Nehemiah, Organised builders and got building underway

I’m preparing for leading congregational singing and looking at the text for this week,  where we’re preaching through Nehemiah and looking towards moving from our current building to a new facility in the town.  I’ve struggled to get excited about Nehemiah 3 which is essentially a list of names of people who rebuilt parts of Jerusalem’s walls and finding songs that mesh even harder to find than normal!

I turned to Mark Driscoll’s series on Nehemiah for some inspiration. http://www.marshillchurch.org/media/nehemiah/leading-and-laboring#play  These are the notes I took as I listened to him preach on this chapter.

1. Leaders keep names of people they are leading to pray for them.  These were ordinary people building the walls, and were honoured by God when he listed them in the bible.
2. The size of the project determines the size and function of the organisation to tackle the project. As an organisation grows, it complexifies.
   • Initially when an organisation is small, the pastor tends to do all and know all.
   • Then when there are two or three together, a little of the load is shared, but still pretty much everyone does everything
   • Get a little bigger and complexity starts to increase, it’s a bit more like a basket ball team, where there’s a single coach, and a play maker and a solid team with some guys on the bench
   • Bigger still and gets more like a American Football team where there’s specialisms and parts of the team don’t even know or serve together, you have offence and defence, and different coaches. They don’t all play at the same time and have different skills and tasks.
3. Nehemiah can’t build the walls all by himself, it requires the help of everyone to do their part.
   • He broke the task down and allocated to smaller groups, who were unified in theology, purpose & relationally.
   • Teams were built on pre-existing relationships. (family, friendships, co-workers)
   • The bigger an organisation gets, the more important it is that there is trust.
     1. The task cannot be accomplished if people can’t be trusted to fulfil their part
     2. Trust the people you’re building with to do their part as you do yours
     3. Important to keep faithful to the vision, and not side snipe and become divisive.
   • Teams specialised on each section of the wall. Generalists are great when things are small, but when the tasks are larger, we need to use specialists who will be more effective at supporting the work.  (Consider the difference between your GP and a specialist at a hospital, where there are departments and consultants.)
     1. We need to change our focus on where we go to with issues – we can’t all run to the pastor when there are hundreds of us.
     2. Clearly identify who is doing what, and who the goto guys are
   • Have to focus on Air War and Ground War.
     1. Air war: communication to the masses (Chapter 2, preached to them)
     1. Necessary for explaining vision, correcting theology, setting the pace
     2. Some of us have only been affected by the air war. We listen to what is said, attend meetings but are not plugged in.  They’re identified with us, but not engaged in our task.
     2. Ground War: Training, leadership developments, community groups/relationships. biblical counselling. (Chapter 3, work connected to the vision takes place, to make the difference!)
        1. Those who are engaged in the ground war are:
           1. financially contributing
           2. engaged in service
           3. in a community group/relationship with others
           4. understands the vision and the part they play in achieving it.
4. Nehemiah worked ON the organisation not IN it
   • Nehemiah didn’t build a section of the wall himself
   • He stayed attentive to what was going on in each group and how the work was progressing.
   • He looked for old stones. (140 year old stones, were re-used)
5. God lists by name a list of people.  Because he loves people and loves to father them
   • God could have rebuilt the wall himself (he made the heavens and the earth didn’t he?)
   • We capture something of God’s heart when we work with him,
   • We can share in his joy of what is accomplished.
6. Everything we do is ‘ministry’, even if we’re not paid for it, if we do it as ‘unto the Lord’
   • Jesus worked for 30 years in relative obscurity before his 3 year public ministry. During that time he was still Holy, still serving God.
   • Whatever it is we’re doing, it’s all sacred if it’s done unto the Lord.
     1. Some say, I wish God would use me. whatever you’re doing, if it’s unto the Lord,  HE IS!.
     2. some of the guys mentioned in Chapter 3, are mentioned for ‘picking up rocks’ and putting them in the wall.
7. The nobles refused to work – don’t look to lead if you don’t serve.
   • Some people worked from Home.
     1. They worked outside their house
     2. Your house is an extension of your church facility
   • Minister as a family.
     1. Recognise gifts as they grow
     2. lead by example
8. Some work is less desirable than others.
   • The dung gate.., someone volunteered. lets humble ourselves to get the work done.
9. Old stones (older Godly people) have life, wisdom and experience of God working
   • Model godly behaviour, support new growth.
10. With 38 teams of people the wall got built.

So what is my response to this?  How will I lead now?

