Category Archives: Christian living

Church life is Easter

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Listening to our church sermon on Acts 12 (our talk recordings are here) it was impossible to miss the parallels between the attack on Jesus and the attack on the church. Within five short verses, Luke artfully associates Jesus’ Easter experience with the life of the Jerusalem church. Here are the details that establish the link.

  • Herod
    When Jesus was arrested, Pilate drew a Herod – Herod Antipas – into the trial (Luke 23:7-8). In Acts 12, it’s another Herod – Herod Agrippa – who arrests Jesus’ apostles (Acts 12:1). The Herodian family can’t keep away from mischief!
  • Unleavened Bread
    Jesus’ last days before crucifixion were in the days of Unleavened Bread (see Luke 22:1, 7). The arrests in Acts were at the same time of year (Acts 12:3)
  • After the Passover
    Herod’s initial plan was to bring Peter out from prison “after Passover” (Acts 12:4). Compare this with the plans for Jesus’ arrest (“not during the feast” Mat 26:5, Mark 14:2). In both cases the planned delay did not occur
  • Prayer
    Prayer is common in the whole Bible. Praying earnestly is very rare. It’s how Jesus prayed in the Garden (Luke 22:44), and how the church prayed for Peter (Acts 12:5)
  • Death & deliverance
    Jesus was crucified, yet was delivered from the tomb. In Acts 12 James is killed while Peter is delivered from death. The experience of the church was not simply one or the other – there’s both death and deliverance.

These similarities build up a picture. Luke, I believe, wants us to see that the attack on the church in Jerusalem was like the attack on Jesus in Jerusalem. It’s not an exact parallel in each detail, yet there is a definite likeness. Jesus uniquely lived out Easter. Jesus’ death and life is the hub of God’s work. The church is built on Jesus’ Easter ministry. And also the church embodies Easter. The shape of church life is Easter.

Why point this out? So we have right expectations.

In church, and in this world, believers are not immune to unpredictable hate. James was killed, but this was not a sign that Jesus somehow failed the church. Peter was freed, but this does not constitute a promise from Jesus to ‘get out of gaol free.’

Church life, in other words, is the same turbulent and confusing and troubling life that Jesus experienced as part of the first Easter. And church life is certainly the place where God himself is at work for good.

 


 

100% gossip

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Gossip is:

  • 100% right and 100% useless
    ‘I know what’s wrong with them’
    and
    ‘I’ll tell you, but I won’t do a thing to help’
  • 100% leadership and 100% slavery
    I decide to tell you
    and
    I follow my malicious desire
  • 100% friendly and 100% hateful
    ‘We draw so much closer together when we talk openly’
    and
    ‘Gee, he’s stupid’
  • 100% tasty and 100% bitter
    ‘Here’s some juicy news’
    and
    ‘Hearing that leaves a bitter taste in the mouth’
  • 100% public and 100% secret
    ‘I can’t keep this to myself’
    and
    ‘Promise not to tell’
  • 100% creative and 100% destructive
    ‘I can guess what she’s thinking’
    and
    ‘Let’s break her’
  • 100% mixed and 100% pure
    Envy, hatred, jealousy, judgementalism, divisiveness, spite, …
    and
    Unalloyed sin

 


 

Apostle Peter – proselyte

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A proselyte is a convert, someone who adopts a new faith or religious life. In the Bible, there are proselytes to Judaism (see Matthew 23:15, Acts 2:11). It must have been quite a commitment to make such a change. Whatever else it involved, we know that the men needed to be circumcised!

The word proselyte comes from a pretty standard, non-religious, Greek word (προσερχομαι, proserchomai). This verb can mean to move towards, or to cross over. This seems to be the sense of proselyte: he or she is someone who has ‘crossed over.’

The New Testament includes major early church arguments about how to receive forgiveness from Jesus. In particular, how can Gentiles receive the blessings of Christ? Since Jesus is the Jewish Christ, it might be that non-Jews must submit to the Jewish law to receive Christ’s benefits. Some argued that the process for non-Jews looks like this:

Pagan → Proselyte → Trust Jesus

This makes some sense. God spent centuries teaching the Jewish people to be distinct and remain faithful to the law he spoke to them. How could the Lord so quickly change things? Acts shows the early Christians struggling with this. A serious test is in chapter 10, when God speaks to the Roman centurion Cornelius.

As the scene unfolds, God surprises everyone. Cornelius does not have to become a proselyte. In contrast, it’s as if the apostle Peter himself becomes the proselyte.

