By Chris Hildebrand, BCP Director
A few months ago I made a big mistake....
On a newsletter that I was working on I typed the following for our mission statement: Brooklyn Church Project exists to build the kingdom of God in Brooklyn by planting new congregations and partnering with existing Christian ministries. My mistake was using the word build instead of embody. It was just one word, one little verb, but it was a big mistake. Thankfully, someone proofread the mission statement and we caught the mistake before it was sent out. But, as I reflected on my blunder, I realized that it wasn't the only time I've made that mistake. I don't think I've made that blunder in a mission statement, but I do it all the time in the way I think and work towards our hopes for Brooklyn. I find myself acting as though we here in Brooklyn are responsible for building God's kingdom rather than embodying it, which is the big mistake. Here's why...
To suggest that we are building the kingdom of God is to suggest that we are initiating this work, that we are in charge, and ultimately all of this is up to us. And apart from being foolish it also simply isn't true. We believe (and we also see it happening in Brooklyn) that God has been working through his church long before we got here, that he is working here now apart from us, and now that he has called us here he is continuing his work to make disciples of the nations. This is why embody is a better term. It's not simply a matter of semantics. If we are embodying the kingdom, we are taking our rightful position of following after God and his work. If we are embodying then we are celebrating instead of stressing, if we are embodying then we are praying first and strategizing second. Everything changes when we embody the kingdom.
As I read the New Testament I take hope in the fact that I haven't been the only one to make this mistake. It seems as though the disciples made the same mistake when they were trying to find their role in the kingdom. In Mark 9, the disciples who have been traveling with Jesus, are arguing about who among them is the greatest. (That's a question you ask when you are building instead of embodying...) And Jesus' response to them is found in verses 35: And he said to them,"If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all." Jesus' response is a call to embody. To serve is to embody the practices of Jesus, who came not to be served but to serve. Our hope here in Brooklyn as we try and embody the kingdom is that we will be known as those who serve joyfully and sacrificially our friends, our neighbors, and our borough.
And, after all, its so much easier to sleep when you realize your not building the kingdom.
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