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Discipling Men's Hearts Through Kingdom Theology DISCIPLING MEN’S HEARTS THROUGH KINGDOM THEOLOGY By Gary Wayne Yagel A Dissertation Presented to the Faculty of REFORMED THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Ministry Approved: ________________________________ Faculty Advisor, Robert H. Orner ________________________________ Faculty Reader, James Coffield ___________________________________________ D.Min. Director, Steven L. Childers December 2012 Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Copyright © 2012 by Gary Wayne Yagel All Rights Reserved ABSTRACT Yagel, Gary W. “Discipling Men’s Hearts Through Kingdom Theology.” D.Min. dissertation, Reformed Theological Seminary, 2012. 189 pp. This dissertation focuses on the biblical and Neo-Calvinistic understanding of the kingdom of God to provide the church a vision of kingdom discipleship, which is compelling enough to capture the masculine heart. The methodology for this study is a combination of exegetical, theological and historical research. The research presents a description of the kingdom of God, using the biblical framework of creation-fall-redemption (Chapter 2). The concept of the kingdom of God is rooted in God’s creation of Adam to be the king of creation. He and Eve are to rule over their kingdom on behalf of The High King, God himself. Through the fall, Adam’s kingdom is given over to the powers, Satan, sin, and death, which enslave Adam and his descendents. But Christ, the second Adam and promised messianic king, invades Adam’s kingdom to overthrow Satan, sin, and death. The kingdom of God has arrived. King Jesus reigns over the whole planet right now and has begun to restore Adam’s kingdom to wholeness and to establish God’s righteous rule over the earth. The paper researches the Neo-Calvinist understanding of kingdom discipleship in the life and writings of Abraham Kuyper, Herman Bavinck, and Herman Ridderbos (Chapter 3). It refutes the current Two Kingdom theology of David VanDrunen. This paper delineates and expounds seven parallel motifs discovered in my research on the biblical and Neo-Calvinistic views of the kingdom of God, as the basis of ii discipleship that reaches men’s hearts (Chapter 4). These are: 1) viewing God’s workings in history through the lens of creation-fall-redemption, 2) understanding the glorious nature of creation and our responsibility to discover and develop it, 3) recognizing that though man’s fall into sin has had a catastrophic effect on the created order, creation itself remains good, 4) understanding redemption to be the restoration of the whole of creational life, 5) understanding Christ’s mission to be the establishment of his kingdom over planet earth, 6) understanding the kingdom of God to be the sphere in which his righteous rule is established, 7) recognizing the already/not yet aspects of the kingdom. This paper combines these key elements of kingdom theology into a practical model for today’s church (Chapter 5). The six perspectives that we need to cement in men’s minds are that kingdom discipleship calls men: 1) to a big enough mission to capture their hearts, 2) to a clear vision to inspire commitment to specific objectives, 3) to a profound understanding of how perfectly God has designed them and their circumstances to maximize kingdom impact, 4) to vocation as continuing the very work of God in developing the potential of his creation, 5) to be the warrior protectors of each sphere of the creation where they dwell, 6) to supreme allegiance to The High King, their creator and redeemer. This study concludes by identifying three obstacles to be overcome if the church is to make kingdom disciples of its men. These obstacles are: a vague understanding of the concept of the kingdom of God, a low view of the greatness of creation, the failure to equip men to engage modern culture in the battle for truth. 535 words iii Dedicated to my wife Sandy and my children Kim, Karen, Brian, Tim, Josh the treasured members of my kingdom at home. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The writing of this doctoral dissertation was only possible because so many have contributed to my life and ministry. That list of key contributors begins with my high school Young Life leader, John Hartsock and his wife, Lorraine. John came into my high school world, grabbed hold of my heart and took it to Jesus Christ. Even forty-five years later my understanding of reaching the heart of a male is rooted in his ministry to me. Closely behind them are Bill and Jeanette Ingram my older brother and sister in the Lord, whose impact in my life over the years has been enormous. Bill worked for the Coalition for Christian Outreach in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and later worked on my staff at Shady Grove PCA. I had no idea how much Bill shaped my thinking about the kingdom of God until I began to work on my thesis. Bill must have known, before I ever wrote this thesis, that kingdom theology will capture the heart of a man—because he made sure it captured mine. I am grateful for the staff of RTS Orlando for updating my thirty year-old seminary education. In particular, I have appreciated Steve Brown’s embodiment of the truth that grace is everything. Though I am a veteran church planter, Steve Childers gave me the right vision for church planting—not so much building a church in Germantown as showing the reality of the kingdom of God in Germantown. I especially love the RTS counseling department from whom I learned a great deal about the masculine heart. I wish we could get them to RTS DC. v Sustaining the process of acquiring this degree has only been possible because of the unwavering commitment of the Board of Directors of Family Builders, Inc., Jim Blair, Todd Czerner, Phil Fleming, Bob Johnson, and Eric O’Neill. Thank you for expressing your commitment to my pursuit of this degree through your financial support as well as words of encouragement. The seven-year pursuit of this degree required the time to read over twenty thousand pages, write eight major papers besides the 183-page dissertation, and travel to Orlando for eight week-long classes. Not once did my wife, Sandy, complain about this time away from her. She is a great treasure, and her godly strength has made her a perfect partner in the ministry to which God has called me. There is one other partner in this process, who is still alive, but doesn’t grasp how much God has used him to make this degree a reality. That is my father. Not only has he supported our ministry regularly and generously, but through the prudent management of his financial resources, he built the A-frame cottage in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, where nearly all of the work for this D.Min. was accomplished. I will always have precious memories of taking my father with me to the cottage to sit out on the deck enjoying the sunshine while I plowed through the two thousand pages of reading required for a course. Finally, I am grateful to my God. Anyone who has been given as much as I have ought to be consumed everyday with an overpowering love for God. My cold heart is not. But even in this sin, he covers my shame with his blood, shed at the cross. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................ ii DEDICATION ................................................................................................................... iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...................................................................................................v TABLE OF CONTENTS .................................................................................................. vii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION: THE PROBLEM .........................................................10 Thesis Question ..........................................................................................................15 Definitions ..................................................................................................................15 Significance ................................................................................................................17 Goals ...........................................................................................................................19 Assumptions ...............................................................................................................20 Research Methodology ...............................................................................................21 Chapter Summary .......................................................................................................23 CHAPTER 2 THE KINGDOM OF GOD AS A PARADIGM FOR KINGDOM DISCIPLESHIP .................................................................................................................24 Introduction ................................................................................................................24 Discipleship Today............................................................................................24 Jesus’ Call to Kingdom Discipleship ................................................................25 Kingdom Discipleship in the Creation-Fall-Redemption Framework ..............26 Creation: Kingdom Discipleship Begins with Adam’s Original Calling ...................26 Genesis 1: Adam is Called to Exercise Dominion ............................................27 Genesis
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