To whom are we sent? In Acts 1 Jesus tells his disciples that they will be witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the earth.
In his own ministry Jesus concentrated on Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem preaching mainly to the "lost sheep of Israel" - his own people. He did not actively seek to preach to Gentiles. However, during this time he became aware that his Kingdom would bless the Samaritans (who were contaminated by syncretizing canaanite worship into Judaism) and the Gentiles (see Matt 15:21-28).
As I reflect on Jesus' ministry it seems that our context is drastically different. There are no crowds of basically religious people eagerly hoping for a Messiah. There are some who might be called "back to church" and we should try to win these back. The majority of the population in Britain, however, are more like the Samaritans: they are comfortable in their consumerism (Baal worship) and do not feel the need to worship the Living God.
I have been preaching recently on Luke's gospel. Nearly every week we see Jesus challenging the Pharisees. These super-religious people were the stalwarts of organised religion in their time, but they "rejected God's purpose for themselves, because they had not been baptised by John" (Luke 7:30). The ordinary Jewish people responded to John's preaching and were baptised. The Pharisees, who thought they were good enough already would not submit to John's baptism because of their arrogance and pride. They missed out on the joy of being in the Kingdom of God with Jesus.
In winning back those who are the lost sheep, we need to embrace Jesus' understanding of the Kingdom of God. Grace and mercy, healing and forgiveness are more important than rules and status. I am concerned that many inside the churches at present are like the Pharisees - full of themselves and what they want, rather than getting excited about joining with Jesus in his mission to bring home the lost sheep. We need to be with Jesus praying for more workers to become active in the harvest (Luke 10:2).
Jesus' mission to the Samaritans was unsuccessful in Luke 9:51-56, but in John 4 when he exercised his prophetic gifting with the woman at the well there was a positive response. In Acts we see the Samaritans accepting the gospel when it was accompanied with miraculous signs and healing miracles (Acts 8:6-8).
We need to be out and about amongst the Samaritans of Britain with the power and gifts of the Holy Spirit. We cannot expect them to come to us. Maybe as we get a few more lost sheep back in the fold some of them will become the missionaries amongst the Samaritans of our land?
Who are these Samaritans? I think they are the ordinary people of Britain who are in employment, who own their own home, drive everywhere, drink more wine than they used to, sort of believe in God, used to be in the brownies or the cubs, but have never been active church members as adults. These are people I meet when I baptise their children, or officiate at their weddings. These are the people who want Dad to have a christian funeral and who might describe themselves as "spiritual but not religious."
The Gentiles are an even tougher nut to crack. The initial cross-cultural missionaries were Jews. Paul and Barnabas were living in a gentile city, worshipping with Jewish christians and those who had converted to Judaism. As Gentiles came to faith the church grew in its understand that the good news of Jesus was the gospel for the whole world.
When Paul and his friends went out on their missionary journeys to gentile cities it is interesting to note that they always started with the Synagogue. They looked for religious people who would respond to the message of Jesus and form the basis of a missional community in the city they were trying to reach.
What or who are the equivalent people today in Britain who will be at the heart of mission to the Gentiles?
I don't know the answer to this question. And at the moment I find myself drawn more to mission amongst the "Samaritans". This is where I am seeing fruitfulness. These "samaritans" are the "people of peace" that I am finding at the MCFC supporters club. These are the the bulk of the people living in my parish. As we do our Alpha courses and establish our "new wineskins" (Cafe Church, cell groups, praise services etc) these are the people who we are able to integrate into church life. Most of them don't want traditional Anglicanism just as the Samaritans in Jesus' time did not want to worship at the Temple. But they know when they are worshipping "in Spirit and in Truth."
Maybe I should change the title of my blog to be "to-the-Samaritans" ??
Thursday, December 14, 2006
Friday, November 24, 2006
Teamwork
Andrew has taken up rowing. His team, Teddy Hall C, is the third novice crew (not expected to be participating in the next Olympic games). Nevertheless, they put in a superb performance yesterday at the Christchurch regatta, winning their first race by a huge margin against Balliol B team and then holding off Trinity's A Team in the second round until the finish line. Watch it here in larger size or in the box below. I think Andrew is the first oarsman (bow) in the nearest boat.
Wednesday, November 22, 2006
Cowboy Evangelism
I have done plenty of cowboy evangelism in my time. Lots of “yee-haa” but not much harvesting. We learned how to present the gospel with a little booklet. We went out on the streets of Westminster with tracts written by Arthur Blessit who led a training day in London in 1981. We tried to fill coaches with people from Hackney to go and hear Eric Delve preach in Walthamstow. We trained with Douglas McBain’s Mustard Seed to preach in the open air. We did sketchboard presentations at the local community fun day. Much energy expended. Few disciples.
When I led the “News Team” in Hackney we went out every week knocking on doors chatting to people about Jesus, inviting them to church etc. We would nearly always find someone welcoming who wanted to talk. I found myself offering lots of pastoral care and comfort to these lost sheep who never came near the church. We discovered after a while that about 1 in 7 households were receptive to visitors from the local church, but we did not spend enough time with these people. We kept trying to get them to come to us and got discouraged when they did not.
