Faithfulness or fruitfulness?

13 Monday May 2013

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A few months ago I blogged about success – sovereignty, success and spiritual job satisfaction, actually.

How do you measure success in Christian ministry? Does it have to do with popularity? Is it measured by the number of people who listened to you preach yesterday the number of people who download your podcast or the number of people who read your blog?

You can read what I wrote, but I reflected a bit on the point in John the Baptist’s ministry where his disciples noticed that Jesus was attracting bigger crowds than John. I concluded with a question about success:

But what if it was simply to be faithful to what God has given you to do?

Faithfulness to what God calls us to do.

That’s success.

They say that the Old Testament prophet, Jeremiah, only had two converts. With a record like that, you would hardly be planning to invite him to write a book about successful evangelism!

But he was faithful.

And it was faithfulness that Jesus noted in his parable of the talents. ‘Well done, faithful servant.’ God looks for, and rewards faithfulness.

But something else caught my attention this morning. Something that Jesus said:

By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit…

Fruitfulness.

Not just faithfulness.

Here’s why I think this is important.

I think it’s possible to rationalise a lack of fruit by taking shelter in a form of faithfulness. It’s our job to be faithful, we reason, and it’s God’s job to take care of the results.

The thing is that that’s right. Ask John the Baptist. Ask someone who has wept and prayed as they have worked hard in barren spiritual terrain. If they didn’t believe in the sovereignty of God, they would despair. And God forbid that we should attempt to sit in judgement on them.

So let’s leave other people out of this for a moment and think about ourselves. Just you and me.

  • Is it possible that we have settled for a lot less than we should have, and done so in the name of ‘faithfulness’?
  • Is it possible that we have reduced ‘faithfulness’ to a series of box-ticking exercises while we have eliminated all risk?
  • Is it possible that we have looked down our noses at people who have taken risks, have asked for, and attempted big things from God, even if their theology doesn’t quite match our understanding?
  • Is it possible that we need to re-evaluate the extent of our faithfulness if we find that there is little in terms of fruitfulness?

Here is one of those both/and things that we need to keep hold of: God rewards faithfulness and he is glorified by fruitfulness.

At the end of the day, he is sovereign. Success is still about being faithful to what he gives us to do.

But it is thoroughly biblical to be both faithful and fruitful.

What do you think?

 

Is God a cosmic traffic-warden?

07 Tuesday May 2013

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You’ve seen them around with their red coats – at least that’s what they wear in our part of the world. Is it only me, or is there something about the uniform that  reminds anyone else of the Salvation Army? Just for a laugh I’d love to have the courage to speak to one of them as if they were part of the Salvation Army: you know, dig out a few coins and ask which particular good cause they are collecting for this year!

But what does this have to do with God?

Anyone remember this?

Be careful, little eyes, what you see (repeat)

Be careful little ears what you hear (repeat)

etc…

There’s a Father up above, and he’s looking down in love,

So be careful, little eyes, what you see.

Maybe you learned it in Sunday School.

Again it may be only me, but does anyone else think there might be something slightly unusual about the tone of this little song?

I suppose I could ask the question like this: is the point of the song to teach us that God loves us (he’s watching down in love), or is it to warn us that we’d better be careful, because he sees what we do. Nothing escapes his attention.

Like a traffic warden.

Do you see what I mean?

Should it make us happy or worried? Happy that he loves us or worried that none of our sins escapes his attention?

The thing is, the all-seeing eye of God works both ways in Scripture.

Like Jonah. Thought he could try running away. File under futile. Imagine attempting to run away from the presence of the Lord. That’s what he tried to do. But you can’t. And he couldn’t. A storm, a fish, a second call to go to Nineveh, and off went Jonah with a message he didn’t want to preach – at least not to this particular crowd.

There is no escape. Be careful, little eyes….

And then there’s David. In Psalm 139.

Where shall I go from your Spirit?

Unlike Jonah, David knew there was no point in trying. And, unlike Jonah, he had no desire to try anyway. He stood in amazement at the all-seeing, all-knowing God. And far from trying to hide, he actually prayed like this:

Search me, O God, and know my thoughts.

God already had searched him and he already knew David’s thoughts. David’s response was to lay his life before God like an open book.

And then wasn’t there that story in Genesis where Hagar is on the run. Not from God, but from the mess that has come about in the family of Abram and Sarai. The Lord saw her in the desert and sent and angel with a promise.

You are a God who sees me.

God sees. God hears. God knows.

Those are the facts.

Could it be that it’s those who view him as little more than a cosmic traffic warden who will want to follow Jonah and run and hide?

But it’s those who view him as a loving Father who will be glad that he is watching.

What do you think?

Living in Persia while your heart is in Jerusalem

25 Thursday Apr 2013

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The Old Testament book of Nehemiah paints a picture of an inspiring leader. Nehemiah’s story is set half a millennium before the birth of Christ. He was a Jew, but had never lived in Jerusalem. Jerusalem had fallen into the hands of the Babylonians decades before Nehemiah’s story began to unfold. With the changing of empires, as Persia replaced Babylon, some of Judah’s exiles had been allowed to return home but they struggled to rebuild the ruins of their city.

