I am thinking of giving Lara Bingle a call to see if she could do a bit of advertising for me. Thought I might have her standing on Annangrove Road, in a bikini of course, church sign in the background, and have her saying something along the lines of … let me think ..Oh, I don’t know .perhaps words to the effect of; “where the b…… h….. are you?”
Okay, so I failed subtle at high school; but allow me to waffle about the importance of something called gathering.
A couple of Sundays back I talked about the church being a PECULIAR people. This is peculiar as in distinct, different to other people. I mentioned four marks of these peculiar people. They are communal people, worshipping people, listening people and trusting people.
Community – Our communities today are disturbingly small. The nuclear family has become the be all and end all of community, it keeps the bad guys out; but of course it doesn’t. Jesus liked big and varied communities and he was forever rocking people’s boat by letting all sorts of strange people in. The blind, leprous, disreputable, sick, maimed and oppressed were all part of Jesus’ mob. The marvellous thing about these Jesus communities was that they all seemed to get along reasonably well. Judas got his knickers in a twist toward the end but apart from that and a bit of political lobbying they all seemed to do okay. Some got the huff because they didn’t like the music, the preacher, or the morning tea; but generally it kind of worked.
Worship – Hmm. I’ve been a bit hard on this in recent weeks so apologies to those I may have offended. As the early church began to bloom we see the power of worship at work. We read that people ‘devoted themselves to the apostles teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and prayers.’ These must have been exciting times! We also read that they were people of glad and generous hearts, praising God and having the goodwill of all the people.
I mentioned that it is very peculiar / distinctive for people to get out of bed on Sunday morning and say that gathering with the people of God for worship is the highest priority for this time. There is something very special when the people of God gather to worship in spirit and in truth. I love it! I loved it before they paid me to do it! I loved it so much that I didn’t want to miss a moment. I like to sit at the front so that if the leader, preacher or worship group is on fire I might get burnt!
Listening – In the OT we sometimes come across people asking a question along the lines of, ‘Is there a word from God here? or ‘Is there no prophet of the Lord here, through whom we may inquire of the Lord?” When the people of God gather we come together with listening ears to find what God might be saying to us this day. It might come out of the Bible reading, or the preaching; but it could just as easily come through a song, a prayer or a quiet conversation. It is of course easier to hear from God in a small group, or even ideally it can be best to hear from God in a committee of one. It is much more challenging to be a peculiar people and listen for God’s voice among the gathering of his people.
Trust – A community of worshipping, listening people is potentially the most dangerous group in the world. These people had a reputation years ago of being the kind of people who turned the world upside down. Nowadays we struggle to turn a page! Trust becomes a byword for world tossing Christ followers. They build trust, offer trust and become trust worthy. Building trust is like building anything else – it takes time. It is sometimes risky and I can just about guarantee that you will get hurt along the way; but the journey is worth it.
At the end of the book of Judges in the OT we read – ‘In those days there was no king in Israel; all the people did what was right in their own eyes.’ Peculiar people are not only communal, worshiping, listening and trusting; they are usually dreamers. They have a sense of what is right in their own eyes; but they are willing to risk their future beyond that, to see what many more sets of eyes might reveal. It could be a future way beyond our solo dreaming.
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Thursday, February 11, 2010
5% short
People will by now have picked up that I am something of a sports freak; particularly team sports. In my younger years I was a handy footballer (the real kind with a round ball), a reasonable basketball player and a fairly ordinary cricketer. In later years I enjoyed keeping fit through running and took part in many half marathons and even managed to run a marathon. Nowadays life is a little slower with the golf course providing a more sedate way of chasing a ball around.
In any and all of these things – no matter the standard of my play – one thing my team mates could be guaranteed is that I gave all I could. I have always worked on the theory that 95% commitment is 5% short. This even follows into my support of sporting teams. While I take an interest in national sport and being born in one country and living in another I maintain dual interests, my true love has always been at the local level. Most people know that I support the Collingwood Football Club; less people know that my true sporting devotion lies in a football team in England that I have not seen play in person for 52 years.
My love of this club is so great that each year I join with a group of expats in Sydney and Melbourne to pool some money and we buy four season tickets for seats in the main grandstand of the beautiful new stadium that we will likely not get to use!? We have asked the club to donate these seats each week for under privileged or disabled kids to use in our absence. ‘Making a Difference’ takes various forms for me.
I was reminded last night of some words of Jesus that inspired me years ago:
He put before them another parable:
Indeed those words did more than inspire me. They were the catalyst for a revival of faith among a small group of older, faith filled people who hungered to see God at work in their local community. These people were willing to pay the cost so that others might experience new hope in Christ.
