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What is Happening Around the PCA? Making Kingdom Disciples of Men

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What is Happening in The PCA



Interview with Charles Dunahoo: Making Kingdom Disciples of Men

Article originally part of “Get in the Game”
a periodic email communication from CEP
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January/February 2008 Vol. 4 No.1


Introductory Comments by Gary Yagel. Men are made for mission. That mission, in Genesis 1:27-28, was to exercise dominion over the earth for its true King. Now, redeemed men are restored to the same mission, but must accomplish it in a fallen world. We are to seek first the kingdom of God, expanding the rule of Christ into every sphere of our lives, culture, and world. If men’s ministry is to be effective, we must challenge men with a vision big enough to resonate with their internal drive to accomplish a great mission. That vision is to live out the values of God’s kingdom-to make the invisible kingdom of God visible, everywhere we go, in every sphere of our lives, over every square inch of planet earth.

Charles Dunahoo has challenged the church to recover a proper view of discipleship, i.e. discipleship centered in an understanding of the Kingdom of God and our role in that kingdom.

GITG: Charles, you believe the calling of the church is to make kingdom disciples. What do you mean by that?

Charles: To be a kingdom disciple means to consciously think like a Christian and live with a holistic world and life view, which is oriented to the kingdom of God, seven days a week. It involves more than Bible study and prayer; it is doing all things to the glory of God.

GITG: What key elements of kingdom theology has the church failed to grasp?

Charles: The relationship between the church and the kingdom– we have confused the church’s role in general and this impacts individuals about their role in the church and kingdom. For example, in my view, the church errs, when it directly speaks, as an institution, on political issues or establishes its own institutionalized mercy ministries. The church’s main focus should be making kingdom disciples and doing so in a way that equips them or kingdom living in all of life.

GITG: But doesn’t the church today need to call its members into a greater commitment to mercy ministry?

Charles: Absolutely. in fact that is the other side of the failure. We are failing to call our members to be kingdom disciples who are committed as individuals to living as kingdom members, which includes engaging in mercy ministry. The church must make disciples who are holistic in their thinking about seeking first the kingdom. Mercy ministry belongs with gospel ministry. The church should call Christ-followers to use their gifts to set up orphanages, build hospitals, begin crisis pregnancy centers or to address human needs issues. The church should not directly build or administer such institutions but rather serve as the catalyst encouraging Christians to do those things.

GITG: Get In the Game is about men’s ministry. How would seeing himself as a kingdom disciple change the way a man goes about his everyday life?

Charles: He sees his relationship to Christ in a holistic way. He is committed to serving the Lord in whatever he does. He is committed to doing all he does for the glory of God. In my book I mention the story of Mr. Pump, the haberdasher in A. A. Milne’s novel, Two People. Mr. Pump has one top hat for church on Sunday, and another hat to wear the rest of the week. He never confuses the two, because in his mind his spiritual life and secular life are completely separate. But a kingdom disciple understands that we don’t have two hats. His motivation for leading his business is the glory of God and he operates his business in a way that is consistent with kingdom values set forth in God’s Word.

GITG: How does a man seeing himself as a kingdom disciple engage that man’s heart?

Charles: He learns to love the things Christ loves. For example, Christ loves his bride, the church. One of my problems with the emerging church is its tendency to de-emphasize the church. Kingdom disciples are committed to the church, because it is the bride Christ loves. The King also has a heart for widows and orphans. This requires that we too have heart for them, as we follow his example.

GITG: How can the church do a better job of producing kingdom disciples?

Charles: In the discipleship process we need to think like Christians in order to see the big view.. We need to be intentional about teaching our members how to think Biblically about issues, helping them learn how to connect the dots. Men like to see the big picture. They like to know the reason why they should do something. We must equip our people to take every thought captive to Christ and apply them to our daily lives.


GITG: What else would you say to church leaders in men’s ministry about making kingdom disciples?

