I have never seen any gospel preaching church place anything above scripture. Mattera talks a good game but his entire theology seeks to undermine scripture. There are no scriptural mandates to support influencing culture, getting involved with the politics of man or conquering seven cultural mountains. None.
"6. In the kingdom, the presence of God is wherever the believer goes. In religion, the presence of God is at the altar of their church building. In the kingdom, the power and presence of God that heals, delivers and saves the oppressed were commonly manifested in the streets. God wants to unleash an army of believers who will turn the world upside down, but religion wants to keep believers closeted inside church buildings." -- Joseph Mattera
Ehhh not quite. First of all, it is true that evangelism has become a dying ministry within the greedy modern church but the notion that the bible seeks to release all believers to turn the world upside is ludicrous on its face. God wants believers in church so that they might learn to grow into the stature of the fullness of Christ. If you want to see Mattera's vision in practice, watch the "Holy Ghost" movies and be scared. Go talk to the dead raising team from Bethel. These are clueless people. Waterless rainclouds without the gospel. They are modern day version of the seven sons of Sceva -- all pomp but no relationship with Christ.
"7. In the kingdom, the fivefold minister equips the saints to do the work of the ministry. In religion, the fivefold minister does the job of the ministry. Traditional religious systems keep people dependent upon professional clergy to pray for the sick, counsel, preach and represent God to the world. In the kingdom, fivefold ministry gifts are focused not on doing the work of the ministry but on equipping the saints to do the work of the ministry (Eph. 4:11-12)." -- Joseph Mattera
Everyone does not have every gift. Despite Mattera's vision of an army of out of control ministers, the bible does not support such. Yes we can all pray. We represent God to the world within the construct of our lives. Not every believer should be preaching and counseling. Have you met some of the folks in church? Just hop on Facebook and see how whackadoodle some theologies are and then ask yourself if they should be preaching and counseling. Mattera is proof himself that not all who are currently preaching should be, let alone the entire sheepfold.
"8. In the kingdom, the ministry focus is Monday to Saturday. In religion, the ministry focus is Sunday. People participating in kingdom-focused churches cannot wait until Monday comes. Whereas those who are trapped in religious systems will only see purpose and meaning during church services." -- Joseph Mattera
Sigh. Realize that one of the fundamental misperceptions Mattera and dominionists have is the focus of the church. It sounds so pious to couch everything in terms of evangelistic zeal but zeal without doctrine is like a sword in the hand of a lunatic, as Calvin once said. Church is meant for the believer beloved. read the breakdown of church organization laid out by Paul. Read Acts Chapter Two. Woven into the false doctrine of dominionism is the false purpose driven teachings that change to focus from the saved to the lost. While we want the lost in church so that they might hear the gospel, the entirety of church is designed for the edification of the saints.
"9. In the kingdom, the church is sent to serve its community. In religion, the church strives to get the community into the church. Kingdom-focused churches equip believers to be the problem-solvers of society. They provide them with a biblical worldview to frame their service in every vocation that affects communities. In the kingdom, it is not about how many people attend church services; rather, it is about how many people in the church are sent out to transform their world!" -- Joseph Mattera
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