Meantime, some 800 miles away, Nehemiah had risen through the ranks to become the cupbearer to the King of Persia. An influential position, no doubt, but not without its risks. News of Jerusalem came to him from his brother Hanani and some men from Judah who were on a visit to the winter palace at Susa.

In one sense it could have been mere politeness to ask about life in the old city. After all, what Belfast exile living in Sydney would not make a few enquiries about life back in ‘Norn Irn’? But Nehemiah’s enquiry was much more. That’s clear from his reaction to the news that the wall was broken, the gates were burned and the people were ‘in great trouble and shame.’

There was no shrugging of the shoulders (‘Sorry to hear this, I wish there was something I could do to help’) and there was no empty promise that he would be ‘thinking about them’. Nehemiah was devastated.

Didn’t the Jewish exiles sing (Psalm 137) about being in a strange land as they sat ‘by the rivers of Babylon’? Didn’t they vow to lose their skill if they would ever forget their city?

The Babylonians could take the Jews out of Jerusalem, but they could never take Jerusalem out of the Jews.

There is a custom at Jewish weddings where a glass is broken. One of the explanations for this is that it is meant to serve as a reminder, in the middle of celebration, of the ruined temple of Jerusalem. They dare not forget.

Nehemiah is one of several Old Testament characters whose lives demonstrate what it means for a believer in God to live and work in an environment where their faith is not shared. Joseph in Egypt. Daniel in Babylon. Esther, like Nehemiah, in Persia. None of these people was a religious professional. All of them were used by God in a specific way at a specific time to meet a specific need.

Nehemiah’s reaction (weeping, fasting, praying) revealed Nehemiah’s heart. He did not want to forget the city of his ancestors. What was broken there had to be put right. While Nehemiah was living in Persia (and apparently doing quite well), his heart was in Jerusalem.

Is it possible that some of us, unlike Nehemiah, get so caught up in the pursuit of well-being in our own little palace of Susa, that we forget what Jesus said about seeking first the Kingdom of God?

 

 

On striking rocks, instead of speaking to them

14 Sunday Apr 2013

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Last week, in the final session of the pastoral retreat in Germany, we reflected on the incident in Numbers 20 where Moses struck the rock to provide water for the people.

The incident was sparked by yet another bout of complaints from the people under Moses’ leadership, complaints that had started early in their journey and had often featured issues of food and water. 

God had an answer to the problem: Moses was to take the staff and speak to the rock. Water would emerge and the people would have something to drink.

Simple.

Speak to the rock.

Not hit it.

Just speak.

All Moses had to do was obey God and God would take care of the rest.

It started well enough. Numbers 20:9 records the fact that ‘Moses took the staff from the Lord as he commanded him.’ So far so good. Obedience. Simply doing what God said.

But then it gets ugly. Having assembled the crowd, Moses speaks out of the bitterness of his heart. They have got to him with all their complaining.

Hear now, you rebels: shall we bring water for you out of this rock?

Neither speaking nor acting out of a bitter heart is a wise thing to do. Besides which, God had not told Moses to deliver a lecture.

To be sure, Moses did not err when he seemed to suggest that he and Aaron, rather than God, would bring water from the rock. God had said that it would be Moses who would give water from the rock to the people. But he is about to make a serious mistake.

Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock with his hand twice.

That is not what he was asked to do. All he was asked to do was speak. He had struck the rock before (Exodus 17), but that was what God had asked him to do on that occasion. But when God says ‘speak’, you don’t strike.

Interestingly, in spite of Moses’ disobedience, water still flows from the rock. But what follows is a pronouncement of judgment on Moses. He will not get to see the conclusion of his mission.

You shall not bring this assembly into the land that I have given them.

What was going on? What do we need to observe? What do those of us in leadership need to learn?

  1. Anger. Although Moses was described as gentle – no one more meek on the face of the planet – he was capable of strong anger. Anger was a trait that had manifested itself earlier in his life. His reaction to the Egyptian mistreating a Hebrew slave. His smashing of the stone tablets at the sight of the people’s sin. Somehow, over the course of time, this man who knew what it was to burn with righteous indignation, nonetheless learned gentleness. But once again his anger manifests itself. This time it is a self-focussed anger. The anger of an embittered heart.
  2. Provocation. It’s hard not to feel at least a bit of sympathy for Moses given all that he had had to put up with. Relentless criticism and complaint. Personal attacks and the impugning of his motives. Psalm 106 says that the people made his spirit bitter and that ‘it went ill for Moses on their account.’ But it was in this embittered state that Moses disobeyed.
  3. It worked! If you wanted to judge his action on a purely pragmatic basis, you’d have to say that he got results. Good results too, for the text says that there was abundant water, enough for both people and animals. It’s sobering to think that not every act that gets results meets with God’s approval.
  4. Unbelief. God views Moses’ action as a manifestation of unbelief. It was because Moses did not believe in God to uphold him as holy that he forfeited his place in the land of promise. Later (Deuteronomy 32), Moses’ failure is described as breaking faith with God. Faith is a two way path. Faith and faithfulness belong together. True obedience is an expression of both.
  5. The rock was Christ. While Moses celebrated God as ‘The Rock’, it is Paul, in 1 Corinthians 10, who sees Christ in the story of the Israelites’ journey. For him the journey was filled with spiritual significance. The cloud and the sea were a form of baptism; the food was spiritual food; the Rock was a spiritual rock – and the Rock was Christ. Paul was keen that the Corinthians learn from the example of people who experienced such spiritual blessings and yet fell into idolatry. And he leaves us with this intriguing connection between the rock and Christ. Was Moses guilt increased because he had ruined the typological significance of the rock (Christ was only to be struck once)? At any rate there is an important lesson for all of us who have the privilege – whether full time or part time – of being servants of Christ and ministers of his grace. We may get results – because Christ’s blessings may flow to others in spite of us and not because of us – but how we present Christ and serve him – with faithful obedience that honours him as holy – is vital.

