21st Century Mission

Love Affairs

2012-01-27T04:02:00.000-08:00

How much can the first few chapters of Proverbs be considered to be about the Holy Spirit (i.e. equating 'wisdom' with the Spirit)? If they can, then should chapters 5 to 9 be read symbolically. In other words are they describing a life that seeks God and His Spirit against a life that goes off with foreign gods?

The warnings against adultery would then align with the illustrations used in the prophets, where Israel's attention to foreign gods is described as blatant adultery. That therefore makes sense. What is more interesting is then is the latter part of chapter 5 which uses quite sexually explicit language. Can this be (symbolically) referring to a life lived with God, the wife of Israel's youth?

If so then our life with and seeking after God can be described legitimately as a beautiful love affair; one that leads to blessing, to truth and right ways of living.

Religio-tainment?

2012-01-04T09:22:00.000-08:00

Before Christmas we decided to go to a carol service at a Cathedral not so far away. It was packed out. The choir was in good form, leading us in the familiar congregational carols as well as singing other special pieces for us. It was somewhat high brow for me, to be honest not really my thing, but I have to say done very well done all round.

Last summer we went to a regular Hillsong service in London which was also well attended. The music style was obviously different (and more to my taste), a very inefficient sermon (words to real content ratio) but with all the flashing lights and other razzmattaz I would say it was also very well done.

Yet during the Cathedral service I realised something that I believe connects the two. In their own respective ways is there not a big danger that they are both 'religio-tainment' - entertaining the crowds with the best that their styles can offer?

For one the style dates from two or three centuries back, the other represents the contemporary worship set full on. I'm sure back in its day the Cathedral style was the bees knees of worship for people who could get there to attend, currently Hillsong fits that bill for us.

The New Testament doesn't give us that much to go on in terms of format for a worship service, but 1 Corinthians 14 does suggest most or all bringing something they can contribute. That might sound like a recipe for chaos - well yes, hence the need for Paul to write that chapter to find some order! The point for me is that there was clearly interaction across and between members of the body. It clearly wasn't simply religio-tainment professionally led from the front.

Getting real with God: men, women and children

2012-01-01T01:00:00.000-08:00

The Israelites had high points and low points. There were also times when as a collective people they found themselves before God and up for critical self-evaluation. These were profound moments in their corporate life.

The last couple of chapters of Ezra is one of these occasions. Realising that God sees everything, their pretence of previous years is now stripped away and reality hits home. God had given them a high calling as a people which quite simply they had not lived up to. They could hide no longer - they now understood for themselves how much they were found to be lacking.

They could run away, try and explain it away, try and excuse their way out of it, or simply face up to it. In chapter 10 verse 1 they do the latter, gathering round Ezra and letting their emotions floood out. Not very British, but this wasn't a time to be British, it was a time to get real with God.

An extraordinary aspect of this episode is that they all took part: men, women and children. An all age gathering on a serious scale at a critical point in their life. The children were not hived off to 'age appropriate activities', but were part of the collective interaction between God and His people.

What kind of year will 2012 be for you? One where you try and just carry on, one where you continue to be on the run. A year of fresh explanations, or one where you find excuses. Or will it be a year where you come before God, good and bad, and let it all come out - to be real as you can possibly be with the One who grants you your existence.

Whoever you are, however you have succeeded or failed in the past, stop hiding, remove the veneer. Make it your aim to join others in getting real with God: men, women AND children.

The making of a King

2011-12-24T07:18:00.000-08:00

This year has seen the toppling (or passing away) of several national rulers. In a number of cases the ruler lived in opulence whilst the common people generally struggled to make a living.

Scripture is full of injunctions against this kind of thing, with a number of them in the book of Jeremiah. Chapter 22 verse 13 is clear enough: "Woe to him who builds his palace by unrighteousness, his upper rooms by injustice ...". But I think v15 says it most profoundly:

Does it make you a king to have more and more cedar?

On Christmas Day we celebrate the birth of a true King. Not a cedar panel in sight, nor any gold plated taps or grand marble halls. In fact no proper lodging at all, effectively ranked along with the animals just below 'peasant status' in the world's eyes. Yet it is a true King indeed, one whose reign will be characterised by righteousness and justice.

Life doesn't seem fair

2011-12-21T03:27:00.000-08:00

So the North Korean leader has passed away. Time will tell what line his son takes. Maybe at last things might improve for the citizens of this impoverished nation?

I often wonder why certain leaders seem to be allowed to survive for so long. Mugabe is now a very old man, and yet he still maintains a tight grip on power with prolonged negative consequences for the people. Why does God allow this?

Jeremiah effectively asks a similar question in chapter 12 - 'why does the way of the wicked prosper?' (v1). People go on doing wrong, and even believe God can't see them (v4). Its not right.

God seems elusive in His answer, but v5 tells Jeremiah that he has to be prepared to tough it out over the long haul and in the face of even bigger problems. In Jeremiah's day God was acting, but in ways that operated at levels hard for Jeremiah to comprehend (which v6 forwards allude to).

Life doesn't seem fair here on the ground, but God is on the move at 'macro-levels' beyond our understanding. The writings of Jeremiah is one example of this - it should inspire us believe that it is also true today as we watch world politics take its twists and turns.

We become what we worship

2011-12-12T12:35:00.000-08:00

I've often read Isaiah 6:9,10 '... they might see with their eyes, hear with their ears ...' and the gospel references to it (e.g. Mark 4) and thought "that's not fair! If they could see or hear, they might turn and be forgiven. Why not let them see or hear?".

Yet I have been missing a key principle. Psalm 135:15-18 talks of the people worshipping idols - idols cast from silver or gold. Motionless statutes. They may be well fashioned, carefully crafted eyes and clearly recognisable ears. But of course the object cannot hear, nor see - it is merely a human-made object. Why on earth would anyone worship a mere thing ... but that is exactly what the people do.

V18 then says 'those who make them will be like them, and so will all who trust in them'. And there is the rub - the simple fact is we become what we worship. If we worship blind & deaf statutes, we become blind & deaf ourselves. If we worship money, our lives will reflect this. If we worship stuck-in-the-mud tradition, then we will surely become stuck in the mud too.

Be careful what you make your god - you may end up being just like it. Unrecognisable compared with the true and living God, and unable to recognise the true and living God.

Turn that light on

2011-12-08T07:25:00.001-08:00

Bible passages un-ashamedly use the theme of light and darkness in various places. One of the classic Christmas readings, John 1, talks of Jesus bringing life which is the 'light of all people', and a 'true light that gives light to everything'. Many cultures, and indeed other religions, similarly use the concept of light.

For Christians the whole light business continues beyond its focal point of Jesus. For example in Ephesians 5 the believers are told they are 'light in the world'. In other words they are not just to look to the light, but to be light themselves. Their life, their actions, are tightly linked to the real deal, Jesus himself.

Now in this regard most of us may feel no better than a second rate low energy light bulb, but this Ephesians passage tells us that God's plan for continuing to illuminate the world involves us as light bearers. Check out v13: 'everything that is illuminated becomes a light'.

How we live is vitally important (hence v9-11 and v15f) since how we live equates to our 'luminance', so to speak. The great words of John 1 continue to be a reality in the contemporary world through current day believers ability to shine.

So Christians - turn that light on!

Timing is Everything

2011-12-01T05:41:00.001-08:00

I often think that the most frustrating thing for the Son of God to be limited in a human body must be the fact that he now had to follow the passage of time just like the rest of us. Compared with being outside time, the Alpha & Omega, this must have seriously cramped his style!

Yet Jesus apparently embraced the limitation. In Jn 7 his brothers urge him to seize the moment and get on up to Jerusalem (and presumably get the whole Messiah thing really rocking). Yet Jesus was content with waiting: 'My time has not yet come ...', he replies (v6).

He is quite right in what he says next. For us 'any time will do' - impatient, not content with waiting, want it all now, on tap, instantaneous. We who have known and only known time all along can't seem to cope with it. Jesus, coming into this limited sphere, seems quite content with it.

Furthermore this is the pinnacle of the mission of God we are talking about here - the whole creation groaning and waiting for the precious redemption to be made possible by Jesus. And yet Jesus is quietly waiting: it isn't time just yet. We want the immediate outcome, but for Him it is a matter of timing.

Prayer Making Way for Trust

2011-11-17T00:48:00.001-08:00

Psalm 52:8 says 'I will trust in God's unfailing love for ever'. We want to be trusting God, we want our trust to endure, we want it to survive thick & thin.

Yet I wonder how often we forget that to actually put trust into practice can mean stepping back, chilling, letting God take over. The story of Peter's miraculous escape from prison in Acts 12 is a great story and brings much encouragement. But it also illustrates (in a somewhat humorous way) how we need to pray earnestly, and then step back to let God be God and do His thing.

The church are full of desire, energy, and demonstrate great zeal as they pursue their prayer meeting into the night - undoubtedly seeking God with all their might for Peter's safekeeping. Look how in their zeal they fail to recognise how God has acted (v15)!

Nothing wrong with their earnest prayers, nothing wrong with their zeal, after all did not Jesus teach that we should pray and pray and not give up (Luke 18)? But at some point these prayers must make way for trust - resting in God and leaving it to Him. At that point there is little more we can do, God must take over. We must quietly await.

Glimpse the Big Picture

2011-11-10T08:08:00.000-08:00

Every now and again you need a fresh glimpse at the Big Picture, a lofty sense of what God will achieve in the fullness of His time. Most of our days we have to deal with the stuff of life, and it is not always pretty. There are setbacks, frustrations, tiredness - enough to make you wonder if there was ever a way through.

Yet a passage like Isaiah 51, especially v1-8, is one of those 'look up' passages. God is on the move, he is dependable, he is trustworthy. Just as he worked with the forefathers, God is working still in ways that can transform even the darkest of situations.

Such activity is not just limited to a small locality, but has ever widening scope (v4 and 5). Yet don't just expect things at ground level, look up! V6 says things are happening above and beyond what we can normally expect to see.

Lets face it, our planet is subject to decay, things wear out. But God's saving work has no sell-by date, no point beyond which it is of no use. Allow eternity to factor into your thinking.

Yes I'm afraid there are times when things do look pretty dire - but in each generation God is in the salvation business. That we can be sure of. Allow yourselves a fresh glimpse of the Big Picture.

Celebrate Your Local Food

2011-10-16T07:11:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was a good day in the centre of Ely, since it was 'Ely Apple Day'. With people coming together on the cathedral lawn, all kinds of apple produce available, and fun & games as well, it was a good time.

With so much food transported across the country and across the world, we have forgotten our dependence on God's provision that once upon a time used to be virtually all locally based. Our assumption in the West is that food supply is ubiquitous and continuous.

Of course live in other countries, like the Sudan right now, and you will have a completely different view. We do our global neighbours a complete dis-service if we go on behaving as if there was no problem with food distribution.

Today is

Blog Action Day, with the topic of food. As we talk about food, we would do well to remember where it comes from, celebrate the food we can produce locally, and remember that distribution is not always uniform across our diverse planet.

Live Well with Less

2011-10-11T02:17:00.000-07:00

Sainsbury's new marketing slogan is 'Live well for less', hoping to help us shop wisely and make economies and yet still be able to enjoy some of the finer things in life.

Its a good sentiment - we should be able to make savings and live on a tighter budget, and yet still have some good things at least from time to time. Yet ultimately they would still want us to go on consuming at an ever increasing rate.

Isaiah 58 talks about true fasting, with the heart of the issue being how we treat other people. If we temporarily deny ourselves and yet don't do anything about injustices that rage across the world, we are not really fasting at all and thus should not be surprised if God does not hear us.

Maybe a better slogan for us to adopt is 'Live well with less'. For a start we cannot expect everyone to come up to the current Western standard of living - the world simply does not have the resources. So for there to be global justice we must learn to live with less. Indeed in some areas we need to go without, in other words a kind of fast, especially when our patterns of consumption may hold others in poverty.

In fact the slogan may then even be better reversed. By us choosing a lifestyle 'with less' may in fact enable others to 'live well' perhaps for the first time.

