My final prayer is that the church would rediscover the fruit of joy and the praise of God
This
is a dark world to live in. You just have to watch the news at night
to appreciate that. But the Christian message is one that at its root
(at its’ core), in its’ very fiber, celebrates life overcoming darkness
and death.
Easter is the anniversary of this historical reality.
We live in a society that is skeptical about the claims of the church.
The problem of a conscience that says that you can’t celebrate when
there is so much bad and evil is a peculiarly Western one. It is a sign
of the deep guilt that plagues our culture because I have never found a
shortage of celebration in Eastern Europe, Asia or the urban poor of
America which are places I’ve been.
Praise is something that
goes with being God’s church. It is a sign of our celebration of our
future hope. It is a sign of our thankfulness for what God has already
done in us which the Spirit testifies to and prompts us to say, “Come
Lord Jesus”. In short… praise is our down payment on the assuredness of
our future in Christ. Our testimony to those who see our celebration
and want to know what it is that we have. And our witness to the world
of what we know and experience.
Which has been one of the great
contributions of the rise of the Azuza Street Revival… if you go into a
small Pentecostal church somewhere on the wrong side of town you will
see people whose lives have been transformed by their experience of God.
The fulfillment of Luke chapter 4… Sight given to the blind; The
oppressed being freed; Prisoners set free; The year of the Lord’s favor
being proclaimed. That’s worth celebrating.
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
Sunday, April 23, 2006
Left Where?
Some of you may have detected my cynacism in previous posts about the Left Behind
series of books. They are a fictional account of a 150 year old
theological idea called dispensationalism. But the whole thing has gone
to a bizzare level now... they have developed the Left Behind Video
Games where you can kill pagans who were living after the rapture. Its'
notion is bizzare and sick. Don't believe me? Go here:
http://www.leftbehindgames.com/
http://www.leftbehindgames.com/
Saturday, April 22, 2006
Prayer # 2
That we get the life-giving, socially-transforming gospel of Jesus Christ out of our sanctuaries and into the streets
Our churches have been formed too much by our culture. I guess that that is to be expected. We are taught that a huge church is a successful church because we think that a huge company is a successful company. The two are not synomous. A growing company has at its centre the growth of profits and the value of its’ shares. They can never be the centre of a church’s aims. As Archbishop William Temple said all those years ago, ‘The church is the only organization that exists for those who are not it’s members’.
And if we are going to apply those standards to today’s mode of thinking, then Jesus, Paul, the disciples and Christians for the first 400 years failed (which they did not). While the number of people who come on a Sunday to church does say something, I am less clear about what! Certainly we do not want no one to come unless everyone were serving the poor, the vulnerable and the needy. But if they were doing those things, I suspect that they would have more reason to gather with their spiritual community for worship and support. Size is not at all meaningful or useful in late, post-Christendom culture, in terms of measuring faithfulness to the proclamation and demonstration of the gospel anymore then size tells us that lots of people like the Rolling Stones.
What we need are signs of the demonstration of the Kingdom’s imminence. What does communicate the effectiveness of a church in what it is trying to achieve are the stories that permeate throughout it…
§ The relationships between people of different age groups, cultures and socio-economic backgrounds
§ The meals shared in each other’s homes
§ The care and interest shown to strangers in the street who are in need
§ The ethics and morality shown to an employer or employee in the workplace
§ The touch of healing power on a wound that has troubled someone for ages
§ The revelation of the Word of God
§ Resources devoted to things that don’t benefit the church
§ Work amongst children, youth and the elderly
§ The provision of education and training so as to help people grow and learn and make a difference in their lives
James said ‘But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that--and shudder.’ Jas 2:18-19
The church is an easy target in our society, but take it away and you also take away much housing for the most vulnerable; counseling and psychological services to those who are truly ‘captives’ and ‘oppressed’; many of the hospitals across the city; many schools and kindergartens; practical help and advocacy for refugees; you also lose huge welfare organizations like StV’s, the Brotherhood, and of course the Salvation Army; and you had better also expect a lot less advocacy for the poor and vulnerable; and less concern for the Majority world (because World Vision and it’s ilk would also be gone)…
This week is an amazing time in the Christian calendar because of the hope that we learn that death was defeated once and for all. It lost its’ sting. And hope became available for all people through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. This is indeed an event that changed the course of history.
