THE INNOVATIVE CHURCH LEADER PODCAST AND GIVEAWAYS:
We want to help pastors experience and bring renewal through Spirit-led innovation, reaching new people, and making disciples who make disciples.
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David Bennett’s journey from gay atheist activist to celibate Christian theologian challenges everything we think we know about ministry to LGBTQ+ individuals. In this raw conversation, David shares how a supernatural encounter in a Sydney pub transformed his life, why he identifies as a “gay Christian,” and what the church gets wrong (and right) about serving the queer community.
David doesn’t offer easy answers. Instead, he introduces a framework of “solidarity and holy fellowship” that refuses to compromise either inclusion or biblical holiness. For leaders navigating these complex waters, this conversation offers fresh language and practical wisdom for creating spaces where people can wrestle authentically with hard questions. He explores his dramatic conversion story and prophetic encounter, why queer people are “sacred gifts” to the church, the idolatry of marriage that damages both straight and gay Christians, how to hold tension between inclusion and holiness without collapsing either side, and why for him identifying as “gay” matters for his witness.
THE INNOVATIVE CHURCH LEADER PODCAST AND GIVEAWAYS:
We want to help pastors experience and bring renewal through Spirit-led innovation, reaching new people, and making disciples who make disciples.
Be sure to sign up for our email newsletter at innovativechurchleaders.org/join-us for a chance to win future book giveaways, retreats, cohorts, workshops, and assessments!
Christine Caine mobilizes people everywhere to live on mission for Jesus. She’s an evangelist and co-founded the anti-slavery organization A21 with her husband Nick. She shared during a workshop at Beyond Us Conference.
Christine’s Story…
37 years in ministry
Didn’t speak English until age 5 as adopted parents were Greek and moved to Australia from Alexandria, Egypt
In January 29, 1989 a friend took Christine to a Pentecostal church in a warehouse and had an encounter with Jesus.
Grew up Greek Orthodox and then ostracized after becoming a follower of Jesus. Married at 30, first child at 35, and married a pentecostal pastor.
Only one who showed up for a church clean up day. The pastor asked her if she would help start a youth service. Since he was going on a 6 week mission trip, he asked her to put together a proposal since she was the only one in the group in college.
Too often the younger generation is trying to build a platform rather than building the Kingdom of God.
Jesus calls us to follow Him and die to self.
Australia at the time only had 2% attending church.
Looked for the pillars to the unknown god (Acts 17).
Created seminars like anti-bullying to get into the schools where they focused on building relationships and leading students to Christ. Wrote grants for their seminars. Ended up in meetings in the Australian capital of Canberra.
Became the director of Youth Alive which did big events leading lots of people to Jesus.
Ministry is needs based. Find a need and meet that need.
Being in a very secular culture meant they had to earn the right to talk about Jesus.
Evangelism and justice! Spirit and truth!
Married in 1996.
Felt called to evangelism and church planting.
Helped planting churches in Bulgaria.
In 2007 saw posters of missing children and felt convicted to help even though already so busy with ministry.
Did not know of any anti-human trafficking organizations. Russian and Albanian mafia behind much of the trafficking. No laws at the time against what was happening.
Moved to Thessaloniki from Australia which was the “parking lot of human trafficking.”
79% of the Syrian refugees coming into Europe in 2008 came through Greece an hour North of the A21 headquarters.
Now A21 is a global anti-trafficking organization in 22 countries working with the Red Cross and U.N..
Speaking is the overflow of the work they do.
What we do with our time matters into eternity!
Be wise as a serpent and gentle as a dove.
Paul spoke very differently in Berea than he did in Athens. He never compromised, but he was wise.
One morning praying and felt led to pray for the -stan nations. 3 days later 7 women from Uzbekistan had come to the A21 after care center. For a year they had been praying to Allah and nothing had happened. Then one remembered her grandma had told her about the God of Europe named Jesus.
Go so far that you need God to show up and His gifts to live out what He’s calling us to do.
A girl from North Africa had been trafficked with 60 other girls in a shipping container. 30 of the 60 girls had suffocated and died on the journey to Istanbul. Men wearing police uniforms brought them to apartments where they were raped and kept for days. They were then being taken to a brothel in another city.
Tragically, 25 of the 30 girls drowned when thrown off boats as the coast guard approached them. Only 5 of the girls survived. 1 of the 60 girls ended up in the A21 freedom center.
