tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-39666267542606194402024-03-19T11:39:15.924+00:00ReflectionsIssues in the church, the world and life today......roysummersblogspothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16898720933893809538noreply@blogger.comBlogger536125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3966626754260619440.post-771805049350069292024-03-18T21:27:00.004+00:002024-03-19T07:56:26.694+00:00Why should Christian Leaders show Hospitality?<p><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p><p style="text-align: center;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-eUOqn0ZaQtH5C9Qsa4K9qkn0VYvlzPriWOzA_9O1ZeXFhYnc54ceVdWVwsY6mRhBJRgs4-nSXL8ja-hd5gebupQISFiGsNvKS_9Yotot1icqeF5_ax0Y0gD84OPT7FnVHP03cfgw9OK24ATAyUsE31BuQzEFAB9umOx33Os8vde4DmHLVmlNpY_FA111/s1024/batch_22694460.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1024" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-eUOqn0ZaQtH5C9Qsa4K9qkn0VYvlzPriWOzA_9O1ZeXFhYnc54ceVdWVwsY6mRhBJRgs4-nSXL8ja-hd5gebupQISFiGsNvKS_9Yotot1icqeF5_ax0Y0gD84OPT7FnVHP03cfgw9OK24ATAyUsE31BuQzEFAB9umOx33Os8vde4DmHLVmlNpY_FA111/s320/batch_22694460.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The simple answer is to authenticate, by life, the preaching of the local church... but first we stand back....</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b> The New Era of Internet Influence<br /></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">We must all recognise that the days of real church leaders teaching real congregations are now over. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Or, rather, the era in which the <i>predominant </i>teaching influence on a church was through the local pulpit.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">With the explosion of material available on the web there will be some saints who are <i>more</i> influenced by online teaching than inperson sermons.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The real possibility has now arisen that a church pastor/teacher/elders may not, by any stretch, be the main teacher(s) of the flock of God.<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: verdana;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">The Blessings of the Web</span><br /></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">I once heard someone jest that www stood for World Wide Waste of time, but it need not be. If we are discerning there are reliable teachers we can benefit from.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">And it seems incumbent upon church leaders these days to guide their members to reliable faithful websites. Here are just a few that are presently faithful (vigilance is needed because <i>all</i> human organizations - without any exceptions - are prone to doctrinal drift):<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">1 - <a href="https://www.gotquestions.org/" target="_blank">Got Questions</a> </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">2 - <a href="https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/" target="_blank">The Gospel Coalition</a> <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">3 - <a href="https://www.desiringgod.org/" target="_blank">Desiring God</a></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">4 - <a href="https://fiec.org.uk/" target="_blank">FIEC</a></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b><span style="color: #351c75;">The Dangers of the Web</span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">There are significant dangers surrounding web preaching we need to be aware of.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><b>Danger 1 - False Teachers.</b></i> The web is alive with false teachers and false teaching. Young believers particularly need to be on guard. Especially beware of those who boast of worldly qualifications / ecclesiological titles / subscriber numbers / etc - none of which are indicators of truth. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i>Danger 2 - IES </i></b>(Itching Ear Syndrome). Anyone with a doctrinal bee in their bonnet can find websites that will keep that bee alive, buzzin' and breeding. The algorithms of the web will take a listener into ever narrower territory until every talk they hear reinforces previous biases. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i>Danger 3 - Truth by Numbers. </i></b>"He must be right because he has a million subscribers." We can image many church conversations across the globe have taken the following form, if not the details, "But XYZ believes in dispensational mid-trib premillennialism and he has <i>more </i>subscribers than you!" We need a Christian doctrine of numbers which recognizes that numbers are no necessary test of truth. In fact numbers may reveal just the opposite, for false teachers are far more alluring than truth tellers. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Even among evangelicals, numbers are no test of truth or value because some evangelicals (both dead and alive) have wealthy backers who pay big money to boost subscriber numbers. A teacher may be popular only because he/his backers are wealthy, not because he is truthful or helpful. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i>Danger 4 - Truth divorced from Life</i></b>. High-profile evangelical fraudsters whose lives did not match their truth have arisen and deceived many. Which brings me to the topic of this blog...</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">...the only teachers we should truly trust are teachers known to us personally, because in Scripture truth and life are inseparably bound together.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b><span style="color: #351c75;">Doctrine and Life are One</span></b></span></p><span style="font-family: verdana;">We see this supremely through the Incarnation, where the Word (Truth) became flesh to dwell among us. </span><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">God did not send us only words, he sent us a Person. And the Person backed up his words with his Life.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">We see this in the basic command of Christ to his disciples, "Follow <i>me</i>." Not learn abstract doctrine, but follow a living Person. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">We see this in the Great Commission, where the command given to the church is to make disciples from the world - in exactly the same way that Jesus made his twelve disciples (that's what making disciples actually means), namely, to talk and walk with people. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">We see this in the radical insistence of imitator of Christ, Paul, that people should follow his life as well as / as much as his doctrine. (1 Corinthians 4:16,17, 11:1-2; Philippians 3:17, 4:9; 1 Thessalonians 1:6).<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Before we listen to preacher we should watch their life. They won't be perfect, of course, but they should be godly. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Here then is the internet problem: we have absolutely no idea what kind of <i>life</i> a web teacher is living. That's a pretty stark truth. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The greatest Christian internet guru may in point of life-fact be a fraudster. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">You don't know. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">At a distance you <i>cannot </i>possibly know. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Which leads us to Christian leaders and hospitality...</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b>Christian leaders need to Show (as well as Tell)</b></span><span style="color: #351c75; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Christian leaders must show hospitality - and for more than the reason behind this blog. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Greek word behind hospitality means "friend-of-strangers" and gives us one clue as to why leaders must show hospitality. Christian leaders are to go out of their way to love the outsider, the lonely, the lost, and in this way to model the Friend of Sinners.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">There's a second reason Christian leaders need to show hospitality. They need accountability for their <i>own lives</i>. Our homes reveal an awful lot about our lives and priorities. Having people into our homes regularly will help to curb the obsessions that can so easily take over our lives.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">A family home that has few people over for hospitality can easily turn into a shrine to one idol or the other. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Hospitality gives<i> life-style accountability</i> to us all - and especially to Christian leaders.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">But the third and main reason leaders must show hospitality - and the purpose of this blog - is to show by their lives the veracity and example of what is preached.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">What does the Bible teach about marriage? The local church can preach from Ephesians 5, but visit a married leader's home and see how the teaching works itself out. (It won't be a perfect marriage but it should be loving and ordered.)<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">What does the Bible teach about parenting? A sermon from Ephesians 6 is one way to learn. But visit the home of a Christian leader with kids and see the preaching in practice. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">What does a godly life style look like? Visit the home of a Christian leader.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Life and Word go together. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">If a Christian leader does not welcome the flock into his home, we must ask why not? What has he got to hide?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">In both 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1 hospitality is a requirement for a church elder. For all the reasons above.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">When we are looking for the next generation of elders we're not looking for men with lots of knowledge, but men who live godly lives - and their churches know it because they've seen those lives at close quarters. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">And when we are seeking out teachers to instruct us we need to know about their lives as much as their words. <br /></span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i><span style="font-family: verdana;">AI Image:<br /></span></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i><span style="font-family: verdana;">"Draw an informal church pastor eating a meal with friends in his home"</span></i></span></div>roysummersblogspothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16898720933893809538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3966626754260619440.post-75600114877445348622024-02-29T14:21:00.014+00:002024-03-14T19:06:31.756+00:00Six signs your church is getting too big<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0Lfq7fMETCdvdhI3aPssgU-FhFYO5wfekPnKUJ4qntRNVn7MNNjktAG7dy_NqKE-wzCc-t1Fd-wQ9W2aK8I6L-2UMxeIWMddOW4aXVZUhxth_ZtKCqKnqgXi0MxR21GtbLXTPmXShyCamLmtZ1JGDV1eoBLX70va5Br-ufCyI8m_FYxG7XLtpRkmNkkOb/s1024/DALL%C2%B7E%202024-02-28%2022.20.58%20-%20draw%20a%20small%20church%20and%20a%20large%20church%20together%20digital%20art.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0Lfq7fMETCdvdhI3aPssgU-FhFYO5wfekPnKUJ4qntRNVn7MNNjktAG7dy_NqKE-wzCc-t1Fd-wQ9W2aK8I6L-2UMxeIWMddOW4aXVZUhxth_ZtKCqKnqgXi0MxR21GtbLXTPmXShyCamLmtZ1JGDV1eoBLX70va5Br-ufCyI8m_FYxG7XLtpRkmNkkOb/s320/DALL%C2%B7E%202024-02-28%2022.20.58%20-%20draw%20a%20small%20church%20and%20a%20large%20church%20together%20digital%20art.png" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: medium;">When is big, too big?</span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Suppose a Bible church is growing - what are the signs that it is becoming too large and it's time to divide and multiply?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Of course, to some, the very notion that a church can be "too big" is heresy - aren't numbers a true sign of "success"? Certainly from a worldly point of view "too big" is not a valid category of thought.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">But since the kingdom of God works differently from the kingdom of the world, and since all real spiritual growth in God's kingdom is through meaningful small-group discipleship (like Jesus did it), Schumacher got it right, small, really is beautiful. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Here are six signs it may be time to downsize by planting...<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: medium;">1. When people attend because of popularity </span></span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The moment folks begin attending because they've heard about the church, because the church is becoming "popular" (whatever that means, Biblically), because hits and subscribe numbers are on the up, it's a sign the church is growing in the <i>wrong</i> way - a <i>worldly</i> way.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">What value is it if the saints in one city or district are simply recycled, marching from the latest faddy church in town to the next? </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">And remember, after marching up your hill, it won't be long before they march back down. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The kingdom is not being <i>extended </i>if the cards are merely being <i>reshuffled.</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The growing church might find itself ascending some illusionary ecclesiastical ladder, but what does it profit a church if it gains the whole world but loses its soul? <br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: medium;">2. When it has become a preaching centre</span></span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">A preaching centre - where all the spokes are connected only to preacher hub - is an institution unknown in the Scriptures. All the justifying myths attached to this common idea, such as "but there is no good preaching for miles around," "why not steward a superior preaching gift," "We can achieve more as a larger congregation" etc, are very easily debunked. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The truth is that the exaltation of one gift and one man above all the other myriad useful, needful, wonderful, Spirit-given gifts of the New Testament is unbiblical - and dangerous. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Imagine a body made up of just one gigantic eye, one humungous foot, one colossal ear, or one huge hand. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">In one famous London church of the last century it was boasted that members of the congregation could see the exalted preacher in the vestry afterwards to have their spiritual problems solved. A spiritual clinic if you like. I trust in the cold light of New Testament Day the notion that one saint (whoever he be) could or should solve the problems of a 1000 other saints is seen as outrageous. "Carry one another's burdens" is the call of Christ, not go to some Christian guru and have him carry them for you.<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>3. When you are approaching the "80% rule"</b></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">There is a well-known socio-common-sense rule that says that when 80% of the seats in any given auditorium are filled that church ceases to grow. New people want to hide for their first few weeks, but if they are marched to the front row or squeezed into the only available nooky corner on day 1, they may not return.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">We get it. Some people hate crowds. Do you? I do.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">As a church approaches 80% capacity it's probably too big. <br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: medium;">4. When living organism is replaced by human organization</span></span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Most churches look back on smaller earlier days as their "glory days" - and for good reason. With smaller numbers, if they wanted to do something different or exciting they could turn on a pin - and merely by word of mouth.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">I heard of a church that decided - on the spur of the moment - to head out to the hills one easter morning for their worship service, followed by a McDonald's McMuffin, I believe. An impossible joy with a church bigger than 20/30/40.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">When small new churches need more workers in one area of church life, they just chat to / phone / email their brothers and sisters. Easy peasey. Nothing formal, nothing "organised." <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">This relational ethos sits well with the local church described as a family of brothers and sisters.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">But once a church requires corporate organizational machinery run by someone with a Masters in business management, you have lost something very precious and human and divine. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">You've moved from organic to organizational. <br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: medium;">5. When no-one can possibly know everyone</span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">When it is actually impossible for everyone to have at least some small passing acquaintance with everyone else, again, you have lost something of that precious gift of fellowship. When folk ask people who have been around for a decade, "is this your first Sunday here?" </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">When everyone is lost in a sea of faces. </span></p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">When you, the individual saint don't matter any more. </span></p><p style="margin-left: 80px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">When you are a number, a mere statistic. <br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: medium;">6. When the number of people not attending small groups is increasing</span></span></b></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><span>As a church grows numerically, it is all too easy for the church to attract a non-participatory fringe. Believers who have no connection to other saints in the body except on a Sunday morning. The "core" has stopped growing even though the periphery expands. <br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><span>In New Testament body-speak this is equivalent to a collection of disconected eyes rattling around in a box. Lots of legs and feet trying to walk or move on their own. Ears hearing but passing the message to no-one else. <br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><span>Without radical accountability to other believers through discipleship-size groups, it is impossible to grow in grace. (No matter what the quality of the preaching; for <a href="http://roysummersblog.blogspot.com/2024/02/why-preaching-is-not-enough.html" target="_blank">preaching alone</a> <i>never</i> made a saint.)<br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">The moment church numbers swell but the home group population remains static, the church has become too big. </span><b><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> <br /></span></span></b></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: medium;">What next?</span></span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">When a church grows to this kind of size, a number of responses are possible.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The first is to keep growing in numerical size...<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Or else you could take radical steps to make the church smaller to grow <i>even more</i>! To plant a church in a needy area of town or district, nurture it to teenage and then let it go. Then plant another church and let that one go too. Then another, ad infinitum... <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">(The letting go is just as important as the planting, BTW, for kids who are manipulated into hanging onto mom's apron strings when they should be standing on their own two feet normally rebel).</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">If a church takes this real or true-growth strategy, reaching out to new communities all the time and staying small, they won't be famous in this world. But who cares about transient illusionary here-today gone-tomorrow earthly glory if one day we hear the Lord's well done? <br /></span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i><span style="font-family: verdana;"> AI Art</span></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i><span style="font-family: verdana;">Dalle draw a small church and a large church together digital art</span></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i><span style="font-family: verdana;">(Dalle, ignorant ecclesiologically, thinks that a church is a building!)</span></i></span><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /></span></i></span></div>roysummersblogspothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16898720933893809538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3966626754260619440.post-19775403016926146802024-02-21T13:58:00.001+00:002024-02-21T15:20:44.478+00:00How old is the Earth? <p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUjkHOL36liFK2hCxZ8JX5z5H2SeoNgNR-MuEMyqaIAF46YbM1dCXjeZlTLt26d4i3SW7hNfWI7J4DooJh_XZACqDhO57JZB_klv1DBjtr-dcVC9WUwlhyfOW2d3lyx_zb_A_KyQJXjEK-ciSitG5HNdnOZH3ed4JlL4PaDdLyhFInehCZ7VhPLmpUBpiy/s1024/DALL%C2%B7E%202024-02-20%2019.26.20%20-%20old%20earth%20_%20young%20earth.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUjkHOL36liFK2hCxZ8JX5z5H2SeoNgNR-MuEMyqaIAF46YbM1dCXjeZlTLt26d4i3SW7hNfWI7J4DooJh_XZACqDhO57JZB_klv1DBjtr-dcVC9WUwlhyfOW2d3lyx_zb_A_KyQJXjEK-ciSitG5HNdnOZH3ed4JlL4PaDdLyhFInehCZ7VhPLmpUBpiy/s320/DALL%C2%B7E%202024-02-20%2019.26.20%20-%20old%20earth%20_%20young%20earth.png" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-size: medium;"> A Good Question</span></span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">A question as deceptively simple as "how old is the earth?" turns out to contain some deep subquestions. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Like, Do we just buy into the latest scientific theories?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">And, Is the Bible intended to be a scientific text book with answers to such questions?</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-size: medium;">The Two Books</span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">It's helpful in this enquiry, to think about the Book of Scripture and the Book of Creation. The Book of Scripture, the 66 books of the Bible were given so that we might come to know God personally; the God we already know exists.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Book of Creation is designed to reveal the God of Creation to us and to glorify his mighty name. "O Lord, my Lord, how majestic is your name through all the earth." "The heavens declare the glory of God." </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Everything we see around us from our amazing bodies and blow away minds to the the furthest biggest baddest quasars scream, "God exists - and isn't he amazing!" </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">That's a major purpose behind the Book of Creation.<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: verdana;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">The Two Books must Agree </span></b></span><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: verdana;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Since the two books come from the same Author, they must agree with one another. That is the starting point for gaining an answer to our question, how old is the earth? The Book of Creation cannot disagree with the Book of Creation.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">If they disagree, the disagreement must be <i>apparent</i>, not real.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Either we have misunderstood what the Book of Scripture is teaching, or we have misunderstood what the Book of Creation is teaching - or we've misunderstood both.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Add to these starting points, the fact - surely this is true - that Scripture has not been given to yield a precise chronology or science of the history of the earth. If the Scriptures did contain "final science" no-one would be able to understand it, not today nor tomorrow, not ever. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">(I'm with the long-dead cardinal who said something like the Scriptures tell us how to go to heaven, not how the heavens go.)</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The Big Theories of Science</span></span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">On the science side, we would be fools to buy into all of its grand theories. The smaller theorems will probably stand the test of time or be proven to be approximations of more accurate theorems, but the big theories - such as the Big Bang with its associated time lines - are likely to be provisional.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">(For interests sake, some pretty weird bolt-ons have had to be introduced into the Big Bang theory to make it work. For example the invention of a period of rapid inflation near the start of the big bang, and the invention of dark matter to explain the acceleration of the universe. These bolt-ons raise the suspicion that the BB theory is not going to turn out to be true). </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">We would be fools to take the theory of evolution or the Big Bang theory as fact.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">(The sceptic should bear in mind that in the last century two enormous theories suffered paradigm shifts - the steady state theory which said the universe was eternal gave way to the Big Bang theory; and the "cooling shrinking earth" theory gave way to plate tectonics). </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">There is not a single reason in the world to suppose that the big theories of today's science will not be the subject material of comedians in the not too distant future. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Where does that leave us?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">On the surface it would appear that the Book of Scripture teaches the earth is say 10,000 years old while the book of Creation seems to teach that the earth is far older than that. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Remember the options? <br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: #0b5394;"><span><i>(1) Perhaps the Bible does not really teach that the earth is 10000 years old</i></span></span></b></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">There seems little doubt that Adam and Eve - real human beings - only trace back to thousands of years in time. But are the six days of Genesis one, 24 hour days? Can we be sure, especially when they have a poetic (or at least 'elevated prose') form about them?</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><b><span><i>(2) Perhaps the Book of Creation does not teach millions and billions</i></span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Scientists may have rock dating all wrong. Although many "clocks" in nature (presumably put there by God) seem to point to an age much greater than 10,000 years, these dating systems could be completely wrong. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: #0b5394;"><span><i>(3) Perhaps we've got both wrong</i></span></span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The other possibility is that both interpretations are wrong - and no-one knows how old the earth is.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">We should be A-OK with such a possibility. It would show how tiny our minds are, and it would force us to ask far more important questions of Genesis 1,2 and 3. <br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>The most important teachings</b></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The most important teachings of these chapters have nothing to do with how old the universe or the earth is. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Instead they tell us about the nature of mankind. We've been made male and female, we've been created heterosexual. There is an ordered relationship between the sexes. We have been made in the image of God and we're much more important than the animals. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">We've been made to know, love and obey God. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">But now we are fallen, ashamed, foolish and broken, hiding from God.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Yet finding that God in his immeasurable love for us keeps searching and seeking us out. This God rather than abandoning us to the fate we deserve reaches out and promises Adam and Eve a Saviour who will destroy the Tempter and restore us to God and bring us, in time, to a better Eden.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">This Good News is infinitely more important than any arguments about how old the earth is.<br /></span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><span style="font-size: xx-small;">AI Image:<br />Draw old earth and new earth</span><br /></i></span></div>roysummersblogspothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16898720933893809538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3966626754260619440.post-79695178576062704142024-02-12T10:44:00.005+00:002024-02-20T19:21:54.397+00:00Why Preaching is Not Enough<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6HbstU-TF6SmiPm8G3KmOnuiGjUXwHVtb8DJqSiFOFvdeU1haeh-BTompb_T2_J3e_orezT9IG2prBUEBydrDRWslK3XwYeeDZ5jpqxks9yv_kk46Lk0DAAUj1VJHxWS1_NrEJREZNi90YgCmpxSEExAJunuBA5OPTucPghpWAGVjfi5kbluh9LbIPFGY/s640/openart-image_67uBVXJn_1706779603576_raw.