Firstly, about Cornelius. Upon hearing the gospel, God pours out his Holy Spirit directly on the Gentiles (verse 44). And the Jewish believers reacted with amazement that the Spirit was ‘even for the Gentiles’ (verse 45). God’s actions show the true process for pagans to come to Jesus:

Pagan → Trust Jesus

But what about Peter? How could he be said to be a proselyte? I think this is because Peter is the one who crosses over. Cornelius physically remains in his place (Caesarea) and Peter is sent by God away from the house he’s in. In some perplexity, Peter states to Cornelius that Jews usually don’t make this kind of trip (Acts 10:28). When Peter says it is unlawful for a Jew ‘to visit anyone from another nation’ he uses the proselyte verb προσερχομαι (proserchomai). But God made him do it!

This moment is a huge change for Peter, for the church, and for the world. From this point onwards, those who trust the Lord are ever crossing over to invite all people to faith in Jesus. Peter goes to Cornelius. Paul and Barnabas go to Crete and Asia Minor. And no one ever need become Jewish before bowing before the Jewish Christ.

It’s not that Peter changed his beliefs. He still announced Jesus’ death and resurrection, and that Jesus judges and forgives (Acts 10:39-43). Yet Peter – and all Christianity with him – had crossed over to become a faith that ignored cultural barriers. We have a ‘crossing-over’ type of faith and love for neighbour. In fact, it is against the work of God to grimly hold on to personal distinctives (see the word from God in the verse I quote below).

Peter became a proselyte to outreach, a proselyte to direct engagement and love, a convert to Jesus’ direct welcome of people of all kinds. Peter became a proselyte that we might become proselytes too.

What God has made clean, do not defile! (Acts 10:15)

 


 

A thought starter on church

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In a specialty shop I expect to find people with working knowledge of their products. In a family-oriented park I expect seats, public toilets, and no one driving cars. In an aeroplane I expect seatbelts and a safety demonstration.

In each place, expectations shape the whole experience – and guide my behaviour too.

So what are the right expectations to bring to church? Our understanding of church will direct the way we decide to live.

Here’s an exercise I did with some people from church. We had to complete the following sentence, after filling in the blank with the various options: If church is like … then this is how I behave …

  • a business
  • entertainment
  • spiritual retail (a shop for god-stuff)
  • a spiritual public service (like a hospital or employment agency)
  • a family
  • a club

I won’t unfairly influence your thoughts by listing what we said! But I am interested in what you think. What insights jump out for you?

 


 

Sex talk

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Song of Songs 4 is very clearly a poem of intense sensuality. It is a wonderful example of a man’s pleasure in his wife.

The man starts at the top and moves downward. He does not reach her feet. There’s something about her middle that he enjoys! It’s sensitive and tender sex talk. (Her words of invitation in the second half of Song 4:16 indicate how welcome she found his words.)

When I spoke on this passage at church, I explained what I think are five types of sex talk. I thought I would repeat them for a blog readership.

Not
The first type of sex talk is non talk. Avoidance, embarrassment, and red faces.

The Bible, however, does not shy away from sex. There’s the beauty of Song of Songs. There’s affirmation of marriage and warnings against immorality. It openly admits awful sexual failure: David’s adultery with Bathsheba (leading to murder, 2 Samuel 11); the rape of Tamar by David’s son Amnon (2 Samuel 13); etc.

In short, God is in favour of sex talk. If we neglect it, we’re not caring for the whole person.

Direct
There are two kinds of direct sex talk.

The first is, typically, medical or educational. For example, sex education at home, or asking for pastoral help for sexual dysfunction.

This talk is direct because it openly names the anatomy and sexual behaviours. And it is a direct type of talk that is necessary.

The second type of direct talk is far less helpful. This direct communication is the porn ethos. It reveals all and leaves nothing to the imagination. We are meant to see, and to desire to see again. The lights are glaring, the cameras capture every angle, and instant replay is expected.

Unfortunately, this ethos can infect our speech and thoughts. It might be crude jokes. It could be offensive abuse between sports teams. Or it might be speaking of sex as if it involves hardware, not people: screw, bang, poke, …

This is a long way from the tenderness of Song of Songs. It’s selfish in getting sex, or getting noticed. Sex that should be part of a life-long covenant relationship is reduced to a bodily function. It’s not healthy direct talk.

Indirect
Again, this type of talk has two expressions.