God doesn't need to play catch up

2011-10-07T02:09:00.000-07:00

Typically we decide on an initiative for witness, something we as a church will do for God, and then mobilise in two directions: one is the resources/organisation to make it happen, and the second is in prayer. If we are not careful we are implicitly saying to God "Here's our plan, will you please bless it ...". Through our prayers we spell out to God our plans, and look to Him to resource it, make it work, even magnify it beyond our original estimates.

All this operates in a mode where we kind of expect God to 'catch up' with our idea. Yet the reality is that God is probably miles ahead of us. It's us who need to play 'catch up'.

In Acts 10 Peter finds himself going to evangelise in the home of a Gentile - something that 24hrs earlier he wouldn't have considered an option. He didn't suddenly think "lets increase our witness, and start finding some Gentiles who will hear us". No! The Spirit had to shake him out of his siesta! It was the Spirit's action that opened the whole ministry to the Gentiles.

Lets get real. God doesn't need to play catch up with our plans; we need to catch up with where the Spirit is leading us, often out into areas which previously were simply not on our map.

Faithful Science

2011-10-06T05:28:00.000-07:00

At a recent seminar looking at thequestion of faith & science, three questions were posed:

Does evolution pose an unassailable problem against scripture?
Is evolution all clear-cut?
Does evolution negate God?

The answers to these is surely 'No! No! No!'.Christians need notfear evolution as a theory - partly because it is just a theoryrather than any proven (or provable) explanation.

Scripture tells usthat God created, evolution suggests a mechanism within thatcreation. If you are prepared to allow for God to work throughphysical/natural mechanisms (as indeed He surely does every day),then theoretically He can work through evolution.It is always good totake stock from time to time.

Evolution still leaves questionsunanswered, still has big holes in its portfolio of supportingevidence, and has not been demonstrated in a laboratory (for thespecies 'jumps' the theory proposes). So although many biologistsaccept the theory as 'the best explanation', it currently only standsas 'the best explanation' and nothing more.

Finally it only reallyspeaks into just one subset of the overall cosmic riddle, leaving thebig question of how 'biotic life' got started in the first place.Some would say that the kick-start to such life was a huge 'grant ofluck' - hardly an argument that negates God. So evolution can remainas a theory, and maybe even improved upon or amass better supportingevidence, but rest assured the eternal God won't be going away anytime soon (or ever for that matter)!

Geo-political God

2011-09-30T08:37:00.000-07:00

If you take the Old Testament seriously you have to accept that there are times when God is actively geo-political. Isaiah 21 verses 1 to 10 is just one of several examples. Through various events a great and proud nation (in this case Babylon) will fall. To those depending on Babylon for help, this is bad news. To those oppressed by her, it is the opposite!

Just like the vision Daniel saw, the prospect is fearful and troublesome - a 'dire vision'. A great and prosperous nation, with people happily eating and drinking, will be brought low. The seemingly unshakeable will be dusted down to its very foundations.

What troubles me is that I sense alot of pride in western leaders these days. They are now at least saying that economically we are all in big trouble ... but they still insist their next bailout plan will save the day. When America's credit rating was downgraded Obama had the audacity to say that his country would always have a AAA rating. Well I hope he is right, but how can he make such a golden prediction?

Could it be that our great and prosperous nations are now in line for some shaking down? That would indeed by quite troublesome, that most would perceive as a 'dire vision'.

Time Warp

2011-09-27T07:24:00.000-07:00

Our understanding of time is typically very warped. Every moment kept in lock step with everyone else and accounted for - tick, tick, tick.

On the face of it today was a waste of time. Drove for an hour to gather with other ministers to pray, couldn't find where we were supposed to meet and so arrived eventually over half an hour late. When we got there we found the meeting had been cancelled anyway - a wasted trip.

So my wife and I stopped for a coffee and then went to a nearby public gardens that the kind church receptionist pointed us towards. There we found our 'wasted time' was a gift - a chance to catch up on things we hadn't previously had time to say, to pray together, and chill.

Having been there half an hour some bloke came over and randomly started to speak to us. The conversation was a bit chaotic, but very soon him and his mate discovered we were Christians and started confessing that they had made a mess of their lives to date. With both now fighting alcohol addiction they were struggling to make sense of life and welcomed the prospect of us praying for them.

Pray we did, with one of the guys now moved to tears. We shared some more about God's love and the prospect of forgiveness and getting things back in order. After giving them a few tips, and pointing them towards the church we had visited the conversation came to an end. They were much encouraged, and so were we.

Curiously last Sunday I had challenged the congregation to 'make space' and allow for potential God-appointed moments. Our 'wasted trip' turned out to be precisely one of those times.

Encounters with Purpose

2011-09-23T01:40:00.000-07:00

The stories recorded in Acts are a good place to look for examples of God encountering different people in a variety of ways. For starters there are the blinding lights that threw Saul to the ground (Acts 9), and elsewhere there is the conversation between two travellers journeying on a desert road (Acts 8). Through this term we will look at a number of these stories to see different aspects of God meeting with people.

Yet note that even in these two stories we already see that the encounter with God does more than just affect the individual at the time. These encounters are both life changing and life forming experiences. The persons are never the same again, and things take a new turn as a result of the encounter.

In short, God meets with people for a purpose. With Saul we of course know that he was turned from persecutor to apostle. With Philip and the Ethiopian the wider significance is perhaps less obvious, but no less real. The Ethiopian was brought fully into God's salvation family, and Philip is affirmed as an evangelist travelling in his own right. It is a fair assumption that both went on to spread the good news still further.

As such these encounter-stories move on the bigger story of God's saving purposes for the whole world. I pray that we all have encounters with God, where God meets with us in a tangible and special way. But I pray that they are encounters with a purpose, and not just an experience in and of themselves. God is more than a cuddly teddy bear: He has plans for the world and meets with us (with tenderness and care) to bring us on board with His greater purpose.

Compelled by Love

2011-09-20T12:09:00.000-07:00

A book I can massively recommend is 'Compelled by Love' by Heidi Baker of the remarkable Irsis Ministries. Her message is simple - lose everything in love for Jesus, and pour out that same love to others.

Possessions, status, recognition all count for nothing in her book, all that counts is the possibility of loving God and neighbour. The stories of God at work in remarkable ways pour off the pages, but with no fanfare - simply a desire to see Jesus and see others meet him.

I love the story of the trainee pastor who failed the Bible school they organise: she was sent out anyway to minister in His Name. Not long afterwards she saw people raised from the dead in the villages where she worked. Now I knew I should have failed my own college training ...

Work with what you've got

2011-09-15T01:46:00.000-07:00

So you are all fired up and ready to get radical with the gospel message. What do you do?

Well you could start by doing what Jesus did, and working with the existing structures. Luke 4 verse 15f has Jesus teaching in the synagogues, making the most of what people are already used to. His message and application of scripture are outside normal expectations, but he brings them through the regular meeting.

Again in 5:12-14 with the healing of the leper, Jesus orders the man to do the appropriate thing and show himself to the priest, offering the prescribed sacrifices. Jesus could have so easily skipped that part and sent the man merrily on his way, yet he seems to have a respect for the existing order.

All this is consistent with God's incarnational approach: God works within the created order to reveal Himself and His ways. God steps into our world (in the form of Jesus), and Jesus works within our structures and systems to achieve His purposes. In short He chooses to work with what he's got.

So when you are ready to get radical and be out there, which is all good, consider how you might first start by working with what you've got, rather than assuming you have to start everything up from zilch.

Bad things happen

2011-09-02T04:25:00.000-07:00

So why do bad things happen to good people? An age old question, which some people unfortunately can never get past.

Check out psalm 41. It says those who look out for the weak are blessed, they get the Lord's protection and preservation. And so they should - they are good people.

Yet could it be that these very same people, the blessed ones, the good ones who look out for the needs of those less fortunate than themselves, get sick (v3)? Is the 'them' here the ones looking after the poor, or the actual poor?

If the former (the carers), then how can that be? Since they are so blessed, why doesn't God ensure they are always in good health?

In v4 we have one crying for mercy, for healing. We don't know what the sickness was, but v8 describes it as 'vile' and presumably life-threatening. Not good!

I have often read stories of previous pioneer missionaries and how so often they got terribly sick (in some cases even dying of their ailments) and pondered this point - not realising the psalmist had beaten me to it.

Clearly being on God's side and taking part in His mission doesn't immunise us from whats up in the world, sicknesses included. We are not talking a ticket to an easy life here, but one that can endure the full scoop of suffering in all its forms. It need not be a sign of God's displeasure (v11), in fact in some cases it may get so bad that it is only the integrity of your relationship with God that you have left (v12-13).

Overcome evil with good

2011-08-09T09:34:00.000-07:00

Amongst the gloom and doom of the spread of riots, I love these reports epitomised by this hastily put up website.

Evil can triumph by the perpetrators of it pushing ahead with their behaviour, but also by the good standing by and doing nothing. These reports however show the good subverting the bad, using the same technology (twitter, facebook etc.) to organise at the grassroots level, to get out there and make a positive difference.

Christians or otherwise, these people are putting into practice Rom 12:21 - overcome evil with good.

Politicians, commentators and the general public will doubtless look to the institutions for answers, but deep down we all have a choice to make. Do we assume it is someone else's problem, or are we aware of our own personal calling to subvert darkness with light, to overcome evil with good.

The Way of Love

2011-08-08T02:17:00.000-07:00

If you have attended a wedding this summer, chances are you have heard 1 Corinthians 13. Yet look back just one verse and change the punctuation and the real context of the passage is not romantic love between a couple at all:

Now eagerly desire the greater gifts and yet I will show you the most excellent way. If I speak ...

I'm not against those classic wedding sermons, but lets not forget the real point of Paul here is how we use the Spirit given gifts - how we operate in service to each other and the world. We can serve in all kinds of whacky and wonderful ways, but without love they are of little use.

The most excellent way is gifts-with-love, not gifts-lacking-in-love. So use of gifts cannot be about yielding power or bringing to bear. Instead they are to come with patience and kindness, with no place for envy/boasting/pride/dis-honouring/self-seeking or being easily angered.

Such a way of love will persist into eternity. The gifts right now are valid, they have their time and place, but the under-current of love will go on and on as with the eternal nature of God.

Keep Your Eschatological Perspective

2011-07-31T11:37:00.000-07:00

A common theme in both of Pete's letters is his 'eschatological perspective', i.e. his understanding of what is going on now in relation to the 'end times', when God brings everything to its proper conclusion. Phrases like 'ready to be revealed in the last time' (1 Peter 1:5) is just one of many examples of what I mean.

With such a perspective Peter calls on the members of the churches to be holy, to live godly lives, to endure sufferings, and to be prepared to talk about their hope. Peter is clear that we have a responsibility in the 'now', and that we should take that responsibility seriously because it prepares both us and the world for the eventual conclusion of all things.

2 Peter 3:3 onwards tells us that we need to keep a certain mindset, a frame of reference, in how we understand these things. Simply focussing on the 'now' together with recent history is not sufficient - it is a blinkered view. Rather we need to keep in mind the bigger picture of God's purposes - that we are working towards a proper conclusion intended by God.

Such a big picture mindset is both firmly grounded in the reality of today (not just pie in the sky thinking), but is also eagerly looking forward and awaiting the greater reality of God's purposes. Its a perspective we need to constantly keep in mind.

Mark the beginning

2011-07-27T02:25:00.000-07:00

If you stick with the earliest manuscripts for Mark's gospel then the end is very abrupt - chapter 16 verse 8 leaves us with trembling and afraid women too scared to talk to anyone. Even with Mark's fast paced style, this hardly seems a fitting ending to the so-called 'greatest story every told'.

Incomplete though it may be, there is something appropriate about it. Mark started back in chapter one verse one with the phrase 'The beginning of the good news of Jesus the Messiah'. Now in chapter 16, Jesus has been born, has lived, died and risen again. The instructions in verse 7 are to gather the followers in Galilee, i.e. reconvene where we had left off, a place of mission and God's saving activity (just as in chapter one and onwards).

In other words 'the mission continues ...', and thus so will the good news that started in 1:1. To put in a nicely rounded ending to the book might actually miss this crucial point!

