“I must preach the kingdom of God…” — Luke 4:43
Our nation is reeling from one of the most divisive and racially charged presidential election cycles that I can recall in my voting lifetime. We’ve had to endure more than 18 months of vicious personal attacks among the candidates, coupled with attacks on the most vulnerable segments of the American population, demeaning language and campaign ads, threats of deportation and promises of building walls.
It’s been stated that the “optics of ethics are out the window.” Many Americans are anxious, fearful and unsure of what our national agenda really is. Just as important, we are unclear concerning how we will be affected by the unfolding agenda of our president-elect. So what’s our agenda? What should Americans who don’t support a racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, trickle-down economic agenda be doing to stand up against this incoming regime? What’s our agenda?
In the fourth chapter of Luke’s Gospel, Jesus clearly states that his agenda is simple, powerful and profound: “…preach the Kingdom of God…” Dr. David Naugle notes: “The Hebrew word for kingdom is malkut and its Greek counterpart is basileia. Both terms primarily mean rule or reign. Both terms have a dynamic or active meaning, and refer to the exercise of God’s power, dominion, or sovereignty.” Jesus preached that we should be operating in our God-given power and dominion that supersedes earthly power or human authority that is given or forcibly taken. So what’s our agenda?
First, our agenda must be the same agenda Jesus preached, pursued and pressed into his core followers: ushering in the Kingdom of God through exercising our God-given dominion. We cannot let fear and anxiety rule, causing us to become overly emotional, reactionary or stagnant. Because of fear and anxiety, too many people, especially Christians, live their lives in a state of lack. God never intended for us to live in lack. We are to live in abundance and have more than we need. Abundance allows us to tangibly meet needs and address relevant issues that cause pain and suffering in humanity.
Secondly, we must organize and network our intellectual and material resources. In our community, there is an unlimited and largely untapped wealth of intellectual property that must be used toward the common goal of strengthening our communities by coming to the aid of the poor, downtrodden and oppressed. We must come together and figure out once and for all how to eliminate food deserts and the oversaturation of liquor stores, fast food restaurants and check-cashing establishments that suck all of the resources right out of our community, while further destroying it at the same time.
Finally, we must address and eradicate unfair laws and systems that continue to cause disproportionality in our juvenile detention centers, jails and prisons. The prison pipeline must end in our communities. We can no longer allow our sisters and brothers to be a commodity for the rich through forced prison labor, grossly overpriced commissary items, outrageous rates for phone access and fees for probation monitoring (electronic) and other costs associated with court-ordered courses that those most affected cannot afford to pay.
In closing, we must never forget that regardless of the situation at hand, God is still God. America may have a new president-elect, but our God still reigns over all from the heavenly throne. Jesus preached that the dominion granted to us in Genesis 1:26-28 remains available to us today. Jesus preached a Kingdom agenda. What’s our agenda?
Dr. Preston T. Adams III is senior pastor at Amazing Grace Christian Church in Indianapolis. Contact Pastor Adams via email at seniorpastor@agccindy.org or via Twitter @DrPrestonTAdams. For more information, visit www.agccindy.org.