Charles: We must be gospel centered in all that we do, but we must remember that the gospel is the good news of the coming kingdom. Mark tells us, “Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the gospel of God, ‘The time has come,’ he said, ‘The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the gospel'” (Mark 1:14-15). There is a lot of emphasis today on spiritual formation, but as important as that is, we tend to have a man-centered approach in that it is about me and my spiritual life and development. In reality it is about God and his will. The kingdom perspective is God-centered. Men want significance and they respond to challenges. The kingdom perspective challenges everyone from lawyers to grocery store owners to teachers and mechanics to view their vocations as service for the king.

A Little Primer on Humble Apologetics

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I believe one of the most challenging parts of Scripture is 1 Peter 3:14-16. Peter says that we are to be able to give a reason to anyone who asks us why we believe what we believe. It is not only surprising but alarming how few can do that. George Gallup, Jr. and D. Michael Lindsay concluded in their book Surveying the Religious Landscape: Trends in U.S. Beliefs that most people cannot talk about their faith because they have not been discipled or trained to do so.

James Sire, author of this little primer, has committed his life to challenging people to think with a Christian mind and enabling them to follow Peter’s instruction. Not everyone is called to be an apologist; but God has burdened some of us to strive for that which Sire reminds us takes hard work, much reading, consistent prayer, and “practice, practice, practice.”

When I picked up this little book I couldn’t put it down. Sire and I both have a love for, and a desire to be, effective Christian apologists who know how to communicate God’s truth to our generation and culture. We also hold Francis Schaeffer as a mentor and model for knowing how to communicate to people searching for truth or needing to know what truth is.

One idea that Sire underscores is that apologetics is not simply about arguing or winning debates; it is about building relationships. He cites many passages in Scripture that teach the importance of relationships built on the truth. This means that what some would call rational apologetics is only a part of the apologist’s approach. More important, he says, is focusing on the character of the Christian’s life, thus his reference to “humble” apologetics.

As I read this book, I was reminded of times when I won an argument but lost a friend or a potential friend. That’s why we need to remember, as Sire demonstrates, the whole of Peter’s instruction to give our reasons with gentleness and kindness, lest we offend and lose the person who asks. He is honest in stating that even though we use arguments and tear down strongholds, arguments do not win people. You cannot reason a person into the faith, even though reason may play a major role.

The book contains six chapters: What Is Apologetics?, The Value of Apologetics, The Limits of Apologetics, The Contexts of Apologetics, The Arguments of Apologetics, and The Call to Apologetics. In these chapters Sire is honest about his successes and failures in this process. But one thing is clear, you have to want to be an apologist and be willing to pay the price. It takes studying the Word, reading books, understanding our culture, and practice. One of the valuable things in this book is his recommended reading list on many different topics. He uses a phrase that I am going to borrow from him often. We need to be “appropriately, scholarly, and intelligently Christian.”

I like his challenge, “Seek first the kingdom of God, live under the lordship of Jesus Christ, practice, practice, practice, and you will be well on your way. You may never lecture in the Samuel Beckett Room at Trinity College, but you will find the audience God has in mind for you.” He reminds his readers that to be a Christian apologist you have to have four things: a passion for the truth, a passion for holiness, a passion for consistency, and a compassion for others. And to that we say Amen! Read this book. Whether apologetics is your calling or gift, reading this primer will bless your life and challenge your mind and heart.

Jim & Casper Go To Church: Frank Conversation About Faith, Churches, and Well-meaning Christians

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I would probably have put this book aside on the “don’t read stack” had I not seen that the foreword was written by George Barna. While I may not always agree with some of his conclusions and prescriptions, I read Barna’s analyses very carefully and I have learned much. This little book was no exception. Even after reading the book, had not planned to take the space to mention it here; however, as I shared the content with some close friends, they were as intrigued by it as I was. While I would not put it at the top of my reading list, it was very helpful for me to hear what the authors, Henderson and Casper, had to say.