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="640" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6HbstU-TF6SmiPm8G3KmOnuiGjUXwHVtb8DJqSiFOFvdeU1haeh-BTompb_T2_J3e_orezT9IG2prBUEBydrDRWslK3XwYeeDZ5jpqxks9yv_kk46Lk0DAAUj1VJHxWS1_NrEJREZNi90YgCmpxSEExAJunuBA5OPTucPghpWAGVjfi5kbluh9LbIPFGY/s320/openart-image_67uBVXJn_1706779603576_raw.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #e69138; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><span><b>The Importance of Preaching</b></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">There are few activities in the life of a healthy New Testament church more important than preaching. It is one of the defining characteristics of an <i>evangelical</i> church. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">But most of us in our tribe know that.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">It's an assumption, an unwritten rule, the mood music in all our churches.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Through the Word we are converted, corrected, faithed, encouraged, comforted and warned.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">But is preaching enough to grow in grace? Is preaching enough to disciple young believers?<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">That's the question. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Put it another way:<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Did Jesus ask his disciples to show up once a Sabbath to hear a sermon? </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Did the apostle Paul put on a Jerusalem Gospel lecture tour? </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">No and no. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">What is needed to grow in Christ - in addition to good preaching - is close fellowship with other believers. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Here are some of the major reasons:<br /></span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b><span style="color: #ffa400;">Because the incarnation reveals that<br /></span></b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b><span style="color: #ffa400;">God also speaks powerfully through</span></b></span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b><span style="color: #ffa400;"> human beings<br /></span></b></span></div><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The first reason we need more than the preached word lies in the doctrine of the incarnation, the coming of God into this world in the Person of Jesus Christ.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Word was made flesh. The Verbal or Written or Propositional Word or words of God became and came through a real human being who dwelt among us.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">If only pure Word or words were needed, God could have remained in heaven and spoken pure words, perhaps received by earthly prophets, written down in books and then distributed across the world.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">But instead, God enshrined his Word or words in a living breathing human being, the Son of Man. </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">We have seen his glory, we were eye-witnesses of his majesty, wrote the apostles. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">And <i>through</i> that living human being he imparted his words. In the last days God has spoken through his Son. Not merely as sound waves from the lips of the Son of God, but through a powerful, gracious and truthful<i> life.</i> </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Jesus speaks not only with words, he speaks <i>through human actions</i>. This is the point.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">New Testament communication is much more than verbal propositional sentences, it also comes, incarnationally, through the actions of the speaking person.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Life as well as lip.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">What have the scholars discovered? In communication, we're told,</span><span class="ILfuVd NA6bn" lang="en" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="hgKElc"> 55% is transferred nonverbally, 38% vocally, and a mere 7% by words alone. These clever chappies may have their percentages all wrong, but I doubt if they are perfectly wrong.</span></span></p><p><span class="ILfuVd NA6bn" lang="en" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="hgKElc">The incarnation teaches us that when it comes to communicating New Testament style, with New Testament Truth, words are not enough. Embodied life is also required.<br /></span></span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="ILfuVd NA6bn" lang="en" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="hgKElc"><b><span style="color: #ffa400;"><span style="font-size: medium;">Because the Great Commission is all about</span></span></b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="ILfuVd NA6bn" lang="en" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="hgKElc"><b><span style="color: #ffa400;"><span style="font-size: medium;">one disciple making another disciples through human contact<br /></span></span></b></span></span></div><p><span class="ILfuVd NA6bn" lang="en" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="hgKElc">How did Jesus disciple his Twelve?<br /></span></span></p><p><span class="ILfuVd NA6bn" lang="en" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="hgKElc">Did he command them to show up at a lecture every Sabbath?</span></span></p><p><span class="ILfuVd NA6bn" lang="en" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="hgKElc">Watch an additional YouTube video during the week?</span></span></p><p><span class="ILfuVd NA6bn" lang="en" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="hgKElc">No, the way Jesus taught was by life as well as by lip. The disciples not only heard Jesus speak truth, they saw truth demonstrated through his life. Love your enemies, they heard from him, and loving his enemies they saw in him. Have faith he taught them, and having faith they saw. <br /></span></span></p><p><span class="ILfuVd NA6bn" lang="en" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="hgKElc">When Jesus gave his great commission he commanded the Twelve to make more future disciples by teaching them <i>to obey</i>. Not merely teaching them - a cerebral activity - but teaching them <i>to obey.</i> Helping them to work out what it means to live out the new life.</span></span></p><p><span class="ILfuVd NA6bn" lang="en" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="hgKElc">And how did Jesus do this practical part? By showing them <i>through his life</i> what he taught them with his words.<br /></span></span></p><p><span class="ILfuVd NA6bn" lang="en" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="hgKElc">Show and Tell. </span></span></p><p><span class="ILfuVd NA6bn" lang="en" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="hgKElc">Show as well as Tell. <br /></span></span></p><p><span class="ILfuVd NA6bn" lang="en" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="hgKElc">If we had asked Jesus, "What do you mean by the command 'make disciples'?" He would have surely said, "Do for the world what I have just done for my disciples over the last 3 years."</span></span></p><p><span class="ILfuVd NA6bn" lang="en" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="hgKElc">Spend lots and lots of time with them. Show them by life as much as by lip God's new and gracious ways.</span></span></p><p><span class="ILfuVd NA6bn" lang="en" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="hgKElc">So</span></span><span class="ILfuVd NA6bn" lang="en" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="hgKElc"> well were they discipled by this lip-life combination that everyone noted that they had <i>been with</i> Jesus. Not that they had been taught by Jesus (alone) but <i>been</i> with him.</span></span></p><p><span class="ILfuVd NA6bn" lang="en" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="hgKElc">Paul followed his Master and spent lots of time with converts, urging them to "Follow my [life] example, as I follow Christ." </span></span></p><p><span class="ILfuVd NA6bn" lang="en" style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><span class="hgKElc"><span>(Kierkegaard, out of interest, someone I would not normally quote, suggested that Show was actually more important than Tell, when he said: "Order the parsons to be silent on Sunday. What is there left? The essential thing remains: their lives, the daily life with which the parson preaches. Would you, then, get the impression by watching them, that it was Christiantiy they were preaching?")</span></span></span></p><p><span class="ILfuVd NA6bn" lang="en" style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><span class="hgKElc"><span>We may disagree with some of this quote, but SK is surely not far off the mark. <br /></span></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 125%; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><span lang="en-GB" style="color: black; line-height: 125%;">The great commission is not merely to Tell, but to Show and Tell.</span><span lang="en-GB" style="color: black; line-height: 125%;"><i><br /></i></span></span></p>
<div style="text-align: center;"><span class="ILfuVd NA6bn" lang="en" style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><span class="hgKElc"><b><span style="color: #ffa400;"><span>Because Christians only grow when they are connected </span></span></b></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="ILfuVd NA6bn" lang="en" style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><span class="hgKElc"><b><span style="color: #ffa400;"><span> to the Head and to His body as well <br /></span></span></b></span></span></div><p><span class="ILfuVd NA6bn" lang="en" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="hgKElc">The third reason we need living words as well as written ones is the doctrine of the church as a body, where one believer is a hand, another a foot, another an eye, and so on. </span></span></p><p><span class="ILfuVd NA6bn" lang="en" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="hgKElc">And where we each grow, the Head supplying the grace and power, as we are in community and connection with our brothers and sisters in Christ. </span></span></p><p><span class="ILfuVd NA6bn" lang="en" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="hgKElc">We grow as we are <i>with</i> one another. </span></span></p><p><span class="ILfuVd NA6bn" lang="en" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="hgKElc">Not by Word alone, but by brotherly and sisterly incarnational (small "i") word. </span></span></p><p><span class="ILfuVd NA6bn" lang="en" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="hgKElc">If
we neglect the influence of life upon life and try to build the saints
by word alone (preaching alone), we're likely to end up with lopsided saints. Full of
knowledge but lacking in the graces that are forged in saint-to-saint
iron sharpening iron fellowship. </span></span></p><p><span class="ILfuVd NA6bn" lang="en" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="hgKElc">If we try you build up the saints with knowledge only, we're likely to end up with religious people whose domestic lives are largely untouched by the transforming power of the Gospel. <br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span class="ILfuVd NA6bn" lang="en" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="hgKElc"><b><span style="color: #ffa400;"><span style="font-size: medium;">So where has "Preaching is enough" come from?<br /></span></span></b></span></span></p><p><span class="ILfuVd NA6bn" lang="en" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="hgKElc">But we should ask, Where does this preaching-only idea come from since it is nowhere found in Holy Writ?</span></span></p><p><span class="ILfuVd NA6bn" lang="en" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="hgKElc">One source is human pride. People, even Christian people, love to boast about doctrine.<br /></span></span></p><p><span class="ILfuVd NA6bn" lang="en" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="hgKElc">Doctrine sells, Christ-likeness is a marketing flop. So often evangelical churches mimic the university model where knowledge is number 1. <br /></span></span></p><p><span class="ILfuVd NA6bn" lang="en" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="hgKElc">A second source of this imbalance between Show and Tell is spiritual laziness. It's easier to listen to deep and wide doctrine than to love the unlovable, or to deny ourselves, take up our crosses or put sin to death. </span></span></p><p><span class="ILfuVd NA6bn" lang="en" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="hgKElc">Anyone can hide unChristlikeness under the cloak of sound preaching. </span></span></p><p><span class="ILfuVd NA6bn" lang="en" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="hgKElc">A third source of preaching-only inbalance is the numbers game. </span></span></p><p><span class="ILfuVd NA6bn" lang="en" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="hgKElc">The other day, I came across a Christian bloke on LinkedIn who styles himself "Trainer of 10+ million leaders."<br /></span></span></p><p><span class="ILfuVd NA6bn" lang="en" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="hgKElc">Jesus managed to train 12, but this guy has managed to train 10+ million leaders.</span></span></p><p><span class="ILfuVd NA6bn" lang="en" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="hgKElc">You can only delude yourself into thinking you have trained 10+ million people if you think that training involves words alone - and virtual words at that. <br /></span></span></p><p><span class="ILfuVd NA6bn" lang="en" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="hgKElc">As long as we chase the numbers game we'll fall prey to the preaching-only myth. </span></span></p><p><span class="ILfuVd NA6bn" lang="en" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="hgKElc">But the moment we realise that influencing others in the Jesus Way means spending a lot of sacrificial time with young believers, we'll settle for tiny little numbers, anonymity in this world, and heaven's well-done reward.