I recently watched a short talk on YouTube by 104-year-old Yonsei University Professor Emeritus Hyung-Seok Kim. The topic was "Our Purpose is the Kingdom of God, not the Church". It caught my eye, so I clicked on it and listened. I found myself agreeing with him. I agree that building a church is not the purpose. We believe that the church is an outpost to build the kingdom of God.

 Within minutes, a pastor of a large church in Bundang was talking about building a bigger church. I seriously wonder why people flock to such churches. When we see people following a pastor who is obsessed with building a church, we have to wonder what they are really after. I think the Korean church should stop being so obsessed with buildings as a mirror of the Western church. This is because I believe that there are people in the real church who have not yet seen the kingdom of God.

The mission of our churches today is to build up the saints, the people of the kingdom of God, through the true gospel. I disagree with the idea of building nice buildings, having professional and fancy systems and programs, and then encouraging horizontal movement and calling it revival. It may increase the number of people in the church, but making saints, the people of the kingdom of God is a different story  

I like to keep my circle of acquaintances broad and multifaceted. It's a conscious effort to not be biased toward one side or the other. There are many people I see once or twice a year. Last week, I met and fellowshipped with a senior pastor and missionary who is a pioneer in indigenous missions. We were discussing the topic of worship and I mentioned that there are blind spots in worship that can be filled by worship leaders and preachers.

The senior missionary strongly agreed and told me about an experience he had not long ago. He was giving an exhortation in a service to send out a short-term mission team. He said, "We think we're going to fulfill the Great Commission, which is to make disciples of all nations. But in order to fulfill that mission, he said, you must first become a disciple. Taken together, this means that the mission of making disciples will only be possible if we are first disciples.

In this day and age, discipleship of Jesus seems to be needed more than ever. Jesus spoke of the kingdom of God. From the beginning of the pioneering days, today and tomorrow, I pray for a revival that will not only increase the number of people in the church but also increase the number of saints, the people of the kingdom of God. This is because I believe that true disciples of Jesus will love and respect each other from the perspective of the kingdom of God and build the kingdom of God together as partners.

"Repent, for the kingdom of God has come near." (Matthew 3:2)