Andrew S M Clark

In my recent reflections on David Lim’s concept of kingdomization, I have found myself asking a question that reaches into current day politics and populist moments both in the UK and US in these days. But before we turn directly to that, and before we can discuss disciple-making, multiplication, church renewal, or social transformation, we must first ask a more fundamental question: What exactly is the goal? The answer we give to that question shapes everything else.

It influences how we understand the church, how we engage society, how we approach mission, and how we evaluate success. It determines whether we are primarily concerned with preserving institutions, influencing culture, winning political battles, or participating in the reign of God.

As I have reflected on Lim’s chapter in Motus Dei by Warrick Farrah, it has become increasingly apparent to me that several different visions have often become intertwined within the history of Christianity. Terms such as Christendom, Christianisation, Christian Nationalism, and Kingdomization are frequently used interchangeably, yet they represent very different understandings of what God is seeking to accomplish in the world.

The Legacy of Christendom

For much of Scottish history, Christianity existed within the framework of Christendom. The church occupied a central place within society. Christian assumptions shaped public life, education, law, morality, and culture. The rhythms of church life were woven into the rhythms of national life.

It is important to recognise that Christendom was not entirely negative. It provided stability, fostered literacy, supported charitable work, and helped shape many of the moral assumptions that continue to influence Western societies today. We should resist simplistic narratives that dismiss centuries of Christian influence as entirely misguided.

Yet Christendom also carried inherent tensions. Whenever the church becomes closely aligned with cultural, social, or political power, it becomes increasingly difficult to distinguish between the advance of the gospel and the preservation of institutions. The church may continue to occupy a prominent place within society while simultaneously losing its missionary impulse.

Indeed, one of the great ironies of Christendom is that the church can appear successful while discipleship grows weak. Cultural Christianity can flourish even as genuine Christian formation declines. People may belong to the church without necessarily becoming disciples of Jesus.

The decline of Christendom has therefore created both challenges and opportunities. While the loss of cultural influence has been painful for many churches, it has also forced us to reconsider what the church actually is and what it is for.

The Ambiguity of Christianisation

Closely related to Christendom is the idea of Christianisation. By this I mean the attempt to make a society, culture, or people more Christian in its beliefs, values, practices, and institutions.

Historically, Christianisation has often accompanied missionary activity. Entire nations have been described as “Christianised” when large numbers of people were baptised, churches were established, and Christian moral frameworks became widely accepted. Yet the term carries a certain ambiguity.

On the one hand, Christians naturally desire to see individuals and societies transformed by the gospel. We should not be embarrassed by that aspiration. The gospel has implications for personal behaviour, social relationships, economic life, political structures, and cultural values.

However, Christianisation can sometimes become preoccupied with external conformity. A society may adopt Christian symbols, language, customs, and moral expectations without experiencing the deeper transformation that comes through discipleship and spiritual renewal.

One of Lim’s most provocative observations is that much Christian mission has often been driven by a vision of Christianisation rather than kingdomization. The focus has been on establishing Christian institutions, Christian structures, and Christian cultural influence rather than on multiplying disciples who embody the reign of Christ in every sphere of life.

Whether one agrees entirely with Lim’s critique or not, it raises an important question: is the goal to make societies appear more Christian, or to help people increasingly live under the lordship of Jesus? I think in you know my answer to that. We need to hope for something beyond that to see this transformation appear and align with God’s New Heaven and Earth reality coming to a planet near you someday!

The Temptation of Christian Nationalism

More recently, discussions have emerged around Christian Nationalism. While the term is often used imprecisely, at its core it describes the attempt to fuse Christian identity with national identity in such a way that the nation itself becomes understood as uniquely Christian or divinely privileged.

Historically, versions of this impulse have appeared in many countries and across various political traditions. It is not a uniquely contemporary phenomenon. The attraction is understandable. In periods of cultural uncertainty, social fragmentation, or declining religious influence, Christians may understandably long for a recovery of moral coherence and cultural stability. The temptation is to seek these ends through political or cultural dominance. Yet, Christian Nationalism faces a profound theological problem.

The kingdom of God cannot be identified with any nation, ethnicity, political system, or cultural project. The New Testament consistently presents the people of God as a transnational community whose primary allegiance is to Jesus Christ. The church exists within nations and contributes to their flourishing, but it cannot be reduced to an instrument of national identity.

Whenever Christianity becomes overly attached to national projects, it risks confusing the interests of the nation with the purposes of God. The kingdom of God is larger than every nation and more enduring than every political arrangement.

The Vision of Kingdomization

It is here that Lim’s concept of kingdomization becomes particularly helpful as the meta narrative vision the church perhaps needs today.

Kingdomization begins not with institutions, cultural dominance, or political power, but with the reign of God revealed in Jesus Christ. Its concern is not primarily whether societies become officially Christian, nor whether churches regain cultural influence, nor whether nations adopt Christian identities. Its concern is whether the will of God is increasingly done on earth as it is in heaven.

This immediately shifts the focus:

– The primary agents of kingdomization are not institutions but disciples.

– The primary mechanism is not coercion but transformation.

– The primary strategy is not domination but multiplication.

– The primary goal is not the preservation of Christian structures but the extension of Christ’s reign throughout every dimension of life.

In this vision, disciples influence households, workplaces, neighbourhoods, schools, businesses, professions, and communities. The kingdom spreads not because Christians gain control of society but because they embody the life of Christ within society. It’s what Alan Hirsch calls the ‘missional-incarnation al impulse’ to ‘go out and go deep’!

The result may indeed influence culture. It may reshape institutions. It may affect public life. Yet these outcomes emerge from transformed lives rather than imposed structures.

Why Kingdomization Matters

What attracts me to kingdomization is that it provides a larger and more biblical horizon than many of the alternatives.

Christendom asks how Christianity can occupy a central place within society.

Christianisation asks how societies can become more Christian.

Christian Nationalism asks how Christianity can shape national identity.

Kingdomization asks how God’s reign can become visible through the lives of disciples. The difference is subtle but significant. One focusses on institutions. Another focusses on culture. Another focuses on political identity. Kingdomization focusses on the lordship of Christ.

This does not mean that institutions, culture, or politics are unimportant. Far from it. The kingdom of God touches every sphere of life. Yet these become secondary rather than primary concerns.

The church’s task is not first to create a Christian nation, preserve a Christian culture, or restore Christendom. Its task is to form disciples who live under the reign of Christ and participate in God’s mission in the world.

The Challenge Before Us

For those of us living in post-Christendom Scotland, this distinction matters greatly. The temptation is often to look backwards—to recover what has been lost, restore former influence, or reclaim a place at the centre of society as if there was some sort of Golden Era in times gone by.

Perhaps the more important question is not how we recover Christendom but how we recover discipleship.

If disciples are formed, if communities become genuinely missional, if ordinary Christians learn to live faithfully in every sphere of life, then perhaps something resembling kingdomization may emerge. The future of the church may depend less upon regaining cultural dominance and more upon becoming once again a people whose lives bear witness to the reality of God’s reign. That, it seems to me, is the challenge that Lim’s vision places before us and perhaps it is the challenge that Scotland most needs to hear.