The first kind of indirect sex talk is innuendo and smuttiness. While not being explicit, it twists vast swathes of normal conversation into sexual reference. Normal words become codes for bodily parts, or for sexual activity. It’s Benny Hill, Carry On Eye Rolling, Nudge Nudge Wink Wink. Often accompanies by supressed giggles and knowing looks, it also creates an in group who know the codes and need to look to each other for constant affirmation (‘that’s a reference to breasts – see, I am still with you’). Necessary? Useful? No.

The second type of indirect sex talk is precisely that of Song of Songs. It’s honest about sex and refers to a real person, one’s spouse. Yet it remains sensitive to honour that spouse and enjoy all his or her qualities. It does not hide sensuality, yet without treating sex like a forensic examination. Being poetic, I believe it opens up our appreciation for sex instead of narrowing it down to a few brute physical facts.

To gain a feel for this poetic opening of reality, read through the Song of Songs and consider how the senses are evoked. The lovers not only see one another, but also hear, touch, smell and taste. Then read again and consider where the drama of their love is played: house and city, forest and field, plains and mountain. All of nature is their playground.

So, learning from the Bible’s pattern, there’s good sex talk and damaging sex talk. Have I missed any other categories? Let me know in the comments below. We all can learn how to better employ language in this significant area of living as God’s creatures.

 


 

That confusing church meeting

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At Albury Bible Church, we recently put together a tool to help us plan what we do. We think there are three main things: Welcome. Grow. Serve.

Welcome: in the gospel of Jesus, God welcomes us to his family. Therefore we will tell people of that welcome, as well as welcoming them into our church family.

Grow: it’s normal for God’s children to grow in the obedience of faith. Therefore we will make Christian growth normal for our church members.

Serve: Christians do not grow for their own sake, but in love. Therefore we encourage and train for service, both in church and in the wider community.

‘OK’, I thought, ‘when we launch this, I’ll talk about how it works for Sunday’s 10am church meeting.’ So I spent time pondering how our Sunday morning expressed these plans. What we do – and we’re not very unusual – is a mixture. And that mixture is both a help and a hindrance.

alburybiblechurch_leftThe mixture
Sunday church is a mixture. We welcome, because people walk in off the street. We announce that Jesus is Lord and invite people to follow him. We grow because we always read and hear God’s word for instruction, encouragement and challenge. We serve because … well, have you seen how many people it takes to run even a simple church service! Sunday at 10am is everything – welcome, grow, and serve.

So helpful
It is very helpful that Sunday @10 is such a mixture. It contains elements of all the things we want to do. If you wanted a full taste of Albury Bible Church, but in just one meal, the best place to go would be Sunday church. Despite being nowhere close to perfect, you’d find out what we say about God’s great welcome. You would also see something about the ways we encourage Christian growth. By looking around, you would also see quite a lot of serving going on. I hope you would be able to say, ‘I get what this church is about.’

That has to be a good thing. It also is an encouragement to be very clear in church each week. Church is not humdrum – it is a bright spotlight on ourselves and what we think really counts.

The three-in-one nature of Sunday @10 is helpful in another way: for a church health test. We should ask ourselves how we are going at welcoming, growing, serving. Easy to ask – not always easy to answer. Perhaps the place to start is at church. Is there evangelism on the agenda on Sunday mornings? Are new or shy people welcomed further into relationships? Do Christians grow there, or do they stagnate? Are more people serving? Are long-term servants receiving support to stop burn-out? The answers might be confronting. But good to know.

A hindrance
The three-in-one nature of Sunday morning is also a hindrance, a risk to our church ministry. Simply because it can’t do any of these three things at great depth. Church is good, but it’s not enough.

If we were to rely on Sunday mornings to do our evangelism, we would be doing very little evangelism. If Sundays were the only point of welcome, our relationships would be paper-thin. If Sunday morning was the only time of help for Christian growth, we would all be stunted in faith. If this were the single focus for service, the opportunities would be limited and the people soon exhausted.

I reckon that to think ‘Sundays are going OK’ is a risk to ministry. The risk is a false equation – that ‘Sunday is OK’ equals ‘We are going OK’. They are not equivalent!

How this factor works out will vary from church to church. For our church, we see the need to complement Sunday morning with a whole range of further ministry. We specifically evangelise in a dedicated programme called Connect, reading Mark’s gospel together. We need to make more of our church membership. We emphasise our Open Bible Groups as the primary growth-focussed ministry. And Night Train is just one way we support and develop serving. As the fanatical texters say, YMMV* but, to thrive as faithful communities, all our churches will need to do a good job away from the main Sunday meeting.