It is a shame that we did not hear the message of Luke 10:7 at this time. Stay in the house of the person of peace. ie spend enough time with this household that they catch the message of the Kingdom of God. Our vicar at the time had the best approach: he would go back week after week to his contacts with a beginners course in Christianity (similar to Good News Down Your Street). I remember thinking that we might learn from his example and do the same, but it never seemed to happen. I personally grew weary of seeing little fruit from the door to door ministry, and at about the same time I joined the FGBMFI which held evangelistic dinners. We saw lots of people get saved and healed at these events so I moved my energies into these instead.
Looking back I would say that the opportunities were there. Maybe we should have persevered in spending more time with those who were open. Maybe we needed to be less busy doing other church things in order to have the time and energy to go out and spend time with these people. After all Jesus did say "do not greet anyone along the road". A curious phrase that I interpret to mean we should be single minded and dedicated to the task.
When I led the “News Team” in Hackney we went out every week knocking on doors chatting to people about Jesus, inviting them to church etc. We would nearly always find someone welcoming who wanted to talk. I found myself offering lots of pastoral care and comfort to these lost sheep who never came near the church. We discovered after a while that about 1 in 7 households were receptive to visitors from the local church, but we did not spend enough time with these people. We kept trying to get them to come to us and got discouraged when they did not.
It is a shame that we did not hear the message of Luke 10:7 at this time. Stay in the house of the person of peace. ie spend enough time with this household that they catch the message of the Kingdom of God. Our vicar at the time had the best approach: he would go back week after week to his contacts with a beginners course in Christianity (similar to Good News Down Your Street). I remember thinking that we might learn from his example and do the same, but it never seemed to happen. I personally grew weary of seeing little fruit from the door to door ministry, and at about the same time I joined the FGBMFI which held evangelistic dinners. We saw lots of people get saved and healed at these events so I moved my energies into these instead.
Looking back I would say that the opportunities were there. Maybe we should have persevered in spending more time with those who were open. Maybe we needed to be less busy doing other church things in order to have the time and energy to go out and spend time with these people. After all Jesus did say "do not greet anyone along the road". A curious phrase that I interpret to mean we should be single minded and dedicated to the task.
Wednesday, November 15, 2006
What Happens in a Huddle?
I have been asked "What happens in a huddle?" Here is my reply:
I am not yet an expert on Huddles, but my former colleague Nick Haigh (who is now Vicar of the Net in Huddersfield has attended one in Sheffield since summer 2005. We model our meetings on his description of what happens, together with what I gleaned from the training day in June this year and the guiding of the Holy Spirit before and during the meetings.
My understanding and present practice is as follows :
· Ideal size group 5-8 people ie On an average of 10 minutes per person + 10 minutes for leadership input = 60-90 minute meeting
· Absolute confidentiality is agreed. If someone wants permission to share anything (eg a positive testimony) beyond the group permission should be expressly sought.
· The meeting will begin with a short prayer
· If someone arrives at the huddle obviously in need of support or full of what the Lord is doing in their particular ministry area we often gather round and pray for them at this point.
· A few moments are spent on feedback and accountability, following up the issues, plans and resolutions made at the previous meeting
· The leader sets the direction of the meeting (having sought guidance from the Holy Spirit) eg Today we are going to use the Square. A bible reading might be used here.
· The leader may give a brief resume of the Lifeshape that is to be used
· A few moments in silent prayer for the Holy Spirit to show us where we are on this issue
· Each person shares in turn for a couple of minutes about how they are doing, and where they think God is wanting to develop them, and what they find difficult etc It is important to note that the “victim” only shares what s/he feels comfortable sharing. Everyone else listens and refrains from jumping in with "that happened to me" type comments.
· The other members of the group have an opportunity to ask questions to clarify exactly what the issues are, and to help the person on the spot to see past their blind spots. No advice is given at this point, it is better for the person to identify with the Lord what responses might be appropriate. We use questions like “What do you think the Father might want to prune away so you have more time for prayer and bible reading?”
· One or two brief prayers are said for the person asking for God’s help in following through resolutions or responses identified.
· The next person shares as per the previous three points. Until everyone including the Huddle leader has shared and been quizzed.
· We end with a short prayer, asking for the Lord’s protection upon us.
I attended a Huddle training day in Sheffield this June. Part of the session was a "goldfish bowl" huddle in front of everyone present where a huddle meeting was modelled. They used the Huddle Character card which has a number of questions under the headings UP IN OUT. Everyone was encouraged to sit in silence for a couple of minutes prayerfully reading through the questions whilst asking the Holy Spirit to point out which of the questions was most pertinent at present. Each person shared for about a minute and were then asked questions by the huddle leader and by other members of the huddle.
In the huddles at St. Mark’s so far we have used some of the Lifeshapes. In our first meeting we used the Semi-Circle. I reminded people of the teaching about seasons of abiding and fruitfulness, daily, weekly, and monthly rhythms. We also reminded ourselves that pruning is necessary for greater fruitfulness, and that we need the Father to guide us to the best out of a massive choice of “good” things that we could be doing. We then asked the question “What does abiding look like for you? How do you recharge? What restores your soul?” After waiting on the Lord for a couple of minutes we each shared and were quizzed. In our second meeting we used the Triangle to identify whether we were weak in any of the three areas. We shared what we felt the Lord wanted us to do about this. Some of the issues raised were worth exploring more deeply, so we used the Circle together the following week.
