Kingdom Ain’t Cookie-Cutter

by Tyler Zach

Have we fallen into a monkey-see monkey-do kind of church?

In other words, have we become cookie-cutter Christians?

When we become Christians, servants of the King, I think is easy to underestimate our roles and responsibilities here on earth. In my last article, Risky Business, I describe that one of our primary roles is to be peace ambassadors. This, in a sense, is to further the Kingdom of God by making an appeal for others to join in and participate in the Kingdom above all other kingdoms.

But, our work isn’t limited to this and only this. This work is what I would call our direct ministry. This is easy to see and doesn’t take long to imitate.

But, I believe that we are also called to have an in-direct ministry. This is harder to comprehend at first and is often a confusing part of the Christian life.

If we limit God’s Kingdom to recruiting people to the right team, then God’s glory will not be revealed to the fullest. This is where we come in. Since we were made “in the image of God” we all have the potential to display a degree of God’s glory to the world… in a way that no one could ever copy since the beginning of time!

We are highly valuable to God because we are the carriers of His image here. And He won’t allow a “cookie-cutter” Kingdom to reign here. He won't allow us to pump out coverts who fit nicely into a one-size-fits-all kind of mold.

Michelangelo in-directly affected millions of people by his artwork, which displayed a beautiful artistic side of the glory of God. Teachers in-directly affect parents by bringing order and stability and character to kids in chaos. Lawyers in-directly affect many lives by having the ability to bring justice to the places of in-justice. Blue-collar workers are to be highly honored for in-directly affecting millions by their service – building roads for us to drive on, building skyscrapers for us to marvel at, bringing order to our homes when walls need beautifying or our plumbing goes out.

All of these things are examples of the Kingdom coming to earth. When the Kingdom comes, things get straightened out. Things are as they are supposed to be. The glory of God rushes in as the Kingdom spreads throughout the earth.

We are all called to have a direct and in-direct ministry here on earth. If we don’t, God's image will be hollowed or tarnished. Our attempt at making disciples will be in-effective because people won't want to follow the God that we reflect - because we will make Him out to be something less than He is.

This messes with our head. No longer is spirituality black and white. This means church and quiet times and bible studies are no longer the only spiritual things in our lives – but our jobs, our hobbies, our free time, and everything else is spiritual. We have the ability to glorify God during every minute of our life.

If we limit ourselves to doing only what we see our mentors or role models doing, then we will not be working within the realms of our gifts and passions – given to us to radiate the beauty of God in a way that no one has been able to do since the beginning of time.

Everyone is in full-time ministry. Everyone has a unique job to do. What is yours? Ask for it. Go after it. Let the Kingdom come… through you.

Risky Business

by Tyler Zach

Being a peace ambassador was risky business. There was always a good chance of dying.

This was clearly seen in the recent movie 300. An ambassador from the Persian kingdom showed up to offer peace to the Spartans. The terms: surrender and submit to the Persian kingdom or be killed.

The Spartans weren’t too thrilled about this idea. Thus, comes one of the most exciting clips of the movie. Instead of giving a polite “no” to the peace ambassador, a Spartan solider kicks the peace ambassador over the edge – falling to his death.

This peace ambassador job was risky business. And this peace ambassador job is our business.

Paul calls us to become this type of ambassador. He says, “therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we beg you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.”

We have been given authority from the King to go forth into all the earth offering terms of peace to every kingdom that is not under the authority of the true King. God Himself is making His appeal through us. Submit or die. Surrender and live. But it doesn’t stop there. We have been given the opportunity to share the good news. That Christ the King has given them the chance to live! Grace is available!

Take it freely.

Take it quickly. Because…

“And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war… And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations…”

Jesus is coming back. He is just over the hill behind us. We have the terms of peace to offer. But…

That is a risky business. Most people don’t think of this particular peace term as good news. Therefore, some people get hurt. That’s why most of the disciples of Jesus were murdered. That’s why there are martyrs throughout church history. They died trying to bring peace.

A few questions for us:

Are we doing our job? How often are we going forth with the gospel of peace? Do we hear the trumpets behind us? Do we realize the significance of our job? Are we being persecuted in some measure like the faithful ambassadors of the past? Do we remember that it was said, “everyone who is in Christ Jesus will be persecuted”?

“When you approach a city to fight against it, you shall offer it terms of peace. If it agrees to make peace with you and opens to you, then all the people who are found in it…shall serve you.” – Deuteronomy 20:10-11

That’s what happens when the Kingdom spreads. People submit to the King and become “slaves of righteousness”. And its only a matter before we realize that being a servant of the King is better than being a free on our own.

And this will continue until the whole earth is under the rule and authority of the one true King.

Note: This blog series is a collection of musings from my Old Testament seminary class with Dr. Richard Pratt, professor at Reformed Theological Seminary

The Big Misconception: Personal Salvation First

by Tyler Zach

The unifying centerpiece of our faith in recent years has been: Personal Salvation first, Kingdom of God second.

Much of our evangelical learning, training, and equipping has revolved around winning people to Christ, building them up in their faith, and sending them out to win others to Christ.