And what of the bewildered women? Well the death and resurrection massively shifted things up a gear in the scheme of God's purposes. Thats alot for anyone to take on board, and could rightly leave even the best of us speechless. The assumption is, however, that going forward we will not remain silent but instead play our part in the continuing mission, adding new chapters to the story that Mark began to document.

Where did all the blokes go?

2011-07-20T02:21:00.000-07:00

Have you ever noticed how the men seem to disappear into the background through the crucifixion and resurrection in Mark's account? If you stick with the earliest manuscripts (and thus omit 16:9-20) the apostles are not on the scene at all. Joseph of Arimathea comes into the frame with a bold move, but apart from that it is now the women who make all the running.

They are there at the cross, seeing things through to the bitter end. They watch to see where the body is laid to rest. Furthermore they then return to ensure a fitting burial (with all the trimmings) after the pre-Sabbath rush-job. Even with practical details yet to be sorted (a stone to be rolled out the way), they set out anyway.

Where were all the men?

Even allowing the longer ending, the men exhibit unbelief on two occasions and have to be rebuked for it.

At such a crucial phase of the overall mission, it seems to be the women Christ-followers who stayed with the action. It seems to me that in fact they were the ones who were leading the way.

Satisfying the Crowd

2011-07-15T01:29:00.000-07:00

Pilate released Barabbas and handed Jesus over to be crucified in order to 'satisfy the crowd' (Mark 15:15). The mob ruled, a great injustice was done, Pilate proved to be spineless.

The unfolding of the newspaper scandal over the past few days (weeks, years ...) has brought about a sense of public revulsion. Dodgy/illegal practices have been exposed, and as each new revelation comes to light the problem is understood to have run very deep.

Yet I would imagine that at the time many of the journalists and possibly executive staff who were involved believed that they were simply satisfying the crowd. The News of the World was clearly successful, outstripping its rivals by far, largely because of its history of scoops and exposures. The public had an appetite for this kind of stuff.

That does not excuse their practices though. They went beyond what was right and cultivated a murky world. Rather than showing moral leadership for the country, they became corrupt in themselves.

Being in any position of influence, leadership or authority requires good character, being beyond reproach. We see that in expectations of leaders in the Old Testament, as well as the stated requirements for leaders in the New. It requires people in those positions to 'do the right thing' and not simply to 'satisfy the crowd'.

Say it Like it Is

2011-07-10T12:28:00.000-07:00

Sometimes you may wonder why you didn't keep your big mouth shut. And yet other times you are absolutely right to say it how it is.

Jesus before the Sanhedrin (Mark 14:53-65) seems to stay pretty quiet while a string of half-baked accusations are played out. The various statements and testimonies did not agree, so the trial was going nowhere. All Jesus had to do was remain quiet.

Yet in v62 he chooses to answer. Not just with an 'I am' (which in reality probably did not amount to that much since most likely various people had claimed to be the messiah over the years) but with an appropriation of the prophecy of Daniel 7 (see verse 13-14).

Man oh man. Why did he have to say that? Why didn't he just keep quiet a bit more? Associating with Daniel 7 equated him with God-like status that went beyond being another messiah-pretender. Torn robes and condemnation were the sure result. Jesus just certified himself as one worthy only of crucifixion.

And yet in v66f Peter in effect also keeps quiet. He doesn't say it how it is.

One man pursues his calling and purpose. Another is left in tears.

Possibilities

2011-07-07T03:09:00.000-07:00

For most of us, life presents us with plenty of choice and all kinds of possibilities. Choice, choice, choice. Just go to the supermarket to buy some loo roll - and see how much choice you have! Will you go for the soft option?

Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane also had choice and saw alternative possibilities. In Mark 14:36 he says 'Father everything is possible for you ...'. Everything is possible, indeed with faith as small as a mustard seed things can be sooooo different.

Yet Jesus also understood that in God's purposes there is 'a way', in this case one particular way. To have faith in God was not to stand back at a vast array of inviting options and say 'I'll take that one please ...', but rather to deliberately go the one way, which in this case was nothing like the soft option.

Is that 'big' faith or a particular kind or quality of faith? A faith in God and His ways; His ways that choose a path through all the myriad possibilities that leads truly to a better future.

Clear out the dead wood

2011-07-03T07:15:00.000-07:00

An aspect of Jesus' ministry that we seem reluctant to apply to our own setting is how Jesus seemed intent in identifying and clearing out the dead wood. Like many I am bemused by the fig tree business (e.g. Mark 11:12-14, 20-21), but I am increasingly convinced that it is symbolic of the unfruitfulness of the Jewish people in general.

The clearing of the temple courts, and the parable of the tenants in Mark 12 support this, pointing even to damning judgement on the whole system (Mark 13).

The problem is, of course, that it is easy to point the finger back 2000 years and say 'well they got it wrong' and yet assume that no such parallel might exist today. Can our own unfruitfulness be totally excused?

Paul seems to have understood this in some way. In 1 Corinthians 9:23 he sums up his work for the sake of the gospel so that 'I may share in its blessings'. In other words Paul appears to entertain the possibility that he might somehow miss out. It strikes me that if Paul of all people figured that he might miss out, then how much more the rest of us?

A Request Too Far

2011-06-27T01:39:00.000-07:00

Jesus: Lord of all, King of Kings. Yet he cannot grant the request of the sons of Zebedee (Mark 10:35 - 45). Their request, it seems, is a request too far.

Compare v35 with 11:24. Just a chapter apart, using the same words 'whatever (you/we) ask', and yet entirely opposite ends of the spectrum. Its not even as if James and John were going to skimp on their commitment - v39 indicates they are to go the same way as Jesus, a scary way that he has just spelt out for a third time (v32-33). Yet the 'whatever' in this case cannot be promised.

The difference is surely the object of faith and the intended purposes. The incident in chapter 11 is a call to put one's faith in God and what He is doing. If you line up with that, anything is possible - from withering fig trees to dramatically changing circumstances.

The contrary is one's own purposes which all too quickly boil down to self-glorification (10:37). I guess that now seems obvious. The worrying thing, though, is that these contrasting verses indicate that the dividing line between the two can sometimes be incredibly thin.

Us and not Them

2011-06-22T09:02:00.000-07:00

Any group naturally forms a sense of identity. We all do it. Especially in our churches. Of course the way we do it is right, and the way of others not so right. After all, there are good reasons why we have our church and they have theirs...

Funnily enough this 'us and not them' attitude was even around in Jesus' day, before any churches had actually started, or a single basis of faith had been presented for signature!

Look at Mark 9:38 with the telling words 'he was not one of us'. Not a member of our group, so cannot possibly be following right teaching, believing the right things, entering by the narrow gate ... or is that 'our' narrow gate?

Jesus demonstrates a more generous approach. Of course not everyone who calls him 'Lord' will enter (see Matthew 7), as graphically illustrated in Acts 19, so a considered generous approach seems to be necessary. Yet with our tendency to build hard boundaries we would do well to remind ourselves of this episode in Mark from time to time.

Stock up on Affirmation

2011-06-20T12:22:00.000-07:00

In my last post we looked at how Jesus' way was the way of the cross, and being a disciple for sure means following on the same kind of course. That's not easy, and Jesus didn't try and dress it up to make it look more appealing.

Yet God doesn't leave us without resources for such a difficult journey. The very next episode is the transfiguration (Mark 9:2-13). This extraordinary event goes beyond what is normal, and note how within it are the affirming words of v7. Apart from anything else, it seems that at this point Jesus was stocked up with affirmation from his heavenly Father, affirmation that he was indeed on the right track.

When we have to face a difficult episode God doesn't leave us stranded on our own, but drops things in that enables us to keep going through the circumstances. It might be a 'mountaintop' experience, or it might be words spoken to us even through another person, but somehow God will get through that He is with us. Such a supernatural lift might be just what we need to continue on the hard course and not deviate onto the easier options.

Choose Your Messiah Carefully

2011-06-15T07:53:00.000-07:00

Mark 8 records another one of those 'switch' points in the story, this time where Peter declares Jesus as the Messiah (v29). Things had been going well: the tally of miracles and healings nicely accumulating, and the Pharisees put in their place on more than a few occasions. Next stop surely the Romans in Jerusalem!

Yet the real 'switch' is v31, where Jesus starts teaching about what must actually happen. It doesn't sound very Messiah-like, and soon Peter wants to get this negative talk straightened out. Today we really cannot appreciate how strange Jesus' words must have sounded to people who were so totally up for a leader who would ride on in triumph. The talk of rejection and being killed was probably so odd that they didn't even hear the words about rising again.

The trouble is Jesus doesn't stop there. For this Messiah is looking for followers who will be up for a similar pattern of life-laying-down. Within a few sentences discipleship suddenly just got a whole lot harder.

We all have our own pre-conceived ideas of what our saviour-hero should be like, or indeed what they should do for us. What does your 'Messiah' look like?

Yet Jesus calls us to choose between these pre-conceptions and a way which involves not getting everything your own way. And how we choose now can have ramifications for the future (v38).

So weigh it all up, and choose your Messiah very carefully.

Ministry Cycle

2011-06-11T02:21:00.000-07:00

I sometimes wonder if we get the pattern of ministry all wrong. We often make alot of effort to make ministry available (in whatever form) 'all the time' (be it every day, every week for 52 weeks of the year etc.). We do well at mustering resources to support this, building appropriate infrastructure, support etc. to enable it all to happen.

From a couple of episodes in Mark 6, one could argue for a different approach. In v6-13 they are sent out with minimal resources. They are going to have to rely on whatever God turns up for them. Success was not guaranteed (v11).

And then in v30-32, on their return, Jesus takes them on a retreat. Time to refresh in His presence.

Quite different to the 'resource for continuous ministry' model.

Okay, so the needs are always there and can tend to cram in on us (v33f), but still the time alone was sought out (v45 - 46).

Maybe we would be better to try and identify cycles: stepping out in faith, going with what He gives, and then returning for deliberate periods of refreshment in His presence.

Human Factors vs God Factors

2011-06-08T03:16:00.000-07:00

Mark 6:1 - 6 records a sad occasion. The people in Jesus' home town proved to be full of unbelief and ministry opportunities turn out to be threadbare.

The problem is that the people looked at all the human factors. After all they knew Jesus as one of their own, and could name his parents and siblings. Surely he was no one special, he was one of them. Why should he be any different?

They saw Jesus the man. Just a man.

With their eyes, concentrating on all the human factors ('this is what we know ...'), they weren't able to see the God factors that were right in front of them.

Sometimes, whilst remaining wise and prudent, we have to let down our guard that is built out of human factors in order to see what God is doing before us.

If we don't, we risk our whole perception becoming rigged against what God is actually doing. In such a scenario we will find ministry is threadbare, we contribute to the loneliness of those God is ministering through, and we should not be surprised if they move on.

What was he thinking?

2011-06-06T06:14:00.000-07:00

Jesus used parables. We all know that. Some are deep, some are fun, some are great for making into sketches etc.

But don't they make things harder to understand? Why not spell things out direct, crystal clear, line by line. Surely that would make more sense, avoid room for mis-understanding, get straight to the point.

Note in Mark's gospel how it kind of seems like he actually 'switched ' into using parables (round about 3:20f). Perhaps this was a response to his authority (in driving out demons) being directly challenged. For at this point onwards he seems to want to separate people into the hearers and non-hearers, an effect achieved by using parables.

Yet here is something even more curious, especially for us as we work out how to do mission. Mark tells us that Jesus explained stuff later to his close followers (4:10, 33-34), and yet Mark himself only records a couple of these explanations. Why doesn't Mark give us the detailed handbook to spell things out clearly?

It strikes me Mark was writing with mission purpose, telling people about Jesus and his work through the book. Does the book generally keep to the original parables to have the same separating effect?

Maybe there are times when working with people we need to use the parables, and through them discover who is really interested and who is only there for the beer.

On the Move

2011-06-03T01:05:00.000-07:00

If you want to look at Jesus you have to be prepared to take a journey. Jesus simply can't be treated as an interesting museum piece, static, frozen in time for all to view at their leisure.