My hope over the next few months is to ensure that every leader is able to be reflective about their own spirituality, and can use the Lifeshapes to help them in this. Also that they will grow in their ability to hold one another accountable. I am also looking for opportunities to develop leadership skills through the huddles. I sometimes draw attention to how something shared might alter the way we lead in our cell groups. I expect this area to be more important once we all feel more comfortable using the Lifeshapes intuitively in daily life.
I am not yet an expert on Huddles, but my former colleague Nick Haigh (who is now Vicar of the Net in Huddersfield has attended one in Sheffield since summer 2005. We model our meetings on his description of what happens, together with what I gleaned from the training day in June this year and the guiding of the Holy Spirit before and during the meetings.
My understanding and present practice is as follows :
· Ideal size group 5-8 people ie On an average of 10 minutes per person + 10 minutes for leadership input = 60-90 minute meeting
· Absolute confidentiality is agreed. If someone wants permission to share anything (eg a positive testimony) beyond the group permission should be expressly sought.
· The meeting will begin with a short prayer
· If someone arrives at the huddle obviously in need of support or full of what the Lord is doing in their particular ministry area we often gather round and pray for them at this point.
· A few moments are spent on feedback and accountability, following up the issues, plans and resolutions made at the previous meeting
· The leader sets the direction of the meeting (having sought guidance from the Holy Spirit) eg Today we are going to use the Square. A bible reading might be used here.
· The leader may give a brief resume of the Lifeshape that is to be used
· A few moments in silent prayer for the Holy Spirit to show us where we are on this issue
· Each person shares in turn for a couple of minutes about how they are doing, and where they think God is wanting to develop them, and what they find difficult etc It is important to note that the “victim” only shares what s/he feels comfortable sharing. Everyone else listens and refrains from jumping in with "that happened to me" type comments.
· The other members of the group have an opportunity to ask questions to clarify exactly what the issues are, and to help the person on the spot to see past their blind spots. No advice is given at this point, it is better for the person to identify with the Lord what responses might be appropriate. We use questions like “What do you think the Father might want to prune away so you have more time for prayer and bible reading?”
· One or two brief prayers are said for the person asking for God’s help in following through resolutions or responses identified.
· The next person shares as per the previous three points. Until everyone including the Huddle leader has shared and been quizzed.
· We end with a short prayer, asking for the Lord’s protection upon us.
I attended a Huddle training day in Sheffield this June. Part of the session was a "goldfish bowl" huddle in front of everyone present where a huddle meeting was modelled. They used the Huddle Character card which has a number of questions under the headings UP IN OUT. Everyone was encouraged to sit in silence for a couple of minutes prayerfully reading through the questions whilst asking the Holy Spirit to point out which of the questions was most pertinent at present. Each person shared for about a minute and were then asked questions by the huddle leader and by other members of the huddle.
In the huddles at St. Mark’s so far we have used some of the Lifeshapes. In our first meeting we used the Semi-Circle. I reminded people of the teaching about seasons of abiding and fruitfulness, daily, weekly, and monthly rhythms. We also reminded ourselves that pruning is necessary for greater fruitfulness, and that we need the Father to guide us to the best out of a massive choice of “good” things that we could be doing. We then asked the question “What does abiding look like for you? How do you recharge? What restores your soul?” After waiting on the Lord for a couple of minutes we each shared and were quizzed. In our second meeting we used the Triangle to identify whether we were weak in any of the three areas. We shared what we felt the Lord wanted us to do about this. Some of the issues raised were worth exploring more deeply, so we used the Circle together the following week.
My hope over the next few months is to ensure that every leader is able to be reflective about their own spirituality, and can use the Lifeshapes to help them in this. Also that they will grow in their ability to hold one another accountable. I am also looking for opportunities to develop leadership skills through the huddles. I sometimes draw attention to how something shared might alter the way we lead in our cell groups. I expect this area to be more important once we all feel more comfortable using the Lifeshapes intuitively in daily life.
Friday, November 10, 2006
Huddle for Mission
Since I started blogging in March I have been reflecting on the nature of Church. To reach the "gentiles" with the good news of Jesus and his Kingdom we are going to have to embrace radical church structures which are flexible and easy to reproduce. One church that had made great strides in this area is St. Thomas in Sheffield.
St. Toms has a Parish Church presence in Crookes - a suburb of Sheffield and a City-wide presence through St.Thomas, Philadelphia which has a base/resource centre in an old industrial unit near the city centre.
The history of St. Toms has been an inspiration to me over the years - I read Robert Warren's book "In the Crucible" around the time of my selection conference. I embraced his teaching about Missionary congregations. I have followed with interest the growth of clusters and cells under Mike Breen's leadership.
Out of this has now come TOM - The Order of Mission. The pattern of life is based on the Lifeshapes (originally known as Lifeskills). New disciples are taught these shapes as a way they can live in obedience to the teachings of Christ. They are simple, practical and memorable which means they can easily be transferred to a new disciple. Simple is important for movement and sustainable growth.