It feels like I have re-discovered what is obvious. But that’s the type of discovery I like to major in! What are your thoughts? I’d love to hear more and to engage in discussion about this. Comment away!

 


 

Quick review: Equipping counselors for your church

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Equipping Counselors for Your Church: The 4E Ministry Training StrategyEquipping Counselors for Your Church: The 4E Ministry Training Strategy by Robert W. Kellemen

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I confess – I had to give up reading this book. This was because of the style of writing, rather than the content. Consequently, I will make this short review one of two steps: what I liked about content; what I couldn’t get past of style.

What I like.
This book has a fantastic purpose – helping everyone at church be equipped to care for fellow Christians. It has an entire church point of view for spiritual health and growth. Robert Kellemen knows that ‘the minister’ cannot do all ‘the ministry’. He knows well two key facts that struggle against each other: the Bible would have all Christians counsel one another; church care tends to become centralised in the hands of a few. The second of these can be caused by the ministry staff, or by the expectations of those in the pews, but the outcome is the same. Kellemen sees that deep, structural change is needed in a church to move towards the biblical pattern. And he has helped many churches make that change. This book is all about ministry training. Fantastic!

What stopped me reading.
Jargon and a proliferation of acronyms. The first case of this, for me, is in the title. Why ‘counselors’? This sounds a very specific, almost clinical word. There are plenty of options: carers, servants, ministers, etc. The problem was underlined by chapter one, More Than Counseling. It turns out that Kellemen’s formal training is in counselling, and I have the feel that he didn’t want to let go of the term despite its poor fit. More than this, though, I was put off by the confusing jargon and terminology. To complete this 4E ministry training strategy, we should develop a MVP-C statement so we can know how to employ LEAD biblical care. I guess that, if you implement this method, you will completely sink your head into the jargon. But as a reader trying to glean principles, I found myself constantly thrown off track. I had to re-learn the jargon so often that I forgot what it was all about.

So it’s hard to pick a star rating for this book. Good and bad. I decided on 4/5, because the ministry training aim is so good. When I am thinking about how ministry training works in church, I think I will dip into this book once again.

 


 

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Performance prayer

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It was a surprising realisation to me: that it’s good to think of public prayer as a performance.

It came from reading the apostle Paul’s letter to Corinth. In Corinth, church members used their gifts. Wonderful!

Not wonderful, according to Paul. The trouble was that they used gifts selfishly, for their own benefit. Gifts without love are a waste of time (1 Cor 13:1-3). Speaking to oneself is nothing like speaking to build up someone else (1 Cor 14:19). It seems the church in Corinth had it upside-down: they rejoiced in selfish solo prayer, they exalted gibberish in public talk.

Paul employed a musical image to show how wrong they were:

If even lifeless instruments, such as the flute or the harp, do not give distinct notes, how will anyone know what is played? And if the bugle gives an indistinct sound, who will get ready for battle? (1 Cor 14:7-8)

 

flickr user geoff1947

flickr user geoff1947

These three instruments are for public performance. Muddy sound and unclear notes spoil the music. On a battle field, an indistinct bugle is dangerous. ‘Was that the signal to attack, or to run away really fast?’ How much more confusing it is when words are unintelligible!

So when we speak in church – including words of prayer – God wants us to perform well. To be clear is to love our listeners. To be clear is required to build up our listeners.

I admit once more my surprise: I did not expect that God would promote the idea of public prayer as, at least partly, a performance.

Why? Because performance often conveys the feel of being self-absorbed. It carries the faint aroma of look at me! The startling truth is that non-performance is more likely to be selfish in Christian settings. I choose not ‘to perform’ because: I am not worthy (please praise my false humility); it would be selfish (please note my false piety); it distracts from my personal walk with God (be impressed by my spirituality).

The great advantage of thinking of prayer as performance is that I – a redeemed sinner – am forced to consider your needs. I have to plan for what helps them, instead of what helps myself. It’s for your sake that I use the PA system. It’s for the benefit of others that I eliminate prayer’s annoying verbal tics: we do pray; yeah, Lord, like …; I just ask; inJesus’name&forhisgloryAmen.

A well-performed prayer is communal. It is fellowship in the grace of God, the joyous privilege of drawing near to our Father as his children. It’s not too obvious to say that doing good job in leading prayer is, yes, good.

 


 

When is Easter Saturday?