Our churches have been formed too much by our culture. I guess that that is to be expected. We are taught that a huge church is a successful church because we think that a huge company is a successful company. The two are not synomous. A growing company has at its centre the growth of profits and the value of its’ shares. They can never be the centre of a church’s aims. As Archbishop William Temple said all those years ago, ‘The church is the only organization that exists for those who are not it’s members’.
And if we are going to apply those standards to today’s mode of thinking, then Jesus, Paul, the disciples and Christians for the first 400 years failed (which they did not). While the number of people who come on a Sunday to church does say something, I am less clear about what! Certainly we do not want no one to come unless everyone were serving the poor, the vulnerable and the needy. But if they were doing those things, I suspect that they would have more reason to gather with their spiritual community for worship and support. Size is not at all meaningful or useful in late, post-Christendom culture, in terms of measuring faithfulness to the proclamation and demonstration of the gospel anymore then size tells us that lots of people like the Rolling Stones.
What we need are signs of the demonstration of the Kingdom’s imminence. What does communicate the effectiveness of a church in what it is trying to achieve are the stories that permeate throughout it…
§ The relationships between people of different age groups, cultures and socio-economic backgrounds
§ The meals shared in each other’s homes
§ The care and interest shown to strangers in the street who are in need
§ The ethics and morality shown to an employer or employee in the workplace
§ The touch of healing power on a wound that has troubled someone for ages
§ The revelation of the Word of God
§ Resources devoted to things that don’t benefit the church
§ Work amongst children, youth and the elderly
§ The provision of education and training so as to help people grow and learn and make a difference in their lives
James said ‘But someone will say, "You have faith; I have deeds." Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by what I do. You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that--and shudder.’ Jas 2:18-19
The church is an easy target in our society, but take it away and you also take away much housing for the most vulnerable; counseling and psychological services to those who are truly ‘captives’ and ‘oppressed’; many of the hospitals across the city; many schools and kindergartens; practical help and advocacy for refugees; you also lose huge welfare organizations like StV’s, the Brotherhood, and of course the Salvation Army; and you had better also expect a lot less advocacy for the poor and vulnerable; and less concern for the Majority world (because World Vision and it’s ilk would also be gone)…
This week is an amazing time in the Christian calendar because of the hope that we learn that death was defeated once and for all. It lost its’ sting. And hope became available for all people through the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. This is indeed an event that changed the course of history.
Friday, April 21, 2006
Prayer # 1
That we would keep Christ and his command to proclaim Him and follow Him as the centre of our raison d’etre...When the women found the empty tomb on the Sunday of the Passover the angel said, ‘Don’t be alarmed, you are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here’
And when Jesus appeared to the disciples after the resurrections he said these words to them in the Gospel of Matthew… "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
All over the place I see churches trying to set vision statements
‘a church of 500 by 2010’
‘A church that impacts the city’
‘A church…. whatever…’
These are all about the church. When Jesus’ command is all about the demonstration and announcement that the Kingdom of God is near. It is a subtle and easy but major difference to confuse the church and the kingdom of God. One is not the other. That same mistake has wrongly resulted in the church wrongly mounting armies. The church is here to serve and announce the Kingdom of God. The reign of God. No more, no less.
But it is not the Kingdom. And in time, it will pass. We must hold that truth and let it inform our priority for mission. When those anxious and scared women fled from the empty tomb they had never heard of the church but they did start to understand that their Lord and teacher, Jesus, who had been so publicly humiliated and killed was not just a wise teacher… but was the Son of God. And all of his words about the immanence of the Kingdom now started to make sense.
Our job as the church today is not firstly the expansion of our organisation. It is the introduction of people to Jesus and the demonstration of how his followers live… Bishop Leslie Newbigin said it this way (I have adapted this a bit):
"The church’s goal is not to make converts who make more converts who then make more converts in order to grow the church. There is no purpose to that other then the making of converts like one might advance the allegiance of a certain football team over other teams or sell cars to boost sales. That will not change society. That will not address justice or demonstrate the advancement and imminence of God’s reign. That will not promote healing and compassion. In sum, the world will not necessarily be better off with a bigger church. However the world will be made new when the name of Christ is advanced and those who call themselves his followers follow in his ways and in his purposes to his ends until he comes.”
