A Kingdom Mindset for the Church

"...on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." {Matthew 16:18}. Much has been made about Jesus' statement to Peter in Matthew. One thing is for sure, Jesus intends to build His church upon an immovable and unshakable foundation. His goal is for the church to be a victorious fellowship of believers. The question then is never about the foundation but what we build on the foundation He has already provided.

Several years ago Rick Warren introduced a new way of thinking into church life. In particular, he was one of the first to implement a purpose driven strategy. Warren identified the 5 main purposes of the church in this way: Worship, Evangelism, Ministry, Discipleship, & Fellowship. While I haven't sold out to the rest of his ideas, these 5 purposes have become a major theme for PBC. This isn't only true for our fellowship but there are many more who have a "purpose driven" structure. What makes each church community unique is how they fulfill these purposes.

Over the last few weeks I have been thinking a lot about these 5 purposes. You see, it's not enough to have them in place. It doesn't do any good to call yourself a purpose driven church if in the end you aren't doing anything. It's like having "Missionary" in your church name but never doing missions.

Here are a few ideas for creating a Kingdom Mindset for the Church:

#1 - Create a mentality in worship of hosting the presence of God rather than singing our favorite songs. Unfortunately, people tie the idea of what moves them to what moves God. While your favorite might help move you to a greater sensitivity in worship, the question needs to become "What is moving the heart of God?". This means we may have to throw out the song list in the midst of worship. We may have to "camp out" for a while in a chorus, a bridge, or just let the musicians play. Regardless of what it looks like, those who lead in worship need to be okay with abandoning the script and grabbing hold of the Spirit.

#2 - Evangelism needs to become good news again. This is another area where we have lost great focus. This is typically a result of latching onto a method of evangelism rather than a sensitivity to the Spirit of God. It's time to put the good back into the Good News. The Bible teaches us that it is the kindness of God that leads to repentance. I'm not saying that we can never talk about hell. I'm simply saying that the love of God has a greater impact upon the heart of man than we have been willing to believe.

#3 - Make ministry about people rather than projects. This is a difficult mindset to break. There are a lot of churches who think that because they have a lot of projects or sending out a lot of mission teams that they are doing ministry. However, people are not projects and we must change our focus. One of the simplest definitions of ministry that I have ever heard is that it is "meeting needs with love." Therefore, we must ask the serious questions when it comes to ministry. What are the needs around us? AND...what can we do to meet those needs?

#4 - Ask yourself this question: How can we make fellowship about imparting life rather than just hanging out? I realize that in even asking that question that some people are wondering "How do I impart life?" To impart something means to communicate and/or bestow. What we are learning about the Kingdom of God is that we are aware of we get to release. Fellowship then moves into a new environment when the people who enter into it become sensitive to what the Spirit of God is doing. We are learning how to bestow and communicate grace, bestow and communicate love, bestow and communicate joy. The list goes on an on. I want more than just bringing people into a fellowship. I want to impart something to them. I want to share what God has done in me.

#5 - When it comes to discipleship, we need to lead people in a journey rather than through a study. It seems like most people in the church today, when they hear the word discipleship, immediately think of a classroom setting. This is not the New Testament approach to making disciples. Discipleship in the Bible was always relational, always walking alongside someone, and always mentoring. It's a lot of "on the job training" and a lot of question and answer. Look at how Jesus trained His followers. He walked with them, lived among them, modeled for them, and released them. Should we be any different? Just like fellowship, discipleship becomes a way of imparting Kingdom life into those around us. We are learning how to Walk in the Spirit together. We are learning what it means to be sons/daughters of the most High God.

I hope by now you have recognized that in each of these points I continued to refer to the Spirit of God. The reason why is very simple: You cannot have a Kingdom mindset apart from the Holy Spirit. One of the glaring problems in many churches today is that you can do at least 90% of what they are doing apart from the Holy Spirit. I don't find that model in the New Testament. What I see in the Bible makes it clear that every purpose we are trying to fulfill requires the power of the Holy Spirit. We worship in spirit and truth. We share the Gospel and minister to needs through His gifts, His power, and His leadership. Even those being added to the fellowship and learning how to live as disciples of Christ are led by the Spirit of God. In this way, church life isn't reduced to a formula. Church life is all about creating a mindset that revolves around what the Holy Spirit is doing in our day. It's a Kingdom mindset.