The Kingdom of God, Mentor Guide, MG02

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T H E K I N G D O M O F G O D

These case studies seek to draw attention to specific ways in which the Church may struggle in its aspiration to fulfill its roles as both locus and agent of the Kingdom. One of the central issues connected to this is the question of integrity: when, in fact, are we demonstrating through our acts, our worship, and our relationships that we are being an authentic locus of the Kingdom? When does the witness, good works, and wonders we reveal to our neighbors give authentic evidence that we as a Church are revealing ourselves as an agent of the Kingdom? One of the most important things about spirituality is its ability to be counterfeited. Even the pole of Moses was imitated by the shaman and magicians of Egypt. Our role as ministers of the Gospel and the Church is to pray that God would use us to be authentic witnesses of the reality of the Kingdom in our locality. In other words, our responsibility and desire must be that God would use the life and witness of our congregation to shed light on what his rule is like on earth, as it is in heaven. With the Messianic age having come in Christ, we must give witness of the reality of the Kingdom, or risk becoming a dull reflection of the general society. What is critical to emphasize and highlight in your discussion is how a congregation can know it is fulfilling its calling as the locus and agent of the Church. The following examples are meant to highlight this issue, and make room for your own discoveries together. By the end of the second class session, you ought to emphasize with the students the need for them to have done the spade work and thought out precisely how they intend on carrying out their Ministry Project. Also, by this time, you should have emphasized their selection of the passage they will study for their Exegetical Project. Both will be done with far better thought and excellence the earlier the students begin to think through them and decide what they want to do. Do not fail to emphasize this, for, as in all study, at the end of the course many things become due, and the students will begin to feel the pressure of getting a number of assignments in at the same time. Any way that you can remind them of the need for advanced planning will be wonderfully helpful for them, whether they realize it immediately or not.

14 Page 90 Case Studies

15 Page 92 Assignments