The Challenge

Why Church Growth Often

Doesn’t Lead to Transformed
Cities and Nations

Session 2
 worship and prayer

• Sing 2-3 Worship Songs (Project songs on PowerPoint.)

• Pray out loud for the course and for God to reveal himself through it
and have each student pray for his or her neighbor at the same time that
10 God may reveal himself and his purposes in a deeper way, give vision
minutes and renewed passion for his work on earth to be done.

review of previous session

Ask students to summarize the most important points of the last session.

5
minutes
introduction: why has the growth of the church not
transformed cities and nations?
As we looked at the different case studies from around the world during
our last session, we asked ourselves the following questions: Why has the
13 fantastic church growth in nation after nation not led to the
minutes
transformation of society? If we are seeing the highest level of new
converts and church plants in world history, especially in the
evangelical/Pentecostal/charismatic wing of the church, why do nation
after nation where this growth is happening, remain so very broken?1

Give room for participants to respond to this question before continuing with
the plenary introduction. Do not comment in specific on their answers.

I think there are three major answers to this question. We’ll touch on all
three answers today and then in the course of the next weeks, we’ll flesh
out the answers. To find answers to these questions is a very important
task, for if we don’t understand the answers to these questions, we will
continue in the same way as the churches in these other nations have…
and the result will not be transformation but simply more of the same.
Maybe we will have more and fuller churches, but God is very clear
throughout his word that church growth should never be an end in itself.
e goal of God’s mission, as we shall see in subsequent sessions as we’ll
delve into Scriptures, is the advancement of his Kingdom, the restoration
of his creation. God didn’t die in Jesus Christ just to save our souls and
carry them away to heaven, but to reconcile all of creation to himself, as
Paul says so pointedly in Colossians 1:20 (See corresponding PowerPoint).
e church is God’s means to accomplish this vision. Having said this, let

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 me now outline the three major answers to our question (See corresponding
PowerPoint):

• We have not adopted a Biblical worldview, but have simply exchanged

one religion for another, without changing our worldview. Because of
that we have often read our Bibles with blinders. e consequence:
• We have not understood the whole of God’s mission and vision and thus
are no longer telling and living the whole transforming story as revealed
in the Bible. Instead, our preaching and actions have just been based on
portions of the Bible that though important, don’t tell us the complete
story. e consequence:
• We have not been clear about our own mission, calling and purpose and
have not truly discipled our cities and nations, because we have not been
teaching nor modeling to them to practically obey everything that Jesus
commanded us to do (Matthew 28:20). Instead, we have let our cities
and nations disciple us! We have thus not heeded Paul’s appeal that we
not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of
our minds (Project Romans 12:2a on PowerPoint). e consequence: We
have grown churches but have not transformed our cities and nations!

No doubt, there are other answers to our main question… however, I

believe that these other answers are more based on our lack of
understanding God’s vision and mission and our purpose in it, and thus
included in the major three answers that I just outlined. For instance,
some of you may say that the reason we haven’t seen transformation is
because the church has not been praying fervently enough. If only we’d
pray more and more intensely, transformation would occur. I fully agree
with you. If we’d pray more, God would act more. However, despite their
fervent prayers, the church in Korea (which is undoubtedly one of the best
examples of a church that prays fervently) is facing the crisis of
secularization and is loosing many younger people who see the church no
longer as relevant to their lives. Something else must be happening here.
Some others of you may say that the reason we’re not seeing
transformation is because the church is disunited and divided. Again, I
fully agree with you. If churches were to unite and work together more for
the expansion of God’s Kingdom, God would act more. Yet again, if these
united churches didn’t fully understand God’s mission and vision for this
world, the results they would achieve would remain partial and thus not
transform their city or nation.
 
Having said that, let’s begin by looking more in depth at each of these
three answers:

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 lecture: we have not adopted a biblical worldview
We have not adopted a Biblical worldview, but have simply exchanged one
religion for another, without changing our worldview. Because of that we
have often read our Bibles with blinders.
 
7
minutes Let’s begin to flesh out this answer by first defining what we mean by
“worldview”.

Ask students to define the word ‘worldview’ and explain what they think
it means.
Give room for different students to answer without jumping in and then
complement their answers with anything left unsaid from below.

