What is success in the Kingdom of God?
“The popular model of success involves the ABC’s — attendance, buildings, and cash. Instead of counting Christians, we need to weigh them. We weigh them by focusing on the most important kind of growth — love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness, kindness, and so on — fruit in keeping with the gospel and the kingdom.”
Dallas Willard
What is success in the kingdom of God? Shalom, right? — as in everything is as God intends it to be. From what I have observed, there’s little disagreement among the truly faithful about what success is: transformed lives reconciled to God so that one lives the life s/he was created to live. And, if everyone really did that we’d have shalom, I guess. The disagreements start when one group claims to have the corner on HOW to bring change about in people’s lives. I think at the beginning of any movement (from the Willow Creek model right down to The Simple Way), intentions are pure and good. But, ideas and methods get perverted quickly, and in the end we end up criticizing each other’s attempts rather than helping each other coarse correct. The practical reality is: there is no formula and everyone will take their own path to entering the Kingdom. And organizationally, we are uncomfortable ministering alongside or to someone who doesn’t see the path our way. It’s hard. And, I think that’s why Jesus pointed to love and unity as the qualities that would be the church’s witness to the world. If love and unity were easy, they wouldn’t be so powerful. So, clearly, we can’t do any of this without God. All this to say, I struggle with the idea of metrics when relating to “The Kingdom.” It sets us up to take credit for something God does.
here’s a great website to pass along…regarding sustainability and consumption..
http://www.storyofstuff.com