One of our numbers was an elderly gentleman named Max who shared his dream with me one day. He dreamt of the day that his local church would not just be a building open for business on Sunday; but be a people of God that was taking care of business 24 hours a day seven days a week. Max died before his dream was realized and one day as we celebrated a great local gathering to open our new worship and community space, a member of the church said to me; “It’s a pity Max wasn’t here to see this.” I was able to use a quote that was not original, but fitted perfectly. I said to my friend, “He did see it, that’s why we are celebrating today.”
The first time I ever met Max was just a few days after I took up my appointment as a raw green pastor. I will always remember his words; “John, you need to know that I will probably disagree with most of the changes that you will no doubt want to make around here. You also need to know that you will have my fullest support no matter how much it rattles my cage.” Max was a 100% follower of Christ. 95% was always 5% short for him. He became the most significant mentor that I have ever had. I miss him to this day.
Years on I find myself leading another local church with just my little mustard seed of faith. Even with the seed buried and eventually we see a little shoot break through the soil a mustard tree is hardly the most impressive looking plant around. Yet if we plant in faith, people will come and find a place of shelter and safety. They may even feel secure enough to build a nest and stay a while.
We are in month two of a New Year. What are you doing with your mustard seed of faith?
In any and all of these things – no matter the standard of my play – one thing my team mates could be guaranteed is that I gave all I could. I have always worked on the theory that 95% commitment is 5% short. This even follows into my support of sporting teams. While I take an interest in national sport and being born in one country and living in another I maintain dual interests, my true love has always been at the local level. Most people know that I support the Collingwood Football Club; less people know that my true sporting devotion lies in a football team in England that I have not seen play in person for 52 years.
My love of this club is so great that each year I join with a group of expats in Sydney and Melbourne to pool some money and we buy four season tickets for seats in the main grandstand of the beautiful new stadium that we will likely not get to use!? We have asked the club to donate these seats each week for under privileged or disabled kids to use in our absence. ‘Making a Difference’ takes various forms for me.
I was reminded last night of some words of Jesus that inspired me years ago:
He put before them another parable:
"The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that someone took and sowed in his field; it is the smallest of all the seeds, but when it has grown it is the greatest of shrubs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches." Matthew 13:31,32
Indeed those words did more than inspire me. They were the catalyst for a revival of faith among a small group of older, faith filled people who hungered to see God at work in their local community. These people were willing to pay the cost so that others might experience new hope in Christ.
One of our numbers was an elderly gentleman named Max who shared his dream with me one day. He dreamt of the day that his local church would not just be a building open for business on Sunday; but be a people of God that was taking care of business 24 hours a day seven days a week. Max died before his dream was realized and one day as we celebrated a great local gathering to open our new worship and community space, a member of the church said to me; “It’s a pity Max wasn’t here to see this.” I was able to use a quote that was not original, but fitted perfectly. I said to my friend, “He did see it, that’s why we are celebrating today.”
The first time I ever met Max was just a few days after I took up my appointment as a raw green pastor. I will always remember his words; “John, you need to know that I will probably disagree with most of the changes that you will no doubt want to make around here. You also need to know that you will have my fullest support no matter how much it rattles my cage.” Max was a 100% follower of Christ. 95% was always 5% short for him. He became the most significant mentor that I have ever had. I miss him to this day.
Years on I find myself leading another local church with just my little mustard seed of faith. Even with the seed buried and eventually we see a little shoot break through the soil a mustard tree is hardly the most impressive looking plant around. Yet if we plant in faith, people will come and find a place of shelter and safety. They may even feel secure enough to build a nest and stay a while.
We are in month two of a New Year. What are you doing with your mustard seed of faith?
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Just who are we kidding here?
I may not be the brightest or the best but am I the only one who gets ticked off with some of the advertising we get these days? My latest mob to gripe about is the Woolworths organisation. Now we are regular Woolworth shoppers and I am wondering just why I am supposed to be impressed by the large signs through the store advertising ‘LOWER SHELF PRICES.’ In fact they brag that many prices are less now than they were twelve months ago.
So I am supposed to be thrilled with the knowledge that Mr Woolworths has been reaping a large profit over the past year and now – having ripped me off all this time – they are ‘generously’ reducing their prices. Well, excuse me for being completely under whelmed and just a little bit cynical.
Last week we drove back from Coffs Harbour and between Kempsey and Port Macquarie passed my least favourite piece of Christian advertising. The sign said: ‘Jesus is the answer.’ That is all that’s on the large billboard just four words. I’m a member of the Christian family but can’t help wanting to ask as I drive by, ‘What’s the blooming question?’
