Planting Churches among the City's Poor - Volume 1

P ART II: T HEOLOGICAL AND M ISSIOLOGICAL P RINCIPLES AND I NSIGHTS • 173

Thy Kingdom Come! Readings on the Kingdom of God Edited by Terry G. Cornett and Don L. Davis • The Kingdom of God. Module 2, The Capstone Curriculum . Wichita: The Urban Ministry Institute, 2005. A Tale of Two Kingdoms Hear the parable of a kingdom, a usurper-prince of the realm of this world. By means of a masterful program of clever deception, he has managed to bring millions of subjects under his powerful rule. Granted, he has enticed them from the realm of another Monarch, but he considers them his. After all, they have been under his dominion for some considerable time now, and the Enemy hasn’t yet taken them back. Yes, in the mind of this prince, these people are legally his people and this land his land. Possession is, after all, he says, nine tenths of the law. Suddenly, without much warning, the rival Government takes action. The Son of the Enemy Monarch is dispatched to the prince’s very own turf (well, yes, he did steal it, but. . .) to take back those who would resubmit to his reign. The Monarch’s plan is to draw these people out from under the prince’s authority, philosophy, and life-style. Most outrageous of all, the Monarch sets up his Government on the prince’s own real estate. And instead of immediately removing his restored subjects from the country, he is keeping them there until a disease called death (a consequence of the prince’s regime which eventually claims everyone) brings about a change in their state of existence. To make the matter even more aggravating, the Son even promises people that he will save them from death, and become the firstfruits by dying and coming back to life again himself. Unsettled, but undefeated (he thinks), the prince launches an all fronts counterattack. Plainly, he is no match for the other King one on One. So he launches a renewed program of deception, simply lying to his citizens about the other Government. That doesn’t always work, for the Monarch’s Son keeps taking subjects back. Since they are such weak creatures, however, the prince sees no reason to give up hope for their eventual return. Consequently, even after they become citizens of that other kingdom, he keeps the pressure on. Falsehood is the prince’s most common weapon. He uses it at the most strategic points. Since the most committed people are the most dangerous, he attacks the zealots among his former subjects by spreading rumors about them and intimidating them by hints of his