No, Jesus was on the move. Mark's Gospel soon has Jesus moving on to somewhere else, apparently often leaving crowds, fans and supporters behind. In the first three chapters alone just look how many times moving on/out/up/back figures in the story.

Yet this dynamic nature extended to those he interacted with too. He was moving, and he wouldn't allow others to remain static either. He calls to follow, he sends the cleansed-leper on his way, he commands the paralysed to walk, he gets Levi to round up his (dubious) mates and so on.

To encounter Jesus requires and inevitably leads to movement. Karl Barth wrote that theology must follow the living God. Yes if we are to understand God, we are going to have to be on the move.

The Lonely Walk of Ministry

2011-06-01T00:32:00.000-07:00

Mark's gospel accumulates momentum incredibly rapidly. By v15 Jesus has already been baptised by John, led into the wilderness, and is ready to declare "The time has come".

With power encounters in v21f there has hardly been time to get followers on board and already news about him is spreading, crowds are gathering.

Jesus' itinerary seems rapid-fire too. v38 has him moving on leaving an apparent revival behind, which leads to yet more driving out demons and healing. With all this 'good stuff' going on, it seems hard to imagine how ministry could get any better.

Yet by v45, i.e. before we have even made it to chapter 2, Jesus is forced to hang out in lonely places. For Jesus, popularity does not necessarily equate to staying on the correct course, and so he is forced out to the margins.

The walk of ministry, even with so much blessing and goodness happening amongst so many people, can turn out to be a lonely road to take.

When Power & Status Doesn't Cut It

2011-05-26T03:01:00.000-07:00

I couldn't help chuckling earlier this week when the President of the United States, arguably the most powerful man in the world, found himself grounded. Driving in an elite bullet proof, bomb proof, chemical attack proof car with the national flags flying, his journey was brought to an abrupt halt by a humble ridge on a drive-way.

Now a lady called Deborah together with a man ironically called Barak (!!) had a song of praise to God that is recorded in Judges chapter 5. The song opens by musing on 'princes' as well as kings and rulers, i.e. people of status and presumably some degree of power.

Yet look at the detail. In verses 2, 7, 9, 10 it comes across that the real heroes were actually ordinary people. People who stepped up to get on board with God's actions. The reality was that they were led by a woman (v7, probably quite an odd phenomenon back in those days). In fact v8 and v10 almost seem to mock those of status and power, with God instead achieving his purposes through mere villagers.

So Deborah and Barak can praise God that the real princes were in fact willing volunteers (v9), not those who had the fancy means of transport (v10).

What is Truth

2011-05-24T02:48:00.000-07:00

So last time I talked about people's tendency to believe. Discussing this with a friend who claims to be an atheist, my friend said that while we might have a tendency to believe (in God), it would be better to only trust in what we can indisputably prove to be true.

An interesting point, I thought, and worthy of further discussion. The problem with such this position is, however, that in reality we all make decisions that are based on more than 'just what we can prove' all the time. A big example is getting married, of course. Do we do scientific tests on our partner to prove they are (and will remain lifelong) compatible before the wedding day? Well my wife had a scorecard for me (!), but it was hardly scientific.

No, our epistemology (what we accept as truth) is actually a somewhat fuzzy and variable thing, even for quite ardent rationalists. We all make decisions based on a range of factors, many of which we can't possibly know all the outcomes of. Was that breakfast cereal good for me this morning, or is it in fact increasing my risk of cancer?

So in witnessing to people who want to try and run only on the 'rational' tram-tracks, it makes sense to not request that they check their brains at the door of the Gospel Hall, but to work with them to use their brains to understand the broader spectrum within which their understanding of truth in fact works.

Who knows? Maybe they may then discover their understanding has room for God after all.

Belief in Human Nature

2011-05-22T04:55:00.000-07:00

This article summarises a comprehensive study around the world concerning our tendency to believe in the divine and/or supernatural. It concludes that humans are naturally predisposed to believe in some kind of God.

To myself and many other Christians this of course will not be a surprise.
"God has made us that way", we would say. Yet I think it would be a mistake to point to a study like this and suggest such evidence proves there is a God. The two are not necessarily the same, so lets not claim they are.

What it does do is give evidence from large scale research (presumably conducted on a secular basis, using rational methods) that coheres with the Christian worldview. In other words, it adds up.

An atheist would hold quite a different worldview, and would have to come up with other explanations of the human tendency to believe shown by this study. Of course such explanations are likely to be speculative at best, taking them beyond the 'rational position' that they like to claim underpins their atheism.

And so the atheist is no better off or no more clever than the Christian, having in the end to adopt and hold a position 'by faith'.

Conversely whilst a Christian has to live 'by faith' each day, there is a coherent logic to their position.

Righteousness and Law

2011-05-18T07:45:00.000-07:00

People often talk of God's standards and 'doing what is right' in terms of immutable laws, i.e. things God has decreed or ordained since the dawn of time that we are all supposed to live by.

Curiously though, the understanding of OT Law to be told to Hebrew children doesn't quite match this. Deuteronomy 6:20 - 25 spells out that the law is more about maintaining the people's identity as God's saved & covenant people, the people He rescued out of Egyptian slavery.

The law of Moses in these terms therefore would seem to be a boundary marker for who they are as a people - keep within the Law and you will be able to go on prospering as a covenant people. Their sense of righteousness is therefore 'conferred' on them by staying within these bounds: v25 says 'keep the law and God will continue to see us as His righteous people'.

Now I do believe in immutable laws myself - I think there are certain aspects of how God has created us in the universe that requires certain behaviour, both to avoid it all going horribly wrong, and to live up to the expectations and plans God has for us. Yet seeing a 1:1 mapping between these and OT laws may well be a mistake.

Which of course is what Paul effectively spells out in Romans. The OT law, he writes, was not 'bad' as such, but as an identity marker it shrinks into insignificance when compared with the righteousness that can be conferred on anyone by faith in Christ.

And so it is that the records we have of Paul & Co witnessing to the non-Jewish people show them not pointing to chapter & verse of OT law, but focussing on what is possible in Jesus Christ.

Just Say the Word

2011-05-16T07:37:00.000-07:00

Deuteronomy 8:3 talks of learning to depend on God, looking for His every word just as physically we need daily food. We need God's word to direct us, to challenge us, as well as to nourish us.

What is interesting is that it might only take just one single word.

In Matthew 14:22f Jesus sends the disciples off in a boat, to join them later. That leads to the extraordinary episode where Jesus is walking on water. Peter seems to have some inspiration and faith that he too can defy the normal physical laws of gravity. He says, 'Lord, if it is you, tell me to come to you on the water'.

And Jesus just says one single word: "Come".

With that Peter is able to get out of the boat and do an incredible thing. It was a single word, for Peter, for that moment.

The Word of God is an extraordinary thing. It only takes one single word, but with a word directed at someone in the appropriate place at the appointed time, the normal physical laws, what we would expect to happen in the circumstances, become suspended.

Learn to depend on the Word of God. Be alert to those opportunities where faith can kick in. And when they come, look to God to just say the word.

Decorating

2011-05-10T04:27:00.000-07:00

After years of stalling, putting off, and not getting round to it, this year I have finally done some re-decorating.

Its mostly painting the walls and ceiling, but then there's the gloss on the (fortunately quite few) bits of woodwork. Now I'm not one to strip back to the bare wood - just a bit of sanding and then a new top coat of gloss will do me, thankyou very much.

The trouble is many seem to have that same attitude regarding their faith. They are quite happy to let their belief be something that glosses over certain areas of their life. Although something much more radical - stripping back and starting over - is called for they settle for what amounts to little more than a touch up here and there.

Hebrews 4:12 says the Word of God cuts through to our innermost being. We would do well to let the Word do its work, rather than run the risk of simply becoming whitewashed on the outside, but in fact dead on the inside.

Bodily Resurrection Matters

2011-04-28T23:00:00.000-07:00

Take a read of 1 Corinthians 15. Go on, the whole chapter.

Take your time - it is quite dense and heavy going ...

Encouraged by the time you get to v57? I hope so - He gives us the victory!

So what of v58? Tacked on the end, does it really fit after all that hard hitting stuff about the resurrection?

Yes it does! Because Jesus was raised in the body, it shows us that there is continuity of creation. For sure things will be changed, beyond what we can get our heads round, but the continuity means that aspects of the now will carry through to the eternal future. So the whole chapter becomes a call to mission - to work to put things right now ready to be carried into eternity.

Ever struck you why Jesus put so many things right during his earthly ministry (healings etc.)? He was demonstrating the coming Kingdom, putting things to how they should be in anticipation of what is to come.

We are to do the same.

Of course at the moment death & decay are still soldiering on, so we will have frustrations and disappointment. Yet that should not deter us from the task: death will be swallowed up in victory.

So stand firm, don't be put off, get on with the mission task - the work of the Lord. It will not be in vain.

Ultimate Trust

2011-04-26T23:00:00.000-07:00

As we saw earlier Jesus relied on his heavenly Father for his cosmic vindication. There was nothing on earth that could save him, or see him through. No pep talk, no Dutch courage, no secret weapon. Just ultimate reliance on God.

This was surely a key aspect of the atonement - that a man would ultimately rely on God to see him through. With that action of the one man, the many can follow.

And we follow not on just wishful thinking, a belief, a view of a few, but based on a reality. The risen Jesus shows us that he was vindicated, and so the way through is indeed possible.

Of all the Old Testament sacrifices and atonement offerings, none led to the reality that we now see in the risen Christ. Whilst such offerings had their place and validity, God is not looking for the tokens and bits & pieces we might choose to present. He is looking for us, ultimately coming to rely on Him.

Cosmic Vindication

2011-04-24T10:39:00.000-07:00

Jesus was silent before his Sanhedrin accusers, except for the words recorded in Matthew 26:64. The clear allusion to Daniel 7:13 (and Psalm 110:1) was enough to seal his fate. It was a robe-tearing moment, for the priests the charge of blasphemy was now proven.

But here Jesus was simply sticking to the same story he had been giving all along, that ultimately his heavenly father would testify to who he was (e.g. see John 8:18). His vindication would come from God, and would be on a cosmic scale.

So the taunts from the hot under the collar priests in v68 to 'prophesy' were futile, just like the various requests for a sign Pharisees had made through his ministry. Such 'earthly' signs are nothing compared to what will be seen in the fullness of time.

The story of Jesus only makes full sense once we understand the complete vindication that he will receive, a vindication so 'out of this world' that I will call it cosmic vindication.

The resurrection, of course, tells us that such cosmic vindication was indeed given.

Carried on Eagles Wings

2011-04-10T12:36:00.000-07:00

Isaiah 40:31 is an encouraging verse: "they will soar on wings like eagles ...". Many a time I have heard it quoted, and in the past year people have kindly offered the verse to me by way of encouragement. It is a great image - a fantastic bird gliding effortlessly in the currents and slip-streams high above the ground.

Now it could well be that Isaiah was picking up on a reference in Exodus, where God is describing how he brought the people out of Egypt (Exodus 19:4). Curiously that was an episode firmly on the ground. In fact it must have been something of an ordeal - they had to walk into the desert, and learn to trust God totally for their protection (chapter 14) and for the most basic of provision (chapter 15 & 16).

Clearly with the benefit of hindsight (or a bird's eye view!) one can see how God carried them through the somewhat arduous journey. Yet at ground level 'how on earth can we survive this?' must often have been a relevant question.

It seems to me that the encouragement therefore is not that God will lift you out above & beyond the pain or difficulty, but he will lead a way through in which (once you have got your head round it) it is apparent that you only made it with His supernatural help, i.e. above & beyond what could normally be expected.

Path of Suffering to Enable Salvation for the Many

2011-03-28T03:49:00.000-07:00

Joseph (of dreamcoat fame) utters some extraordinary words in Gen 45:4-7, and echoes them in Gen 50:19-21. The pain of the past, though real, is somehow dissipated and put into the context of a bigger picture whereby Joseph can show forgiveness and peace towards his brothers. He sees himself on a path that God has marked out, that has a bigger salvation purpose (v7).

