Facilitating a Paradigm Shift from Religion to the Kingdom of God
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Open Doors World Mission
Jul 23, 2009, 1:00:18 PM7/23/09
to Open Doors World Mission
Facilitating a Paradigm Shift from Religion to the Kingdom of God
By Dr. Timothy and Janet Johns (Kansas City, USA).
Helping God's people transition from the Christian religion to a
dynamic relationship with Jesus Christ ~ advancing His Kingdom 24/7 as
a lifestyle in every area of life.
Helping people change the way they view and experience reality is no
easy task. Some call it a "paradigm shift". Thousands of stories
describe just how difficult it is to get a large segment of the
population to see and do things differently. One story concerns the
Swiss watch industry. Not long ago, the Swiss led the world in making
the finest watches. These watches were powered by springs which drove
moving gears. Watches were built like this for hundreds of years, and
no one expected or desired a change. Thousands of companies and
millions of workers had a vested interest in the traditional watch
paradigm. Any change was a perceived threat to the old paradigm watch
makers which in turn, supported its work force. Along came a creative
Swiss engineer who designed a completely different kind of watch. It
was digital, powered by a small battery with no moving parts. He took
his new paradigm watch to the largest Swiss watch companies, and every
one of them scoffed at his idea. Finally he decided to attend an
international trade show and make his patent available to all
bidders. Texas Instruments and Seiko paid relatively small sums for
the idea and the rest is history. Because the Swiss refused to see
and apply the new paradigm, they lost approximately 80 percent of
their market share. Once dominant, they became almost irrelevant.
How about those Wright brothers and their flying machine? Most people
thought that no object that heavy could ever fly. The so-called
scientific experts were convinced that even if they could make an
airplane fly, it would serve no practical purpose. The new paradigm
of transporting millions of people by jet-powered airplanes over great
distances was inconceivable to 99.999% of the population less than a
hundred years ago. And think of wireless phones and internet, two
more staggering examples of a paradigm shift in communication.
An even more dramatic paradigm shift is occurring worldwide, one that
will cause global transformation. It is the change from the Christian
religion into the reality of Christ and His Kingdom. Christianity as
a religion is declining everywhere, including in the United States.
However, the Kingdom of God is an ever-expanding reality that will
ultimately be the ONLY reality on earth (see Psalm 2 and Revelation
19-22).
One version of Christianity is a religion invented by people. It is
much different from the Kingdom of God, led by Christ the King.
Religion is an attempt to reach God and improve our lives now and for
eternity by obtaining some state of heaven through human ideas,
efforts, and strategies. Religions are designed so that we can remain
in power while attempting to get God and others to do what we want, in
the way we want it. Religion is a clever enterprise to stay in
control, so we can function as our own god. At the same time we try
to manipulate the One True God into serving us by using religious
language, rituals and sacrifices. But the Kingdom of God is initiated
by God, for God's own glory, and involves His will, done His way, by
His Spirit, all the time, and in every area of life. He is a living
King, who rules another dominion or realm of reality. He has every
intention of fully bringing His rule and realm onto Planet Earth
through His sons and daughters by His Holy Spirit.
Christianity as a religion is nearly dead in Europe, where only 1-3%
of the population identifies themselves as Christian. However the
Christian religion is being replaced by another more aggressive
religion called Islam. What does Europe, America, and the rest of the
world need? Do we need more religion, even if it's the Christian
religion? Absolutely not! The earth needs the Lordship of Christ,
His powerful, compassionate Kingly rule over all of life... a paradigm
shift from religion into the Kingdom of God. We need the Reclaiming
Of Christ's Kingdom all over the world. That is why we named our
international spiritual family, "The R.O.C.K.". It reminds us of the
Centrality and Supremacy of Christ, and our only mandate ~ to advance
Christ's Kingdom in every area of life.
