Stories to tell

I thought this insight into outreach by Tim Chester was really interesting:

Everyone has their own version of the ‘gospel’ story:

• creation – who I am or who I should be
  
• fall – what’s wrong with me and the world
  
• redemption – what’s the solution
  
• consummation – what I hope for

The obvious and simple point here is that everyone has a story to tell. We can connect their story with the gospel story and our story through these intersections.

I wonder how our conversations might change if we listened out for these connections.

Adding a site meter

I don't actually write my blog for an audience, although it's nice to get the occasional comment so that I know someone somewhere is reading my rambling thoughts. I've often looked for a simple visitor counter just to see what kind of traffic comes my way, but hadn't found one until I stumbled upon sitemeter.

So I've added it o my site and I guess I'll begin to get a picture of the comings and goings of the blog. It will be interesting even if it turns out to be a bit disappointing! I will just have to console myself with the thought that maybe more people read my musing via Facebook and RSS than by direct visiting. well I can dream!!

A little restoration

This bench was in the garden when we moved in. It's not worth anything, but I thought it might be worth salvaging the cast metal ends.

The timber is rotten and I shall replace it with hardwood. It's not a complicated thing to do, just a matter of time.

Maybe I'll have it done by the time the summer comes around.




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

The conundrum of church life

One of my daily prayers is that God would add to the church those who are being saved. It's obvious from where I draw this prayer, but it leaves me with a conundrum.

On the one hand I long to see the church renewed and reenergised. I long to see people who are far from God draw close and find faith, enter into a growing relationship with God and fellowship with others. I long to see them share in corporate worship, ministry and mission.

On the other hand filling a building with people once a week is not my understanding of the church. A large Sunday congregation is not my definition of success and not, I believe, the goal of the church.

I was listening to a short piece by a well-known missional thinker who quoted an unnamed source who said, "Your missional effectiveness is directly proportional to your relational capacity." Shall I translate? We can't reach people we don't know.

Traditionally, the way we have done church diminishes our relational capacity, we simply do not meet, or spend enough time with non-churched people. The result is ineffective mission.

More and more we find ourselves distanced from our communities, not just in terms of what we believe, but also culturally. There are barriers to cross, cultural and theological. We simply cannot wait for the unchurched to cross these barriers in order to get to our buildings and our meetings. We must find ways to cross those barriers first. And fast!

I'm thinking of joining the local Ramblers group, finding an evening class to do, and yes, spending as much time as possible in Costa Coffee. At least it's warm in there!

I long for the day when our church programmes are so light, so self-sustaining, that it takes up very little of our energy to engage in church as we know it. That would release so much potential into mission, would be so exciting and possibly church changing in the process.

Phil. 4:4

Rejoice in the Lord always, I will say it again: Rejoice!

One thing I've noticed over the years of reading the Bible is its insistence on worship. Never once have I read a verse about worship that says I will worship God when I have more time or when I'm feeling up to it. No, the Bible calls us to worship in every situation.

In fact so consistent is this call to honour God with our worship that I've come to the conclusion that worship is always a valid response whatever the situation. Paul had certainly faced his share of hardship, yet he calls the Philippians to a lifestyle of rejoicing.

So maybe at some time today, right now wouldn't be a bad time, make the conscious choice to rejoice. It may not feel like the thing you want to do , but it is the right thing to do.

Phil. 4:20

To our God and Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen

It's the whole point really. To honour God and bring him glory all the time. Of course we fail, but why should that stop us trying? Of course it is easy to say that if a thing is worth doing then it will probably require some effort and there will be setbacks.

But maybe the point is about perspective. When you go about your ordinary tasks, how much do you stop to ask yourself if what you are doing at that very moment actually glorifies God? Perhaps many things are pretty neutral. I'm not sure working on the tool chest I made last year does anything particular to glorify God. On the other hand it's fairly easy to spot when we're engaged in stuff that definitely doesn't do it.

I'm reading John Burke's book Soul Revolution and exploring his 60-60 experiment, designed to help you reflect on and practice staying in constant communion with God. I fail a lot. But I refuse to give up just because I'm not good at it.

You see, the more connected I remain the more I know I can honour God. And if I'm honouring God I hope I'm not promoting myself.

So, to God be the glory in every situation, through every reaction and as a result of every decision we make.

iPastor update

I sent some feedback to the developers about this app and got a reply very quickly. Apparently the thing with the review sorting on the first item in a list only is a bug that they hadn't picked up before. So I guess we can expect a fix when they can resolve the problem.

This just goes to show that it's worth the effort of letting someone know, just in case it's not meant to work that way!!

iPastor

iPastor is another little app that comes from the same stable as Prayer Journal. It is designed to be a simple way of recording and tracking ministry needs. The basic idea is good and the interface very simple to use, but it does suffer from one or two minor limitations.

There is something GTD-like (Getting Things Done) about the organisational structure of iPastor. You can assign both a situation (health crisis, grief, chemical dependency etc.) to a need and also a care strategy. Then, when you review the needs, you can do so by strategy or situation. You can also delegate care and review by delegate too. All very useful.

Recording a ministry needs allows for a fair amount of detail. You have space for name, address details, contact numbers, email etc. There's one interesting box 'connections' that allows you to select from a short list of things like small group member, church member, family or friend, prospect and referral.

But this is where the application begins to let itself down. The lists are a little restrictive and there appears to be no way to edit them or add to them. Maybe you don't want too many categories, but it would be nice to be able to make a few personalised adjustments.

Another improvement would be in the way the reviewing process works. As far as I can tell, fields such as 'situation' and 'care strategy' are sorted on the basis of the first item you choose. So, for example, if yo choose "send a card" and "home visit" for your strategy, when you review by strategy it will only show up under "card". That means you have to be careful to check each recorded need for any additional data.

Hopefully these are just minor things that can be fixed or will be fixed as the product develops. I still think I'll persevere with it for a while, just to see how helpful it can be.

One last thing. When you're filling in the details of a particular person and their need, it would be great if it could use your contacts to grab information. I know very little about the internal workings of the basic  architecture of the operating system, but if this can be done easily, it would speed up data entry, at least for some people. Thinking about, being able to add them to my contact list would be good too, rather like you can when you get a 'phone call or message from someone who isn't yet in your address book.

Phil. 4:19

And my God shall meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus.

I have no problem with the veracity of this verse, I just struggle to work out what my real needs might be! In the story of Job, everything we might consider important is stripped away from his life. He sits in the dust, scraping his sores and grieving his losses.

You would think at that point that Job just needed a bit of encouragement, a sign that things would improve. In fact his greatest need turns out to be the strength and courage to hold on to his faith. In the end of course we know that God blesses Job with an abundance of flocks and family once again. But in the midst of all the bad times, it was faith and trust that carried Job through.

Perhaps our greatest need, a need that can only be met through Jesus, is the need for the faithfulness to hang in there. To hang in there when prayers don't seem to be answered, when encouragement seems far away and when the future looks far from bright.

Paul was in prison, how certain he was that it would end in his death we don't really know. Isn't it a challenge that a man in prison can describe himself as being poured out like an offering and yet in the same letter he can talk about joy fourteen times! Perhaps joy, like contentment is a rare and precious jewel found in the glorious riches of God.

Phil. 4:18

I have received full payment and even more

It's clear from all that Paul has said in his letter that when he talks about payment he is not thinking about financial gain. He is grateful naturally, for the generous care and support the Philippians have show to him.  But Paul's focus is always on the kingdom of God and the purposes of God being worked out. He is now amply supplied and living in plenty, but that doesn't matter. In fact, Paul says, their gift is to the credit of the Philippians not to him.

In our compensation and "I know my rights" culture, we are not predisposed to consider ourselves rewarded unless we can see some material benefit accrued. Paul's contentment allows him to see a reward that comes from God's own hand. It is the upward call that he talked about earlier, the running of the race, the living of a life worthy of the gospel, the pouring out of oneself in the cause of the kingdom. All these things contribute to the real reward.