A word of background-Jim Henderson is a long time Christian, who like so many others, had always been very involved in the church. He decided it was time to find out how visitors would react to and interpret the church and what would inspire them to come back or come for the first time to church. To do this he hired professing atheist, rock musician and journalist Matt Casper to help him with the project. The agreement was that Henderson would not attempt to convert Casper during the process.

Henderson and Casper traveled across the country visiting churches such as Willow Creek, Saddleback, Mars Hill, and Potter’s House. They would visit a church, usually sitting in the balcony with their laptops, taking notes on the service. Later in the day, they would compare notes. I was especially impressed by Casper’s comments. One quote from Casper both in the book and on the jacket to whet your appetite reads, “Light shows, fog machines, worship bands, offering plates-is this what Jesus intended? Is this what Jesus told you guys to do?”

What are we doing right and what do we need to do better? These are two very valid questions this book will inspire you to answer. The book is an easy read and often a sad commentary; however, you might pick up some insights on how non-church people look at your church.

After the Baby Boomers: How Twenty- and Thirty- Somethings Are Shaping the Future of American Religon

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Editor’s note: In the book Making Kingdom Disciples: a New Framework, I included a chapter in part two on the importance of understanding the different generations. I was recently asked again why that is an important thing to know and do. I want to answer that good question by reviewing a new book which highlights why I believe that to be important.

Here is another book that pastors and other church leaders should read, especially in light of the above question. I know you feel you already have more than enough to read, which no doubt is true. However, because leaders are readers, I do not apologize for encouraging you to read. While pleasure reading is important, it is also crucial that we read strategically as well. This is a strategic read.

Over the years we have reviewed a number of Robert Wuthnow’s books. He is professor of sociology at Princeton University, as well as the director of the Center for the Study of Religion at Princeton. I value his books, research, and challenging ideas.

This book will become a sequel to Christian Smith’s book, Soul Searching, on the American teenager that we have used, recommended, and sold from CE&P. After the Baby Boomer’s deals with young adults ages 21-45. While we have been placing much emphasis on rising generations and senior citizens, two very critical segments of our population, we have now realized that unless we understand the place of “buster and older millennial” generations, we may be missing the ones who will indeed shape religion in America. The church will run the risk of missing the young adult generation if it fails to understand it. In some situations, this is already the case.

Understanding the different generations is a part of understanding our world. You cannot read a book like Soul Searching (Christian Smith) or After the Baby Boomers (Wuthnow) and conclude that we can ignore what they are saying. Wuthnow explains what is happening as we experience in America an estimated six million less churchgoers today than in the past. We have also been aware of how the younger generations of adults are often taking a different route in dealing with spirituality and religion than previous generations. Wuthnow explains why and how that is the case, and he challenges us as to what it means for organized religion. His research in this book will make clear the impact of the internet, as well as how young adults can talk about “virtual” church.

After the Baby Boomers contains 11 chapters on various aspects of understanding the 21- 45 year olds. The appendix goes to great lengths to explain to the reader how the research was done, which is an education in itself. Wuthnow says in the preface that for our churches and synagogues, mosques and temples to exist, resources and people are needed. “These places of worship exist only to the extent that they are able to adapt to their environments. They are products of opportunity structures within those environments.” His challenge: “The fact that baby boomers are rapidly moving into the ranks of the elderly means that it is essential to understand how the next wave of Americans are thinking and behaving. The current generation of young adults cannot be understood historically through connections to the civil rights movement or the Vietnam War the way baby boomers are.”

This young adult generation numbers over 100 million and makes up one third of the American population. Wuthnow describes this age category as young adults who are taking longer to reach adulthood and fraught with uncertainties such as job security and national security. Add to those concerns information technology, immigration, and globalization and you easily see how important it is to understand these young adults. This not only refers to areas such as mentioned above, but also to their struggles with how to relate or not relate to things such as spirituality and religion. At one time these were one and the same but not for this generation. How they describe or define those things have direct implications on their thoughts and views of the church. You will be both fascinated and challenged by what you read in this book; and believe me, it must be read and understood.

