by Jim Somerville

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I was asked to speak to a group of lay leaders recently, and I began with those words: “It’s not about you.” I told them that when it comes to pastoral leadership, I try to remember that the word pastor means “shepherd,” and a shepherd’s job is to take good care of the sheep.

“So, if the sheep have nibbled the grass down to the roots where they are,” I said, “the shepherd begins to look around for another place where he can ‘make them lie down in green pastures, lead them beside still waters, and restore their souls.’”

When I came to Richmond’s First Baptist Church in 2008, it seemed to me that the green grass of conservative evangelical theology had been pretty well nibbled down. And it’s partly because it is about you. Conservative evangelical theology can be summed up by the idea that, “Jesus died on the cross to save you from your sins so that when you die you can go to heaven instead of hell.” Can you hear the personal pronouns? You. Your. You. You.“

Interesting that Rick Warren’s bestselling book, The Purpose-Driven Life, begins with the words: “It’s not about you.” Interesting because Rick Warren is a conservative evangelical theologian. He is the pastor of a California megachurch that was, until recently, Southern Baptist. But at some point he started reading the Gospels and not just the gospel tracts. He heard Jesus say that the most important thing in the world is to love God and love others. He heard Jesus say that he wanted us to make disciples and teach them to obey everything he had taught his own followers. He heard Jesus pray that God’s kingdom would come, and his will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.

Did you know that Jesus talks about the kingdom 120 times in the Gospels, more than he talks about anything else? Even a casual reading of Matthew, Mark, and Luke will lead to the conclusion that for him the kingdom was the most important thing of all. It’s not as obvious in the Gospel of John, but it’s still there. So, here’s the question: if God’s kingdom was the thing Jesus was obsessed with, why are we so obsessed with getting to heaven? Why aren’t we trying to bring heaven to earth?

At Richmond’s First Baptist Church, we are. Eighteen years of reminding people through my preaching, my teaching, my blog posts, my newsletter columns, and my hallway conversations that it’s not about them, that it’s about the kingdom, is having its desired effect.

Sometimes I see it. I see two people embrace in the hallway who might have never met each other outside the walls of this church—a woman from Malaysia and a woman from Mechanicsville—and I think, “That’s it! That’s what it looks like when heaven comes to earth.”

And I imagine how Jesus would say it: “The kingdom of heaven is like two strangers who become family…”

Rev. Dr. Jim Somerville is senior pastor of Richmond’s First Baptist Church. He recently announced his plans to retire on October 26, 2026.

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