Leaders are mentored and trained in the use of the Lifeshapes through Huddles. The principle used is one of High Acountability - Low Control. It is very Apostolic in nature and it realeases people to lead missionary communities.
The following is a descrition of Huddles from a card that is used by Huddle members in The Order of Mission.
A bit more about huddles can be read on the St. Thomas website.
St. Toms has a Parish Church presence in Crookes - a suburb of Sheffield and a City-wide presence through St.Thomas, Philadelphia which has a base/resource centre in an old industrial unit near the city centre.
The history of St. Toms has been an inspiration to me over the years - I read Robert Warren's book "In the Crucible" around the time of my selection conference. I embraced his teaching about Missionary congregations. I have followed with interest the growth of clusters and cells under Mike Breen's leadership.
Out of this has now come TOM - The Order of Mission. The pattern of life is based on the Lifeshapes (originally known as Lifeskills). New disciples are taught these shapes as a way they can live in obedience to the teachings of Christ. They are simple, practical and memorable which means they can easily be transferred to a new disciple. Simple is important for movement and sustainable growth.
Leaders are mentored and trained in the use of the Lifeshapes through Huddles. The principle used is one of High Acountability - Low Control. It is very Apostolic in nature and it realeases people to lead missionary communities.
The following is a descrition of Huddles from a card that is used by Huddle members in The Order of Mission.
‘Huddle’ is the structure by which every member of The Order of Mission engages with on-going support and training. Reflecting our understanding that each one of us is both a follower and a leader, members are both called into a huddle, where they are led, and—over time—call others into a huddle that they lead. Christ-like character is the most fundamental issue for leaders. We also need to learn effective leadership skills. The questions on this card are a tool to help us identify where God is wanting to address our character.
There is a companion card with questions to help us identify where God is wanting to address our skills. In each case, we read through the questions, asking the Holy Spirit to highlight the issue He wants to address. It might be an area where we need to allow Him to change us, or an area where we need to recognise the extent to which He already has—in other words, we expect both the challenge to repent and the encouragement of seeing the kingdom break in.
The huddle leader is called to help the members of their huddle in this process. Lifeskills—the Pattern of Life of the Order—provides the tools to do so, and a summary of the shapes is found on this card. The relationship between the leader and their huddle should be one of ‘low control, high accountability’, whereby the leader is only directive where appropriate, with the aim of releasing the follower as a leader themselves; and the follower gives their leader permission to hold them accountable in both character and skills.
A bit more about huddles can be read on the St. Thomas website.
Tuesday, November 07, 2006
The weakness of “Lone Ranger” evangelism
I am increasingly convinced that Jesus knew what he was doing when he sent his disciples out “two by two” into the towns and villages of Israel (Luke 10). A team of two is far more effective than a solitary Christian.
One of my hopes in joining the local branch of the Manchester City Supporters Club was that I would have some opportunities to share my faith with the people I meet week by week. Up to now it has not been as easy as I had hoped, and I want to note a few observations.
I have been welcomed and accepted by the people at the club and I am there as a presence. My faith is the occasional subject of some light hearted banter, but I have not found many natural opportunities to talk about Jesus and the important aspects of faith in him. I am sure though that it would be easier for such conversations to arise if there was another Christian with me. Two Christians can model community in a way that one alone cannot.
I am sure that a lot of prayer happened while the disciples of Jesus walked to the village they visited. It is easier to be faithful in prayer as part of a team. Another believer mixing with the same group of people would be an encouragement to me and vice versa. We could pray together for kingdom opportunities and help one another to stay close to the Lord in this very godless environment. We could pray for discernment of where the Holy Spirit has gone before us and give one another courage in following up such opportunities. We could pray for the people we meet that their spiritual hunger would grow.
Please pray with me that the Lord will send another worker into the harvest field of the Bredbury Blues.
Thursday, October 19, 2006
Historic Moment
I missed it. The biggest blog in history and I was too busy meeting a real person to blog on Tuesday. Shucks.
Monday, October 09, 2006
The Parable of the Oak Tree
I have been praying under an oak tree recently. As it is Autumn acorns have been falling off all around me. The floor is covered in acorns. There are thousands of them scattered all around.
The oak tree is not a fine specimen; it is a bit manky really. Despite several rotting branches that are about to fall off it is clearly fruitful. It will only take one of the acorns to sprout and grow into a new tree and this oak tree will have reproduced itself.
I had a look around today to see if there were any saplings nearby which may have come from this tree. There were five, but one is too close to the mother tree and isn't getting enough light. It is a scrawny thing. It doesn't have enough leaves and bugs are already eating away at it. Some of its brothers and sisters though are doing better. I'm sure at least one of these will make it to maturity.
And who knows what may come of this year's acorn crop.
Those who have ears to hear, let them hear.
The oak tree is not a fine specimen; it is a bit manky really. Despite several rotting branches that are about to fall off it is clearly fruitful. It will only take one of the acorns to sprout and grow into a new tree and this oak tree will have reproduced itself.
I had a look around today to see if there were any saplings nearby which may have come from this tree. There were five, but one is too close to the mother tree and isn't getting enough light. It is a scrawny thing. It doesn't have enough leaves and bugs are already eating away at it. Some of its brothers and sisters though are doing better. I'm sure at least one of these will make it to maturity.
