“Our Father in heaven, hallowed be thy name.”

This opening statement deserves a pregnant pause. Proclaiming our heavenly Father’s name to be sacred and revered is a decisive choice to worship and bow down to him. Who is it with which we are talking? The eternal Father who lovingly sent his only, unique Son for our salvation, AND so that we have meaningful, vibrant relationship with the triune God. Therefore, to the all-knowing, perfect, eternal God of the universe – Hallowed be your name. (A good practice is to consider ways that you have experienced God and his goodness, then simply offer a prayer telling your Father what you admire and appreciate about him).

“Thy kingdom come.”

May the kingdom power and presence come into me, to my family, my church, my neighborhood, my country and to the entire world. We pray for the kingdom now as we live out our lives as kingdom citizens and representatives, and we yearn and groan for the fullness of the kingdom in Christ’s promised return.

“Thy will be done.”

It is embarrassing to consider how much of my prayer time is dedicated to express my thoughts, voice my desires, and seek my will. (Prayer easily becomes me-centric.) God patiently listens and allows me to go on explaining, negotiating, and pleading until I get to the end of myself. Prayer often feels like reasoning with God, and as you surrender to him in the worship experience of prayer you come to understand how he has been faithful to you, you then feel a sense of surrendering your best interest into his capable care. God is for you and coming to the realization that his will is perfect, whereas human will is limited and shortsighted. This is the relationship the Father desires with all his children.

In these three opening petitions of the Lord’s prayer, you notice the flow from who God is, to what God is doing in bringing his kingdom into place, and how he is intricately guiding the lives of you and me, the kingdom citizens. I find it incredibly inspiring to know that our heavenly Father, our big brother, Jesus, and the ever-present Spirit are attending and guiding this universal movement toward the culmination of Christ’s return and the establishment of the eternal kingdom of God. Praying the Lord’s Prayer is a kingdom Prayer, and it keeps you and me vigilant to who God is and what he is up to.

Come Lord Jesus,
Greg Williams

James became the first disciple martyred in the early years of the Church. John did not die a martyr’s death, however, in his exile to the isle of Patmos, one legend says that he was thrown into a pot of boiling oil and survived. I wonder if this acknowledgement of agreeing to drink the cup frequently ran through their minds.

The over-the-top request of the brothers incited the other ten disciples. How could they make such a request? Who did they think they were? We can only imagine what was going on in the thoughts of the disciple, Simon, especially since Jesus had declared to him that he would now be called Peter (“little rock”) on whom Jesus would build his church. Surely, John and James were witnesses to that event.

So, after this spat of ambition and competition, Jesus gave direct instruction that his followers will not act in the worldly ways that are prevalent around them. Greatness will be found in a life of service, becoming as humble as a slave who washes the feet of others, and laying down one’s life for others — the ultimate sacrifice. Praise God that Jesus (100% God and 100% man) willingly laid down his life for all humanity. He drank the cup of all cups that guarantees our salvation and the covenant of better promises.

Service and sacrifice are markers of Kingdom Culture, not aggressive ambition and cutthroat competition. Jesus declared, “It will not be so among you.” He showed the way for any who follow in his steps — it is from a posture of humility and an outward devotion to serve others. We too must drink the cup as we join Jesus in his economy of service and sacrifice.

In humility and devotion,
Greg

In our meetings, Superintendent Heber Ticas, U.S. Director Jeff Broadnax, and I shared how this not only applies to us as pastors, but also to us collectively as congregations. It even applies to our Avenue teams, which we are all building to help proclaim and live out Jesus’ gospel message and plan for his Church. GCI Communications Director, Michelle Hartman, and GCI Development Coordinator, Cara Garrity, introduced new practical tools to help pastors with this process and new way of thinking. At our first event, we welcomed our GCI Consultant, Keith Shields, who shared principles for recruiting new leaders and pastors.

These events provided a space and time for sharing, bonding, and praying for one another — which was powerful. After each talk, pastors engaged in table discussions with their fellow pastors. They shared and prayed together and discussed how God may be moving them to engage with the material and scriptures being presented. This was the first time these groups have been together in person to process side-by-side with pastors who are in similar phases of this journey. Each group shared lunches and dinners together in the Home Office dining room to help facilitate ongoing discussions and continued bonding.

I’ll leave you with this positive feedback we received from one pastor. (Read more comments from participants and see photos of the events here.) “This did not feel like another program, it felt more like a road mapping session to see how we might intelligently navigate where the Father, Son, and Spirit are taking us.”

Love and appreciation to you all!
Mike Rasmussen, Superintendent North America and Caribbean

Second, Jesus is inferring that the Kingdom of God has a more important internal nature. If it is true as the apostle Paul says that the creation itself is yearning and longing to be delivered and restored, how much more for the humans who populate this planet? In our main passage, Jesus describes a self-indulgent, distracted world and yet at the core of humanity we all long for a time when sorrow, pain and suffering are no more. A time that can only happen when Jesus comes as a flash of lightning (Luke 17:24) on his white horse with a host of angels to make all things right (Revelation 19:11).

