Nick's Blog

A Framework for Personal Prayer According to Tim Keller

2011-05-18T12:02:00.003+01:00

On Sunday evening in church we listened to a Tim Keller podcast on personal prayer. Towards the end he gave a framework for personal prayer for anyone who was struggling with it.

Tim suggests 3 things for sure and a 4th if God blesses: Bible Reading, Mediation, Prayer & Contemplation.

Bible Reading:

1. Take a passage or paragraph and read it 3-4 times.

2. Then make a list of every thing it says about God (Father, Son & Holy Spirit)

3. List anything that it tells you about yourself

4. List example to be followed, commands to obey or things that need to be avoided.

Mediation:

Then choose one or two thing that you think were most important or the best thing that you learned from the reading. Keller says that mediation is talking to yourself about God, in the presence of God (Psalm 103).

Keller recommends 2 ways to meditate upon the passage:

The Shorter Way

Ask yourself how you would be different if this truth was explosively alive in my inner being? Secondly, ask why is God showing me this passage today? What is going on in my life that i need to learn this truth?

The Deeper Way

ACTS= Adoration, Confession, Thanksgiving & Supplication

Adoration: What can I praise God for in this truth?

Confession: What false attitudes, behaviour emotions or idols come alive in me whenever I forget it?

Thanksgiving: How is Jesus Christ or the grace that I have in Jesus Christ the key to help me overcome the sin that I have just confessed?

Supplication: What do I need to do or become in light of this?

"Read a text and begin to mediate on it until the Holy Spirit starts to preach to you"

Tim Keller

Prayer:

Begin to talk to God about the things that the Holy Spirit has been revealing to you during the mediation.

Contemplation:

If God blesses, bask in his presence, adoring him and thanking him for what he is showing you and doing in your life.

Allow the Holy Spirit to guide you and to set the agenda.

The Two Hands of Christianity

2011-03-31T10:38:00.005+01:00

While preparing for Sunday's sermon on Ephesians 4:17 - 24, I came across this quote in Klyn Snodgrass NIVAC on Ephesians:

"Christianity is a religion emphasizes on the one hand the futility and distoration of humanity without God and on the other hand the value of humanity in God's eyes with God. Christianity invites us to recognise we are vile, but it also invites us to desire to be like God. It knows that human beings need a redeption they do not deserve, but also God thinks that they are worth redeeming. Only in facing the painful truth about ourselves is there hope for healing."

Jesus is .....

2011-03-26T21:43:00.005Z

I shared this today at a wedding. It is based on Eugene Peterson's translation of 1 Corinthians 13.

"Jesus never gives up.

Jesus cares more for others than he does care for himself.

Jesus doesn't want what he doesn't have.

Jesus doesn't strut.

Jesus doesn't have a swelled head.

Jesus doesn't force himself upon others.

Jesus isn't always "me first".

Jesus Doesn't fly off the handle.

Jesus doesn't keep score of the sins of others.

Jesus doesn't revel when others grovel.

Jesus takes pleasure in the flowering of truth.

Jesus puts up with anything.

Jesus trusts God always.

Jesus always looks for the best.

Jesus never looks back.

Jesus keeps going to the end."

He is the most beautiful person who has ever lived.

What are we holding on to?

2011-03-25T10:13:00.004Z

Looking over the recent events on the news is very depressing and heartbreaking. Maybe some people are looking at the personal crisis they are experienceing in their own lives and wondering, "How can I go on?" I have always found the conversation that takes place between Sam & Frodo in the 'The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers', helpful :

Frodo: I can't do this Sam.

Sam: I know. It's all wrong. By rights we shouldn't even be here. But we are. Like is like in the great stories Mr Frodo. The ones that really mattered. Full of darkness and danger, they were. And sometimes you didn't want to know the end. Because how can the end be happy? How could the world go back to the way it was when so much bad had happened? But in the end, it's only a passing thing, this shadow. Even darkness must pass. A new day will come. And when the sun shines it will shine out the clearer. Those were the stories that stayed with you. That meant something, even if you were too young to understand why. But I think, Mr Frodo, I do understand. I know now. Folk in those stories, had lots of chances of turning back, only they didn't. They kept going. Because they were holding on to something.

Frodo: What are we holding onto, Sam?

Frodo's question is a good one. What are we holding on to, whenever shadows cast themselves over our stories? I often turn to Romans 8 to remind myself what I'm holding onto,:

"For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. Against it's will, all creation was subjested to God's curse. But with eager hope, the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God's children in glorious freedom from death and decay."

This is the hope that I'm holding onto, and on the really bad day's maybe I discover that this hope is holding on to me.

Chocolate Indulgence versus God Indulgence

2011-03-09T09:08:00.003Z

I'm not really into the whole lent thing...I have my reasons which I'm not going into here. But this year for the first time I'm giving something up... actually I'm giving up 3 things; chocolate, crisps and fizzydrinks. (I really don't eat much crisps anyway, but I know that in the absence of chocolate I would eat more.).

This is not for diet reasons...although I could lose a few stone, but I want to use these 40 days as a spiritual discipline. During the next 40 days, by removing these comfort foods from my life, I want to learn to comfort myself in the Lord more than I have been doing. I want to learn my soul to quieten itself, so that I can learn again to hear its longing after God, "As the deer pants for flowing streams, so pants my soul for you, O God." Ps 42:1

But the discipline is not ultimately about hearing the panting of the soul, it is more so about attuning my soul to listen. Listen to what? Listening to a song that is being sung over my life every day and every night. Psalm 42 goes on to speak to us, "By day the LORD commands his love, and at night his song is with me, a prayer to the God of my life."

This Lent is not about depriving myself, it is about learning again to nourish my soul in God. It is not about removing from my life foods that I enjoy, it is about feeding upon the One who gives me infinite joy.

The Centrality of the Word

2011-02-28T09:41:00.005Z

In the early church the ministry of the word had a central place in its life. In Acts we read that, " They devoted themselves to the apostles teaching, and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer." Acts 2:42

Because they devoted themselves to the teaching of the Apostles, the little church became strong. When persecution came, the little church endured. When famine arose the little church knew how to respond. When false teachers stood in their pulpits, the little church knew how to recognise them. The Scriptures nourished and sustained the church in spite of the hostile environment that she was planted in.

In the New Testament we have the Apostolic teaching. The Church today needs to devote itself to reading, obeying and upholding the teaching of the New Testament. If the Church is to grow (numerically and Maturely) it needs a strong diet of the Word.

It is possible for us to be a church without buildings, ordained ministers, music and even without the sacraments. But it is impossible to be a church without the preaching of the gospel. The gospel tunes us into the presence of Jesus among us, "You were included in Christ whenever you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation." Eph 1:13

The Scriptures must be central in all that we do whenever we come together. John Calvin said, "The Church is seen where Christ appears and his word is heard."

Goblins and the Call

2011-02-23T19:09:00.003Z

After 4 years of pastoral ministry, I have despaired as I have watch people travel into dark places. Places that seem to have have no way out. At times it is easy to stop trusting God, because if God was so 'faithful and true' then surely he would never have led me into this dark and unexplainable place. The call to follow Jesus can be difficult and at times it will leave us wondering if he really is in control.

Tim Keller, wrote the following in his latest book, 'King's Cross'. It has given me a metaphor for following the call of Jesus into dark places:

About 150 years ago George MacDonald wrote a children's book called 'The Princess and the Goblin.' Irene, the protagonist, is eight years old. She has found an attic room in her house, and every so often her fairy grandmother appears there. When Irene goes to look for her she's often not there, so one day grandmother gives her a ring with a thread tied to it, leading to a little ball of thread. She explains that she'll keep the ball.

"But I can't see it,", says Irene.

"No. The Thread is too fine for you too see it. You can only feel it." With this reassurance, Irene tests the thread.

