Mission Shaped and Kingdom Focussed

By Professor John M. Hull is a professor at Queens College, Birmingham.

Introduction

I concluded my pamphlet Mission Shaped Church: A Theological Response (SCM Press, 2006) by making a distinction between a church-shaped mission and a   mission-shaped church. This refers to the difference between a mission which is essentially shaped by the interests and concerns of the Christian churches and a church which, forgetful of itself, is ready to perceive and respond to the mission of God. The expression ‘kingdom focussed’ refers to the focus of the church’s activity as being not upon itself but upon the coming of the Kingdom of God. The expression ‘Kingdom of God’ refers to that heavenly and earthly reality in which the purposes of God are realised. It also refers to the teaching of Jesus himself, the proclamation of the early church, and it is also a symbol of the utopian future. Christian faith is best understood in its Messianic aspect as an agent of the now and future kingdom, and church as an agent of Christian faith for the same ultimate purpose. In this sequence, only the kingdom of God, which is the object of the mission of God, is self-authenticating; Both Christian faith and church are instrumental to kingdom.

In the present statement I shall try to clarify this distinction and support it biblically and theologically ...

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