And who knows what may come of this year's acorn crop.
Those who have ears to hear, let them hear.
Thursday, October 05, 2006
Beggar, Digger or Giver?
I was not planning to blog today as I have to prepare a meeting with the Thursday Cell Group to explain why I do not agree with fundraising to buy things for the Church. However in preparation I felt God reminding me of the best sermon I ever heard about money - just a few weeks after coming to St.Mark's. It was on Luke 16 which is a bizarre story of a dishonest steward who was commended by his master for being shrewd. In verse 3 “The manager said to himself, ‘What shall I do now? My master is taking away my job. I’m not strong enough to dig, and I’m ashamed to beg." So he gave to his master's debtors by settling their accounts at a discount and made friends for himself. The main points that I remember are:
We can beg
This embraces the poverty mentality of many churches. We are the charity. We are poor. We have no resources. Please help us. We will even be happy with your shabby second hand carpet because it has fewer holes in it than our even shabbier carpet. On a personal level we can't give any more to the church because we don't really have enough for ourselves.
We can Dig
Many church members are diggers. We work hard to earn every penny we can. We work all hours. Some even have to work on Sundays because God din't really know what life was like for the people of Bredbury when he told us that six days is enough time to do everything that we have to do.
In the Church context many like to give a bit of time to earn money for the church by selling things, holding coffee mornings or second hand goods sales, having raffles and sponsored walks. It is hard not to get sucked into these things if you want to feel that you belong to the community.
You can Give
The Christian way is to be a giver. Giving releases us from bondage to Mammon (Luke 16:13). Giving moves us into the Kingdom of God. Giving blesses other people and fulfils the Abramic promise "through your descendants all nations on earth will be blessed". Giving makes us dependent on our heavenly Father who can only provide for us properly when we stop digging and begging. We have to learn to trust him instead of ourselves.
I find it sad that so many people at St.Mark's still do not get this. They are in danger of being left behind by those who are pressing on into the goodness of the Kingdom of God.
We can beg
This embraces the poverty mentality of many churches. We are the charity. We are poor. We have no resources. Please help us. We will even be happy with your shabby second hand carpet because it has fewer holes in it than our even shabbier carpet. On a personal level we can't give any more to the church because we don't really have enough for ourselves.
We can Dig
Many church members are diggers. We work hard to earn every penny we can. We work all hours. Some even have to work on Sundays because God din't really know what life was like for the people of Bredbury when he told us that six days is enough time to do everything that we have to do.
In the Church context many like to give a bit of time to earn money for the church by selling things, holding coffee mornings or second hand goods sales, having raffles and sponsored walks. It is hard not to get sucked into these things if you want to feel that you belong to the community.
You can Give
The Christian way is to be a giver. Giving releases us from bondage to Mammon (Luke 16:13). Giving moves us into the Kingdom of God. Giving blesses other people and fulfils the Abramic promise "through your descendants all nations on earth will be blessed". Giving makes us dependent on our heavenly Father who can only provide for us properly when we stop digging and begging. We have to learn to trust him instead of ourselves.
I find it sad that so many people at St.Mark's still do not get this. They are in danger of being left behind by those who are pressing on into the goodness of the Kingdom of God.
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
The Exclusive Church
The Church of England used to be a broad church embracing a wide spectrum of opinion. Now sadly it seems to be keen to limit its intake of clergy to those who promise not to rock the boat.
Michael Howard's son has completed three years training at Durham, earned himself a 2:1 in theology and is refused ordination. See this article from the Mail. I don't know the man personally, but surely there must be room for a few prophetic voices within the Church? I can think of several churches where he would be welcome.
Michael Howard's son has completed three years training at Durham, earned himself a 2:1 in theology and is refused ordination. See this article from the Mail. I don't know the man personally, but surely there must be room for a few prophetic voices within the Church? I can think of several churches where he would be welcome.
Three Kingdoms Come
I am sure we are all familiar with the expression that God wants spiritual fruit rather than religious nuts.
Well, over the past few weeks I have been blessed with some words of encouragement sent to me on slightly bizarre cards (see photos).
I can't reproduce the reams of photocopied notes that accompanied the cards, but I have filed them for future reference: they will provide a stimulating interlude at our next dinner party.
A relatively intelligible sample of the type of literature given to me is the inside of the "MOO" card. So stay happy and smile when you think of the rich and varied aspects of religious life that vicars are exposed to.
Monday, October 02, 2006
Emptying Nest
Yesterday Jane and I took Andrew down to Oxford where he begins four years of Physics at St. Edmund Hall. Our first baby has flown the nest!
Today David passed his driving test and is now driving to school! Our other baby is nearly ready to fly also.
Sunday, October 01, 2006
What does a successful cell church look like?
I recently posted an article on my other blog about success. Have a read
What does a successful cell church look like?
What does a successful cell church look like?
Friday, September 29, 2006
Window of Opportunity
My main prayer time each day is when I go out into the local countryside on my bike with Amos and Shadow my sheepdogs. We go whatever the weather, but I prefer it when it is not raining. So, blogging today will have to wait until it is raining later!
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Are you a Settler or a Pioneer?
Take a look at this highly entertaining piece on Guy Muse's blog about settlers and pioneers.