Picture goes here - person in glasses. e way we understand and interpret

the world in which we live is something anthropologists call our
worldview. Our worldview is like a pair of glasses or contact lenses
through which we see and make sense out of our world (See corresponding
PowerPoint). Unlike glasses, however, our worldview also includes our
assumptions about how the world works.2 Our worldviews are literally
part of who we are. ey are deeply implanted in our minds and hearts.
In many cases, we are not aware of their existence or influence on our lives
until they are challenged by alternative ways of seeing the world. As
lenses or eye glasses that we use every day, we put them in the morning
and forget them until we remove in the evening. ey give shape and
color to everything that we see. In addition, they focus our attention on
certain issues, while in turn filtering others out.3
 
at is, a worldview should provide the right recipe to find meaning in
this world, the same way that using the correct prescription for your eyes
makes things clearer. And, in both examples, an incorrect recipe can be
dangerous, even life-threatening. People who are struggling with
questions regarding their worldview tend to be desperate and may even
have suicidal tendencies. erefore, it is important that we give attention
to the way we see the world – or as some may say – the framing story we
live our lives by. Worldviews or framing stories are such an intrinsic part
of our lives and color everything we see or hear, whether we recognize it or
not. For example, films, television, music, magazines, newspapers,
government, education, science, art and all other aspects of culture are
affected by our worldviews of framing stories. If we ignore their
importance, we do so at our own expense.4 Indeed, a major reason why
the church in Rwanda, Guatemala, Zambia, Brazil, Korea, United States,
Nigeria, Haiti, Nigeria, Nicaragua, Philippines, and Mexico too, etc. has
missed their mission, has a lot to do with their underlying worldview.

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 group activity: determining your underlying worldview5
To make this point become more obvious, I’d like us to do a little exercise
that may help us determine more clearly what our underlying worldview
is.

25 Project a list of words that include exclusively animals and names of car makes
minutes on PowerPoint. Ask students to list the words on the PowerPoint into
their respective categories and give them 1-2 minutes to do so. Compare
findings, which should list the words in two overriding categories: 1. Cars
and 2. Animals.

Now explain the exercise that will help students find their underlying
worldview: Have each student sort the following words according to what
they think would correspond to a Biblical worldview: In other words, list
the words under somewhere between two to four overarching categories
that would make sense from a Biblical worldview perspective. ose who
wish can work in pairs. (See corresponding PowerPoint.)

God, rice, earth, economy, sex, recreational park, man, ocean, demon, garden,
cow, angel, woman, bread, heaven, boy, grass, spirit, sky, blood, girl, tree,
water, house, farm, mountain, land, street

Have a participant write the various solutions that other class participants
may offer on the white board. Do not comment on results until at least
2-4 solutions are listed on whiteboard. Most lists will resemble columns
in Table 1, which will be projected shortly: Column A and B illustrate the
categories of the majority of believers influenced in some way or another
by Western Christianity. is arrangement of the elements of creation
makes a clear distinction between the spiritual and physical elements of
creation, exposing its Gnostic influence by creating a dichotomy between
nonmaterial and material elements and dissociating God and other
spiritual entities from the creation. Column B extends this dichotomy by
separating people who are saved from those who are not saved; those who
are spiritual from those who are not spiritual.6

Picture goes here - what? Reveal most correct answer by projecting Table 1
under the two overarching categories Creator/creation on PowerPoint.
e most correct answer is: Creator/creation. Discuss the findings.
Doesn’t the Bible say that “In the beginning God created the heavens and
the earth…” (Gen. 1:1). ere is just Creator and creation, like in this
picture. (see PowerPoint). God created the universe, both animate and
inanimate, spiritual and physical, separate from Himself, but not
independent from himself. God is both transcendent (outside of his
creation) and immanent (present within it). He is everywhere present and
involved, immanent in history. e universe is not a closed system; it is

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 open to God’s purpose and intervention.7 And there is a relationship
between the Creator and his creation. Communication and interaction are
possible. Interestingly, though this would be the biblical view to express
the relationship between God and creation, we often put God in the same
category as “demons, angels, and spirits”. How come?

lecture: the great divorce - separating the spiritual and

physical realms
(Accompany and illustrate lecture with graphs and major points on PowerPoint.
20
is lecture is a basic review of the article “How People View the World”,
minutes touching on the most important points that the article seeks to make).