And when Jesus appeared to the disciples after the resurrections he said these words to them in the Gospel of Matthew… "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age."
All over the place I see churches trying to set vision statements
‘a church of 500 by 2010’
‘A church that impacts the city’
‘A church…. whatever…’
These are all about the church. When Jesus’ command is all about the demonstration and announcement that the Kingdom of God is near. It is a subtle and easy but major difference to confuse the church and the kingdom of God. One is not the other. That same mistake has wrongly resulted in the church wrongly mounting armies. The church is here to serve and announce the Kingdom of God. The reign of God. No more, no less.
But it is not the Kingdom. And in time, it will pass. We must hold that truth and let it inform our priority for mission. When those anxious and scared women fled from the empty tomb they had never heard of the church but they did start to understand that their Lord and teacher, Jesus, who had been so publicly humiliated and killed was not just a wise teacher… but was the Son of God. And all of his words about the immanence of the Kingdom now started to make sense.
Our job as the church today is not firstly the expansion of our organisation. It is the introduction of people to Jesus and the demonstration of how his followers live… Bishop Leslie Newbigin said it this way (I have adapted this a bit):
"The church’s goal is not to make converts who make more converts who then make more converts in order to grow the church. There is no purpose to that other then the making of converts like one might advance the allegiance of a certain football team over other teams or sell cars to boost sales. That will not change society. That will not address justice or demonstrate the advancement and imminence of God’s reign. That will not promote healing and compassion. In sum, the world will not necessarily be better off with a bigger church. However the world will be made new when the name of Christ is advanced and those who call themselves his followers follow in his ways and in his purposes to his ends until he comes.”
Thursday, April 20, 2006
LA, SF and Jerusalem
This week sees the intersection of three major historical events. Each
of them on their own should speak to us and remind us of the fragility
of life and of the real uncertainty that we have over life (despite what
modernity would have us think).
A. Easter
The first one is obvious. We have just celebrated and reflected upon the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ of Nazareth which occurred over the celebration of the Jewish Passover, on the outsides of the city of Jerusalem, on the town rubbish dump and execution site known as Golgotha.
B. 1906 Earthquake in San Francisco
The second one will be no surprise for those of you who subscribe to Time Magazine. The 7.8 earthquake that leveled the city of San Francisco on 18th April 1906 was an event that completely leveled a whole modern city. A city that was not dissimilar to where you live (if you live in the West). And it could happen again, anytime.
C. Azusa Street RevivalThe third event started on exactly the same day, also 100 years ago. And is still going today! It was a revival like no other that started a little further south of San Francisco on the 18th of April but really went for the rest of April, and May and as I said is still going today. It occurred in the poorest area of a small frontier town (I couldn’t give it the title yet of city) called Los Angeles (population of about 10,000). It was started by a group of 300-350 poor and predominantly black Christians gathered under the ministry of a meek black man, known simply for being a man of prayer…Pastor William Joseph Seymour, of Louisiana, the son of former slaves.
Observers noted that the crowd was predominantly made up of sons of slaves, immigrants, prostitutes and the poor. Worshippers met daily in a 40 x 60 foot wood frame structure called a ‘tumble-down-shack’ on a simple street called, Azusa Street. And what occurred there this week 100 years ago resulted in the most influential movement on Christianity in the 20th century. And grew from these 300-350 souls to now numbering about 580 million souls, representing 9,000 different ethno-linguistic cultures and 8,000 languages predominantly in the third world.
I speak of the new wave of the Holy Spirit on the Lord’s mission, now known as Pentecostalism. And despite some famous excesses this is a movement that we should not and can not ignore if we are concerned with the expansion of Christian Missions.