Finally, the kingdom of God has a spiritual nature. The kingdom of God was among the Jewish audience that Jesus addressed because the King was present with them. And it’s more than Jesus standing alongside people. We go back in the Gospel story to the conversation that Jesus had with Nicodemus to understand the relationship that Jesus desires. (You can read the full story in John 3.) Being born again means to believe and receive Jesus. Through the power of the Holy Spirit, Jesus makes his home in the believer and the believer becomes a new creation. Believers come to understand that they are kingdom citizens, and as they participate with Jesus in his ministry now, they assume the role of kingdom representatives. The spiritual union that a believer has in Jesus joins him or her to kingdom values and kingdom work.

Our tattoo-bearing quarterback did not have a good game that night of the interview. In fact, he made a bad play that cost his team a chance to win. Based on his composure and graceful act of answering the commentators’ questions, it showed me that he had a grasp of what the kingdom of God among us meant for him. May we go into our spaces and places of influence and do likewise.

Kingdom Representative,
Greg Williams

Women

Jesus treated women as equals to men, which was revolutionary for the Judaic culture. Actively engaging women in conversation was radical for a Jewish rabbi. Then, to be in the company of a Samaritan woman and to hear her life story and to reveal himself as the Messiah was a crescendo of crescendos.

From Christ’s encounters with the sisters, Mary and Martha, we see how he valued their company, their hospitality, their friendship, and their worship. Jesus treated women with dignity and respect and valued their shared relationship.

Children

When the disciples were shooing children away, Jesus scolded them and conversely invited and welcomed the children. He took them in his arms and blessed them.

We see multiple examples in Scripture where Jesus was healing and protecting children. He elevated their worth when he said, “You must become like a child to enter the kingdom of God.” He was citing their willingness to believe, their excitement and curiosity that was untainted. It is my opinion that Jesus values the playful, joy-filled nature of a child. Jesus and his Church love kids!

Rather than becoming hard and cynical, Jesus desires that we all retain the awe and wonder of a child.

Non-Jews

Whether it was a Samaritan woman at a well or a Roman soldier whose child was ill, Jesus treated all people openly and with compassion and mercy. Being that Jesus is simultaneously human and divine; it does not escape him that all people are created in the image of God and should be respected as such.

In honoring the image of God in all people, Jesus willingly went to Calvary to die for all. In GCI, we like to say that ALL are included in the life and love of Jesus. Jesus is Savior of all and actively draws all people to himself.

Galatians 3:28 reverberates in our minds. “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

The launch of the Church began on a Pentecost Sunday, and we celebrate its rich history. From then until now, the Church has been most impactful when it has treated others with the love and care of Jesus. Proclaiming the goodness of Jesus and demonstrating the flow of his love through us in how we treat others is how the Church shines as a beacon that Christ intended.

The radical transformation we see in the more than 3,000 gathered in Jerusalem that Pentecost morning is exactly what we hope for the Church of 2025. Let us be a part of this Spirit-led, counter-culture movement of Jesus and swept up into the ever-expanding kingdom of God.

Following Christ in kingdom living,
Greg

How important is the Bible? While I can argue that the Bible is not needed for salvation, which is obvious because thousands became Christ followers without the Bible, I believe the Bible is an important gift from God.

Some have questioned Paul’s statement to his young protégé, Timothy, when he said:

All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that everyone who belongs to God may be proficient, equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17 NRSVA

All Scripture? Does this mean that every word of the Bible is infallible? That every story is exact in its details? Can the answer to every question be found in the Bible? No, that would be silly. People reproduced and translated the scriptures, and people make mistakes. Further, there are topics the Bible doesn’t cover; it wasn’t meant to provide the answer to every question. However, the Bible is fully authoritative for all matters of faith and salvation.

The Bible was meant to point to Jesus and to the kingdom of God. The Old Testament is story after story of God’s faithfulness, albeit written by humans in particular cultures and with their personal perspective of what they were experiencing or how they were being inspired. So, while all Scripture is breathed by God, it doesn’t mean every word, jot, tittle and punctuation mark were written with God’s hand.

Here are a few reasons I believe the Bible is one of the greatest gifts:

• • It reveals an eternal, triune God who is perfect and through the Spirit will convict the world that rejection of Jesus is the basic sin, that righteousness is imputed from Jesus alone, and Jesus has the final word on judgment.
  • It reveals a God who is faithful, who operates out of his love for us, who had a plan for us from the very beginning, and who guaranteed his plan would be fulfilled by sacrificing himself.
  • It reveals a God who is our Abba/Father, our Savior/elder brother/friend, and our Comforter/Teacher who lives in us.
  • It shows us how to live — “love others as I have loved you.”
  • It gives us direction — Great Commandment/Great Commission.
  • It teaches us how to have right relationships, esteeming others better than ourselves.
  • It shows real people going through real struggles, encouraging us that God loves us through all we go through.
  • It shows God fulfills his promises — he can be trusted, counted on, believed.
  • It reminds us of our true identity — saints, beloved, redeemed children of God.