Remember that his brothers had gone way beyond jealousy and had all but killed him, allowing him to be carried off as a common slave and leading his father to believe that he was dead. Though God had then given him success as a slave, that then landed him in prison. Joseph was well and truly on the receiving end of harsh treatment and injustice - a path of suffering.

Yet God brought Joseph through to his current exalted position by which many could be saved. It's interesting that Joseph doesn't seem to refer back to the dreams he had (Gen 37), he simply now understands that God has been at work not for others to bow down to him, but for the salvation purposes of God.

Here we have a 'type' (i.e. a pattern or model) of Jesus, who was also led on a path of difficulty & suffering through to eventual exaltation by which many would be saved.

As Christians we are called to follow in this same way.

Giving it your all

2011-03-21T09:54:00.000-07:00

One of the verses that keeps me going is Acts 20:24 - 'I consider my life worth nothing, my only aim is to finish the race ... testifying to the good news of God's grace'.

We are all missionaries in one way or another - all called to testify to God's grace, to be witnesses. Some are higher profile, some more obvious, while others have more subtle roles. But the deal is that anyone who is in Christ is likewise called to take part. It is not an optional extra. Full stop.

For some it means great sacrifice, but God will uphold them. For inspiration check out this video of a schoolgirl from North Korea

Organic Growth II

2011-03-16T05:07:00.000-07:00

Having looked at the constitutional aspects, how about getting the activities off the ground:

Dream big, but start by thinking small - attempt things that seem within reach so that:

we could achieve what we committed to do
avoid the temptation to try and do too much and then fail, losing moral
learn from the smaller projects to give us confidence in then tackling bigger things

Simplify wherever possible – things get too grand and complicated too quickly, so go back and simplify to make things easier to achieve
Demonstrate some early successes (i.e. find some low hanging fruit)
Work up from the grassroots, and allow things to grow bigger naturally rather than jump straight into 'we will take over the world' type schemes

It seems to me that most of these are principles which new mission projects would do well to take on board.

Organic Growth I

2011-03-13T13:30:00.000-07:00

The community association I am involved in is developing a life of its own, which it seems to me is a good thing.

It has been interesting to watch its growth. From the inaugural meeting of March 2009 where we didn't know how many would get involved, it has now won awards for its street party last year, and selected as one of four projects nationwide to demonstrate the value of community development training.

From the outset there have been some key principles that have made it easy for the organisation to get started and develop. In terms of organisation these are:

a very simple and open definition of 'membership': anyone involved in any capacity in the area who wants to get stuck in!
A light-weight and flexible constitution that only requires the standard key positions of chair, treasurer and secretary, and beyond that being very flexible: the management committee could be anything from 3 to 10 official members
building in further flexibility, i.e. allowing any interested person to be co-opted on so they could contribute and help organise things as well

This open and flexible approach sets the bar for participation very low, since a key aim of the association is to encourage people to get involved. Not rocket science really!

Well thats the boring constitutional stuff! The next episode will talk about the dreams and setting about making them a reality ...

Kingdom moments like these ...

2011-02-13T07:27:00.000-08:00

Like the rest of us I have watched developments un-fold in Egypt with interest. Yesterday was a real delight though, as I watched news reports similar to this one:

A kind of an impromptu mass 'Soul in the City', as people just 'mucked in' to clear up, clean up, and take joyful pride in their city, their Egypt. Young, old, men, women, wheelchair bound and the most nimble seemed to take a role.

Surely this gives us a glimpse of a kind of a Kingdom moment? People set free and liberated, naturally empowered to join together in unusually high brother/sisterhood to work for a better place for all to enjoy. Where barriers between people just seem to fade away.

Yes there are big questions: tomorrow, coming weeks and months for these people are going to be tough. The circa >65% youth unemployment quoted in some newspapers is not going to be fixed overnight. But for a moment, perhaps just a moment, something at least resembling the Kingdom has been experienced and witnessed.

Mission Theology Imperative

2011-02-07T08:23:00.000-08:00

In the essay by W. Shenk (re-)published in 'Landmark Essays in Mission and World Christianity' he asserts that 'only theology that motivates and sustains the church in witness and service in the world deserves to be accredited'. He is absolutely right.

He also urges that the 'Western captivity of all theology ... must be broken', i.e. we must now incorporate and learn from our sisters and brothers in Africa, Asia and Latin America. These are the Christians at the cutting edge - we have much to learn from them.

This accords with my own experience whilst on a short term trip to Zambia with Mission Direct, where I was able to see first hand Christians getting stuck in and doing all the kinds of things that are written up as theory back home.

The world we live in is quite different to the one from even just a couple of decades ago. The stage is now different, with multiple heartlands of the Spirit's activity reaching out and interconnecting across the globe. As we appreciate these interconnections, we must learn from each other rather than assuming that one heartland has the monopoly on answers for all the rest.

What is Church II

2011-01-31T08:05:00.000-08:00

Last time I gave a possible definition of church. Now to unpack ...

... a group of people who interact together

Jesus gathered people together intentionally. We are made for relationships, with God and with one another. We must recognise the handicap that Western individualism gives us in this respect.

to learn how ...

the church is provisional, non-static, ever renewing, revitalising, anticipating the greater that is to come. This side of eternity it has never arrived.

to echo back to God ...

made in God's image we are to reflect His glory, to follow His ways. This will include worship along with ...

and the wider world ...

drawing others to God as well. Fuzzy boundaries are likely as the group not only points to salvation by its existence, but by what it is and does as well.

... the 'Yes' that He has already spoken to us.

It is all God's initiative. We bring nothing to the party, except that which He has already given us. Joining in, we find ourselves part of God's mission purposes - God reaching into our lives and the lives of others. We thus find we are not only believers but also His executives in a world of need.

Now that is what I call church!

What is church?

2011-01-28T07:41:00.000-08:00

A standing joke of the Church Planting module I did at college was that the tutor always avoided defining for us what 'church' actually is, preferring instead for us to figure it out.

Interestingly at a recent Alpha course evening we did the session on church, and teased out of ourselves what 'church' is. From that discussion the following emerged as a possible definition:

Church is a group of people who interact together to learn how to echo back to God and to the wider the world the 'Yes' that He has already spoken to us.

I think there is alot in that statement. Maybe in future posts I will try and un-pack it a bit.

Small Group Woes

2011-01-25T02:43:00.000-08:00

I have been dissatisfied with church small groups for a long time now. My complaint has been that they gravitate too easily to all theory and no practice, i.e. lots of (good) Bible study, but no practical action. Maybe groups in cell churches fare better, but most small groups seem to end up in the same rut as far as I can see.

In such a state, how can small groups effectively perform (or even resource) mission?

The excellent book 'Missional Small Groups' by Scott Boren sums up exactly my feelings on this subject. Boren helpfully distils groups into four categories (or 'stories'):

The story of Personal Improvement
The story of Lifestyle Adjustment
The story of Relational Revision
The story of Missional Re-creation

He suggests that most groups get stuck in either no. 1 or no. 2. I think he is correct. In these first two stories good things happen for the individual, and they may contribute to a good small group experience, but they fail to engage people in an alternative rhythm of life. Mission, if discussed at all, is then an awkward 'add-on' which only the keenies are interested in.

The book goes on to describe different rhythms that develop a different way of being both as an individual and as a group - a way that is open to God's mission purposes around them.

Small groups - think again!

A Converting Ordinance?

2011-01-23T05:58:00.000-08:00

Wesley once described Holy Communion as a 'converting ordinance', i.e. an event in which people can encounter Christ and make that initial decision to turn and follow Him. Sounds a bit surprising, doesn't it, since we tend to think of Holy Communion as something reserved only for Christians.

We might not necessarily resolve that question here, but the episode in Hezekiah's reign, recorded in 2 Chronicles 30 has some parallels. Hezekiah re-institutes the Passover meal, but not just for the select few. He does it in style.

He extends the invitation far and wide across Israel. Bear in mind the deep split between Judah and Israel at this point - only two chapters earlier they were in military combat against each other.

His call is for people to come back to God - to 'repent and believe' in today's parlance.

People were called to the feast from far off: geographically far off but also spiritually far off. Israelites had accumulated a terrible record regarding staying close to God, so this was much more than just freshening up one's discipleship. Full blown turning of one's life around was going to be necessary for many.

Of course people came with all kinds of impurity and mess in their lives, but Hezekiah trusted in God to do the necessary restoration (see v18-20).

This is a great episode of extending generosity and grace in the context of a serious religious rite. Somehow they managed to do it without de-valuing that rite. Somehow they reached out, providing a space where God could work, calling & restoring people back to Himself.

Some might even say, a converting ordinance?

Standing by Our Decisions

2011-01-20T04:34:00.000-08:00

Nobody likes to be told they were wrong. We all have to make decisions, from choice of latte through to those that will impact the lives of others. Once the decision is made, we typically try to defend it to the hilt, because admitting we were wrong doesn't come easily to us humans.

So the injunction by the King to his newly appointed judges in 2 Chronicles 19:6-7 is no surprise - 'Judge carefully' - because they don't want to have to discover they were wrong.

Yet there is an interesting slant to his instruction: 'The Lord is with you whenever you give a verdict'. Presumably that means that God somehow goes with the flow even if the verdict is not actually sound?

If so, it surely reminds us that God is a God of grace. He will allow us to make decisions, both good and bad, and allow them to unfold. In other words, He stands by (at least in some way) our decisions.

I guess from that there are two practical applications:

If someone else makes a bad decision, we need to work out how to extend grace to them too.
We need to remember that just because God seems to be going along with our decision, it doesn't necessarily mean it is good! So we need to be open to the prospect that, in time, we may discover we were wrong after all.

When its all sorted, keep seeking God

2011-01-13T11:02:00.000-08:00

I had not appreciated until this month how 1 Chronicles is all about King David. Apart from various lists at the beginning, the whole book just covers King David. Saul barely gets a mention, and all the other kings must wait until book II.

The book demonstrates how he is the chosen King, has a consolidated position, everyone behind him, and the promise of an everlasting dynasty. There are a couple of mis-haps mentioned, but its basically all good with King David on the throne.

As ever universal mission purposes reverberate, e.g. 22:5 with the planned Temple being magnificent in the sight of all nations.

Yet despite the impression that Israel had at last 'arrived', and had it 'all sorted', David still gives this advice for the future, recorded in 22:19, "now devote your heart and soul to seeking the Lord your God".

Even when everything is fab, hunky-dory, dominoes lined up ... we must go on seeking God. Do not assume you have arrived in this sense, but continue looking for Him.

Why so hot under the collar?

2011-01-08T11:20:00.000-08:00

Like many I watched the BBC Nativity dramatisation just before Christmas. Of course such a TV programme is always going to provoke a broad range of reactions, but I was surprised to read this article about it in the Daily Express.

The article quotes a Christian leader speaking out against the programme, with the leader vociferously attacking the BBC and it's portrayal of the Christmas story, giving rise to the Express' headline that the series was an insult to the Christian faith.

In my view, the remarks of the person quoted are not well judged or warranted. Of course the drama puts an interpretation on the events, and in places goes beyond the gospel text. That is inevitable for such a programme. I felt the story-writer took an approach that was plausible, and which made the story realistic for the contemporary viewer. For me that is not an insult, but a great opportunity to explore with other viewers the dynamics of the original situation, and thus touch on the big picture of what God was doing.

It is true that members of some other faiths get very upset at the slightest imaginative or supposedly non-orthodox portrayal of their faith stories or characters. Yet as Christians are we to respond likewise?

No, there is no need for that, especially in this case where no offence need be taken. Rather we can engage with such material and discuss with casual viewers in a positive way, which potentially makes the Gospel accessible to those who would otherwise not contemplate the true meaning of the 'greatest story ever told'.

When all else fails, leave it to God

2011-01-07T03:25:00.000-08:00

A few days ago I heard an encouraging story from a lady about her health. Just a few years ago her breathing was getting worse and worse. Numerous tests diagnosed a lung problem, and the prognosis was not good. With no cure possible the hospital consultant advised her that she could expect confinement to a wheelchair and constant use of a portable nebuliser.