I’m looking for songs that encourage us to:

• Understand the ‘right now’ vision He has for us
• Get our hands dirty and serve
• See that God loves us and works with us
• Be the new creations that God has made us

Celebrate:

• We’re working with God to his plans
• That we have a place in his purposes
• The family (natural, church and spiritual)

Lord I thank you that from a list of names torn from a journal entry in Nehemiah, we can see that you are a God of order and of purpose. I thank you that you choose to use ordinary people just like us to humbly serve you and fulfil your purposes.  I appreciate that you call different people to different tasks, some specialist, some general but all are necessary to get the job done.  I thank you for my family, and the maturity and gifting I see in them as we serve you together. I pray for my leaders that they will continue to grow in humble stature and skills and continue the transition from doing all IN the church to working ON the church, establishing healthy growing teams where growth can be accelerated as we work together to build your church.

Power Cuts

This morning we’ve experienced two power cuts.

I like many of you I suspect, use a laptop and so the first I know of a power cut was when I come to send an email or post a blog and find the broadband connection is down.

Now my laptop functions perfectly well without a connection to the internet. It can compute things, write things down and remember them, it can display information it has remembered and function pretty well.  It even has it’s own source of power so that it can work without being plugged in to the mains and it will continue to work like that for as long as the battery lasts.

The battery will last a long time if I put the computer in sleep mode.  Because I’m not asking the computer to do anything, it draws very little power.  If I use the laptop and turn down the brightness of the screen and change the power settings to idle when I’m not using it for a couple of minutes, I could expect the battery to last quite a long while.  But if I use it normally, the battery will last only a few hours and then it will turn off.  A computer without power is useless to me. It becomes a paperweight at best and a barrier to completing my work tasks for the day.

Even if I conserved it’s power, there’s only so long that I can be effective in my job without it. Sooner or later I’d need to check a system or send/receive an email, look over new work requests in our call management system or call someone on my voip phone. All of these things require a communications connection, and that connection needs power to work!

It struck me that I can sometimes be like a laptop disconnected from power.  I can function, but can only recall knowledge I already know. I can work things out, but without the benefit of Godly direction and I can serve but my reserves of energy are quickly depleted. It is important to remain plugged in to the triune God.  This is not to say that he ‘leaves us’ once we are His, but rather that we choose to ignore or work with our relationship in place (a bit like when I choose to ignore the satnav’s directions or say yes and no in what I hope are the right places in a conversation with my wife when I really want to be doing something else)..  Sooner or later (usually sooner) I recognise that I’ve become unplugged and I need to reconnect with God. I need to seek his spirit and his direction, I need to be thankful and cognisant of his salvation, his grace and his mercy. I need the refresh of the Spirit’s power, I need to draw from God’s love and tenderness, I need to confront the sin that so easily entangles and find the forgiveness of the father.

Lord, thank you for your steadfastness which goes on and on and on. There is nowhere I can run from you, and no place that I can hide. Thank you for your voice that remains speaking if only I will listen. Forgive me when I think my ways are better than yours or when I go off like a bull in a china shop and drain my resources faster than you provide them because I’m not doing what you say. Thank you that you restore me when I fail. Thank you for your power that works in me to fulfil your purposes.

Check Out Rick Warrens book: GODS POWER TO CHANGE YOUR LIFE (Living with Purpose) for ways of staying plugged in and making a difference to your life

Numbers are meaningless

I am 14,000 days old today.  But no one counts their age this way, instead most of us click off the annual occurrence of the day of the month we were born based on the Gregorian calendar.  In the Gregorian system my ‘birthday’ is always in half term in October, but celebrating every 500 days enables celebrations at different points through the seasons.

I started thinking about all the things we apply what is loosely called ‘metrics’ to, and considered that some of them are arbitrary at best and unhelpful at worst and can significantly colour how we measure success.

For instance, we count people in attendance on Sunday’s as if physical presence was a measure of growth. What we’re actually counting there is number of seats needed + squarefootage + cups, chairs, leaflets etc required for family worship and for teaching activities in our facility.  Numerical growth may be indicated by the number of chairs required for Sunday meetings, but there’s a big difference between those attending and those ‘added’, and an even bigger difference between those added and those growing.

Growth is difficult to measure by numbers.  As a child each summer in my grandparents house I would stand against a wall and have my height marked off.  I remember that for the early years of life I was always some 4 to 6 inches (meaningless to those of a metric persuasion) behind my sister who was 393 days older than me. One year though, my growth had accelerated and I was a good 4 inches ahead of her. Tremendous growth in a calendar year.  Was I now older than her as well as taller?  No I was still 393 days younger.  Height was no measurement for maturity.

