Tuesday, July 19, 2011
How would you define "good kingdom productivity" based on this sentence? "This church, like yours, is composed of wonderful men and women who have not been designed by God to waste their lives on good church activity devoid of great kingdom productivity." And second, what are some examples of "good kingdom productivity" that you can think of from scripture?
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Adam showed his "good kingdom productivity" by being fruitful and by governing the fish, birds, and "every living creature that moves on the ground." - Genesis 1
ReplyDeleteNoah showed his "good kingdom productivity" by building the ark and filling it with the required numbers of animals, etc, thereby saving them from destruction.
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ack! what is this? is this the same book that had the last quote about evangelism being our chief purpose? why are you still reading it?
ReplyDeleteAs far as I can tell the Bible doesn't talk about good kingdom productivity, it talks about dying to self, crucifying the flesh, living by the Spirit. "all our righteousness is as filthy rags" - I don't think God cares about our so-called productivity. What is that to him? He cares about our obedience and our listening hearts.
hmmm... off the top of my head I'd say there is stuff people do as church activity which doesn't have an effect in terms of advancing God's kingdom - though it's not always that easy to discern which is which.
ReplyDeleteI wondered too :)
ReplyDeletehaving read Kelly's comment now - I agree, productivity is not the issue really. We can't even always know the results of what we do - sometimes the fruit is way down the line.
ReplyDeletebecause our pastor, who i respect, recommended it not once, but twice from the pulpit.
ReplyDeleteand because i really want to write a review about this book. ;-)
and because my mom is reading the book that comes before this, by the same guy, and she thinks it's really great.
he does have some good stuff to say, but ron sider and tony campolo said it ever so much better. and ever so much more balanced. (imo)
I am probably the least knowledgeable but this question has made me think (thanks Meg for always giving me things to ponder). "Good kingdom productivity" reminds me to not just tend and care for His "flock" but to reach out in deed to those outside of the corral, so to speak. I have always believed that actions speak louder than words and in today's society it is so easy to call ones self a Christian without living like one. No one is perfect, but we must continue to strive to live up to the name. Nothing, in my mind, does this better than working to live a principled life. When referring to your quote from above. I think this means to live not just in the comfort and safety of the church community but to live and do amongst those outside the community.After all, whose lives need "saving"?...Those inside his doors or those who have yet to have the relationship?
ReplyDeleteyour take on it is closer to the author's, elisha. he thinks good kingdom productivity equates to souls saved. but you still approach it differently, which i think is interesting. (i agree more with your approach than his, by the way.) being principled, in my mind, has to do with walking the walk and not just talking the talk. we can evangelize by talking people's ears off, or we can evangelize by living as we should, loving as we should, etc. and that speaks volumes. (as you said, no one's perfect. but i think it's pretty clear who is trying to find a way to gel along with others and who's just doing their own thing and getting along with anyone else that happens to be doing the same thing, forget the rest.)
ReplyDeletei think it's particularly interesting that you responded with being principled since you're an extravert. as i've read this book, it's become pretty clear that the author is an extravert. he's very out there with himself. he wants to travel, he wants to do, he wants to say.... all tangible actions that are easily measured and evaluated. i had assumed that i was seeing things differently as an introvert, looking more for agreement between speech and action. valuing the little things in a relationship or in a task rather than just the big things. but maybe i should stop looking at it from an introvert/extravert perspective.
i particularly like that you picked "principled" because, of course, it's an IB attitude. it makes me wonder how well this guy's stuff lines up with the attitudes (all of which, i think, can be tied to biblical principles, if someone were wanting to make that sort of connection.) it might help me to see his book in a new perspective.
Very cool Meg. I was a youth leader in my church in college for both elementary, middle and high school. At that church our youth were very involved in extrovert evangelizing through drama's, plays, music and panto's. I remember a time came when we all had to have a moment to remember that actions are NOT just the extrovert kind. How we treat others at school, in the line at the grocery store, our families and friends and humanity at large really did matter on a daily basis. Its not enough to be Christian on the major holidays and when its "cool" to be. Nor is it something that you have to boldly proclaim for it to "count". Planting the seed of faith can be as easy as letting them see who you are and how you behave. I can see how you would recognize introvert and extrovert tendencies. I think however its important to remember that each and everyone of us was meant to use their talents, shortcomings and perspectives to reach and connect with others who may or may not be like minded. We may not approach it the same way but we were never meant to. I agree that the IB attitudes can be biblically connected. For those who wish to further the connection it presents a fantastic opportunity. For those that don't or have another belief system it still offers a sturdy foundation on how to live ones life. I ,too, love what it means to be principled. My favorite way to help kids remember what that means holds true for all ages... to do what is right, just, and honest even when its hard, when you may not want to and when you think no one is looking.
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