"Now, listen," says the grandmother, "if you ever find yourself in danger... you must take off the ring and put it under the pillow of your bed. Then you must lay forefinger...upon the thread, and follow the thread wherever it leads you."

"Oh, how delightful! It will lead me to you, Grandmother, I know!"

"Yes," said the grandmother, "but, remember, it may seem to you a very roundabout way indeed, and you must not doubt the thread. Of one thing you may be sure, that while you hold it, I hold it too." A few days later Irene is in bed, and gobblins get into the house. She hears them snarling out in the hallway, but she has the presence of mind to take off her ring and put it under the pillow. And she begins to feel the thread, knowing that it's going to take her to her grandmother and to safety. But to her dismay, it takes her outside, and she realizes that it's taking her right toward the cave of the gobblins.

Inside the cave, the thread leads her up to a great heap of stones, a dead end. "The thought struck her, that at least she could follow the thread backwards, and thus get out.... But the instant she tried to feel backwards, it vanished from her touch." The grandmother's thread only worked forward, but forward it led into the a heap of stones. Irene "burst into a wailing cry," but after crying she realizes that the only way to follow the thread is to tear down the wall of stones. She begins tearing it down, stone by stone, Though her fingers are soon bleeding, she pulls and pulls.

Suddenly she hears a voice. It's her friend Curdie, who has been trapped in the gobblins cave! Curdie is astounded and asks, "Why, however did you come here?"

Irene replies that her grandmother sent her, "and I think I've found out why."

After Irene has followed the thread and removed enough rocks to create an opening, Curdie starts to climb out of the cave - but Irene keeps going deeper into the cave. Curdie objects: "Where are you going there? That's not the way out. That's where I couldn't get out."

"I know that," says Irene. But this is the way my thread goes, and I must follow it." And indeed the thread proves trustworthy, because her grandmother is trustworthy.

Following the call of Jesus is like following the grandmother's thread. Although we may never understand why the call leads us into dark and unexplainable places, although we may feel confused and frightened, we follow because the one at the end of the call is 'faithful and true.'

Psalm 37 vv 23 - 24 reads, "The LORD makes firm the steps of those who delight in him; though they stumble, they will not fall, for the LORD upholds them with his hand."

Teach me to care...by not caring

2011-01-26T20:53:00.004Z

I was recently visiting a family who only a short time before had to bury a parent. As I sat with with them in their pain and sorrow we talked lightly around many topics, being careful not to trample on the main issue in the room. After some time the thought crossed my mind, I'm a Pastor, I ought to be offering pastoral care. So I brought the issue to the table and ask the following question, "So, how are you feeling?" Writing out the question, doesn't pick up the tone, which was at its worst brutal and at its best shere clumsy. At that moment I realised the issue was all ready on the table, my question was like the a hammer falling fast that caused the already fragile issue to broken even further. The family in their kindness tried to articulate to me their feelings, that were obviously premature and not ready to be delivered.

Sometimes I try to hard to care. Care that is thrust upon people is not care at all, it is an invasion of personal and holy space. Care that is thrust upon people is not care at all, it is all about the needs of the so called 'carer' and not the needs of the cared for. I was caring most in Jesus name whenever I cared to be present in the midst of the sorrow. I was caring most in Jesus name whenever I cared to allow them to protect themselves in the comfort of small talk. I was caring in Jesus name whenever I give them permission to hold their feelings quietly in their own hearts. I was caring in Jesus name whenever brought all small talk, silence and hidden pain before Jesus in gentle loving prayer.

Who Are We Becoming?

2011-01-18T08:11:00.003Z

Everyday we are being transformed from one degree to another. Everyday, for the better or for the worst, we are reflecting the choices that we make, through the conversations that we have, through the acts of generosity that we participate in or don't participate in. The truth is that today I am not the same person that I was yesterday. I may not recognise the change, but change has happen and to one degree or another my heart has enlarged or has decreased since yesterday. This is holy transformation.

Holy transformation is not as fast as we would like it to be (It certainly doesn't happen as quick as the Hulk' does). It happens over decades...it will continue even to happen throughout the eons of eternity. Trying to witness holy transformation might be like trying to witness the growth of a tree, the change is so slow that it is usually unrecognisable.

A Celtic reflection :

Each of us has the potential to become a son of God, an heir to all that is His, for each of us male and female, in everyplace, has been made in His image, with chance to choose Him.

Only after we have yielded to Him can we reflect the face of Christ.

What kind of stones will Holy Island offer on his return? (Holy Island can be translated our world)

When I the Lord shall come

to gather jewels for my diadem

shall I find stones, resistant, hard and rough?

or gems prepared and radiant with My glory?

And shall the offering of My people in my holy place

be pleasant unto Me, the Lord your God?

as in the days of old,

and as in former years:

a place of peace,

a dwelling-place for man and God?

So hearken unto Me

and follow Me with all your heart.

Beyond Hope and Pity

2011-01-13T10:19:00.003Z

I've been preparing to preach on Matthew 7:13 - 14 this Sunday morning, a sermon called The Inescapable Choice (John Stott coined this phrase). During my reading I once again Tom Wright's description, of Hell in Surprised by Hope. It is an image that terrifies me and challenges me once again of the Hope of the Gospel.

"When human beings give there heartfelt allegiance and worship to that which is not God, they progressively cease to reflect the image of God. One of the primary laws of human life is that you become like what you worship; what's more, you reflect what you worship outwards to the world around. Those who worship money increasingly define themselves in terms of it, and increasingly treat other people as creditors, debtors, partners or customers rather than as human beings. Those who worship sex define themselves in terms of it ( their preferences, their practices, their past histories), and increasingly treat other people as actual or potential sexual objects. Those who worship power define themselves in terms of it, and treat other people as either collaborators, competitors or pawns. These and many other forms of idolatary combine in a thousand ways, all of them damaging the image-bearing quality of the the people concerned and of those whose lives they touch.

My suggestion is that it is possible for human beings to continue down this road, so to refuse all wispherings of good news, all glimmers of the true light, all promptings to turn to the other way, all sign posts to the love of God, that after death they become at last, by their own effective choice, beings that were once human but now are not, creatures that have ceased to bear the divine image at all. With the death of that body in which they inhabited God's good world, in which the flickering flame of goodness had not been completely snuffed out, they pass simultaneously not only beyond hope, but beyond pity.... Those creatures that still exist in an ex-human state, no longer reflecting their maker in any meaningful sense, can no longer excite, in themselves or others, the natural sympathy some feel even for the hardened criminal."

What Tom Wright is writhing here is also reflected by C.S. Lewis who many years earlier wrote,

"It is a seroious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most interesting person you talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree, helping each other to one or other of these destinations."

Covenant: A Fightening and Beautiful Surrender

2011-01-03T18:52:00.003Z

Yesterday was Covenant Sunday in the Methodist Church and so I wish to share some of my reflections on the day. (It is an act of worship that is more Puritian than Wesleyan, according to Methodist Worship.)

1) It has been my experience that in most churches that I have attended that attendance drops on Covenant Sunday. One member on my congregation yesterday made the comment that they felt that people were afraid to make such weighty promises. (I sometimes wonder in a low church like MCI, it might be because they find it liturgically boring.) But if my member is correct, I think that we have failed to educate people about the promises of God. On Covenant Sunday I make promises that I will have broken by the end of the day...many times. But what I also do is remind myself of the unbreakable promises of God. In a year of uncertainty and unfaithfulness, I remind myself that once again , that I am sustained by the promises of God not by the promises of Nick.

2) I also wondered if this Covenant prayer was brought to our Methodist Conference today how much of it would be resisted. I'm sure that someone my want to rephrase, "put me to suffering" . I for one, would not .