For several hundred years now people from around

the world have bought into a worldview that
separates the physical and spiritual realms as distinct
from one another. is worldview was promoted by
some of the ancient Greek philosophers, like Plato,
who argued that the soul is separate from the body,
as is the spiritual from the physical. Plato argued
that our souls are captive in the prison of our bodies
and look forward to the time when they will be
released from this prison through death. At that
point the soul would enter into the spiritual world,
which Plato considered the real world.
 
For numerous philosophers over the
centuries this worldview came to be seen
as follows: On the one hand, there is the
spiritual or supernatural world where God
lives and acts, along with other cosmic
Gods like Allah. is is the world of
religion. On the other hand, there is the
real world: the material world where we
hear, see, feel, touch, and smell. is is the
world of science. While this view was
initially just held by people from the
Western world, sadly, this is not just a
problem for Western folk anymore. Wherever the school curriculum of a
country is based on Western educational models, most people have
imbibed this worldview as an unspoken part of their lives. is dichotomy,
or absolute separation, between the spiritual and the physical is a central
tenet of what some call modernity.8 e most extreme form of this
worldview is materialism or secularism. It doesn’t acknowledge that God
plays any role in our world. It simply relegates him to the realm of the

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 unknown, superstitious or irrelevant. In the case of atheism, it is said that
God is inexistent. So the world today is divided into secular and sacred;
into physical and spiritual; into scientific and religious.
 
is framework that separates areas of life is also deeply embedded in the
Western part of the Christian church and most churches that emerged
through the effort of the Western missionary movement of the last
200-300 years. It’s embedded in its theology, and in the daily life of its
people.9 Unfortunately, Christians too have fallen into the ancient Greek
dichotomy dividing the universe into the spiritual realm, which is
considered sacred, and the physical, viewed as profane. Particularly under
the famous North African church father Augustine, neo-platonic dualism
was introduced into the church’s doctrine, and since it has come to full
fruition. Indeed, millions of believers operate from this worldview, which
can call “evangelical Gnosticism”.
Gnosticism was a philosophy that
already infiltrated the early church.
John – in his three letters – for
instance, strongly condemned this
philosophy which spiritualized many
concepts of Christianity and only saw
the spiritual as important.
“ E v a n ge l i c a l G n o s t i c i s m” i s a
descendant of that ancient heresy and
much more connected to the ancient
Greek worldview than the Hebrew
Biblical Worldview.
 
Faith, theology, ethics, missions, the devotional life, and evangelism are
placed in the spiritual realm and considered of first importance. Reason,
science, business, politics, art, music, sex, and meeting people’s needs
occupy the physical realm.10 On Sunday morning or during our
devotional or prayer life, we operate in the spiritual realm. e rest of the
week, and in our professional lives, we operate in the physical realm and,
hence, unwittingly act like functional atheists.11 Many Christians consider
the greatest callings that of the pastor or missionary. In doing so, they
often betray their dualistic/gnostic worldview – since they declare that the
pastor or missionary are in “full-time ministry”, implying that all other
Christians engaged in “secular pursuits” are “part-time Christians”. us
many Christians today suffer from “split personalities”. eir lives are
divided into compartments: the “religious”, what they do when attending
church or a Bible study; and the “secular”, their jobs, recreation and
education.12   e dichotomy is particularly manifest in the discussion
regarding the relationship between evangelism and development (social
action). “Should development follow evangelism or prepare for
evangelism? Is it valid to do development work without explicitly

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 evangelizing? Is living according to kingdom-values already
evangelism?”13 ese questions make apparent the captivity to the
dualistic/Gnostic worldview.
 
Doesn’t the Bible say that “Even Satan disguises himself as an angel of
light” (2. Cor. 11:14) and “at he is out to deceive the nations”. (Rev.
20:3, 8) (Project verses on PowerPoint). Western and Western-influenced
Christianity has been deceived by Satan. ey have been intrinsically
influenced by a dualistic Greek/Gnostic worldview, rather than a Biblical
worldview. Because much Christian mission endeavors and development
work has been launched from Western countries, the dualistic worldview
of those countries has accompanied the Christian workers into the whole
world, including Rwanda, Guatemala, Zambia, Brazil, Korea, Nigeria,
Kenya, Philippines, Nicaragua, Haiti, as well as Mexico.
 