Tim Chester on Understanding your neighbourhood

This is a great post from Tim Chester about neighbourhoods. In it he asks some key questions under the headings of when, where and what. In essence, understanding our community requires us to understand when, where and how they experience community in order to join them there rather than expect them to come to our expression of community in church. I hesitate to call these "the" crucial questions, but they are certainly some of the key questions that we need to think about from the when, where and what of being church.


Where: Where should you be to have missional opportunities?

When: When should you be available to have missional opportunities?

What: What will church look like for people in this neighbourhood?

The longer we continue to define and describe church in terms of how we want it to look, the further we will find ourselves from the very people we are trying to reach.

Read the whole post (and the previous one) to get the bigger picture.

Phil. 4:11

I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances.

The Puritans used to call contentment a rare jewel. Rare indeed! How many of us can truly say that we have learned contentment whatever the circumstances? We can be content under certain circumstances, but "whatever the circumstances". Well that's a little more demanding.

There's a clue to Paul's solution when he says, "I can do all this through Christ who gives me strength." Paul has made a decision that he will view his life only from the context of serving God. He looks to Jesus Christ for his contentment. In Acts 20 he declares that his life is worth nothing unless he completes the work God has called him to do. In Philippians he speaks about counting all as a loss, of death as gain and service as continued joy. His perspective is crucial to his contentment.

So how content are we? Do we drift through life and think we're content, or do we strive for more things in order to feel better about ourselves? Neither is right. Paul held nothing back, he went after the things of God with passion. He never drifted. Don't mistake apathy or inaction for contentment.

An American president was once asked, "How much money is enough?" He replied, "Just a little bit more." If your contentment comes through gaining that little bit more, you will be disappointed. But if you invest your life fully in the purposes and mission of God, then contentment will surely come as you find your fulfilment in serving God wholeheartedly.

Prayer Journal for iPhone

A few weeks ago I came across this app for my iPhone. It works on iPod Touch too, so don't worry, you don't have to get the phone to get the app!

At £0.59 it won't break the bank and it might just inspire you to pray a little more often.

The interface is simple and easy to use. Simply add prayer requests as you go and then choose how you want to pray. There is the option to go through the whole list, a specific person, or a portion of the list.

It is a really helpful and simple application that can only get better. But then again there's not much I would change, except maybe the ability to group items in some way. And maybe a desktop version with synching would be nice but not a reason not to try this app out.

Phil. 4:9

Whatever you have learned or received from me, or seen in me–put it into practice.

I remember a conversation with a would-be housegroup leader many years ago. We were talking about their desire to start a new group and about how willing they were to take on the challenge of hosting and leading this new venture. They had great plans. They had a curriculum set out for the group to follow, and they had identified potential group members.

And then they used an interesting phrase. "When I do the teaching part of the meeting" was the phrase they used. Interesting I thought. This group, even before it began, had a clearly defined leader and clearly defined set of roles and people to fill those roles. The would-be group leader was setting themselves up as the authority who would keep the group on track and teach them what they needed to know.

I don't think they saw it this way and I'm certainly not suggesting that they had any desire to be seen as the source of all knowledge in the group. I suspect they were simply building on a model that they'd experienced themselves over many years of small groups in church. They were following the teach and learn part of Paul's injunction.

But what about the modelling part of what Paul has to say? We love to pass on our wisdom and knowledge, but how ready are we for others to follow our pattern? Do we have a pattern worth following! And what if we built our small groups around the principle of doing life together and learning from one another's examples?

I worry sometimes that we've turned following Jesus into an intellectual exercise that focusses on building up a great body of understanding that produces little life-change. Churches all over the country cry out for more teaching when what they actually need  are more opportunities to experience God's amazing grace and to share that grace with others.

Perhpas then we will have an example worth calling others to follow.

Phil. 4:8

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

So how is your thought life? Would you say that your thoughts generally and consistently turn towards the noble, pure, right, lovely and admirable things in life, or do they drift in another direction? Bombarded as we are with all sorts of images that are less than noble, far from pure and often not praiseworthy, it is a challenge, but to which we can surely rise.

Jesus said that when the Spirit of God comes he would guide us into truth. Paul reminds us in Romans that our goal is simply to remain in step with the Spirit as he leads us through life. I'm glad that there is not a one size fits all pattern of how to do this. You must find you own rhythm of life, but there are things that help. Paul's injunction to focus our thoughts on good things is one of those things.

Why I like John Piper's prayer

I blogged Piper's prayer earlier this morning. But I've been thinking about it in the last half hour and wondering what it was about the prayer that drew me to it. As I thought about it, I began to understand why I liked it.

Firstly, it's not about what needs fixing. I've heard a lot of prayers for the local church over the years. A lot of them go something like this: "Oh God how long do I have to put up with this?" They are not always put so starkly, but the underlying theme is not far from this model. Whether it's consumerism or just plain human frailty, church gets the short end of the stick a lot of the time.

Secondly, Piper's prayer doesn't focus on the ministries of the church. In fact it doesn't focus on the ministry of the church at all when you think about it. The focus is upon the work of God. It isn't a prayer asking God to bless what we are doing, rather it's a prayer asking God to do what he alone can do.

Thirdly, there's an element of self-realisation. In other words, when he prays for change in the life of the disciple, he prays things that affect us all. We all all want to be more bold in our witness, more fervent in our prayers, more diligent and engaged in our personal Bible reading.

And fourthly, while it has this element of self in it, it remains a prayer of blessing on the whole church. What better way to pray for the church of which you are a part than to bless it. Even when it's a struggle, there is no excuse for not blessing the church that bears the name of Jesus.

Daily prayers

Some time ago I began to write down a list of things for which I seek to pray daily in the life of our church. If you are looking for a daily prayer to pray for your church then you could try a variation of John Piper's prayer as he begins his eight month leave of absence.

Would you pray with me for a great awakening that results in hundreds coming to Christ, marriages being reconciled and renewed, wayward children coming home, long-standing slavery to sin being conquered, spiritual dullness being replaced by vibrant joy, weak faith being replaced by bold witness, disinterest in prayer being replaced by fervent intercession, boring Bible reading being replaced by passion for God’s word, and lukewarm worship being replaced by zeal for the greatness of God’s glory?

I will pray for you every day to this end . . . and more. Lord, open the heavens while I am gone.

You can read the whole letter he has written the church here.

Phil. 4:7

And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Having encouraged his readers to pray about everything and worry about nothing, Paul offers them the peace of God as the positive outcome of choosing to pray rather than worry. Peace is something for which many of us long, but that seems to elude us for some reason.

The problem is like this: I pray about the things that are concerning me (a euphemism for worry), and then after I've prayed I tend to continue to worry! Okay, so sometimes I have a wonderful sense of the peace of God, but often times it's simply not that easy. I cannot get the peace of God via some mystical vending machine. Prayer in, peace out.

If all I do is to present God with a long and lengthening list of things, and if I fail to remind myself in prayer about the the ways in which God cares for me and loves me and has my best interests at heart, in other words his faithfulness, then I just return to worrying about things. I lay my burdens down only to pick them up again.

So how can I know the peace of God? It's not a complete answer, but one of the keys for me is trust. Do I trust God enough to believe that he has everything under control. When Daniel's friends stood in front of the furnace they made a statement of faith, a statement of trust. "Even if God doesn't rescue us, we will still trust him. Nothing changes," they might have said.

Peace, it seems, comes through trust, more so that it does through outcomes.

A talking donkey

Jeff Noble has posted some notes from a talk at a conference he's attending. It's a reflection on the story of Balaam and his donkey. Having just read the story in our Old Testament history reading plan that Anne and I are doing together, it was good to read these reflections.

One of the tough parts of the story is that God tells Balaam to go and then stands in his way. At face value it seems rather odd, very much like an earlier story in Exodus about Moses and God's attempt to take his life.

Mark Batteson, who gave the talk, makes the following helpful observation:

Some times God gets in our way to show us his way.

I also like the alternative moral to the story, but you'll have to visit Jeff's blog to read that for yourself!

