Kang stresses Kingdom building as priority in ministry

Be a Kingdom builder in ministry preached James Kang, executive director of the Council of Korean Southern Baptist Churches, during his Oct. 26 chapel message at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and Texas Baptist College.

Kang, a two-time graduate of Southwestern Seminary, noted Scripture passages from the Sermon on the Mount, specifically from Matthew 6:33, to underscore his theme.

Kang said that despite the worries of life, “It is God who provides for His children.”

“We are to seek first His Kingdom,” Kang said. “When Jesus says, ‘His Kingdom’ or ‘Kingdom of God,’ He is not talking about one church. What I am emphasizing is God’s vision for the Kingdom of God is greater than one local church.”

Kang stated the main teachings of Jesus focused on the Kingdom of God and many of Jesus’s parables started with the explanation of what the Kingdom of Heaven was like.

“We are not called to be career builders or church builders,” he exclaimed. “But we are called to be Kingdom builders. You know what Jesus’s first message was? ‘Repent, the Kingdom of God is near.’”

Kang then outlined what it means to seek God’s Kingdom first by examining the Lord’s Prayer.

“The main focus of the Lord’s Prayer that Jesus taught us is ‘Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done on earth as it is in Heaven,’” he stated. “In other words, when Jesus says to seek His Kingdom first, He means praying and working for the Kingdom of God to be expanded in this earth.”

Kang explained when Jesus mentions His Kingdom, that it is not about the land but about where God’s work is complete, where He rules and controls.

“When you make Jesus rule your life and make [Him] king of your life, the Kingdom of God is in your life,” he explained. “But if you are controlling, you are the king and that is not Jesus or God’s Kingdom; that is your kingdom.”

Kang shared how those in ministry can be Kingdom builders. The first step he referenced is found in John 1:12.

“Share the Gospel,” he said. “The Kingdom of God begins in the smallest place possible, which is the heart of a person. When a person receives Jesus, he becomes a child of God and begins to be ruled by God. The Kingdom of God is present in his life. You can do so much good works, but the Kingdom is never expanded. The only way the Kingdom can expand is when someone else accepts Jesus Christ and that is only when you share Gospel.”

Embracing neighbors with the love of God was the next step Kang enumerated to become a Kingdom builder.

“God’s ministry began with lovingly embracing the words, ‘God so loved the world,’” he said. “The climax of Jesus’s ministry was His love for us, the sinners, even until death on the cross. One of the most effective ways to share the Gospel or have unbelievers who are not open to hear Gospel to come to faith in Jesus is to embrace someone with the love.”

Kang admitted that the Great Commission is often prioritized yet followers of Christ neglect to fully live out the Great Commandment.

“It takes Great Commandment to achieve Great Commission,” he proclaimed. “Without genuine love for God, we are powerless and ineffective for the Gospel. Without love for our neighbors, many people will not have ears to hear what we are saying.”

Kang referenced Luke 10 and the parable of the Good Samaritan, as Jesus defined who neighbors are and how to love them.

“Our neighbor is not just someone who lives next door, but anyone who needs our love and care,” he explained. “People in the world need our love. They need the love of Jesus Christ.”

Kang stated that the opposite of love is not hate but indifference as he continued to reference Luke 10, where a neighbor was passed by and ignored.

“Oftentimes, we pass by so many people that God has entrusted to us,” he said. “If you don’t have a commandment to be Kingdom builders, we cannot see the people God has placed in your path. Jesus told us to go to all nations, which means all people groups. In other words, all ethnic people.”

Kang stressed to the gathered students, faculty, and staff that people who live near them, live there because the Lord brought them there.

“God is already working in the life of everyone in the community,” he expressed. “The very presence of our neighbors is invitation to join Him and His work to share Good News with them. God has sent you there and entrusts you to serve the people who live there with His love and bring them goodness.”

In closing, Kang reiterated the importance of becoming a Kingdom builder.

“When we focus on God’s Kingdom and minster to people around us with love, God will use your church to expand the Kingdom of God in the city and also take care of your church and your life, too,” he concluded.

Kang was elected executive director of the Council of Korean Southern Baptist Churches in 2017. He holds a Bachelor of Science from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and a Master of Divinity with biblical languages and a Doctor of Philosophy from Southwestern Seminary.

Kang’s entire message can be viewed here.

Chapel is held every Tuesday and Thursday morning at 10 a.m. (CT) in MacGorman Chapel on the campus of Southwestern Seminary and TBC. Chapel may be viewed live at swbts.live.