Let’s look at Rwanda in particular to see how this dualistic or evangelical
Gnostic worldview contributed to or at least failed to hinder the genocide
in 1994. A number of studies have been conducted to explain the Rwanda
case. eir major findings are as follows: (Provide only a general summary of
the following.)

• It seems as if the revival had a marked effect on personal and spiritual

relations only: most Hutu Christians fellowshipped warmly with Tutsi
brothers and sisters. But – and that was the real problem – they were
afraid of the Tutsis as people. On the other hand, it seems as if most
Tutsi Christians shared the basic premise of the rebel cause: Hutus were
not as capable as Tutsis to govern the country. e Christians in the last
instance remained divided on ethnic lines into “us” versus “them.”14
Racial identities remained more important than one’s identity as
members of the God’s Kingdom. Beneath the surface of seemingly
multi-ethnic churches, then, ethnic resentment festered on. Hutus could
not forgive years of unjust subordination under the Tutsi during the
Belgian and French colonial rules. Tutsi could not forgive the
persecution they had experienced from Hutus since independence in the
1960s. In a country with so many professing Christians this must
indicate a failure to teach the full implications of the believer’s new
identity in Christ.15
• Rwandan spiritual development rarely progressed much past the initial
point of conversion. e saved were called to be saved Sunday after
Sunday. e emphasis was on conversion. e repentance that was
called for was often limited to the pattern of “no alcohol, no adultery and
pay your tithe!” Testimonies received more emphasis than solid biblical
teaching. en there was the lack of relevance for everyday life. It was
partly the result of the theological background of the missionaries, who
tended to emphasize evangelism to the exclusion of any engagement
with the public life of the nation, or a critique of the socio-political

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 context. In fact, missionaries preached a pietism that encouraged both
the withdrawal from the public life of the nation into a spiritual ghetto
and a naïve an uncritical support of whoever was in power, citing
Romans 13. ey spoke about “the deeper life” and worked and prayed
for revival. e revival consequently didn't put its stamp on public life.
e “converts” were not readied for the rigors of life “out there.” ough
there was much repentance from personal sins such as lying, adultery or
not paying a tithe, little attention was paid to the societal evils of
political corruption, economic exploitation, and ethnic discrimination.
As long as the individual had their ‘ticket to heaven’, society could in a
sense go to hell.16 Not surprisingly, Christians in Rwanda were shaken
to their foundations by the bloody events.17 A spiritual revival alone is
not enough to transform society, it follows. It must work its way
through to the daily life of the people. And it should be carried into
every sphere of life.
 
I propose that nothing but adopting a Biblical worldview will do, if we
endeavor to reach the world with God’s love and justice and see real
transformation happen. Nothing but adopting a Biblical worldview will
do, if we hope that the revival that has been prophesied over Mexico will
do more than just fill our churches and make people change from the
Catholic to the evangelical religion.
 
e worldview of the kingdom of God is the only worldview that provides
the foundation for free, fair and compassionate societies. Christians are
called to be “salt and light.” We are called to bring this majestic worldview
or framing story to our neighborhoods, communities, cities and nations.18
In order to get there, however, we need to take off our blinders first, to
gain a truly holistic understanding of the biblical story and of the whole
gospel message.

group activity and homework review19

In your application exercise for this week I asked you to read an article on
how people view the world and respond to and reflect on some of the
questions asked at the end of the article. At this point I’d like you to go
15 into the same groups you were in last week (4-5 people) and share with
minutes
those in your group your responses to the article. I’d like you to discuss
particularly the third question and comment with one another what
numbers you circled on the graph. (See corresponding PowerPoint.)

• Divide students into the same groups from last week of four to five and
have them select a leader for each group. If the class is small, do not
divide.
• Ask students to summarize their answers and reflections to the article
they were to read, as well as the lecture — two minutes each.

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 • Do not make comments until all students’ experiences have been shared.
• Walk around and listen to groups. Select one or two student to report to
the entire class.

lecture: we are no longer telling and living the whole

story
We have not understood the whole of God’s mission and vision and thus
are no longer telling and living the whole transforming story as revealed in
20 the Bible. Instead, our preaching and actions have just been based on
minutes
portions of the Bible that though important, don’t tell us the complete
story.
 
e Bible was not written by Westerners, it was written by Middle
Eastern People and carries a very Asian perspective that we often miss if
we read it through Western (Greek) eyes. e ancient Hebrews had an
integral view of faith and world that we need to recover.20 ere are two
areas in particular where we need to recover the worldview of the biblical
writers, if we want to read and understand the Bible for all its worth:

e Writers of the Bible had a Communitarian Versus and Individualistic

Worldview

e biblical writers had much more of a communitarian worldview.

