Ben Gray is a natural when it comes to breaking down biblical concepts and expressing their significance to the world today. His knowledge of the Word and depth of insight define his biblical worldview from which comes fresh revelation for the body of Christ. 
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. 
Ben Gray is asking important questions about the relevancy of the church as it is currently structured and mobilized in the 21st century. What is the church? How should it look NOW? I loved his fresh and exciting approach to these important questions. 
Throughout history the Lord has raised up radical voices of reformation to challenge the church and to shift us out of our complacency. Ben Gray is one of those voices, and I pray that many outside of his native Australia will listen to his clearly prophetic message.
| The Vision behind Heaven's Answer |
|
The contents of Heaven’s Answer have developed over the past twelve years as I sought to lead in Christian ministry both inside and outside the local church setting. During this time I began to find that my personal perspectives in regard to what was church became increasingly more inadequate. Especially when it came to dealing with everyday, real-life situations faced by the people of God. It became 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. Therefore I was faced with a choice: to continue in the traditions and understanding of the past or to follow the disturbance in my spirit and keep enquiring of God concerning His purposes for my life and ministry in the church. So with some apprehension, I let go of my more comfortable and familiar understandings, and began the journey into the unknown. At that time, I knew in my heart that I was not only moving out from a limited understanding of the nature and role of the local church but I was also breaking free of constraints and perceptions I had placed on myself as a child of God. These constraints included such things as a minimal comprehension of the place and purpose of Christian marriage, family life and everyday work in the light of God’s salvation plan for society and ultimately for creation. It was this dawning awareness that formed the motivations for the research and writing of the book Heaven’s Answer and the Finding Your Vocation 4 Life Seminar designed as a follow on from the book. As the title of my book suggests, I believe that heaven does have the answer to earth’s dilemma. We need to listen to what the Spirit is saying to the church, hear the voice of our commander in heaven and follow Him. In the pages of Heaven’s Answer, you will not find all of the answers. Perish that thought! You will, however, find an exploration and explanation of many of the issues we are facing as Christ’s body, the church, in this day. In particular you will, I believe, discover a great deal about yourself and your calling in God in relation to your life, work and worship in the present creation as Christ’s body, the church. I invite you to engage with me in the ideas found in Heaven’s Answer, and the Finding Your Vocation 4 Life Seminar so that together we, as Christ’s body the church, can position ourselves to impact the world of the 21st century. My desire is that you come to a much fuller understanding and deeper appreciation of your inheritance as image-bearing saints of God and to discover this inheritance in ‘being church’ in all of creation. Ben F. Gray
Author of Heaven’s Answer to Earth’s Dilemma and founder of Vocations 4 Life. |