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.