While individuals were acknowledged, it was the community that was at
the center of attention. Because we tend to read the Bible much more
through individualistic and dualistic eyes – a Greek heritage – we miss
much of its richness. If we want to read the Bible for all its worth, we
need to read it with corporatist and holistic eyes. Let’s do a short exercise
to show you what I mean by this. Indeed, this short exercise will show to
you that many Christians are not reading the Bible through the worldview
glasses of a Biblical worldview, but rather an individualistic Greek-
influenced worldview:

Read Deuteronomy 6:4-5 Out Loud (Project verses on PowerPoint.)

ese verses constitute a prayer called the Shema, because the opening
word, “Hear”, is Shema in Hebrew. All Jews recite these verses every time
they meet for worship in their synagogues. What do we often hear when
we read these verses? When you’ve heard a sermon or preached yourself
on these verses, what was the central message?
Allow students time to respond.

Isn’t the central message mostly: “You xxxx (put in first name of
facilitator or any seminar participant) – love the Lord your God with all

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 your heart and all your strength etc…” But what does the text actually
say?
Allow students time to respond.

It says: “You Israel – love the Lord your God with all your heart and all
your strength etc…” e addressee is the nation of Israel. Not an
individual. Now, there is no doubt that we can apply the verse to
individuals as well. But, the text as such is addressed to a nation. It is like
saying: “You Mexico – love the Lord your God….” “You Brazil – love the
Lord your God….” “You Switzerland – love the Lord your God….” “You
United States – love the Lord your God….” etc. Why do we often miss
this? Because we read the Bible with individualistic/Gnostic rather than
Biblical worldview glasses.

In fact, as these verses in Deuteronomy show (as well as in many other

parts of the Bible) God is not concerned solely with individuals, but also
with families, peoples, and nations. He is not solely concerned to meet our
personal needs and problems, but also interested in meeting the needs of
entire nations. is is why he wants to engage the political, economic,
social, educational, health, environmental realities of nations, as we shall
see in a more in-depth study of Deuteronomy.  

e Writers of the Bible thought in Stories much more than in Propositions or

Doctrines (Accompany lecture with graphs and illustrations on PowerPoint.)

Greek philosophers like Plato, Aristoteles, Plotinus and others thought in

principles and unchangeable truths. ey built elaborate philosophical
systems of thought to explain the world. Some of the later church fathers
like Augustine, but later also the great medieval theologian omas of
Aquinas, then the Reformers like Martin Luther and even more so John
Calvin, all of whom were deeply influenced by Greek philosophy and
worldview, began to build elaborate theological systems of thought that
were erected upon the earlier philosophical systems of Plato and
Aristoteles. en came the German theologians in the 19th and early 20th
century who wrote sophisticated ‘systematic theologies’ that presented the
information of the Bible in a systematic fashion. I.e. they wrote about a
doctrine of God, a doctrine of sin, a doctrine of grace, a doctrine of the
church, a doctrine of the Holy Spirit etc… Shortly thereafter they were
copied by English and American theologians whose influence eventually
reached into farthest corners of the world. (See corresponding PowerPoint.)

e consequence: 
Most churches today think of the Bible primarily as a book that contains
God-inspired truths, propositions, rules and doctrines. If we follow these
truths, propositions, rules and doctrines, then we will do fine. Be honest…
If you ask a random non-church-going person in the street what they

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 think about the church, they will tell you that the church is a place where
people are no longer allowed to do many things! In thinking about and
reading the Bible in this way, however, we once again betray the fact that
we’re more influenced by Greek philosophy and worldview, than by the
worldview of the biblical writers. Now please don’t get me wrong. I do
believe wholeheartedly that the Bible indeed contains truths, propositions,
rules and doctrines. However, the Bible is much more than that.
 