At this point she concluded that all human options are exhausted, only God can help now. She accepted that she may become wheelchair bound, and left the future in God's hands.

Within months she found her symptoms had gone, her breathing much easier. She visited the hospital consultant who was surprised to find no sign of any problem within the lungs, and no explanation of how this could be so.

Since then she has led an active life with no restrictions, and has been instrumental in church ministry where she lives.

Sometimes we just just have to leave things in God's hands.

Intervention

2010-12-22T01:54:00.000-08:00

Time after time the Old Testament shows up justice as the key issue of the day. The poor and oppressed seem to be keenly on God's heart, looking for ways to bring them justice.

It seems obvious that God is looking for people, especially 'His people', to ensure this justice happens, i.e. to work for a just & fair society. Of course in many cases in the Old Testament the issue is highlighted because that is precisely what His people were not doing.

Isaiah 59 is no exception. Look at v15-16. There was no justice, and no-one to intervene.

So what does God do? He steps in and intervenes Himself.

Note the choice of words (at least in the NIV): 'achieved salvation for him'. The concept of salvation is tightly coupled to the whole deal of justice, and thus presumably social justice across society.

Begs the question: how narrow have we made 'salvation' in our understanding?

Another interesting snippet: 'his own righteousness sustained him'. God had to intervene and go it alone. One can infer, from this, that God had originally expected a community of people (who could encourage and help sustain each other) to be working justice at street level.

Our right to travel

2010-12-20T02:38:00.000-08:00

Watch this following video. It is a humorous take on our attitude to technology, our ability to fly etc. Pay attention especially to the bit at the end about flying.

Now go to the following BBC News web page and watch the video clip there: BBC News Video

Did you catch that last line? "All of our rights as passengers seem to have been disregarded because of the weather".

That just about sums it up for me. We believe that we have the right to travel wherever we want, whenever we want, regardless. Full stop.

Interesting that the headline is 'passengers describe themselves as homeless'. Try living in Haiti.

I sympathise with travellers left stranded, those who have had their holiday plans messed. I have friends who are affected - I hope they do manage to get away on the holiday they deserve. And maybe there is culpability on the part of the airlines etc.

Yet surely we must remember that we are 'guests' on this planet, entrusted to steward its resources. From time to time conditions may remind us that life cannot always be lived at the pace we have got used to.

We cannot go on like the way we are used to

2010-12-11T06:16:00.000-08:00

The protest scenes in London this week look sickening. The mood of a variety of young people groups has erupted, many have got carried away, and the result is literally carnage.

Amongst it all is a 'valid' non-violent protest. The problem is, to me the validity of the student protest is not as clear cut as it would seem. Not because there are no issues with the government plan, and not because I think the students should simply lump it. There are pros & cons to the plan, and how education is funded needs to be carefully thought through to enable it to be accessible and not simply the privilege of the already over-privileged.

Yet underneath it all I think another voice needs to be heard: 'we simply cannot go on living like the way we used to'.

Our Western lifestyle have led us to expect certain things in life (healthcare, education, endless supplies of energy, food, cheap commodities etc.). This is simply un-affordable, by us and by planet earth. Something has got to give in the system somewhere.

The over-spill of public mood into violence has been repeated in other European cities (Ireland, France, Spain, Greece ...). The presenting causes have been different, but I believe the underlying sentiment is probably the same 'we believe we have the right to go on living it up as consumerists'.

I said last time that our biggest enemy is consumerism. These demonstrations are another aspect to the same equation. It has become a deep seated part of people's psyche.

Yes it is complicated - we are talking about welfare, help for some legitimately in need. I am not advocating any simple solution. Yet now fly to much of Africa, South-East Asia, the flood-displaced of Pakistan, or those still camping in Haiti, and tell them you believe you (yourself) have the right to x, y or z.

How can that work?

Bail-out

2010-11-30T03:03:00.000-08:00

I was preaching from Haggai this weekend, and couldn't help myself from inferring a connection between Haggai 1:6 and the Irish economic bail-out:

You have planted much, but have harvested little. You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.

Of course its not just the Irish, but basically all the Western economies. The fact is, we (including myself) are locked into a way of life defined by consumption, which dooms us to making things, consuming them, yet always wanting more. The bottom line is that it does not satisfy, yet (it seems) that is all we know.

I am convinced that the biggest 'enemy' of Christian faith in the West is not other faiths (though they pose real issues), nor is it even hard secularism, but it is actually consumerism - a life defined by consumption.

Getting Stuck In

2010-11-26T07:19:00.000-08:00

Twice this week I have been encouraged that Christians and their churches are actually getting stuck in at the grass-roots level. As previously mentioned, I was at an award ceremony earlier this week. It struck me that all five of the award winning projects had significant involvement from churches, or Christian input.

Then I was at a Community Mission day seminar in London, where there were 40 to 45 Christians across the age and denomination spectra who were obviously all getting stuck in to a range of mission initiatives in their areas.

Numerically it might seem small, but God can do alot with the few. Maybe there is hope for us yet.

The Small Society

2010-11-24T12:43:00.000-08:00

This week I was privileged to accept an award on behalf of the community association of council estate residents that I help run, since we won joint first prize for the street party the association organised on their estate earlier this year.

At the ceremony I had to do a short talk about the project. I took the opportunity to have a (somewhat tongue in cheek) dig at David Cameron's Big Society. Here is the text of that part of my speech:

"Whilst there is much talk of the 'Big Society', I would like to suggest an alternative, the 'Small Society', demonstrated by the work of our community association. You see the association represents the little people, the people who (let's be honest) most of society would prefer to pretend don't actually exist, investing their time and energy for the benefit of their fellow residents. Those same little people having a vision for their area (an area seen by many as insignificant and of no value) that says this area is a place to value, a place that despite its problems is one where things can get better, things can change.

Maybe if we all did that in our small societies, it would add up to something truly Big"

Now read The Magnificat, Luke 2:46 - 55, especially v52.

Hard Secularism

2010-11-17T12:34:00.000-08:00

Today I heard of an incident involving an adoption panel evaluating a person's suitability to adopt. Apparently a suggestion was made that the person may not be suitable, since as a committed Christian they may 'indoctrinate the child'.

Surely this kind view should be held up as religious discrimination. Maybe it should be countered with the suggestion that atheists or even ardent agnostics should similarly be seen as unsuitable, since they may well 'indoctrinate' the adopted child with an atheistic position.

So a Christian adopter may well want to take the child to a Sunday worship service? Indeed, just as an atheist might well take a child on a Sunday to a car boot sale, or worse, to a cathedral of materialism (shopping centre) for a regular dose of consumerist type worship.

I wonder, which is ultimately more harmful to the child, and to society as a whole?

Nebuchadnezzar rules ok

2010-11-15T08:22:00.000-08:00

Ever stopped to marvel at how extraordinary Nebuchadnezzar's dream was (see Daniel 2:29 - 35)? Although he can't figure it out, it speaks of God's Kingdom which will fill all the earth and endure beyond all other kingdoms.

When Daniel interprets it for him, Nebuchadnezzar falls prostrate and acknowledges God (v47). Now lets be clear, Neb was a mean dude with a style of leadership akin to a Vogon (see Vogons in The Hitchikers' Guide to the Galaxy). Just check out the beginning of Daniel 2 to get what I mean.

Yet isn't it interesting how God both speaks truth through and elicits homage from this rather nasty pagan king? Its a reminder that Christians don't have the monopoly on God acting and speaking.

What we can say, though, is that the dream without the interpretation would have not got very far (or worse, would have led to a lot of needless deaths!). Daniel had a role to play, mediating between God and the king. In effect, he acted as salt which brought out the full flavour of God's activity in the king's life.

A new angle on being salt and light perhaps?

Slave Drivers

2010-11-07T06:33:00.000-08:00

Blogger Tim Challies recently posted about technology. It was picked by by Breathe, a network of Christians looking at how we can live more simply in our hectic Western world.

It is an excellent article, highlighting how technology designed to be our helper has in fact become our slave driver. The ubiquitous mobile phone, small enough to fit in your pocket, calls for our attention, our desire, our life, leaving us short when it comes to living real life.

Tim is absolutely right to point out that it is not the technology itself that is bad, just the way we relate to it. He does not advocate a mass trashing of mobiles, but says that ultimately we must be self-disciplined in our usage.

Paul talks in Romans of slavery. It forms a strong image of how we can become tied up, unable to break free. Paul goes on to explain that in Christ we can be set free, things can be restored to their proper role, their correct perspectives. From then on, it becomes a question of who or what we give ourselves to.

Maybe, from a mission perspective, mobiles thus become useful again: as an illustration of how easily we humans can become snared in something which, in theory at least, should have been be all good.

Its on the web, so it must be true

2010-11-02T05:36:00.000-07:00

I've just returned from a relaxing few days in Cornwall. Driving down we were a bit apprehensive since the weather forecast on the web proclaimed rain, rain and more rain for the days of our stay. As it turned out the rainfall was only intermittent and relatively light. There were some exhilarating winds, but by and large we were able to venture out without getting wet.

The funny thing is that many people now seem surprised when the actual weather doesn't match the Internet projections. Has weather forecasting ever been that accurate (especially in the UK)? So why should it be any better just because it is available online?

It demonstrates the principle that our perception of truth is tied to the delivery medium rather than purely the facts themselves. For all our enlightenment, rationalism, and modernist way of working from objective data alone, we still evaluate things based on a variety of parameters. What is in front of us is simply not the full story. All kinds of other things factor into plausibility.

And so it is with belief in God: people choose to believe what they like, based on all kinds of ingredients. Our mission task, therefore, must bear this in mind.

The Power of Story

2010-10-22T07:55:00.000-07:00

Interesting isn't it, how Jesus used stories when speaking to the various gatherings and crowds. Mark 4:33-34 records the fact that Jesus used parables all the time, though it seems he did later unpack things for his closer followers in due course.

So that leads to a question: why didn't the gospel writers include more of the explanations? Only a few of the parables are expanded out for us to benefit, for the rest we have to go figure!

It seems the gospel writers adopted the same approach as Jesus. Perhaps they too realised the power of story, that such a technique could work far more effectively than trying to lay down cold facts or propositions. Maybe they reckoned that their readers needed to be subject to the same 'filter' that they and the crowds had been (the kind alluded to in 4:10-13).

Secret Believers

2010-10-17T06:40:00.000-07:00

The book 'Secret Believers' by Brother Andrew and Al Janssen makes for compelling reading. Most of the book is in a story format, walking the reader through the trials and joys for Christians living in Muslim majority countries.

For a view of Islam that is fair and balanced yet without ignoring the reality of what goes on across the world, this is a great book.

The story sets the scene for the authors to issue four key challenges to Christians, especially us in the West:

Do we view Muslims as enemies? Or are we seeking to win them for Christ?
Are we going to seek revenge when attacked? Should we not offer forgiveness instead?
What would happen if we accepted the challenge of Islam by striving as Christians to imitate Christ?
Are really convinced we are in a spiritual war? If so, shouldn't we commit to a life of prayer?

I cannot disagree with their summary. To understand what they are really getting at (and avoid potential mis-understanding) you will need to read the book for yourself.

The stakes are certainly high - we are surely called to rise to the challenge.

Can I have a drink of water?

2010-10-15T09:05:00.000-07:00

Many of us know the story of the woman at the well, in John 4. It gets going with the simplest of questions: "can I have a drink of water?". Amazing isn't it that one of the most simplest of liquids, H₂O,carries so much potential. And when it becomes object of a request, as in this encounter, it opens up even more possibilities.

Here Jesus makes himself vulnerable and dependant on another person (and a somewhat questionable other person at that). It is a powerful moment. It prepares the way for her salvation and salvation potential for the whole neighbourhood.

Many people around the world today are also asking 'can I have a drink of water?'. For them the need is acute, access to clean water being a daily struggle. The simple liquid that is a necessity of life can actually be quite difficult to obtain. For those of us who have the means, how are we responding to their request?

I am told that today is 'Blog Action Day' with a theme of 'water', hence this post. It makes sense for us all to concentrate some thoughts on such a basic substance, since after all, we all need water each and every day. It is thus a uniting substance for humanity (and indeed all life).

