Even though the majority of evangelicals grew up with the idea that the Kingdom of God is here and now, in the past decades not much emphasis has been given to the actual ramifications of this truth.
With the emergent church there is a growing, and much needed, awareness of the reality of the "here and now" of the Kingdom.I think many believers have been waiting for voices (like McLaren's) that put words to what they 'secretely' new was, and is true.
I have been a 'secret' believer of the Kingdom for many years but never new what to do with it. My believes needed sharpening, focussing and others those believes resonate with.
Now I wish that I would have been more outspoken about it.
The Gospel of the Kingdom and the wake up call that comes through books like these will change the church. I believe that the church will become the statement God intended it to be right from the very beginning.
If we truly believe that the Kingdom of God is not just a desired future but Gods desire for the church today, it will change the way we "do" church. It will have massive implications! We will never be the same again.
What if we truly believe that we can make the world a better place? What if we truly believe that social justice can improve? What if we stop believing that the only thing the church does is "postponing the inevitable" (being this world going down the drain).
I want to be a voice that will help build the much critical mass that true change needs.
One more word about the secret. When talking to my host about the seminar I was to attend, we were guessing what the secret was going to be about and it was pretty clear to both of us that it could only be about the Kingdom. I would have been pretty shaken up if Jesus would have had an even more obscure agenda that only Brian new about! Well, praise God, there is and was none other than this: the Kingdom of God is at hand.
