Recent travel has made it difficult to get to a number of things – like posting on this blog.  I have one more trip to make this week, then I should be settled in for the better part of the Summer. 

Posting on the blog is not the only thing that has been put on the shelf recently. I have not had opportunity to read as much as I like, either.  But I have been reading some.  It’s rare that I go anywhere without a book or two.  It’s just that while I usually juggle three or four books, these past few weeks I’ve been limited to one: The Tangible Kingdom. 

This book by Hugh Halter & Matt Smay is focused on cultivating an incarnational community, or on turning the local church into a vital and visible presence in our local community. The premise is that the Body of Christ is called to be a visible and authentic expression of the Kingdom of God as it presently exists. 

I think it is important to remember the Kingdom of God is both a present reality AND future hope. At least that’s what Jesus taught. Sadly, though, I think we are prone to focus solely on its future coming.  To the extent we focus only on the future manifestation of God’s Kingdom we miss out on a lot. And we fail to give the world around us a glimpse of what will one day be universal – only far better; more perfect than we presently express even on our best days. 

I long for such an expression of the Kingdom, so I am excited whenever I can catch a glimpse through those who are practicing such community in their churches.

I’m not quite finished yet, but I’ll probably give a summary and review in a few weeks.  In the mean time you might want to check out the related web site: TangibleKingdom.com.