There’s lots of talk today about tension. There is tension in the world, in our nation, in our cities, in our homes. There is generational, relational, occupational, financial, social, and even spiritual tension. My neck feels it and you can hear it in the stress in my voice. As Christians, how do we walk intentionally in the midst of the tensions and bring the Peace of Christ and the Kingdom of God to bear?
Pastor and author D.A. Horton answer that question in “InTENSIONal: Kingdom Ethnicity in a Divided World” and in our conversation about the book, he shared:
“Don’t deny the tension but recognize that at the end of human history, Christ is ruling and reigning. We want to be a snapshot of what that rule and reign look like so that it would give us a stronger appeal to the nonbeliever that does not know Christ. So, look at the way we govern ourselves, the way we converse, the way we’re navigating all the tensions yet with hope – that Christ is going to make all things new.”
D.A. describes Christian believers, individually and collectively, as designed and deployed by God to be a living “brochure of hope in the midst of hopelessness.” Imagine that! Do you see yourself and the Church (all the believers, everywhere of every social location) as a living demonstration of the Kingdom of Heaven? Are we making the Gospel visible in substantial ways with beautiful, truthful, joyful, winsome witness?
How can we move the conversation forward and regain a witness as salt and light for the glory of Christ. Intentionally.
In our conversation you’ll hear D.A. invite you to make a shift in view, a shift in language and a shift in approach. If my heart’s desire is to gain glory for Christ, then my concern for this world is based on my obsession with things not of this world.
“We have been given a prime opportunity to be a trailer for the feature which is the Kingdom.” – D.A. Horton
We’re the teaser of the Coming Kingdom. God sends us out to make His appeal to the world. Sound familiar? It should. It’s the message of II Corinthians 5:20 and its the intentional Good News of the Gospel for the healing of the nations – and our nation – today.
InTENSIONal or just a lot of tension? Christ, this cultural moment, and the Kingdom of Heaven
