Ever since Tim Keller helped me to understand that the Gospel is not the "way in" to the Christian life but the "way on", not the "ABC" but the "A to Z" (obviously needs to be said as an American!) I've believed and taught vigorously that the Gospel is the lens through which we should view the whole of life. It effects everything; how we pray, our self esteem, how we view others, how we cope when stuff goes wrong, how we're motivated....the list goes on and on. What I hadn't fully appreciated until about 20 minutes ago was that we see this modelled in the Older Testament. In my QT's these days I'm in Deuteronomy and this morning I read:
If a fellow Hebrew, a man or a woman, sells himself to you and serves you six years, in the seventh year you must let him go free. And when you release him, do not send him away empty-handed. Supply him liberally from your flock, your threshing floor and your winepress. Give to him as the LORD your God has blessed you. Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and the LORD your God redeemed you. That is why I give you this command today.
Deut. 15:15
In other words Moses is instructing the people to view life through the lens of the Exodus. "Allow the reality of the Exodus, your deliverance from slavery - a deliverance that was not of yourselves but entirely of God - allow the truth and reality of this to infect the way you think about others."
Friday, 26 March 2010
Tuesday, 16 March 2010
Reflecting on the West Wing
I've been watching Season 1 of the West Wing with Jack and we've just watched episode….whatever…..the one where the President has the opportunity to save a guy who's on death row. Long-story-short, without Bartlett’s intervention to commute the sentence the dead man walking will be toast. The episode sees him seeking the advice of all those who come across his path during that most crucial of days (and all tell him he should commute). Finally, as midnight, the time of execution rolls around, Bartlett, a reasonably devout (whatever that means) Catholic is in The Oval Office with his family priest (he’s already spoken to the Pope on the phone – as you do).
There’s a really powerful interchange about how Bartlett wants to be addressed…..
FATHER CAVANAUGH: I don’t know how to address you. Would you prefer Jed or Mr. President?
BARTLET: To be honest, I prefer Mr. President. You understand why, right? It’s not ego.
FATHER CAVANAUGH: I didn’t think it was.
BARTLET: There are certain decisions I have to make while I’m in this room. Do I send troops into harm’s way? Which fatal disease gets the most research money? It’s helpful in those situations not to think of yourself as the man but as the office.
FATHER CAVANAUGH: Then Mr. President it is.
…..and then Bartlett talks about the fact that he’s been unsure what to do about the death row guy, and he’s deeply, deeply troubled.
FATHER CAVANAUGH: Did you pray?
BARTLET: I did, Tom. I know it’s hard to believe, but I prayed for wisdom.
FATHER CAVANAUGH: And none came?
BARTLET: [shakes his head] It never has. And I’m a little pissed off about that. [He looks at his watch, which says it’s a few seconds before midnight. It hits him hard.] [dead serious] I’m not kidding.
FATHER CAVANAUGH: You know, you remind me of the man that lived by the river. He heard a radio report that the river was going to rush up and flood the town. And that all the residents should evacuate their homes. But the man said, “I’m religious. I pray. God loves me. God will save me.” The waters rose up. A guy in a row boat came along and he shouted, “Hey, hey you! You in there. The town is flooding. Let me take you to safety.” But the man shouted back, “I’m religious. I pray. God loves me. God will save me.” A helicopter was hovering overhead. And a guy with a megaphone shouted, “Hey you, you down there. The town is flooding. Let me drop this ladder and I’ll take you to safety.” But the man shouted back that he was religious, that he prayed, that God loved him and that God will take him to safety. Well... the man drowned. And standing at the gates of St. Peter, he demanded an audience with God. “Lord,” he said, “I’m a religious man, I pray. I thought you loved me. Why did this happen?” God said, “I sent you a radio report, a helicopter, and a guy in a rowboat. What the hell are you doing here?”
[He pauses. Bartlett looks very upset.]
FATHER CAVANAUGH: Today He’s sent you a priest, a rabbi, and a Quaker, Mr. President. Not to mention his son, Jesus Christ. What do you want from him?
[Bartlett is given a note by an aide confirming that the execution has taken place, he crumples the paper and looks desolate.]
FATHER CAVANAUGH: Jed. Would you like me to hear your confession?
BARTLET: Yes, please.