Here are a few of the changes that will occur in order to produce this
Kingdom "paradigm shift":
· From a secular humanistic people-centered worldview, to a
God-centered Biblical Kingdom worldview.
· From emphasizing the clergy or priest as the primary
minister, to the priesthood of all believers.
· From religious activities in a church building, to
practicing faith everywhere.
· From practicing religion in church services, meetings,
programs and events, to constantly exchanging the life of Christ to
everyone, all the time, anywhere.
· From restricting our spiritual lives, to a certain day and
time to "being and doing" church all the time.
· From a religious institution, to a spiritual family that
connects deeply with one another.
· From unifying around doctrine and church policy, to unity
around the Person of Christ, core values, kingdom vision, and covenant
relationships.
· From a transactional leadership model, to a transformational
leadership model.
· From an institutional model ~ organizing based on political
power, position and pay, to organic relational servant leadership ~
everyone submits to Christ in one another.
· From compartmentalizing faith so that it affects only
certain areas of life, to integrating Christ's will and ways into
every dimension of life ~ body, soul, spirit, finances, sexuality,
relationships, time, work, play, etc.
· From emphasizing church work as the main way to serve God,
to advancing Christ's kingdom everywhere, all the time, in all arenas
of life. This includes marriage, family, community, friendships,
work, media, arts, education, social services, and civil government.
Janet and I have committed our lives to training and modeling this
paradigm shift from Christianity as a religion, to Christ and the
Kingdom. It has been a long and hard journey for us personally. We
have had our own religious baggage to deal with, let alone helping
others to change. However, we are enjoying sweet victories. A viable
Kingdom family has been forming in the inner city of Kansas City,
which has impacted the neighborhood, even helping to reduce crime. We
practice being and doing the church as a lifestyle. From small ways
(like raising chickens and planting gardens together), to more
dramatic ways (like planting small covenant families ~ house
churches), we are trying to be part of this global Kingdom
revolution. Our international family is growing in size and depth.
Thanks to your prayer and financial partnership we able to help others
move out of religion and into Christ and His kingdom.
With deep gratitude... we bless and love you!
Dr. Timothy and Janet Johns
By Dr. Timothy and Janet Johns (Kansas City, USA).
Helping God's people transition from the Christian religion to a
dynamic relationship with Jesus Christ ~ advancing His Kingdom 24/7 as
a lifestyle in every area of life.
Helping people change the way they view and experience reality is no
easy task. Some call it a "paradigm shift". Thousands of stories
describe just how difficult it is to get a large segment of the
population to see and do things differently. One story concerns the
Swiss watch industry. Not long ago, the Swiss led the world in making
the finest watches. These watches were powered by springs which drove
moving gears. Watches were built like this for hundreds of years, and
no one expected or desired a change. Thousands of companies and
millions of workers had a vested interest in the traditional watch
paradigm. Any change was a perceived threat to the old paradigm watch
makers which in turn, supported its work force. Along came a creative
Swiss engineer who designed a completely different kind of watch. It
was digital, powered by a small battery with no moving parts. He took
his new paradigm watch to the largest Swiss watch companies, and every
one of them scoffed at his idea. Finally he decided to attend an
international trade show and make his patent available to all
bidders. Texas Instruments and Seiko paid relatively small sums for
the idea and the rest is history. Because the Swiss refused to see
and apply the new paradigm, they lost approximately 80 percent of
their market share. Once dominant, they became almost irrelevant.
How about those Wright brothers and their flying machine? Most people
thought that no object that heavy could ever fly. The so-called
scientific experts were convinced that even if they could make an
airplane fly, it would serve no practical purpose. The new paradigm
of transporting millions of people by jet-powered airplanes over great
distances was inconceivable to 99.999% of the population less than a
hundred years ago. And think of wireless phones and internet, two
more staggering examples of a paradigm shift in communication.