3) On Sunday evening I noticed on Facebook that many Methodist types were quoting extracts from the Covenant as their Status. Maybe the praying the Covenant prayer has reminded them again of what a frightening and beautiful surrender it is. Therefore I have decided that it is too frightening and beautiful to be prayed once a year and will now make this part of my daily prayer.

So here it is:

"I am no longer my own but yours.

Put me to what you will,

rank me with whom you will;

put me to doing,

put me to suffering;

let me be employed for you,

or laid aside for you

exalted for you

or brought low for you;

let me have all things,

let me have nothing;

I freely and wholeheartedly yield all things

to your pleasure and disposal.

And now, glorious and blessed God,

Father, Son and Holy Spirit,

you are mine and I am yours.

So be it.

And the covenant now made on earth,

let it be ratified in heaven. Amen

Possible Future Blessings

2010-12-31T10:38:00.004Z

Over the past few years I have listened to many of my friends talking with a sense of sadness about their relationship with God. They often reflect back to the early days of their relationship and wish that they could recapture the feelings of love and joy that made their journey with God so exciting. Because they feel that they are no longer able to capture these feelings in the way that they once did they question their relationship with God and wonder if they have done something or else has God changed. About such things CS Lewis warns that this mind set can make us miss "possible future blessings". He writes,

"On every level in life... we are always harking back to some occasion which seemed to us to reach perfection, setting that up as a norm, and deprecating all other occasions by comparisons. But these other occasions, I now suspect, are often full of their own new blessings if only we would lay ourselves open to it. God shows us a new facet of the glory, and we refuse to look at it because we're still looking for the old one.

This applies especially to the devotional life. Many religious people lament that the first fervours of their conversion have died away. They think - sometimes rightly, but not, I believe always - that their sins account for this. They may even try by pitiful efforts of will to revive what now seem to have been the golden days. But were those fervours ever intended to last? And how should the Infinite repeat Himself? All space and time are too little for Him to utter Himself in them once."

CS Lewis in 'Prayer: Letters to Malcolm'

(Over Christmas I read a few CS Lewis books. Lewis is one of 3 mentors who I've never met, have influenced my life. my church is probably fed up whenever they hear me quoting him. The other two are Eugene Peterson & John Piper)

A Prayer for Reentry into the Ordinary

2010-12-29T11:16:00.005Z

My favourite part of Christmas is this part between Christmas Day and the New Year. It is a time when I'm able to catch up with friends who I haven't seen over the year and enjoy having them coming to stay at our home. It is also time whenever I get a chance to reflect upon life, where am I going? Who am I becoming?

But it is also a time of year whenever I can begin to acclimatise myself again for reentry into the normal, as I leave begin the excitement of Christmas and it's celebrations. Here is a Celtic prayer for those, who like me are preparing themselves for reentry:

"Most powerful powerful Holy Spirit,

come down upon us

and subdue us.

From heaven,

where the ordinary is made glorious,

and glory seems but ordinary,

bathe us with the brilliance

of your Your light like dew."

In the darkness something was happening

2010-12-23T09:37:00.005Z

In the darkness something was happening at last. A Voice had begun to sing....Then two wonders happened at the same moment. One was that the Voice was suddenly joined by other voices; more voices than you could possible count. They were in harmony with it, but far higher up the scale: cold, tingling silvery voices. The second wonder was that the blackness overhead, all at once was blazing with stars. They didn't come out one by one, as they do on a summers evening. One moment there had been nothing but darkness; next moment a thousand, thousand points of light leaped out - single stars, constellations, and planets, brighter and bigger than any in our world....The Voice on the earth was now louder and more triumphant; but the voices in the sky, after singing loudly with it for a time began to get fainter> And now something else was happening.
The eastern sky changedfrom white to pink and from pink to gold. The Voice rose and rose, till all the air was shaking with it. And just as it swelled to the mightest and most glorious sound it had yet produced, the sun arose... You could imagined that it laughted for joy as it came up. And as it's beams shot across the land the travellers could see for the first time what sort of land they where in....The earth was made of many colours: they where hot and vivid. They made you feel excited; until you saw the Singer himself, and then you forgot everything else. It was a Lion.
(The Magian's Nephew pp93 - 96 by C.S. Lewis)

John, the close friend of Jesus writes,

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God. He was with God in the beginning. All things were created through Him, and apart from him not one thing was created that has been created. Life was in Him, and that life was the light of men. That light shines in the darkness, yet the darkness did not overcome it."

Sunday's Sermon

2010-11-19T13:02:00.003Z

I'm not preaching on this subject on Sunday... I might leave that one for Lesley.

Thankful

2010-11-11T13:59:00.002Z

Today we are called to remember the fallen heroes who on the battle fields across the world have risked all they had so that we can enjoy our freedom today. They said goodbye to mum's and dad's, they said goodbye to their son's and daughters, they said goodbye to to lovers and friends. They said hello to death. I owe them so much. I am thankful and I remember.

What does it all mean to me as a follower of Jesus? How do I remember as one who follows the Prince of Peace? John Piper said this,

"When soldiers can to John the Baptist and asked "What shall we do" - meaning. "How shall we respond to your call to repent?" John answered "Don't make extort money or make false accusations. And be content with your pay." (Luke 3:14)

From this we learn that repentance did not demand ceasing to be a soldier. The tensions between being a follower of Jesus as a soldier are essentially the same as the tensions of being a follower of Jesus in all other authority structures of society that God ordains for the stability of the world (like business, education, government and family).

There have been agonizing choices the veterans have had to make. May they (and we all) turn to the cross of Jesus for the final resolution of what we have done. I am thankful they embraced the risk."

As a soldier of Jesus, I'm also thankful for their risk, and I will remember them in the shadow of the cross.

Living with the Enemy

2010-11-05T15:56:00.004Z

During the Autumn months in our Church we have been going through the Sermon on the Mount. Alongside my preparations for these sermons I have also been reading Dietrich Bonhoeffer's book, 'The Cost of Discipleship'. This book is causing me to look deep and think deep about what does it mean for me to follow Jesus.

Last Sunday, we look at what does it mean for Jesus followers (or Apprentices...we have adopted Dallas Willard's title for disciples) to love their enemies. During the sermon I wanted to look at what does it look like when we pray for our enemies, Bonhoeffer paints this picture for us.

It will be the prayer of earnest love for those very sons of perdition who stand around and gaze at us with eyes aflame with hatred, and who have perhaps already raised their hands to kill us. It will be a prayer for the peace of these erring, devastated and bewildered souls, a prayer for for the same love and peace which we ourselves enjoy, a prayer which will penetrate to the depths of their souls and rend their hearts more grievously than anything they can do to us. Yes, the Church which is really waiting for its Lord, and which discerns the signs of the times of decision, must fling itself with its utmost power and with the panoply of its holy life into this prayer of love.

Identifying your Idols

2010-10-27T10:20:00.004+01:00

During the months of October and November we are holding a discipleship course called 'Gospel in Life'. It is a course created by Tim Keller (Redeemer Presbyterian Church, Manhattan). the course is designed to help you understand how the gospel is lived out in all of life - first your heart, then in your community and then into the world. I really have been very excited by the course and Keller, is really resonating with the group.

Last night we discussed 'Idols'. Some of the conclusions from the study were interesting. We discovered that an idol was something that we make in our image and not in the image of God. Whether we are sacrificing to a statue or seeking to merit heaven through conscientious morality, you are setting up something besides God as your ultimate hope, and it will enslave you.