A girl from Georgia (Russia) was there as well and asked Christine why she was there helping them. So Christine told her story of abuse and finding healing from the love of God through Jesus.
The young woman from Georgia started yelling at Christine: “If this is true, then why didn’t you come sooner!”
Through tears Christine said: “I am so sorry it wasn’t sooner, but for the rest of my life you need to know that for the rest of my life we will be looking to help people trapped just like you.”
Propel Women is about creating pipelines and pathways for women to live out their calling.
Propel Women is about creating pipelines and pathways for women to live out their calling.
For more resources to help you reach new people or make new disciples, be sure to sign up for our email newsletter here: JOIN US
Dr. Bob Roberts Jr., the founder of GlocalNet, a ministry dedicated to mobilizing the church to bring about transformation in the public square, co-founder of the Multi-Faith Neighbors Network, an organization committed to promoting religious freedom through intentional cross-cultural relationships.
He shared this message at the Beyond Us Conference.
Bob went to Baylor and seminary on his way to being a missionary only to be rejected by the mission board because of his wife’s health. They tried 3 times to go overseas, but never got accepted.
Leighton Ford was mentoring Bob and speaking on global evangelism which was discouraging because that is what Bob wanted to be doing. On the ride home, the Holy Spirit came uninvited and asked him to start thinking about missions differently and posed this question to him:
“What if the Church was the missionary.”
What if we mobilized everyone to be missionaries rather than a select few?!
The Holy Spirit empowers, equips, and guides us to fulfill the Great Commission.
The first church planters in the New Testament were businessmen!
God uses everybody to advance His Kingdom!
We have all we need to complete the Great Commission! It’s just a matter of obedience and our willingness.
Going Through the Front Door (Like Paul Did)
80% of Bob’s time is with non-Christians.
Northwood Church helped start 200 churches. Glocal has helped plant another 200 churches.
“And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” – Colossians 4:3-6 NIV
“After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God.” – Acts 1:3 NIV
We travel with Kingdom authority!
Gates were entries and access and wisdom.
The Kingdom of God can be summarized with “Shalom” which means the “flourishing of all things”
Getting people to pray the sinners prayer doesn’t change the city. If it did,
How many baptisms is not the measure but is the city being renewed by new followers of Jesus is the measure.
Matthew 5-7 is the manifesto of the Kingdom of God.
Matthew 6-25 includes parables that illustrates the Kingdom of God.
After the message of the Kingdom comes the Great Commission.
The Gospel makes a difference!
Colossians 1:15-20 is about the fullness of God which is the Kingdom of God.
The Church needs to live out in its community what the Gospel looks like.
No one wants you there if you only do evangelism and missions. What are we doing to serve people and to bring value to people.
We don’t have to take over a culture, we just have to be salt and light in the culture.
We don’t want Christian nationalism. We want Holy Spirit presence.
We keep trying to turn missionaries into business people. Why don’t we turn business people into missionaries.
We go in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Just ask Him to fill us with His Spirit and then believe it.
Spiritual gifts are necessary to live out the ministry of Jesus.
Just because we have seen people use spiritual gifts improperly that doesn’t mean they are not real.
We go in every dimension.
“On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”” – Acts 1:4-8 NIV
All of the apostles go to the ends of the earth.
We need to do missions at home and abroad.
Don’t try to fix everything at home first and then going globally. Try to bring healing here AND there!
Going overseas can inspire work at home.
Mobilize your church into the dominions where they work in civil society, business, economics, medicine, agriculture, and so on.
Don’t do missions to people but with people.
Too often we want non-Christians to accept Christ, but we don’t want to be their friends.
When you go through the front door, you don’t have to hide who you are.
Go in Prayer
Go in Twos
Go in Community
Glocal.net churches start churches, works with the inner city, and chooses a hard place around the world.
Don’t become the biggest church, instead church the city.
Bring value to people and love people and share with people, and they will open their hearts.
You can disagree and respect someone without vilifying them. See people as created in the image of God.
Bob’s Ministries:
Glocal (glocal.net) mobilizes the church to engage in the public square.
K->D->S->C->
Kingdom of God -> Disciple -> Society -> Church
We promote human flourishing globally by engaging the whole of society through people-to-people engagement.
What if we learned from the global church how to do missions?
Global Faith Forum (globalfaithforum.com) – Building a culture of kindness for the common good.