e writers of the Bible thought much more in stories than in principles
and unchangeable truths. To them, God revealed himself primarily in
stories and most of all through history. In that sense we should think of
the Bible much more as a grand story of inestimable scope and depth,21
than as a book containing God-inspired truths, propositions, rules and
doctrines. If we adopt the worldview of the biblical writers, we should
think of the Bible as the book telling us about the overarching story we’ve
fallen into: A story of beauty and intimacy and adventure, but also of
danger and loss and heroism and betrayal!22 A Story filled with messages
of hope and comfort, but also of pain, difficulties, mistakes! A collection
of stories, poetry, philosophical essays, songs, parables, sermons and prayers
that are offensive and challenging as well as life-giving and inspiring, but
that all fit together in a whole. A Story that ultimately will lead to the
victory of justice, love, well-being and wholesome health!

Picture goes here - what?

e opening line of the Bible, “In the beginning God created the heavens
and the earth,” establishes the story line of the biblical narrative. e
Bible’s narrative begins with creation and ends as Christ returns for His
church. It begins in a garden (the Garden of Eden) and ends in a city (the
City of God). It begins with the first couple (Adam and Eve) and ends
with the marriage of Christ and His bride (the church).23 e Gospel—
the life, death, and resurrection of Christ—is the focal point of the biblical
narrative and of all human history, but it is not the whole story. In a
nutshell, the Bible tells us how things started, lost their way, can be
redirected, and how the human story comes out in the end. We are told
the beginning, the middle and the final chapter of the story. e piece
between Jesus and the final chapter is still being written. God’s story, thus,
is not just about what God has done, but also about what God is doing
now. God is still writing the story, and incredibly, God has invited us to
participate in that writing.24
 
Unfortunately, this story of the Bible is often not told with much clarity.
A lot of the Story has been left out, or it has been told in such a way that
people – including many Christians – get a warped or very limited
understanding of the Story. We are no longer telling the whole
transforming story. Today’s churches often use only the New Testament,

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 or only the Gospels, or only Paul or only certain liturgical sections of the
Old Testament. While many Christians believe that the whole Bible is
the Word of God, they treat certain parts as more valuable or useful than
others – in effect creating a canon within the canon or a Bible within the
Bible. e biblical narrative has the ability to transform individuals, to lift
communities out of poverty, and to build nations that are free, just, and
compassionate. It has the ability to disciple nations by giving instructions,
principles, and wisdom to heal the world’s brokenness. But why is
transformation not happening more often today? Perhaps it is because we
have not been telling the whole story. As a result, because the church is
not telling and living the whole story and most likely doesn’t even know
the whole story, the church is not discipling the nations. e nations are
discipling the church instead!25 I cannot explain the case of Rwanda,
Guatemala, Zambia, Brazil, Korea and the United States otherwise.
erefore, if you really want to see transformation happen, I ask you to
begin by taking off your glasses. Your glasses that were influenced by a
Greek rather than a Biblical Worldview! And I ask you to begin putting
on Biblical worldview glasses!

group activity: how much do I understand of god’s

story?
As we have seen just now; many evangelical Christians have an awareness
of the Bible that is limited to the New Testament and a few sections of the
20 Old Testament. For some, it is limited to the Gospels and some letters of
minutes
Paul. In the following group work, I’d like you to react to what you’ve
heard about how we need to rid ourselves of a dualistic and Greek
worldview as we read the Bible and why that is important. Begin by doing
the following exercise:

Divide students into the same groups of four to six and select a leader for
each group. If the class is small, do not divide. Ask students to begin
group time by each doing the following exercise first: “Circle the number
that you think most closely reflects the scope and depth of
understanding of God’s Story as revealed in the Bible — first, in your
own life and, second, in your church.26”

Picture goes here - what?

Have students then discuss the following question in their group: “What
do your answers reveal to you about yourself and your church?”27

Finally, have students read the following quote and discuss it among
themselves: “Do you agree/disagree with Bob Moffitt’s assessment?”
“We are no longer telling the whole transforming story. Today’s

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 churches often use only the New Testament or only the Gospels. e
biblical narrative has the ability to transform individuals; to lift
communities out of poverty; and to build nations that are free, just, and
compassionate. It has the ability to disciple the nations. But if the
church is not discipling the nations, the nations are discipling the
church! Why is transformation not happening more today? Perhaps it
is because we have not been telling the whole story.” Bob Moffitt,
Executive Director of ‘e Harvest Foundation’

Walk around and listen to groups. Select two or three student to report their
findings to the entire class. (Affirm students' efforts. Point out strengths.
Provide gentle correction if needed.)

lecture: we have not been clear about our own mission,

calling, and purpose and thus have not truly discipled
our cities and nations

10 Jesus, a few moments before he ascended to heaven, gave his disciples a job
minutes description that many have come to call “the Great Commission”.