In the same way, increase in bums on seats is no measure for maturity of congregation. Neither is age of congregation, years saved, areas of service engaged in, responsibilities held, people in your growth/cell/small/connect/home group.   All of these may be ‘indications’ that enable an assessment against ‘is growth happening’, but are not measures of growth.  For instance, if someone has been ‘saved’ for 30 years, I might expect that they are well accustomed to the teachings of Christ and are able to apply his teachings for themselves and for others in what ever situations they find themselves, that they have learnt to hear the voice of God in the stillness and be prophetic, prayer warriors with many a story of God’s provision to underpin their faith and stir faith in others?  There are definitely many people for who this description fits to a T, but there are many others where it doesn’t so it’s not a reliable metric. Similar considerations can be made with nearly every metric.

The problem then with counting the things that are easy to count is that I can miss the tangible growth when it happens.  I don’t always see that Barry prayed with someone for the first time, or that Joanne took time to help someone get to hospital, or that Craig spent an hour helping someone understand something from scripture or that Gary stood with someone in their situation. Moreover, I’m not always privy to what is done in secret, so even if I was super observant I might miss growth as it happens.

Lord forgive me when I look but don’t see. When the tangible metrics cloud what’s really happening in the hearts and minds of those I stand shoulder to shoulder with.  Keep me focussed on growing with you, applying what is learnt in practical ways to love people and love You.

Does the Trinity affect your life?

I’ve recently read Donald Macleod’s book shared life in which he argues succinctly and understandably that we need to be mindful of the three persons of the trinity in our worship life.  To worship God the father without acknowledging the salvation brought through the Son or the guiding of the Holy Spirit is severely lacking..

Some oft used phrases can mislead us to thinking that only one member of the trinity is resident in our lives such as “God shaped hole”, “Invite Jesus into your heart” and “Indwelling of the holy spirit”, but Donald argues that scripture points to all three persons being resident in the redeemed soul.

The implication of this triune dwelling is security, power and ability to always be in the presence of God.  We share (through adoption, by grace) the special relationship that Christ enjoys with his Father and the Spirit… just think about that for a minute!

In his book Donald also provides an overview of the doctrine of the trinity and some observations about the differences with  Judiasm, Islam, Jehovah’s witnesses and mormonism.
For anyone confused with what the trinity is, and why it’s important to every Christian, I heartily recommend his book. Shared life.

Genuinely loving AND making disciples

 

Jesus Saves

Salvation is a sovereign work of God alone through Jesus (John 2:2.) There is nothing that we can do of ourselves to bring someone to Christ. Jesus, is the way, the truth and the life. (John 14:6) This enables us to concentrate on being the salt and light that we are, ensuring that Christ is visible in our thoughts, words and deeds.

Make disciples

The mission from Christ is clear:  Go into all the world and make disciples (Matthew 28:19) and for many a year this has formed within us a strategy of seeing every person, every encounter as a God opportunity to win someone for Himself.  Being aware of this great commission while undertaking our daily activities is foundationally helpful, so we remain focussed on living a worshipful life and looking for opportunities, not letting them pass by.  But we must be clear that making disciples isn’t the same as converting people to Christ. Making disciples is journeying together towards Christ, it’s living life in the scrutiny of others, mutually following Christ and leading others to do the same. Maturing in Christ then encouraging others to mature. 

Love one another

The hallmark of being a follower of Jesus is that we love one another (John 13:35). It is in how we love, submit, serve, carry burdens, stand with, do good, support, care for, and encourage each other that it becomes easy to see that we are governed not by the desire to reach others for Christ, but by our desire to be Christ-like.  If our motivations for interactions with people are because we genuinely love them, that relationship will endure long after their decision to come to Christ for themselves.  Wouldn’t it be devastating to us if, once we came to Christ, he abandoned us to go find someone else to be friends with? So our motivation cannot be simply to reach people for Christ without wanting to be an eternally loving family.

• It is possible for a while for me to fake love.  I can act loving, draw from experiences where I've been loved or felt loved and act that way towards others, but in the end my well of love will run dry, it will become a thankless task that will make my heart sad.  
• It’s possible to assume that it is Christ’s love that will enable me to love people, and that in someway my own emotions and feelings won’t come into play because I'm about the Lord’s work, but love cannot be inferred from another. it will be my arms, my ears, my actions that will express love to another. It will be from my heart that the measure of love will be communicated.   
• It’s possible to assume that I can determine when I'm leading others and maturing in faith and when I'm taking a day off, but whether I'm consciously engaging with others or being observed from afar, I'm still leading, Christ is still within me and I'm still a son of God.  If we could step out of his gaze, or the salvation won for us, I would be very worried indeed. If we are to diminish in stature for Christ to increase in us, should it not be that we are always ‘on duty’? Always worshipping, always caring, always loving?

If then I choose to be outside of my ivory tower or homestead castle, and live on the front line, everything I do, every day, matters.   Perhaps it is difficult to genuinely love others and make disciples if I'm not mindful of living a worshipful life 24/7. It can’t be something I pick and choose to do.  It is tiring and endless.  Jesus would retire regularly to pray and recharge with his father.  This is somewhat different to the ‘I need a holiday’ mentality i can sometimes take to get away from my responsibilities and ‘switch off’ and please myself.

