Holistic Social Transformation

 The Spotless Agenda: 013

Holistic Social Transformation

Apostle Paul was a very influential minister of the gospel. He was a business person, an evangelist, a teacher and a missionary. 

As a business person, he built tents (to use a more contemporary word, canopies) for money. As an evangelist, he preached and won many lost souls to Christ. As a missionary, he travelled around Asia Minor (present day Turkey) to preach, to win the lost and to plant churches. As a teacher, he explained the mysteries about Christ in the churches which he planted. Thus, he became very influential in the world which then was.

Today, we read about Apostle Paul in the New Testament of the Bible. He has thirteen (13) epistles to his credit, out of the twenty seven (27) books that make up the New Testament.

In his missionary journeys, Apostle Paul catered for the needs of the members on his team. With support from his churches as well as special ministry partners, Apostle Paul was able to reach out to cities and towns in Asia Minor to preach and teach Christ, and to plant churches. 

Apostle Paul retired from active ministry owing to imprisonment in Rome. Before he was sentenced to death by emperor Nero, he lived in his own rented apartment in Rome, and he was receiving guests in his house, preaching to them and teaching them the mysteries about Christ and the kingdom.   

Apostle Paul did not die a pauper serving the Lord. 

The ministry of the gospel of Christ is tremendously influential. It brings about holistic social transformation. The transforming power of the word of God is not limited to only our spiritual life. It affects all aspects of our life.

The gospel, first and foremost, transforms your being. It changes you from a human being to a spiritual being, from a sinner to a saint, from an evil person to a good person. This kind of transformation is intrinsic.  

However, there are other changes that bear out for all to see when a person encounters the gospel. Apart from becoming good and kind, you also have a change in thinking. This is called mental transformation. 

This change in thinking translates into your environment. If you used to be dirty, now you have admiration for cleanliness. If you used to be poor and voiceless in society, now you have desire for wealth and power. Your mind can no longer hold poverty. You cannot be calm at the sight, smell, touch, hearing or feeling of impoverishment. 

God, your Father, is all-sufficient. He is your source and your primary spiritual leader. His mind-set becomes your mind-set too. Like God, good spiritual leaders care for and ensure the total well-being of their followers. 

The changes that result from the gospel are holistic, affecting every aspect of social life - spiritual, psychological, mental, emotional, physiological, financial, intellectual, cultural and political among other aspects. 

Many Christians tend to envision changes in only their spiritual life, but the changes that result from the gospel affect all aspects of life.

Salvation does not concern only your soul, but also your mind and your body. You must be in good health to be able to preach and teach others about Christ. You must have good education to be able to influence the upper echelon of society. Without money, these good and desirable things might evade you. So you need to enlarge your capacity to make good money as much as you enlarge your capacity to lead God's people. 

Like Apostle Peter, taking care of God's flock and ensuring their total well-being should be the number one priority on your heart as a pastor and teacher. 

This is a more reason why you must give your own well-being a deep thinking if you desire to be an influential minister of the gospel like Apostle Paul. 

Fasting and praying alone do not win the lost or keep Christians safe. Money also counts in winning the lost and keeping Christians safe. So work hard. Do business or go for a paid job in addition to preaching and teaching, especially if your ministry is not able to hold you up financially. 

Let us break free from impoverishment in order to break the captives free. 

#TowardsASpotlessChurch

Comments

  1. Sage WordMay 22, 2022 at 11:50 PM

    The Spotless Agenda is a move towards a spotless church. Study, reason, question (srq) Scripture in order to find evidence of the truth. Remember, this is achievable only through the Holy Spirit.

    ReplyDelete

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