It doesn't get more profound than that, on so many levels.
There’s a really powerful interchange about how Bartlett wants to be addressed…..
FATHER CAVANAUGH: I don’t know how to address you. Would you prefer Jed or Mr. President?
BARTLET: To be honest, I prefer Mr. President. You understand why, right? It’s not ego.
FATHER CAVANAUGH: I didn’t think it was.
BARTLET: There are certain decisions I have to make while I’m in this room. Do I send troops into harm’s way? Which fatal disease gets the most research money? It’s helpful in those situations not to think of yourself as the man but as the office.
FATHER CAVANAUGH: Then Mr. President it is.
…..and then Bartlett talks about the fact that he’s been unsure what to do about the death row guy, and he’s deeply, deeply troubled.
FATHER CAVANAUGH: Did you pray?
BARTLET: I did, Tom. I know it’s hard to believe, but I prayed for wisdom.
FATHER CAVANAUGH: And none came?
BARTLET: [shakes his head] It never has. And I’m a little pissed off about that. [He looks at his watch, which says it’s a few seconds before midnight. It hits him hard.] [dead serious] I’m not kidding.
FATHER CAVANAUGH: You know, you remind me of the man that lived by the river. He heard a radio report that the river was going to rush up and flood the town. And that all the residents should evacuate their homes. But the man said, “I’m religious. I pray. God loves me. God will save me.” The waters rose up. A guy in a row boat came along and he shouted, “Hey, hey you! You in there. The town is flooding. Let me take you to safety.” But the man shouted back, “I’m religious. I pray. God loves me. God will save me.” A helicopter was hovering overhead. And a guy with a megaphone shouted, “Hey you, you down there. The town is flooding. Let me drop this ladder and I’ll take you to safety.” But the man shouted back that he was religious, that he prayed, that God loved him and that God will take him to safety. Well... the man drowned. And standing at the gates of St. Peter, he demanded an audience with God. “Lord,” he said, “I’m a religious man, I pray. I thought you loved me. Why did this happen?” God said, “I sent you a radio report, a helicopter, and a guy in a rowboat. What the hell are you doing here?”
[He pauses. Bartlett looks very upset.]
FATHER CAVANAUGH: Today He’s sent you a priest, a rabbi, and a Quaker, Mr. President. Not to mention his son, Jesus Christ. What do you want from him?
[Bartlett is given a note by an aide confirming that the execution has taken place, he crumples the paper and looks desolate.]
FATHER CAVANAUGH: Jed. Would you like me to hear your confession?
BARTLET: Yes, please.
It doesn't get more profound than that, on so many levels.
Tuesday, 9 March 2010
Changed by Faith
From Tim Chester's wonderful book on progressive sanctification, a kind of John Owen for dummies!
In Greek mythology, the Sirens would sing enchanting songs, drawing sailors irresistibly towards the rocks and certain shipwreck. Odysseus filled his crews ears with wax and had them tie him to the mast. This is like the approach of legalism. We bind ourselves up with laws and disciplines in a vain attempt to resist temptation. Orpheus, on the other hand, played such beautiful music on his harp that his sailors ignored the seductions of the Siren song. This is the way of faith. The grace of the gospel sings a far more glorious song than the enticements of sin, if only we had the faith to hear its music. (You Can Change, 64, Tim Chester)
In Greek mythology, the Sirens would sing enchanting songs, drawing sailors irresistibly towards the rocks and certain shipwreck. Odysseus filled his crews ears with wax and had them tie him to the mast. This is like the approach of legalism. We bind ourselves up with laws and disciplines in a vain attempt to resist temptation. Orpheus, on the other hand, played such beautiful music on his harp that his sailors ignored the seductions of the Siren song. This is the way of faith. The grace of the gospel sings a far more glorious song than the enticements of sin, if only we had the faith to hear its music. (You Can Change, 64, Tim Chester)
Friday, 5 March 2010
Are You Sinning by Not Rejoicing?
I think we all sin by needlessly disobeying the apostolic injunction to “rejoice” as much as by anything else. C. S. Lewis, The Problem of Pain.
Sunday, 21 February 2010
Teaching on What?!
The teaching for the next couple of E4’s will centre around church leadership and in particular the role of Elders, Deacons and the “Church Meeting”.