Five days in Germany

14 Sunday Apr 2013

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From our week in Israel, we travelled – via Istanbul – to Germany where we spent four days with some of the friends and associates of ICC-Eurasia, a network of English-speaking international churches in Europe on the occasion of their annual pastoral retreat.

First though, we had the opportunity to visit two vastly contrasting iconic Bavarian sites. The first was Dachau, the first of the Nazi concentration camps; the second was BMW world – a symbol of the success of modern Germany.

The pastoral retreat was held at a holiday centre about 90 minutes from Munich and close to the Austrian border and the city of Salzburg (Mozart, Von Trapp family singers). We were a small group, but included people who had travelled from Munich, Prague, France (north, south and central), and the US. My brief was to address the plenary sessions in which we looked at the leadership journey of Moses; Pauline led several sessions with ministry wives, looking at the themes of roles, depression and seasons. There were sessions for strategic planning for the network as well as meal times and informal evening chats. One afternoon and evening were spent exploring Salzburg.

You can read a bit more about the ICC-Eurasia network here.

A week in the Holy Land

07 Sunday Apr 2013

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Well, just over five days, actually. The occasion was the baptism of two friends from Westlake Church in Switzerland, where we worked for seventeen years. Tom had come to faith in Christ from a Jewish background: his story is remarkable, with his parents having escaped Hitler’s holocaust and made it to America.

We travelled out on Easter Monday, via London, and arrived in Jerusalem in the evening, in time to eat at the hotel where we were staying, just a short distance from the Old City.

Tuesday was spent around Jerusalem, starting with a panorama from the tower of our hotel. From there, it was off by taxi to the vantage point of the Mount of Olives to the east of the city. Our walking tour included the Garden of Gethsemane, where olive trees still grow, and the Via Dolorosa, the presumed route taken by Jesus in the hours up to his crucifixion. The path took us past the old pool of Bethesda (‘Do you want to be made well?) and through the narrow streets with their little shops. The Church of the Holy Sepulchre marks the alleged site of Jesus’ burial, though there is an alternative site, the Garden Tomb, which we visited later in the week. Later in the day we went back further in history with a glimpse of Nehemiah’s walls and a visit to the City of David, with Hezekiah’s tunnel. We took a tunnel journey of our own from the Pool of Siloam (‘Go, wash!’) up to the vicinity of the Western Wall.

Many Jewish men, women and children gather here to pray. The Islamic Dome of the Rock sits on the site of the Temple Mount and the Western Wall is as close as Jewish worshipers are able to get to the place of the old temple and the place of the presence of God.

Throughout the week we had the privilege of being accompanied by Josh, an outstanding Jewish guide with a wonderful knowledge of the places and times we visited.

Wednesday – our second full day – was baptism day. We went down from Jerusalem to Jericho (how many preachers have preached on that phrase?), where we headed north towards Galilee. I should mention that we stopped off at the site of the Inn of the Good Samaritan where it only costs a couple of coins to stay (kidding). The site that is understood to be the place of Jesus’ baptism is on the river, close to the Sea of Galilee. Being baptised there is actually very popular and the place is well equipped: changing facilities, white robes for hire or purchase, steps down to various baptismal spots. Apparently we could even have used the services of a pastor for the occasion! The fish made way for us as we went into the water (chillier than you might think!). And there, where the Lord Jesus submitted to all righteousness, my Jewish friend Tom and his wife, Cathy, declared their faith in that same Lord Jesus.

After lunch (St Peter’s fish) in Tiberias, we went on to the Mount of Beatitudes and then down to Capernaum on the shore of the Lake. The remains of Peter’s house are visible as well as the ruins of an ancient synagogue (remember the centurion whose charity financed the original?).

Tom and Cathy left us on Thursday to back to Switzerland and after a visit to the Garden Tomb, we headed south with Josh. There were two stops in the desert: Masada, a massive cliff plateau where Herod the Great built himself some opulent accommodation and site of the famous last stand of Jewish resistance to the Romans who had destroyed Jerusalem in AD 70. The second stop was Qumran, home of a Jewish community and the place where, in 1948, a shepherd stumbled on a collection of scrolls that had been stashed away in a cave. Thousands of fragments were eventually discovered, some reflecting the life of the community, but many that contained portions of Scripture. Among the discoveries was a complete scroll of the book of Isaiah.

