The Kingdom Power of Friends

Kingdom Character: How to Be Faithful to the End (Part 3 of 3)

On this journey of leading ourselves, we have discussed two Kingdom realities that should create a great sense of spiritual apprehension in the heart of any potential leader (see Part 1 here and Part 2 here).

The troubling fact that my lowest point of character is my highest point of capacity should drive us to a place of analysis and deep introspection. Knowing that the way I do one thing is the way I do everything should eradicate any semblance of self-reliance and move us to a place of desperate dependence. The fallacy of ‘sin management’ only extends the rope which eventually hangs us.

But where do we bring the fruit of this authentic introspection?

Evangelical Christianity in the West has become a largely individualistic pursuit. We make much of a personal relationship with God, the priesthood of the believer, and discovering God’s will for our lives.

We worship corporately; yet often it is little more than group isolation as we listen to one speaker, make individualistic applications in our personalized study Bibles, and take our leave until next week.

In this contemporary understanding of the body of Christ, it is left to the individual believer to get his or her house in order through sheer intrinsic motivation. There is no place for accountability and support because there is no place for self-revelation. We are all on our own.

As a result, those in the church of Jesus Christ experience about the same level of social dysfunction as those outside its community. The salt, light, and yeast we are commissioned to be are impossible because our character reflects no radical differences that are captivating to the lost. Practicing this over time, our differences are now only distinguished by our socio-political ...