Now I know what you’re thinking.
“Isn’t there anything else more useful that we could be hearing about? Surely there must be something (anything in fact) that’s more relevant to “whole-life missionary discipleship” than stuff about church government?”
Well, here’s the thing:
The church is a reflection of God’s Son. That’s why leadership of the church is of utmost importance. The church is how the great hope – eternity with God in Christ – is to be seen. In the time between Christ’s ascension and His return, Christians in covenant with one another – loving and caring, encouraging and sharing, correcting and bearing over the years – present the clearest picture of God’s love that this world can see. (Mark Dever in Elders in Congregational Life, Phil Newton)
If the church is the hope of the world (and I passionately believe it is), if it exists to reflect Jesus to the world (as Mark Dever says) and if it’s designed to display God’s plan of salvation to the heavenly realms (as Ephesians 3:10 says) then how the church is organised and led must matter. It must be the case that the stuff in the Bible about how to arrange things concerning church leadership is important to pay attention to because, to put it bluntly, it impacts the greatest enterprise that’s taking place on the face of the planet.
For a long time now I’ve been prayerfully considering what the Bible has to say about the important role of Elders and Deacons and our Leadership Team spent part of an away day twelve months ago reflecting on some of the issues. I’m planning to share some of this material at E4 with the aim of strengthening our understanding of what the scriptures teach and also to encourage people to pray into what we discover.
If you’re around it would be great to see you for the first of this series which will be on Sunday 28 February, 11:45am.
Now I know what you’re thinking.
“Isn’t there anything else more useful that we could be hearing about? Surely there must be something (anything in fact) that’s more relevant to “whole-life missionary discipleship” than stuff about church government?”
Well, here’s the thing:
The church is a reflection of God’s Son. That’s why leadership of the church is of utmost importance. The church is how the great hope – eternity with God in Christ – is to be seen. In the time between Christ’s ascension and His return, Christians in covenant with one another – loving and caring, encouraging and sharing, correcting and bearing over the years – present the clearest picture of God’s love that this world can see. (Mark Dever in Elders in Congregational Life, Phil Newton)
If the church is the hope of the world (and I passionately believe it is), if it exists to reflect Jesus to the world (as Mark Dever says) and if it’s designed to display God’s plan of salvation to the heavenly realms (as Ephesians 3:10 says) then how the church is organised and led must matter. It must be the case that the stuff in the Bible about how to arrange things concerning church leadership is important to pay attention to because, to put it bluntly, it impacts the greatest enterprise that’s taking place on the face of the planet.
For a long time now I’ve been prayerfully considering what the Bible has to say about the important role of Elders and Deacons and our Leadership Team spent part of an away day twelve months ago reflecting on some of the issues. I’m planning to share some of this material at E4 with the aim of strengthening our understanding of what the scriptures teach and also to encourage people to pray into what we discover.
If you’re around it would be great to see you for the first of this series which will be on Sunday 28 February, 11:45am.
Saturday, 20 February 2010
Walking in the Light
At MSG on Tuesday we were thinking about “walking in the light” (1 John 1:5-2:6) and how in doing so we expose our hearts. It’s quite a painful thing in many ways because as long as you’re in the “dark” you can kid yourself that things aren’t that bad. But, step into the light and you see that actually….
....the reason you didn’t help a neighbour out wasn’t that you “just didn’t have the time” (as you’d told yourself and them) but that you didn’t think of it as terribly advantageous to you…
....and the reason you got “delayed at the office” wasn’t that you really were so busy but that you couldn’t be bothered to help bath and settle the kids and so chose to walk through the front door just as your wife was coming down stairs….
Walking in the light of Christ shows us to be who and what we really are and then, and then we can repent, trusting in the work of Jesus for forgiveness, receiving grace and mercy, moving on knowing the strengthening work of the Spirit. All the time I walk in the dark I’m ignorant of my true situation and I miss His grace.
Anyway, we talked about this and other stuff for a while and then I shared a list I’d compiled, from a number of sources, of questions we can ask ourselves (or those who have given us permission) to help ensure we’re walking in the light. One of our number, quite understandably, made the point that reading the list was pretty depressing because, if we were honest, we were probably not doing very well on any of them.
