Influencers Weekly Devotional- One Kingdom Under God
One Kingdom Under God
By
Bryan Craig
“I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God Who makes things grow.” 1 Corinthians 3:6-7
Last week, I was invited to participate in a meeting with a renowned expert in teaching Non-Profits how to raise resources. Immediately, dread fell upon me as I considered the “F” word! “Fundraising!” I, probably like you, have been somewhat tainted through the years as I have been exposed to all kinds of approaches by different organizations asking me to give. And I have the spiritual Gift of Giving! I love to give, yet I don’t like to feel manipulated or used. As I reluctantly began to read Scott Rodin’s book, “The Third Conversion”, my fears slowly were relieved as I realized this man spoke my language.
Scott’s approach to raising funds for ministry was refreshing and freeing. He talked about how our first and foremost job is to help connect people with their loving Creator so they will understand that there is One Kingdom. He claims most of us believe that we have one kingdom which contains our Christian pursuits like church and Journey groups and another kingdom which contains our jobs, our families, our responsibilities and our resources. When we give our lives to Christ, He wants us to give Him the keys to everything. He takes ownership of our lives and we become Stewards of what He has entrusted to us.
As we gathered last week, Scott spent the first half of our day talking about our relationship with God. He maintained that without entering into that intimate, abiding relationship with God, we will never understand how to live and relate to others. And we will never really understand how to handle our resources. Sounds a lot like the principles we impart in The Journey, doesn’t it?
He went on to explain that we are to Sow Seeds into the lives of others, but God is the One who makes them grow. Even in regards to finances, if we sow seeds of Christian love into others, God will grow those seeds into hearts that will become generous. Out of the overflow of these hearts, men will want to help the needs around them. God will move them to help fund the things that are important to Him.
As I took in Scott’s teaching, I thought of our dear ministry, Influencers. I thought about how we invest in the lives of men, helping them grow in intimacy with Christ and challenging them to live it out in their spheres of influence. As I thought of this, and how it lined up with this sound stewardship theology, I thought, “We should have some of the most generous people of any ministry.” And I do believe we have an army of men who get it, who are One-Kingdom men. I just think most of you do not realize that Influencers needs resources. I want to invite you to support Influencers financially with the resources He has given you, and we are trusting God to provide for our needs. We do not want to take away from support for our Regional offices in any way, but as we pray about the expansion of this ministry, we know the Global Office will need faithful support, as well.
I took some time to write down why anyone would want to support Influencers. Please read this and see if it resonates with your spirit.
Why Influencers?
In the 1990’s God began raising up men into action for His service through Promise Keepers, as millions of men sought to discover their place of leadership in the home, in their workplaces and in their communities. God was taking us back to the beginning of Jesus’ ministry when he chose 12 men to train and transfer His principles and leadership to this world He came to save. Through the revolution of Promise Keepers, many men came to Christ and hearts were awakened. However, there seemed to be a missing piece….men were chosen but they were not trained nor discipled.
Along comes an obscure man from Mississippi with a stirring in his heart to go on a Journey to learn what it means to abide in Christ. His heart was already awakened, but he wanted to go deeper, and he discovered that other men wanted to go there, as well. On this Journey, men found God, the loving Father who created them and cares about them. They found Jesus, their Lord, their Savior, their Master, who showed us how to live a holy life. They found the Holy Spirit, the One Whom Jesus sent to walk with them and help them live out the life God intended them to live. These men were set free to live the abundant life Jesus talked about and lived. Their lives began to impact their world as they loved their wives like Christ loved them, as they poured Grace upon their children, as they became Ambassadors for Christ in their work, in their churches and in their communities. They found purpose and meaning in life, that had nothing to do with their careers, their assets, their goals, their positions. These men now had a Tool with which to Make Disciples, the very task Jesus told us to do. They had new eyes to see the Harvest Fields around them and the men who are imprisoned in their self-serving, dissatisfied, discontent lives.
Their numbers have been growing steadily and organically, yet a dark opposition has intensified. The world in which these men live grows darker by the second as evil is becoming more and more acceptable and protected.
- Infidelity, Envy, Bitterness is on the rise as Social Media entices people to yearn for lives outside their own
- Marriage has been devalued and distorted
- Homosexuality and other Sexual Sins are accepted and seen as the Norm
- Christianity is seen as judgmental and ridiculous, even by nations like America which were founded on Christ
- The Bible has no authority, even in the lives of most believers
- Teenagers are being victimized by messages of sexuality, pleasure, selfishness, materialism and are finding themselves hopeless, depressed, suicidal
- Unwanted babies are murdered at an epidemic rate and the unwanted child population is growing (Child Sex Slavery is on the rise)
- Nearly all families live in financial bondage as they have leveraged everything they have in pursuit of worldly possessions and lifestyles
- Hatred for God’s people, (Israel and Christians) is on the rise and godless organizations and groups are gaining favor and power in government