Read Matthew 28:18-20. (See PowerPoint.)

So what did Christ mean when he told us to “disciple all nations”?28

Allow students time to respond and have a short plenary discussion.

What did Christ mean when he told us to teach the nations and its
people to obey ALL that he had commanded? What does ALL include?
Allow students time to respond and have a short plenary discussion.

How would you know when a nation has been discipled… rather than
evangelized?
Allow students time to respond and have a short plenary discussion.

Today, many Christians feel that the Gospel of Jesus Christ must be
carried to the whole world, “until the end of the earth.” However, many
have forgotten that the worldview of God’s Kingdom must also penetrate
and transform cultures. When Jesus commanded his disciples to “make
disciples of all nations,” also meant that his disciples should live according
to the worldview or faming story of God’s Kingdom in their own lives and
then carry this worldview to the streets and the public spheres of society.
Only by doing so will it be possible to change our neighborhood,
communities, social institutions, and eventually the laws and structures.
Discipling nations, then, means “laying” kingdom principles and a biblical
worldview as the founding order of a people. is is God’s will, and it

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 does not end with evangelism. We are to bring the life and wisdom of
God to bear in all of life, not just in a privatized “religious” sphere.
 
Based on this definition and understanding it seems to me that many
missionaries, pastors and Christians in general in Rwanda, Guatemala,
Zambia, Brazil, Korea, and the United States etc. haven’t discipled their
nation. Instead, the nation discipled the church. Rwanda is an extreme
example of this principle. Guatemala, Zambia, Brazil, Korea and the
United States are not far behind.

summary and conclusion

If we truly want to be part of transforming communities, cities and
nations, we need to begin by doing three things (See PowerPoint):
5
minutes
1. We need to take off our worldview glasses that were influenced by a
dualistic/Gnostic worldview and seek to grow into adopting a Biblical
worldview. How do we do that? We do this by doing the second task!
2. We need to grow in our understanding of the biblical Story – of God’s
Story with his World. is is the purpose of the next eight sessions of our
time together.
3. We need to accept the commandment that God has called us to
disciple our nations; not just individuals… and that faith needs to impact
all spheres of life – economic, political, marital, business, arts,
entertainment – not just the spiritual aspects. And that we are to practice
and model God’s commandments so that others can begin to obey them
too. is is the purpose of our final sessions and the trainings that follow
after that for those who are interested.

homework and application: community survey29

Assign participants homework first: Read the page with “Quotes” from
men and women of God from around the world and then answer the
questions on the back of the page. Be prepared to share your answers next
15 week.
minutes

In addition, do at least six interviews with random people you do not

know; people you assume are not Christians and/or whose responses you
cannot predict. (Do not ask people if they are believers). You can begin by
saying, “I’m doing a survey for a class I’m taking – would you be willing to
answer one question for me? e question is . . .”:
 
“What two things first come to your mind when you think of evangelicals
here in our city/town?30
 

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 Once they have answered the question, thank them and then take some
time to reflect on the following questions. Write your observations in your
Application Journal.
 
• Were the observations of the community people insightful? What did
you learn from their responses?
• Do you think it would be helpful for Christians to listen more to their
neighbors in order to witness more effectively in word and deed? Why
or why not?
• What activities do you think community people see when they look at
evangelicals?
• What motives do you think community people see when they look at
evangelicals?

closing prayer
Ask a participant to close in prayer.