Offices in D.C. are 3-4 min walk to the White House
Apolitical to stay relevant regardless of who is President
Building a culture of kindness for the common good
Tom Lin serves as the president and CEO of InterVarsity. He shared this message at Beyond Us.
Tom’s parents moved to the USA so he wouldn’t have to grow up in poverty in Asia. As an adult, God called Tom and his wife to move to Mongolia where there were no Christians and where the Bible was finally translated into Mongolian in 2000. Now he found himself living in poverty in Asia.
Notice what God promised in Genesis 12:1-5.
The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.
2 “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. 3 I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on earth will be blessed through you.”
4 So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran. 5 He took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, all the possessions they had accumulated and the people they had acquired in Harran, and they set out for the land of Canaan, and they arrived there.
God did not say:
“I will bless you and you will have a happy life.” “I will bless you so you can live out the American dream!”
Instead, He said: “I will bless you and you will be a blessing and all people on earth will be blessed through you!”
God wants to bless people who will put their feet to their faith.
GOD’S GLOBAL PURPOSES
“Fill the earth and subdue it” (Genesis 1)
“All the nations you have made will come and worship before you, O Lord; they will bring glory to your name.” (Psalm 86:9)
“Go and make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28)
“You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)
There are more people alive today that do not know about Jesus than any time in history!
To bless the nations often requires leaving comfort.
Tom’s parents did not support their call to the mission field. His mom threatened to kill herself if they moved. Instead, they cut them off and refused communication for years.
Abraham moves and resides in at least 8 different places in Genesis 12-13. Their new neighbors were brutal pagans (the Canaanites).
God doesn’t give comfortable callings.
Consider the Global Church. For example, just a couple of years ago several college students were killed for their faith in Nigeria.
Where is your Mongolia?
That place or people group that might require leaving comfort.
An interesting thing happens when we trust God and go. We experience God’s faithfulness.
GOD’S FAITHFULNESS
Abraham’s marriage. “So Abram went up from Egypt to the Negev, with his wife and everything he had, and Lot went with him.” (13:1) Physical needs. “Abram had become very wealthy in livestock and in silver and gold.” (13:2) Legacy. “I will make your offspring like the dust of the earth.” (13:16)
In Mongolia, Tom and his wife saw 500 students come to Christ! Now it is a Mongolian-led mission.
God always provided.
Tom’s Mom invited him and his wife and kids to her house where she apologized just 2 months before she died.
Next Steps:
Go and get a taste short term.
Read and give sacrificially. (See Operation World)
Go local and reach the nations. (Start a bless the nations prayer group, host internationals for dinner in your home, etc.)
“Something is missionally malignant if we make sacrifices to travel the world to reach people, but are unwilling to cross the street.” – J.D. Payne
Following Jesus is not easy, but putting on his yolk is easier because it fits me better helping me live for Him.
For more resources to help you reach new people or make new disciples, be sure to sign up for our email newsletter here: JOIN US
Jimmy Dorrell is the Co-founder and President Emeritus of Mission Waco and Mission World and hte pastor of The Church Under the Bridge. He shared about reaching the poor with the message of Jesus at Beyond Us in October 2025.
What is Poverty & Who Are The Poor & Marginalized – a condition in which a person or community lacks the financial resources and essentials for a minimum standard of living.
United States (2025): Family of 4 makes less than $32,150/yr (1 person = $15,650, 11.1% of nation 36.8 million) In the World (2025): if a person lives on a daily income of $3.00/day or less. (700 million or 8.5% of world) In the Bible: owns only one coat & no food for the family (Exodus 22:26 and Dt. 1:13)
WHO ARE THE MARGINALIZED?
These are the persons who are denied involvement, for whatever reason, in mainstream economic political, cultural, and social activities. They may be homeless, unemployed, disabled (mental or physical), an ex-offender, an addict, in substance abuse, a person in prostitution, those who are gay, lesbian, transgender, and those from ethnic and religious backgrounds who are often outside social acceptance.
Acknowledging your presuppositions why they are poor:
LACK OF KNOWLEDGE >>> EDUCATE THEM
OPPRESSION BY POWERFUL PEOPLE >>> SOCIAL JUSTICE
PERSONAL SINS >>> EVANGELIZE/DISCIPLE THEM
LACK OF MATERIAL POSSESSIONS >>> GIVE THEM RESOURCES
Systemic Injustices are one of the barriers we face. (See 13th documentary)
When you feel powerless, you lose hope and become cynical.
