Revolution of Grace is an integrated character development program designed to enhance the mission of our school in partnering with parents to develop character witnesses for Christ. Grace Prep desires to help families address the challenge of spiritually mentoring our GPA students so that they are equipped in the following ways:
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to love God because He first loved us,
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to be rightly related to Jesus by accepting His redemptive work on the cross,
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to obediently listen to and follow the leadership of the Holy Spirit for direction each day, and
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to share the healing grace of Christ with a lost and broken world.
Our hope and prayer is to partner with the Holy Spirit in producing character witnesses who actively engage a lost world, through service and conversation, with the love of God. If we are to "live like Christ," our approach to a lost and broken world should be born of the same humility and compassion with which He lived, died and rose again. We can aggressively oppose the false ideologies and philosophies of our current culture without rejecting those whom God loves. We need marriage relationships, parent/offspring relationships, co-worker relationships, and friendships to be invaded by a revolution of His grace. Our students need to see that every classroom, every internship, every summer job, and every social networking website is a "mission field": a frontline vantage point from which we can communicate His great love and mercy. And because such a mission is most assuredly fraught with difficulty, it is also one of sacrifice. Truly, it is "a call to give it all." In the 2011-12 school year, we will specifically talk about how this call stems from living boldly as Kingdom Christians.
"What is a Kingdom Christian?"
Doesn't that sound a bit redundant? It’s kind of like phrases such as true Christian or genuine believer. In each of those phrases though, users are trying to say something emphatic about the individual. Usually, these phrases are used to describe someone who has a real heart for God and who is willing to live “all in” for Him. These people live counter-culture. They are willing to go against what’s popular when what’s popular goes against convictions.
This idea and phrase really began to resonate with me last Christmas as I read a couple different publications. One such work was a book which discussed what Jesus meant by calling his disciples to “go the second mile.” The book basically makes the argument that Jesus’ Kingdom is in the second mile. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles.” (Mat. 5:41) Through a hard law called impressment, Roman soldiers could make Jewish natives carry their 100-pound backpack for one mile. Jesus was saying to his followers that they should go above and beyond the expected as a reflection of God’s love. It’s not unusual for people to be helpful for the sake of being helpful. It is unusual when people sacrifice self, blood, sweat, and tears for the benefit of others. You can identify a Kingdom Christian when you see someone going the second mile for others with no strings attached or expected reward.
I recently saw an example of the Kingdom Christian in my older brother. My wife, two daughters, and I were in Kansas for my parents’ 40th wedding anniversary. My brother is a construction supervisor who works long days in the summer heat. The heat has been especially brutal this past week. Yet, each night after getting off work, he went to Vacation Bible School at his church and helped man the recreation time for several hours. On the last night with temperatures well over 100 degrees and with smoke in his face, he cooked hamburgers and hot dogs on a giant grill for the whole church. That’s my picture of a Kingdom Christian – someone who is willing to live outside a comfort zone for a higher purpose.
It may seem obvious, but in order to go the second mile for others, you must be willing to follow Jesus’ instructions. Therefore, the Kingdom Christian is also someone who makes Jesus king of their daily life. The Kingdom Christian refuses to follow the way of the world and earthly desires. Instead, the Kingdom Christian listens carefully to Christ’s words and follows the leadership of the Holy Spirit. The Kingdom Christian responds by faith in situations and speaks or acts courageously when prompted by the Spirit. With Christ as king, the Kingdom Christian ignores other voices calling for attention and stays focused on Kingdom agendas.
I think William Wilberforce is a good example of this type of living. You may be asking, “William who?” A couple weeks ago, I had an opportunity to do some doctoral work at Regents Park College in Oxford, England. As part of the course, I researched the life of Wilberforce and visited his alma mater, St. John’s College at Cambridge. Wilberforce dedicated his entire life to public service as a Member of Parliament. He believed that God had set before him two great life objectives – the abolition of the slave trade and the reformation of manners in society (i.e. gambling, drunkeness, etc.). In pursuing the abolition of the slave trade, Wilberforce persevered for twenty years through ten failed bills before his eleventh bill passed in Parliament and ended Britain’s slave trade in 1807. Many friends abandoned him, his health failed him on several occasions almost to his death, and he endured the scorn of his peers in Parliament. But he continued to listen to the voice of God over and above the difficulties of his present condition. His persistence and faith exemplifies a Kingdom Christian who makes Christ king of his daily life and who expects a greater reward than what this world offers.
The Kingdom Christian has a distinct purpose in life. The Kingdom Christian’s objective is simple – to enjoy the King and to see others join the Kingdom. We do this by spending time with the King and by inviting others to do the same, emphasizing the benefits of Kingdom living.
My hope for this year as we focus on the Kingdom Christian is that we communicate with our students the idea that this world is not our home. We are truly – as Peter says – aliens and temporary residents on this earth (1 Peter 2:11). We belong to an eternal kingdom. We are residents of a different place. Paul wrote, “our citizenship is in heaven …” (Phil. 3:20) As Texans and as Americans, if we were to go to Mexico, we would cross a border which would make us a visitor in a foreign country. Our identity as an American wouldn’t change and neither would our values. As a Christian, I live in this earthly world as a guest and as a visitor. My identity does not come from this world. I do not gain my identity from a sports team, a brand of clothing, a job, a music group, or a group of friends. Jesus gives me my identity and he teaches me who I am. My values are different from worldly values. I do not value having lots of money or impressing people with the way I look or with the things I can do. I don’t value having the biggest house or for everyone to know my name. Instead, I value what Jesus valued.
Questions I hope our students ask of themselves this year:
1. If I look more like the world than like Jesus, why?
2. Why do I get up in the morning?
3. Which life do I love more, a spiritual life or a worldly life?
4. What does a Kingdom teenager look like?
5. Who influences me the most?
6. As a Kingdom teenager, how do I use my time? What are Kingdom teenager hobbies?
7. Who does the Kingdom teenager hang out with?
8. How do I have victory over fleshly desires?
9. I know I shouldn’t want to be like the world, but I do. What do I do?
In summary, the Kingdom Christian enjoys Jesus as king of each day, lives in the second mile for the benefit of others, seeks out others to join the Kingdom, and resists the temptation to get comfortable in this world as if it were home.
In Christ,
Dale Meinecke