There is no doubt that the future rests with these young adults. But as Wuthnow points out, you cannot conclude that they are always alike. Things such as marriage, children, and background make a big difference in their outlook, as does independency, no marriage, no children, no roots. Wuthnow says, “The future of American religion is in the hands of the adults now in their twenties and thirties…They are not as easily defined as other generations.”

We definitely need to spend more time studying and thinking about the role of these young adults in our society in general. One of many examples will highlight this. “The popular literature also makes arguments about ’emerging’ congregations that are somehow the wave of the future because they follow a new paradigm or hark back to models from the first century of Christianity.” They are much more oriented to “experience as opposed to creeds or novel liturgical styles.” Wuthnow says in another example, “a growing number of young adults do not marry, marry later, or do not stay married. Those are the realities of life that pose worries during young adulthood, affect one’s self-identity, and cause people to seek emotional support.” They are taking longer to establish themselves and settle into their communities, and they are tending to be dependent on their parents for a longer period of time.

The younger adults are characterized as tinkerers. “A tinkerer puts together a life from whatever skills, ideas, and resources that are readily at hand.” Within the tinkering process, the married young adults are given to church shopping. The unmarrieds are given to church hopping-some of this and some of that.

This study was funded both by the Lilly and Pew Foundations. Basically it concluded that unless those of us in church leadership roles understand these young adults, we are going to wake-up one morning and say, where is our church? Where are our ministries? Where are our missionaries?

Chapter 1 gives an overall synopsis of the book, but you have to read the other ten chapters to see the data which supports these conclusions. This is a must read and source of study for the church. We cannot bury our heads in the sand or fail to grapple with the issues impacting this young adult population. My challenge to you as you read this book is to ask yourself, “How can we not take time to understand them?”

Keeping the Church Front and Center

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In this issue of Equip to Disciple, the focus in this lead article is the church. To develop this theme we will refer to two main writings by two familiar names to us: one is a chapter by J.I. Packer and the other a forthcoming book by John R.W. Stott. As we expound this theme, our intent is not only to make some general observations but also some specific ones which we hope will encourage readers to take the time to read Stott’s latest book, The Living Church: Convictions of a Lifelong Pastor.


The subject of the church has been on our hearts lately for several reasons. It appears that for some, the church is not viewed as the bride of Christ and given the place it deserves within the Christian faith. The famous saying of John Calvin, “He who has God for his father, will have the church for his mother,” is not taken very seriously nor is the strategic place of the church in God’s design. This is especially true today. We are seeing and hearing more and more negatives regarding the church. Things such as the church is an institution vs. a movement, or the church rep resents a paradigm that doesn’t apply to today’s concept of Christianity, or the church lacks authenticity and integrity. George Gallup Jr. and George Barna are serious when they warn that the church may be only one generation from extinction. Of course, they are referring to the organized church as we know it.

Bruce Hindmarsh states in the opening chapter of Evangelical Ecclesiology: Reality or Illusion? (John G. Stackhouse editor), “When one thinks about the evangelicals and what they hold dear, one would be forgiven for not thinking immediately of the church. Indeed one might even suggest, given the history of schism among evangelicals, the ‘evangelical ecclesiology’ is an oxymoron.” Therefore, he suggests that maybe the church is a non-ecclesial form of religion and evangelicalism is merely a sociological movement. I have been particularly aware of evangelicalism’s attempt to be transdenominational and international- to be inclusive but at the same time not seeing the role and place of the church in that area.