Almighty God, my heavenly Father, I have sinned against you, through my own fault, in thought, word and deed, by what I have done, and by what I have left undone. For the sake of your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, forgive all my offenses, and grant that I may serve you in newness of life, to the glory of your name, Amen.

(The Book of Common Prayer)

This is our God (Your Grace is enough)

 

I think it would be good to learn this song in the near future:

This is Our God (your grace is enough)

Your grace is enough, more than I need
At Your word I will believe
I wait for You, draw near again
Let Your Spirit make me new
And I will fall at Your feet
I will fall at Your feet
And I will worship You here

Your presence in me, Jesus light the way
By the power of Your word
I am restored, I am redeemed
By Your Spirit I am free

Freely You gave it all for us
Surrendered Your life upon that cross
Great is the love poured out for all
This is our God
Lifted on high from death to life
Forever our God is glorified
Servant and King rescued the world
This is our God

FrontEdge: Sunday 10th October

 

An opportunity to see the sick healed and lives changed.

Read what has happened at other FrontEdge events here and here.

Come along to Rugeley Community Church, 10:00am

Directions can be found here

Everyone welcome!

Four seasons

As I was drinking today, I read an article on what to look out for in the garden this autumn.  What struck me were the words ‘it’s not all death and decay’ and I became distinctly aware that each season has a purpose.

• Autumn is when plants that thrived in the summer, begin to decay, the rotting flesh is consumed by bugs and detrivores and the nutrients returned to the soil. Other plants are pruned to endure the winter and be ready for spring growth.
• Winter is a resting period where little grows but where ground work and fertilizing prepares for planting in the spring
• Spring is a time of planting, watering, fertilizing, pruning and new growth.  Bed rotations and other plans are enacted in this period
• Summer is a time for watering, feeding and enjoying the fruits of labours undertaken throughout the year. It’s an attractive time.

It struck me that each season was essential to the health of the garden, and in the same way, the same seasons may be helpful for us.

• There is a time for preparation and rest (winter)
• There is a time for pruning and fertilizing (spring)
• There is a time for enjoying the growth and warmth (summer)
• There is a time for sowing into others and training new growth (Autumn)

Keener gardeners than I, or people that have experienced many more seasons than I may find this news all too familiar, and as I write this down it seems all so simple and totally knowable that I’m sure this is no great revelation to anyone…  but as I was thinking about it, I felt that we often attempt to skip seasons.   In the garden the seasons come and go, and there is nothing that the garden itself can do to affect the season. But the gardener can attempt to grow out of season by artificially creating an environment (like a greenhouse) to cocoon a part of the garden and initiate a warmer season (say) than it really is and promote growth before its normal growing time.  In the same way we expect when we shop that foods that are out of season for the UK are still available to us because the shop can bring them in from other countries…    But I noticed something in the garden this year….

For three years we’ve attempted to grow tomatoes.  We’ve tried them in summer in the raised beds, we’ve tried them in grow bags, we’ve tried them in the conservatory.. each year they have really not come to much.   This year I noticed something in the ‘fallow’ bed (we leave at least one bed fallow each year for it to rest)  there was one solitary tomato plant that grew of it’s own (left over no doubt from either the  compost or from a previous year plant). I left it to itself expecting it to die off like all the others have.  But this little plant, battered by the rain, the wind and left untended by me, actually grew to be a totally self supporting plant (no stakes) and has produced some lovely fruity tomatoes. 

What I’m fumbling around attempting to say is that we need the different seasons. And attempting to short cut them by leaving out the winter season (say) where we ‘seem’ unproductive or where nothing is growing, or a pruning season where we tidy up weeds or train growth or tie off decaying ends etc, may leave us distinctly worse off, and may produce weaker growth (and perhaps damaged growth) instead of hardy, resilient, fruit producing growth. 

In our modern 24/7 always on world, it’s too easy to stay up past natural bed times, cram activities that are too strenuous into timeframes that don’t allow recuperation for exertion, race around at full pelt ‘doing things’ and expecting to operate at the same intensity all the time.  But, like the yearly seasons, there are times in the day when we have to act differently.  Rest is as important as do, and needn’t be a passive activity.  Just like soaking a pan before washing or fertilizing ground before the spring you can’t see anything happen until you then do the activity that follows, where it is then generally easier to clean or grow respectively.  In the same way, if we do not rest sufficiently, if we do not prepare, if we do not prune, if we do not learn, if we do not sow into others we will continue to burn each other out, and may replicate damaged growth in others..   It is rare that we will go through the day without eating by choice or because we are too busy, but it is quite possible for us to go through the day without feeding on God’s word.  It is also rare that we will go through a day without speaking to someone else, yet it is quite possible that we will choose not to speak anything to the Lord. Though Christ is our head gardener, we are responsible for our own nourishment and weeds.  We need to tend the garden of our lives responsibly to enable us to grow. There are seasons where we might need to do more of one thing than another (even if that one thing is rest), but all must be done to make the garden healthy…