One further stop on the way home – back up to Jerusalem – was the desolate mountainous desert area where Jesus is believed to have been tempted.

On Friday we left Jerusalem for Tel Aviv. On our way we stopped at Yad Veshem, Israel’s memorial to the 6 million victims of the Holocaust. Preparations were underway for this year’s Memorial Day which takes place tomorrow (Monday). Sculptures around the stage area depict the victims in the Warsaw Ghetto. There is also a dramatic memorial commemorating a million children who were murdered in the atrocity. A second stop was the Israel Museum, home to a magnificent outdoor model of Jerusalem at the time of Herod.

From here it was west to the city of Caesarea. Modern Caesarea is one of the most upmarket areas in Israel – including a golf course. Ancient Caesarea, home of Cornelius and thus a significant landmark in the story of early Christianity, was built by Herod – a place by the sea, including his own swimming pool.

The modern city of Tel Aviv is 50 kilometres or so to the south, and it was here that we spent the weekend. Our hotel, with an ocean view sat on the southern edge of the city, not far from the port of Jaffa (Joppa). Friday night was the eve of Sabbath (Josh, as an observant Jew, had left us to be back home in time) and dinner in the hotel saw various Jewish families celebrate a meal together. It was fascinating to discover that the hotel had a Sabbath elevator – stops at every floor and has to be called by a non-Jew: observant Jews will not activate electricity on the Sabbath.

Which meant that there were some items not available for breakfast the following morning – items, like omelette, that required to be freshly cooked. Not that we starved!

On the last evening of our visit we headed into Jaffa. There are still plenty of boats in the harbour (Jonah) and Simon the Tanner’s house still stands, though we didn’t make it onto the roof!

Is there any other strip of land on earth with so much history? A land of contrasts – old and new, religious and secular – and conflict. Israel.

Today has been a travel day. Taxi to the airport and a journey on to Germany via a brief transfer in Istanbul. I am writing this as we approach Munich. From there, we head down towards the Austrian border for a four day retreat with some pastors from a network of international churches in Europe.

What happened on Easter Sunday?

31 Sunday Mar 2013

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CS Lewis was right: if Christianity is true, it is of the utmost importance, if it is not true, it is of no importance. It cannot be moderately important!

The linchpin is what happened at Easter.

Luke (24) tells the story of Easter morning first through the eyes of several women who went to the tomb of Jesus. He tells us what they found, what they heard and what they did.

  1. What did the women find? They found that the stone was rolled away and that the body of Jesus was not there. Might they have gone to the wrong tomb? Possibly, since it was dark; but Luke makes it clear that they had observed the place where the Lord had been buried and we know that others (like Peter) went to take a look for themselves. Peter not only saw the tomb, he saw the burial cloths. Any mistake by the women could have been corrected. As for the theory that the body had been stolen by the disciples, would it not have been straightforward for the authorities to investigate them and recover the body?
  2. What did the women hear? They heard ‘two men in dazzling apparel’ speak to them with the news that Jesus was in fact not here, he had risen. Everything had happened as he had told them it would: betrayal, crucifixion, and now resurrection.
  3. What did the women do? They went off to tell Jesus’ disciples what they had found. No one was expecting the news. The women might as well have been hallucinating. But it was true.

And the story went on. Soon not only was there an empty tomb, Jesus himself appeared. Not as a figment of someone’s imagination but as a man who ate a piece of fish. The empty tomb along with the appearance of Jesus and the transformed lives of his disciples all point to the news that ‘Christ is risen, he is risen indeed.’

[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18_PDY22Sck]

The Crucifixion of Jesus Christ

29 Friday Mar 2013

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And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him.

In isolation, this – from Luke in the third gospel – is a straightforward, almost matter-of-fact sentence. Who knows how many people had been crucified that year? There were certainly two others that day.

But it would be hard to imagine a more dramatic act than that described in this  straightforward, matter of fact statement.

For this was the execution of the Son of God.

In our era of polished crosses – silver to go around our necks and wood to stand in our churches – we must not forget that first century crucifixion was designed not just to kill but to torture. It was, as Tim Keller puts it, ‘the most humiliating and gruesome method of execution.’

Luke’s telling of the event (Luke 23) points to these three aspects of Jesus’ death.

  1. Jesus was innocent, but took the place of the guilty. There is a great deal of emphasis in the account on Jesus’ innocence. Yet a revolutionary – Barabbas – is freed while Jesus is sent for execution. The innocent dies while the guilty goes free. Still forgiveness is to be found in this man’s condemnation.
  2. Jesus didn’t save himself, but provided salvation for others. Three times in vv.35-39 someone challenges Jesus to save himself. It would demonstrate who he was. But had he done that, his mission would never have been accomplished.
  3. Jesus was rejected by many, but acknowledged by some. Many of the figures in the crucifixion story are hostile to Jesus. But in contrast to most of the Roman soldiers, there was the centurion who acknowledged Jesus’ righteousness. In contrast to the rest of the ruling council, there was Joseph of Arimathea who dissented from their decision. And in contrast to his colleague there was the criminal who asked for salvation.