</span></span></p><p><span class="ILfuVd NA6bn" lang="en" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="hgKElc">The need of the present hour is not more or better preaching but a revolution in our understanding of biblical discipleship. <br /></span></span></p><p><span class="ILfuVd NA6bn" lang="en" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="hgKElc">If every believer made it their life aim to disciple say just two people, spending much time with them, teaching them to obey everything Jesus has commanded, the world would be won in not that many generations. <br /></span></span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i><span class="ILfuVd NA6bn" lang="en" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="hgKElc">AI Image:</span></span></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;"><i><span class="ILfuVd NA6bn" lang="en" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="hgKElc">Draw a picture of a bloke surrounded by his friends.<br /></span></span></i></span></div>roysummersblogspothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16898720933893809538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3966626754260619440.post-74104722093898039852024-01-16T21:37:00.005+00:002024-03-08T09:16:27.684+00:00Mega Questions for megachurches<p><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9pTTOW5YB8drQMrQkPKdBe9g4ueh74Xc91uvTyePZaVbjUDl-0I25PSg1cK8sPFrlMa3qzkG8-wRSkVdhf_Uq6BFDlRwgSCAt2muDZikHvOyoBEmzULBWaqd0Totl4mo5-UxVI6xX7k7ZazoKYj3P4v6o_WnRSbLGNeEip0VtTdynxaJ1KMuVBTBIU7tl/s1344/meg%204.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="768" data-original-width="1344" height="229" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9pTTOW5YB8drQMrQkPKdBe9g4ueh74Xc91uvTyePZaVbjUDl-0I25PSg1cK8sPFrlMa3qzkG8-wRSkVdhf_Uq6BFDlRwgSCAt2muDZikHvOyoBEmzULBWaqd0Totl4mo5-UxVI6xX7k7ZazoKYj3P4v6o_WnRSbLGNeEip0VtTdynxaJ1KMuVBTBIU7tl/w400-h229/meg%204.jpg" width="400" /></a></span></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b><span style="color: #cc0000;">If the apostle Paul returned to earth....</span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">If the apostle Paul, the New Testament's great church-planter and ecclesiological expert, was to return to earth I wonder what he would make of the ever-increasingly popular megachurches, and just as importantly, of the leaders of these megachurches.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">I ask this question in the wake of the latest megachurch scandal. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Here it is from the BBC website (notice how the BBC delights to include the word "evangelical" in the description of this megachurch, so as to tarnish all who might cherish that label): <br /></span></p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span class="ssrcss-hmf8ql-BoldText e5tfeyi3" style="font-family: verdana;"><i>"TB Joshua, a charismatic
Nigerian leader of one of the world's biggest evangelical churches,
secretly committed sexual crimes on a mass scale, a BBC investigation
spanning three continents has found. Testimony from dozens of survivors
suggests Joshua was abusing and raping young women from around the world
several times a week for nearly 20 years."</i></span><b class="ssrcss-hmf8ql-BoldText e5tfeyi3" style="font-family: verdana;"><i><br /></i></b></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Mr Joshua is only the latest in a long string of fallen megapastors.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Is it not time to ask some uncomfortable questions? <br /></span></p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Do megachurches have any legitimacy in the light of Scripture? </span></p><p style="margin-left: 80px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Can they really be called churches? </span></p><p style="margin-left: 80px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Is there such an office as megachurch pastor? <br /></span></p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Is it time to call an end to megachurches?</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Some people define the megachurch as a congregation of over 2000 people, but a better description might be a congregation whose numbers have become such that it is impossible for anyone to know everyone anymore. <br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b><span style="color: #cc0000;">Metropoltian Tabernacle</span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">When we begin to explore the history of the megachurch, we stumble upon an uncomfortable beginning, the 6000 seat <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metropolitan_Tabernacle" target="_blank">Metropolitan Tabernacle</a> led by the good and godly Charles Spurgeon. We're talking 1860ish. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">This auspicous origin could easily deflect us from "test all things" analysis.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">"If Spurgeon did it, it must be OK."</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Which is where we must always remember: Charles Spurgeon was a good man, but he was not an apostle. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">And we must remember that the Metropolitan Tabernacle was no modern mega commuter church:</span></p><p>
</p><p style="margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt; text-align: left; unicode-bidi: embed; vertical-align: baseline;"><i><span style="font-family: verdana;">“The Metropolitan Tabernacle was
not, as some have assumed, merely a highly popular preaching centre. It was not
a church whose people largely came in from some miles around, and after
listening to a marvellous exercise in Christian oratory, returned to their
homes and seldom thought about the place again until the following Sunday
morning…. The Tabernacle was a great working church. The vast majority of the
members lived in the heavily populated area of London… many so near that they
could walk… Apart from the sick and infirm, there were very few who came only
on Sundays…” (p.153, Spurgeon, Arnold </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">Dalimore</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">)</span></i></p>
<p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Let's consider the megachurch question with a few other queries:</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b><span style="color: #cc0000;">Do mega-pastors exist?</span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The most fundamental question is whether the New Testament ever hints at the notion of a mega-pastor.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Does any pastor have such superior skills and gifts so that he can actually pastor thousands? </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">And that begs the further question - what is the actual work of a pastor? <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">In the New Testament pastoral ministry is <i>always</i> a person-to-person thing (that is one reason the incarnate human Son of God pastored only 12 in his earthly ministry).</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">It is not feasible for a pastor to care for thousands since he has only 168 hours per week (unless he lives on Venus, in which case he would have some 40,000 hours per week. Perhaps megapastors are from Venus...). <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">A megachurch pastor must therefore, by the very nature of the numbers, stand at a very considerable distance from the actual flock. That's not what New Testament pastors are called to do. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">And then he must appoint some kind of pyramid structure made up of real pastors to do the actual work of pastoring. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">(Of course, a large band of elders together could do the pastoring of a large congregation, but then there would be no need to define the leader of that church as the "pastor," since he isn't the single pastor and that congregation would not possess a megapastor. But there is no megachurch known to me that is not in very large measure defined by their megapastor - often with dolly-bird pastoress in tow).<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">To build a megachurch, therefore, a pyramid structure must be introduced into church life that is unknown in the New Testament.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">A pyramid structure that is exceedingly dangeorus.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">A pyramid stucture that Satan gainfully uses to tempt the megachurch pastor to sin in one or more of the classical megapastor sins, power, lust or greed. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Let's be straight: the only way one man can 'pastor' a megachurch is by introducing into that church an alien - and dangerous - pyramid system of church government.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">In contrast with these distant megapastors, the apostle Paul spends time with the people in the churches he plants, he knows them and their problems intimately, then he always appoints elders to lead the new churches he plants. Paul knows (Apostle though he is) that one man cannot actually pastor lots of people.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">And so we find, that apart from the glorious risen Head of the Chruch, there is no office in the New Testament to correspond to the megachurch pastor.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">But there is more against the megapastor. Without <i>any </i>known exception to myself, megachurch pastors live the "life of Riley." They live like worldly royalty, often with more than one home and vast income streams. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Do the great of the New Testament live such lives? </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Merely asking the question evokes the plain answer. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The greatest church leader in the history of the church was the apostle Paul. And everywhere he went and everywhere he ministered, life was painfully and triumphantly difficult. Read his descriptions of ministry in 2 Corinthains 11. He was not loved by thousands, but hounded and hated wherever he went.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The mark of greatness in Christian ministry is never the number of YouTube or X subscribers or followers one has, never the number of people in your megachurch, but always the amount of sacrifices, difficulties and enemies one accumulates for the cause of Christ. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The "cross" element of ministry marks out the genuine servant from the fraud. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">So by the lifestyle of these megapastors we can safely say, they do not reflect the godly heroes we are called to imitate.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">But, someone asks, what if a man has exceptional preaching or administrative skills (the only two non-corrupt ways of building a megachurch)? If the reason people are attending a church - any church - are the giftings of one person (and that Person is not Christ), you have <i>ipso facto</i>, a rather big problem. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Because the church, according to the NT has only one Head and He is risen and ascended to heaven. The visible members of the local church - including all pastors - are merely an eye, an ear, a foot, a hand, all each needing the other. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">None of us, in the end, are all that important. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Let these so-called exceptional men do what the apostle Paul did, travel around the world and plant churches. Let them prove their true godly credentials when they get beaten up, hounded, slandered and hated in the process. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">In this way they will demonstrate conclusively, their true Christ-like, Paul-like greatness. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The only way we can possibly justify the phenomenon of the megachurch pastor is if we have already imbibed, hook, line and sinker, the concept of the Christian Celebrity and we worship at the shrine of B.I.G. <br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b><span style="color: red;">Do mega-congregations exist?</span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Next up for New Testament scrutiny must be the mega-congregation. The idea that a single congregation of believers should be made up of thousands of people, who therefore cannot possibly know one another. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">All the churches of the New Testament were relatively small, because they met in homes. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The only megachurch of the New Testament was the orginal Pentecost Church in Jerusalem. It was big (3000 then 5000) to demontrate the dramatic Holy Spirit origin of the church. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">It grew to these vast numbers from a humble 120. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Only God can do that. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">And it is highly significant that God allowed that megachurch to be scattered not long after Pentecost. Why? So that the Christians in that large church would become <i>more </i>useful gossipping the Gospel as they radiated out from Jerusalem!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">You see a common argument used by megachurches (and also by many large churches) is "we can do more for God's kingdom if we are large." But that's Babel-talk. It is not how God thinks. By scattering the Jersualem Church to the four winds, the Gospel spreads more effectively - not less. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">(I am pretty sure that if all the megachurches were abolished today, the Gospel would be granted brand new wings.)<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The smallness of New Testament congregations, however, is not a limitation imposed by house size: it's far more <strike>theologically</strike>, doctrinally fundamental than that. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">What matters in church life is discipleship, the day to day life-influencing of younger believers by older believers so that they become like Jesus. Small groups relationally close facilitate this small-group pattern that Jesus himself set with his Twelve.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">What matters most in the Kingdom of Christ is brotherly and sisterly relationships, being part of the family of God, which necessitates smaller maneagable we-know-each-other numbers.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">What matters is living friendly living organ<i>ism</i> not cold distant functional organ<i>isation. <br /></i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">So does the notion of a megacongregation have any traction in the New Testament? </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">I would argue, No, none at all.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b><span style="color: #cc0000;">So why do megachurches exist at all?