So whoever we meet, be they friend or foe, someone you would want to associate with, or someone you would rather not, perhaps consider getting started with the question 'can I have a drink of water?', and see where it leads.

The Great Rescue Operation

2010-10-13T00:32:00.000-07:00

On the 12th October 2010 the rescue of the Chilean miners finally became a reality as the first miner was winched to the surface. Trapped over 600m below the surface, thirty three working men have endured 69 days imprisonment due to the collapse of the mine's tunnel system.

During this time a vertical escape shaft has been carefully drilled, eventually allowing an escape capsule to be lowered into the pocket where the men are gathered. After some testing of the mechanisms, a veteran rescue expert was lowered down to assist the men into the capsule and enable them to be lifted to freedom.

Extraordinary measures have been taken to reach these men, culminating in sending a man down to effect the rescue. That man, whoever he was, became the saviour of the miners. Thanks to him, the miners are re-united with their families.

Each of us finds ourselves trapped by our own wrongdoing, life choices and attitudes. We may realise this is the case, but it is no use, since there is no way out. Somehow we manage to eek out an existence, but the reality is that on our own we are doomed. Hope of ever being re-united seems lost.

Yet God will go to great lengths to enable us to be saved. He will create a way, and send a man to come down to rescue us. That man must be prepared to descend to the very bottom of the pit of humanity in order to reach us, but that is exactly what he does when he allows himself to go to the cross.

I'm sure various lessons will be learned from the Chilean mining disaster and the subsequent rescue. Perhaps it also gives something of an illustration of how the cross works, some kind of language to try to express the atonement.

Timescales and Productivity

2010-10-08T08:05:00.000-07:00

Elijah comes across as something of an action hero, with a ministry marked by high profile activities and events. Yet in reading the highlights of the story I wonder if we lose sight of timescales.

1Kings 18:1 says 'After a long time ...'. Somewhere between two and three years he had to wait, apparently. Did he stay with the widow of Zarephath (and her son) all that time? What did he do while the pause button was pressed?

From a ministry point of view, it all seems very unproductive. Surely there were campaigns to be staged, urgency of God's message to be proclaimed and all that?

Of course I am deliberately being somewhat tongue in cheek. There is an urgency to the Gospel, and Western Christians can be quite good at sitting around letting the world go by instead of finding & doing their part in the overall work. Yet we can lose sight of God's timing, which may in fact seem to have long stretches of apparent non-productivity ...

... until its time to climb up Mt Carmel, of course!

Thinking Globally

2010-10-05T04:15:00.000-07:00

1 Kings 8, Solomon is dedicating the temple. Newly built, it can now be a key focus for the Israelites, something to turn towards when praying and so on. The whole spiel directs attention to the temple where God can surely be found.

Yet whilst much of speech concerns the Israelites, it is not limited to them. In v41 he goes global in the hope that foreigners from distant lands will seek God out as well. This is not just for the few, but ultimately 'so that all the peoples of the earth may know'. It is also generous: 'do whatever the foreigners ask of you'. In other words, rather than adding to the greatness of the Israelites and their achievements, it opens the possibility for God to touch the lives of others across the world freely and graciously.

Mission does well to focus on the local context, but always has global possibilities.

Risky Business

2010-09-28T16:00:00.000-07:00

Sitting in the library with someone today I was amazed when a librarian asked my friend to unplug her laptop, because it hasn't been PAT tested. The library has turned coffee shop, so has an area of tables, chairs, and sofas making it a place to sit, relax, dabble on a laptop or have an informal meeting (as we were in fact doing). As such you would think they would expect members of the public to want to plug in their laptop at the nearby wall-socket.

But no, that is obviously way too risky!

Now as an engineer I understand that technically there is a risk (albeit very small), which could put us or some other member of the public in jeopardy. But this kind of thing just epitomises to me the ridiculously risk-averse culture we now live in.

The problem is that this risk-averse behaviour has affected our faith and our churches too, with negative consequences for mission. Last week at Community Connect, a new group I am working with at Shinfield Baptist Church, we looked at Jn 1 and God moving into our neighbourhood. Two keywords we drew out were that such a venture involved great risk and vulnerability. Quite incompatible with today's attitude to risk, but necessary for the powerful mission of God to unfold.

As Christians are we prepared to accept a degree of risk, especially as God calls us out from the safety of our Christian gatherings? Or do we judge that it is better to un-plug ourselves from the power of God's mission?

Introducing the Missional Church

2010-09-27T08:43:00.000-07:00

This book by Roxburgh and Boren aims to help Christians understand the Missional Ecclesiology suggested by Roxburgh and several other authors in recent years, and how to start the process of transformation for their own church.

The first thing to know about this book is that the authors deliberately avoid defining 'Missional Church'. Whilst that may seem a tad frustrating at first, they do carefully explain why they do not define it, and in the process give the reader a better insight into their thinking.

A key aspect of this is developing what they call 'Missional Imagination', breaking out of our standard forms of thinking to allow the Spirit to lead us into new possibilities. This makes it a fruitful read that will challenge and stretch your thinking.

The book is open-ended, so do not expect to have all the answers wrapped up by the end. Its an informative read, but perhaps a very risky one if you think of starting to apply some of the principles to your own church ...

Prepare the Way

2010-09-24T02:22:00.000-07:00

John the Baptist calls out and quotes Isaiah 40, 'prepare the way!'. I've always assumed that this is something we must do - clean up our act, get ready for God to come and so forth.

Certainly the beginning of the passage looks that way, but the more I think about it I wonder. You see it goes on to talk of valleys being raised and mountains made low and so on. Now I know with modern day engineering its kind of possible. Our roads & railways cut a relatively straight and level path through undulating terrain, but I don't think that is what Isaiah or John had in mind!

Perhaps we should realise that God is going to do this earth moving, major-change, levelling kind of stuff. Perhaps our role therefore is to get on board with it. The change doesn't depend on us, He has it in mind to do it anyway, but we have the responsibility to align ourselves with His purposes.

So 'prepare the way' becomes 'wise up and join in' ... for the glory of the Lord will be revealed, at some point one way or another everyone is going to see it.

Devising a way

2010-09-21T08:58:00.000-07:00

Tucked away in the story of Amnon, Tamar, Absalom and David is the extraordinary verse 2Sam14:14

He devises ways so that a banished person does not remain banished from him

This is such a golden nugget! Here we have a story of rape, disgrace, murder, and estrangement (all within the family, just like any modern day TV soap series!). Its messy all over, with side orders of mess and mess sauce on top. But within it is a fundamental truth about God: that God does not desire such everlasting strife, but will rather find some way to bring someone back.

Lost coin, lost sheep, lost son - its right here in the Old Testament. Two Samuel, chapter fourteen, verse fourteen.

Awesome.

Every Knee Shall Bow

2010-09-12T08:27:00.000-07:00

I sometimes wonder what the 'every knee shall bow' moment in Philippians 2:10 might look like.

Perhaps a clue lies in the extraordinary episode recorded in 1 Sam 19:20 - 24. Saul sends his men to capture David, but they end up prophesying rather than laying hands on David. This in fact happens three times, and then culminates with Saul going down and finding himself prophesying as well!

The story seems to reinforce the fact that God will have his way and that people, despite their plans, will have to knuckle down and get on board with them. The men get to declare God's words/wonders, presumably whether they like it or not.

As we follow God in His mission, there will be times when people are simply swept off their feet, as it were, and caught up in Gods words & wonders. I guess such moments are hints of the ultimate moment when all & everything is similarly swept up, much as Paul wrote about to the Philippians.

[Note an interesting aside here: we typically teach that people who prophesy remain in full control, and yet here it seems like it could be involuntary, especially when we get to Saul going naked in v24. However, this does seem to be very unusual circumstances rather than your average church meeting!].

Supermarket Sabbath

2010-09-05T12:31:00.000-07:00

Lev 25:1-7 describes the 'land Sabbath' every seven years, where working the land stops and reliance on God's provision is heightened. For us townie-types, it can be a bit difficult to relate to this kind of agricultural stuff.

In the West we typically consume way more than we need, with the regular supermarket shop being something of a cornerstone to this state of affairs. How much do pack our fridge, our freezer and our cupboards each week, pushing existing stuff to the back to be forgotten and probably eventually wasted?

So here's a whacky idea. How about every seven weeks deliberately not doing a supermarket shop, and instead try to live off what is already in the fridge, freezer and cupboards? I'll call it the 'Supermarket Sabbath' - for some it will be a challenge. Can we get through the week? Perhaps it will make us think more about our food provision and consumption. Maybe it will make us think more about God's provision.

So start counting the weeks, and in 6 weeks time declare a Supermarket Sabbath!

Beyond Hawking

2010-09-04T03:57:00.000-07:00

So Stephen Hawking has plumped for the 'no God' explanation of creation. He has shifted his position, since previously he had room for the possibility of God.

Without understanding all the physics his argument can still be undermined, for example is the 'nothing' in the newspaper reports of his book really 'nothing', or was it an amount of energy or the collapse of a previous universe? And why the law of gravity in the first place? All these questions immediately make room for God because they imply a prior 'something'.

But Christians don't believe on the cosmological argument alone. They believe because of experience in their own lives of something beyond ourselves, beyond the mere physical ... and thus out of reach of physics altogether.

Science and religion do not have to be ever in conflict. We just have to recognize the merits and limits of each, and then go forward with the combination that seems to provide the best explanation. As Christian we seek to do just that, and we can encourage others to do so as well.

Presence Junky

2010-09-02T08:00:00.000-07:00

In Mission Purpose Over-ride II I noted how important the presence of God was. Moses of course got lots of it, seen in both the accounts in Exodus and Deuteronomy. In fact you could argue he was a bit of a junky, with the extraordinary request of Ex 33:18 where Moses asks to see God's glory proving the point.

Yet coming back to God for more of His presence should not be down-played or written off as eccentric. I know of some modern day missionaries who are seeing extraordinary works of God in their field who also talk of the need to keep going back to God and being in His presence. They seem un-ashamed to admit that they hunger and thirst for it.

In Ex 24 Moses and his leadership team have an experience of God. Then Moses goes further on up the mountain at God's bidding. Moses had to wait around up there a whole six days before he could enter the cloud.

It seems to me it was worth the climb, and worth waiting for. In fact even sticking around in the desert and only going with God's leading was much better than just ploughing on regardless. God's presence and its effects cannot be under-estimated. Perhaps we should all be Presence junkies?

Mission Purpose Over-ride II

2010-08-21T13:21:00.000-07:00

Still on the golden calf aftermath (now in Ex 33), God commands the people to go on up to the promised land. Yet this is accompanied with the devastating words

but I will not go with you

This is tragic - sure they get to live in the land of milk and honey, but without the abiding presence of God. Bad deal!

Yet Moses appeals to God once again. He can see that this is no good. Look at 33:16 - to be without God's presence is no good for themselves as a people, but it is also no good for the mission! Once again the mission purpose over-rides. The people need to go on up but they need God with them, otherwise it all makes no sense.

Mission Purpose Over-ride I

2010-08-19T02:24:00.000-07:00

The golden calf business was such a disaster (Ex 32). Of course we know it was bad because it epitomised idolatry. Yet the consequences reached farther. You see as a result God wanted to just blow them all away and start over with Moses' descendants (v10).

But Moses was sharp. He could see a problem with this approach. The Egyptians would get to hear of the wipe-out and draw their own conclusions - which would be the opposite of what they should be understanding about God. In short, the mission would suffer a serious set back!

Moses strengthens his case appealing to the foundational covenant of God with Abraham, but note that if God had started over through Moses the original promise to Abraham would still have been fulfilled (albeit with another several hundred years re-population process!).

So the mission purpose of the Exodus journey over-rides quick and instant judgement, even though such a wipe-out was justifiable.

Therefore we see God entertaining and journeying with the Israelites in the messiness of their unbelief and idolatry. Of course their behaviour is not to be condoned, but it is instructive for us today how it appears (at least to some degree) to be tolerated, with the mission purpose being the over-riding factor.