But we also discovered how though the evening how to displace our idols that we have established in our lives. I particularly liked this qupte from Thomas Chalmers,

It is seldom that any of our bad habits or flaws are made to disappear
by mere process of natural extinction. At least, it is very seldom that this is
done through instrumentality of reasoning...[or by] the mere force of mental
determination. But what cannot be thus destroyed may be dispossessed - and one
taste may be made to give way to another, and to lose its power entirely as the
reigning affection of the mind ...The heart's desire for having some one object
or other, this is unconquerable...The only way to dispossess the heart
heart of an old affection is by the expulsive power of a new one...It is...when
admitted into the number of God's children, through the faith that is in Jesus
Christ, that the spirit of adoption is pured upon us - it is then that the
heart, brought under the mastery of one great and predominant affection, is
delievered from the tyranny of its former desires, and is the only way in which
delieverance is possible.

To help you identify your idols here is some advice from Archbishop William Temple, "Your religion is what you do with your solitude." Now ponder these questions from Keller, "When you are alone what do you to think about the most? Where do your thoughts go naturally, instinctively and habitually?"

The Carrot and the Gospel

2010-10-18T11:28:00.003+01:00

"All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the LORD weights the spirit". Proverbs 16v2

Sadly, I must confess that at times I have used the gospel to glorify myself rather than glorifying God. I have found this story from Charles Spurgeon insightful in explaining how we try to use the gospel to our own advantage.

Once upon a time there was a gardener who grew an enormous carrot. He
took it to his king and said, "My lord, this is the greatest carrot I've ever
grown or ever will grow; therefore, I want to present it to you as a token of my
love and respect for you." The king was touched and discerned the man's heart,
so as he turned to go, the king said, "Wait! You are clearly a good steward of
the earth. I own a plot of land right next to yours. I want to give it to you
freely as a gift, so you can garden it all." The gardener was amazed and
delighted and went home rejoicing. But there was a nobleman at the king's court
who overheard all this, and he said, "My! If that is what you get for a carrot,
what if you give the king something better?" The next day the nobleman came
before the king, and he was leading a handsome black stallion. he bowed He bowed low and said, "My lord, I breed horses, and this is the greatest horse
I've ever bred or ever will; therefore, I want to present it to you as a token
of my love and respect for you." But the king discerned his heart and said,
"Thank you," and took the horse and simply dismissed him. The nobleman was
perplexed, so the king said, "Let me explain. That gardener was giving me the carrot, but you were giving yourself
the horse.

What is the first movement in the great drama of worship?

2010-10-17T16:20:00.004+01:00

"What is our first movement in the great drama of worship?" That was a question that I posed this morning to the church. Of course being a good Northern Irish Evangelical church I answered the question myself.

The first movement of our worship. is not the call to worship. It is not the opening hymn or praise time and thankfully it is not the endless list of announcements that shower themselves upon us each Sunday. I suggested that the first movement of worship ought to be the examination of our hearts to see if the relationships in our lives are in order. Before I stand before God is there anyone with whom I need to get right with. I suggest this is the first great movement of our worship.

We may sing the most passion, pray with the most compassion and stick the thickest envelop in the plate, but none of it will be a sweet smelling fragrance to God if our relationships stink.

Reading the Old Testament

2010-10-08T16:47:00.004+01:00

This Sunday morning I'm continuing my series on the Sermon of the Mount - Entering into the eternal kind of life now. We are looking at the Matthew 5:17-20 and the importance reading of the Old Testament in the Eternal Kind a Life.

I'm making the following points,

1) We read the OT because it was the Bible that Jesus read. Believe it or not Jesus never had the gospels or Paul to read from...he was the Gospel. Jesus life and mission is shaped because of his understanding of the OT.

2) We read the OT because it tells us about Jesus. Jesus shadow is cast over the pages of the OT. Whenever Philip meets the Ethiopian he is reading from the OT (Isaiah to be precise). The Ethiopian asks Philip, "Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about," Not what is he talking about, but WHO is he talking about. He's talking about Jesus...it's all about Jesus. Only the OT and NT together do we understand the proper story of Jesus.

3) We read the OT because it is transformational. When Paul writes to Timothy, "All scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that God's people may be thoroughly equipped for every good work," the scriptures that he is talking about is the OT. The OT is engaging with the very breath of God. Prayerfully reading it is a Kiss of Life...a kiss of the 'eternal kind of life'.

My conclusions will be that we need to engage with the OT more intentionally in our corporate worship. and we need to engage with it more intentional in our own prayers. One of the disciplines that I do is pray a Psalm each morning and in the evening read half a chapter of Proverbs. Also in the morning I read a portion from either Genesis - Job and in the evening I read my way through the prophets. This is alongside NT readings of course.

The New Unforgivable Sin

2010-09-28T17:17:00.005+01:00

A few years ago i read about a church denomination in matter what you say, it doesn't even matter what you believe, as long as you come along aBritain coming up with a competition to create an 11th commandment (Because God obviously forgot one). The winner was, "Thou shall not be intolerant". Theologian Scot McKnight writes, "Christians are not called to tolerance; Christians are called to love. Toleration condescends; love honours"

A paragragh from this coming Sunday's sermon on Matthew 5:13-16 reads,

"In our attempt to appeal to wider and more accepting audiences, we become more tolerant of sin. We now say it doesn't matter how you behave, it doesn't matter what you say, it doesn't matter what you believe. all that matters is that you come along and belong. It's like there is a new unforgivable sin today and it is the sin of exclusion. So that we can include everybody we blend together the lines. We blend together the lines of immorality and the lines morality, the lines of sin and the lines of grace, the lines of life and of death. Then we just hope for the best. "

The Discipline of Thanksgiving

2010-09-26T10:14:00.003+01:00

I'm preaching in a few minutes over at Kircubbin Community Church, a local Baptist Church plant who have become good friends and partners within the Gospel in this place. I'm talking about Thanksgiving.

"I recently read a quote that said, "In the 19th Century optimism shifted its foundation from the goodness of God, to the goodness of humanity." I want to disagree with that quote. I don't believe that the 19th Century was when optimism shifted from the goodness of God to the goodness of humanity, this has been the shift since the very beginning of our existence. Paul highlights for us that humanity's first step towards rebellion against God was to no longer give thanks to God for all that he has done. Paul writes, "For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened." Romans1:21

The thankless life is an affirming of self-idolatry within your life, the life in which you celebrate your own hard work and achievements and afterwards you bow down and worship the the image of self that you have cast for yourself. The discipline of Thanksgiving seeks to set us free from the life of self-idolatry."

Dallas Willard, the Kingdom & my Christmas Tree

2010-09-20T20:32:00.004+01:00

Ive committed myself to reading The Divine Conspiracy by Dallas Willard before I take down the Christmas tree. Ive got other books that I also must read, but this is a book that my soul demands me to read.

Willard has got to be read carefully and slowly. Willard demands me to slow down. But he is always worth it, because he makes me hungry to experience more of the Kingdom's presence in my life. I read this paragraph this evening which reminded me of the enormity of the Kingdom and my inadequate understanding of what God is really doing.

"In accord with his original intent, the heavenly Father has in fact prepared an individualized kingdom for every person, from the outset of creation. That may seem impossible to us. But we do have a very weak imagination towards God, and we are confused by our own desires and fears, as well as by gross misinformation. It is a small thing to him."

God's enterprise is so enormous that it should not surprise us that there are so many doubters. God's enterprise is so staggering that it takes the power of the Holy Spirit to believe it. The Holy Spirit opens our minds and imaginations to the invisible realities that surround us daily.

Hiding Amongst the Sheep

2010-09-18T09:39:00.004+01:00

Once again this is also lifted from the Resurgence blog.

"Another danger for pastors is to shepherd in order to cover their own weakness. I know a pastor who refuses to develop his preaching gift, but instead uses his shepherding gift to cover for his weakness in preaching. It is not just that he does not have the gift of preaching; he does not work at improving his preaching skills because he knows he can rely on his shepherding to keep his people happy. Happy, yes; growing, no. Happy, yes; on mission, no.

