Kingdom and/or King – A Response to Rick McKinley

“The news of the Kingdom was, in fact, the primary message of Jesus” (Rick McKinley, This Beautiful Mess, 30).

This statement represents a major component of Emerging Church theology.  In the context of McKinley’s statement, he makes the case for the gospel accounts being the primary teaching of Christ and His Kingdom. Certainly, the Gospels record Christ’s actions and words, but the remainder of the New Testament offers spiritual insight into the meaning and application of those words. The remainder of the New Testament offers a divinely-inspired lens to discern the correct meaning of the gospel accounts.

Was Christ’s primary message the Kingdom of God or Himself as the entrance to God’s Kingdom? Central to the gospel account is the Person of Christ. When he meets His future disciples, He interacts with them personally and says, ‘follow me.’ He does not say, ‘Hey, let’s go to the Kingdom of God.’ He frequently talks about the good news of the Kingdom, but what is this good news? This good news is Christ Himself, the Key to the Kingdom of God (See Neoorthopraxy and Brian D. McLaren by Mark Christy for further commentary). Emerging Church proponents must reconsider their Kingdom of God theology. They must introduce people to the Person first (to the Key), instead of trivializing Him in the midst of His Kingdom.

While McKinley’s statement here is dangerous, it must be noted that he seems to redeem himself by admitting the necessity for the proclamation of Christ’s exclusive claims even has he invites all people to participate in the Kingdom (Ibid.,179).