It was impossible for me to not wrestle with this mission statement after hearing Richard Pratt’s view of the proper biblical conception: Our unifying centerpiece should be: Kingdom of God first, Personal Salvation second.

It makes a lot of sense to me. Here’s why.

The Israelites in the Old Testament put their trust in God’s promise to usher in a new Kingdom with a new King leading the way. Jesus came and fulfilled that. Then, Jesus, more than any other subject, talked about the Kingdom to others.

He talked about every area of brokenness and countered it with the way of the Kingdom. He wanted to see every wrong made right. In the Lord’s Prayer, He prayed first that God’s name would be hallowed and then that God’s Kingdom would come to earth as it is in heaven.

If Jesus was so concerned about the Kingdom immersing itself into every person and thing on the planet, how should that affect our lives as Christians?

Richard Pratt thinks that most Christians view heaven and earth like a present. The “package” being heaven and the “wrapping” being our earth. Most Christians, like kids on a Christmas morning, don’t care about the wrapping, they just want what’s inside. In this case, heaven.

If God’s Kingdom and His rule is over all of heaven and earth, then that should lead us to the conclusion that the coming of His Kingdom entails the redemption and restoration of all things – not just individuals.

This gets me excited.

What if we were to emphasize the Kingdom first, and personal salvation second?

One quick example. Hurricane Katrina. When we looked at the brokenness and desperation in New Orleans, both Christians and non-Christian said: “This is not right. This is not how things should be.” We in a sense knew that God’s restoration, His Kingdom, needed to come.

That was the big picture.

As a result, 312 students from Nebraska went down to serve. Some weren’t even Christian. Soon after their return home, some of the students trusted in Jesus and became Christians. This example showed that personal salvation flowed out of a deep concern for the Kingdom of God to come.

Since America is a very individualistic culture, it is easy to see how me might swing too far towards “personal” salvation rather than a "global" salvation.

Maybe the world wants to see the Kingdom of God in action more so than merely being asked to join the right team.

CNN just showed up at Mars Hill Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan because they are organizing a project called X, Y, Z. You can go to their site for details, but here is the gist. The are making plans for the Kingdom of God to come in big ways – to restore the broken parts of their city and their world. The project director of CNN said, “If you can really do this, we’ll run this story and tell the whole world.”

Non-Christians seem to want to be a part of a better story. What better story could we possibly give them than to make all things right? Make all things new? To have the Kingdom of God come?

Let’s ponder.

How can we as ambassadors spread the Kingdom to the broken areas of culture that we are in? Then, how can we call others to “follow” the King in the midst of that?

“But seek first his kingdom...” – Matthew 6:33

Note: This blog series is a collection of musings from my Old Testament seminary class with Dr. Richard Pratt, professor at Reformed Theological Seminary

Christianity: An Anti-American Faith?

by Tyler Zach

Today in class I was reminded that the American dream is "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness."

"Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness", as described in Wikipedia, is one of the most famous phrases in the United States Declaration of Independence. These three aspects are listed among the "unalienable rights" of man.

Let’s look a little closer. What are unalienable rights?

The term unalienable rights refers to a set of human rights that are in some sense fundamental, are not awarded by human power, and cannot be surrendered. They are by definition, rights retained by the people.

Perhaps if we gave God the chance to rearrange this popular phrase it would read “Death, slavery, and the pursuit of satisfaction in God”.

Each contrasting word creates a paradigm shift that we as Americans should meditate on.

Instead of desiring a good [temporal] life, we should desire death – a daily dying to ourselves, a full surrender of our will and hearts. Only then do we have the opportunity to be given [eternal] life through Christ.

Slavery seems like a bad word. But, Paul exhorts us to become slaves to Christ, to righteousness. This goes against our idea of freedom. We want to be free in every decision from picking out wedding colors, to buying a house, to picking out our dream job, etc. To live in such a way that we submit ourselves fully to one person is very counter-cultural.

Lastly, the pursuit of happiness is not such a bad thing – except that happiness can’t be found outside of God. Some things may be good, some things excellent, but nothing compares to the surpassing greatness of God. Satisfaction in Him above all things should be our pursuit. Pursing anything else other than God will lead to a life of vanity.

Could the very idea of this popular phrase as an unalienable right serve as rebellion towards God? It was mentioned that an unalienable right is retained by the people and cannot be surrendered. The very thought of desiring life outside of God, being free from all control, and for pursing happiness apart from God is really at the root... rebellion.

Does this kind of sounds familiar?

If you are thinking Adam and Eve, you are correct! The first sinful act of eating the forbidden fruit involved all of the above.

I guess my realization today is that our "Christian" nation has some repenting to do.


Note: This blog series is a collection of musings from my Old Testament seminary class with Dr. Richard Pratt, professor at Reformed Theological Seminary

My Mentors

by Tyler Zach

In addition to the godly men in my family, here are the men who are currently mentoring me in my life right now, whether they know it or not! I am extremely appreciative of them. Without their teaching and modeling I would be light years behind where I'm at at now.