Community of the King and Colossians Remixed

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Community of the King and Colossians Remixed

Community of the King and Colossians remixed are two books centered on explaining issues of modern Christianity. Though the books talk about different issues, they do address this topic in their content. In Community of the King, the author talks about modern Christianity view of what the church is supposed to be, citing that it is not an institution, rather, an agent of the community of God. On the other hand, Colossians Remixed addresses the topic on how modern Christians now live under the empire of postmodernism, which is the theme of Colossians, where Paul is telling people how they should live in the new empire, Rome. Both books have the theme of postmodern view of Christianity, with the first looking at the church and what it is meant to be and do within the community, the second book addresses or revolves around challenging the empire, society we live in, full of consumerism and global corporations. The distinct topic in the Community of the King is church as an agent of the kingdom of God and in Colossians remixed is centered on postmodernism and its influence on people.

Church as an Agent

With emergence of many churches globally, the meaning of church is changing from an agent of the kingdom of God to an institution designed to serve a certain purpose, especially for profit. The Community of the King addresses this topic with details, giving the role of the church. The church is supposed to be a community of the people of God, people who come to serve God and live together in worship or as a true Christian community witnessing the characters and virtues of the reign of God[1]. The church is supposed to be an agent of God’s work here on earth. This leads to the question of what is the mission of God, which the church is supposed to fulfill. In this book the mission has be described as a mission to bring all things close together, with supremacy and bring all people together under the dominion and leadership of Jesus Christ[2]. Hence, the church is seen as the people of God, which is the means through which God’s mission is to e accomplished. The church is served with the purpose of accomplishing this mission; hence, it is an agent of God’s mission. Many people today think otherwise, probably only see the church as a place of worship.

More so, the book defines the church as a divinely anointed means that is served with a purpose of spreading the word of god to the whole world, making it an agent of God’s kingdom, while God is the King of everything. However, the church does not only spread the word of God, but also acts as a community for social actions that express the kingdom. The churches missions are not inclined to one aspect but to many, such as evangelical, worshiping, among others. However, all the aspects make no sense if they are not held together as a Christian community that is supposed to be the visible, physical expression of the kingdom. To understand better the assertion made, the kingdom of God is defined. “The kingdom of God is the dominion or [spiritual] reign of God and not primarily place or a realm. Biblically, the kingdom refers first to a reign, dominion, or rule and only secondarily to the realm over which a reign is exercised”[3]. This is to mean that the domination of Christianity is the real kingdom of God, where Christianity is the dominant feature among the people living in accordance with the scripture. Then follows the mission of the kingdom, which is seen as the continuous reconciliation of God’s work in Christ, through the perspective of when Christ returns on earth. Hence, the kingdom is Jesus Christ, and through the church, everything is reconciled to Him.

The church has been described as a charismatic community, and not an organization or institution as many would think of it. Many people today take the church to be an organization under which several goals are to be achieved, rather than having a Christian community. Many churches aim at financial benefits. The church is not supposed to be narrowly inclined to an institution with certain tasks but as a broad community of people who are gathered to serve God and live together in fellowship. When a church is defined as an institution, the possibility of having foul treatment can be greater, such as profit maximization, no matter how indirect rather than focusing on reconciliation with the world. The book cites that, “Institutionalization will spell spiritual death for any church and movement”[4]. Further, church leadership is supposed to be based on spiritual gift and we do not have any permission from the bible to prevent any spiritual gift to the early church today. Churches nowadays chose leaders according to personal preferences where people elect their leaders, making the positions a hot post to compete for. Charisma in this has been used to mean the gift, hence suggesting that church leaders should have charisma, or gift of the spirit.

