Editorial . . . As you take a look at the vision of the different LPN Churches on the right of this page, you will observe a marked similarity. And why not? Well, the truth is that it has to be similar, because we are all reading from the same bible . . . yet something is still missing!
THE MISSING PIECE . . .
Over the years, the old local church practice of having yearly themes for church visions have given way to long term visions. And the Great Commandment and the Great Commission have become norms in most churches' vision statements. But, as Pr Lim Soon Hock puts it, the last missing piece of the puzzle, the Creation Mandate, is often not reflected in local church visions. Why is that so? We do not have the space to expound on this but suffice it to say that most evangelical churches have abdicated from their role in society to focus on purely spiritual matters.
The injunctions of our evangelical faith; to love God, love our neighbours and love the lost will not be complete until we understand and accept that the Adamic creation mandate, to rule over this created world, has not been abrogated and is still very much the Christians' responsibility today.
OCCUPY TILL HE COMES . . .
As David Pawson puts it 'we are redeemed to live, not in heaven, but in the new earth we will rule in the Millennium with our Lord Jesus Christ.' But this rule starts today . . . the Church of Jesus Christ is meant to “occupy till He comes” or “do business till He comes” (Luke 19:13).
Today, we understand that 'discipling the nations' in the Great Commission, is better understood as, not merely making converts, but as teaching them to all obey all that Jesus taught thus bringing the will of God to bear on earth as it is in heaven.
It therefore includes ensuring that the people groups (nations) come to the place of governance where they obey the Creation Mandate, to have dominion over and to subdue the earth, in a manner reflective of the will of God in heaven. So environmental issues matter as much as social political, judicial and economic issues! This is truly the Father’s world!
LPN VISION – THE CREATION MANDATE . . .
And the LPN Vision is largely an expression of the Creation Mandate. Thus, in coming together to espouse the LPN Vision for the city, the seven LPN churches have included this part of the churches’ responsibility where it should rightly belong, not to a local church alone, but to the Church in the City.
A UNITY PLATFORM . . .
We are not so arrogant as to assume that we are the Church in the City but we do believe, humbly, that the LPN can be a catalyst for a movement to bring all stakeholders in the city’s welfare together, in a unity platform, for the transformation of our city and ultimately for the discipleship of the nations.
Other local churches, missions agencies, bible institutions and para-church organisations are part and parcel of God’s plan to establish His Kingdom in this part of the world. And we seek to play the role of uniting the all stakeholders in this great endeavour.
In this time of social, political and economic confusion in our nation, the Church must shine like a lighthouse in a dark, stormy night where desperate vessels, tossed about by waves threatening to overturn them, may find the safety of shore, navigating through dangerous rocks guided by the light of the lighthouse.
May we UNITE as “ONE LORD, ONE CHURCH, ONE VISION”! May we “Arise and Shine”!
Pastor Albert - LPN Facilitator for City Transformation
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