<br /></span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The first reason is the ugly pursuit of fame, power or wealth. In evangelical churches we naturally and openly despise the third but there is plenty of the first two floating around our circles.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">There can be very little doubt that many megachurches are often little other than temples of idolatry to to the founder(s). One man wants his name or his church to be immortalised. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Or he wants lots of dosh. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Or he wants lots of power. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Where does a desire for fame, wealth or power figure anywhere in the list of Holy Spirit qualities for church leaders?<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The second reason for the existence of megachurches is a profound misunderstanding of the nature of the church's task. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The task of the church is to make disciples. And disciples are not made by preaching alone ("come hear some big shot preacher every Sunday morning") but disciples are made by many hours of difficult joyous <i>interpersonal</i> spiritual relationships, such as those that take place in small groups.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Some Christians really believe that preaching alone grows our faith. Therefore, if you have someone with exceptional speaking gifts, then put him on stage every week, pull in the crowds and they will all grow. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Someone needs to say it: <i>no-one </i>grows into Christlikeness by sermons alone. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The incarnational aspect of Christian ministry, "follow my example as I follow the example of Christ" is absolutely essential for true spiritual Christ-like growth.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">A second misunderstanding which leads to the existence of megachurches is a naive view of human nature. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">No-one, not one person in the world or the church, can be trusted with power. It does not matter what circles of accountability surround him or her, no-one can be trusted with power over others. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">We are all too sinful, too corrupt, too biased, too parochial, too tribal, to be trusted with power.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">But the only way to create a megachurch is to entrust vast power to an individual.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">You would have thought, from the never ending river of megachurch scandals we'd listen to providence: God shouting in our ears this is the wrong way to go. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">But we don't listen and even we conservative reformed evangelicals secretely and not so secretly admire our own tribe's megachurch pastors.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b><span style="color: #cc0000;">An end to megachurches?</span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Since everything is wrong with megapastors and their megachurches, is it not time to put an end to them?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Perhaps their members should be scattered and their congregations divided into small little groups living in real loving community and with real we-know-you pastors. What an explosion of Gospel witness that would lead to!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Perhaps we should avoid calling these groups "churches." "Megacrowds" or "megameetings" or "megahuddles" but not mega<i>churches.</i> <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Perhaps we should avoid honouring the big-shots who lead these outfits. (I am guilty of this myself). </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">And when our churches happen, by the grace of God, to grow beyond the size where anyone can know everyone, let our first thought be, not, "how can we keep these people and make our church the biggest show in town" but how can we release God's people into smaller churches where they and the Gospel can truly flourish.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Megachurches just could be the Devil's biggest deception in a celebrity-soaked culture. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">And the end of the megachurches could well spark true revival. <br /></span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: verdana;">AI Image:</span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: verdana;">Draw the destruction of an American megachurch <br /></span></i></div>roysummersblogspothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16898720933893809538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3966626754260619440.post-7256634212187835552024-01-03T15:14:00.009+00:002024-01-09T11:46:16.372+00:00Of Paradigms, Parrots and Prophets <p><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMRWtG7yahlGlE7qnCB8_nn82A_i8g9NnWwOJkgYeeSt_PhVWfQKhxekeYcMAPvkpKTBskRGhk94SwXfkcZeNQNC655srIgTRSEpKkz-qV4F6HyFqNRnK72h3sACCLxg2juzoQ4W6lTTxesZasLUoapBitw6oRZR3iiIBFbwya9beWCn0rZJvCjxdsVwS9/s650/ppp.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="621" data-original-width="650" height="306" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMRWtG7yahlGlE7qnCB8_nn82A_i8g9NnWwOJkgYeeSt_PhVWfQKhxekeYcMAPvkpKTBskRGhk94SwXfkcZeNQNC655srIgTRSEpKkz-qV4F6HyFqNRnK72h3sACCLxg2juzoQ4W6lTTxesZasLUoapBitw6oRZR3iiIBFbwya9beWCn0rZJvCjxdsVwS9/s320/ppp.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><p></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">A <b>paradigm</b> is an unquestioned belief, tradition or way of doing things. <br /></span></p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">A <b>parrot</b>, no offence intended, is one who assumes, believes, repeats and practices paradigms unquestioningly.</span></p><p style="margin-left: 80px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">A <b>prophet</b> (always small p) is one who questions paradigms.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>The value - and danger - of paradigms</b></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Everyone runs their lives by paradigms or traditions. Habits of mind or customs of practice that have been assumed over time or borrowed from communities.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">We often imbibe paradigms by osmosis, from the assumptions of our families or core communities.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">A few examples...</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Much of the western "church" in the middle ages accepted the Aristotlelian view of nature. Largely without question they welcomed the natural philosophies of their secular peers: that everything was made up of air, wind, fire and water for example. And as further example, that the earth was the centre of the universe.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Those good men Luther and Calvin assumed that church and state should be inextricably connected - of course! It had been going on for so long. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">John Wesley believed that you should only preach in a church building (until George Whitfield challenged his paradigm). </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">For
many years I personally assumed there was only one 1500s reformation - the one Luther, Calvin and the likes were involved in. It was the paradigm taught by my tribe. And then I discovered a <a href="http://roysummersblog.blogspot.com/2022/02/what-anabaptists-believed-peter.html" target="_blank">hidden Reformation</a>, just as significant, if not more so, made
up of little known despised saints who were given derogatory titles designed to write them off, such as 'anabaptist' or 'radical.'<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Such are paradigms. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The value of paradigms is that we need them: we have to assume <i>something </i>or we would be all at sea about <i>everything</i>. We all need working models. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The danger of paradigms is that they very easily assume the status of The Truth, with few people prepared to question them.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Since they are so deeply entrenched, for the sake of peace, most people parrot paradigms. <br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b>The necessity of prophets</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">This is where prophets come in. A prophet sees through paradigms. A prophet discerns. A prophet sees what only the school of prophets can see. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">And because a prophet questions what everyone else assumes is Ze Truth, a prophet is annoying.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">In Scriptural categories, a prophet is only prepared to accept something that is in the Word. No matter what famous preacher pushes it, prominent movement pronounces upon it or illustrious publishing house prints it. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">If it ain't in the Bible, it needs calling out.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">And more, a prophet does not give a hoot what others think of them. Including those in his own tribe. Faithfulness to truth trumps <i>all</i> other considerations. (Therefore, as I say, prophets are rather annoying.)<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Without prophets the church easily goes astray. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Here are a few examples of prophets (small p, always small p) in the history of the church.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Martin Luther for sure - unable to accept the nonsense that passed as commonsense in the Roman Catholic church.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Anabaptists Conrad Grebel and Felix Manz - men who were unable to accept the erroneous connection between church and state that the otherwise good reformer Huldrich Zwingli refused to shed. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">AW Tozer - An American prophet of the last century who was able to see that so much of the apparently 'successful' American evangelical scene of his day was mere hay and stubble.<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">Today's False Evangelical Paradigms</span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">False paradigms will always plague the church. Here are four examples that need deconstructing. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><b>1. "To be a proper church you really need a church building."</b></i> We find as a prime example of this evangelical paradigm, church plants who begin life in rented premises yearning for a building. And only when they acquire one do they believe they've finally arrived and become a 'proper church.' <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">What complete nonsense, this paradigm! The New Testament church met - with no exceptions - in homes, not "church" buildings. The brief early meetings in the temple forecourts were a temporary bridge from Judaism to its true fulfilment. After the stoning of Stephen the use of the temple as a meeting place came to an abrupt divine end.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The very nature of the New Testament church - as <i>a people</i> called out of the world - necessitated the end of special-buildings for worship; the end of brick synagogue and stone temple worship. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">We, the redeemed people, are now the flesh-and-blood temple of the Holy Spirit. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Church buildings are simply <i>irrelevant</i> to the work of God's eternal kingdom. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><b>2. "Tie 'em up in Legalese."</b></i> There is a drift in the UK, at least, encouraging the church to tie itself up in legal knots. Don't do anything unless you have first consulted a lawyer, or have a legal document to protect yourself.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">This trend arises from two sources, first an aping of the ways of the world: Legalese is how the present world works (and boy is it a jolly lucrative business for lawyers.) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The deeper spring of this trend is a lack of faith in God: we are terrified of taking <i>any</i> risks and Bible-wash our fears with the sugary sound-bite, 'it could jeopardise the Gospel if things go wrong.'</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">One result of this judicial trend is that few Christians or churches take the sort of risks that are just standard fare in the book of Acts - and in the 2000 year history of the church. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Can you imagine the amount of legal stuff Paul would be encouraged to get done before embarking on a 21st century missionary tour if he followed the legislative habits of today's churches? </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Insurance for ship-wrecks and beatings, a solicitor for slander, a lawyer in waiting for imprisonments, etc., etc. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">We're always to obey the law, but we need to take bold Gospel risks. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><b>3. "You can only reach university students through the Christian Unions." </b></i>You may not have heard this one, but it is received wisdom in many churches who won't share the Gospel with a student apart from the CU. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">There's not a line of Scripture that remotely supports such a foolish paradigm. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The world is our parish, and if a church worships in an area filled with students it should reach out to them. While CUs often do a grand job reaching students, their resources and numbers are normally far too limited to reach the whole campus. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">This binding evangelical paradigm could be one of the cleverest deceptions of the Evil One, by restricting evangelistic outreach to the small group of Christian students that happen to belong to a Christian Union. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><b>4. "Big churches are more important than small ones."</b></i> One of the fastest drifts in the early church away from the Scriptures was the race towards the office of bishop which happened scarce before the first century was out. