J C Matthews

Paradigm Shift J C Matthews

How could the early church, with only a handful of men and women, under heavy persecution, without the means of mass communication or distribution of their message, have such influence in the world they lived in that was said of them that they turned it upside down! It went from being an enemy of the Roman empire, to the official religion of the same, with the Emperor Himself coming to the faith. As we look at the church today, with all of its technological advancements and boasting a membership of over 2 billion people, we find its influence waning and relevance being questioned. How is the possible? The answer is found in its "paradigm." The early church lived and operated from a paradigm established by God for those in covenant with Him, that contained not only their assignment and purpose, but the power to overcome and transform the world. The church's current paradigm (Salvation Paradigm) was intended to be used "by" the church to bring men to Christ, but was never intended to be the paradigm "of" the church, which is comprised of those already in Christ. We must recover this original paradigm, the Kingdom Paradigm, in order for the church to regain her place and fulfill her purpose in the world to which she is assigned. God has sent a shift, a paradigm shift, within His church to restore the power inherent within the Kingdom Paradigm to cause His Kingdom to come, and His will to be done, on earth as it is in heaven!