As Paul told Timothy, the Bible is profitable for teaching on a myriad of topics, but primarily about who Jesus is, who we are in him, and where our future lies. It is profitable for reproving and correcting. God doesn’t leave us in a blame game; he corrects us so we can learn the next step, that the Bible is profitable for training in righteousness, to help us grow in grace and knowledge.

There is much more to this topic. I encourage you to read “Scripture: God’s Gift” (2013), a 6-part series by Gary Deddo.

By Rick Shallenberger

P.S. Thank you, Rick, for the helpful reminder that we are people who seek to be well-grounded in the scriptures. And I would add that more than articles about the Bible, find a good, reliable translation and let the stories of the Bible wash over you. As a Christmas gift to myself I purchased The C.S. Lewis Bible in the New Revised Standard Version. And in a digital age where we reflexively ask Google for answers and have a deepening confidence in AI, let’s be on guard to not devalue the place of Scripture. Greg

In the GCI booklet, The God Revealed in Jesus Christ: an Introduction to Trinitarian Faith, we read:

Jesus has not simply done something for us, he has done something with us by including us in his life, death, resurrection and ascension. Paul explains this in Ephesians 2:4-6:

• • • • When Jesus died, we, in our sinful human nature, died with him.
      • When Jesus rose, we, in our reconciled human nature, rose with him.
      • When Jesus ascended, we, in our redeemed human nature, ascended and became seated with him at the Father’s side.

All that Jesus did as a human was done on behalf of humanity. When he died, we also died. When he rose from the grave, we also rose. When he ascended to heaven and sat down at Father’s side, we ascended, too. So, when Jesus came announcing his eternal kingdom he had humanity in mind. The kingdom is not some far-off ethereal concept like Camelot or Nirvana — it is life in and with the King.

If Jesus is present in us, so is his kingdom. Jesus has inaugurated the kingdom, and he also speaks of a fullness yet to be completed. This is why we use the phrase, “already but not yet.” We live in the tension between this present evil age and the glorious age to come when Christ returns in glory to make all things new.

God’s kingdom is present in the witness of the Church, and still, it often seems to be a hidden kingdom. As followers of Jesus, he wants us to shine the light of his truth and grace and make his kingdom known, visible.

You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:14-16 NIV

We underestimate our ability to impact the world for good. Therefore, we become comfortable being hidden, hunkered down awaiting the glory to come. Each of us has the light of Jesus in us through the dwelling of the Holy Spirit. The light of Christ in you can make a tremendous difference, even if it’s one neighbor or one family member at a time. GCI brothers and sisters, let’s resolve to join Jesus announcing his kingdom in word and deed. His kingdom is present, and it is expanding as he works through you and me to draw others to himself.

Kingdom Culture — be a part of it!
Greg Williams

The revelation to John shows the inclusive nature of the kingdom that God has ultimately ordained for humankind.

After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.” Revelation 7:9-10

This is the Kingdom Culture that GCI, as a denomination, celebrates as one of its core strengths. GCI has a footprint in six regions globally. Every one of them is diverse in its ethnicity, language, culture, and challenges. Our denomination actively and intentionally engages in dialogue amongst its regions to reflect and promote kingdom-centered lifestyles. We value the rich lessons that every region brings to our denomination, be it the African value in the interconnectedness of individuals (‘Ubuntu’), the Asian value of compromise in resolving conflicts, or the European value of solidarity necessary to prevail.

These, and many more, are lessons learned together and strengthened as the leadership and members come together on occasions of celebrations and official meetings. In every one of these meetings, we see the need to respect the other, no matter which part of the globe they may be from. We intentionally respect community without compromising on individuality. The goal is always Christlikeness so that we may mirror and reflect the character of God ultimately.

The mission of GCI is to be the healthiest expression of the Church of Jesus Christ that we can be in beliefs, words, and deeds. Being a global denomination provides greater clarity to God’s grand design for humankind and helps us on this journey to become a healthy church.

It is a privilege for us to be a global denomination. This affords us the blessing of knowing God’s precious people from differing cultures and backgrounds. We reflect our triune God — diversity in unity. It makes every effort meaningful and worthwhile to follow what the apostle encouraged us to do: “accept one another, then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring praise to God” (Romans 15:7). And, indeed, the praise is to our loving, inclusive God! We welcome people to join with us in living and sharing the gospel as a denomination.

Grateful for God’s grand design,

Danny Zachariah, Superintendent of Asia
Hyderabad, India