Is Your Church Caving to the Secular World’s Agenda?

This article is Part 3 of “Understanding the Difference Between Secular and Kingdom Churches.” Click here to read Part 1 & Part 2.

The Importance of a Disciple-Making Movement (DMM)

Paul was able to win the city not by joining a political party, but by making disciples and releasing these disciples to turn the world upside down. The early Acts narrative shows how the term disciples was not used until Acts 6:7, after the believers went through a process as shown in Acts 2:42. (They were not event-driven, but process-driven.) He did not attempt to plant mere churches, but founded communities of disciples—which formed a kingdom ekklesia—since only a DMM can turn a city upside down! (When you plant a church you will create the culture of a synagogue, but when you make disciples you will always have a strong ekklesia!)

This is in accordance with the Acts 1:8 call to be His witnesses in cities, regions and nations. A witness is someone who has seen and heard something; thus, it implies a vibrant community of Christ followers who regularly encounter Christ and in whom its disciples permeate whole cities—or every aspect of culture—with the gospel. This is the reason why we need to always be local church centric and be a gospel-permeating, disciple-making movement, which alone has the capacity to manifest the kingdom of God and the government of God on earth.

Well-meaning believers involved in the “7 Mountain Mandate” who bypass the power and calling of the local church and only focus on politics have fallen into the trap of imitating the secular ekklesia that is attempting to advance a kingdom by mere “flesh and blood” means, schemes and mechanics (violating Paul’s admonition in Ephesians 6:10-14). That is why it is imperative that believers called to work in politics stay connected to and aligned with the local church, grounded in Scripture and empowered and protected by groups of intercessors—or else they will compromise and begin to perpetuate the very problems and ideologies that are undermining the nation they reside in.

Conformity to Jesus as the Corporate Son Is the Ultimate Goal

In his epistle, Paul wrote to explain to the Ephesian church (about four years after Acts 19) how they transformed Asia Minor and wrote in chapter 4 that the ekklesia is equipped by the fivefold ministry to become a mature man—as the expression of the fullness of Christ and corporate son—who will manifest the government of God increasingly on the earth.

In Ephesians 4:12 we see both an inward and outward focus: one is missional and the other is focused on building the body of Christ.

The missional focus is in the context as shown in Ephesians 4:10, which says that Jesus ascended to “fill all things,” which, as the last Adam, He called the church to do according to the cultural mandate of repopulating or filling the earth as shown in Genesis 1:28. Hence, the missional purpose of the apostles was to equip the saints to minister in every aspect of culture, according to Genesis 1:28, as His ekklesia, so the earth would be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea.

The Ephesians’ Mandate to Build the Church Was to Be Like Jesus

The focus to edify the church is seen in Ephesians 4:12-16 when it speaks about the church growing into the fullness of the stature of Jesus. This passage shows what the ultimate goal of discipleship is: to be like Jesus as a corporate community (a nation within nations that disciples every people group and subculture).

Consequently, to the extent the kingdom ekklesia looks and acts like Jesus, it will have governmental authority and influence because the government is on His shoulders and because it was He who defeated the powers of darkness!

Isaiah 9:6-7 says: “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government shall be upon his shoulder. And his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end.