In broad terms, the church has been assigned evangelical and prophetic mission. It is supposed to be evangelically prophetic and prophetically evangelical. This is to mean that the church should not be focused to one, but should have both. Evangelical means a proclamation of the good news concerning salvation through Jesus Christ to the whole world, and continuing with expanding of the kingdom of God to all communities in the world. This is supposed to be the first purpose of the church, hence should be given the first priority[5]. Evangelism is considered as the formation of a community rather than just getting people to be saved, taking in to concern that a Christian community I the representation of the kingdom of God. Prophetic role on the other hand is concerned with reconciliation. The church acts prophetically when it reconciles and creates a reconciled Christian community. The reconciliation is between God and man, but also, leads to other forms of reconciliation such as marriage, relationships among other social issues. More so, prophetic missions also include telling people of the prevailing judgment, and identifying the enemy to the church as well as the soul. The church should also extend its prophetic mission through fighting for justice in the community. This means seeking liberation for all the people especially the defenseless. The church should also be prophetic about power, advocating for humility as the true power and not as people perceive power to be. In so doing, the church is functioning as the agent of the kingdom of God through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Churches have changed their purpose, with many going out of their mission, while others do not consider some of its missions as part of the church. For instance, very few churches take part in correcting political issues, and many people would say the church should refrain from the political issues, citing it is not within their mission. More so, not many know they are supposed to be concerned with social issues of the people and standing for the right of the oppressed. This has seen many churches take part only in evangelical ministries, with some concentrating on this one task, forgetting that prophetic mission is also part of the church’s mission. Other churches have gone away from their mission, many seeking financial gains, that have led to leadership disagreements with many churches fragmenting. However, this has acted to expand the church further. Churches have missed the point, not recognizing they are supposed to be agents of the kingdom of God, and leaders have gone ahead to explore other interests that are not part of the kingdom of God.

Post modernity

Christian life has changed from its original view, influenced by the current social cultural factors that determine the interpretation of an individual. Currently the culture of consumption is the biggest influence in Christian life. The topic addressed in the Colossians Remixed is a comparison of how people in Colossae were under the dominion of an empire, Rome, and the modern dominion of individual capitalism enshrined in consumerism globalization and technology. The world has changed and undergone a lot of transformation from the previous generation. Many factors in the modern culture influence individuals in many different ways, such as how they think and interpret text after reading. Hence, the book has addressed this topic through examining these factors that Christians are living under especially in the western culture. Some of these factors that influence people in the postmodern world are globalization, technology, social issues, economic and political. These factors combine to make a different culture from the previous ones, hence influencing people to think according to what the culture has already set.

In postmodern culture, “All moral codes, all normative frameworks, are particular inventions of people in history”[6]. This is to mean that modernists no longer hold the view of moral absolutes in which all human beings have access to, as well as subjects to. Hence, there is no single accepted moral value of human life; rather, anybody can justify his or her values to be true. This allows all kinds of values across individuals where each person holds to his or her views, without the concern for others. The modernists are filled with a desire for finding out justification to everything, seeking to understand every phenomenon behind every theory or moral code[7]. It is no wonder that the world is full of scientists with the aim of proving everything including how we came into existence. This has changed people thoughts and when they read a text, they always want to find out the science behind it, driving them to ignore anything that cannot be proven, such as religion. Many will not understand how people can follow the Bible, yet to them it is an authoritative book dictating what Christians should do. To them religion is a justifications of ones values as true.

In the postmodern culture, Walsh and Keesmaat cite that, “anything goes… under the postmodern conditions persons exist in a state of continuous construction and reconstruction; it is a world where anything goes that can be negotiated”[8]. Each time there is a new reality coming up or issue providing another option to choose from. This gives the reason, why should one make a choice that prevents them from enjoying a good lifestyle and one that restricts them form so many things that make life easier. Modernists want to be open to all forms of spirituality in order to enjoy diversity, especially when anything is justifiable, and embrace diversity with open arms while Colossians restricts any kind of syncretism[9]. Therefore, embracing different worldviews and perspectives that eradicate homogeneity through being accustomed to different identities and ideas, a fragmentation inside a person occurs, and understanding wholeness becomes near impossible. Hence, interpreting a text will be influenced by all the different perspectives and ideas a person hold, that fragment him or her, making it to find a text concerned with wholeness or one that advocates for homogeneity absurd.