Where are you in the wild west?
Where are you in the wild west?
Monday, September 25, 2006
Muttering
What is Muttering?
A dictionary definition:
On the day I was licensed as priest in charge at St. Mark's Bishop Geoff leant out the pulpit, wagged his finger at the congregation and said "No muttering". Apparently the congregation had a reputation for grumbling and complaining. I suspect that some have reverted back into this old habit, but as it is "a low grumble of indistinct utterance" I never quite hear it first hand. I just get second-hand reports and see the effects of this when people "vote with their feet".
Why Do People Mutter?
We mutter for a variety of reasons: because we don't get what we want; or we don't get what we expect; or we don't like what we get; or we just don't like the discomfort caused by change. A few years ago I heard the former Bishop of Durham say, "I was shocked by the selfishness of people in the churches!" He found it very difficult to bring about the change that he could so clearly see was necessary for the future health of the church in his Diocese.
The Danger of Unbelief
The people of Israel used to mutter and grumble about Moses and Aaron. In Numbers 14 they even wanted to go back to Egypt rather than enter the Promised Land. It got so bad at one point that it turned to anger and "the whole assembly talked about stoning them" (v10). God was not pleased with their contempt for His promises and their lack of faith. They then had to endure 40 years wandering in the wilderness. I hope the Church in Bredbury will not make the same mistake. I hope we will heed the warning of Hebrews 3:7-19
Indifference about the Lost Sheep
In Luke 15 the Pharisees were muttering about Jesus. "This man," they said, "welcomes sinners and eats with them!" So Jesus told a few stories. One was a story about a shepherd who cared so much about a single lost sheep that he left the other 99 (who were not lost) to look after themselves while he went searching.
Jesus doesn't elaborate about the bleating that went on while the shepherd was away. Here in Bredbury I suspect that I may have upset a few folk when I reminded them at the last Annual Meeting that we are Parish of 10,000 people with a church membership of 150. As I have the cure of souls for the whole Parish if I were to apportion my time fairly, based on a 50 hour working week, I would be spending 45 minutes a week with them. I did try to reassure everyone that they would be getting more time than this, but I was trying to make the point that we church folk can be very wrapped up in ourselves, our services and what we want, when Jesus is calling us to journey out to meet the people who don't want to come to church.
Earlier this year we also started a fortnightly "Interactive" cafe-style church service on Sunday mornings at the same time as the normal Anglican hymn-sandwich style service. This means that on one Sunday a month I am not in the "Victorian" building. I suspect that a big part of the grumbling and muttering that occurred over the summer was because the people who put the money on the plate don't think they are getting their money's worth at their preferred service. The fact that the "Interactive" service is proving to be a haven for lost sheep doesn't seem to have sunk in yet.
Missing Out on the Party
Jesus went on in Luke 15 to tell the story of a Father with two sons. One son left home and was wasting his life away. The other stayed at home and "slaved" for his Father. When the lost son came home the Father threw a huge party to celebrate, but the older son would not join in. He was too angry.
There are a couple of sad things about this story. Firstly, the older son never shared his Father's compassion for his lost brother. He was just critical and condemning. Secondly, the older son felt like a slave. He was serving his Father out of duty rather than love. Both sons were lost, but only one of them realised it.
Many church people are missing out on the party because they have not yet made the journey from servanthood to sonship. There are some who have not experienced the transforming love of the Father for themselves and so they do not share his generous heart for the lost.
O Lord have mercy on your church!
A dictionary definition:
mut·ter (mtr)
v. mut·tered, mut·ter·ing, mut·ters
v.intr.
1. To speak indistinctly in low tones.
2. To complain or grumble morosely.
v.tr.
To utter or say in low indistinct tones.
n.
A low grumble or indistinct utterance.
On the day I was licensed as priest in charge at St. Mark's Bishop Geoff leant out the pulpit, wagged his finger at the congregation and said "No muttering". Apparently the congregation had a reputation for grumbling and complaining. I suspect that some have reverted back into this old habit, but as it is "a low grumble of indistinct utterance" I never quite hear it first hand. I just get second-hand reports and see the effects of this when people "vote with their feet".
Why Do People Mutter?
We mutter for a variety of reasons: because we don't get what we want; or we don't get what we expect; or we don't like what we get; or we just don't like the discomfort caused by change. A few years ago I heard the former Bishop of Durham say, "I was shocked by the selfishness of people in the churches!" He found it very difficult to bring about the change that he could so clearly see was necessary for the future health of the church in his Diocese.
The Danger of Unbelief
The people of Israel used to mutter and grumble about Moses and Aaron. In Numbers 14 they even wanted to go back to Egypt rather than enter the Promised Land. It got so bad at one point that it turned to anger and "the whole assembly talked about stoning them" (v10). God was not pleased with their contempt for His promises and their lack of faith. They then had to endure 40 years wandering in the wilderness. I hope the Church in Bredbury will not make the same mistake. I hope we will heed the warning of Hebrews 3:7-19
7 So, as the Holy Spirit says:
“Today, if you hear his voice, 8 do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing in the desert, 9 where your fathers tested and tried me and for forty years saw what I did. 10 That is why I was angry with that generation, and I said, ‘Their hearts are always going astray, and they have not known my ways.’ 11 So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest.’ ” 12 See to it, brothers, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. 13 But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called Today, so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. 14 We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly till the end the confidence we had at first. 15 As has just been said: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion.” 16 Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt? 17 And with whom was he angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the desert? 18 And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed? 19 So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief.