What shall we say about Mary of Magdala?

29 Friday Mar 2013

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We know that Mary Magdalene was a faithful disciple, a witness to the cross, burial and resurrection of Jesus. She was not a prostitute. Some texts suggest that she was privileged to receive revelation from Jesus. …there is no evidence in the Bible or outside it that says she was married to Jesus.

Darrell Bock, Ph.D. Research Professor of New Testament Studies at Dallas Theological Seminary.

From his book – Breaking the Da Vinci Code.

David and his sons

23 Saturday Mar 2013

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Over the winter I have been taking a local men’s ministry through a short series on the relationships in the life of King David. We’ve looked at David and Jonathan, David and Saul and David and Bathsheba. In the final part, this week, we reflected on David and his relationships as a father.

He had quite a number of sons – over twenty, in fact. We don’t have narrative details about many of them, but four stand out:

  • Amnon
  • Absalom
  • Adonijah
  • Solomon

It’s Absalom and Solomon who stand out – and for very different reasons.

David also had a daughter whose life was tragically wrecked when she was raped by Amnon. We’re not told in the text, but David would have had to rue the day he sent her to bring food to Amnon.

Here are two observations about David’s relationships with his sons. They demonstrate two ways in which the Bible talks about family life. One of the family-related themes in Scripture is the principle that the family is intended to be a place for communicating the knowledge of God. Another is Scripture’s ‘warts and all’ portrayal of the families of a number of its heroes. Like David.

David’s acts of treachery and violence in taking Bathsheba for himself and having Uriah killed meant that he too would be a victim of violence. He would have to face Amnon’s rape of Tamar; then Absalom’s bloody revenge on Amnon; Absalom’s rebellion which only ended with Absalom’s own execution at the hand of Joab.

On several occasions David seems to be passive as a father. He does nothing about Amnon’s behaviour, although he is angry. We wonder about his reaction to Absalom. He leaves him in exile for a few years before half-restoring him to Jerusalem. Once they appear to finally be reconciled, it’s not long before Absalom was sowing the seeds of his rebellion. Did David not know what was happening? Could he not have addressed it? And then there is Adonijah who attempted a power grab with David in the twilight stages of his life. Tellingly Scripture notes that David had never held this young man to account.

On the positive side, there was Solomon. How gracious of God to name this son born to David and Bathsheba Jedidiah – ‘beloved of God’. Solomon would be a man of peace (shalom) and would be the man to build the temple that David had hoped to build.

David’s task was to prepare the way for him and encourage him in the leadership task that lay ahead.

The Lord be with you, so that you may succeed… may the Lord grant you discretion and understanding… be strong and courageous. Fear not; do not be dismayed… Arise and work! The Lord be with you!

Courageous Leadership

23 Saturday Mar 2013

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If you’ve taken any kind of look at the leadership of Joshua, you’ll be well aware of how he was told not to be afraid but to be strong and courageous. The Lord himself gave him this message.

Interestingly, David gave the same instructions to his son Solomon.

Why do leaders need to be courageous?

Here are a few reasons:

  • Because sometimes they are stepping into very large shoes. That was true for both Joshua and Solomon. Joshua followed in the considerable footsteps of Moses; Solomon in those of his father, David. It may not be exactly true of every leader: some are called to be pioneers or to fill a void, but any Christian leader that God calls is following a long line of distinguished leaders. It takes courage to fill big shoes.
  • Because of the size of the task. For Joshua, it was the conquest of the Promised Land; for Solomon, it was not only the leadership of Israel, he was also to take responsibility for building a house for the Lord. While there is probably a great deal of truth in the ‘Peter Principle’ (people get promoted to the level of their incompetence), it is also true that God likes to give people challenges that are bigger than they are – so they learn to trust him and leave room for him to work.
  • Because not everyone will welcome your leadership. Moses was constantly challenged by the people he was trying to serve. Nehemiah led the Jerusalem rebuilding project in the face of relentless opposition from people in the area who did not want to see the city prosper.
  • Because you may have to make difficult and unpopular decisions. Courageous leaders understand that leadership is not a popularity contest. This is closely connected with the previous reason. Consensus is wonderful when it is possible, but how much work grinds to a halt because a leader is not prepared to make or stand by an unpopular decision? Courageous leaders understand that leadership is not a popularity contest.

What reasons would you add to this list?

Leaders: is your perception getting in the way of your vision?

06 Wednesday Mar 2013

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Or – the five excuses of a highly reluctant leader.

I spent some time over the weekend in SW Ireland taking a group through the leadership journey of Moses, one of the great leaders in Scripture.

Yet in one sense, he nearly wasn’t. If he had had his own way, he would have ended his years in the obscurity of exile, looking after sheep in a Midianite wilderness. For he did his best to avoid God’s call on his life.

Five times he tried to object to what God was asking him to do. God won in the end!

