In Matthew 6:10, Jesus prayed, “Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.” With that said, I believe that God’s kingdom can actually come and reign in every domain of our society in earth as it is in heaven.  If it’s too hard to believe, perhaps it is so because of how little we actually see of God’s kingdom reflected around us in the different domains of our world.  Nevertheless, God’s kingdom does reign and I believe we can reflect His glory and His kingdom in every domain of our land – including the domain of business!

Leadership Question: Do You Believe The Kingdom Of God Can Be Reflected In Every Domain Of Our Nation?

For me personally, one of the most profound and exhilarating ideas presented in the book, Our Father’s Kingdom, written by Mr. Douglas Layton which identified with the spirit of God in me is found in his introduction.  In the book’s introduction, Mr. Layton frankly states “While righteousness in a nation undoubtedly begins with the commitment of individuals to Christ, more souls and more churches alone will not make it holy.  Godliness comes when a nation’s Christians make it their all-consuming passion to see God’s glory reflected in every domain of the land, its arts, sciences, media, government, schools, businesses, families – in every domain.  Unless they do, their salvation will benefit only them personally, and Christ’s laws and principles will not guide their nation as He intended them to do.”  Wow!  Could it be that this is the reason we do not see the kingdom of God truly reflected in every domain of our country as mentioned by Mr. Layton?  Personally, I believe it is exactly the reason that our nation continues to slide farther and farther away from our Judeo Christian heritage and values.  I think we have unfortunately forgotten how to effectively teach people to practically live the principles and values of our Father’s kingdom in their respective domains of influence outside of our churches and our families.  As a result, far too many Christians lack the practical knowledge and Holy Spirit inspired boldness to bring the values and principles of our Father’s kingdom to their domains of influence in a way that facilitates real transformational change that reflects our Father’s kingdom and His glory in their domain of influence.

Leadership Question: How Do You Reflect The Values And Principles Of The Kingdom Of God In Your Respective Domain Of Influence?

So then how do we practically do this? Personally, I believe that the only way we can do this is if genuine Christ followers make an intentional effort to focus on the entirety of Jesus’ commandment in His Great Commission of His Church as stated in Matthew 28:18-20. “And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, ‘All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.  Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,  teaching them to observe all things [the principles and values of our Father’s kingdom] that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.’” When we objectively measure how well we are doing as Christians in fulfilling the entirety of the Great Commission, we no doubt have some very effective churches that are adding souls to the Body of Christ and building more churches to do so in the kingdom; however, by the condition of our society in America, it just doesn’t seem that we are being effective in teaching disciples how to observe all things that the Lord commands us in the respective societal domains of our nation.  If we were effective in doing so, I believe our news stories would be different, our movies and films would be different, our government politics would be different, our business practices would be different, our school educations would be different; but sadly, all too significantly often, these domains of influence are not different and they do not reflect the values and principles of our Father’s kingdom nor His glory.  Mr. Layton further states in his book that “When we speak of ‘winning a nation’ or ‘turning our nation back to God,’ we are really speaking about bringing God’s influence, laws, principles, and kingdom authority into each of these spheres. Anything less is less than what God commanded His church to do.” 

Leadership Question: What Are You Doing To Strategically Equip People To Live The Principles And Values Of God’s Kingdom In Your Domain Of Influence?

So if this is what it means to win a nation for the kingdom of God, and I for one most definitely believe it is what it means to win a nation for the kingdom of God, who then is strategically thinking about how to effectively equip the saints of God to practically bring God’s influence, laws, principles, and kingdom authority to each respective domain of societal influence? In order for the values, laws, and principles of the kingdom of God to have real transforming influence in any societal domain, they must be practically lived by the power and authority of God in the context of each respective domain.  To me, this means that apostles especially anointed by God in each respective domain have a spiritual leadership responsibility in the kingdom of God to live the values of our Father’s kingdom in their respective domain and simply teach others to do the same. When the Church effectively equips, engages, empowers, and encourages these apostles to do this in their respective domains, our nation will experience real transformational change in every domain of our land.  In fact, Mr. Layton states that “When the Church is doing its job, the society around it will eventually reflect God’s laws and principles as well.”

Leadership Question: Will You Be Counted With Me In Helping To Reflect And Build The Kingdom Of God In The Marketplace?

Therefore, this means that if you are a Christ follower and you are in business, Mr. Layton says, and I agree, that it is your foremost job to reflect Christ in the marketplace. In Mr. Layton’s other words, he also states that God wants to raise you up as an apostle to the business world! What an extraordinary spiritual reality for people called by God and anointed by Him to lead in the business domain! But God doesn’t stop there, because the Great Commission doesn’t stop there. The spiritual reality of our Father’s kingdom is that He wants to raise up apostles to every sphere of domain influence in our nation and the nations of the world.  Personally, this gets me very excited because it affirms that God has a full-time God-ordained spiritual leadership purpose, destiny, and kingdom responsibility for people in every domain of our nation to build the kingdom of God in their respective domains.  With that said, you can count me all in to help reflect the values and the principles of the kingdom of God in the marketplace.  And I personally invite you to join me to do the same in three simple ways:

  1. Read Kings Come Forth and The Make It Happen Journey written to encourage, engage, equip, and empower business leaders to build the kingdom of God in the business domain.
  2. Help start an annual national prayer movement in business called See You At The Office by coordinating two days of prayer at your office with your colleagues for 2 days during the week of July 14th in response to God’s promise in 2  Chronicles 7:14.
  3. Personally connect with me on LinkedIn and / or Facebook at www.linkedin.com/in/garyborgstede and www.facebook.com/garyborgstede

Together, we can make it happen in Christ and build  God’s kingdom in the business domain! I will look forward to seeing you at the office!

Thy Kingdom Come In Business Copyright 2011, The Make It Happen Learning Institute.  You have permission to reprint the leadership article, Thy Kingdom Come In Business, in its entirety only, and forward to your colleagues and friends, provided the copyright notice remains part of the reprint and transmission.  All other rights reserved.

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