Many Christ-followers and churches today have a vision problem. They are so focused on the individualistic salvation aspect of the gospel that they miss the bigger message: the Kingdom of God. While individual salvation through faith in Christ is the starting point for every believer, it is still just that—the starting point. In order for churches and Christ-followers to be effective in cultural and societal transformation, they must widen their focus from the individual perspective and embrace the corporate perspective: the Kingdom focus that was the heart of Jesus’ message and the message of the apostles and the early church—and is still the heart of the message of Christ’s church today.
This short, easy-to-read book outlines 25 simple but profound truths about the Kingdom of God that you may have never heard, but when understood and embraced, will transform the way you look at your own faith, the way you read and understand the Bible, and the way you view society and culture. The church as a whole must embrace the Kingdom message in order to successfully engage the culture and become the catalyst for societal transformation.
Anyone who know me, I am not a church basher. In fact having following Jesus for 50 years I have only attended, tithed and served in only 3 local churches. However, we know from Church History there can be blind spots that miss some critical information on how the church should function, emphases and radically embrace. It only in recent years have we understood the doctrines of healing, baptism of the Holy Spirit and Five-fold ministry gifts as well as penetration of the church in the ‘Market Place.’ Truth that are succinctly put by Dr. Mattera is ‘All believers are called to full-time ministry,’ ‘Cultural Mandate is the key to interpreting the Bible,’ ‘Highest level of spiritual strongholds are ideological and ‘A congregations are only as strong as their marriages because the church is a family of families.’ Many more. Ready to be enlarged – this book will help. ~ Ian Green