Others may be tempted to aviod strong leadership of the entire flock by staying in the comfort zone of their shepherding role to individual sheep. Many people will avoid a life on mission with God if they are not challenged, and especially if they feel their needs are being met by a shepherd. A good shepherd is prepared to lead as much through strong preaching and leadership as he is through tender care and counselling."

Many of us in leadership are like Gideon hiding in the winepress, when we are called to be out leading our people across new boaders, into the enemies lands. We are more intertese in keeping our people safe than exposing them to the dangers of living by faith. We are more interested in keeping the numbers healthy, and thinking of the Gideon metaphor again, we sometimes must remember there is a time when God may slash our numbers for his glory. Leadership is always a challenge that is calling us to step out of the comfort of a winepress. I think that once we get out of the winepress, we will look nack and think to ourselves, "why did I ever think that I'd get comforable in a winepress?"

Shepherding to hide from your own sins

2010-09-15T13:43:00.002+01:00

I have lefted the following from The Resurgence blog.

"Many pastors use their shepherding ministry to hide from their own sins, deficiences and flaws. i first came on staff at a church when I was only 19. I was a youth working under another pastor who hired me, tough I was way too young. I was really attracted to the possibility of being mentored and challenged in my character by someone in ministry.

The mentoring and challenge did happen, but not the way I expected. This was back in the 1980s when many church pastors (and 19 year old youth pastors) rocked a mullet, and many churches had only one phone line. One day, I picked up the phone, adjusted my mullet, and accidentally over heard a very inappropriate conversation that this pastor was having with a woman in the church. Turns out, the pastor was sexually involved with several women in the church.

I remember the confrontational meeting I had with pastor and church leadership. Without hesitation, all of them said this pastor was there every time they were in hospital, or had a need, or had a sick child. They basically said because this pastor was such a good shepherd, they were going to overlook his sexual immorality. In that moment, I began to realize that some pastors use their shepherding ministry to atone and justify their sins."

I'm always challenged to search what's inside my heart and to continually purge it of my sin, whenever I read stories like this one and meditate on passages like Ezekiel 34:1-10.

Pride and the ministry

2010-09-13T10:08:00.002+01:00

Christian media sometimes causes me to look at the big names of Christianity and want to impersonate them. I read their books, follow their blogs listen to their podcasts and quietly I want to be like them. Is it really because I desire to advance the kingdom like they have or is it because I desire the approval of men? I think that it is the approval of men (and women) I desire.

Psalm 131 is to be mediated upon for those of us who seek the approval of others more than we seek the approval of God.

O Lord my heart is not lifted up;
my eyes are not raised too high;
I do not occupy myself with things
too great and too marvelous for me.
But I have calmed and quieted my soul,
like a weaned child with its mother;
like a weaned child is my soul within me.

O Israel, hope in the Lord
from this time forth and forevermore.

Remembering Ted

2010-09-10T09:15:00.002+01:00

A dear friend, Ted Hanna passed away last Friday. Ted had spent the last few months in hospital much of the time in serious pain. A few weeks before he died I was with him and he asked me to read to him Psalm 126. The last verse reads,

He who goes out weeping,
bearing the seed for sowing,
shall come home with shouts of joy,
bringing his sheaves with him.

After reading the psalm to Ted, I asked what he was saying to us through this Psalm. Now Ted was quite a stoic man, but at that moment he had tears streaming down his face and with all his strength he managed to say, "We leave this world with nothing, but we'll come back again with everything". Even in spite of the tremendous pain and suffering, Ted's anchor was holding.

More on discipleship....

2010-07-30T12:25:00.001+01:00

I thought this was funny

2010-07-29T09:25:00.003+01:00

Why is it that we are so reluctant to follow Jesus? Why is it that we are so unwilling to let go of the world and embrace the life of discipleship? I guess it is because we are more in love with the world than we realise. I like what Eugene Peterson says about it.

"A person has to be thoroughly disgusted with the way things are to find the motivation to set out on the Christian way. As long as we think that the next election might eliminate crime and establish justice or another scientific break through might save the enviroment or another pay raise might push us over the edge of anxiety into a life of tranquillity, we are not likely to risk the arduous uncertainties of the life of faith. A person has to get fed up with the ways of the world before he, before she, acquires an appetite for the world of grace."

Being A Pastor Sucks!!! (Part 2)

2009-11-09T11:37:00.002Z

Viola goes on to say, “The demands of the pastorate are crushing; they will drain any mortal dry. Imagine for a moment that you were working for a company that paid you on the basis of how good you made your people feel. What if your pay depended on how entertaining you were, how friendly you were, how popular your wife and children were, how well dressed you were and how perfect you behaviour was?

“Can you imagine the unmitigated stress this would cause you? Can you see how much pressure would force you in to playing a pretentious role – all to keep your authority, your prestige and your job security?... This is one of the major reasons why pastors live very artificial lives.

“In this regard, the pastoral role fosters dishonesty. Congregations expect their pastor to always be cheerful, completely spiritual, and available at a moments call... Many pastors take to this role like actors in a Greek drama.”

How do I stop the pastorate from sucking? How do I stop the pastorate from sucking the life out of me and the family?

1)I got to prayerfully and biblical allow my vision of God to set the agenda.
2)I need to die my need of people affirmation.
3)I got to rediscover my call to husbandhood and parenthood and be a model of this to my church.
4)I got to realise that no matter how hard I work to win people over to me, when I go their biggest concern will be, “I wonder who we will be getting next?”
5)Just enjoy it. Enjoy God. Enjoy the people. It's all good, because grace is everywhere.

Being a Pastor Sucks!!! (Part 1)

2009-11-09T11:27:00.001Z

There is something good about being a pastor and I'm glad that this is the work that I do, but over the past few years I have witnessed in my own life and the life of others that it has a dark side. Like Manasseh I will construct in the temple of the LORD alters by which I will sacrifice my wife,children and everyone that I love upon (2 Chron 33:4-6). Pastoral ministry has the tendency that if it is not attended to well can become a monster that will swallow up everything that comes into it's parameter's.

Frank Viola, who is not a fan of the Pastor, but a voice that I need to keep listening to, gives these statistics. They are American but I think that they may also be a reflection of what is happening this side of the pond.

94 % feel pressure to have an ideal family.
90% work more than 46 hrs a week.
81% say they have insufficient time with their spouses.
80% believe that pastoral ministry affects their family negatively.
70% do not have someone they consider a close friend.
70% percent have lower self-esteem than when they entered the ministry.
50% feel unable to meet the demands of the job.
80% are discouraged or deal with depression.
More than 40% report that they are suffering from burnout, frantic schedules and unrealistic expectations.
33% consider pastoral ministry an outright hazard to family.
33% have seriously considered leaving their position in the past year.
40% of pastoral resignations are due to burn out.

Performing for people or Encountering God

2009-10-06T11:47:00.003+01:00

I'm currently doing a course on leadership called Arrow and as part of the preparation for the first residential in November I have a few books that need to be read. The first book I had to read was 'Renovation of the Heart' by Dallas Willard. I'm nearly finished the book but I would like to share a passage that I've just read that relates to what really should be happening when church comes together.

"The element of performance should be absent in the church, as should the constant worry over 'how the service went'. God is the primary agent in the gathering, and the truth is that only he knows how the service went; and it cannot be judged by reading the responses of the congregation... Those who minister should, with time and experience, expect to receive profundity of insight, sweetness and strength of character, and abundance of power to carry out their role. Ministers do not need tricks and techniques, but need only speak Christ's word from Christ's character, standing within the manifest presence of God. It is a matter of character, not momentary inspiration.

"The congregation, too, needs to elimate performance. We are not coming to be enterained; we are not checking the performance of the leaders. We are coming to encounter God. We expect to find Christ in others and that is all we are looking for. We don't worship worship or a fine service or impeccable teaching or fine-looking people. Far too often we approach worship prepared to major on minors. Why look at some aspect of performance when you could look at Jesus."