Indifference about the Lost Sheep
In Luke 15 the Pharisees were muttering about Jesus. "This man," they said, "welcomes sinners and eats with them!" So Jesus told a few stories. One was a story about a shepherd who cared so much about a single lost sheep that he left the other 99 (who were not lost) to look after themselves while he went searching.
Jesus doesn't elaborate about the bleating that went on while the shepherd was away. Here in Bredbury I suspect that I may have upset a few folk when I reminded them at the last Annual Meeting that we are Parish of 10,000 people with a church membership of 150. As I have the cure of souls for the whole Parish if I were to apportion my time fairly, based on a 50 hour working week, I would be spending 45 minutes a week with them. I did try to reassure everyone that they would be getting more time than this, but I was trying to make the point that we church folk can be very wrapped up in ourselves, our services and what we want, when Jesus is calling us to journey out to meet the people who don't want to come to church.
Earlier this year we also started a fortnightly "Interactive" cafe-style church service on Sunday mornings at the same time as the normal Anglican hymn-sandwich style service. This means that on one Sunday a month I am not in the "Victorian" building. I suspect that a big part of the grumbling and muttering that occurred over the summer was because the people who put the money on the plate don't think they are getting their money's worth at their preferred service. The fact that the "Interactive" service is proving to be a haven for lost sheep doesn't seem to have sunk in yet.
Missing Out on the Party
Jesus went on in Luke 15 to tell the story of a Father with two sons. One son left home and was wasting his life away. The other stayed at home and "slaved" for his Father. When the lost son came home the Father threw a huge party to celebrate, but the older son would not join in. He was too angry.
There are a couple of sad things about this story. Firstly, the older son never shared his Father's compassion for his lost brother. He was just critical and condemning. Secondly, the older son felt like a slave. He was serving his Father out of duty rather than love. Both sons were lost, but only one of them realised it.
Many church people are missing out on the party because they have not yet made the journey from servanthood to sonship. There are some who have not experienced the transforming love of the Father for themselves and so they do not share his generous heart for the lost.
O Lord have mercy on your church!
Friday, September 22, 2006
New Wine is becoming the Old Wine
As I lay on the floor of an agricultural exhibition hall near Newark this summer soaking up the love of my heavenly Father there was a stray thought in my head. Why is it that only thirty out of the 2500 people in this hall are making use of this multi-sensory worship area? I love this. Why can’t church be like this all the time? Let’s get the pews out and have cushions and comfy sofas!
The “traditional” New Wine evening celebration was different that evening. Now you have to bear in mind that 90% of New Winos are Anglican (and you all know how Anglicans hate change). Normally we have 40 minutes of singing whilst standing too close to someone who hasn’t had a shower for three days (which is really bad news in a charismatic setting where armpits are exposed). Instead on this particular evening we had a couple of songs and then some prayers and a couple more songs and some more prayers. It was led by Alex and Hannah Absalom from St.Thomas Philadelphia in Sheffield along the lines of what they might do in their Sunday evening Kairos service.
I loved it. The congregational prayers were led using the Lord’s prayer as a framework (as in the Hexagon Lifeshape). Powerpoint pictures on the projector screens were used to visually stimulate our prayers. In the multi-sensory areas there were cushions and a number of prayer/meditation stations. There was a picture of the prodigal son being welcomed home by his Father to help us to meditate on the Father’s love. There was bread to eat to remember that God provides our daily bread. There were bowls of water so we could symbolically wash away our sin as we were forgiven and as we forgave others. There were little scrolls of St.Patrick’s Breastplate to use as we thought about being delivered from evil.
Over the next couple of days I heard mixed responses to the evening. Some people felt cheated. It wasn’t what they had come for! It struck me that Jesus was very wise when he said “You can’t put new wine into an old wineskin” … and even wiser when he said, “and no-one after drinking the old wine wants the new, for he says, “The old wine is better.”” (Luke 5:37-39).
New wine needs a new wineskin where it can mature. As wine matures it becomes old wine, and for those who like it it does indeed taste better than the new. Whilst Jesus was probably having a go at the Pharisees with his aphorism I believe it can be read in a positive way. ie Don’t criticize the good new thing that God is doing. Allow it to co-exist with your way of doing church. In time it too will mature and become old wine and something else new will come along. Let’s not break the old wineskins, and let’s not lose the new wine with all its enthusiasm and lack of finesse. In God’s mixed economy there is a place for both.
Monday, September 18, 2006
The end is nigh?
I stumbled across the Rapture Index today. Isn't it amazing what variety there is within the body of Christ? Apparently we are in a "fasten your seat belts" phase of "prophetic activity". A quotation from the site to whet your appetite:
You could say the Rapture index is a Dow Jones Industrial Average of end time activity, but I think it would be better if you viewed it as prophetic speedometer. The higher the number, the faster we're moving towards the occurrence of pre-tribulation rapture.