Learn to listen to hear people’s stories and learn to empathize with them.
Stand with others and speak truth to power and standing up against the broken system.
This can be empowering! The church needs to be empowering rather than giving a donation or a top.
Change is Hard!
Principles of Change
Can be painful Requires more than talk Cannot be forced Must admit present failure Alternatives important New choices feel risky Encouragers needed Takes time to really last Relapses may occur along the way
“Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” – Romans 12:2
15,000 churches are expected to close in the next twelve months in the United States. If a church is on the verge of closing, it is beyond “revitalization,” and has moved into the stage of “replanting.” Even with the talk of “revival” in many headlines, most studies agree that about 25% of Americans attend church on a monthly basis.
General sense of distrust, confusion, and turmoil.
From that time on Jesus began to preach, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” —Mathew 4:17
The kingdom of God = recognizing the reality of Jesus’ reign here and now.
Living out the teaching of Jesus in light of his grace.
Forgiveness, purity, radical generosity, loving enemies, reconciliation, justice, and so on become ways of life.
The gospel is the message.
The Kingdom is the reality.
A Kingdom DNA church shifts from “program participation” to “embodied obedience.”
A disciple is someone who not only has saving faith in Jesus, but is also actively striving to embody what Jesus commanded.
Sermon on the Mount is a distillation of how to live as a disciple of Jesus.
Kingdom → Disciple → Society
We demonstrate the power of the gospel when we live out Jesus’ teachings.
Example, asking a follower of Jesus about where they work: “Is there anything where you work that goes against the way of Jesus?” – Yes! Lots! “Well, then can you fix one?” – Yes, but they will have lots of questions about why I care. “Perfect! That is when you will have the opportunity to represent Jesus and even share your faith where you work!”
Kingdom DNA is not competitive DNA.
Instead of thinking competitively we need to think collaboratively!
Kingdom → Disciple → Society → Church
As Kingdom disciples live the Way of Jesus in their domains, the gospel spreads and the church is strengthened (or emerges).
If the Kingdom was Jesus’ primary message, Kingdom DNA churches seek to reclaim that centrality and live it.
Check out the “Kingdom DNA course” and Church planting cohort” at Glocal.net
Q&A:
What about the world wanting us to choose a side when it comes to politics?
We don’t give into the world’s talking points or the world’s categories. Third way is not the middle but Kingdom which is wholly above and transcendant. Acknowledge without giving into picking sides. Always reorient people towards the Kingdom rather than the algorithms and social media.
Bonhoeffer in the 1930s – “America’s religion is nationalism.”
“We move at the speed of family.”
Best way to introduce people new to faith to the Scriptures?
What does the passage reveal about God, Jesus, or His plan?
What do you discover about people?
What does the passage teach us about humanity, sin, and our needs?
How will you obey this passage?
Based on the passage, what is God calling you to do this week? Make a concrete, simple, and measurable plan, often starting with “I will…”.
Another option on hoow to incorporate this into a study:
Start with fellowship: Begin by sharing what you are thankful for, what has caused stress, and any community needs.
Read and retell: One person reads a passage, and then others try to retell it in their own words.
Ask the questions: Discuss the core questions about God, people, and application.
Share and do: Determine how to apply the passage through an “I will” statement and share it with others.
Follow-up: Meet again to share experiences, discuss any challenges with “I will” statements, and ask who you will tell.
Seems that the church planter pipeline is drying up?
Established churches are also at a staffing crisis so they are recruiting people who might have planted had they not been offered a job with resources. However, more and more collaborative networks are helping plant churches together.
For more resources to help you reach new people or make new disciples, be sure to sign up for our email newsletter here: JOIN US
Christine Caine mobilizes people everywhere to live on mission for Jesus. She’s an evangelist and co-founded the anti-slavery organization A21 with her husband Nick. She shared a powerful message at Beyond Us Conference in October 2025.
For 37 years and in 90 countries Christine has proclaimed the message of Jesus. There’s nothing more important than taking the gospel into all the world.
These are the last words of Jesus before the ascension.
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” – Acts 1:8
We must need what we were promised we will receive in order to live out our calling.
We are to be his witnesses not just witnessing.
The Church is born in Acts 1-4!
The Church was born supernaturally! Acts 1-6
There were signs and wonders and people were dropping dead and selling their property! Amazing things were happening!
But there was a problem. They got really comfortable in Jerusalem.
What got them out of their comfort zone was the stoning of Stephen in Acts 7.