Phil. 4:5

Let your gentleness be evident to all

Have you ever stopped to think about what gentleness might actually be, or have you been lulled into to thinking it has to do with fabric conditioners and washing-up liquids! I wonder what we'd use to describe the opposite of gentleness? Rough, coarse, abrasive.

In our modern-day self-interest driven society, the gentle people get pushed aside, overlooked and generally trampled on by others. At least that's what we are lead to believe. I'm not so sure that our society is any more self-centred than it once was. We give more, care more about the poorest people in the world, are more aware of the disparities that exist. Sometimes I think we just don't have the time to be anything other than selfish. We have to get to work, we have to get things done, we can't afford to hold the door open for the next person because it will cost us time, time we can ill afford to waste on such courtesies.

But the problem with gentleness is trying to define it. Paul qualifies gentleness with kindness, compassion and patience in Colossians 3, and with godliness, righteousness, faith, love and endurance in 1 Timothy. The one thing that must be said is that gentleness does equal niceness.

Gentleness may need to take a firm hand, it may need to be assertive, but it never forces or drives its point home. The gentle person pursues the truth whatever the cost rather than trying always to be liked.

So don't confuse Paul's challenge to let your gentleness be evident to all with the desire not to upset anyone and always to be thought of well.

Phil. 4:6

Do not be anxious about anything

When it comes to favourite passages in the Bible, this ought to rat in everyone’s top ten at the very least. Not so much because of the comfort it brings, or the truth it tells, or the lifestyle it inspires, but because of the simple challenge it present to us.

In its context, Paul presents us with a simple principle for life.

Don’t worry about anything, pray about everything.

Simple. Really simple. In fact it’s so simple even we could probably manage it if we had the determination.

So how about it? How about putting this principle into action right now. Today and every day. The very next time you find yourself worrying about something stop. Stop and pray about it instead. Make that conscious choice to pray instead of panic.

I wonder what difference it might make.

To see the Kingdom

A simple prayer for this week: "Lord, open my eyes so that I might see the signs of the Kingdom."

As I spent my time this morning praying for all sorts of situations and people and other things to do with the life of the church, I found myself asking God to show me the signs of the kingdom, signs I so easily miss when I'm consumed with my own needs and desires.

When I think about encouragement, it's seeing God at work that gives me the most joy.

Phil. 3:20-21

And we eagerly await a Saviour from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.

To our ears there is little that is controversial in Paul's declaration of Jesus as Lord and Saviour, nor indeed in the previous statement about our citizenship. But to first century readers in a Roman colony of Philippi's standing, a veritable hornet's nest is provoked by these words.

For the followers of Jesus, the governing authority in their lives is not the colony but heaven itself. This does not promote civil disobedience as the normal way of life for Christians, Paul makes that clear enough in Romans 13. That's not his point. His point is that we belong to a different kingdom with different standards and different expectations of its citizens.

And now Paul makes a stronger assertion by using language typically used of Caesar to describe the role fulfilled by Jesus. He is "Saviour and Lord", Roman terminology used for Caesar. Having restored order throughout the empire, Augustus was declared to be "saviour of the world" and the sovereign ruler of it. Paul, in contrast, now tells the church that they have another saviour and another lord. Our Saviour is not in Rome but in heaven.

Our hope and expectation rests not on what a man, or woman, in government might do for us, but on all that Jesus has done for us.

Phil. 3:20

our citizenship is in heaven

I like this perspective. It reminds me that what I see is what is in front of me, but it's not necessarily the same view as it is from heaven. In Ephesians Paul talks about our being seated with him in heavenly places as he talks about the risen Jesus. It changes your perspective when you try to view things from a heavenly rather than a earthy perspective.

For example, you stop thinking about the short term 5, 10 or 50 year plan and start to think about eternity. You stop expecting God to fix everything now because you know you've got a long way to go. The focus of what is urgent and what is not shifts too. Suddenly you realise that there is much to be done this side of heaven.

But being a citizen of heaven also makes us an ambassador of heaven. We represent the king of kings to the world. We are expected to live like citizens if we are citizens. It's not easy I know. Take for instance the person who offered me their car park ticket because there was still an hour left on it. They were most confused when I said no thank you. It may be a small thing, but we all know that those tickets say "Not transferable" on them. We justify accepting one because we think we're not harming anyone, but in truth we simply ought not to do it. If the law forbids it why would we think it's not dishonouring to God to take it? As citizens of heaven we are expected to act with honour and in righteousness. You get the point.

There are so many things to consider, the list I think is probably quite long. I've chosen to hide one friend's status on a social networking site because their language has become offensive and dishonouring of God. They are not a good ambassador at the moment.

My most regular question is: How will this action honour or dishonour God. And then I choose. I often fail, but I have no excuse.

How are you living as a citizen of heaven? Does you language, you attitude, your lifestyle make heaven a place others would want to spend eternity?

Prime-time debates

I didn't see all of last night's "ground-breaking" first in British politics, but I saw enough. Personally, I didn't like the format. What I saw seemed at times to be just another rehash of the adversarial way we do things in politics and in law and even talent shows. The arguments appeared to be that a Labour government will spend money it hasn't got, a Conservative government will save money the average person cal ill afford and the Liberal Democrats are offering a choice not enough people will be brave enough to make.

My personal experience of politics has been a 13 year Labour government preceded by 18 years of Conservative government, preceded by a series of much shorter exchanges of power through the 60's and 70's. I wonder if our voting has become more selfish over those years. Perhaps it's more that the main stream parties have fought it out on near identical ground. It's like the boat race, with the Lib-dems shouting, "Move apart" as oars clash over the same water.

Maybe there's room for some radical thinking. Maybe someone might point out that the reason you save is in order to provide for yourself in retirement and not to ensure the next generation has a deposit for a house.  Maybe it's time for some radical thinking about what basic healthcare means in the face of ever advancing treatments and costs.

Perhaps there's room for real debate rather than the sometimes vacuous sniping that suggests that the biggest fear in politics today is an unfortunate sound-byte or actually appearing to answer the question.

What I am glad about is that once the dust settles after this election, there's a band of MP's that will go about the business of seeking to do the best they can to serve the people who elected them. I still believe that, even though the evidence sometimes suggests otherwise.

Phil. 3:12-14

I press on to take hold of that for which Christ took hold of me

In Acts 20 Paul declares that his life is worth nothing unless he completes the work into which he has been called by God. We see the same resolute commitment to the the purposes of god in his reflections here. Paul talk a bout pressing on, about taking hold. Previously Paul had been motivated by religious zeal, now he is motivated by grce and the gospel of grace. Knowing that his justification doesn’t come from himself and his own efforts, Paul is now free to purse the life-giving purposes of God, the “upward call” to heaven.

Perhaps, if Paul had the opportunity to watch the occasional film, he might have quoted Galaxy Quest at this point: Never give up, never surrender! Not in an arrogant way but in a determined way, a way that refuses to be deflected from the purposes of God. discerning those purposes is another matter, but the whole-hearted commitment required to follow them through is beyond question.

Phil. 3:8-9

that I may gain Christ and be found in him

This little phrase is tucked away in a much larger and possibly more grand statement by Paul. But it seems oh so significant to me. As Paul presses on and fights the fight, as he contends for the gospel and faces hostility and rejection, his sole purpose, his only goal is not selfish ambition, but a desire to connect more deeply with Christ. To "gain Christ, and to be found in him". What greater passion could we possibly have?

Phil. 3:7

But what ever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ

How do you view your life? It's a more difficult question than some of us imagine. It's easy to think less of yourself, to belittle one's own abilities and gifts. There's nothing wrong with confidence unless it is totally misplaced.

But Paul is not talking about self-confidence or personal financial profit. Paul was a Pharisee. He knew about profit and loss from the perspective of keeping the rules and regulations of religious faith. He knew too that grace sets you free from a balance sheet mentality about faith. Paul would have agreed with the simple statement that Christ and the cause of Christ is the only thing worthy of full devotion.

The balance sheet approach to the Christian life asks, "How much is enough?" It is more concerned with knowing if 75% commitment is enough to pass, or if 65% will do. The fully devoted life, by contrast, asks, "How can I serve Christ more effectively in every situation?"

