The Kingdom Matrix

The Kingdom Matrix
(read about it or purchase it here)

It has certainly been a different experience these past few weeks as I have made my way through The Kingdom Matrix by Jeff Christopherson.  Reading through a book in which you know many of the individuals mentioned, remember many of the stories that are recounted and, in fact, lived through a number of them, provides a unique reading experience for sure.  It is a bit hard to distance an objective reading of the points being delivered from my nostalgic memories of being a part of much of it.  I have also had the advanced drafts, so to speak, as many of the ideas from this book were being developed, introduced and lived out in the churches that where a part of the Sanctuary movement.  Looking back, I remember the amazing things we have seen God do, I remember hard times when we didn't get it right or when God may have been pruning and refining, and in all I am overwhelmed by who God is, what He has done and all that I have learned these past eleven years.

I say this is simply to point out that anything I say about the book is not unbiased.  Having said that, however, there is some thinking in this book that could be very important for the church.  I have probably come to take for granted much of what I have learned over the years and the culture in which I have been blessed to be a part.  If, however, concepts such as "giving yourself away," "community transformation," "church planting," "reproduction," or "radical self sacrifice" are not a common part of your church context then this book may be a significant part of challenging you and your church for the sake of the Kingdom of God.