The Pastor & Hospitality

2009-10-02T11:39:00.001+01:00

I recently had a conversation with a English couple who have recently started to attend our get together on Sunday in Glastry. The husband told me that he believed the purpose of Church was three-fold. 1) Worship (I'm not going to argue about that). 2) Witness (Nor that) 3) Hospitality (As dumb as it sounds, I never though about that). He went on to say that he was not just talking about inviting people to have coffee after they have their gig, but hospitality begins at the top, with the Pastor who is prepare to warmly welcome people to gather around and listen, just as Jesus welcomed disciples and the crowds to himself.

I think my friend was right.

Some Pastors think that because they are standing in the front or have their name on the notice board, or because they wear an out of date/ out style flock that they deserve to be listen to. Not so! I think that we need to engage people with the spirit of hospitality.

How then can we become more hospitable when we address people?

1)Smile. Even if you don't want to smile at least pretend. It might even become more natural after a few years.

2)Make eye contact. Some I have seen and heard engage with the carpet in between them and the first pew. We are preaching to people not the floor.

3)Relax. You are meeting with family...brothers and sisters. It is not a civic function.

4)Don't be taking yourself or your role too seriously. The people you are listening to aren't. Most may even turn off after 10mins.

5)Be friendly to people before and after the service. Why do you need to stay locked away from people in prayer before the worship...YOU SHOULD DO IT BEFORE! Talk about stuff that they want to talk about, the glorious stuff of small talk. You may think that small talk is above you, but most people have given you the kindness of their ears for the last hour. Now it's your turn to listen.

6)Don't be having any meetings after the worship, just have coffee and chill.

A Rare Person

2009-06-30T11:39:00.002+01:00

RT Kendall writes,

"The twin sins of self-righteousness and self-pity so readily lift their ugly heads in us. For example, it is a rare person who can be an intercessor in prayer and not boast about it. It is a rare person who can pray for a leader and then refrain from giving advice. It is a rare person who can be greatly used by God today and quietly willing to watch God use another tomorrow. It is a rare person who can see God answer prayer on one item and not question because he doesn't answer other prayers. It is a rare person who can enjoy sweet intimacy with Jesus today and not feel sad when he doesn't manifest his presence tomorrow."

The Anointing

2009-06-25T11:03:00.001+01:00

Sometimes when I was a student training for the ordained ministry I would hear the complaint that our training was far too inadequate for ministering in the church today. Now, I recognise that there was much that I didn't learn at Edgehill that I could have learnt, but I'm thankful for what I did learn and the tools that they gave to me to go and learn on the job as well. I'm also thankful for the other people that God placed in my life at that time. One particular person was Greg Alexander, whom I did a placement with during my first year.

Greg taught be so much about the Spirit during those months, but what stuck in my mind the most from those chats over coffee in Tesco, was the conversations about the anointing over the Holy Spirit. Greg challenged me that no matter how much presence a person can have when they are in the pulpit, no matter how skilfully a sermon is put together and no matter how effective the illustrations are, it will all mean nothing without the anointing of the Holy Spirit.

This was a lightening bolt at that time and has caused me to reflect much about the anointing of the Holy Spirit in my ministry. Two books that I've found helpful are, “The Anointing” and “The Sensitivity of the Spirit”, both books are by RT Kendall. “The Sensitivity of the Spirit” may actually be one of the most frightening books that I've read. The blurb at the back reads,

“It is so easy for us to imagine we are living in the immediate power of the Holy Spirit, especially if our lives are comfortable and going just as we would wish them to. But the Holy Spirit, like a turtle dove, has an unpredictable sensitive nature. He will follow his own path and, if we are not prepared to go with him, will move on without us. In the meantime, we may be at home with an imitation.”

The though that I could be going through my minister comfortably without the anointing of the Spirit is horrifying and yet can't I recognise how many times with sin in my heart I have stood before my church hoping to mustered an enough smiles and conviction to pull Sunday off. RT Kendall writes in “The Sensitivity of the Spirit”,

“There have been servants of Christ – some with high profile – who apparently felt no loss of anointing at the time when they compromised themselves. Since they were used so powerfully – which they often took as proof of God's approval and of the anointing – they sometimes felt nothing when they gave into sexual sin.”

Being used powerfully by God is no proof of his anointing upon your life. I once remember speaking to a former pastor who left his ministry after having an affair, he said “While I was having the affair I had never preached so well”. Maybe, whenever we realize that the anointing has left us that we have to work that much harder. In disguising our weakness we want to appear strong, but is it not when we recognise our weakness that is when we are strong (2Cor 12:10).

Some Day They Might Just Kill Me.

2009-06-09T14:36:00.000+01:00

On Sunday evening I was ordained as a minister of the Methodist Church in Ireland. The service was an interesting event where I was paraded into the Church (Along with David Turtle). There was a selection special readings, prayers, sermon, laying hands on my head (I was praying that my wax was now dry) and a good old celebration of holy communion. The hi-light of the night was when David fell going up the steps and banged his head coming down the steps. I will slag him about this deep into the agedness of eternity...I really will.

But it was the moment after The Declaration that has given me the most to ponder. The President declared the following words:
“Be shepherds of the flock.
As you exercise mercy, do not forget justice;
as you minister discipline, do not forget mercy;
that when Christ the chief Shepherd comes in glory
he may count you among his faithful servants.”

The the congregation shouts:
“To God be the glory for ever. Amen”
This is followed by a rapturous applause which was a very affirming experience, in fact one of the most affirming experiences I've known. (I felt a little bit like Luke Skywalker at the end of Star Wars: A New Hope.)

Later when I though about this I really believed that Jesus reminded me of his entry into Jerusalem, they sang for him and welcomed him, but within a week the praise was replaced with persecution. Is my journey to reflect his.

Yesterday they applauded me. Tomorrow they may clinch their fists before me.
Yesterday they affirmed me. Tomorrow they may accuse me.
Yesterday they give gifts. Tomorrow they may strip of everything.
Yesterday they gave be a Bible. Tomorrow they may write my name in the book called, “Ceased To Be Recognise As Ministers Amongst Us”.

Why I no longer read the Bible

2009-04-27T22:31:00.001+01:00

I no longer read the Bible. Not because I don't think the Bible is true, because I do. I still believe that the Bible is the way in which I get more of God into my life. I believe more than anything else that God still speaks through the Bible. I continue to believe that all scripture is inspired by God, therefore should be used for teaching, for reproof, for correction and for training in righteousness, so that we all can be prepared for the good work that God has for us to do.

But the reason that I no longer read the Bible is because I now pray it. No other discipline in the Christian life has awakened me to God and the realities of his presence in my life. Eugene Peterson writes,

"As we read the scriptures, what we realize is that God has a stable and coherent identity: God is one. But God also reveals himself in various ways that at first don't always seem to fit together. There are three obvious ways in which we see God working and revealing himself: the Father (the entire world of creation is in the forefront here), the Son (here we're dealing with the mess of history invaded by Jesus Christ and his work of salvation), and the Spirit (the pulling of our lives into God's life is the experienced element in this). It is always the same God, but the “person” or the “face” or “voice” by which we receive the revelation varies."

Opening the scripture now means that I enter into a new world, a world where I meet God in his diverse “faces”. In entering into this world I've learned to recognise God's face more clearly in my world.

As I'm praying Genesis 22, along with Abraham, I'm struggling to relinquish what is most precious to me. When I'm praying Exodus 3&4, along with Moses I'm confessing my weakness to God but I'm also being affirmed by the promise of his presence with me. In Mark 9, I'm with the disciples on the Mountain of Transfiguration, I witness the glory and hear the voice of God calling me to follow his Son.

The name that the church has given to this discipline is “Lectio Divina” which means “reading spiritually”. For me it has meant simply reading the Bible with God.