So you could this week observe of Jerusalem, San Francisco and Los Angeles, that all three cities shook. In one there was an earthquake, the sky turned black and the Son of God was crucified. Another burned to the ground after being shook with all of planet earth’s power. And another burned with flames of the Holy Spirit that descended on poor, uneducated, humble, predominantly former slaves and prostitutes and started a movement of freedom, joy and praise that has positively changed the lives of countless millions of people. And helped them rise up from their plight of poverty and has taught them, (so the saying goes) not to be given a fish but how to fish.
I want to offer three prayers this week that come out of these three events for the church as it cafes a Post-Christian West and seeks to faithfully proclaim the Gospel therein. With these three cities mind that remind us of the possibility of corruption and evil that can come with power and prestige; the thin hold that we have on life (when so often we think that we are here for ever; and the goodness and hope of the message of the gospel that is for all people and not just for the church to govern… but for everyone no matter what we have done, no matter who we are… Stay tuned for the next three days…
A. Easter
The first one is obvious. We have just celebrated and reflected upon the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ of Nazareth which occurred over the celebration of the Jewish Passover, on the outsides of the city of Jerusalem, on the town rubbish dump and execution site known as Golgotha.
B. 1906 Earthquake in San Francisco
The second one will be no surprise for those of you who subscribe to Time Magazine. The 7.8 earthquake that leveled the city of San Francisco on 18th April 1906 was an event that completely leveled a whole modern city. A city that was not dissimilar to where you live (if you live in the West). And it could happen again, anytime.
C. Azusa Street RevivalThe third event started on exactly the same day, also 100 years ago. And is still going today! It was a revival like no other that started a little further south of San Francisco on the 18th of April but really went for the rest of April, and May and as I said is still going today. It occurred in the poorest area of a small frontier town (I couldn’t give it the title yet of city) called Los Angeles (population of about 10,000). It was started by a group of 300-350 poor and predominantly black Christians gathered under the ministry of a meek black man, known simply for being a man of prayer…Pastor William Joseph Seymour, of Louisiana, the son of former slaves.
Observers noted that the crowd was predominantly made up of sons of slaves, immigrants, prostitutes and the poor. Worshippers met daily in a 40 x 60 foot wood frame structure called a ‘tumble-down-shack’ on a simple street called, Azusa Street. And what occurred there this week 100 years ago resulted in the most influential movement on Christianity in the 20th century. And grew from these 300-350 souls to now numbering about 580 million souls, representing 9,000 different ethno-linguistic cultures and 8,000 languages predominantly in the third world.
I speak of the new wave of the Holy Spirit on the Lord’s mission, now known as Pentecostalism. And despite some famous excesses this is a movement that we should not and can not ignore if we are concerned with the expansion of Christian Missions.
So you could this week observe of Jerusalem, San Francisco and Los Angeles, that all three cities shook. In one there was an earthquake, the sky turned black and the Son of God was crucified. Another burned to the ground after being shook with all of planet earth’s power. And another burned with flames of the Holy Spirit that descended on poor, uneducated, humble, predominantly former slaves and prostitutes and started a movement of freedom, joy and praise that has positively changed the lives of countless millions of people. And helped them rise up from their plight of poverty and has taught them, (so the saying goes) not to be given a fish but how to fish.
I want to offer three prayers this week that come out of these three events for the church as it cafes a Post-Christian West and seeks to faithfully proclaim the Gospel therein. With these three cities mind that remind us of the possibility of corruption and evil that can come with power and prestige; the thin hold that we have on life (when so often we think that we are here for ever; and the goodness and hope of the message of the gospel that is for all people and not just for the church to govern… but for everyone no matter what we have done, no matter who we are… Stay tuned for the next three days…
Sunday, April 16, 2006
Easter Sunday Quote
“The church’s goal is not to make converts who make more converts who
then make more converts in order to grow the church. There is no
purpose to that other then the making of converts like one might advance
the allegiance of a certain football team over other teams or sell cars
to boost sales. That will not change society. That will not address
justice or demonstrate the advancement and imminence of God’s reign.
That will not promote healing and compassion. In sum, the world will
not necessarily be better off with a bigger church. However the world
will be made new when the name of Christ is advanced and those who call
themselves his followers follow in his ways and in his purposes to his
ends until he comes.”
- inspired by Bishop Leslie Newbigin
- inspired by Bishop Leslie Newbigin
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)