We Need Another Reformation (Ministry of All Believers)
There needs to be another reformation to take place in order for the Church to become all that God has called Her to be.
Ministry of All Believers
While the first reformation was primarily focused on the priesthood of all believers, there needs to be another reformation that focuses on the ministry of all believers.
By this I mean, every single believer needs to see him or herself as ministers of the gospel of Christ. There are too many ‘professional' Christians who have been assigned titles and positions which as a result has weakened the influence of the wider body of Christ in the world.
Bishops, pastors, reverends and the like, have swallowed the role that the entire body of Christ was supposed to partake in.
The system that the many churches have gotten accustomed to, forces Christians to remain baby Christians rather than become the army of Christ that demolishes the kingdom of darkness.
How can we do this? We must equip Christians to advance God’s Kingdom where they are rather than only recruiting them to build the local church.
Don’t get me wrong, I am for the local church. I served as a pastor at a local church for 8 years and I am still a member of a local church. In fact, I absolutely love my local church and am a active member of it.
However, I have seen many churches fall into the trap of building the tower of babel rather than building the Kingdom of God. If we are not careful we can fall into the trap of gathering a whole bunch of believers and building a big tower for everyone to see and stand in awe of. We can get too comfortable in building our own name, our own church and our own ministry that we can miss building the one thing that matters; God’s Kingdom.
So how can we do this?
Equip people to advance God’s Kingdom where they are.
Advance God's Kingdom Where You Are
Instead of recruiting people only to build your churches and programs, train people to advance God’s Kingdom where they are! The Church plays a role of telling people to come and see but we must also train people to go and tell.
Train your members not only to take church work seriously, but all work seriously. Train your people to not only invite people to church but to take Jesus with them to work. For the Christian everything they do is sacred if it is done unto the Lord! "To the pure, all things are pure" (Titus 1:15).
If you are reading this and you have a fire for the Lord but are not a 'minister', do not think the only way advance God’s Kingdom is to become a pastor or full-time missionary. You can serve God exactly where you are. In fact, you are a minister who carries the aroma of Christ. You may not have the traditional title of a pastor, bishop, reverend or missionary, but according to the Bible you are commanded to make disciples! The command to preach the gospel, to make disciples, and to baptize converts was not only meant for clergy but for every single follower of Christ to participate in. In other words, your mission field is wherever God has placed you right now.
Work hard where you are. Pray for those at work and school. Share your testimony and the Word of God with whoever God has placed in front of you. Don't depend on your pastors and church to do the work, Christ Himself lives in you. It is likely that God has strategically placed you in dark places to shine the light where it matters most. Shine the light of Christ where you are!
1. What are some ways that you have limited God's Kingdom to only the church world?
2. What are some things you can do right now to start advancing God's Kingdom where you are?
3. Who is someone that God has placed in your life that you can share the gospel with and disciple?