  1. First objection: who am I? Let’s not be too hard on him to begin with. It’s a reasonable question, an appropriate question to ask when God reveals great plans for you. Is this not how David responded when God promised to build his house? God’s answer is interesting: ‘I will be with you.’ Who God is will be more important than who Moses is.
  2. Second objection: who are you? Who should Moses say sent him, if the Hebrews should ask? God will be who he will be. The self-existent God has sent Moses and he will be whatever the Hebrews need him to be.
  3. Third objection: they won’t listen. Could Moses still recall the sting of rejection from forty years before? He’d already tried this leadership business, but the people hadn’t caught on. What if the same thing happened?
  4. Fourth objection: I can’t talk. This one seems odd to us for two reasons. For one thing, Moses proves pretty adept at arguing with God. The words don’t exactly dry up! And for another, Stephen somewhat lets the cat out of the bag in Acts 7 when he reminds us that Moses was well-educated, ‘mighty in his words and deeds.’ But to be fair, he’d now spent forty years in exile. In the desert. Looking after sheep. Of course there were people (his own family), but if you’re spending a lot of time with sheep, the level of conversation is not always terribly high. And the Egyptians didn’t think much of shepherds. So how could Moses, an 80 year old sheep-herd from the Midianite desert, hold his own in the court of Pharaoh? God’s answer? ‘Who gives people the ability to speak?’
  5. Fifth objection: please send someone else! So now we realise. He never wanted to do this all along. God’s answer is to give him Aaron to be his spokesman.

From all of that, notice this.

  • Leaders need a healthy perception of themselves before God. Humility is an appropriate response to God. An awareness of our limitations is not always a bad thing (think about Paul and his thorn in the flesh). However – and perhaps this is especially relevant if we are faced with a call to something new – our feelings of inadequacy cannot trump the call and promises of God. Like Moses, Jeremiah fretted about his ability (‘I do not know how to speak for I am only a youth’); God reassured him by promising to be with him.
  • Leaders need a proper perception of the task. And of course there are tasks to which God calls some of us that are daunting (he needs to call us to tasks that go beyond our natural capacities so that we learn to trust him). Evangelism in a restricted access country. Work with the poorest and most excluded. A quest for justice in the face of injustice. But what if the perception of the task is such that it blinds the leader to the power of God? Someone told me once that Northern Irish people are very good at what doesn’t work! If you are a leader, you’ve probably heard it. ‘We’ve tried that before and it didn’t work.’ Or, ‘we’ve never tried that before, we don’t think it would work.’ Is there room for God in that?
  • Leaders need a sound perception of God. The unchanging, self-existent, self-sufficient, all-powerful, merciful, loving Lord. A small idea of who he is will limit effectiveness and shrink courage. A distorted idea of who he is will also distort the leader’s work (think about the one talent servant).

Question: is your perception getting in the way of the vision God wants to give you?

Three ways the 1st century Antioch church challenges the 21st century Western church

22 Friday Feb 2013

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There was no (conscious, human) strategic plan to get the gospel from Jerusalem to Antioch. Like Samaria (Acts 8), Antioch (Acts 11) heard the gospel because it was brought there by people who had been scattered by persecution.

The Antioch church became the launchpad for mission in the second half of Acts.

Here are three of the ways its example challenges some of our contemporary Western Christianity.

  1. Their witness went beyond the usual suspects. Some of the earliest believers in Jesus evidently saw no reason to tell non-Jews about him. They talked to their fellow Jews – as well they might. But some (out of the box thinkers?) decided to tell the Greeks too. And the Antioch church was born.
  2. Their world extended beyond the front gate. Prompted by the Spirit, they would eventually commission some of their key leaders to take the gospel to other places. But before that, they had reached out to the struggling believers in Judea at a time of famine.
  3. Their worship extended beyond the routine. It was no formality, no mere stamping of a card until next time. As the leaders prayed and fasted, they heard God speak. That time of worship led to a missionary journey.

A preacher’s guide to idols: success

20 Wednesday Feb 2013

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In his book, Preacher, keep yourself from idols, Derek Tidball suggests that preachers have to live in a degree of tension with the age, in that they must engage with it and understand it, while keeping a distance and being critical of it.

So we must engage with, but remain distant from, the culture to which we preach.

The first of four ‘idols of the age’ that Tidball considers is the idol of success.

He does not allow a division between success and fruitfulness (how many pastors have sought to defend the decline of their churches by blaming the decline on ‘society’ while claiming that they are simply being faithful?). He proposes that ‘faithfulness will normally result in fruitfulness’, that it is wrong ‘to oppose faithfulness to fruitfulness.’

In an attempt to arrest the mid-twentieth century decline, people turned to the Church Growth Movement, and to seeker-sensitive and mega-church models. ‘These movements put “success” unavoidably on the map of ministry.’

Success, however, has its dangers. We are tempted to arrogance and to forget the grace of God.

And when success… becomes the objective to which everything else must bend, rather than the natural by-product of faithfulness to God, it has truly become an idol.

Among the critics of ‘the professionalization of the ministry’ and the popular preaching that has come with it, have been David Wells (No Place for Truth), Anthony Thiselton, who has contrasted the preaching of Paul and today’s popular forms of preaching, Ian Stackhouse and David Hansen.