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J. I. Packer in the book Ancient & Postmodern Christianity wrote a chapter entitled “A Stunted Ecclesiology.” He writes, “I am making a case for genuine churchliness of today’s evangelical church, a churchliness that is directly in line with that of the churches that separated from Rome at the time of the Reformation. It is a case, I believe, that urgently needs to be made, both because this recovered churchliness is a significant fact that is often overlooked and because much of evangelicalism is in a state of cognitive dissonance about it, affirming churchliness yet retaining an ethos and mindset that seems to observers to deny it.” After stating five reasons why evangelicals have a stunted ecclesiology, he concluded, “My hope is that in this new century the churchliness of evangelicalism will become evident. As my analysis shows, the difficulty here is more practical than theoretical. Evangelical ecclesiology is not stunted, but evangelical churchliness as a mindset and an ethos is, and without rethinking and adjustment this will continue, so that the credibility of the evangelical claim to mainstream status as church will remain suspect and perhaps be forfeited….We wait and see.”

For space reasons, I will mention three of the five reasons for his conclusion regarding the church’s stuntedness.
1. The church is too centered on salvation. While Packer states the extreme importance of fully grasping the gospel, the focus of the church has been so much directed in that area that it has led to a human centered theologizing which sets human needs center stage and makes the Trinity’s role simply one of saving individuals. He says “church life is thought out and set forth in terms of furthering people’s salvation rather than of worshiping and glorifying God.”

2. The parachurch-centeredness is virtually an evangelical trademark. While maintaining that parachurch ministries are needed for the kingdom, they tend to take away from or divert resources and people from the church to the parachurch direction. He writes, “Sadly, by the same narrowing process that was described above, these agencies of God’s kingdom draw interest, prayer, enthusiasm, and money away from the wider-ranging, slower-moving, less glamorous realities of congregational life, so that the parachurch body comes to have pride of place in supporters’ affections and in effect to be their church.”

3. The independent church syndrome. Packer says this matches the above but goes further than the parachurch centeredness. While we thank God for the churches, Packer says, “A problem lurks here. Independent congregations are such through declining connectional bonds with other congregations- such bonds, I mean, as synods, councils, superintendent ministers, bishops, and court systems provide.” (Packer is an Anglican by church affiliation).

Our experience would concur with the above characteristics listed by Packer, and we are not encouraged because such characteristics are proliferating. As we highlight some of John Stott’s thoughts and comments on the church in his latest book, we are reminded of his statements in other articles that the churches of the West are tired and in need of a rest. Of course, the implication is that the church cannot afford to be tired and in need of a rest. I believe there is a clear correlation between a low view of the church and a lack of understanding of the Kingdom of God and how the church fits into and relates to the broader kingdom, although there are so many ways we could go with this if space allowed. Much of evangelical Christianity has not appreciated nor gotten that relationship straight in the past, and much of today’s broad emerging church paradigm doesn’t have a clear biblical theological model for the church and its place within the kingdom. Hence, the church is not taken with the seriousness that I believe one should take with the bride of Christ or His body.

While I have made it a point over the years to read everything I can by Stott, this little book on the church is outstanding. Even though I could have wished for the reader’s sake that he would have dealt more with the kingdom in connection with the church, this is an excellent book. I was privileged to read the galley proofs before going to press. I could not put it down. Here is a churchman in his late 80’s, actually 86 years of age, writing about his observations and challenges regarding the church. The opening statement of the pre face regarding the Church of England equally applies to the Reformed and Presbyterian churches, especially to the Presbyterian Church in America. Quoting the Archbishop of Canterbury Robert Runcie, Stott writes, “If the current evangelical renewal in the Church of England is to have a lasting impact, then there must be more explicit attention given to the doctrine of the church.” Stott mentions the increased number of books focusing on the theme that the church is “out of tune with contemporary culture and that unless it comes to terms with change, it faces extinction. “Of course he said the church will prevail. When the paradigm in western culture began to shift from modernism to post modernism, the shift had a definite impact on the church.