Persecution is not a bad thing!
When persecution happens, God is about to move!
“And Saul approved of their killing him. On that day a great persecution broke out against the church in Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.” – Acts 8:1 NIV
The Church is being shaken because we need to go out and make disciples – which we were supposed to be doing all along.
There is always a Simon the sorcerer when the real gospel is going out.
There will always be a counterfeit running parallel to the true message of Jesus.
Are we going to follow the counterfeit or be afraid by the counterfeit or are we going to go out in the power and passion of the Holy Spirit!
Christine has seen God doing amazing things everywhere she’s gone this year (which has been 30 countries).
Passion is contagious!
Followers of Jesus need to have a zest of life and a zeal! Instead, too many believers are
We need a passion for Jesus, a passion for the Word, and a passion for the lost.
We ought to be the best at loving, understanding, and connecting with those without Jesus.
The lostology of the Bible is in Acts 15.
We shouldn’t be judging the lost.
1. The lost coin can represent those who were not cared for.
That was Christine’s story. As a child Christine was abused. She didn’t know she had been adopted until she was 33. By the time she discovered this she had been renewing her mind for 10 years with what’s true of her in Christ.
Jesus saved and rescued Christine so that she can be part of rescuing the enslaved today!
2. The lost sheep can represent those who are preoccupied with the distractions of the world.
3. The lost son thought that life without the father would be better than life with the father.
Jesus didn’t tell us to figure out why people are lost, but to love them and help them know him.
There are more people enslaved today than at any time in history.
Too often we are like the Levite and the priest who saw the man on the road as a distraction from their ministry rather than the one they should be ministering to.
Too often we don’t want to be interrupted or inconvenienced. Compassion is not compassion until we cross the street willing to give up our own time, treasure, and talent to serve those in need.
We have His power to be His witnesses!
Walk in love in a world of hatred. Walk in joy in a world of depression. Walk in peace in a world of anxiety.
We cannot do this on our own. We need to rely on Him!
We need a fresh wind of the Spirit in our mission work!
Christianity is not a behavior modification program!
We are to BE His witnesses.
We are “living epistles” – God’s love letter to the world.
When we are not about the Father’s business, we end up getting into other people’s business.
We become lost in our pursuit of our own selfish ambition, our religious rituals, our own self- righteousness, our factions, our distractions.
We are supposed to be in the world and not of it, but too often we are of it and not in it.
Don’t buy into the narrative of the world.
Be salt and light!
Bring light to the darkness not add to the darkness.
Why are we so afraid of the darkness? We have the light of Christ within us!
We need to make Jesus’ last commandment our first priority!
We need to mobilize the Church to be about the Father’s business!
For more resources to help you reach new people or make new disciples, be sure to sign up for our email newsletter here: JOIN US
10 Reasons Why Frontier People Groups Should Be Our Priority:
Chris Clayman of the Joshua Project, an organization that highlights peoples and places with the least access or response to the gospel shared at the Beyond Us Conference in October 2025.
1. God is gathering worshippers from all peoples and commands us to join Him.
“I will surely bless you, and I will surely multiply your offspring as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore. And your offspring shall possess the gate of his enemies, and in your offspring shall all the nations of the earth be blessed, because you have obeyed my voice.” – Genesis 22:17-18
“Offspring” in this passage is singular. This means through the messiah.
“And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” – Matthew 24:14
ETHNOS/ETHNE
“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.” – Matthew 28:19-20
“Goyim” = nations = “ethne” = ethnic groups = Gentiles
2. This needs to be a priority because it has not yet happened.
There are seats missing at the wedding banquet.
“After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands.” – Revelation 7:9
An unreached people group are those without enough followers of Jesus to advance the gospel.
Unreached people group defined = a people group among which there is no indigenous community of believing
Christians with adequate numbers and resources to evangelize this people group without outside assistance.
There are 10,397 people groups.
Unreached (Not Frontier) – 12%
Not Unreached – 57%
Frontier (Not Unreached) – 31%
Primary propagation of the gospel happens through the church.
Many mission efforts work primarily with existing churches, diverting focus away from frontier peoples needing cross-cultural efforts.
Most missionaries go where they are invited, not to frontier people groups.
Frontier people groups make up the largest portion of unreached people groups.
24% of the world’s population are in FPGs
Paul set an example of not building on someone else’s foundation
We have clarity in where the greatest church planting needs are in the world, and populations there are growing rapidly.
