Kingdom Mentality in Eastern Europe
The church in the Western hemisphere has lost much of it’s power and influence. I’ve been working a number of years in Eastern Europe, specifically Ukraine where it is much different there. The evangelical church had a significant impact on the outcome of the Orange Revolution of Ukraine in late 2004.
The main difference between the East and West is this: the leadership in the East and consequently the members, have a Kingdom mentality. Whereas the church in the west has what I call a “box” mentality. Let me elaborate. Everything happens within the “box”, or 4 walls of the church. Practically all forms of ministry take place within the “box”, therefore, only a small percentage of the membership are actively involved in ministry. They, for the most part, are professional ministers. The rest are required to be faithful at filling their spot in the pews…and do nothing as pertaining to Biblical ministry. For example, personal witnessing has digressed to “inviting people to church”.
From my personal observation, the leaders in the East are adept at equiping the membership as ministers and empowering them to complete their God-given ministries. We are all ministers: Ephesians 4:11-12. The leadership are to equip us, the members, to do the work of the minstry.
In the Eastern European churches, very few own their own church buildings. After the fall of Communism, many people were getting saved through the efforts of western missionaries and the few believers who resided within Eastern Europe. They began meeting in homes and renting public theaters and halls. Even today, almost 20 years after the collapse of the Berlin wall, very few evangelical churches own their own facility. Because of this, the leadership never cultivated the mentality we have here in the West about church buildings. We “go” to church. They consider themselves “the” church.
Back to Kingdom mentality. The western church is infected with “church mentality”. Everything is about the church. Church growth, church finances, etc. etc. Jesus didn’t come preaching, saying, “The church is at hand.” No, He said, “the Kingdom of God is at hand.” John the Baptist preached the same message and so did the first generation believers. The church is the agent that is to extend and manifest the Kingdom of God here on earth, just like Jesus Christ did when He walked this earth. If the Head of the church preached “things pertaining to the Kingdom”, then so should the Body.
The focus should be the Kingdom, not the church.
But now, the Eastern European church is wanting to help the Western church regain what has been lost. It will take a real shift in our thinking in order to regain power and influence we once had. One of the pastors I know and work with, Sunday Adelaja, is kicking off in February 2008 what I call a movement, sharing what they've learned. You can read about it on his website, ChuchShift.
The main difference between the East and West is this: the leadership in the East and consequently the members, have a Kingdom mentality. Whereas the church in the west has what I call a “box” mentality. Let me elaborate. Everything happens within the “box”, or 4 walls of the church. Practically all forms of ministry take place within the “box”, therefore, only a small percentage of the membership are actively involved in ministry. They, for the most part, are professional ministers. The rest are required to be faithful at filling their spot in the pews…and do nothing as pertaining to Biblical ministry. For example, personal witnessing has digressed to “inviting people to church”.
From my personal observation, the leaders in the East are adept at equiping the membership as ministers and empowering them to complete their God-given ministries. We are all ministers: Ephesians 4:11-12. The leadership are to equip us, the members, to do the work of the minstry.
In the Eastern European churches, very few own their own church buildings. After the fall of Communism, many people were getting saved through the efforts of western missionaries and the few believers who resided within Eastern Europe. They began meeting in homes and renting public theaters and halls. Even today, almost 20 years after the collapse of the Berlin wall, very few evangelical churches own their own facility. Because of this, the leadership never cultivated the mentality we have here in the West about church buildings. We “go” to church. They consider themselves “the” church.
Back to Kingdom mentality. The western church is infected with “church mentality”. Everything is about the church. Church growth, church finances, etc. etc. Jesus didn’t come preaching, saying, “The church is at hand.” No, He said, “the Kingdom of God is at hand.” John the Baptist preached the same message and so did the first generation believers. The church is the agent that is to extend and manifest the Kingdom of God here on earth, just like Jesus Christ did when He walked this earth. If the Head of the church preached “things pertaining to the Kingdom”, then so should the Body.
The focus should be the Kingdom, not the church.
But now, the Eastern European church is wanting to help the Western church regain what has been lost. It will take a real shift in our thinking in order to regain power and influence we once had. One of the pastors I know and work with, Sunday Adelaja, is kicking off in February 2008 what I call a movement, sharing what they've learned. You can read about it on his website, ChuchShift.
Labels: 7 spheres of influence, kingdom mentality, kingdom of god
posted by <> at 4:23 AM
