Theology and Ministry Trendsetters of the 21st Century

The 21^st century needs ministers and theologians who are fully consumed with the passion of God for the lost and for His kingdom. They are trendsetters in vision, commitment, and compassion whose goals and characters match their call to set ablaze the way for excellence and glory of God. The world does not need more jargons that do not speak to the church and theories in theology that cannot contribute to the propagation of God’s kingdom in this world. Theological preoccupation that does not envision the fulfillment of Christ’s Great Commission is empty, vanity—a toiling under the sun without meaning. Evangelism and missions are fully in need of continuing in its theologically sound foundation whereby it is tasked to be faithful to Christ’s commission. Any concerns not promoting the worship of God and compassion for the lost are misplaced priorities and mislaid efforts to do God’s ministry. Hence, a person fully committed to God—and is focused and persevering in the God-given vision in lined with the missions of the church to the world—is what the this century needs. The kinds of person who will set the blaze ahead of others are those who are not content with mediocrity and the status quo, but catch the vision, the empowerment of God’s Spirit, and the attitude to meet the demands of the post-modern urbanization whereby God’s kingdom advances among receptive people.

So, the world needs ministry trendsetters whose visions are not confined to their own selfish desires and agendas, but is big enough to contain the uttermost parts of the world where God commands the church to go and make disciples. The world needs trendsetters who visualize the inevitable from beyond. They foresee the potentiality of global urbanization and strategic positioning of prospective local churches which are able to reach out the unreached people groups and maximize their effectivity on establishing culturally relevant ministries and mission points. They are trendsetters in a truest sense for they cannot just fold their hands from afar and watch the ministry in plateau and decline. Instead, they strive to go and learn, expose and expand, grow and change towards the new paradigm.

Therefore, the world need not people who have no moral authority and intellectual authenticity of their own for it is fed up with superficial spirituality, ineffective structures, and systems that demean the church’s mission unto the world’s ends. God is molding trendsetters who—like Paul strategically fulfilled the Great Commission—despite that most leaders were content in sitting in their own Jerusalem, not minding the known world. And now is the time for a borderless expansion of doing theology in various contexts and ministry settings.