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Aping the standard thinking of the world, that bigger (whether militarily, financially or numerically) is better / more important / etc., big churches, especially in significant cities, came to assume authority over smaller ones, and the blokes who led these larger churches were given the jazzy title 'Bishop.' </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">(In New Testament terms the interchangeable words Bishop, Elder and Pastor describe the same office, a male church leader, but the word Bishop was hijacked by High Jacks to denote a new extra-biblical superior office). <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Wearisome pyramid structure stuff. See it everywhere...<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">In Scripture there is no indication that big is best. Indeed hints to <i>just the opposite</i> are profuesly given. The Old Testament is full of examples where God rebukes trusting in numbers and commands armies to whittle down numbers - so that God himself can do the winning. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">And the only big church in the New Testament, the church in Jerusalem, is by God's design scattered to the four winds after its big-size-<i>purpose </i>has been fulfilled (which purpose was to demonstrate the supernatural origin of the Church.)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Let us honour small church leaders and their congregations, and give no greater weight or honour to large church leaders or their congregations - even though they may wish to be regarded as superior 'bishops.' </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">(Or increasingly in our day as 'Apostles.")<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">The role of pastor-preachers</span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Paradigms must be examined. We are exhorted to test all things. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">One aspect of all genuine preaching is the prophetic. Questioning the received paradigms that blind and bind the church. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The preacher who is weekly imbibing the Word by the Spirit will see the world in a different light, and that altered light is the prophetic. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Such divine visions must affect his preaching if he is to be a genuine pastor and preacher instead of a mere parrot. <br /></span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><p><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span style="font-family: verdana;">AI Image:</span></i></span></p><p><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span style="font-family: verdana;">"DeepAi draw a picture of traditions, prophets and parrots." <br /></span></i></span></p></div><div style="text-align: center;"><p><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span style="font-family: verdana;">(DeepAi doesn't have a clue how to incorporate paradigms into a painting. But then, neither do I.)<br /></span></i></span></p></div>roysummersblogspothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16898720933893809538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3966626754260619440.post-55345177189515164552023-12-24T08:01:00.001+00:002023-12-24T19:46:04.557+00:00The (true) Joys of Christmas!<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMmQjss0Qd33UTui-uEpL-NMpGPvDi3U2cTE_f5MFYZY6FpDplRl_HBpCm1kFXhKxAA6ze45PGcrKv_6K7JOSAkq657_4GPL7sstyjIRsSo0HlbHCzaJHr2bBaPc38iDr3xyz2Y0XgThIWvmWkxGwTRz3oMxgPPjY8dWCRNs_x2y5XUED7PGK5E7IzUm2S/s1024/DALL%C2%B7E%202023-12-18%2010.18.31%20-%20paint%20a%20gaudy%20bright%20christmas%20tree%20growing%20upside%20down,%20pop%20art.png" style="font-family: verdana; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMmQjss0Qd33UTui-uEpL-NMpGPvDi3U2cTE_f5MFYZY6FpDplRl_HBpCm1kFXhKxAA6ze45PGcrKv_6K7JOSAkq657_4GPL7sstyjIRsSo0HlbHCzaJHr2bBaPc38iDr3xyz2Y0XgThIWvmWkxGwTRz3oMxgPPjY8dWCRNs_x2y5XUED7PGK5E7IzUm2S/s320/DALL%C2%B7E%202023-12-18%2010.18.31%20-%20paint%20a%20gaudy%20bright%20christmas%20tree%20growing%20upside%20down,%20pop%20art.png" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: verdana;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">The emperor has no clothes</span></b></span><span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: verdana;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;">Sad it is to say, but none of the sources of Christmas joy offered by the world each December will yield true or enduring happiness. </span></p></div><div style="text-align: left;"><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;">Indeed, the birth of Jesus shows us that solid joys and lasting treasures are found by turning the worldly ones on their head. </span></p></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b>True joy is being known by God</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: verdana; font-size: small;">(...not known by millions)</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"> </span></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">With
the annual rise of celebrity-hysteria at this time of the year, the
subliminal message is that if you attain fame and popularity, if lots of
people follow or like you, then you'll be happy.<br /></span><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">But
the nativity teaches us the very opposite: that fame does bring upon us the blessing of God. Mary was an unknown Jewish girl, Joseph a humdrum
carpenter, shepherding an everyday occupation and Bethlehem a
run-of-the-mill Jewish village. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">In
the great reversals of the Gospel, God deliberately chooses and values
the foolish things of this world to shame the wise, and the weak things
of this world to shame the strong. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Knowing we have been chosen by God - though anonymous to Google Search and to the world - is the key to true happiness. <br /></span></p></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b>True Joy is possessing heavenly treasure</b></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: verdana; font-size: small;">(...not lots of money)</span></div><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">C</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">lassic FM, one
of the UK's favourite secular radio stations has just run a "win £20k
for Christmas" campaign. Thousands of people lost their £2 to the one person who collected it all. The radio Ad asked hearers to imagine what an amazing Christmas would ensue in
the wake of gaining and then blowing £20K.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">From
the occupation of Joseph, the song of Mary and the sacrifices Joseph
and Mary brought when they presented infant Jesus at the temple, we can be pretty sure that Jesus was born
into an ordinary, if not poor, home. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Where did
Joseph, with an ordinary carpenter's wage, get the money to undertake the
family's perilous escape to Egypt? If I am not mistaken, it dd not from savings, but from the providential gifts
of the wise men. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The
God of heaven did not deem wealth a prerequisite for his Son's
happiness or joy. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Even though this God owns the cattle on a thousands of
hills and so Jesus could have been born in a palace, God chose humble beginnings. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">True happiness is found in possessing the Pearl of Greatest Price, it's found in storing up treasures in heaven, not in winning the lottery. </span><br /></p><div style="text-align: center;"><b style="color: #bf9000;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;">True Joy is found in belonging to God's eternal family</span></b></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #bf9000; font-family: verdana; font-size: small;">(...not in our transient earthly families) </span><span style="color: #bf9000;"><b><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><br /></span></b></span></div><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Dare I mention this one? Without being misunderstood or offending? </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">When crowds pressed around Jesus one day someone informed him that family members were calling for him. Remember the story?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Everyone expected Jesus to stop what he was doing and give immediate wholeherated attention to flesh and blood.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Of course he would!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Family always come first don't they? <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Instead of bowing to the universal expectations of the world </span><span class="ILfuVd" lang="en" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="hgKElc">Jesus asked, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” Then he pointed to his followers and said, “Look, these are my mother and brothers. Anyone who does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother!” (Matthew 12).</span></span></p><p><span class="ILfuVd" lang="en" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="hgKElc">In other words Jesus said "I have <i>another</i> family too, an eternal one, and I must think about them also."</span></span></p><p><span class="ILfuVd" lang="en" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="hgKElc">We're called to value and honour our flesh and blood - indeed if we fail here Scripture tells us that we are worse than unbelievers. Jesus in the hour of his greatest need made provision for his mother. <br /></span></span></p><p><span class="ILfuVd" lang="en" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="hgKElc">But in a season where the brokenness of earthly families is all too evident, and where too much hope is placed in the happy families that cannot be we remember both that in heaven sits the Man Christ Jesus of whom it was true...<br /></span></span></p><p><i><span class="ILfuVd" lang="en" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="hgKElc"> </span></span><span style="font-family: verdana;">In life, no house, no home<br /> My Lord on earth might have;<br />In death, no friendly tomb,<br /> But what a stranger gave.<br /> What may I say?<br /> Heav’n was His home;<br /> But mine the tomb<br /> Wherein He lay.</span></i></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">And remember too that our true and eternal family consists of the family of faith (of whom, we pray all our flesh and blood would one day belong.)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">With this eternal glorious family of faith we will truly banquet with our Elder Brother at the marriage supper of the Lamb.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Here's a wonderful contemporary song which exchanges the lies of this world with truth of the Gospel:<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MV5x6M38ea8&ab_channel=KeithandKristynGetty" target="_blank">My Worth is not found in what I own</a></span></p><p><i><span style="font-family: verdana;">My worth is not in what I own<br />Not in the strength of flesh and bone<br />But in the costly wounds of love<br />At the cross<br /><br />My worth is not in skill or name<br />In win or lose, in pride or shame<br />But in the blood of Christ that flowed<br />At the cross<br /><br />I rejoice in my Redeemer<br />Greatest Treasure,<br />Wellspring of my soul<br />I will trust in Him, no other.<br />My soul is satisfied in Him alone.<br /><br />As summer flowers we fade and die<br />Fame, youth and beauty hurry by<br />But life eternal calls to us<br />At the cross<br /><br />I will not boast in wealth or might<br />Or human wisdom’s fleeting light<br />But I will boast in knowing Christ<br />At the cross<br /><br />Two wonders here that I confess<br />My worth and my unworthiness<br />My value fixed – my ransom paid<br />At the cross</span></i></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span style="font-family: verdana;">AI Painting:</span></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span style="font-family: verdana;">"Dalle paint a gaudy bright Christmas tree growing upside down, pop art"</span></i></span></div>roysummersblogspothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16898720933893809538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3966626754260619440.post-24482181755182058282023-12-14T17:37:00.004+00:002023-12-17T07:24:11.948+00:00Reflections on the Joy of Grandparenting<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHHzDzyDCLzQ9pxw5m7ANj-ECgjR1-TuyhqsX-1ZLM4dJvhaTShWPThwkPAlDdNEWhd7Yz2J8sTtd0Rx5ljDtvm6JeODYMzc68_Wglhe9F9GV0XEW_Nb7AqzW6qkWw3UcDxNm4Sqe8X6HW9bCD-IVO7wOyOHz3USu58woWal33OqXKmf4DeyjX-EKAUp1e/s1024/DALL%C2%B7E%202023-10-31%2021.57.01%20-%20Draw%20a%20grandad%20in%20love%20with%20his%20baby%20grandson%20in%20the%20style%20of%20pop%20art%20.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHHzDzyDCLzQ9pxw5m7ANj-ECgjR1-TuyhqsX-1ZLM4dJvhaTShWPThwkPAlDdNEWhd7Yz2J8sTtd0Rx5ljDtvm6JeODYMzc68_Wglhe9F9GV0XEW_Nb7AqzW6qkWw3UcDxNm4Sqe8X6HW9bCD-IVO7wOyOHz3USu58woWal33OqXKmf4DeyjX-EKAUp1e/s320/DALL%C2%B7E%202023-10-31%2021.57.01%20-%20Draw%20a%20grandad%20in%20love%20with%20his%20baby%20grandson%20in%20the%20style%20of%20pop%20art%20.png" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">A big surprise...<span><br /></span></span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">When I first heard the news that I was to become, God-willing, a grandparent for the first time, while delighted, I did not anticipate the intense feelings of affection I would feel towards our first grandchild, Charlie. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The world of literature and poetry is largely silent on this relationship and - perhaps surprisingly - so is the Bible. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The notable and charming exception in Scripture is Naomi in the book of Ruth who was so besotted with her grandson that the womenfolk around her chattered "Naomi has a son!" </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Not a <i>grandson</i>, but a <i>son</i>!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Little baby Obed had clearly made the heart of grandma Naomi sing. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The same Naomi (whose name means pleasant) who had recently asked everyone to rechristen her Bitter! </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Fortunes of all kinds changed with the birth of baby Obed.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">So I have been pondering this whole grandparenting thing... <br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b>A mysterious love</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">...and the first conclusion I have come to is this: the love of grandparents is beyond rational comprehension. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">A
friend who fell in love with his now wife found himself in a parallel
quandary - if that's the right word - he could not 'get his head around' the supra-rational
