Kingdom Come: Why We Must Give Up Our Obsession with Fixing the Church--and What We Should Do Instead - Softcover

McNeal, Reggie

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1414391870 ISBN 13: 9781414391878

Publisher: Tyndale Momentum, 2015

Synopsis

There’s a reason Jesus taught us to pray “Thy Kingdom come . . .” and not “Thy church come.” The church clearly plays an important role in God’s plans. It was established by Christ, and he is its Head. But have we put too much emphasis on the church? Have we confused a means of participating in God’s Kingdom with the Kingdom itself?

In Kingdom Come, church ministry consultant Reggie McNeal reveals why it’s crucial to realign the church’s mission with God’s ultimate Kingdom agenda. You’ll discover how you can get in on―and help lead―the Kingdom movement currently underway.

Join the mission to help the Kingdom break into our hearts . . . and break out into the world.

About this title

Review

Reggie McNeal combines southern charm with gospel disruption. Just like the Jesus he follows, McNeal realigns God’s people with news of the Kingdom. This means everything gets reordered for the sake of God’s determination “to make all things new.” McNeal continues to point skillfully and faithfully to God’s essentials and priorities, which recast church and life in Kingdom terms. (Mark Labberton, President, Fuller Theological Seminary)

In Kingdom Come, Reggie McNeal masterfully does what we’ve come to expect of him: intersecting the path of our past with the reality of the present in order to guide and challenge us toward a new and better direction for the future. Why listen to him? He looks out the window, sees what most of us are too busy to see, and challenges us to new thinking. (Todd Wilson, Cofounder and director, Exponential)

Reggie McNeal has written an exuberant, humble, clear, timely, nearly unassailable call-to-arms for Jesus followers to radically shift their focus from Churchianity to the Kingdom of God―life as God intends it. We must rediscover our essential task as partners in God’s redemptive mission for the world, or lose our claim to relevance in a culture that is quickly abandoning propositional Christianity that has been hermetically sealed in competitive silos of shrinking market share. Breaking free from brittle, self-imposed constraints, Reggie calls us to join hands and hearts in the common purpose of loving God by loving our neighbors in as many life-honoring ways as health and wholeness reveal. (Rev. Dr. Stephen Bauman, Christ Church, United Methodist, New York City)

Kudos to Reggie McNeal, who is out to return us from Churchianity to Christianity. Read this book to understand that the church is not a club, but a launching pad; that discipleship’s about a direction (following Jesus), not a doctrine; and that the gospel story’s star is God, not your church. May Kingdom Come help us recalibrate so that we may live out the Abrahamic call to bless our cities and the nations. (Dr. Amy L. Sherman, Author of Kingdom Calling)

Kingdom Come can transform our country’s education system! Reggie McNeal inspires Kingdom growth in our schools and communities with examples of people who are partnering with God and their local schools. Classroom teachers alone cannot meet the educational, health, and social needs of all children. It takes a Kingdom approach. Practical and stirring advice on how to be on mission with God with issues that stir your heart. (Melanie Barton, Executive director, South Carolina Education Oversight Committee)

One of the first songs my children learned was “Seek Ye First the Kingdom of God.” I admit I never was sure exactly what that meant until now. Open this book, underline every word, and as God’s people, partner with Him in helping people live a better life―abundant life! May His Kingdom come! (Judy Lee, Executive director, Titus County Cares)

I appreciated reading Reggie McNeal’s Kingdom Come. As usual with this author, I felt alternately affirmed, challenged, and occasionally bothered by his candid insights on the church and contemporary culture. It reads like a manifesto for mission, calling for Christian leaders to seriously consider the true Kingdom impact their ministry is having on the community they are called to serve. (Barry Swanson, Commissioner of the Eastern Territory, Salvation Army USA)

Reggie gives us a compelling thesis on unlocking the congregation’s social power from within today’s churches. He offers a blueprint for building greater Kingdom communities, where congregations find spiritual fulfillment in Kingdom service. Imagine the strength of church foundations built on the rocks of its people’s collaborative spirit and on mission work with and for the community. The Kingdom can come, and never has the need been greater. (Sam Oliver, Global supply chain production lead, Monsanto)

Are we, as the church, supposed to get our hands dirty in the pressing issues of our communities? If the Kingdom is essentially “life as God intends for it to be,” as Reggie McNeal contends so convincingly in this book, and if we see that our community is not as God intends, then we have our answer. In that light, the church is no longer the end; it is the means. (Jim Morgan, President, Meet the Need)

Our missional coach is back to his meddling business. Reggie makes a biblical case that if congregations are going to be involved in what God is up to, they must move from their predictable church ministry focus to a Kingdom mission focus. Churches may be dying, but God’s Kingdom is thriving. This book has the potential, with the Spirit’s help, to wake us up from “missional amnesia” and launch us into vital, life-giving mission. (Marnie Crumpler, Executive pastor, Peachtree Presbyterian Church)

About this edition

• Publisher: Tyndale Momentum
• Publication date: 2015
• ISBN 10: 1414391870
• ISBN 13: 9781414391878
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 224