Hansen has claimed that ‘preaching our visions and ideas for the church is cheap leadership, and it is not preaching.’

And further:

Preaching clever ideas, church programs, politics and heart-warming stories is thin soup.

The point is not to ty to revert to the past, to attempt to batten down the hatches against storms of cultural change, or to revive traditional forms for their own sake. God is not captive to any culture.

Tidball suggests four ways we can move forward:

  1. We should begin by minding our language, suggesting that we do well to speak of fruitfulness more than success
  2. We should live in the tension between faithfulness and fruitfulness
  3. We should cultivate a firm grasp on God’s sovereignty
  4. We should understand the basis on which God works.

If ‘success’ is what drives us, it has become an idol. Ambition, fame, drivenness, a desire for being ‘where the action is’ and success – all these need to be sacrificed on the altar to God.

 

 

A preacher’s guide to idols: popularity

19 Tuesday Feb 2013

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The third of the twelve idols examined by Derek Tidball in his Preacher: keep yourself from idols is the idol of popularity. Everyone likes to be liked, he says: something, which in some senses is a perfectly legitimate quest. In fact he suggests that there is ‘a right sense in which preachers should be not only respected, but loved and even popular.’ This runs somewhat against the prayer sometimes prayed, ‘Lord, thank you for sending Mr A to be our preacher this morning, now blot him out so that we might see Jesus only’ – a prayer which Kidner suggests may not be quite as biblical as some think!

Popularity starts to cause problems when it is pursued (idolatrously) for its own sake. Problems follow:

  • it feeds our egos and detracts from the glory of God
  • it generates pride and removes our dependence on God
  • it determines our message
  • it governs our preparation
  • it makes us exaggerate
  • it becomes our security
  • it creates a dependency and reduces our freedom in Christ
  • it becomes our goal and we stop serving God.

To court popularity is to worship an idol instead of the true and living God.

Tidball turns to the writings of John Chrysostom (Bishop of Constantinople from 398) for some helpful ideas on handling popularity.

  1. We should not repudiate it if we receive it (if we are seeking to please God)
  2. We should never seek it
  3. We should never be fooled by it (some poor preaching can receive great praise)
  4. We should cultivate a healthy independence from people’s opinions
  5. We should realise that people often praise us on a faulty basis (sermon tasters)
  6. We should never let it distract us from preaching the truth
  7. We should understand that crowds are fickle.

To these seven, Tidball adds (via Paul) that we need to keep our eye on the one to whom we are accountable.

Popularity is a typical idol: it does not relieve burdens, but becomes a burden; it is a god that is bound to fail and disappoint; it is not worthy of devotion.

Question for preachers: what signs of this idol do you spot in your own ministry?

And for listeners – do you see your role primarily to encourage or to keep your preacher humble?!

A preacher’s guide to idols: authority

18 Monday Feb 2013

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No genuine preaching is devoid of power and authority.

However it is possible for power to be abused.

The idol of authority is the second of twelve idols highlighted by Derek Tidball in his book, Preacher, keep yourself from idols.

There are three aspects to a preacher’s authority:

  1. The sermon is a declaration of the word of God.
  2. The anointing of the Holy Spirit whose work ‘lifts preaching out of the realm of ordinary public speaking or after-dinner entertainment and transforms it into an instrument by which spiritual business is transacted.’
  3. The preacher’s authority resides in Scripture. The call is to ‘preach the word.’

However, preachers can abuse the authority of their role:

  • By using the pulpit to preach at people who disagree with them.
  • By using the pulpit to be dogmatic over disputed issues (see Romans 14).
  • By going beyond what God has revealed.
  • By preaching as if every issue is of equal weight, failing to distinguish between what is critical and what is secondary.
  • By attempting to drive the church towards a particular vision or development plan which may ‘have more to do with management-speak than biblical truth.’
  • By beating up congregations who are judged not to be sufficiently supportive.
  • By pronouncing on detailed political or economic policy.
  • By using the pulpit to voice personal prejudices.

It all needs to be held in check by cultivating:

  • a right estimate of ourselves
  • a right understanding of our calling
  • a right understanding of authority
  • a right measure of power

Authority arises from a positive appreciation of the grace of God, not from the negative denunciation of others.

A morning prayer

17 Sunday Feb 2013

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O God, our Father, who ever makest the light to shine out of the darkness, we thank Thee for waking us to see the light of this new day. Grant unto us to waste none of its hours; to soil none of its moments; to neglect none of its opportunities; to fail in none of its duties. And bring us to the evening time undefeated by any temptation, at peace with ourselves, at peace with our fellow-men, and at peace with Thee. This we ask for Thy love’s sake. Amen.

(From William Barclay’s The Plain Man’s Book of Prayers)

“A short dictionary for the young preacher”

15 Friday Feb 2013

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That is the title of a little pamphlet, originally written in 1945 and republished in 1977. I came across it years ago and just this week managed to get my hands on a copy (10p at the time of publication!). It’s written tongue in cheek and attempts to satirise some of the cliche-ridden preaching that the author was aware of in some church circles.