On one level this person was right……if it were a list of things we “had to do” then absolutely let’s give up now! But on the other hand it could, I suggested, be viewed as a joyous thing that keeps us from deluding ourselves (and how badly do we need that!) These questions expose our hearts and if we aren’t where we should be we can respond accordingly, namely repent and receive grace. When we do this with others it’s even more of a transformative and life-giving thing.
Here’s the list we shared. May it help us walk in the light that we might have fellowship with Him.
Questions we can ask one another to help us walk in the Light:
1. Am I consciously or unconsciously creating the impression that I am better than I am? In other words, am I a hypocrite?
2. Am I honest in all my acts and words, or do I exaggerate?
3. Do I confidentially pass onto another what was told me in confidence?
4. Am I a slave to dress, friends, work, or habits?
5. Am I self‐conscious, self‐pitying, or self‐justifying?
6. Did the Bible live in me today?
7. Do I give it time to speak to me every day?
8. Am I enjoying prayer?
9. When did I last speak to someone about my faith?
10. Do I pray about the money I spend?
11. Do I get to bed on time and get up on time?
12. Do I disobey God in anything?
13. Do I insist upon doing something about which my conscience is uneasy?
14. Am I defeated in any part of my life?
15. Am I jealous, impure, critical, irritable, touchy or distrustful?
16. How do I spend my spare time?
17. Am I proud?
18. Do I thank God that I am not as other people, especially as the Pharisee who despised the publican?
19. Is there anyone whom I fear, dislike, disown, criticize, hold resentment toward or disregard? If so, what am I going to do about it?
20. Do I grumble and complain constantly?
21. Is Christ real to me?
22. Have you been a testimony this week to the greatness of Jesus Christ with both your words and actions?
23. Have you been exposed to sexually alluring material or allowed your mind to entertain inappropriate thoughts about someone who is not your spouse this week?
24. Have you lacked any integrity in your financial dealings this week, or coveted something that does not belong to you?
25. Have you been honoring, understanding and generous in your important relationships this past week?
26. Have you damaged another person by your words, either behind their back or face‐toface?
27. Have you given in to an addictive behavior this week? Explain.
28. Have you secretly wished for another's misfortune so that you might excel?
29. Have you been completely honest with me?
....the reason you didn’t help a neighbour out wasn’t that you “just didn’t have the time” (as you’d told yourself and them) but that you didn’t think of it as terribly advantageous to you…
....and the reason you got “delayed at the office” wasn’t that you really were so busy but that you couldn’t be bothered to help bath and settle the kids and so chose to walk through the front door just as your wife was coming down stairs….
Walking in the light of Christ shows us to be who and what we really are and then, and then we can repent, trusting in the work of Jesus for forgiveness, receiving grace and mercy, moving on knowing the strengthening work of the Spirit. All the time I walk in the dark I’m ignorant of my true situation and I miss His grace.
Anyway, we talked about this and other stuff for a while and then I shared a list I’d compiled, from a number of sources, of questions we can ask ourselves (or those who have given us permission) to help ensure we’re walking in the light. One of our number, quite understandably, made the point that reading the list was pretty depressing because, if we were honest, we were probably not doing very well on any of them.
On one level this person was right……if it were a list of things we “had to do” then absolutely let’s give up now! But on the other hand it could, I suggested, be viewed as a joyous thing that keeps us from deluding ourselves (and how badly do we need that!) These questions expose our hearts and if we aren’t where we should be we can respond accordingly, namely repent and receive grace. When we do this with others it’s even more of a transformative and life-giving thing.
Here’s the list we shared. May it help us walk in the light that we might have fellowship with Him.
Questions we can ask one another to help us walk in the Light:
1. Am I consciously or unconsciously creating the impression that I am better than I am? In other words, am I a hypocrite?
2. Am I honest in all my acts and words, or do I exaggerate?
3. Do I confidentially pass onto another what was told me in confidence?
4. Am I a slave to dress, friends, work, or habits?
5. Am I self‐conscious, self‐pitying, or self‐justifying?
6. Did the Bible live in me today?
7. Do I give it time to speak to me every day?
8. Am I enjoying prayer?
9. When did I last speak to someone about my faith?
10. Do I pray about the money I spend?
11. Do I get to bed on time and get up on time?
12. Do I disobey God in anything?
13. Do I insist upon doing something about which my conscience is uneasy?
14. Am I defeated in any part of my life?
15. Am I jealous, impure, critical, irritable, touchy or distrustful?
16. How do I spend my spare time?
17. Am I proud?
18. Do I thank God that I am not as other people, especially as the Pharisee who despised the publican?
19. Is there anyone whom I fear, dislike, disown, criticize, hold resentment toward or disregard? If so, what am I going to do about it?
