Ben Gray's love for the body of Christ and its mission in the community permeate the pages of this book with fresh and contemporary wisdom as well as with missionary zeal. I strongly recommend Heaven’s Answer to Earth’s Dilemma. 
Ben Gray convincingly argues that, rather than functioning as an institution that scarcely exists outside its own walls, God intends for His church to be an ‘apostolic company’ that fulfils His creation mandate by living out the gospel in every sphere of society; marriage, family, work, tribe and nation.
In this book you will find heaven’s answers to a dilemma that supersedes our knowledge of today’s looming crises. This well-timed, well-researched and well-written book is a must for every church and every believer. It explains God’s purpose for His church – to bear witness... and reflect God’s glory. 
The most important paradigm shift that church leadership can make in the 21st century is to grasp that the kingdom of God is the central theme of the New Testament, nothing else. Everything about us missionally and ecclesiologically comes from this reality. Ben Gray lays out this revolution as well as anyone I have read. 
| A Strong Wind Blowing |
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It became increasingly difficult to reconcile what was happening in me and in the people around me with what I had believed concerning church and its divine purpose on the earth. How did it relate to an individual's personal life, work and worship - wherever they were on the globe?
You guessed it - I was faced with a choice: to continue in the traditions, revelations and understanding of the past - good as they were, or to follow this increasing disturbance in my spirit and keep pushing in and enquiring of God concerning His purposes for my life and ministry in the church and creation. As I opened myself up to this possibility, I soon recognized that there was really no choice to make - other than to follow my spirit, go for broke and let God's Spirit set new co-ordinates for me to follow. Scary yes, and was it worth the risk of losing everything I had to test the boundless horizons of God? What a dilemma I faced. So with some - no, a lot of apprehension, I let go of my more comfortable and familiar understandings, and began the journey into the unknown. I love a sense of adventure! I read this book many years ago, that helped shape my sense of God's unlimited adventure, if we can only let go and let God - its title was, "Christianity - It's An Adventure." Today I can really say, amen to that. If your walk with God today is not an adventure then you're missing out on an incredible part of God's desire for you in this life - even in the mundane. At the time all this was happening in and around me and as I struggled in this new found freedom, I could sense in my heart, that I was not only moving out from my limited understanding of the nature and role of the church, but I was also breaking free of constraints and perceptions that had been placed on me as a son of God. A couple of these constraints were a minimal comprehension of the place and purpose of Christian marriage, singleness and family life and everyday work; the church as community and movement in the light of God's amazing salvation plan for society and ultimately His creation. In fact, it was this dawning awareness that formed the motivations for the research and writing of my book, Heaven's Answer To Earth's Dilemma and the development of my Seminar - Vocations 4 Life. One of the most incredible aspects of this journey, has been the steep learning curve I have gone through in my concept and understanding of the church, the kingdom of God and Christian ministry. This life-changing, yet at times painful journey, has brought me so many valuable experiences and in contact with many on a similar kingdom journey. I have also gained a new appreciation and understanding of Scripture in the process. My ultimate desire is for each of us to gain a much fuller understanding of our inheritance as image-bearing saints of God and to discover this inheritance in ‘being church' in society and all of creation. ‘When the forms of an old culture are dying, the new culture is created by a few people who are not afraid to be insecure.' Rudolph Bahro. |