Look at the questions you ask, and then ask yourself if you are more concerned with having done enough or if you are more concerned with doing everything you can for the glory of God.

Salt in the wound?

Is it me, or does this seem crazy to you too?

Expenses MPs to receive legal aid

Perhaps we should have a caption competition! Make a sentence reflecting your view of this headline from the following words:

biscuit, takes, just, now, about, that, the.

Seriously, don't they get it? Don't they realise that faith in politicians has been seriously undermined and this just adds insult to injury. And they will probably win their cases, and then go after the newspapers for damages or write a book about it all.

I know this might sound odd for a man to say, but if it were not for the suffragets and the things they endured to win the right to vote, I'm not sure I'd bother on May 6th.

Phil. 3:2

watch out for those dogs

Even in Paul's day there were those who would distract the church, who would fail to fully understand the implications of grace. It wasn't their fault, I don't think they set out to undermine the gospel. They had grown up with the Law and the demands of the system. Grace must have appeared to break all the rules. It still does.

If the truth be told, we find it hard to not have rules. We find it hard not to have a measure against which we an assess the spiritual position of others. So we add to grace. We make behaviour more important than believing and as a result we make belonging exclusive to those who believe what we believe, do what we do, read what we read. When anyone comes along who does not fit our model, we exclude them because they are dangerous or because they just don't fit.

But grace demands more of us than does legalism.

Grace demands that we are inclusive rather than exclusive. It demands that we accept others before we judge them. And I can already hear the questions. Questions I too would want to ask. I remain fully committed to personal salvation through a relationship of faith with Jesus, just in case you were thinking I'd become rather liberal! Inclusive is not the same as universalist. But that's actually not the issue here.

The issue is about the things we might do or expect that make us more like the folk of Paul's day that demanded that the Gentiles become Jews to be part of the new community of faith. Every time we hear the distant echo of "become like me" we should also hear the alarm bells ringing. This is not our goal, and grace helps us keep that perspective.

So look to be full of grace and not full of rules and regulations. Be generous with encouragement and let God do the work of transforming lives.

Prayer labyrinth

The labyrinth was built using three gazebos set out to provide the path that ended at the cross and the empty tomb. There were 12 stops to make, each one had a text to read, an object to look at and an opportunity to respond.

Here are a couple of pictures:

Phil. 3:1

Finally, brother and sisters, rejoice in the Lord.

Easier said than done for most of us! We're not naturally given over to rejoicing, or so it seems. I remember being sent on a problem-solving course when I used to work in R&D. Now in research you have to have a fairly positive attitude towards problem solving. It is, after all, part of the staple diet of research. And it seems to me that in order to be truly creative about solutions, you have to be able to see the good in even the most absurd suggestion because you never know where it might lead you.

Maybe the solution to the problem of rejoicing is to be found in the ability always to see the hand of God at work. Paul certainly had enough evidence to the contrary. He was in prison, he had been beaten, his fellow Jews had tried to murder him on more than one occasion. His closest friends had abandoned him, his co-worker had been so ill they had nearly died, and those are just the things I can think of at this moment!

And yet Paul goes on about joy in this letter to the Philippians. fourteen times, as I recall, he mentions joy in some way or another. I don't think Paul was given to superficial optimism, I just think he had a perspective that allowed him to see God at work where others might not.

If you struggle to rejoice, to see even a glimmer of hope that God might be at work in your situation, then perhaps you need to learn to begin your prayers with a little thanksgiving. Give thanks to God who he is (just as Jesus taught us to pray), give thanks that you are not defined by any situation but by the grace and mercy you've received form the God who loved you enough to die on your behalf.

Phil. 2:21

For everyone looks out for their own interests, not those of Jesus Christ.

Paul talks about Timothy as someone who genuinely cares about the church. "There's no one quite like Timothy", Paul says. He is an example of all the things about which Paul has just been speaking. He shares the same attitude as Jesus, he cares about the interests of others (2:4) and just about himself.

Of course it's not just about putting others before self. Paul now introduces a higher calling, the interests of Jesus Christ. What matter most to Jesus? It's a question that deserves an answer.

For a long time it seems that we've thought that what matters most to Jesus is the purity if the church, the quality of the worship, the narrowness of doctrine. There is a church in America that has come to the public platform because of its extreme views. They reach a vitriolic message of hatred towards the world. It is far from pleasant and certainly not honouring of God.

They may be extreme, but even in our mild-mannered moments we are prone think that God is more concerned with judgement than he is with grace, with sound doctrine than he is with abundant life.

It seems to me that what matters most to Jesus is grace. He does not long to judge but to embrace. The thought of judgement makes him weep, the offer of grace exacted a higher price that he was willing to pay.

Family of fortress?

Here is a very helpful and thought provoking article about the church. In it the author, Jonathan Dobson, identifies what I think is a core challenge that we face. Maybe always have faced. It's the challenge to be the church rather than just doing church. It's the kind of language we hear a lot these days, and for good reason. The church has wandered so far from its intended pattern that I sometimes wonder if the New Testament people would even recognise it as the church anymore.

It is of course much more difficult and much demanding to be the church than it is to do church. Being church takes time and energy as we seek to live as a community, a family and not just an organisation.

In the article three types of church are described:

• The fortress church, where the goal is doctrinal conformity and mission is about tossing grenades of judgement into society.

• The shopping mall church, full of sales-people and consumers.

• The cemetery church, lost in time, lifeless and irrelevant.

All three lack the essential characteristic of church. Community. But community is costly, it's hard to achieve. It is so much easier to walk the old paths of doctrinal security and consumer Christianity. It's so much easier to criticise from the comfort of the pew or chair than it is to become something other, to become a family.

The article is well worth a read, so please do go and check it out.

Phil. 2:15

shine like stars

We "shine like stars" as we "hold out the word of life" according to Paul here in Philippians 2. How we "hold out the word of life" may be different for one person than it is for another, but I suspect there are some common elements.

Being a person of grace would be one of them. Grace is, or should be, the cornerstone of our experience of God. If you've not experienced grace or are not experiencing grace, then maybe you need to sort a few things out! Our ability to share grace is directly proportional to our ability to receive it.

A second common element would probably be blessing. Are we able to bless those who criticism or reject or hurt us?

Apparently I achieved a first on Good Friday. I was the first person ever at the celebration in the park to get heckled. I don't think it was personal, I just happened to be the person speaking, actually praying at the time. I'm not about to hold myself up as a great example of how to respond, but in that moment I had a choice. I could have chosen to ignore what happened, or I could have chosen to make a joke or retaliated. I chose instead to pray for them, to ask God to bless them in every possible way.

Another time I might have responded differently, but I believe that God prompted me to respond with a blessing not a curse.

So we are to shine like stars. Shine by being full of grace and overflowing with blessing, It's not a bad place to start.

Good Friday labyrinth

I'm sitting in the church hall watching as people slowly make their way through the labyrinth. It is very moving.

My prayer is that through this simple presentation folk will find a moment of profound connection with the Easter story.

As I sit looking at the cross and the empty tomb I feel a great sense of gratitude to God for all that he has done for me.




- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

It's Friday but...

I remember Tony Campolo telling the story of a preaching competition. An odd concept to a get one's head around. He talked about his contribution and then he told the story of the preacher that followed him.

His message was simple, it had to be because time was limited. He kept returning to a simple phrase as he spoke. "It's Friday," he would say, "but Sunday's coming!"

I can't think about Good Friday without thinking about Easter Sunday. And I'm not in the mood to think otherwise! with all our traditions we  might just be in danger of forgetting that Friday can only make sense in the light of Sunday. Resurrection is the vindication of the message of the cross. Jesus did not die for political or religious reasons, he died for eternal reasons. Our faith is a 'both and' faith, the cross and the resurrection.

So today, I will celebrate both these things. If Jesus had not died, there would be no forgiveness of sin, if he were not raised then there would be no hope of new beginnings.

