Questions for Church Leaders (3)
“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” Matthew 6.33
The power of vision
People tend to move in the direction they’re looking. Have you ever noticed that? I recall when I was learning to drive as a teenager. My uncle Bob took me out to drive around the park in our town. At one point he told me to look over at the ball diamonds on the left, and immediately the car began to drift leftward. He asked, “Did you feel that?” I said, “Yes, I did.” And then he explained to me that we will drive where we’re looking, so it’s always a good idea to keep your eyes on the road.
Who doesn’t understand this?
But this is true not just for driving a car. It’s true for leading a church. A pastor with whom I once served used to say, “The purpose of a leader is to lead.” But for leaders to lead, they need to have their eyes on the road. They need to know where we’re going, what the destination looks like which we’re trying to achieve, to which they’re supposed to be leading us. Jesus said concerning His role as the Good Shepherd, “he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice” (Jn. 10.2-4). We know His voice as He speaks to us from His Word, and we know that He knows where He’s going.
The same must be true for church leaders at every level.
So we who lead the Lord’s sheep, in whatever context or ministry, must continually ask ourselves: “Where are we going? What vision are we casting and pursuing? Are we on course for realizing that vision?” Because the vision church leaders follow will play a large role in shaping the discipleship of d the church’s members and its place in its community.
The Kingdom of God
Jesus commanded His disciples to seek the Kingdom of God. He spent the better part of His teaching illustrating and explaining the Kingdom, contrasting the Kingdom with the ways of men, and urging people to strive and struggle and press hard to enter the Kingdom of God.
Casting a vision, in other words, of the Kingdom coming and advancing on earth as it is in heaven.
For most of us, however, “Kingdom of God” is just another religious expression that we use to mean something like “Christianity.” When church leaders are asked about the church’s vision, they probably won’t answer, “To seek the Kingdom of God”, at least, not right off the bat. As leaders, we are neither clear about the Kingdom nor unanimous in our view that realizing the presence, promise, and power of the Kingdom must guide all we do as believers and churches.
But we must be clear about our vision of the Kingdom of God and confident that we expect to make significant progress in realizing this Kingdom on our watch.
Jesus came to earth preaching the Kingdom of God. He claimed it was “near”, “at hand”, and “within” us. The apostles picked up on this and likewise proclaimed and taught the Kingdom of God. The Kingdom of God matters. The Kingdom of God does not consist in words but in power. The Kingdom of God is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit. The Kingdom of God is now but it’s also yet to be. It’s here, but it’s always coming. And as it comes, Jesus suggested, people can “see” the evidence of its presence (Mk. 9:1).
“Seeing” the Kingdom
The Kingdom of God is the rule or domain of Jesus Christ. He reigns at the right hand of God, from where, by His Word and Spirit, working in His Church, He is extending His Kingdom on earth as it is heaven in a perpetual conflict with spiritual enemies He will ultimately subdue and destroy (Ps. 110; Dan. 2.44, 45). The apostle Paul says that the Kingdom is distinguished by evidence of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit (Rom. 14.17, 18). The Kingdom is a real spiritual power (1 Cor. 4.20), power to move people to good works of love and good words of truth. In the Kingdom of God, as it expands in the world, the glory—the Presence—of God begins to be more widely known (Hab. 2.14). Lives change. Cultures change. Communities change. Healing occurs; lives are repaired; people become followers of Jesus Christ; institutions are transformed; a troubled, stumbling, confused, and uncertain world begins to find its way out of the darkness of sin into the light of life.
Can we see that? Are we seeing that in our vision, personally and as a congregation?
We know this happens because we’ve seen it. We have experienced the transforming presence, promise, and power of the rule of King Jesus, as He is making all things new in our own lives. Of course, we understand that there’s always more work to be done in our being transformed into the image of Jesus Christ, but we press on each day, working out our salvation in fear and trembling and tapping into the indwelling power of God to renew us as citizens and ambassadors of His Kingdom (Phil. 2.12, 13; 1 Cor. 5.17-21).
And God intends that, what we experience in our own lives should have an impact on every aspect of our lives, as He refracts His glory through us into the lives, culture, institutions, people, places, and things with which we are daily engaged (1 Cor. 10.31; 2 Cor. 4.15). Local churches that embrace a vision of the Kingdom of God see the needs of their communities, see the ways the Good News of the Kingdom might help to meet those needs, and see their way into works of service and witness that are designed to channel the power of the Kingdom, that is growing in the members of their congregations, into the dark and desperate places of the local community.
So when church members ask us, “What’s our vision?” let us be quick, articulate, and excited to say that we are seeking first the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, in our lives, our church, and throughout our community.
For reflection or discussion
1. When you hear the words, “Kingdom of God” what do you see?
2. How does vision, such as we talked about here, function in your life? Do you have a clear vision for your life?
3. Do you regularly encourage your church’s leaders in seeking God’s vision for your church?
Next steps—Preparation: This week, make a concerted effort to improve your vision of the Kingdom of God as it is coming in you and in your world. Rehearse this vision before the Lord in prayer, daily.
T. M. Moore
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment to give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
A good supplement to this ongoing study on the Church is our free PDF book, Pray for Your Church. Download your copy from The Ailbe Bookstore by clicking here. Also, we encourage you to visit our ReThinking Church page, where you’ll see a variety of free resources to help you church.
This week: Our Read Moore podcast is into a new series of readings from our book, The Joy and Rejoicing of My Heart. In our Crosfigell teaching letter, we begin next week to examine some of the wonderful spiritual poetry from the period of the Celtic Revival. And in our daily Scriptorium column we are studying the Gospel of Matthew. Click here to see all the other columns and writers available to you.
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