he can). Or I can take the position of a son and say, “Father, I want to thank you for always meeting my needs. I look forward to being amazed at how you are already moving to make provision again. Your constant provision helps me love you even more.” What a difference this kind of praying makes! Anxiety over my problems gives way to celebration and confidence as I speak as God’s son. Prayer becomes a reminder of my identity. It moves from being merely a session to launder requests before God to a venue where identities are nurtured and bolstered.
WHAT TIME DO YOU PRAY?
God engages us from our future.
We all have had experiences of learning something just before we needed to know it or meeting someone in the “nick