Things to ask yourself

• What season are you in right now?  How do you know?
• When was the last time you chose to rest?
• Do you regularly fertilize yourself by reading, meditating or discussing godly wisdom?
• Are there things in your schedule that you have become a slave to that may be unhelpful in maintaining your life garden? (such as overspending, eating out, gossiping (spreading weeds), always saying yes to things?)
• When you last examined the fruit of your activity were you really satisfied with the result? – What actions produced the good/poor result?

Transitions

“Constant change is here to stay”

I’m hearing the word transition a lot recently.  The Newfrontiers leadership conference used the word a lot as shorthand for Terry Virgo releasing new apostolic spheres (new people who will take responsibility for regions) and there’s transition in RCC in how we conduct our meetings, the shape of the leadership team, and our band structures. At work I’m transitioning from a hands on IT dude to a project manager, at home Francine is transitioning from stay-at-home mom to full time student,  So it seems it’s all change, everywhere… or is it?

Most big things, with the exception of redundancy or long term sickness, happen pretty much in our control. We determine where we live (or the spending habits which force us to be evicted) or where we work, who our friends are or what we do with our time. Where we shop, what we eat, what we wear and our mode of transportation.  We don’t live in perpetual fear, We don’t need to be restricted by draconian law, you can say pretty much what you like, and you are not barred from entry into any area of the country, except some places for your own safety or national security.  What I’m getting at is that what happens from the start to the end of your days is pretty much under your control and is a consequence most often of your direct choices.  Some consequences are immediate, and are over in an instance, some take longer to mature and can affect much of your life. But very little is thrust on you, or requires you to be deal with unexpected things, and even if you do, most of your life still remains constant whilst other things are changing.

Captain Janeway on the star ship ‘Voyager’  could have got home much faster than the 7 series it eventually took to get back to federation space and she certainly didn’t have to stop to interact with so many other people… but it would have been a pretty dull show if she didn’t. In the same way, our lives would be pretty dull if we kept ourselves out of contact with others and focussed our energies only on the destination.

Sometimes transitions feel unsettling, destabilising as we move from something known to something unknown but it’s rare that something happens that is so radically different that nothing is familiar. Sure a cataclysmic event may occur that wipes out your family, friends, house, job and way of life, but such changes are thankfully rare, and certainly very little you can do to prepare for them or prevent them by worrying. So discounting that, most other changes are going to be a move left here, or a step right there, someone entering your life or someone leaving it. New locations to explore or new jobs to get your teeth into, pretty much the rest of your life carries on around it.

So how do we deal with constant transition?

1. Do not worry:  Take a look at this link, far better than a pithy paragraph from me on it.
2. Look for the people: We will bump into people on our journey. Thank God for them, spend time with them, Love them. (see Voyager above)
3. See stability, not instability:  When things change it’s too easy to think you’re all at sea, but instead of looking at what is unstable. Focus on what is still stable. It’s too easy to let something that is changing dominate all your thoughts, but Paul encourages us to set your mind on things above, not on earthly things.
4. Enjoy the Journey: Don’t be in such a hurry to see Glory at your death, that you miss the Glory of the risen Christ in your life. See the beauty of his creation and marvel at His plans for you. 
5. Depend on the Unchanging Christ: Jesus is the same, Yesterday, Today and Forever.

“Transition is not so much a ‘temporary’ but a ‘constant’ word. We have not yet arrived at our terminus, we are no longer at our start point, we are somewhere in between the start and the end.” 

…. But change is here to stay.  

Thinking about the future: Credit Cards

For many people, ensuring that there is enough money at the end of the month to pay all the bills can be difficult to balance.

This can be more so when interest is added a large rates to credit card balances, so those of us who have been able to ‘service’ debt before may be struggling to do so now and making use of overdrafts and other things..  

For lots of reasons, how we manage our money may not be something we talk a lot about, but perhaps we need to think about being more open about it?

Here’s one reason to think about it….   in the future, Rugeley Community Church may want to expand the current building facility, move to a different location, support additional staff or undertake a project. To do this will require lump sum gifts, increases in monthly giving or both!

Each year I review what I’m giving and how I’m spending money. Sometimes despite my best plans, the situation I thought I was in, isn’t always the one I find when I’m looking at the cold hard figures… – this can be especially true with credit cards.  Credit cards work great for short term ‘cashflow’, but when the amount of money isn’t cleared each month the amount of interest that can be added in the month adds up very quickly.