An even more dramatic paradigm shift is occurring worldwide, one that
will cause global transformation. It is the change from the Christian
religion into the reality of Christ and His Kingdom. Christianity as
a religion is declining everywhere, including in the United States.
However, the Kingdom of God is an ever-expanding reality that will
ultimately be the ONLY reality on earth (see Psalm 2 and Revelation
19-22).
One version of Christianity is a religion invented by people. It is
much different from the Kingdom of God, led by Christ the King.
Religion is an attempt to reach God and improve our lives now and for
eternity by obtaining some state of heaven through human ideas,
efforts, and strategies. Religions are designed so that we can remain
in power while attempting to get God and others to do what we want, in
the way we want it. Religion is a clever enterprise to stay in
control, so we can function as our own god. At the same time we try
to manipulate the One True God into serving us by using religious
language, rituals and sacrifices. But the Kingdom of God is initiated
by God, for God's own glory, and involves His will, done His way, by
His Spirit, all the time, and in every area of life. He is a living
King, who rules another dominion or realm of reality. He has every
intention of fully bringing His rule and realm onto Planet Earth
through His sons and daughters by His Holy Spirit.
Christianity as a religion is nearly dead in Europe, where only 1-3%
of the population identifies themselves as Christian. However the
Christian religion is being replaced by another more aggressive
religion called Islam. What does Europe, America, and the rest of the
world need? Do we need more religion, even if it's the Christian
religion? Absolutely not! The earth needs the Lordship of Christ,
His powerful, compassionate Kingly rule over all of life... a paradigm
shift from religion into the Kingdom of God. We need the Reclaiming
Of Christ's Kingdom all over the world. That is why we named our
international spiritual family, "The R.O.C.K.". It reminds us of the
Centrality and Supremacy of Christ, and our only mandate ~ to advance
Christ's Kingdom in every area of life.
Here are a few of the changes that will occur in order to produce this
Kingdom "paradigm shift":
· From a secular humanistic people-centered worldview, to a
God-centered Biblical Kingdom worldview.
· From emphasizing the clergy or priest as the primary
minister, to the priesthood of all believers.
· From religious activities in a church building, to
practicing faith everywhere.
· From practicing religion in church services, meetings,
programs and events, to constantly exchanging the life of Christ to
everyone, all the time, anywhere.
· From restricting our spiritual lives, to a certain day and
time to "being and doing" church all the time.
· From a religious institution, to a spiritual family that
connects deeply with one another.
· From unifying around doctrine and church policy, to unity
around the Person of Christ, core values, kingdom vision, and covenant
relationships.
· From a transactional leadership model, to a transformational
leadership model.
· From an institutional model ~ organizing based on political
power, position and pay, to organic relational servant leadership ~
everyone submits to Christ in one another.
· From compartmentalizing faith so that it affects only
certain areas of life, to integrating Christ's will and ways into
every dimension of life ~ body, soul, spirit, finances, sexuality,
relationships, time, work, play, etc.
· From emphasizing church work as the main way to serve God,
to advancing Christ's kingdom everywhere, all the time, in all arenas
of life. This includes marriage, family, community, friendships,
work, media, arts, education, social services, and civil government.
Janet and I have committed our lives to training and modeling this
paradigm shift from Christianity as a religion, to Christ and the
Kingdom. It has been a long and hard journey for us personally. We
have had our own religious baggage to deal with, let alone helping
others to change. However, we are enjoying sweet victories. A viable
Kingdom family has been forming in the inner city of Kansas City,
which has impacted the neighborhood, even helping to reduce crime. We
practice being and doing the church as a lifestyle. From small ways
(like raising chickens and planting gardens together), to more
dramatic ways (like planting small covenant families ~ house
churches), we are trying to be part of this global Kingdom
revolution. Our international family is growing in size and depth.
Thanks to your prayer and financial partnership we able to help others
move out of religion and into Christ and His kingdom.
With deep gratitude... we bless and love you!
Dr. Timothy and Janet Johns
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