People have surrendered to the empire, which is the modernity rooted in many aspects such as globalization, consumerism among other as mentioned earlier. When people refuse to surrender to the culture f modernity, they are able to subvert it or challenge it. On to the contrary, the modernist have chosen to surrender to the empire of modernity, and they have to follow where it takes them, since it dynamic and changes rapidly, its biggest driver being technology that enhances consumerism. More innovations keep the modernists wanting to have more of their desires without a care of the consequences. Moreover, globalization has been driving the world to embrace diversity. This has created the consumerism culture where people want to consume more of the new arrivals all the time until they can consume no more. Globalization, driven by factors such as information advancement has contributed to otherness where out of many ideas from all over the world people are exposed to a diversity of ideas. This contributes to different perspective in interpreting things.

From the description of postmodern issue, it was clear that it does not have a fixed ethical stance, and it is characterized by lack of a moral stability that contributes to purposeless wondering[10]. Very few people seek to know God in the modern world as opposed to the earlier world when such issues especially syncretism had not been embraced. At this time, issues such as consumerism and globalization were hardly known. People lived in total adherence to what the scriptures taught and even laws were there for those who went against. Nowadays there are no laws imposed by the religion or church; rather everybody is free to do what they feel is right as long as they can justify themselves. Therefore, people pursue other values they find more rewarding but in the end, leaves them bear without a self-identity upon which to know what is true and what is not. The many influences in life has led to people straying away from the real meaning of the scriptures as well as being influenced by false factors, which they cannot discern. In addition, the factors have relaxed the absoluteness of the church in its missions, resulting in people interpreting life in the way they perceive without a concern for homogeneity of the real absolute truth; rather, they are concerned about diversity that does not define what is agreed to be the truth, but just allows people to justify anything as true.

Biblical Passages

As discussed earlier, the church is supposed to be a community, of people who come together to serve God and the church is supposed to be one. Jesus is the church and the head. Therefore, we form the church, with each person playing a role just like every part of the body plays a different role to make up the whole body. In Romans 12:3-5, the Bible urges people not to think highly of themselves than they ought to, but they should think of themselves with a sober judgment according to the measure of faith given to them by God. The fourth verse says that just as a person has one body with many parts, and not all this parts have the same function, the same way in Christ we who are many form one body with each member or belonging to all the other members who make up the parts. This explains that we form one part, and that Jesus is the church with us the members coming together to form the body, which is the church. Just a mentioned, the people are the church with Jesus being the head.

Jesus is seen as the head of the body, the church, he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that everything he might have be supremacy. This explains why the reconciliation is related to Christ who is the head of the church (Col 1:18). The church us supposed to be reconciling man and God, through Jesus Christ his son. Hence, the church is the domination of God, considering Jesus is the head and the body, then, it is dominated by him. In Colossians 1:24, Paul says that now he rejoices in what was suffered for them, and fills up his flesh with what is lacking regarding Christ’s afflictions, for the sake of his body, which is the church. This is to mean that Jesus is the church, and people making up the church, they are there as parts to serve the body, hence people are the church with an aim of serving Christ. Hence, when we say the church is supposed to be an agent of the kingdom of God, it means complete domination of Christ who it the head of the church.

One passage in the bible that addresses the topic of post modernism is Romans 12:2, that tells of not conforming to the pattern of this world, but instead be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then one can be able to test and approve what God’s will is, his good, pleasing and perfect will. This explains that people should not embrace all factors that come around them in the world; rather, they ought to renew their mind so they can understand what God really expects of them. The modernist people have not renewed their mind to know what God really want. Instead, they have conformed to the world and its pleasures, seeking more pleasures all the time. this has made it hard for them to know what really God wants of them since they move according to what the world dictates f them, ranging from consumerism, globalization and syncretism.