This got me thinking.

Simply by changing my attitude to ‘credit’ and managing money better we might be able to free up money that would be going on paying off credit to use for kingdom purposes! In my case, on one card, interest each month is around £90. That’s £90 added every month to the balance, even if I make a payment (unless I clear the balance in full).. That would be over £1000 that could be given to something much more valuable!

It won’t happen overnight, but if I prioritise paying off the balance now instead of carrying the balance and living (albeit momentarily) above my means when we’re ready to take the next adventures of faith together my finances might be ready to respond as well as my heart?

Brighton Leaders Conference

The Main sessions and seminars from Brighton Together on a Mission conference 2010 are now online.

You can access them without a password here

It is NOT our job to love the world.

I think there is great confusion in the hearts and minds of Christians in the UK.

We have heard the great commandment and the great commission.

We have heard Pauls consideration to become all things to all men but forgotten to ‘reach them for Christ’!

But we have got lost IN the world that Jesus is trying to save.

We are familiar with the incomplete comprehension by many from the word “Church”.  We say, we’re going to Church. Do you know the church on the hill. We belong to such and such Church – all these terms are incomplete, because the Church is you and I, knitted together as living stones with Christ as the head. Not a building or an organisation but men and women, loving and serving the Lord in unity, Spirit and truth.

In the same way I think we have got confused with what the ‘world’ is, and we have assumed that because God loves the world (John 3:16) that it must mean that we also must love it.

But I contend to you, that the world in John 3:16 isn’t the fabric of the planet. It isn’t the trappings of life. But like the definition of Church, it is all about the people that populate this wondrous ‘God made’ globe.

When we love ‘the world’, we want to be like the people in it.

But we are called to be people who ‘set our mind on things above', not on earthly things. Our hearts should be towards PEOPLE, not STUFF.

1 John 2:15-17 (English Standard Version)

^15(A) Do not love the world or the things in the world.^(B) If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. ¹⁶For all that is in the world—^(C) the desires of the flesh and^(D) the desires of the eyes and pride in possessions—is not from the Father but is from the world. ¹⁷And^(E) the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

We are so easily swayed away from living simply and honestly to reach fellow man because we are consumed with ‘not falling behind’ in appearance. – we have, in fact, NO DESIRE to live differently. We still live in houses just like them, drive cars just like them, have TV’s just like them, fine clothes just like them, hobbies and holidays just like them. In fact we live just like them.

But doesn’t Jesus call us to live differently? Not interested in sustaining a life-style that leads to destruction, but instead a lifestyle that leads to Everlasting life with God?

Philippians 4:8-9 (English Standard Version)

⁸Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honourable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. ⁹What you have learned and^(A) received and heard and seen^(B) in me—practice these things, and^(C) the God of peace will be with you.

If we are busy following the worlds pattern of behaviour, it’s way of doing life today in the UK, how on earth are people to see in us and hear from us the things that will lead them to God?

Friends, it should be obvious in all we do, all we say, what we put into practice that we are different.  Our motivation to live for God should make it evident to all that there is nothing familiar between the way we live our lives and the way the lost world lives theirs.

Now, this is not to suggest that technology isn’t useful, and not to say we shouldn’t live in houses etc,. indeed not that TV in itself is a sinful or unhelpful tool, rather the Christian life is so revolutionary because it IS different from the selfish living of the world. We are not to be people who pursue ‘gain’ now, rather our ‘gain’ is heaven. Our reward is life eternal with Christ in Glory.

If we have truly been found in Christ, If he truly is LORD as well as saviour, then we are compelled by his love to live differently. We cannot live to please ourselves any longer because our old selves are DEAD.

• If we really did love people as much as we love ourselves we could not drive past lost people without showing them the way to Christ. 
• If we really did want to serve Christ the decisions we take about what we wear, what we do, where we go, what we say, what’s important to us, what we do with our money etc would all be made with the aim of winning people to Christ at the forefront of the decision making process.

For sure, with practice it would become as easy to do or to think this way as a person who drives a car after many years, with barely a thought to what gear to select or how to manoeuvre the vehicle – but in the early days, when we are learning to drive, don’t we have to think about changing gear, and how to point the car in the direction of travel?

I think we have become complacent, not mature and experienced in living holy, Godly lives that SHOUT his praise, rather we have become reticent to speak for God (with the words he gives us) and we have attempted to ‘blend in’ to our surroundings.

We have forgotten that our primary purpose is to Love God, and Love others to reach them for His Kingdom. We have forgotten that WE ARE NO LONGER OURS, we have been bought through the blood of Christ and we are no longer slaves to Sin, but Slaves to Christ. – Our lives have never been our own yet we attempt to haul them back from Christ to live in any way we please, doing what ever seems good to us.