Fighting God's Battles

2010-08-16T02:34:00.000-07:00

These days I have to admit that I am intrigued when I see or hear of Christians protesting about something, where they are claiming to 'defend God's honour'. I am intrigued, because I am wondering why they see it as so important to do so.

Not that I am against campaigning. This weekend I was reminded of the importance and success of FairTrade campaigning with the examples of Cadbury and Mars standing prominently. Speaking out on such causes I would say is part of our duty as Christians, part of our mission.

But defending God's honour, I am really not so sure. There is an interesting episode in Judges, verses 6:28 - 32 where the people were (naturally) upset with Gideon for going against their Baal worship in such a direct way. They wanted his blood, to take action into their own hands in the cause of Baal. Here's the rub, Joash in v31 realised that if Baal is a god, he can fight for himself in such a matter - they don't need to do it for him.

Surely it is the same with God (who really is God)? We don't need to take up arms on God's behalf in this kind of way - God can fight His own battles (much more successfully!).

Now it may be that God directs us to take action (Gideon acted on the Lord's command, v25), but we don't need to fight for God as if he was our little brother who needs us to stand up for him.

Hairy Moments

2010-08-13T01:35:00.000-07:00

Time to get my hair cut, which often means a chance to share my faith. Not at my provocation, but naturally as the conversation flows (made a bit easier, because my work is for a church). This time was no exception: my barber was clearly seeking and wondering if the Christian faith could really work.

Interestingly she made a number of instant assumptions about me: that I was a man of considerable faith, that belief came easily to me, that I had a clear purpose. All that came from just the fact that I worked with the church. We all make assumptions about those we meet, just from the first few exchanges - first impressions do indeed count.

Being someone who tries to practice what I preach, I put my L-S-P thing into gear. That gave me better insight and prevented me from making potentially false assumptions as she snipped away. Finding out that she was up for reading a book or two, I made some recommendations.

And now I pray. My hair is now cut so the moment has been and gone, and hopefully I have contributed my piece to her journey effectively and faithfully. I may never know if that haircut was really significant for her, but I do know the ingredients are simple: time available to chat, to be open, to ask one or two light-yet-key questions, and being ready for whatever emerges.

Doggedly against Dogmatism

2010-07-21T12:16:00.000-07:00

I've just finished reading My life as a traitor by Zarah Ghahramani. Its a harrowing tale by an Iranian woman of how she was held and tortured in a notorious prison in Tehran for speaking out against the regime. There is much I could write about from this book, but I'll concentrate on one observation: her disdain for religious mullahs was fueled by their uncompromising dogmatism.

The interesting thing is that while she cites the mullahs as a prime example (and illustrates this with some of their bizarre pronouncements made in her lifetime), she postulates that any religious leader can fall into the same trap be they Muslim, Buddhist, or Christian. Its the dogmatism thats the problem, not the religious badge being carried.

Zarah is clearly a spiritual woman. Her mother was in fact Zoroastrian, her father Muslim, and her writing demonstrates a spiritual side to her, embracing aspects of both faiths and a basic belief in some kind of God. Coupled with that she has a zest for life (which incidentally was trashed by her prison experience). What is repugnant to her is mindless rules and regulations, especially on trivial detail, that in any case often betrays the proponents as hypocrites. That kind of resonates with Jesus' skirmishes with the Pharisees doesn't it?

There is a lesson in there for Christian mission. Are we showing the Zarah's of this world just another set of dogmas, or how their zest for life can truly find fulfillment?

What will be found in the end?

2010-07-08T13:13:00.000-07:00

Recently I heard a lecture where it was suggested that an argument in favour of social action can be made from an eschatological perspective. In outline it asks "what will be found in the end?". Will it reveal that an effort was made whilst still here on earth as we know it, or will we have effectively hid our salvation in the ground?

Matt 24:36 through to 25:46 seems to weigh in here.

Faithful & wise servants will get on with their assigned tasks and not squander/mis-use their resources or time
A call for readiness, being prepared for that end-time moment
Proper investment action rather than static preservation
The caring for the needy

If we take the 'least of these' to be generally the poor rather than just Christians (some would disagree on this) then there is a progression to be seen:

Stick to the task throughout the waiting ...
because you need to be ready when the right time comes ...
a readiness demonstrated by what you have done ...
with the investment currency being work amongst the poor

So what will be found in the end? A static salvation preserved carefully in the ground, or the fruit of an ongoing investment in those in need around us, biased to the poor.

Worshipping Mission Community

2010-06-25T01:20:00.001-07:00

Haggai chapter one makes serious reading for those who don't want to embark on that church building project. Just check out verse 4. Then there's the link to poor harvest: verse 6. Of course this irks me somewhat, since I think on the whole we need to sit much lighter with our buildings than we are typically inclined to do.

Is it possible that this passage might speak into some of our situations of seemingly low harvest yield in our outreach initiatives, i.e. with very few people coming to faith?

If it does, then I'm sure the answer is not necessarily to build yet more church buildings and just expect people to come. No, there is surely a deeper principle at work here.

The temple was a spiritual focus and centre of worship for the Israelites. Whilst worship did continue in the ruined premises left by the Babylonians, it would appear that the returning exiles were more concerned with getting their own houses in order than their depth of worship together. The physical buildings and quality of their restoration (or lack thereof) was an outward sign of deeper spiritual realities.

So as a community of faithful, hoping to serve God's Kingdom purposes out in the world, we must not neglect our gathering together for worship - coming afresh before God to exalt Him, re-assert our dependence on Him, and receive anew from the riches of His grace. We need to put the necessary work in to make this a fitting and genuine experience. Not to the exclusion of our outward mission (so many congregations seem to make that mistake ...), but integral to it.

Haggai goes on to talk of 'shaking the nations' in his second chapter. This link with acceptable and worthy worship of the community of faithful continues through the book therefore, with the full potential of far reaching consequences.

The Way

2010-06-04T04:22:00.000-07:00

A favoured verse for evangelists:

I am the way, and the truth, and the life. The only way to the Father is through me.

It's a knock-out verse isn't it? For anyone who does not agree that Jesus is the only way, then we can quote Jn 14:6 and we are done. Surely a slam dunk. It enables us to be assertive, it gives us Christians power ...

Except that 'the way' of Jesus was one of self-limiting, giving up of power, laying down his life. So, it seems to me, that 'the way, the truth, the life' that Jesus speaks of asserts completely differently to our normal expectations.

There is still an assertion to be made, but the power dynamic is quite odd compared to our normal worldly way of thinking. We can assert that no-one comes to the Father except by Jesus, but in so doing we must de-assert our standard assumptions of worldly power. Otherwise, we are not continuing in The Way, and thus not coming to the Father by Jesus ourselves.

Ultimately against the powers II

2010-05-28T01:50:00.000-07:00

A while back I blogged about the powers. My thinking received some affirmation this week in a conference I attended looking at the relationship between geography, society and what is going on spiritually in an area. Among questions considered was the relationship (if any) between how an area is laid out and how people's lives play out, all the while trying to think in spiritual terms rather than pure human cause/effect.

A great aspect of the conference was that it was held in an interesting multi-cultural urban area, with all kinds of 'stuff' going on around it, rather than some detached nice conference venue somewhere. This made our discussions feel all the more acute.

Planning decisions, how people are housed, provision of amenities all factor into the equation. Yet we must not look in pure human terms, but seek God for insight into the 'behind the scenes' goings on. There is a curious interaction between human interactions and our decisions and the spiritual realm in all aspects of life.

It is not all gloom and doom, nor need we think there is a demon lurking within every building. We have Good News to share, and hope in God who redeems. Structural problems need not remain bad forever - confronted by the power of God even the most difficult of situations can experience grace and renewal.

We are not left without alternatives - Christ is risen!

Worth Resolving

2010-05-13T08:32:00.000-07:00

What is Paul's life worth to him? Does he care about it. From Acts 20:24 it would seem not alot. Here is the New Century translation:

I don't care about my own life. The most important thing is that I complete my mission, the work that the Lord Jesus gave me - to tell people the Good News about God's grace.

It seems to me that Paul has resolved the same as his Lord, to do the will of the Father (see John 4:34). From that he derives his worth, nothing else.

Note that does not prescribe exactly how it should be played out. Paul could presumably have even a secular job, or any one of a range of possible earthly titles or labels, but within that still go about the Father's business of telling the Good News. Such jobs or positions would not give him his worth - that would come from his ability to pursue God's purposes.

So it should be for us. Does the organisation or 'system' you are in right now expect or presume certain things for you? What is the expectation of your friends? Does that seem to predicate you reaching or obtaining a certain status?

If so, consider thinking again. Your worth is not ultimately to be found there, but in God's purposes that may lie within it, or in some cases, may not.

Triangles

2010-04-26T08:57:00.000-07:00

Funny how people say things come in threes. I'm in 2 Timothy, enjoying Paul's encouragement of the guy until I get to verse 8. Paul wants Timothy to join him in suffering.

Hmm, the encouragement is starting to run a bit thin.

Ah, but its okay, it is to be done in the power of God...

But its a bit unclear. Is the power of God to help us once we are suffering, or is it actually leading to the suffering? You see the whole thing is connected in v9 with our salvation, and that salvation is 'by His purpose and grace', not just an accident.

The salvation and the purpose seem tightly connected, but so does the suffering.

So it seems that there is some kind of salvation/purpose/suffering triangle going on here - the three come together.

Want to take mission seriously? Better get to grips with all three aspects.

One by One

2010-04-09T07:12:00.000-07:00

Martin Batstone makes a plea for church leaders to look, listen and discern the practical needs of people in their local communities, seeking to serve the lost, damaged and vulnerable as valid work in the Kingdom manifesto of Lk 4:16-21.

A key point made by Martin is that whilst we should certain long for conversion and discipleship, we should serve without expecting or demanding it. As a minister in a charity himself, he prefers to concentrate on individuals one by one rather than trying to play a numbers game.

I think he makes a good point. He is not arguing for a purely social gospel or liberal approach. Surely it is just part of the principle 'seek first the Kingdom, and the rest will be added'?

The problem out there is the sea (ocean) of need - where would one start. How do we balance resources. Thats where discernment is needed as ever, making it most certainly a spiritual exercise rather than a merely practical one or a task of human endeavor.

Focus

2010-03-29T10:24:00.000-07:00

Today I needed to focus on a piece of work all day, working at my laptop. I figured I didn't need those pesky 'you've got mail' notifications distracting me every 20 minutes - I always get tempted to read the email.

Rather than quitting my mail-tool, I decided to set it to not check my email automatically, so it would sit there quiet. Radical!

During the day I worked away, and got curious as to why I had no emails - forgetting that I had disabled its checking! Ah but what bliss to be able to work without the distractions. Eventually near the end of the day I re-enabled, and got hit with over ten messages.

We need God's focus for our mission efforts. There's lots of possibility, but many of them are just noise. Do we have the discipline to 'turn off' the potential distractions so that we can get on with what God is calling us to do? The flip-side is being open to the Spirit to lead us into the unexpected rather than sticking with the programmed, but some clarity and focus is more often than not what is needed.

Gospel Implications

2010-03-14T08:02:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I enjoyed being at Worship Central, but I was particularly encouraged to hear Mike Pilavachi talk about the full implications of the Gospel. He be-littled the classic evangelical sermon calling people to accept Jesus for their personal salvation, and went on to explain that to respond to Jesus means for sure salvation but also calls us to the hard work of mission.

This is the first time I can recall hearing a 'big platform speaker' highlight the shortcomings of our typical preaching. It has been bugging me for a while now that we have been selling short in this way. Indeed I must confess also to be guilty of this myself - something I have been recently trying to correct.

Peter's well known call in Acts 2 for the crowd to 'repent and be baptised' was for them to 'save themselves from this corrupt generation', a generation that should have been at the centre of God's mission purposes. By repenting and getting back on track, they would experience salvation for themselves, but also become once again a mission people for God.

In our UK culture of today, which knows nothing of God's mission purposes and wants individualistic blessing parceled out in nice neat packaging, we would do well to give appropriate time in our message to spelling out the bigger picture.