Friday, September 15, 2006
Reality check
The Spiritual temperature of St. Mark’s is cooler than I would like it to be. On a couple of occasions recently it has become clear to me just what a low ebb we are at spiritually, and how much work I need to put in if I am to call the whole church into renewal. And yet some folk are really on fire for the Lord at the moment. It is just that there are about seven times as many who are very cool about spiritual things. It is a bit like a bath of cold water with a scalding hot patch at one end.
I don’t want to become critical or judgmental, but the level of enthusiasm for prayer seems to be at the lower end of the temperature gauge. I struggled a bit to not be discouraged when there were only three other people present at the start of our day of prayer on Saturday 2nd September. At about 10.20am a handful of others showed up which was good. At one stage there were over 15 people present and in total it was attended by about 25-30 members, including at least two from the 9am BCP congregation.
To be fair to those who did not attend, the weather was dreadful and will probably have discouraged a number of the older ladies from venturing out. Also it did happen very soon after the holiday period, so some folk may not have realised it was happening.
While praying about the lower than hoped for attendance I felt that it would be good to give the rest of the church another opportunity. So on Saturday 7th October we will be having another day of prayer.
Yesterday our Alpha Prayer was attended by ten church members plus myself. We enjoyed a powerful time of praise and prayer. The Spirit was with us. But surely out of a membership of about 150 people you would have expected more people to attend? Allowing for the fact that this was a midweek meeting and taking into account that some of our folk are active in other ministries I would not expect everyone to come. But just ten? What does this say about the spiritual temperature of the church? Is there no desire to see the lost saved?
I don’t fully understand quite why it is important for lots of people to gather for prayer. I am sure we can’t force God’s hand by sheer weight of numbers. But it is an assumption in evangelical circles that spiritual things happen when lots of people pray often.
This is probably because praying brings us closer to God. We become more passionate, more inspired, more enthusiastic and this passion and enthusiasm is contagious. It spurs others on. It releases energy. Also as we pray we discern the heart of God and we bring our wills in line with his. We see where we have been half-hearted or lazy or selfish. We present ourselves to be the living sacrifices that will be used by God to bring his Kingdom rule into our sphere of influence.
I am praying for a renewal of spiritual passion. Send the fire, Lord!!
I don’t want to become critical or judgmental, but the level of enthusiasm for prayer seems to be at the lower end of the temperature gauge. I struggled a bit to not be discouraged when there were only three other people present at the start of our day of prayer on Saturday 2nd September. At about 10.20am a handful of others showed up which was good. At one stage there were over 15 people present and in total it was attended by about 25-30 members, including at least two from the 9am BCP congregation.
To be fair to those who did not attend, the weather was dreadful and will probably have discouraged a number of the older ladies from venturing out. Also it did happen very soon after the holiday period, so some folk may not have realised it was happening.
While praying about the lower than hoped for attendance I felt that it would be good to give the rest of the church another opportunity. So on Saturday 7th October we will be having another day of prayer.
Yesterday our Alpha Prayer was attended by ten church members plus myself. We enjoyed a powerful time of praise and prayer. The Spirit was with us. But surely out of a membership of about 150 people you would have expected more people to attend? Allowing for the fact that this was a midweek meeting and taking into account that some of our folk are active in other ministries I would not expect everyone to come. But just ten? What does this say about the spiritual temperature of the church? Is there no desire to see the lost saved?
I don’t fully understand quite why it is important for lots of people to gather for prayer. I am sure we can’t force God’s hand by sheer weight of numbers. But it is an assumption in evangelical circles that spiritual things happen when lots of people pray often.
This is probably because praying brings us closer to God. We become more passionate, more inspired, more enthusiastic and this passion and enthusiasm is contagious. It spurs others on. It releases energy. Also as we pray we discern the heart of God and we bring our wills in line with his. We see where we have been half-hearted or lazy or selfish. We present ourselves to be the living sacrifices that will be used by God to bring his Kingdom rule into our sphere of influence.
I am praying for a renewal of spiritual passion. Send the fire, Lord!!
Friday, September 08, 2006
Starfish
A Parable of the Kingdom
I heard a story once about a man who was walking along a beach where thousands of starfish had been washed ashore by a storm. The man saw a little boy who was picking up the starfishes one by one and throwing them back into the sea.
"What is the point of doing that?" the man asked, "What difference will it make anyway?"
Holding up one of the starfish the little boy replied, "I can't save them all, but I can make a difference to this one." With that he threw the starfish back into the sea.
Making a difference
I am not able to save the world, but I can make a difference to a few. This week I am praising God for the opportunities I have had this week to share the Good News - with families bringing children for Baptism, with a lady who came to church for the first time a couple of weeks ago, with a cyclist on the towpath whose wife has cancer.
Good News for the Lost Sheep
I already have two people signed up for the next Alpha course and we are hoping for a good crowd at Back to Church Sunday on 24th September. Although this is overtly attractional church (see earlier discussions) it could result in a few more workers in the harvest field, so it is worth doing.
Making Disciples
I now have the dates of the huddles sorted out for the Autumn with 18 people in three groups ready to begin honing their own walk with the Lord and their disciple-making skills. One group starts on Wednesday 13th. The others will meet on Monday 18th and Tuesday 19th.
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