Faithful Preaching

As a how-to guide this is a very accessible book for the new preacher and the old stager alike. There's some good, helpful and useful ideas.

Th book is separated into three parts. The first part sets out some convictions about expository preaching, the third part set out some principles about personal spirituality. It's the middle section that deals with the practicalities of how to prepare and deliver a sermon. Now you can read the second part first if you want to dive straight into the model if you're in a hurry to get started. But if you're new to the whole realm of preaching, you ought not to ignore parts one and three. Do so at your peril, because every established preacher knows that ignoring your own walk with God leaves you on dangerous ground for the ministry of preaching.

Anyway, it's a helpful book, and at the very least will help you understand the fundamentals of good preaching even your pattern is somewhat different. Read it alongside books like Communicating for Change to get a broader perspective on styles and approaches.

A Thousand Posts

I thought it would be nice to make my 1000th post from my iPhone. I've just downloaded Blogpress and wanted to give it a try.

The interface is simple and the set up very easy.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

To give or not to give, that is the question!

I struggle with when to give and when not to give to. I know that sometimes, when someone stops you on the street and asks for money, they are probably not going to use it how they say they are going to use it. Then there are the times they pitch up at church with the sob story about not being able to pay for the bed at the centre or the fare to get to the job that will put them back on track. Sometimes there's a prison element to the story, always there is an element of heartache.

The reality is that these are well rehearsed stories designed to gain your trust and elicit a response involving your wallet. Excuse the cynicism, but it's what we've learned or been taught. But I have a bigger problem. What if the need is genuine? What if the story is true and it's not just a con? If I say no to helping them, what am I condemning them face?

So often I give them what they ask for.

Am I crazy? Probably, but I give because one day it will matter. One day it will make a difference. One day I'll be entertaining angels unaware. And have I actually been conned if I think that's what is happening anyway?

I'm writing this because I had a visitor the other day who needed help. I thought as they spoke that this was the usual stuff. I was even ticking off the items on my mental check-list of what happens when you're been taken for a ride. But still I gave them what they needed and as we shook hands and they left I thought to myself, "I won't be seeing that money again."

I may still be right, but here's the thing. They called me to say thank you and to let me know how they were getting on. That has never happened before. I was shocked and surprised. Maybe this time it was genuine and this time it will make a difference. Maybe this is the one time that it was right to give and I'd have missed it had I stuck to a hard line of no money available.

Honestly I don't know what to make of it all. But I'll just wait and see what God does with it. I may never know, not until heaven at least, whether I've been part of a bigger work of God in this person's life or not. but I had the chance, and today I'm glad I took it.

I have a hundred reasons and excuses not to give money away like this. All of them make sense. But I have one reason to give. God loves people, broken people, and his great desire is to bless them. He's chosen me as a part of the plan to bring this blessing about.

Jesus clears the Temple

I remember when I was at college and we were studying Mark's gospel, in Greek no less! One of the things that becomes apparent in Mark's gospel is the way that the narrative is often illustrated by another event. We called them sandwiches! Take for example the clearing of the Temple in Mark 11. The story progresses something like this:

Jesus makes his royal entrance into the city. He visits the Temple and looks around, but it's late so he leaves and stays overnight nearby. In the morning he decided to gather a few figs, but the tree is bare. He curses it (how odd is that?) and then moves on to Jerusalem where he proceeds to drive out the traders who had taken over the outer courts, declaring it to be prayer-house not a warehouse.

The following morning they pass the fig tree which has now withered and died, Jesus talks to them about faith.

Most of us might have expected Jesus to talk about empty religion, about how the fig tree, full of leaves but no fruit, parallels the Temple where there were all the forms of religion but no fruit of faith. But he makes no mention of the Temple or the events that had occurred the previous day. But maybe that's the point.

Maybe the whole problem is faith. You can have all the structure you like, but if there's no faith, there's no power. In fact the very structures you think are helping might just be hindering. The forms and structures, the rites and rituals, might just be working against discovering real faith.

I'm not about to suggest that we drop everything and go out and experiment on a few mountains, but it does seem to me that way too often we restrict ourselves by trying to fit God into our box, to tame him or control him, when in truth he can be neither tamed nor controlled.

And more importantly than anything, it challenges us to pray.

Reggie McNeal "Unleashed 2010"

I've posted a video of Reggie McNeal before, and this one contains many of the same themes and ideas as that one. but it's still worthwhile watching and listening to the passion with which he speaks about the need for the church to change, to move from a "what" idea of church to a "who".

Three things he says in this video that stood out, not recorded verbatim, but as close as I can get without listening again!

We plant a church and hope to start a movement.. [but] churches grow out of a movement

We exported stuff that didn't work here and called it foreign mission

God's redemptive mission is to address everything sin broke across the whole bandwith of life

Enjoy the video:


Reggie McNeal Main Session Unleashed Conference 2010 from Unleashed Network on Vimeo.

The big question

Yesterday was Palm Sunday, no surprise to anyone remotely connected to the church calendar. At church we re-enacted the entrance into Jerusalem. We even had a donkey, even if it was on wheels!

The whole point was to raise the big question that Palm Sunday poses. The cross and the resurrection may be the most decisive events in history, but I think Palm Sunday poses the biggest question. Why? Well because your response to cross and the resurrection will depend upon how you answer the question.

The question is in truth rather simple: Who do you believe Jesus to be?

If you believe Jesus to be just another great philosophical teacher who told stories laced with home spun wisdom to make life more bearable, then you will probably look to next weekend as an inconvenience, because the bigger shops will be closed on Sunday, or an opportunity to start the summer jobs that you promised you would do once the weather improved. Eternal destinies and questions of faith will simply pass you by.

However, if you are willing to take seriously what Jesus actually said, and if your are willing to go beyond the sanitised and sterile portrayal of him in many a media offering, and sometimes the church too, then you might just begin to see a different picture and discover a truth that will change everything forever.

You might begin to see a picture of God who loves you so much that he was willing to sacrifice even himself to win your love. Isn't that an amazing idea? That the God who made the universe would actually submit himself to die on your behalf. It might seem incredible, even unbelievable or incomprehensible, but that is exactly what the Bible said happened.

Jesus, through his death and resurrection, does for us what we cannot do for ourselves. He makes atonement for our sin, our faults and failings, all those things that serve to separate us from the God who loves us, who misses us. He offers us the opportunity to reconnect with God through his self-sacrifice.

If this is who you believe Jesus to be, then next weekend is a time for great celebration.

If you're still thinking, then maybe you would like to use next weekend to explore the possibilities. It might just help you answer Palm Sunday's big question.

When you know it's time to take a break

I read today that John Piper is taking an 8 month leave of absence, not a sabbatical. He's taking the break because of "a growing sense that my soul, my marriage, my family, and my ministry-pattern need a reality check from the Holy Spirit."

I suspect that reaching this kind of conclusion is not exclusive the John Piper, but is shared by many of us who would be described as pastors or leaders whether full-time or not, stipendary or not. But it is a brave pastor who openly confesses it as such and a brave leadership that sees the value of such a time away.

Ministry offers precious few slow days during which one can find sufficient rest and refreshment. The simple truth is that we are often too busy for a reality check. Somehow we need to recognise the need and be brave enough to withdraw from the daily demands in order to put things right with God.

I pray that John Piper will come back strengthened and refreshed, more deeply and intimately connected to God and more whole in all his relationships. I can pray this for him because it's what I pray for myself too.

Phil. 2:14

Do everything without complaining or arguing...

Could this be the hardest Biblical imperative for 21st century people? It might just be! It certainly is a text for many a teenager!

It's hard to imagine how we can be a people who seek to bless others if we spend our time complaining. It's not really much of a blessing if we follow it with a good moan about what we've just done. 

Phil. 2:13

for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose

What's the most quoted part of Jeremiah? Probably that verse from chapter 29, you know the one... I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a future and a hope.

Such words slip of the tongue so easily until the day you come up against something that robs you of hope, turns the future bleak or takes away your sense of being prospered. Of course what neither Paul nor Jeremiah are trying to do is to give us some false sense of security or spin current current circumstances to make things easier. Neither are they suggesting that we will not suffer in any way and that we will all be wealthy.