experience of falling in love. He obviously thought that he should be able to rationalize everything.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">I doubt grandparent love can be explained by biological or genetic connection.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Neither do I think it has much to do with the fact that grandparents see this baby more than others.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">As a church pastor I am privileged to have many wonderful little ones in our church. We marvel at every baby and find them as sweet as can be. But there's something deeper happening with grandchildren. It's a mysterious connection. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">But why should we be able to understand everything with our incy wincy minds? </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">One of the weaknesses of the ancient Greeks was to believe that reality started with thought and that reason could even trump blatant facts. So, if by deduction a Greek thinker could work out that horses had 24 teeth in their mouths, no amount of counting them would dislodge the conviction that horses have 24 teeth. A crazy reliance on the mind.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">I diverge for a moment, but it was, for example, widely believed by the philosophers, theoretically of course, that no-one could live in the tropics... "it's just too hot" their minds convinced them. That is until some despised unphilosopher types - such as mariners and explorers - proved otherwise.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">There is more to life than the mind. There's the invisible heart, the unseeable soul.<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b>Grandparents see life with different experienced eyes</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The second conclusion I have come to is that grandparenting is different from parenting. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">You say, of course: you don't bear the same responsibility for a grandchild, etc., etc. and etc.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">True, but I'm thinking more of the new perspective gained by decades of life experience which means that you view grandchildren quite differently from the way you viewed your own little ones. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Having been around the block once, we can now see what we never saw before.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">On the one hand that means we are less concerned about some of the ups and downs - we know more about stages and seasons - and we know that, as a general rule, all things will pass. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">But on the other hand we may be more fearful of wider dangers, for the world today's little ones will have to navigate is filled with more dangers than the perils our children were brought up in. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">I don't believe this is a rosing of the past, I think in the western world it's a simple fact. <br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: verdana;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Grandparents get to enjoy the best parts of parenting </span><br /></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Without
the exhausting business of childrearing, ranging
from sleepless nights to dealing with illness and discipline, grandparents enjoy the
best bits of parenting. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">This more hands-off perspective gives grandparents time to ponder, reflect and rejoice in every </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">small advance of speech, in the slightest progress of agility or leap in memory. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">And in the world of smart phone videos we can enjoy these beautiful changes even from a distance. </span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #990000; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b>Grandparents can give of their Time<br /></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Someone once said that in the case of grandparents, love is spelt T.I.M.E.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Grandparents can give to their children time to be on their own and time to rest by taking on the responsibility of grandchildren - even though it only be for a short while. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">My wife and I are grateful for the time our parents gave to us. We would make it an aim to get away from town for a few days every year on our own, for example, at considerable grateful cost to our parents. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Parenting is an exhausting season of life and marriages can come under extreme pressure on account of the demands of little ones.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Grandparents can give their time.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">And discover that for every ounce of time they give, they receive a pound of joy.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">(Well, perhaps not quite sixteen to one.)</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">Grandchildren give hope<br /></span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Naomi's past had been filled with tragedy. The loss of her husband and two sons in a foregin land. The parting of ways with one of her daughters-in-law. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">In her own words, "the Lord has afflicted me; the Almighty has brought misfortune upon me." </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Naomi's return home had not been a hero's welcome either. She was greeted with some disbelief, "Can this be Naomi?" Perhaps her demeanour been forged in the fires of grief. And without any menfolk in her family unit of self and Ruth, she also found herself impoverished.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Little Obed spelt not only a happier today, he spelt a better future, he spelt hope.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">In the UK almost a <a href="https://www.ageuk.org.uk/our-impact/policy-research/loneliness-research-and-resources/" target="_blank">million and a half</a> elderly folk are lonely and <a href="https://www.ageuk.org.uk/globalassets/age-uk/documents/policy-positions/health-and-wellbeing/ppp_mental_health_england.pdf" target="_blank">one in four</a> of the 11 million elderly folk in our land (16% of the population) suffer with mental health issues.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Gospel aside, we can but wonder if the lack of contact with children and the deprivation of grandchildren connection is a major cause of sorrow among our precious elderly.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><span style="color: #990000;"><span style="font-size: medium;">A word to children with children </span><br /></span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">So may I include a plea for children with children? Honour your parents by spending time with them yourselves, thus paying them back a fraction of what they once gave to you. And allow your parents the health-giving joy of loving, caring for and watching your little ones grow up.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Don't allow yourself to become so consumed (or possessive) of little ones that you minimize your ties with parents. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Of course, you</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> must never be bullied by grandparents who cross the line of parental responsibility (and believe me there are some meddlesome grandparents out there), but if</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> you are wise you will seek and value their advice, even though the final responsibility will always belong to you. <br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b><span style="color: #990000;">A grandparents prayer</span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">From the moment we knew a little one was on its way we prayed three things for our children. (What we pray for reveals what we value.)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">I can never remember having prayed that our children would be wealthy, famous or successful in this present passing world, for not one of these things matters a jot in the world to come. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Lord knows that we have made three frequent requests:</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">1. That they would come to know the Lord, whom to know is life eternal. This life is like a mist; we are here today and gone tomorrow. And since that future world is infinitely longer than this present one, preparing for it by knowing Jesus has been our number one prayer. Better a converted refuse collector than a pagan professor. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">2. That if the Lord has given them the gift of marriage they would marry the right person, which always means that they would marry a believer.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">3. That their lives would count in the eternal Kingdom of Jesus Christ. That they would not waste their short earthly lives. That on the last and great day when they stand before the Lord their loving Judge he will say to them "Well done</span><span class="text Matt-25-23" id="en-NIV-24032" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="woj"> good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’" (Matthew 25)</span></span></p><p><span class="text Matt-25-23" id="en-NIV-24032" style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="woj">And this we will shall pray, God helping us, for every grandchild the Lord is pleased to bring into our lives. <br /></span></span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> <span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>AI Image </i></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span style="font-family: verdana;">"Dalle draw me a happy grandparent with grandchild" </span></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span style="font-family: verdana;">(not happy with the age of the grandparent Dalle dished out)<br /></span></i></span></div>roysummersblogspothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16898720933893809538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3966626754260619440.post-90558236122534968342023-11-28T21:27:00.023+00:002023-12-13T09:47:00.247+00:00The natural life-cycle of a local church<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><span style="color: #274e13;"></span></b></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><b><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFKySRgE4zTGOqXz-hXXb4LQuGhZT1aJEA1KGQDaPc_Srr1bcWQJSHmazcRvdZeplxSbWT_8OLC48APhmTFdeSae6DJn_ELp-1Zg-ABZ_aST-qIfmcmp-gWzdDJKvhxjexZ1RKqYlqKLdIm4TkHcTTip-ooRxj65OACWV14UQFqEmuVTb99_oPNmcr9zQA/s1017/life%20cycle.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="572" data-original-width="1017" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFKySRgE4zTGOqXz-hXXb4LQuGhZT1aJEA1KGQDaPc_Srr1bcWQJSHmazcRvdZeplxSbWT_8OLC48APhmTFdeSae6DJn_ELp-1Zg-ABZ_aST-qIfmcmp-gWzdDJKvhxjexZ1RKqYlqKLdIm4TkHcTTip-ooRxj65OACWV14UQFqEmuVTb99_oPNmcr9zQA/s320/life%20cycle.jpg" width="320" /></a></b></div><b></b><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b><span style="color: #0b5394;"> </span><span style="color: #0b5394;"><span>Churches are born - and churches die</span></span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Martin Luther once said:</span></p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> <i>"the Word of God is seldom retained in purity in any one place beyond a period of twenty or at best forty years. The people become accustomed to it, grow cold in their Christian love, and regard God's gift of grace with indifference."</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Luther was not thinking about individual churches, but whole regions.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">However, what is true about regions can also be true of local churches.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Churches are often born in fervent spiritual and Gospel zeal. But before long the thorns of laxity and tradition stiffle growth.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The plant withers and before too long, sans strength, sans zeal, sans people, sans everything, it dies. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Any reading of church history, micro or macro reveals the same Judges-arian pattern: rise & fall, rise & fall. </span><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">This is one of the reasons churches must be planted all the time in every city, in every community and in every age. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Even if there are many "churches" in a particular city, it is still in need of new churches because at least some of the existing ones will be in their middle age while others will be in the throes of death.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Universal Church of Christ, "terrible as an army with banners" suffers no decline but grows, conquers and triumphs through the ages! </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">But local churches come and go. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Travel into almost any Welsh village today and there you will see the pretty conversions of church building to house or church building to shop. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Gone forever the congregations that once met there. <br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b><span style="color: #0b5394;">Ten causes of ecclesiastical mortality</span><span style="color: #0b5394;"><br /></span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Here are ten causes that can lead to the demise of any local church (sadly the list is unlikely to be exhaustive):<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><b><i><span style="color: #0b5394;">1) Old leaders do not train or give way to new ones</span></i></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">"Old guys rule the world" reads a worldly T-shirt. If older church leaders won't either train up the next generation - or let go of the reins of "power" (as if church leadership has <i>anything</i> to do with power) the church grows old with their leaders, and before long, out of touch with the contemporary world, it dies. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><i><b><span style="color: #0b5394;">2) The church gets clogged-up with family relationships</span></b></i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">In this scenario long-standing families in the church assume that due to their long-evity they should have long-authority. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">They block or frustrate the progress of every new move forward - unless, of course, it boosts their cause or if they agree with it. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Once you hear the phrase "family block vote" you are listening to the death rattle of your local church.