Another passage from the bible that explains what people in the modern have turned to is Ephesians 4:14, that says that we will no longer be like infants tossed back and forth by waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. A modernist is just like a kid, who is tossed from one end to the other when they embrace all teachings of the world, especially when thee is too much diversified information from deceitful people to confuse their judgment. Rather than resisting to some of the deceitful teachings, the modernist does not have a base or an absolute truth upon which to lay their judgment, hence, too much of heterogeneity makes people believe anything is true as long as it is justifiable. In a world where anything goes, people tend to believe that anything can be true, as long as it is justified, and lacking an absolute truth from which to remain firm, one is just moved from this perspective to the other just like a kid who has not learnt yet, and is cheated by any teaching. Many people are just moved aimlessly by the teachings they get from information from all over the world, that deceits them to take decisions without reasoning, and this information influences their thought just like a kid. Moreover, this is affirmed by the passage from Titus 1:9 that says one must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it. In the 14^th verse of the same, it says that he should not pay attention to Jewish myths or to the merely human commands and those who reject the truth. This is contrary to the postmodern culture where nothing is wring or right, and no body is wrong or right. Hence, the post modern person embraces all people and their ideas without regard to such a message. In addition, they have no firm ground upon which to refute untrustworthy messages, considering everything is a mater of justification.

Significance of the Topics to my Ministry

My current ministry is concerned with evangelism to the youth that I teach on several days a week. Considering the current trends in the world and the changing meaning of everything, these topics provide a basis for establishing a firm stance in their Christianity. For the church topic, it means understanding the kingdom of God. Understanding the kingdom of god is fundamental in a Christian’s life, where misunderstanding is risky and may lead one to the wrong beliefs. More so, lack of understanding may create confusion in the young minds, and they may stray away. This topic is very important in helping them understand which part of Christianity they form, and their role within the church, which is the kingdom of God. They need to understand that church is not just the physical building they go to for worship; rather, it is a community of people to serve Christ in all their endeavors. It is also important for them to understand the purpose of the church in the community and as an agent of the kingdom of God. This gives them the reason why the church exists, and understanding that they are a part of the body, church with Jesus being the head, it makes sense that they church is the people and not just the place of worship, hence, from wherever they are, they know they represent the church.

In the postmodern topic, understanding its significance in Christian life gives them a reason to refute the teachings of the world and hold to the true message of God by learning to take firm stand no matter the pressure or alluring of the pleasures of the world. They will also understand that not everything they learn from the world today is true. More so, they will learn that there is truth in the message of God, and not everything justifiable is true. They should realize that such justifications are works of the deceitful people with their craftiness designed to mislead people from the truth. More so, this topic is significant in my ministry by explaining to people why they should not view the world as a place where anything goes, and consequences do follow every decision we make, and it is up to us to make the right decisions that have no negative consequences not just for us, but for the whole community. More so, it teaches that not everything in this world is true, and people should be aware of this fact.

Conclusion

It is evident that the world has changed, and every meaning given to anything has changed including church and Christianity, as well as interpretations of scriptures. Many people interpret the scripture or the Bible the way they want it to suit the moment. Such interpretations are backed with justifications that allow individuality to everything where every body is free to have their view. This has also led to the church missing its step and in many occasions going out of its realm, or not fulfilling all its missions. More so, its meaning has changed, and people only relate to the church as a place of worship, and do not even know its real purpose. This has eliminated the thought of having one morally accepted truth or an absolute truth were people feel the Bible is authoritative and gives orders that restrict people from enjoying life. People chose to take the enjoyable lifestyles, and because they are aware of what they have done may not be right, they seek justifications for their decisions. This has been contributed by issues such as globalizations that allows information and ideas from all parts of the world to reach other regions fast, influencing people in all kind of manners.

Bibliography

Snyder, Howard A. The community of the King.Westmont, IL:  Intervarsity Press, 2004.

Walsh, Brian J., and Keesmaat, Sylvia C. Colossians remixed: subverting the empire. Westmont, IL:  Intervarsity Press, 2004.

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