Our future rests in our hope, and our hope is in Christ. Both Paul and Jeremiah would point us towards our eternal futures and not the immediate future of the next year or the next ten years or even the next twenty years. 

A day at Presence

Yesterday, March 24th, I spent most of the day in Watford seeing what God is doing through an amazing organisation and business called Presence. It would take too long to describe everything we saw, the gift shops, the spa, the urban retreat, the worship room, the coffee shop, the business centre... well you get the picture.

What was interesting was the sense that here were a group of people seeking to work out what it means to live missionally in the context of business and an urban setting. It was fascinating. I'm not sure everyone on the visit got the concept of a missional business (mainly because missional is so hard to define at the best of times), but what encouraged me was the way things were structured in order to help Christians live out their faith where they worked.

My favourite place I have to say was the what they called the Watford room. On the floor was a large map, printed onto floor tiles, of the local area. It was far more than just a visual aid, it was an invitation to something that is hard to put into words. It certainly made me thing once more about having a dedicated prayer room somewhere.

Phil.2:12-13

Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.

It has always struck me as an odd turn of phrase that Paul uses, "work out your salvation with fear and trembling." I've never really quite got to grips with it. Surely Jesus set me free from fear, surely as a follower of Christ there is little to work out and nothing over which I need to tremble. So what could Paul possibly be getting at?

The obvious analysis of the structure of the sentence (you had noticed that verses 12 ad 13 are one sentence I'm sure) is that continue to work out is synonymous with obeyed, and sits in the context of God's continuing work in our lives. When it comes to fear and trembling it seems most likely that Paul is talking about an attitude of faith. It's an appropriate attitude. When the people came to the mountain where they were to meet God in the exodus story, they approached with fear and trembling. They came with reverence towards the God who had demonstrated his power.

When we work out our salvation with fear and trembling, it is not based on the worst case scenario of what might go wrong or how easily we might lose our connection with God and ultimately our eternal security. That's the wrong kind of fear. We come knowing that God is at work in us and desperate to walk in light of this truth. We want so much to live a life worthy of the gospel (1:27).

The only thing we have to offer God is our full devotion, our total obedience. Nothing more is needed, nothing less will do.

Phil. 2:5

your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus

The problem with attitude is that attitude is usually the problem! When we think about being like Jesus I guess we'd prefer to think about the nicer side of things. We're not very comfortable with the self-sacrificing, non-defending, quiet in the face of hostility and misrepresentation side of what Jesus was like.

I wonder if Paul has Genesis 3 in mind when he says of Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped. Wasn't this the fundamental issue with Adam and Eve? They wanted to be like God. Human beings have always striven to be masters and mistresses of their own destinies. And therein lies our root problem.

In our me-culture it's hard to imagine why, let alone how, we can carry off an attitude of sacrifice and submission without becoming door mats for Christ. But somehow we must find a way. Maybe the next time you are tempted to stand up for your rights, you might stop for a moment and ask yourself, "What's the worst thing that could happen if I let this go?" It might not be as bad as you think, and if it is, does it really matter as much as you thought it did?

Testimony tells the truth

I was just thinking about Sunday's theme in the light of Andy Stanley's book that I've just finished reading. I guess if I were doing it all again and looking for the one crucial idea that might be memorable it might be this:

Testimony tells the truth about who you really are

As Paul urges his readers to live a life worthy of the gospel (1:27) and tells them about all the benefits of being in Christ (2:1-4), he challenges them to adopt the same attitude as Jesus so that they might continue to shine like stars. Our testimony, the story we live and tell is what makes us shine and ultimately this testimony tells the truth about us.

It's just a thought.

Communicating For A Change

A bit late to the party, this book was published in 2004, I'd always planned to read it but never quite got around to getting hold of it. Well, over the weekend I was loaned a copy and I decided to dip into it yesterday.

The book outlines seven concepts for effective communication. They are explored through the story of an imaginary preacher searching for a new way to engage his congregation. In fact the book falls into two parts, the story and the explanation. It's almost like a parable and a commentary (now where have I seen that pattern before...).

Whether or not you agree with the idea of the one point sermon, I think you will find a lot of helpful insights into the communication process of preaching. For a long time now I've been working with the idea in the back of my mind that preaching is less and less about transmitting information and more and more about inspiring change. I'm not sure I'm very good at that, but maybe some of the lessons I've learned form reading this book will help me to do better.

If you're new to preaching, I think you will find this book exceptionally helpful, but that will depend upon your goal. If you've been preaching for years, then it might just be time for a fresh look at what you've been doing all that time.

Possibly the most challenging aspect of the book is the challenge to preach from memory. Not something may colleges and older preachers would probably advocate but not quite as drastic as it sounds, the authors impress upon the would-be communicator that the message must be internalised by the speaker. My notes have got longer over the years to help me make sure I say what I intend to say. I was always prone to tangents and more precise notes help me avoid that trap.

But I agree that the core of the message must be in me if I want it to get in the congregation. To paraphrase the book, how can you expect anyone else to remember what you say if you can't remember it?

Phil.2:4

Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.

But who comes first? How exactly do we balance self against others? Is there a fixed ratio, 50-50, 40-60, 75-25? I'm not sure there is an easy way to work this out. When I'm stopped in the street and asked to give just £2 a month to a children's charity or an animal welfare organisation or some other worthy cause, I confess that I usually say no and argue that I already give to various charitable things. I sponsor a child, I support a widow in Africa, I give to the church.

In other words I tell them I'm doing enough. And yet I wonder if that's true.

Perhaps the answer to this conundrum lies in being honest about what we are doing. I'm not sure you'll find many places in the Bible where it encourages you to take a little me-time. It might be culturally expedient, but me-time in the Bible doesn't exist as far as I can tell.

What does exist is taking time to to listen to the prompting of God's Spirit, to reflect on the investment of our lives and to ask honest questions about what we could be doing differently. How could we better invest our time and money for the glory of God? How can we learn to look to the needs of others a little more and to our own needs a little less.

To quote Rick Warren: It's not about thinking less of yourself, it's about thinking about yourself less.

Phil. 2:3

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit

Ambition is not necessarily a bad thing. We all have, or at least had, some ambitions in life. It's good to aim high and to seek to achieve things, but at what cost and for whose glory?

When our ambitions are self-centred, when they use others for our own ends, then those ambitions are surely destructive and counter-kingdom. Jesus said, "Seek first the kingdom of God", in other words make God's purposes your highest priority. Remember too that your heart will follow what you most value.

Joy in imitation

Today at church we took the whole section from 2:1-18, looking at how Paul describes the attitude of Jesus and how we should hare that same attitude. As it was read I couldn't help but be moved again by the challenge of what Paul says. The words and phrases cut deeply into our own selfishness and complacency.

In the first four verses alone there are ten things worthy of reflection.

Our conclusion in a single sentence was simply this: Honour Christ that Christ might be honoured. In other words, live a life that honours Jesus in every way in order that others might honour him on account of the transformation they see in your life.

If only we would stop and ask ourselves, "Does this action I'm about to take, or this path I'm about to follow honour Christ?" Maybe then we'd make better choices.

Poor Mobile signal at home?

The one downside of the iPhone is its inability to work with a poor mobile signal. My Nokia 6085 worked fine at home, even though the signal isn't great. Not so the iPhone. Why it should have such a poor antenna I don't know, but it's not just an issue with the iPhone, Ally's Nokia often suffers too.

So I started to look into the whole Femtocell thing. For those who don't know, a femtocell uses your broadband connection to provide a better signal for GSM mobile 'phone use. At the moment Vodafone is the only network providing femtocell technology. All the others are lagging well and truly behind. Of course the best solution would be to have a choice of suppliers who could provide a non-network specific device. Enter HSL, a company based in Scotland that is seeking to do just that.

In order to achieve their goal, they need as many people as possible to express an interest so that they have some leverage with the cellular companies to get the necessary access to make the system work. You're not committing yourself to buy the product, but you can register an interest that will help the cause.

