Dave Datema, on his blog, pointed people to a post by Tim Timmons from a year ago. He said it was long, but worth reading. Yes, it was extremely long. And yes, well worth the time.

Timmons talks about we spread cultural Christianity throughout the world, more than we spread a relationship with Jesus. People are “converted to Christianity,” rather than to citizenship in the Kingdom of the heart.

It’s quite a thought-provoding piece, and I found myself disagreeing with nothing he said.

This from a guy who has not only spent his life serving in institutional Christianity, but serving the interests of a subspecies of Christianity called United Brethrenism. We, like all other subspecies, sometimes grow churches by stealing from other folds. People are converted to United Brethrenism from Catholicism, Church of Godism, Nazarenism, Baptistism. Because there are specific United Brethren ways of doing things, United Brethren theological nuances, United Brethren structures and practices.

How much are we teaching United Brethrenism, as opposed to the Kingdom which Jesus taught–a relationship with Jesus; a relationship that enabled a Samaritan woman and a Roman centurion to remain in their cultures, yet be transformed?