Stott is right to suggest that how the shift plays out requires much discernment, especially for those identified with the church. He wisely counsels, “It seems to me that the traditional and emerging churches need to listen to one another, with a view to learning from one another. “The traditional church is a reference to the church as we have generally known it over the years. The emerging church is a general statement referring to those who are attempting to develop new paradigms for the church following much of postmodern philosophy.

He further reminds us to remember that while culture goes through constant change, Scripture is unchangeable. Then he states that the purpose of this book “is to bring together a number of characteristics of what I will call an authentic or living church, whether it calls itself ’emerging’ or not.”

Breaking the Idols of Your Heart: How to Navigate the Temptations of Life

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Editor’s note: We reviewed this book in the original title in 1999. With this new edition and title we felt that it would be important to call it to your attention. There will be only minor changes to the original review.

Breaking the Idols of Your Heart is a unique approach to an important Bible book. We want to encourage our readers to read and study Ecclesiastes. It is a world and life view book that enables us to understand the importance of a biblically Reformed world view and how to distinguish non-Christian thinking “under the sun,” to Christian thinking “above the sun.”

This book possesses high quality, depth, and practicality, as do Allender and Longman’s other writings. I am impressed with its sound biblical approach, its contemporary handling of Scripture, and its faithfulness in interpreting and applying the Word. Both writers have unusual insights into the postmodern mind because of their sound biblical and theological ability to bring the Scripture to bear on our setting.

Breaking the Idols of Your Heart has a message for each of the generations in our culture, but especially for the busters (and the younger boomers and older millennials who border each end of the buster generation). We have seen the younger generations, especially since the 1960s, chase one thing after another to try to bring meaning to very frustrated, confused, and lonely lives. They chase after power and control, but come up empty. They chase after relationships, but are not satisfied. They chase after pleasure, but find meaninglessness. They chase after spirituality (as the younger generation is definitely doing),and finally after immortality. The problem is that chasing after these things is like chasing after the wind. “Hey, that sounds familiar,” you say. Indeed, it is the message of Ecclesiastes.

Breaking the Idols of Your Heart is actually a topical study of Ecclesiastes set in a contemporary narrative. Noah Adamson, the main character, is a young businessman who is chasing after the wrong things to find meaning and to deal with problems that have followed him into adulthood. His wife, Joan, while more passive, is also searching for meaning. Though they profess to be Christians their lives are generally empty because they are pursuing things that cannot fulfill. Through each episode in the book, the reader will identify with the feelings and experiences of the characters.


Like Acts 17 in the New Testament, Ecclesiastes is one of the most contemporary books in the Bible. Pagans are not the only ones who seek meaning through vain pursuits; Christians fall into the same trap. We chase after relationships and find that, while we are relational, relationships wrongly sought after leave us empty. God intends us to exercise self-control, but trying to be in total control doesn’t satisfy either. He made us to work, but work motivated by envy becomes an idol and also leaves us unfulfilled. The message of Ecclesiastes, illustrated so powerfully in this book, speaks to good and necessary things in life that can actually cause us deep emptiness and meaninglessness when we elevate them above their rightful place. Today, few people-even Christians-understand how to keep things in their rightful place.

Breaking the Idols of Your Heart helps us see that if we replace God’s purpose with any other purpose we will not be satisfied. The only way to experience meaning and fulfillment is to seek a life with God through Jesus Christ at the center. The message of Ecclesiastes and consequently Breaking the Idols of Your Heart is that we can live “under the sun” with a sinfully shortsighted perspective, or we can live “above the sun” and see how God is the answer to all that we long for in life. This book reminds us of the reality that St. Augustine expressed: our hearts are restless until they find rest in God. I am intrigued by the authors’ development of that message and challenged to work out a strategy to teach this to rising generations.

Buy, read, discuss, and teach this book. Follow carefully the development of a Christian mind with a world and life view perspective and you will be blessed far beyond your expectations.