Advancing the Kingdom Through Networking

Part 2: Networking and Blogging
Part 3: Networking Applied and Beautified

Since beginning Rhetorical Response, I’ve had a marvelous time learning, sharing, and thinking about an entire spectrum of topics. Posts about European culture, the church fathers, and the similarities between homsechooling and blogging have informed me. I’ve been delighted and inspired by a delightful analysis of a Leo Tolstoy story, a thoughtful reflection on knowing God, and not one, but two calls to accomplish great things. Many other people and posts have instructed and challenged me to strive for excellence in every area.

Below are my thoughts and impressions on the importance of networking and blogging (to be posted in two parts). You readers know much of what I’ve written because you are the ones who have taught it to me, but I was itching to put the situation I my own words, so I have.

WHY NETWORK?

‘Seek first the kingdom of God and its righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.’ ~ Matthew 6:23

How do we seek the kingdom of God? As Christian teenagers, as the next generation of reformers and potential world-changers, how do we continue doing the good work our parents have done and keep advancing the kingdom of God? This question ought to be at the center of all decisions we make: at the center of decisions about higher education, about apprenticeship, about character development, about friendships, about romance, about church attendance, and about individual spiritual growth. The answer has two parts. First, we need to develop strong character and a meaningful relationship with God as individuals. Second, we need to focus on networking, developing strategic relationships with other like-minded Christians for the purpose of becoming effective world-changers. Many Christian teenagers I know are very good at the first part, but many, myself included, are weak when it comes to the second part of advancing the kingdom of God. It is critical that we not become content with the successes and victories that we have already gained. Our parents have raised us to be godly and to strive for excellence, but we must realize that we have farther to go. In order to take the next step, we must discover and apply the skills that will enable to us to network with other godly teenagers.

It is undeniable that Christian homsechooled teenagers are generally enthusiastic about their relationship with God and possess better character than other members of their generation. This is a marvelous thing. However, if we rest on our laurels and become content with having strong character, then we will surrender part of our effectiveness and ability to advance the kingdom of God. Os Guinness writes in his book, Fit Bodies, Fat Minds, ‘Thinking Christianly…is inescapably individual, as all discipleship is. But it is also inescapably collective. For all discipleship is communal because every disciple is part of the body of Christ.’ Our strong individual character is good, but we must not satisfy our selves with the good, because then we will not attain what is best.

The focus on the individual is understandable. American culture has promoted individualistic philosophy for over 150 years. August Rodin’s statue ‘Penseur’ (Thinker) is the embodiment of this philosophy – a solitary genius wrapped in his own thoughts and struggling against impossible odds. Americans are told ‘be the best you can be’ and ‘believe you can fly.’ These statements are not harmful in and of themselves, but they represent the trend toward individualism which has kept us from fully seeing the collective nature of Christianity.

<>The Bible presents another point of view, one which takes the importance of the group into account. In the beginning, when two individuals sinned, the entire human race fell with them because God views humanity as an organic whole. He created us individually and cares for us as such, but he also created us relational beings. ‘It is not good for man to be alone.’ In Scripture, the church is not presented as a mass of individuals, but as a body, one in which each member plays a distinct role. In the human body, the nervous system sends signals to and from the brain, enabling the whole person to function. Without complex communication between the different parts, life would be impossible. The same is true of the body of Christ. Unless each individual member of the body can communicate with other members, nothing will be accomplished. No matter how strong the individual parts are, without networking, the kingdom will not be advanced. In order for us to seek the kingdom of God, we must be strong as individuals and be in communication with other strong individuals.