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Good Friday is the end of the world

As Jesus went to the cross on the first Good Friday, it was more than simply an injustice. It was God doing his ‘end of the world’ work. According to the Bible’s unfolding narrative, at the end will be the judgement of God – often pictured as the coming of fire. Jesus spoke of his death as this burning:
“If they do this when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?” (Luke 23:31)

There is more burning to come – when the wood is dry – but Jesus on the cross was God’s fire. In other words, Jesus on the cross was God’s judgement: it’s the end of the world seen in history.

Easter Day is the end of the world

Easter Day, the day of recurrection is also God doing ‘end of the world’ work. Anther biblical idea linked to the end of creation was resurrection. Martha had learnt this, even before Easter. We know this because, though mourning her dead brother Lazarus, she was sure he we be rise again (John 11:24). Note the link – ‘resurrection’ and ‘last day’ always belong together.

So when Jesus’ tomb was found empty, it was recurrection tasted early: the end of the world seen in history.

So when is Easter Saturday?

You might share my experience of Easter weekend. Plenty of Easter talk on Good Friday. Even more Easter activity on Sunday. But Saturday feels a bit dull, a comparative non-event.

There is an odd idea, creatively (!) based on a couple of difficult New Testament sentences, of The Harrowing of Hell. I’ll let you look it up, because I think it’s a cul de sac. And not a particularly scenic one, either.

Instead, I want to suggest that Easter Saturday is today. That’s every single ‘today’ until Jesus’ return.

We have every blessing from the Father. God has truly done an astonishing thing. He has brought the end of all things into our world. Jesus at Easter won freedom from judgement and the certainty of resurrrection life with God! The end is here.

At the same time, we wait. Public and universal judgement lies ahead. So too does the general resurrection. The end is coming.

We live in the end (because the end is here). And we live before the end (because the end is coming). A bit like Easter Saturday. It sometimes feels trivial and a drag, but it is real life. We can be assured, though, because of the completed work of Jesus. Therefore, Christians rejoice with 100% confidence in Jesus’ completed work. And we wait patiently for the 100% completion of Jesus’ work.

But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
(Romans 8:10)

 


 

I believe in good

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Sometimes I am convinced that Christians promoting ‘good works’ do not think that the works they promote are good. How bizarre!

Here’s why …

As a minister, I hear people explain the reasons they get involved in good things: local charities, caring for people, volunteering, etc. As a minister, I receive many glossy mail-outs from well-run organisations seeking to promote good things: water in dry places, micro-finance schemes, freeing women and children from indentured labour, anti-malaria bed nets, etc.

There are so many good things to do in the world. And it’s very Christian to care for people in these ways. Witness Paul’s wonderful words in Ephesians 2:8-9

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.

Christians – those saved entirely through the work of Christ, who live only by faith – have no reason to boast. We do not naturally achieve good. We do not have power to save ourselves by right living. Salvation is entirely a gift, the work of God, the new creation through Christ.

This message has a minor cost to our pride, but an enormous benefit to our confidence. Since it is God who saves, we are totally secure – God’s work does not fail!

This salvation has a clear purpose. According to verse 10, this purpose is for believers to walk in good works. Doing good is a result of salvation. Being snatched from the powers of evil and death (see Ephesians 2:1-3), God has a life of good for his children.

This exalts good works, because good works have no purpose. Good works are an end in themselves – not a tool to get somewhere else. They do not achieve anything. My good works don’t save me. And though a good thing will help others, the Bible does not tend to speak of good works as a means to an end. Good works are the result of a changed world, not the cause of a changed world.

That’s a kind of definition of good: good is good, because it’s good.

Good is not good because it’s productive, it’s productive because it’s good. Good does not usher in the kingdom of God, it is a sign that God has brought his kingdom into the world. Consider the (sad) joy in the works of the late Tabitha, in Acts 9:36-43. The widows showed Tabitha’s handiwork to indicate Tabitha’s goodness, not ‘that she made a difference.’

‘Good’ is convincing, all on its own. Consequently, this is the kind of thing I want to read in those glossy brochures:

  • We promote digging wells, because it is a good thing to do for needy communities

But too often I read appeals that don’t think ‘good’ is good enough:

  • We are dedicated to bringing in the Kingdom, so ask you to provide a goat for a family

This latter appeal is, for me, entirely unconvincing. I think, ‘Why do you need to push so hard to convince me? Why the sledgehammer argument to crack this nut? Don’t you believe in good?’

I do believe in good!