St Simon Politicus is a very busy church. Every church member is very aware of what's going on in the world. Each week the vicar stands up and preaches from the latest news headlines. There are regular meetings with local councillors, and groups from the voluntary sector. People willingly volunteer to help with all manner of social projects. At the moment its mission is to become fully carbon-neutral, and the numerous recycling bins in the churchyard have caused a fair amount of local debate.
Down the road St Simon Charismaticus is also a very busy church, but for a very different reason. Its mission is very simple and very clear – to preach the gospel and win souls for heaven. Evangelism and worship are its twin goals. No matter what is happening in the news out there, inside you know you will always get the same focus on saving people from the world. It doesn’t have any recycling bins in the churchyard, but the number of tracts the church regularly hands out across town suggest a recycling facility might not be a bad idea.
As you might image, St Simon Politicus and St Simon Charismaticus rarely see eye to eye about any issue, if indeed they ever meet at all. But the one thing that both churches claim is that they are proclaiming the kingdom of God. Both of them take seriously Jesus' message: The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news! (Mark 1:15). For one, the kingdom of God is all about activity in the here and now, and addressing the political structures of the day. For the other, the kingdom of God is not of this world, and it's only a harvest of souls that truly counts.
So which church do you think is right?
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