5
minutes

total time:
170
minutes

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 personal notes

The Integral Mission of the Church 17 Living the Story Series

 endnotes
1 Darrow Miller & Bob Moffitt, On Earth as it is in Heaven, vi
2 Bryant Myers, Walking With e Poor, 5
3 Food for the Hungry International, Cosmovisión Bíblica del Reino de Dios

“A worldview is a way of seeing. It’s not just what we see, but how we see everything else.
It’s the lens through which we see – a lens of assumptions, beliefs, images, metaphors,
values, and ideas that we inherit and construct from our family, our teachers, our peers,
our community, and our culture. As we go through life, many of us find it next to
impossible even to want to question our inherited worldview, while others do exactly that:
we rethink, we imagine other ways of seeing things, and we sometimes experience radical
conversions out of one worldview and into another.” (Brian McLaren, e Secret
Message of Jesus, 51)
4 Jerry Solomon, Cosmovisiones, online available at http://ministeriosprobe.org/docs/

cosmovisiones.html
5 Exercise adapted from Bruce Bradshaw, Change Across Cultures, 104-105
6 Bruce Bradshaw, Change Across Cultures, 104-105
7 Darrow Miller, Discipling Nations, 44
8 Bryant Myers, Walking With e Poor, 5
9 Bryant Myers, Walking With e Poor, 5
10 Darrow Miller, Discipling Nations, 46
11 Bryant Myers, Walking With e Poor, 5
12 Darrow Miller, Discipling Nations, 46
13 Even the questions that are often asked still seem to be saturated by the philosophical

underpinnings of aforementioned dichotomy: “Should development follow evangelism or

prepare for evangelism? Is it valid to do development work without explicitly
evangelizing? Is living according to kingdom-values already evangelism?” Many
missionaries, pastors and development workers have genuinely struggled to connect the
spiritual and physical aspects of their work into a meaningful whole. Often, however, the
result has been to simply combine evangelism with relief and development (social action),
and to call that holistic ministry. is, however, still makes apparent the captivity to the
dualistic/Gnostic worldview.
14 J.J. (Dons) Kritzinger, THE RWANDAN TRAGEDY AS PUBLIC INDICTMENT

AGAINST CHRISTIAN MISSION, online available at http://www.geocities.com/

missionalia/rwanda1.htm
15 Dewi Hughes, God of the Poor, 232
16 Dewi Hughes, God of the Poor, 232
17 J.J. (Dons) Kritzinger, THE RWANDAN TRAGEDY AS PUBLIC INDICTMENT

AGAINST CHRISTIAN MISSION, online available at http://www.geocities.com/

missionalia/rwanda1.htm
18 Food for the Hungry International, Cosmovisión Bíblica del Reino de Dios
19 Adapted from e Harvest Foundation, Leadership Development Training Program,

Level I, 19
20 Raymond Bakke, A eology as Big as the City, 34
21 Darrow Miller & Bob Moffitt, On Earth as it is in Heaven, 51
22 John Eldridge, Epic, 2
23 Darrow Miller & Bob Moffitt, On Earth as it is in Heaven, 51
24 Bryant L. Myers, Walking With e Poor, 23
25 Miller & Moffit, On Earth as it is in Heaven
26 Darrow Miller & Bob Moffitt, On Earth as it is in Heaven, 56

§    e scope of Scripture reveals the flow of biblical history. It began at Creation,

continued through the Fall and Redemption, and will end at Consummation.

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 §    e depth of Scripture answers questions about the nature of God; the nature of
creation; the nature of man; and the nature of truth, goodness, and beauty. is is the
metaphysical story of Scripture.
27 Darrow Miller & Bob Moffitt, On Earth as it is in Heaven, 56
28 Some scholars contend that the meaning of “all nations” in this passage refers to

making individual disciples within all segments of the human family. ey assert that
Jesus could hardly have been referring to nations as collective entities in themselves, for
then there would not have been the shift to the masculine ‘them’ when referring to
baptism and instruction because the word for ‘nation’ is neuter. While the debate is
ongoing as to the exact meaning of Jesus’ words, it is safe to assume that Jesus did mean
to make individual disciples within all segments of the human family, but didn’t limit his
command this only. As we study God’s story of transforming the world, and Jesus role in
this story in particular, it will become clear that Jesus also meant that his disciples are
called to “lay” kingdom principles and a biblical worldview as the founding order of a
people. is is God’s will, and it does not end with evangelism. We are to bring the life
and wisdom of God to bear in all of life, not just in a privatized “religious” sphere.
29 Adapted from Adapted from e Harvest Foundation, Leadership Development

Training Program, Level II, 8-1; 8-8

30 Instead of ‘evangelical’ you can also insert another category of Christians represented by

students—-such as Pentecostals, other denominations, etc.)

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