"LOCAL VS. GLOBAL": Why Isn't My Church Reaching the World?

Video Capture at the “Worldviews & Apologetics” Conference in Kiev.

In October 2017, a colleague and I were asked to travel to Ukraine and present in a "Worldviews and Apologetics" conference--along with geologists, neurologists, astronomers, theologians, and many others from the scientific and academic communities. This post is one of the presentations that were presented:

The idea that “we must reach our own area first before we are able to begin focusing at all on the global harvest,” represents the sometimes volatile dichotomy between “kingdom” and “local church”. Dr. Steve Smith (Th.D.) also has experience navigating through the complexities of local versus global focus; after being involved with a church planting movement in Asia, Dr. Smith’s aim is to be a “catalyst” for the body of Christ to plant vibrant churches in each unreached people group by the year 2025. He observes:

As disciples throughout history have made it their priority to see the kingdom explode among lost populations, they have often seen churches multiply rapidly generation by generation through ordinary new believers. Unfortunately, as churches become established, a tendency emerges to consolidate efforts and focus more on the church development than on kingdom expansion. Which priority is right? Kingdom first or church first? Both are important, but to get church right, we must get kingdom right. [3]

“To get church right, we must get kingdom right.” Profoundly concise, this brief sentence exposes the problem that multitudes of other well-meaning church leaders around the world are themselves experiencing. Some are torn between the demands of meeting the immediate needs of the emerging congregation and connecting these believers to their role in the Great Commission. As John 4:35 states,

“Do you not say, ‘There are still four months and then comes the harvest’? Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look at the fields, for they are already white for harvest! [New King James Version]

To be sure, the fields both locally and globally are “white for harvest”. How are today’s leaders to effectively equip their congregants to become mature, outwardly-focused, fully-devoted followers of Jesus Christ?

How are pastors to “get church right”? The answer lies in an essential paradigm shift in the mentality of the leader.

“Then”: The Acts 1:8 Assumption

        One principle contributing factor to the local versus global divide is an issue of translational eisegesis regarding Acts 1:8 that is all-too common:

“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” [New King Kames Version]

What is commonly understood is a linear progression of outreach, as concentric circles, starting in Jerusalem. Many times, the eisegesis typically is paraphrased …

“… and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and then in all Judea and Samaria, and then to the ends of the earth.”

The word “then” is somehow read into the text as a coordinating conjunction although it does not appear in the original language. According to the Nestle-Aland Greek New Testament:

“καὶ ἔσεσθέ μου μάρτυρες ἔν τε Ἰερουσαλὴμ καὶ [ἐν] πάσῃ τῇ Ἰουδαίᾳ καὶ Σαμαρείᾳ καὶ ἕως ἐσχάτου τῆς γῆς.”[1, 416]

The word used is simply “kai”, translated into the simple English conjunction “and” instead of utilizing a clear indicator of locations listed on a timeline. Historically, it is clear that as a direct response to enduring persecution, the newly birthed church of Jesus Christ was compelled to flee Jerusalem, and then carried out the Great Commission in new territories. Speaking of the ruthless destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70:

“Where were the Christians? Out of town, basically. Many had been driven out of Jerusalem by persecution decades earlier. Eusebius wrote that when the revolt began, in A.D. 66, some of the remaining Jewish Christians fled to Pella, a city across the Jordan River … The fall of Jerusalem, then, made the Christians even more distinct from the Jews and impelled the church to develop among the Gentiles.” [2]

Instead of a model for “reaching one’s Jerusalem first”, it is clear that the “Jerusalem, Judea and Samaria, and the uttermost parts” are actually a concurrent call for the body of Christ. As Dr. Jerry Williamson, president of Go To Nations, purports:

“An important element of a strong Great Commission church is a clear understanding of Acts 1:8, because Jesus instructs us to reach our community and reach the nations of the word at the same time.” [4, 41]

Unfortunately, so many church leaders demonstrate evidence of operating by this Acts 1:8 assumption; well-intentioned but misguided pastors often detrimentally limit the scope of the entire purpose of the church.