There is a great imbalance and injustice of opportunity for those born into FPGs.
Frontier people groups require highly intentional, difficult, cross-cultural mission efforts.
QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER:
How do your existing missions or ministry efforts impact the greatest gap of gospel access in the world among frontier people groups?
What steps should you take to address the need among FPGs?
As church leaders, too often we call the people in our churches to follow Jesus for the ‘benefits’ we might receive. We do this when we are inviting people into a relationship with Christ and even when we seek to recruit others to serve. Should it surprise us when people don’t get involved or even move from church to church, trying to find the one that best meets their needs? Even worse, should we be surprised when people walk away from this consumeristic version of Jesus altogether?
When we choose to follow Jesus for what He can give to us, we miss out on what He was actually inviting us to do! Jesus knew that if we lost our lives in serving others, through this journey we would truly find our life (Mt. 10:39).
I suppose we are all on a path towards either dictatorship or Billy Graham. We are torn between a life filled with selfishness and a life of selflessness. May we experience the beauty of a fully surrendered life with Jesus as our Leader while we invite others to do the same.
Too often the Church has been seen as exclusive and judgmental instead of loving and authentic.
Too often we end up more like chaplains caring for our people rather than mobilizing our people to care for those around us.
Too often we may assume people are not interested when they are actually searching.
We have the opportunity to change this by serving, loving, and influencing our neighbors, family, and friends.
The God of the Universe continues to interact with His creation in His active pursuit of humanity. Motivated by His love, God continues to reach out in innovative ways. Created in His image and called to join Him on His mission of redeeming mankind, followers of Jesus need to follow God’s lead.
We are invited by God to follow His Spirit so that we see Jesus’ prayer answered more and more that “God’s Kingdom come His will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:10)
The church is in the business of New Creation.
A helpful definition of the church comes from the Gospel Coalition says:
“The church is the new covenant people of God, rooted in the promises to Israel and inaugurated by the Holy Spirit, which refers both to all believers in Jesus Christ, both living and dead, and to local gatherings of believers.”
The beginning of the Scriptures reveal humanity in God’s presence in paradise – the Garden of Eden. The end of the Scriptures describes paradise restored. In John’s revelation, he saw “a new heaven and a new earth” and “the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God.” John heard a voice from the throne proclaim: “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away” (Revelation 21:1-4).
As biblical scholar N.T. Wright and co-host of our cohort in 2026 points out in his writings, lectures, and interviews. Too often the church either tries to rule the world or renounce the world and our main question we seem to ask is “how do we get to heaven?” instead of the more important question: “how does God come to live with us?”
In his book Surprised by Hope: Rethinking Heaven, the Resurrection, and the Mission of the Church, Professor Wright points out that too many Christians have a Platonist view of heaven as opposed to the biblical understanding of a new heaven and new earth. He emphasizes that the biblical view is not about escaping to a distant, spiritual realm (the Platonist view), but rather about God’s plan to bring heaven’s reality to earth, ultimately resulting in a renewed creation where heaven and earth are united.He writes:
“Jesus’s resurrection is the beginning of God’s new project not to snatch people away from earth to heaven but to colonize earth with the life of heaven. That, after all, is what the Lord’s Prayer is about.”
– Dr. N.T. Wright
We innovate as we follow the Spirit’s lead knowing that God’s ways are higher than our ways. We innovate in order to be good stewards of creation and develop solutions that glorify Him and promote flourishing. We innovate to bring more beauty, more justice, and more goodness to our world so that others might join us in God’s Kingdom.
In another section, Wright reminds us:
“The point of the resurrection…is that the present bodily life is not valueless just because it will die…What you do with your body in the present matters because God has a great future in store for it…What you do in the present—by painting, preaching, singing, sewing, praying, teaching, building hospitals, digging wells, campaigning for justice, writing poems, caring for the needy, loving your neighbor as yourself—will last into God’s future. These activities are not simply ways of making the present life a little less beastly, a little more bearable, until the day when we leave it behind altogether (as the hymn so mistakenly puts it…). They are part of what we may call building for God’s kingdom.”
– Dr. N.T. Wright
In other words, Tim Keller points out that “We are called to be both the hands and the voice of God in a broken world, actively working to bring about justice and alleviate suffering.”
When we live out our calling and vocation with the heart of Jesus, we will be surprised with who says “yes” to joining us on our mission.