You can go to this website and register and read the FAQ's.

How do you explain Jesus?

As we approach Easter I'm thinking about preparing some sort of Easter week reflective guide. I've often found Max Lucado to be helpful in the process, and so I turned to my bookshelves and sought out my copy of And the Angels were Silent. here's a quote from the beginning of the very last chapter:

What do you do with such a man? He called himself God, but wore the clothes of a man. He called himself Messiah, but never marshalled an army. He was regarded as king, but his only crown was of thorns. People revered him as regal, yet his only robe was stitched with mockery... How do you explain such a man?

Phil.2:1

If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ...

How do you view your relationship with Jesus? Is it one of convenience, a secure pass into heaven, an eternal insurance policy? Or do you seek to live every day in an open, growing relationship with him?

The problem with the former approach is that it is all about religion and religion doesn’t work. What works is relationship. Religion tends not to help the spiritual struggler. It applies rules and tests. Relationship draws the struggler forward. It offers the encouragement needed to grow, the comfort needed to accept failure and the fellowship needed to live purposefully.

Jesus invites us the come just the way we are, but never to stay that way. He invites us to change, to be transformed. not through keeping rules but by living life.

Thomas a Kempis

In preparing for Sunday's topic "Joy in Imitation" I had a quick squint at The Imitation of Christ. I came across this rather telling observation.

If men used as much care in uprooting vices and implanting virtues as they do in discussing problems, there would not be so much evil and scandal in the world, or such laxity in religious organizations. On the day of judgment, surely, we shall not be asked what we have read but what we have done; not how well we have spoken but how well we have lived.

Who would have thought that there was ever a time in our history when we talked too much and acted too little, when we were more concerned with reading about the scandals of the lives of others and passing judgement on them, that we were about implanting virtues.

Hmm.

Phil. 1:29

For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him.

It's not one of our favourite themes, suffering. We like to moan about what is or isn't happening for us, but we don't like to think of suffering in any form being a part of our faith journey. So how do you avoid wallowing in self-pity or appearing to search out suffering for the sake of some strange religious desire?

The key to a proper perspective on suffering lies in Paul's close connection that he draws between the believer and Christ himself. We suffer on behalf of Christ, we believe on him, we are in him, we live for him. For those who look on from the outside, suffering is a sign of failure or destruction. But for those who believe, suffering is a symbol of identification with Jesus. It is an expression of what it means to live as citizens, to shine as stars, to live a life worthy.

For Paul and for the Philippians, believing in Jesus brought suffering into their lives. It drove them deeper into the arms of the one who suffered for them. Don't let your suffering pull you away from Jesus, let it drive you to him.

Phil. 1:27b

standing together with one spirit and one purpose, fighting together for the faith, which is the Good News.

We’re all familiar with Paul’s calls for unity throughout his letters. Why does he stress this so much? Is it just because people were falling out or is it because of the impact a lack of unity has on the work of the kingdom?

There will always be differences, how sad it would be if we were all the same, but allowing those differences to cause divisions is not the way of the gospel. We must stand firm and stand together as we contend for the gospel as Paul puts it. Pray that our differences would not hinder the proclamation of God’s good news.

Phil. 1:27

Whatever happens, conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ

I’ve been at meetings where the speaker, in an unguarded moment, has said something inappropriate. The embarrassment is palpable. Others start to fall over themselves to apologise on the speaker’s behalf. In their opinion they have conducted themselves in an unworthy manner.

Do we embarrass Jesus by our lifestyle or do we honour him? What needs to change in your lifestyle so that you might honour Christ more?

Finally I succumbed

Yes it's true, finally I gave in to temptation. After a whole year or more of thinking about it and wondering and moaning about the tariffs, I finally gave in and upgraded to an iphone.

I'm not really a Mac junkie (who said that's not true?!), but it seems to make sense to me that if I'm going to integrate my contacts and diary with my phone, then this is probably just about the best way to do it. That is of course until the ipad comes on sale in April! But then again, you can't really have too many Apple products, can you?

I'm not about to fill up my new gadget with all sorts of games. I'm not really much of a game player, and they are too much of a distraction anyway. So I'm going to be business-like about my apps, honest!

At the moment I have Omnifocus, The Guardian, Daily tasks (a free to-do list app that's quite nice and compliments the more complex Omnifocus for quick lists) iThoughts (mindmapping), Echofon for Twitter and the free version of 1Password for the iphone.

I wouldn't say this is my essential collection, in fact I don't have an essential collection. I guess not I'm permanently connected to the internet I might find a few other things that are useful!

Phil. 1:21

For to me, to live is Christ to die is gain

This is one of those phrases from Paul that every time I think I really understand what he means I realise that maybe I'm not that sure. In it's context it seems pretty straightforward.

Paul is trying to help his readers understand that being in prison is not the end of the game. There is still much to be done and life must be lived in the context of the kingdom and the power of God to do amazing things, even to the point of Paul being released and back on the missionary trail.

But Paul also knows that this is probably not going to be the outcome, although he refuses to give in to defeat and wind down his efforts and his hopes.

In Acts 20:24 he made this statement: I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me. So his desire to depart and be with with the Lord, is not out of weariness over his life, but somehow linked to his desire to finish well. It's as if he's saying, "If it's time, if I've done all that Jesus wanted me to do , then I'm ready. But if it's not, if there is more that he wants me to do, then living is what I'll do because it makes no difference. Dying means I'll be with Jesus, living means I am with Jesus."

The point is this: Paul doesn't speak this way because he simply wants to escape, he speaks about dying and living in the context of serving the purposes of God. He sees both sides. Yes he's suffered, yes he is probably in pain from all the beatings, yes he's probably wearied by the pressure and the injustice of it all. But Paul wants more than anything to serve God. His greatest desire, as we've seen, is that Christ is exalted. Do we share that desire?

Making sense of our suffering–Phil. 1:12-30

Yesterday we looked at Paul's approach to his situation in prison. We found three criteria by which he measured his suffering and was able to find joy in it.

The kingdom was advanced

The gospel was preached

Christ was exalted

He says so much more, but these three things seem to stand out.

Perhaps you are facing some level of suffering. Maybe you could take a different perspective too. Here's a simple question to ask yourself, "Is Christ and the cause of Christ being well presented even through the way I'm currently suffering?

Phil. 1:20

...so that now, as always, Christ will be exalted in my body

You've probably all seen the wristbands: WWJD, FROG, PUSH, well I have one question that I regularly ask myself and other when facing a lifestyle choice: Will this action honour God?

It may not make a snappy wristband, but it is an important question. When someone tells me they are thinking of leaving their spouse or of setting up home with their new "significant other", I ask them, "How will this honour God?"

When I'm asked to help someone through a decision-making process I'll ask them, "Which choice will most honour God?"

It just seems to me that if we are truly serious about living our lives for the honour and glory of God and not for what we get out of it ourselves, then this is exactly what we ought to be asking ourselves. We can complicate it in all sorts of ways, but the bottom line will always surely be that our desire has to be that Christ is exalted in us at all times and in all possible ways.

March 13: Phil 1:18

But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice.

To Paul the gospel is so important that he is able to rejoice simply in the truth that it is preached. Whether those preaching are doing so in an attempt to make his situation worse or because they share his desire to bring as many people as possible into a relationship with God.

I can't think of a contemporary equivalent where some might preach from false motives, but I wouldn't be surprised to find one. But perhaps the challenge for us comes through our attitude towards those who do not do things the way we do them.

How often do you give thanks for the other churches around you, churches that may preach the gospel in a different way but who still preach the gospel. Maybe you could take the time to ask God to bless those who meet in different traditions this weekend.

Phil.1: 12

Now I want you know that what has happened to me has really served to advance the gospel.

It’s amazing to think that Paul is able to look at his circumstances and see them as serving God’s purposes rather than ruining his life. I’m not sure I’ve always been able to do that and maybe even Paul had his dark days when he questioned God’s purposes.

If you are facing difficult or challenging times, take some time to acknowledge that God can turn even these times into something that will honour his name and further his mission.

