Connecting People to the Kingdom

The Disciple’s Journey

A Travel Free Learning Article
by
Ken Kessler
Ministry Partner with The Columbia Partnership
Voice: 804.338.5058, E-mail: KKessler@TheColumbiaPartnership.org
Web Site: www.TheColumbiaPartnership.org

What difference does it make? Have you ever thought about where we are headed on this journey of
discipleship? How will we know when we get there? A journey usually means that we are planning a
destination somewhere. So what are expecting? How will we know?
• Some people believe that if we can just get people to make a decision for Christ, then we have
reached our destination. We are saved from the fires of hell and live with the expectation of
eternal bliss in the next life. I am grateful for an understanding of God’s grace in my life that has
led me to know for certain that I am one of God’s accepted children. But is that all there is?
• Some believe this destination is one of personal growth. If I can just be a more effective person
and reach my full potential, then my journey will have been successful. And finding our personal
connection to the Lord is very important, but it might leave us self-focused and self-centered.
• Others believe the destination is finding a place in community with others. Finding that place to
belong gives us meaning and connection. When we find community, we re-discover the
fellowship that God intends us to have with him, other human beings, and even the created order.
But if we only focus on our community, we can easily get groupthink and hold onto our “group-
ness” to the exclusion of others.
I think Jesus knew that we human beings would have a challenge understanding the destination of our
journey. So he gives us an image to describe what it means to connect with his journey. He uses the
image of a Kingdom. (I know that some people struggle with the metaphor because of its paternalistic
implications, and if you do, substitute a word that describes a kingdom – reign, realm, sovereignty, etc.
Don’t miss the point.) Our journey is to live within his Kingdom and be transformed by his mission.
In John 14-17, the gospel writer of John describes Jesus’ last words to his followers, and Jesus says he is
going to prepare a place for us in eternity, but he leaves us on earth right now to live out His Kingdom
here on earth. So how do we live while we remain on this earth? The entire New Testament gives us
instruction, but I would suggest that Jesus specifically teaches us in the Sermon on the Mount how we
should be living in our present world as we prepare for our eternal home – Kingdom living is what I call it!
There are those who believe the Sermon on the Mount is just giving us a prescription for living in future
days when he consummates his reign on earth. Others think that it is just Jesus’ words for that time.
Dallas Willard has affected my thinking through his book, The Divine Conspiracy. Dr. Willard reminds us
that Jesus is really teaching us how to live just as he did when gives us the Sermon on the Mount. We are
to be his apprentices in learning the life of the Kingdom. He suggests that we are learning three things:
• How to do the things that he explicitly said to do.
• Conduct the usual activities of life – home, school, business, government, etc, -- in the power and
character of Christ.
• Exercise the power of the Kingdom to do good for others and defeat evil in this earthly existence
(An excellent article on this subject called “How Does the Disciple Live?” can be found on Dallas Willard’s
web site at www.dwillard.org.)
So how are we doing helping our people in church live in the Kingdom? How are we connecting them to
the Kingdom life? If surveys are any indication, we are not doing very well in the western world. Most
surveys show that you cannot tell much difference in the lifestyle choices of Christians and non-
Christians. We have developed a whole churched culture around making disciples of the American way or
disciples of the cultural experience of our region of the country. Our people listen to Rush Limbaugh,

June 7, 2010 Edition Copyright 2010, Ken Kessler

Glenn Beck, and Sean Hannity, on the conservative spectrum, more faithfully than the words of Christ.
On the more liberal side, our people take their attitudes and actions from the People of the American Way
or Keith Olberman.
Here are some ideas I have for helping connecting people to Christ’s Kingdom agenda:
1) Encourage people to develop spiritual disciplines in their life to impact their relationship to Christ
as Lord. Most of our energy in church has been on attendance at church programs and events.
Help people to see participation as the discipline of following Christ and learning his ways to live
in the Kingdom.
2) Take a coach approach to spiritual development. Develop spiritual coaches to help people listen
for the voice and direction of the Lord.
3) Develop learning communities of followers. Move learning from information sharing to life
application. (Of course, good leaders already do that.) Take even a coach approach to teaching,
and let learners design their course of action.
4) Become permission-giving as a congregation. Give people permission to explore new
opportunities in ministries and opportunities as it connects to the Kingdom mission.
5) Commission people for ministry in their workplaces, schools, and communities. We ordain people
for church vocational ministry. Let’s help people see the importance of their ministry in their life
settings through commissioning experiences.
6) Tell the stories of ministry that are occurring outside the four walls of the church building.
Celebrate what God is doing through people’s journeys.
7) Help people write a “future story” for their Christ-following journeys.
8) Change the theme from stewardship to generosity in our conversations about Kingdom living. My
fellow partner of TCP, Ruben Swint, has reminded me that the generosity theme speaks to the
fact that Christ redeems all aspects of our life, not just our pocketbooks. Release stewardship
from just budget planning and giving to its larger theme of Christ-following with every part of our
life.
And these are just the beginning. What additional items would you add to this list?
Remember Jim Henson and his Muppets – Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Animal, etc. I remember being
fascinated with the first movie that Henson developed, The Muppet Movie. The gist of the movie is that
Kermit leaves his little bayou to seek fame and fortune. When he finally arrives in Hollywood, he and the
other characters that have joined his journey gather for the making of a new movie about his trip to
Hollywood. As the movie concludes, everything on the set of the movie comes crashing down, and it
looks like all the fulfillment of Kermit’s dreams come to an end. But then, a rainbow begins to shine
through the mess, and the characters begin singing these words, “Life’s like a movie, write your own
ending, keep believing, keep pretending, we’ve done what we set out to do . . .” As I conclude these
articles on the disciple’s journey, I resonate with the end of this movie.
I do not know how you will write your story on how you will connect people to the disciple’s journey. You
will write the story as you listen for God’s direction and keep believing that the Jesus’ dream of the
Kingdom is fulfilled through his people. May the Lord bless your efforts as you “make disciples” of every
nation and the people in your circles of concern.
Note: Join us Wednesday, June 9, at 2:00 p.m. EST for the Travel Free Learning Dialogue as we discuss
these ways and others that people are using to help connect people to the Kingdom. Maybe we can
discover additional ways to connect people to the Kingdom. If you miss this live dialogue, go to
www.TheColumbiaPartnership.org and the Travel Free Learning Dialogues link to listen to the recording
of this session.
Important Things to Know

Ken Kessler is a Ministry Partner with The Columbia Partnership. He is also on staff with the Virginia Baptist Mission
Board. The Columbia Partnership is a non-profit Christian ministry organization focused on transforming the capacity
of the North American Church to pursue and sustain Christ-centered ministry. Travel Free Learning is a knowledge
sharing emphasis. For more information about products and services check out the web site at
www.TheColumbiaPartnership.org, send an e-mail to Client.Care@TheColumbiaPartnership.org, or call
803.622.0923.

June 7, 2010 Edition Copyright 2010, Ken Kessler