Pilgrim Soldier

I have now finished reading The Secret Message of Jesus but found a final comment from Brian McLaren last night: (Click here for the full interview)

If our understanding of the gospel is primarily dualistic: focused on “saving souls” for “eternity,” apart from the body, society, the environment, culture, history, etc., then we’ll have “missions programs.” But if our understanding of mission is integral: flows from an understanding of the gospel of the kingdom, then everything we do is mission. For example, public worship involves forming people as God-centered disciples, and God-centered disciples are a redemptive and healing force in the world, the kinds of people who do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with God. To me, the gospel of the kingdom of God—the gospel Jesus proclaimed and demonstrated—integrates everything and changes everything.

This seems to hit on something that we’ve been thinking about in the office, which is how to explain to politicians why making a decision to become a Christian is actually an empowering action, rather than disempowering.