March 11: Phil 1:9-11

And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless until the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.

Interesting phrase isn't it–that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight. It is quite a contrast to the usual available options for love. Paul's purpose of love is different too. Instead of self-appreciation or deeper attraction, it's about knowing and understanding. Perhaps those are characteristics of love towards which we all ought to strive.

And this deeper love, this more discerning love, leads us into maturity as followers of Jesus Christ.

As you pray for others, ho does this prayer change what you pray for them?

Where does the future lie?

This is a great line from Roxburgh and Boren's book Introducing the Missional Church as it is adapted on the website:

God's future is among God's people

Here's a fuller explanation from the book itself:

The Spirit of God is among the people of God, not in the experts and the ordained, but right in the midst of all the ordinary men, women, and children who comprise this faith community. Therefore God's imagination and God's future is among these ordinary local men and women who gather to worship, who confess their confusion, who know their church is messed up and needs to change, and who confess that they don't have a clue what might be involved in this change or how to go about it. This is where the Spirit is at work. How dare anyone write off the church! This means that the answer to the question, "What is God calling us to be in the communities where we live and work?" is among the people, not in the experts or outside consultants or even in some program that worked somewhere else. And therefore, the job of the leadership is not to come up with grand plans for the congregation but to cultivate an environment in which the missional imagination of the people of God is called forth in lived action and lives.

Chew on that for a while!

March 10th: Phil. 1:4

In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy

It's not rocket science to see what gives Paul great joy: Partnership in the gospel, a shared experience of grace and confidence in God's ongoing redemptive work in the lives of others. But wait a second, let's rewind for a minute.

When I pray for others, particularly other Christians do I look for such shared experience or such signs of God's work that it give rise to joy? Perhaps, if we learnt to celebrate a bit more, we would more naturally see these things. But I do think it's also a choice we make.

So maybe the lesson from Paul is a simple one, the next time you pray for fellow Christians, begin by giving thanks that we are on the same team, that we share a common purpose and that God is at work in all of us.

March 9th: Phil. 1:7

It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart

Although an evangelist a church planter and an apostle, Paul was a pastor at heart. He carries all the people in his heart all the time. It is no exaggeration when Paul says that he prays for all of them all of the time. It was his passion for the local church that would consistently drive him to his knees.

We too can share that passion as we commit ourselves to pray regularly for the local church. Paul's reason for carrying them in his heart is their shared experience of God's grace. This shared experience causes Paul to long all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.

Ask God to give you a passion for the local church that you too might share the affection of Jesus for the people whom he loves. Find a way to carry them in your heart through a journal or index cards or a bookmark or whatever works for you.

March 8th: Phil. 1:3

I thank my God ever time I remember you

I thought I might try to write a short "thought for the day" based on something from Philippians as we study it at church. Whether it follows logically through the letter or not I don't know. It's just an experiment.

This phrase stands out in the early verses of chapter one. We could so easily look at the content of Paul's prayer or focus on the nature of the gospel in which they, and we, partner. But it's good to stop and ask ourselves a simple question: Do we give thanks often enough for the people with whom God has surrounded us? Be honest now, are you able to say that you give thanks every time you remember everyone?

Giving thanks is an act of the will, sometimes more difficult than others. Some people are just difficult and giving thanks for them and the challenges they bring is hard and we don't want to do it. But do it we ought, do it we must.

It is far easier to moan than to give thanks, the words come far more easily. We're all pretty good at pointing out what's wrong and who's to blame. So try giving thanks, even for the critics and the problem causers, the difficult and the demanding. Give thanks that it matters enough to them to raise the questions. Give thanks that they too can know freedom and release. Whatever you do when you remember them, pray God's blessing upon them.

Finding inspiration

I wonder if someone was praying for me this morning? I just felt a burst of energy and desire to pray for the local church. I think in truth it all began yesterday as we prayed before the morning celebration. I found myself asking God to bless all the local churches as they met to worship and honour him. This followed through into our worship and my part in the day.

Then we began to look at Philippians, taking the first 11 verses as our text for the day. I found myself asking the question over and over again in my head, "How can we have God's people in our hearts?" I think I even asked it out loud at least twice!

Then, this morning, I wanted to make a note of a couple of verses from Romans, one of which was shred the previous Sunday at the end of our month of prayer by Harry, one of our older members. It was particularly relevant in the context of having previously been praying about being "son's and daughters of encouragement." This is the verse Harry shared:

May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. (15:5-6)

But the verse I was actually looking for, because of its link to our theme of joy in Philippians, was 14:7, which says:

For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit

But in looking for that one on Thursday to share with the worship group I came across this:

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (15:13)

These verses just inspire me. Hope, overflowing with the power of the Spirit, full of joy and peace, endurance and encouragement in unity. Powerful stuff when you let it percolate the dry layers of a weary spirit.

What is church?

This phrase from Tim Chester's blog caught my eye. He's talking about church as life lived out as a family rather than a meeting which we attend. He describes it this way:

doing ordinary life with gospel intentionality.

That strikes me as an almost insignificant phrase that we could pass over as being a theological soundbite. But it is far from that. It needs careful reflection, especially around the idea of "gospel intentionality".

He goes on to say this:

The church will never out perform TV shows and music videos. But there is nothing like the community life of the church. There is nowhere else where diverse people come together. There is nowhere else were broken people find a home. There is nowhere else when grace is experienced. There is nowhere else where God is present by his Spirit.

So, what are our chances of transitioning established churches towards this model?

As my brain continues to process...

There is still a lot of reflecting to do on my few days at seminars, but some things have been running around my head that I just need to get out of my head and written down somewhere. So, in no particular order....

Some of the people who use the term missional leadership, don't seem to understand it quite the way I do! Not a criticism, but just an observation. One speaker kept talking about missional leadership but I wasn't convinced that we shared a common understanding in the room about what that meant. The danger is that it becomes a two word description of something that only needs one word. Leadership!

If a growing, missional (it's okay, I know what I mean!) church is the by-product, what is the original product? Missional is about life not programmes, it's about "being" more than it is about "doing". So how do we sustain the argument that the primary purpose of the church is mission, partnering with God in what he is doing, without turning everything into an evangelistic opportunity. what should we be focussing upon?

I think there is a real need to refocus our attention on the simple idea that we are meant to be in a relationship with God. Perhaps if we helped people to stay connected with God more clearly and more consistently, the other stuff would naturally flow from that.

Maybe my job is more about helping people do that than anything else. Maybe.

If the speed of the team is determined by the speed of the leader, how are we doing as leaders? Are we slowing down any progress? What are we doing to facilitate spiritual growth? What are we doing to model spiritual growth?

How come most of our leadership structures revolve around getting stuff done and not around setting an example of what it means to be a wholehearted follower of Jesus Christ.

And there are more questions than that running relay races through my busy mind. But at least I've got some of it out of my brain and into something else so I can get on with some other things that need my attention. It's a busy life in my head!

Hope you brains are not addled by my ramblings!

Seminars and conferences

I'm a bit conferenced out at the moment. You see I spent Friday at a seminar, Saturday doing Child Protection training and the last two days at Holy Trinity Brompton at a Leadership event. It is the proverbial bus syndrome.

Friday was probably the best overall event, but that had a lot to do with the topic and the focused nature of the day. HTB' s conference was much broader, but no less valuable. The mornings were worth the time to attend by themselves.

Have I learnt anything? Well yes I have. Quite a lot actually, but it all needs processing and I just hope I get the time to do that. Okay, so I intend to make time to do that, honest I do! A good conference or seminar should inspire and I think I've been inspired.

I was wondering this morning if some of the things that we think should be our focus as church are in fact the by-product of where we ought to be focusing. For example, if we think that mission ought to be our focus, and why wouldn't we think that, might it be that mission is actually the result of focusing on say spiritual development? When I read Acts one thing strikes. Almost everything the early church did resulted in mission. And that included a church meeting!

So I wonder what really are the core things to which we should give our fullest attention? I have a few ideas but they need work.