20. Do I grumble and complain constantly?
21. Is Christ real to me?
22. Have you been a testimony this week to the greatness of Jesus Christ with both your words and actions?
23. Have you been exposed to sexually alluring material or allowed your mind to entertain inappropriate thoughts about someone who is not your spouse this week?
24. Have you lacked any integrity in your financial dealings this week, or coveted something that does not belong to you?
25. Have you been honoring, understanding and generous in your important relationships this past week?
26. Have you damaged another person by your words, either behind their back or face‐toface?
27. Have you given in to an addictive behavior this week? Explain.
28. Have you secretly wished for another's misfortune so that you might excel?
29. Have you been completely honest with me?
Monday, 15 February 2010
Another Monday
They come round with frequent regularity and here we are again, almost at the end of another Monday.
Stephen is a student at Moorlands College and he's on a five week block placement. He wants to find out whether pastoral ministry is for him so not only is he shadowing me (an eye opener I think after just one day) but he's also moved in to our house. I figured he may as well as get the whole "pastor with wife and three kids" 24/7 experience!
I'm 24 hours free from my Episodic Cluster Headaches so I'm praying that they've gone for another season. They really are the weirdest (and most painful) thing. By the end of this cluster I could set my watch to within a few minutes of when they would come - bizarre. I got supplied with another 4 O2 cylinders today as well!
Preparing for an overseas conference I'm speaking at this w/e. Well OK, it's the Isle of Wight which is as close as I'm likely to get.
Really behind on prep for E4 where I'm going to be teaching on biblical eldership.....really need to put some time into this as its a critical subject for reasons I hope to blog about shortly.
Soooooo looking forward to listening to Part 2 of Matt Chandler's series on progressive sanctification tomorrow night at MSG. Again need to prep for this to get maximum return on it. Love the fact my group get to hear this great teacher.
Back working at Costa tomorrow afternoon which I'm really looking forward to.
Need to reflect on the degree to which many evangelicals have a faith more akin to something out of the New Age rather than the Bible....it's just that I'm meeting so many people who believe that if they do a pile of stuff like read the bible, show up at church, do a mission trip, not get drunk etc then somehow God owes them a nice life. When life hits them in the face, as it does they say, "How could you do this to me God?!" and stomp off. Anyway......
Night in tonight - yes!!
Stephen is a student at Moorlands College and he's on a five week block placement. He wants to find out whether pastoral ministry is for him so not only is he shadowing me (an eye opener I think after just one day) but he's also moved in to our house. I figured he may as well as get the whole "pastor with wife and three kids" 24/7 experience!
I'm 24 hours free from my Episodic Cluster Headaches so I'm praying that they've gone for another season. They really are the weirdest (and most painful) thing. By the end of this cluster I could set my watch to within a few minutes of when they would come - bizarre. I got supplied with another 4 O2 cylinders today as well!
Preparing for an overseas conference I'm speaking at this w/e. Well OK, it's the Isle of Wight which is as close as I'm likely to get.
Really behind on prep for E4 where I'm going to be teaching on biblical eldership.....really need to put some time into this as its a critical subject for reasons I hope to blog about shortly.
Soooooo looking forward to listening to Part 2 of Matt Chandler's series on progressive sanctification tomorrow night at MSG. Again need to prep for this to get maximum return on it. Love the fact my group get to hear this great teacher.
Back working at Costa tomorrow afternoon which I'm really looking forward to.
Need to reflect on the degree to which many evangelicals have a faith more akin to something out of the New Age rather than the Bible....it's just that I'm meeting so many people who believe that if they do a pile of stuff like read the bible, show up at church, do a mission trip, not get drunk etc then somehow God owes them a nice life. When life hits them in the face, as it does they say, "How could you do this to me God?!" and stomp off. Anyway......
Night in tonight - yes!!
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