The “Kingdom of God” and the “Visible Church”

        In the Gospel that many scholars believe was the first of the four to be written (Mark 1:15), what may well be the first recorded words of Jesus include what was certainly a shocking message to His hearers:

“The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.” [New King James Version]

As Dr. Steve Smith points out:

“Jesus’ entire ministry was focused on initiating the kingdom of God. He used the word “kingdom” over 100 times, while He used the word “church” only twice.” [3]

To be sure, Jesus was announcing something that was a radical departure from what the Jews and Romans alike were encountering on a day-to-day basis, and it shook the worldview of these first-century folk. Instead of the “rule of Rome”, Jesus was, in effect, announcing the “reign of God”. Recorded in Mark 1:15, Jesus is authoritatively calling for a change of mind and heart, because the rule and reign of God was imminent. This spiritual kingdom exists where the rule and reign of God exists, but it was something deeper than something quantifiable or even directly visible. As is clear from Luke 17:21:

 “ … nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!” For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you.” [New King James Version]

The corporeal Church is distinct from the spiritual Kingdom that Jesus proclaimed; and the Gospel of Christ is the Gospel of the Kingdom, as Matthew 24:14 demonstrates:

“And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.” [New King James Version]

Interestingly, the Pauline epistles mention the word church almost than three times as much than the word kingdom [4]. This stark contrast in terminology is explained when it is understood that the Church is the God-ordained instrument for the establishment of the Kingdom of God in the earth.

The simple, essential gospel is recorded in Jesus’ words, it is made effective by His death and resurrection, and it is established through the Spirit-empowered witness of believers as the Church.

Conclusion: Living with a Kingdom Mentality

Dr. Jerry Williamson helps clarify how a “Kingdom mentality” effects the life of individual believers:

“There is a big difference between preaching the gospel of salvation and the gospel of the Kingdom of God. The gospel of salvation is glorious, but it is just part o the gospel of the Kingdom. The gospel of salvation is focused on going to heaven. The gospel of the Kingdom is focused on bringing heaven. We have to stop confusing our destination with our assignment.

When a person’s understanding of the gospel is limited only to salvation, and his total focus is simply on getting to heaven, the Great Commission mandate is lost in the process.” [5, 52]

In essence, both individual believers, as well as local churches, can suffer from symptomatic selfishness, becoming so inwardly focused that the Mission (the Great Commission) never gets accomplished. Marital health and wholeness, spiritual disciplines, passionate worship, generous giving, biblical parenting—these aspects of a life in Christ are certainly important, even critical to our healthy fellowship with God and others. However, these are actually peripheral issues to the core purpose of the individual believer. If the entire focus of our lives becomes a peripheral issue, we lose sight of our very purpose and eliminate our effectiveness in the Great Commission. When the “main thing becomes the main thing”, when church leaders decide to focus on the Kingdom that the Gospel of the Kingdom proclaims, the paradigm for individual lives, local churches, and national movements become realigned with the Missio Dei (“mission of God”). 

SOURCES:

1.    Aland, K., Black, M., Martini, C., Metzger, B., & Wikgren, A. (1983). The Greek New Testament. Stuttgart, Germany: United Bible Societies.

2.    Christianity Today—Christian History. (n.d.). “A.D. 70, Titus Destroys Jerusalem”. Retrieved from http://www.christianitytoday.com/history/issues/issue-28/ad-70-titus-destroys-jerusalem.html

3.    Smith, Steve. (2012, July 1). “Getting Kingdom Right”. Retrieved from http://www.missionfrontiers.org/issue/article/getting-kingdom-right

4.    Williamson, Jerry. (2014). Global Pathway: A Believer’s Guide to Building a Great Commission Church (2nd. ed.). Jacksonville, FL: Go To Nations Publishing.

5.    Williamson, Jerry. (2016). Transformational Ministry Training. Jacksonville, FL: Go To Nations Publishing.