The first stage of Lectio Divina is Reading. In the reading part we read through a passage of scripture once and then a second time, but as we are reading we are listing to God for a special “word” or “phrase” or “verse” that he may want to give us.

The second stage begins after we have received the word, phrase or verse and we begin to meditate upon it. This is where we take the received word to heart. We chew over it, like the cow chewing the cud, as we repeat the received word again and again, planting it deep within our souls.

The third phase is prayer. After God has spoken to us we now speak to him. We pray about how the word is touching our lives and we ask God how he wants us to respond.

The final stage is contemplation. We simply bask in the presence of God. No need for words. No need to think about yourself and your needs, just soak your soul in God.

This is not meant to be a guide to Lectio Divina, but with you want to understand more about it look up the following site: http://www.valyermo.com/ld-art.html . This is a good place to be introduced to the discipline.

Corrective Tract for Prosperity Gospel

2009-04-20T09:23:00.002+01:00

I got this of Desiring God website. I think that Prosperity Gospel is a lie that robs the poor of their money and of hope and it robs God of his glory. I hate the Prosperity Gospel.

Jesus on facebook

2009-04-06T11:40:00.001+01:00

This is very clever... and fun. go to this link and see Jesus on facebook:
http://canter.s437.sureserver.com/fbp/facebookpassion.pdf

Peterson on Christian Idolatry

2009-04-05T21:49:00.004+01:00

Eugene Peterson more than anyone else is teaching be to understand new creation and resurrection. He inspires me to live a life worthy of the gospel. He challenges me to be patient, so that I can see beyond the fickle fashions of popular Christian culture, and witness where and how God is really at work in our world. Again and again he has been to me like Elisha who prayed for his servant "Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see." (2 Kings 6:17)

Here are some words from Peterson on Christian Idolatry:

"We look around for ways to affirm and cultivate our new life in Christ outside of our work place. And we soon find, quite to our delight, that there is a lot to choose from. A huge religious marketplace has been set up in North America (and UK, Eugene) to meet the needs and fantasies of people just like us. There are conferences and gatherings custom-designed to give us the lift we need. There are books, videos, and seminars that promise to let us in on the Christian 'secret' of whatever it is that we think we are lacking in our life - financial security, well-behaved children, weight loss, sex travel to holy sites, exciting worship, celebrity teachers. The people who promote these goods and services all smile a lot and are good looking. They obviously not bored.

It isn't long before we are standing in line to buy whatever is being offered. And because none of the purchases does what we had hoped for, or at least not for long, we're soon back to buy another. The process is addicting. we become consumers of packaged spiritualities.

This is also idolatry. We never think of using this term because everything we're buying or paying for is defined the adjective Christian. But idolatry it is, nevertheless. It's God packaged as a product - God depersonalized and made available as a technique or a program. The Christian market in idols has never been more brisk or lucrative. The late medieval indulgences that provoked Luther's righteous wrath are small potatoes compared to what is going on in our evangelical backyard"

Sometimes God is so disappointing (2)

2009-04-02T20:25:00.003+01:00

The following is an exact form a sermon I preached a few days ago. I offer it as a response to my last post:

Sometimes God is disappointing. For too long now I have had to wrestle with that age old question; “Why does God allow bad things happen to good people”. I certainly don't accuse God of being the architect of sickness & evil and all others bad things that happen to people, but at times I do think that he could stop it.

And even whenever we seek for answers we we only discover silence. At best we may make some speculations, but there is always so little evidence and therefore we can never make any concrete conclusions.

So where do we go? What light are we given to light the way during dark times? For me I turn to the Psalms again and again. There I find fellow travellers who have blazed a trail for me though dark and uncertain terrain. Fellow doubters who help me to articulate my unbelief and give permission for my doubts. One such friend is Psalm 73.

Psalm 73 is a friend who also wrestled with the question of why bad things happen to good people. Psalm 73 recognises the ambiguity of the world that we are place in the midst of. A world that cultivates fear and mistrust and a world where justice and fairness seem to prevail ever so rarely.

In the midst of his questioning Psalm 73 finds himself suddenly confronted and having to gaze upon the One whom he questions and doubts so much. Psalm 73 can teach us that our doubts and questioning can actually become the means of much grace. Rather than repelling us from the presence of Jesus they become the means that invite Jesus to draw near.

Sometimes God is so disappointing!

2009-03-30T00:21:00.004+01:00

Psalm 118
"Out of my distress I called on the Lord;
the Lord answered me and set me free.
(If this was the truth then why do I see so little answers to prayer whenever I pray for people who need you in such a big way?)

The Lord is on my side; I will not fear.
What can man do to me?
(Actually, an awful lot!!)

The Lord is on my side as my helper;
I shall look in triumph on those who hate me."
(I look away in shame because I stand up and tell people to believe in you and your not helping me any ... show the people that you really are there and that you care about them!)

Not sure that I really believe what I typed in the italics, but sometimes I really do wish God would show up more whenever I ask him to.

Unchurch vs UnJesused

2009-03-21T08:23:00.003Z

Found these thoughts from a guy called Josh Harris (of "I Kiss Dating Goodbye" fame). They made me think.

I think that one of the oddest words in the Christian lexicon is the word unchurched. Have you heard someone use this word? Usually it's spoken by pastors or church leaders talking about the people they want to save. At some point in the 1980s somebody decided that terms like unsaved, unbeliever, non-Christian, sinner and hell-bound pagan were offensive to the people they described. So they came up with the term unchurched in order to have a nice way of talking about people who are not Christians.

This fascinates me. Who decides when new words get to be made up? It seems like a pretty big deal. Was it a group effort? How long did they brainstorm? Did they have a whiteboard? And what were the other options? They could have chosen unchristianed or unjesused.
I don't know who came up with unchurched, but personally, I think it's kind of lame. If you're the person who thought of it, I hope you're not offended. And I hope you've gotten royalties from all the times people have used your word. (I owe you a couple bucks just for the last few paragraphs.)

The problem I have with the word unchurched is that it conveys the idea that what people really need isn't salvation so much as getting "churched." And what the heck does that mean?
Think about this for a minute. How do you church someone? How many times do you have to go to church before you're churched? Once? Twice? A month? A year? Is it something you feel? When you're being churched do you know that it's happening? Does it tingle? And can you be churched but still not be a Christian? Does it matter what you believe? For example, can you be an avowed atheist and still get churched? Wouldn't that probably really tick an atheist off? And then how many meetings do you have to skip before you become unchurched again? Or is it a "once churched always churched" kind of deal?

These are the questions that keep me up at night.

Never let the gospel get smaller in your heart..

2009-03-18T09:09:00.004Z

Here are some words from John Piper that I want to share:

"Seek to see and feel the gospel as bigger as years go by rather than smaller.
Our temptation is to think that the gospel is for beginners and then we go on to greater things. But the real challenge is to see the gospel as the greatest thing—and getting greater all the time.

The Gospel gets bigger when, in your heart,
grace gets bigger;
Christ gets greater;
his death gets more wonderful;
his resurrection gets more astonishing;
the work of the Spirit gets mightier;
the power of the gospel gets more pervasive;
its global extent gets wider;
your own sin gets uglier;
the devil gets more evil;
the gospel's roots in eternity go deeper;
its connections with everything in the Bible and in the world get stronger;
and the magnitude of its celebration in eternity gets louder.

So keep this in mind: Never let the gospel get smaller in your heart.
Pray that it won’t. Read solid books on it. Sing about it. Tell someone about it who is ignorant or unsure about it."

Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel.... For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures. (1 Corinthians 15:1-4)

Thanks

2009-03-15T23:05:00.003Z

As followers of Jesus what is our attitude during a tine of recession? Certainly I don't think that we are to be like people who have no hope, but scripture calls for us to cultivate an attitude of thanksgiving, “... give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus” Thanksgiving calls us not to deny the hardship that the current depression creates for many families and homes, but to also recognize that in spite of the economic slump God's goodness is still involved in this world creating and sustaining. Thanksgiving disciplines us not to focus on what we've lost or might lose, but rather what God has done, is doing and is yet to do.

So here is what I'm giving thanks for during the recession:

For realizing that my security is dependent upon God alone.

For discovering that I can live very well within my financial means.

For hi-lighting what we already knew: That we are all a greedy people and the world cannot sustain our greed.

For giving us opportunities to lean upon each.

For the slump in the Christian media/publishing market. It is God who truly resources the mission of his church.

For spiritual awakenings: that only in Jesus Christ can we find life in all its fullness.

A Prayer for the Old Year!

2008-12-30T11:56:00.003Z

God you declared yourself to be the First and the Last,
Everything that was finds its existence in you;
Everything that will be will also find its existence in you.
Without you there can be nothing,
But with you all things are possible.

As we continue our journey from one year into another, we give thanks to you, that you promised never to abandon us, but to always be with us.

We knew of your nearness in the friends and family that loved and cared for us.
We knew of your nearness in the moments of beauty that left us breathless and wordless.
We knew of your nearness in celebration and success, because of the joy that overflowed from our hearts.
We even knew of your nearness in tragedy and suffering, because of the strength that sustained us, and an unseen hand that carried and guided us.

In the many ways and in the many people, that you revealed yourself you us we give you thanks, as we continue our journey, travelling from the Old into the ever New. Amen

A Christmas message

2008-12-19T10:48:00.003Z

To all the readers of my blog I have this Christmas message:

Have a peaceful Christmas Ross!

Effective Churches

2008-12-11T09:15:00.004Z

I came across this on Will Willimon's blog.

EFFECTIVE CONGREGATIONS:
1. Love their particularly community. Their pastors have found a way not only to love their congregations but also their neighborhood. Effective pastors help their congregations move beyond love of themselves, turning their congregations outward.

2. Rise above mere contentment with things as they are and do what is necessary to expect and welcome change, disruption, and movement, similar to that of the Risen Christ.

3. Find a way to welcome the stranger and to practice radical hospitality in the name of Jesus Christ. They find a way to be as interested in those who have yet to join the church as those already in the church.

4. Have a clear sense of their primary purpose and keep focused on their primary God-given missions.

5. Enable lay leaders to lead, not just manage. Lay leadership that feels a strong sense of responsibility for the future of their congregation.

6. All have a strong, change oriented, gifted pastor.

7. Make growth a priority and figure out how to grow.

8. Keep focused upon Jesus Christ as the originator of, and the purpose for the church (rather than church as just another human oriented institution).

How does your church answer to these qualities of effective churches? What specific steps would your congregation need to take to live into the future in a different way?

Acts of Random Kindness (ARK)

2008-11-24T23:29:00.003Z

Congressman, Evan Baxter, has a dream that he wants to change the world. God makes it a reality for him, but not in the way that Evan expects. God warns Evan that he is going to send a flood and he needs to build an ark (apparently this is based on a true story). Against his own judgement and the protests of his family, Evan starts his shipbuilding project and becomes the brunt of the community's jokes. But you guess it, a flood comes and Evan saves the community in more ways than one. At the end of the movie God shows Evan that the world is being changed by the building of one ARK (Act of Random Kindness) at a time.

In Exodus 2 we read how Moses wanted to change the world for his people. Guess what? He made a mess of it by moving ahead of God. He took matters into his own hands and murdered an Egyptian. Moses had to run for his life into a wilderness. It was in this wilderness that God begins to prepare Moses to lead his people. How does Moses start his training? Through an Act of Random Kindness which is performed on the daughters of a Midian priest called Reuel (Exodus 2:15 - 17).

God's way of training us to change and lead the world tomorrow is through building an ARK (Act of Random Kindness) today.

Back Soon!!!

2008-10-10T16:09:00.001+01:00

It's been far to long since I've blogged. I promise to make contact soon.

Hamster Wheel Church

2008-04-14T08:06:00.002+01:00

I've stole this from Ross's blog because I really like it. I hope you do too.

The Human Polar Bear

2008-04-09T18:39:00.002+01:00

Last summer the news carried the story about a swimmer who swam in the North Pole. For months he trained in the lakes of Scandinavia preparing himself and conditioning his body for the extreme conditions of the Arctic waters. Finally, the day came when he found himself standing gazing upon the dark and most northern waters of our planet, fearful of the plunge he was about to take. When dived into the waters he struggled to get a breadth for the first 5 mins, but eventually he began to swim, albeit for 20 mins (but we would have all died by that stage).

Entering into pastoral work is entering into the extreme conditions of life in our world. We plunge into the darkness of the world, and although we try to train ourselves adequately before hand nothing can prepare us for the shock. We may tread water struggling to get a breath, but eventually we find ourselves swimming.

That's how it has been for the past few months, fighting to condition myself in the new extreme conditions of the pastoral environment. It can be dark and extreme, but once you get swimming it can be exhilarating. I can think of no other profession that will allow you to enter into secret gardens of so many lives.

How can I sum up the past few months: I'm a Human Polar Bear swimming in Holy Waters!

A Comission: Working in the Gap.

2007-06-05T12:21:00.000+01:00

Next Sunday I will be in Cork and along with David Turtle I will be commissioned. What will it mean to be to me to be commissioned?

I believe that I have heard and answered a call by God to journey with his people and to speak God's name into their lives Yet most of what I've been learning in college over the last three years seems distant from the lives of the people that the church is sending me to. The question that I often asked myself was, “What relevance does this have to the regular person in church”. Think about it; what does Christology mean to the young couple who are wondering how they can deal with the responsibility of parenthood? Or what does the Corinthian Correspondence mean to the lady who has just heard that she has cancer? Or whenever the husband has just discovered that his wife is leaving him, does he really give a dam about the Trends in Modern Theology? It appears that there is a gap between the realities of pastoral training and pastoral vocation.

The Pastors is called to work in a gap. Willimon writes, “Seminarians are forever complaining about the gap between their expectations for the church, as engendered in seminary, and the reality of the church they experience as new pastors. That gap between the sociological reality of the church and the theological vocation of the church is necessary and even admirable. It is part of the pastor's vocation to keep working that space, too keep noting that the gap between who the church is and who the church ought, by God's grace, to be – and will, by God, be someday.”

Moses' commissioning of Joshua captures the Pastors Paradox, “Be strong and courageous! For you will lead these people into the land that the Lord swore to their ancestors he would give them” (Deut. 31:7). At this stage in their journey Israel is in Moab and separated from God's land of promise by the River Jordan. Joshua is commissioned by Moses to lead the Israelites through a space that separates their current reality and God's land of promises. Joshua must work within the space.

Next Sunday in Cork I will be commissioned to work in the spaces; leading God's people from their current reality into His promised reality. A Deuteronomic Dream!

Episode II: A New Hope

2007-04-24T15:30:00.000+01:00

A long time ago ... on a web page not to far away ... there existed a blog and the writer of it paid very little attention to it. It experienced a long and lonely death. But with a new beginning the writer found the faith to experiment with a new blog. Embarking on a new adventure in his life (tending the people that God loves) he decided to blog again. To blog the thoughts and fears that he and his loved ones encounter on the journey that lies before them.

So a new jouney begins for me and my family. I know that we don't travel alone. I know that through the love and prayers that are offered, many people travel with us. It is a journey that finds its begining and end in God. It is a journey about God and therefore it is always a journey of discovery. What will we see on this journey? Who will we meet? What may befall us? Who will we become? These are questions that only the journey can answer, but I'm clinging to the words of Abraham, "The LORD, before whom I have walked faithfully, will send his angel with you and make your journey a success".