As Christians we still have this unnerving habit of pulling out our favourite Christian cliché, or even get all Biblical and use a favoured verse from the gospels to impress people into considering following Jesus. For those who think that this is an effective way of communicating matters of faith, please, please tell me where on earth you got this idea!
There are some wonderful verses in the Scriptures that show just how significantly Jesus touched the lives of people, and there is the number one clue. People didn’t write these verses down because of what they knew; but rather it was a matter of WHO they knew. It took the relationship to blossom long before the words were able to express it. We grab these words as if they have been anointed with magic dust and only have to be sprinkled liberally over our target and all will be well.
John wrote about the time of the Last Supper when he and Thomas were chatting with Jesus: "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also. And you know the way to the place where I am going." Thomas said to him, "Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?" Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Nowadays we can tend to trot out the underlined verses as proof of just who Jesus is and actually expect people to be impressed! I believe that verse with all of my heart but would be very reluctant to use it as a proof of Jesus’ divinity in a spiritual debate. It is a style of advertising not all that far removed from the best efforts of secular advertising agencies. The Woolworths campaign for me proves that those agencies are convinced we are gullible fools. It doesn’t mean the church has to endorse the theory.
I talk about journey a lot. Over three years Jesus picked up a large bunch of people and they hung out together through a variety of situations. It would have been easy to call it quits and obviously many did along the way. However many chose to stay and the longer they did and the more transparent they became and the more vulnerable they became, something powerful began to grow. In fact something unstoppable was birthed.
This is Christianity 101. It is a commitment to journey together. I believe that God can do anything including working through a big Billboard in the middle of a paddock on the Pacific Highway. For me Jesus is the answer but this is best discovered / experienced through a bunch of people on a journey together with Jesus. It takes time and is often frustrating and painful and I call to mind that our faith is symbolised by a cross, an instrument of pain and death.
Do I want to be part of a Woolworths style of the faith? Let me think about that for a second – Nah!
So I am supposed to be thrilled with the knowledge that Mr Woolworths has been reaping a large profit over the past year and now – having ripped me off all this time – they are ‘generously’ reducing their prices. Well, excuse me for being completely under whelmed and just a little bit cynical.
Last week we drove back from Coffs Harbour and between Kempsey and Port Macquarie passed my least favourite piece of Christian advertising. The sign said: ‘Jesus is the answer.’ That is all that’s on the large billboard just four words. I’m a member of the Christian family but can’t help wanting to ask as I drive by, ‘What’s the blooming question?’
As Christians we still have this unnerving habit of pulling out our favourite Christian cliché, or even get all Biblical and use a favoured verse from the gospels to impress people into considering following Jesus. For those who think that this is an effective way of communicating matters of faith, please, please tell me where on earth you got this idea!
There are some wonderful verses in the Scriptures that show just how significantly Jesus touched the lives of people, and there is the number one clue. People didn’t write these verses down because of what they knew; but rather it was a matter of WHO they knew. It took the relationship to blossom long before the words were able to express it. We grab these words as if they have been anointed with magic dust and only have to be sprinkled liberally over our target and all will be well.
John wrote about the time of the Last Supper when he and Thomas were chatting with Jesus: "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house there are many dwelling places. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, so that where I am, there you may be also. And you know the way to the place where I am going." Thomas said to him, "Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?" Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
Nowadays we can tend to trot out the underlined verses as proof of just who Jesus is and actually expect people to be impressed! I believe that verse with all of my heart but would be very reluctant to use it as a proof of Jesus’ divinity in a spiritual debate. It is a style of advertising not all that far removed from the best efforts of secular advertising agencies. The Woolworths campaign for me proves that those agencies are convinced we are gullible fools. It doesn’t mean the church has to endorse the theory.
I talk about journey a lot. Over three years Jesus picked up a large bunch of people and they hung out together through a variety of situations. It would have been easy to call it quits and obviously many did along the way. However many chose to stay and the longer they did and the more transparent they became and the more vulnerable they became, something powerful began to grow. In fact something unstoppable was birthed.
This is Christianity 101. It is a commitment to journey together. I believe that God can do anything including working through a big Billboard in the middle of a paddock on the Pacific Highway. For me Jesus is the answer but this is best discovered / experienced through a bunch of people on a journey together with Jesus. It takes time and is often frustrating and painful and I call to mind that our faith is symbolised by a cross, an instrument of pain and death.
Do I want to be part of a Woolworths style of the faith? Let me think about that for a second – Nah!
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