Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Mike Slaughter is the Pastor Emeritus at Ginghamsburg Church. Under his leadership, Ginghamsburg Church has become known as an early innovator of small group ministry, the Church "media reformation," and cyber-ministry. Mike is the author of multiple books for church leaders, including Down to Earth, The Passionate Church, Change the World, Dare to Dream, Renegade Gospel, A Different Kind of Christmas, Spiritual Entrepreneurs, Real Followers, Momentum for Life, UnLearning Church, and Upside Living in a Downside Economy.

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Change the World

Abingdon Press

Chapter One

All great missionary movements begin at the fringes of the church, among the poor and the marginalized, and seldom, if ever, at the center. —Alan Hirsch

The seeker model practiced by so many of our churches in the last few decades unintentionally lowered the bar on what it means to make the radical commitment to become a Jesus follower. Some of our superficial theology is the residue of evangelistic methodologies that sold grace at wholesale prices. We cajole people into making decisions for Jesus rather than truthfully challenge people to calculate the cost of following Jesus in a lifestyle of sacrificial service. We invite the uninitiated to become members of a movement they don't even understand without clearly laying out the expectations of the movement's revolutionary leader.

There has been a growing restlessness in the church during the first decade of the twenty-first century. The models of the last decades of the twentieth century are no longer adequate to address the questions and needs of younger generations. Many of those who are disenchanted with the church, however, have a more positive image of Jesus. Their experience and understanding of the church are counter to the Jesus of their expectation. We in the church are perceived as being very unlike Jesus in our priorities, attitudes, politics, and lifestyles. The emergent movement has grown out of this disenchantment by those who are part of the church but feel that the church has neglected Jesus' emphasis on the kingdom of God and its redemptive influence in the world. The proponents of this movement emphasize the Messiah of Isaiah who will bring God's justice and righteousness to the poor and marginalized. Others in the church refer to the emerging influences as "missional church," which emphasizes the attempt to reconnect to the apostolic DNA of the original movement. (Authors Michael Frost and Alan Hirsch are proponents of this perspective.) The missional church is actively moving out and engaging the world in the places of greatest need rather than marketing the world into the church. I refer to this throughout the book as rediscovering and reclaiming the message and mission of Jesus.

The Kingdom on Earth

The Jewish people of Jesus' day were expectantly awaiting the dawn of the messianic kingdom. The prophet Isaiah foretold "the year of the Lord's favor." Jesus read from this passage in his inaugural message in his hometown of Nazareth:

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me ... to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor ... to comfort all who mourn, and provide for those who grieve in Zion. (Isa 61:1-3)

This expectant kingdom was not a disembodied heaven that people would ascend to in the afterlife but a righting or restoration of God's created order on earth. Isaiah stated,

They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated; they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations. (v. 4)

Jesus proclaimed the arrival of this new kingdom order. His message was clearly focused on the kingdom of God's present influence in the world rather than on going to heaven when we die. Rather, heaven has come to earth, or as Jesus said in the Gospel of Mark, "The kingdom of God has come near. Repent and believe the good news!" (1:15).

From his prison cell, John sent word to Jesus asking if he was truly the one who had been promised through the centuries by the ancient prophets or "should we expect someone else?" (Luke 7:18-19). Jesus did not go into a theological discourse but pointed to the physical evidence of the presence of the power of God to complete the works of God: "Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor" (Luke 7:22). Jesus claimed to be the long-awaited Messiah whose presence would signify the presence of God's kingdom and the restoration of all things. The evidence of his claims was not in his words but was demonstrated through the fruit of God's works. After he read the passage announcing the messianic presence (Isa 61) in the synagogue in Nazareth, he dropped the big bombshell: "Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing" (Luke 4:21). The evidence was the direct intervention of God's heart and healing purpose in the lives of the poor and broken. The people of the messianic kingdom don't escape from the world's diseased brokenness but engage the world and all those in it at the greatest places of need. Jesus followers are not waiting for heaven but are actively rebuilding, restoring, and renewing the lives of broken people and the shattered communities of despair. Yes, we are waiting for the return of the King. But it is not passive waiting!

The church described in the book of Acts (notice that the book is named Acts and not Doctrines) was continually moving beyond all institutional walls and doctrines to faithfully demonstrate the good news of the Kingdom. It was a major deal for Peter to move beyond the Jewish laws of defilement to include "unclean Gentiles." And the church was not beyond the frailties of divisions. We could say that the first church split was the denominational formation of a Jewish church and a Gentile church. But we read about a visible sacrificial lifestyle that demonstrated a radically different core value. The believers embraced a countercultural lifestyle that caused those outside the church to pay serious attention:

All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. (Acts 2:44-47)

They were being a visible expression of God's right-side-up values in an upside-down world.

Who we are and why we are here are realized as we live and serve God together in community under the authority of the Lord Jesus Christ. The values of this community are not established by trends in media, arts, politics, or economics. Those values change with every generation. The values of the kingdom of God are eternal.

Ministry with the Poor

Listen, my dear brothers and sisters: Has not God chosen those who are poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom he promised those who love him? But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who are exploiting you? Are they not the ones who are dragging you into court? Are they not the ones who are blaspheming the noble name to whom you belong? (James 2:5-7)

Our churches reflect the economic homogeneity of our culture more than they do the priorities of the kingdom. James pointed to the fact that we are guilty of economic favoritism. How many people in your church think like...