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Kingdom Come by Reggie McNeal

Kingdom Come by Reggie McNeal

Last updated on: January 6, 2021 at 9:41 am by Frank Viola

Kingdom Come by Reggie McNeal 2021-01-06T09:41:24-04:00 Frank Viola

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Reggie McNeal has just released a new book. It’s called Kingdom Come.

McNeal is the man who is noted for this remarkable quote,

“People are leaving the church for a new reason. They’re not leaving because they lose faith. They’re leaving to preserve it.”

Today I interview Reggie on his new book.

In preface, one thing I noticed about his book — as well as Reggie’s interview answers — is that when he talks about “church,” I don’t believe he’s talking about the ekklesia as it is envisioned in the New Testament.

According to the New Testament, the ekklesia is God’s hearthrob. It’s the Bride and Body of the Son and the House and Family of the Father, the very expansion of the triune community. As such, the ekklesia is at the center of God’s Eternal Purpose.

As I’ve explained elsewhere, the New Testament describes the ekklesia to be the community of the King and thus it cannot be separated from the King or the Kingdom, no more than light can be separated from visibility. The Kingdom is the manifestation of God’s ruling presence. So Jesus embodies both the Kingdom and the ekklesia.

By contract, in Reggie’s book, he seems to use the word “church” to describe a human entity. Sometimes it points to the traditional church, other times it points to the efforts of Christians to do things for God throughout the world, and still other times it points to all the Christians in the world or some evangelistic agenda that Christians have. From that perspective, I agree that the Kingdom certainly trumps the “church.”

Here’s the interview. Enjoy!

—

There have been countless books written on the Kingdom of God over the last two decades. What is unique about your book?

Reggie McNeal: I try to put the Kingdom in organic and personal terms rather than positional and political terms. That’s why I characterize Kingdom as “life as God intends” which focuses on the point of it all. Life is the primal gift; the one thing none of us asked for but all of us are trying to figure out.

Tell us about your journey into the Kingdom.

Reggie McNeal: Typical for an evangelical probably. Didn’t hear much about the Kingdom growing up in church. Probably equated the two. Then Kingdom became church on steroids, where we really doubled down on some effort.

Later that morphed into some kind of shared experience with some other church, like a joint student fellowship or community work project. Then it was all about the religious right’s challenge to fix the culture, where Kingdom came to signal a way to “fix” the world beyond the church.

Then in seminary I learned the classic definition of “rule and reign of God,” which settled nothing for me, since that sounded like everything. In the past two decades I have really wrestled with the idea that God is up to something way bigger than the church agenda. “Life as God intends” is where I have settled.

What exactly is the “heroic Kingdom narrative” and why is it important?

Reggie McNeal: The Kingdom saga is the extent to which God will go to make sure we have access to and experience the life he intends for us. Even to the point that He wraps himself in human flesh to visit the planet to demonstrate life as he had in mind. Jesus so about healing and teaching of a better world, an abundant life that is possible. He elevates the hopes of the human race. Not just for the next world but for this.

What is the church’s storyline and why does it need to be challenged in your view?

Reggie McNeal: Unfortunately the church is often too self-absorbed and self-centered in its activity and scorecard to adequately reflect a larger Kingdom agenda. This does dis-service to the King and fails to live up to our mandate to reflect the “keys of the Kingdom” in all we do.

The church is a subset of Kingdom agenda, not the other way around. The Kingdom is the destination, not the church. Once we calibrate church efforts in the larger Kingdom saga we are better able to escape the idolatry of religion, even if it’s called Christianity.

What are the calls-to-action you’re asking readers to make after they finish the book? In other words, what would you like to see them “think” and “do” after they close the cover?

Reggie McNeal: I want them to love their neighbors better. This is not just the people who share their street address, but those in need in their communities. People who office next to them; attend school with them; play golf with them; go to church with them. I’m asking them to think of their lives as a mission trip, to intentionalize their interactions and relationships as viral Kingdom agents.

The “missional church movement,” for lack of a better term, is quite diverse — some corners of it not interacting much with other corners of it, which to my mind is profoundly sad. Comment on the movement from your particular corner of it.

Reggie McNeal: I believe the missional church movement was and is a bridge conversation to get us to a Kingdom conversation. It was a deconstructionist prophetic voice in its genesis; I hope it has prepared the way for Kingdom furniture to be brought back into the house. Otherwise other demons wait to inhabit the place.

What else do you wish to say about the book?

Reggie McNeal: I hope it makes a contribution to a conversation and promotes action that will not only benefit our cities, but save the church.

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