The author was an unusual Northern Irish Brethren missionary to Japan called Bobby Wright (though he signed himself as Ecclesiastes). As someone who knew what it was to lay his life and livelihood on the line in serving God, I think he was entitled to poke fun at the vocabulary and style of some of his compatriots.

Here is an apostolically-numbered sampling:

  • ‘this scene of time’
  • ‘guilty room and stead’
  • ‘to wend one’s weary way’
  • ‘to be laid aside in a bed of sickness’
  • ‘to mix and mingle’
  • ‘to borrow the language of the passage’
  • ‘to be greatly exercised’
  • ‘this vile scene’
  • ‘sung to sleep with the songs of Zion’
  • ‘the sweetest sound that ever fell on mortal ears’
  • ‘the things of time and sense’
  • ‘to seek to minister’

Do you recognise any of them? Are they still widely in use? Do you ever use them yourself? Are there others that you have heard?

 

 

Three aspects in discerning your vocation

14 Thursday Feb 2013

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Your vocation is a part of God’s work in the world, and God gives you resources for serving the human community. These factors can help you identify your calling.

  1. Affinity—“Look out.” Affinity is the normal, existential/priestly way to discern call. What people needs do I vibrate to?
  2. Ability—“Look in.” Ability is the normal, rational/prophetic way to discern call. What am I good at doing?
  3. Opportunity—“Look up.” Opportunity is the normal, organizational/kingly way to discern call. What do the leaders/my friends believe is the most strategic kingdom need?

(Tim Keller)

A preacher’s guide to idols: the pulpit

14 Thursday Feb 2013

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Yesterday I gave a quick outline of Derek Tidball’s book, Preacher, keep yourself from idols. Today, a look at the first of the twelve idols he highlights: the pulpit.

While the actual pulpit may have symbolic significance , the concern in this chapter is the activity that the pulpit represents: preaching itself. Preaching can become idolatrous when it becomes an end in itself.

Tidball has no desire to write off the importance of preaching and preachers:

It remains an immense privilege to be called to be a preacher and I readily affirm its importance in the mind and ways of God.

However he believes that there are signs that preaching is in danger of being idolized among some of its supporters, with other marks of a healthy church being revalued to allow pride of place to preaching. And who is to say that the contemporary sermon equates to the preaching of the early church?

To say the twenty-minute (or whatever length you choose) monologue to believers in a church building which we call preaching is the heir to New Testament preaching may short-change New Testament preaching.

Tidball suggests three ways that our valuation of the status of preaching has a practical impact:

  1. Inflated ideas of preaching can lead us to inflated ideas of ourselves. Phillips Brooks, in the 19th century, highlighted ‘self-conceit’ as the first danger for a preacher.
  2. A correct estimate of preaching reduces the pressure on the preacher, whereas an overestimate increases the pressure on the preacher. Does the preacher wish to be remembered as ‘a great preacher’, of a mere messenger for a great God?
  3. A correct evaluation of preaching magnifies the sovereignty of God. Note that the same sermon, preached on a different occasion, may not have the same effect.

What do you think?

  • Does your church tradition emphasise preaching too much at the expense of other things?
  • Does failure to emphasise preaching equate to a failure to honour God’s word?
  • Do you agree that it is possible for preaching to become an end in itself?

Three aspects of preaching (from Tim Keller)

13 Wednesday Feb 2013

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I think it may be possible to say that every sermon should have three aspects or purposes. First, you need to preach the text in its Scriptural context; second, you need to preach Christ and the gospel every time; and finally, you need to preach to the heart. Put another way, you should preach the truth, not just your opinion; you should preach the good news, not just good advice; and you should preach to make the truth real to the heart, not just clear to the mind.

Taken from Preaching to the Collective Heart, by Tim Keller.

A preacher’s guide to idols

13 Wednesday Feb 2013

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It may seem strange to think of preachers as idolators. In our Western cult of celebrity, we may not be surprised at the suggestion that some people make idols of their favourite preachers, or at least put them on pedestals. But preachers as idolators?

In his 2011 book, Preacher, keep yourself from idols, Derek Tidball reviews a dozen idols to which he believes preachers are especially vulnerable. He lists them in four groups: idols associated with self, with the age, with the task and with the ministry.

The idols of the self

  • The idol of the pulpit
  • The idol of authority
  • The idol of popularity

The idols of the age

  • The idol of success
  • The idol of entertainment
  • The idol of novelty
  • The idol of secularization

The idols of the task

  • The idol of oratory
  • The idol of immediacy

The idols of the ministry

  • The idol of professionalism
  • The idol of busyness
  • The idol of familiarity

I’ll be sharing a few thoughts from the book over the next few days.

Forward-looking faith

07 Thursday Feb 2013

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Every fresh movement of the Spirit of God tends to become stereotyped in the next generation, and what we have heard with our ears, what our fathers have told us, becomes a tenacious tradition encroaching on the allegiance which ought to be accorded only to the living and active word of God. As Christians survey the world today, they see very much land waiting to be possessed in the name of Christ; but to take possession of it calls for a generous measure of … forward-looking faith….

(FF Bruce, in his commentary on the Epistle to the Hebrews).