Mike Slaughter
Jacob Armstrong
The church has often been held captive to the political cultural values of the times (justification of slavery, antisemitism, segregation, along with other “isms”) rather than to the revolutionary movement of Jesus. Many “believe” in Jesus, but very few follow. In the Gospels, Jesus said 87 times “follow me,” two times “believe in me,” and zero times “worship me.”
Too often in our faith traditions we have way over-emphasized a profession of faith over the practice of faith.
When working on my book Revolutionary Kingdom: Following the Rebel Jesus, I hosted four next-level leaders in my home over two days for a deeper dive into what it means to truly live out the Kingdom of God on Planet Earth. Starting this week and for the five weeks following, I plan to post a total of six video podcasts that share the highlights (about 10 minutes each).
You will meet:
Jacob Armstrong, the founding pastor of Providence Church in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee.
Rachel Billups, lead pastor of New Albany UMC near Columbus, Ohio and former senior pastor of Ginghamsburg Church in Tipp City.
Matt Miofsky, lead pastor of The Gathering United Methodist Church in Saint Louis, Missouri.
Lisa Yebuah, campus pastor of Southeast Raleigh Table, a multi-site campus of Edenton Street United Methodist Church in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Our first conversation is about the practice of faith versus mere profession of faith. Next week, Matt Miofsky and I explore what it means to be counterculture kingdom community. You are invited to listen in.
Mike Slaughter, pastor emeritus and global church ambassador for Ginghamsburg Church, served for nearly four decades as the lead pastor and chief dreamer of Ginghamsburg and the spiritual entrepreneur of ministry marketplace innovations. Mike is also the founder and chief strategist of Passionate Churches, LLC, which specializes in developing pastors, church staff and church lay leaders through coaching, training, consulting and facilitation services. Mike’s call to “afflict the comfortable” challenges Christians to wrestle with God and their God-destinies. Mike’s latest book, from which this post is partially excerpted, is Revolutionary Kingdom: following the Rebel Jesus, available on Amazon and Cokesbury.