This is why the battle for the hearts and minds of our friends and neighbours is so easily lost. We don’t even turn up for the battle. We stand with them on the periphery of the battle field and look on wondering who will come to fight.

We’re like the Israelites facing Goliath for 40 days, knowing who they are in God, but fearful of the consequence of standing up for the faith we profess, unsure of ourselves and unsure of the God we serve. It’s pathetic.

And when a small boy comes along to show us the raging soft spot in the forehead of Goliath, we mock and scoff and get on with our ‘religious’ lives hoping no one will call us up to stand against the foe, content to have no impact and no ground won.

This MUST change.  If we are to be the Church of Christ, if we have ANY joy from knowing him, if we have any delight in being found in him and known as Christ’s sons and heirs WE MUST, without doubt, live as his Children. Not content simply to live holy-ish lives so we can feel smug about our own righteousness, but instead lives which impact our street, our towns and ultimately the nation and the world.

The disciples even in fear and trembling, selected their stones and with love in their hearts began to take the ground that was given to them in God. The message they proclaimed and lived with great suffering spread around the globe as a result. It’s time we played our part.

Suffering in itself is no indication of righteousness, but my friends I know so very few people in the UK who have suffered for the sake of Christ – why? because it is very difficult to distinguish those who live for Christ in any radical way, and those who live for themselves. – we look the same.

When I was a child I remember most days someone calling a name or highlighting something I did because I was a Christian living for God. – God boy, bishop, devil lumps all names that were used to ridicule me because I communicated the faith I professed. I wasn’t popular, and I had few friends outside of my church community – what now? Does anyone show me the same contempt?  No.

So you see I am speaking not just to you, but also to myself.  Some people see that I am different, but they do not know why. They think I am eccentric, but that is because I haven’t explained to them why I do what I do. And I rarely confront them with the reasons I live how I do (even accepting that there is more to change!) We must be people who live the life and explain why. Yes, Jesus should be evident in what we do, but people cannot understand why we are different unless we tell them.

It’s time we change.

When faith and hope matters

The most waged and bloody war is not on land, sea or air, but in the minds of those whose heart is set for Christ.  Not only do we need to contend with NOT worrying about material possessions, the plight of those we love, or the progress of our sporting heroes, but we need to concern ourselves with pressing on towards the goal of maturity in Christ.

This is no easy task.

The massive effort and the casualty to peace and contentment often encourage would be followers to abort their offensive into living in truth and settle for the quieter pastures of apathy, compromise, ambiguity and insecurity- at least (we reason) the only person we are hurting by this course of action is ourselves, and since we’re saved, the damage is momentary considering our final destination.

But if we were truly alive to the impact our lives can have for Christ NOW, perhaps we would see that the damage is far more widespread than the effect on the path of our existence. Those people who encounter us from a distance may not see Christ in our actions or conversation, those who know us well may judge us (and our faith and he that enables us) by our actions and prejudice and wavering resolve to do what all good Christians do. We may injure the attempt of those struggling to persevere by seemingly to flit through life without a care (when really we’re just hiding from reality) and we devalue the success those who have overcome and triumphed in their adversity and environment to stand for God (as if they were misguided, misinformed or mistakenly radicalised)

Some of us think that because God hasn’t perhaps called us for great things, it doesn’t matter if we don’t win the battle for our minds. It doesn’t matter if we never put in place the dedication to the word of God, or the dwelling of his spirit or the walking in the light or the speaking of the truth. We’re not called (we might say) to lead a movement, a church, a group or a family. all we have to be responsible for is our little corner of the world and does it really make all that difference if we don’t manage to make it. – besides – if I have to make it, isn’t that just an unbelievable pressure for someone who is supposed to be made righteous by the grace of God alone?

To which I would say. God knows.  He knows that he has made us righteous, and He knows what he calls us to be.

He knows that we are often weak and foolish. He knows what it is like to be tempted and to struggle. He knows what needs to be done to commune with God the father and follow his will. He knows when you are beaten by a struggle or beaten by your bed. He knows what you can accomplish if you would only attempt to live in the light of what you already know to be true (not worrying about what it is you don’t know). He knows that the secret sins you hide from the world sit as a cancour deep in your spirit, He knows that you hide him also from the world for fear, for embarrassment, for security, for no good reason. He knows that you can do more than you can ask or imagine, if only you will put your hope, trust and faith in Him.

Our perspective then is the problem. We see ourselves before we see Jesus. We see the problem not the solution. We see our failings not His success. We see difficulty and fear, yet Jesus brings hope and salvation and applies it through us.

