Church Culture vs. Kingdom Culture
- Adrian Espinosa
- Jul 12, 2022
- 3 min read
'And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb. By its light will the nations walk, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it, and its gates will never be shut by day—and there will be no night there. They will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. '
Revelation 21:23-26 ESV
I have often seen how many have used scripture and authority in the Church for their own financial gain, emotional manipulation, and other perverted schemes. At the same time I have seen many use scripture and their anointing for building people up correctly. But I believe that the continual misuse of scripture and authority in the Church is coming to an end, from the pulpit and from the pew. During my time in prayer and conversations with God, I know that God is witnessing all of this. He is not unaware of what has been occurring underneath the steeple, behind closed doors of pastors, and what has been whispered in the pews about His children.
Recently during prayer, I felt as if I heard the Lord say "They have molested, My Church”. I asked Him, “who?” and in His response, He said, “Pastors, Preachers, and Apostles”. But He also said, “No More”. I feel like He was letting me know that there is a turning point for the Church coming and occurring at this time. I believe He was telling me that what is happening in the Church at this current time, was part of a larger plan. It isn’t a plan intended to hurt the body of Christ, but rather to wash and renew the Church back to its first love. That first love being Jesus Christ.
Now this is not a doom and gloom prophetic warning, but rather a hopeful one! We know at this current time that the Church in the west is going through a lot of internal and external conflict that has affected everyone in and out of it. We have witnessed countless sexual assault allegations, pastoral manipulation from the pews, and countless other hypocritical acts coming from those in and outside of authority in the Church. But I am believing this word as an announcement from God, saying “No more!”. I have seen and read several accounts of God’s glory appearing at the most unlikely times and redemption of leaders & church members that have strayed from seeking God. I believe this is a time for us to challenge what we consider as christians and church members as “normal church culture”. I believe God is allowing all of this to happen so that we can shift from being church focused, to Kingdom focused.
The difference being, that we bring the glory of God into every situation and building we walk into, as we will in eternity. Not our own church cultures that we developed, but a culture based on the Kingdom of God and His values, not our own. That means an end to the politicalization of the gospel, the end to self centered christianity, and an end to toxic church cultures. The entire bride of Christ, not just our leaders, must take responsibility for the gospel and for the souls of our neighbors.
I believe we will see miracles sprout out like dandelions on an open field that never stops blooming. We will see freedom from demons, authentic & transparent leaders, and an end to the misrepresentation of the Church to the world. The Church will no longer represent a nation alone, but we will bring the glory of God given to each nation into every meeting and encounter with others. I believe we are seeing the turning of the tide. Instead of waving flags of politics or entertainment, we will wave flags of freedom for the lost and suffering. It’s time to destroy church culture and start walking out our Kingdom Culture. Jesus culture!
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