Category Archives: Kingdom of God

BEING FOR MORE THAN BEING AGAINST

Posted on May 23, 2012 by stanwiedeman

The right of peaceable assembly has undergirded our nation since its birth. This phrase implies a protected right to protest. When the government begins to trample on personal liberties, its citizens need some way to express their disapproval. One expression has been public corporate protests. Americans have valued this right and exercised it for decades. Continue reading →

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DESTINATION HEAVEN?

Posted on May 9, 2012 by stanwiedeman

Every good story, either in book or movie form, incorporates a rescue. Good stories recognize the human conflict – with evil, with nature or even with one’s self. Most storytellers, except for the most pessimistic, want to convey a sense of hope and thereby introduce some means of rescue from the conflict. And most readers, except for the most pessimistic, want a happy ending at the conclusion of the story.

The Christian story is no different. People expect a happy ending. If there is a God in heaven, then surely he must be capable of rescuing his creatures from the evil that humans have failed to restrain for millennia. Continue reading →

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REALISTIC HOPE

Posted on March 6, 2012 by stanwiedeman

Recently my niece was interviewed for a job. The interviewer asked her, “If you could have any three things you wanted, what would they be.” My niece thought for a moment and then answered, “I would want to eliminate world hunger. I would want to eliminate world poverty. And I would want to evangelize the entire world.”

Before you chuckle about her noble idealism, take a more careful look at what members of the Millennial generation (aka Generation Y) are doing. Different writers use different terminals to identify this generation, but Thom and Jess Rainer have determined to study those people born between 1980 and 2000 (inclusively). Continue reading →

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LOSING SIGHT OF THE MISSION

Posted on December 20, 2011 by stanwiedeman

This right-wing patriotism seems to detract Christians from the real mission of Jesus’ followers. Jesus never once intimated nationalism as a kingdom value (unless one argues for his priority of Israel in God’s program up to his generation). Where does America’s manifest destiny appear in Scriptures?

Jesus did not instruct his disciples, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel. Then gather the believers into one nation and erect high ideological walls that prevent usurpers from disrupting your comfortable religiosity – and prosperity.” Continue reading →

Posted in Christians and Muslims, Christians Engaging Culture, Kingdom of God, Mission, Politics and Christianity | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

THE HEART OF DOING CHURCH

Posted on September 7, 2011 by stanwiedeman

Perhaps Alpha has provided us with a tangible expression of the church’s mission. This mission is easily lost in the daily operation of church life. We gradually allow personal issues, individual growth and organizational matters to crowd out the compelling spirit of the church’s real mission. And what is that mission? Continue reading →

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