We can make an excuse, we can cover ourselves with mitigation, we can hide in our circumstance, we can quake with fear – but those who God has called he also enables. Those whose names are written in the book of life are those who call Jesus ‘Saviour’ and LORD. If he is our lord, then aren’t we as loyal subjects to fight for his cause, and to give our life if that is what is required to bring glory to him?

You may think you might die in the struggle, – but most likely you will not. God calls very few to die for him (except to die to self – to which he calls each one of us). If only we will think less of ourselves and more of him. I’m sure if we could only see the immediate effect of our inaction and stamina on those around us and on the heart of Christ we would attend to our thoughts and actions with more vigour. But alas that too is in the mind for us to choose to look with the eyes of the spirit on the faces on those we profess to love and see the damage we cause them.

May God forgive us.

How to pick a new leader

• What do we look for in a lead elder?
• What marks a lead elder from one with elder ability?
• How do we confirm that a lead elder is God's man for now?

When a church looks for leadership it is tempting to evaluate candidates on such matters as personality, likeability, presentation and other subjective criteria. We can attempt to compare a new leaders credentials or character against another’s and resolve to understand what they might bring to enhance or be different from previous works, or we might look to ensure that a new leader works well with existing leadership teams and projects. But it seems to me this is no real way to determine who should lead.

God First:

King David was set apart by God when he was a shepherd boy. He was discounted by his Father Jesse who left David tending the sheep and was only brought forward at Samuel's request. God then instructed Samuel to anoint David with oil. 1 Samuel 16 We may look at fine candidates and determine their qualities, but what we need to hear is what does God want?

One man:

We are prone to think that like any job interview, having more than one prospective candidate to choose from is helpful as a comparison can be made. But it would seem that so often God has ONE MAN earmarked for leading in a season. (Abraham, Moses, Joshua, Saul, David, Joseph, Samson, Jonah etc etc etc )

I think this may be why New Frontiers model of church leadership is Lead Elder with plural eldership as it recognises one man who instigates and is responsible for the direction. 

It is important then that when looking for a lead elder, we find the one man that God has anointed for the job. If God has anointed a person then what role does the congregation have?

Leaders need followers

It is entirely possible to have every good leadership idea and be a useless ‘leader’ because no one follows you!  A congregations job then is to determine 2 things.

1. Has God set this man apart for leading us?
2. Will I follow?

All other considerations are secondary, even if they are important.  Change can be difficult, sometimes painful, but if we can see (even if we don’t understand) God’s anointing and clear direction then whatever reservation or concern, whatever joy or excitement we need to examine our heart and determine if we will work with God or against him.  No leader can lead if people won’t follow. It is the responsibility of the leader to ensure that they are the man for the job and that they know the direction to head. It is the job of those that recognise God’s anointing to follow the one man anointed for the task.

New Frontiers

Following last years Brighton Conference where Mark Driscoll carefully encouraged us to recognise that Terry Virgo ought to find the new ‘husband’ for New Frontiers (forgive me, I don’t have his actual words to hand) much discussion and prayer has been focussed on how New Frontiers should move forward and under what leadership structure.  New Frontiers is not quite like a denomination in that it does not issue edicts or policy which must be abided by from those who call themselves part of the family of Churches together on a mission. Rather it is built on relationships grounded on core values that are shared by all.  Though Terry brings apostolic leadership and direction to the movement, it is expressed on the ground, in local congregations in many different ways as the spirit leads. Each New Frontiers congregation then has similar values but can have a very different feel and core application according to local need and the Spirit.

Since the small beginnings the movement has grown to have relationships on many shores, and though relationships have grown to accommodate the growth, so too has the stature of those released to support the work in those nations.  It is easy to see how God has set apart one man in several places to lead the work and it would appear that New Frontiers will release those to be apostolic in their own right (like lead elders) to continue the work in those nations (including the UK).

It will be interesting to see if a new leader will be anointed by God for the task of moving New Frontiers on, or whether a council of elders might replace the input from Terry.  Certainly ‘succession’ is not the right language, even though what comes next ‘succeeds’ the former.

But it’s clear that what comes next must honour what comes before. For we must remember it’s God that appoints and directs (however we feel about it) and it is for God to vindicate or validate himself, not our opinion on the success or comparison with another leader.

VISION

So then, what one thing connects a leader (or leaders) of a movement with the leader of a local congregation? VISION.

As the proverb says’  ¹⁸Without guidance from God law and order disappear,  but God blesses everyone who obeys his Law.

It is essential then that any person who wishes to lead God’s people in any location (national, local or trans local) desires a good thing, and should be a man recognised worthy of respect according to 1 Tim 3, but that only qualifies him to stand. What identifies him as the man is God’s anointing. And God’s anointing comes with communicable vision that encourages the heart of the hearer to say YES and AMEN.