This blog post has been revised and turned into a chapter in the book, Epic Jesus.
Frank Viola | Beyond Evangelical
Official Blog of Author & Speaker Frank Viola. Digging below the surface and moving beyond the shallows in today's Christianity.
Kingdom Confusion: Part I
Reframing Discipleship
Frank, Are you familiar with Dr. Myles Munroe (Bahamas Faith Ministries)? He teaches the truth about the Kingdom of God, and reading your comments, I looks to me that the two of you are saying the same things. You’ll probably never see, or hear Myles on an evangelical site, or show, unless someone is denegrating him as a charismatic. I’m not saying that he is perfect, or has all understanding, but what I’ve been able to follow along scripturally with him, has given me (a former church of God cult member/former evangelical) knowledge that I didn’t know before. lol Thank you for what I believe that the Lord has anointed you to do.
I don’t know him personally nor have I read much of his stuff. So I really don’t know what he teaches about the Kingdom. That said, he gave a killer endorsement for my book “From Eternity to Here” http://https://www.frankviola.org/frometernitytohere/
When I first read The Gospel of the Kingdom by G. Ladd, the lights went on for me re: the K vs C contrast. The “now and the not yet” tension, and “the K advances whereas the C increases (quatitatively) are two overarching concepts that still help me navigate my life in Christ today and my overall understanding of how I am to be a participant in it with Him.
High church theology, low church ecclesiology, I like that!
Dear Frank,
You’re right on here! The church, the body (book of Eph), and the kingdom of God are all synonymous. I truly appreciate what you’re doing here!
Brother, please PRAY hard for us. We are in India and our lives are under threat. I got all the children out of the house yesterday morning very early and parked them in various homes of the church/body/kingdom. I cam to one of the leader’s home. Last night we had a prayer meeting with the men from the general Mumbai (Bombay) church and they unanimously advised staying away from our village for seven days. On Oct 2nd is Gandhi’s birthday and they may go out that day to “take the village temperature.” Please pray and here is the whole story:
Love you,
Don Wood & Children
Frank, your remarks on the relationship between Christ ,the Church, and the Kingdom are spot on. We are not called to transform the world: we are called on to be a transformed world. Thanks are due to you and Len for bringing these insights to the fore when too much of avant garde evangelicalism seems to be forgetting them.
Frank Valdez, I like your statement.. “We are not called to transform the world: we are called to be a Transformed World.”
Thanks Frank, an interesting article with a lot of substance/food for thought. How do you manage to write so much in such a short time…impressive!
Jordan (from Canada)
Again thanks for a very insightful dialogue. You make me think out loud.
Reading Finding Organic Church and like all of your books find it remarkable. For some reason I fliped to the back and started reading about the difrent seasons and found it very incisive.