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><b><i><span style="color: #0b5394;">3) A one-man band</span></i></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">In this version of the local church the senior pastor is the star attraction of the show. For one reason or another he's the reason for the "popularity" or "success" of the church. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Sometimes he plods on till he is embarrassingly decrepit (this is especially noticable in the mega so-called churches) and then as soon as he has gone the whole edifice collapses, since it was all about <i>him</i> in the first place.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">If the church outlives said illustrious guru, it dwells perpetually under the sad grey cloud of antecedent glory. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">(You can understand when churches that had such a supposed illustrious past make little or no mention of their evangelical champion on their websites: that's not a churlish act, it's a good and neccesary thing, for why should the church of the living be held back by glorified saints? We're not Roman Catholics are we?)<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><b><i><span style="color: #0b5394;">4) Living traditions petrify</span></i></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Moving away from people to traditions, "We've always done things this way!" is the fourth reason churches die. It does not take long before traditions die hard and a church is simply unable to move with the times, even though it is geared to the Rock. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Even worse than traditions per se - which are not always of themselves bad: every church has traditions - are human traditions that are staunchly defended or justified. We can't change the songs we sing or the music we use because of sound reasons a, b and c. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Where these traditions are merely the (even good) wisdom of man they spell stockade disaster for the future of that local church. <br /></span></p><p><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><i><b><span>5) Clinging to a romantic past (that never actually was)</span></b></i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">One problem with advancing years, ecclessiastical or not, is a romanticizing of the past. Since the the future is bleak, ageing saints tend to look backwards rather than forwards.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The problem is this: nostalgia plays tricks on us all: that past age was never really as golden as it is made out to be. There were just as many challenges back then, as there are today, just as many setbacks. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Were there really 100 children in the Sunday school in 1983? </span></p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Really? </span></p><p style="margin-left: 80px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Are you sure?</span></p><p style="margin-left: 120px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Perhaps on just that one occasion? </span></p><p style="margin-left: 160px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Otherwise, normally, about 30?<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">This rosing of the past leads to a misguided dictim which accelerates demise: "If God blessed the church in them ol' halcyon days, why should we change the way we do things today?"</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><b><i><span style="color: #134f5c;">6) Clutching at straws</span></i></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Some churches refuse to acknowledge the patent-inevitable by clutching at every straw the wind happens to blow through the draughty rafters. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The slightest 'encouragement' is reason to dig the heels of tradition in and plod on - no matter what. A new face, an unexpected gift or a positive comment is all that is needed to perk up the drooping spirit.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The determination is admirable, the outcome largely unchanged.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><b><i><span style="color: #0b5394;">7) Inward looking</span></i></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">This is often the ultimate reason churches die. Instead of reaching out to the lost, they have become consumed with internal matters.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Like the church building in London that only has windows in the ceiling, none facing the surrounding district, these folks have become heavenly - or perhaps inwardly - minded, but of little earthly good.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><b><i><span style="color: #0b5394;">8) Confusion between church building and the church</span><span style="color: #0b5394;"><br /></span></i></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Owning a "church" building is one of the greatest hindrances to acknowledging that a church has, in fact, already died. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">If for example, the same congregation had been meeting in a rented hall, they would have given up the ghost moons ago. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">But through the subtle confusion between "church" and "building" that takes place when a congregation owns property it is possible to imagine that the "church" is alive, "after all lots of bricks and mortar are still here" even though the church itself has long died. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><i><b><span style="color: #0b5394;">9) Doctrinal error</span></b></i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">As soon as the cancer of error blights a church the end is nigh - unless repentance follows heresy. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">We are witnessing this all around us as many of the historical denominations depart from the Gospel - and naturally plummet in attendance.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><b><i><span style="color: #0b5394;">10) Stuck in a single-issue doctrinal groove</span></i></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The final item on my list is more common than many care to admit. A church train gets shunted onto the sidings of some secondary doctrine.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Perhaps it will be a particular view of Israel, a view of Bible translations, an unhealthy over-emphasis on signs of the times.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Satan cares not the name of the siding - he's just happy that the train stays put and then rusts away. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Over the years, as these churches orbit their alien suns, they either blow themselves up into a thousand discordant smithereens, or die a natural death because no-one but doctrine-clones will - or can - join them. <br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b><span style="color: #134f5c;">There's a time to (gracefully) die</span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">As harsh - and difficult - as this verdict may be, there is a time for a church to close, just as there is a time for each of us to die. Not one of the local churches of the New Testament are alive today - that should surprise us not one jot. <br /></span></p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><i><span style="font-family: verdana;">"</span><span class="chapter-1"><span class="text Eccl-3-1">There is a time for everything,</span></span><span class="indent-1"> <span class="text Eccl-3-1">and a season for every activity under the heavens: </span><span class="text Eccl-3-2" id="en-NIV-17362"><span class="indent-1-breaks"> </span>a time to be born and a time to die..." (Ecclesiastes 3:1-2)<br /></span></span></i></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Straight up.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">So entrenched do traditions or power structures become that attempt to revitalise or renew the church may only lead to wasted energy directed towards needless strife - and crucially - away from Gospel endeavours.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">It's no shame for a church to acknowledge that their lane, perhaps once a mighty highway, has narrowed into a cul-de-sac. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Let them rejoice that Jehovah has a hundred other brand new motorways down which his Kingdom Coach will triumph for sure. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Is it not preferable for a church to close nobly and purposefully, rather than to die by prolonged and agonizing attrition?<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Sometimes revitalization works, but often, only when the dwindling congregation has reached the state of utter desperation which prises their fingers from all the levers of future decision making. <br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b><span style="color: #0b5394;">Churches must be planted - all the time</span><span style="color: #0b5394;"><br /></span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">And, as I have suggested above, because churches naturally die, they must constantly be renewed.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">There is never a time in any city or town when it can be said "there are enough churches here."</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Plant, plant, and plant again. <br /></span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span style="font-family: verdana;">AI Image:</span></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span style="font-family: verdana;">"Dalle paint the lifecycle of a church building from birth to death"<br /></span></i></span></div>roysummersblogspothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16898720933893809538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3966626754260619440.post-63682772201761712412023-11-22T08:43:00.002+00:002023-11-22T08:43:14.185+00:00"Help, I always feel unworthy at Communion"<p style="text-align: center;"> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBWBQ-0Cw1GByy9EXWhxIhzVmcE9DA1vLzJwhAuimH15nOkqlAOCAPc-OUxdeZ78ZFT3u1JWop7rYMTE1TF5Y64WgoWmQA-cNabpdqnsz2pB7jKNEzYEsQLG8EU6its-qdi0u4ubHRtAWUExzyT-jhRFTxk1htS79vNatqQqzrD5KlC2g6fIrKgsF6uOF-/s1024/DALL%C2%B7E%202023-11-20%2017.16.33%20-%20Draw%20a%20picture%20of%20a%20person%20taking%20communion%20with%20a%20sad%20guilty%20face.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBWBQ-0Cw1GByy9EXWhxIhzVmcE9DA1vLzJwhAuimH15nOkqlAOCAPc-OUxdeZ78ZFT3u1JWop7rYMTE1TF5Y64WgoWmQA-cNabpdqnsz2pB7jKNEzYEsQLG8EU6its-qdi0u4ubHRtAWUExzyT-jhRFTxk1htS79vNatqQqzrD5KlC2g6fIrKgsF6uOF-/s320/DALL%C2%B7E%202023-11-20%2017.16.33%20-%20Draw%20a%20picture%20of%20a%20person%20taking%20communion%20with%20a%20sad%20guilty%20face.png" width="320" /></a></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: #783f04; font-size: medium;"><b>A Common Lament</b></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">A surprising number of believers feel emotions of unworthiness when communion comes around, and especially when these words of Scripture are read outloud:<br /></span></p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>"Whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord." (1 Corinthians 11:27)</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">There are more than one cause of communion sorrow, but we begin with good mourning. <br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><span style="color: #783f04; font-size: medium;">It's good to bewail our sins</span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The "penitential psalms" - the psalms which focus on our shortcomings (e.g. 32, 38 & 51) - are replete with sorrow. Because of his sin the psalmist "wastes away" and "groans all day long." His guilt "overwhelms" him "like a burden too heavy to bear." </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">There is everything proper about godly sorrow for our shortcomings and failures. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Probably not enough of it our churches today.<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><span style="color: #783f04;"><span style="font-size: medium;">It's good to meditate on the sorrows of the Lord Jesus</span></span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Furthermore, it is good to mournfully contemplate the sufferings of the Lord Jesus. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">A friend of mine would weep visibly and audibly at every communion. As he meditated on the cross he could not keep back the tears. "See from his head, his hands and feet, sorrow and love flow mingled down. Did e'er such love and sorrow meet or thorns compose so rich a crown?"</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">But other forms of sorrow may be borne of misunderstanding. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">For example, we may think that God is angry or disappointed with us because of our failures and sins. <br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b><span>Wrong Sorrows<br /></span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The central doctrine of the Gospel is that we are put right with God by faith alone, made right in his sight, "justified." </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">It's one of the most liberating - and most dangerous - doctrines in Scripture. Liberating because it means that God views us as perfect and sinless the moment we believe, for "that moment from Jesus a pardon receives." Dangerous because in careless hands it could be twisted to mean "my sin does not matter."</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">If we are sorrowful because we think that God views us according to our spiritual performance (which is always below par) then our sorrow needs questioning and correcting in the light of the Gospel.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">We need to realise afresh that by faith alone we have been made righteous in the eyes of God forever - without a single thought word or deed of ours either contributing to or detracting from that justified status. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">And there is more good news. </span><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">A
double transaction takes place when we are united to Christ by faith.
All our sin is placed on him, and he pays for it in full upon
the cross, and all of his righteousness is 'imputed' or deposited into our
account.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">From
the moment we taste the gift of faith God views us "in Christ," having
all our sins washed away and possessing the perfect life that Jesus
lived. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">In banking terms, before
Christ we were "in the red," bearing an enormous debt of
our sin. In Christ not only has our debt been wiped away, God has deposited
into the account of our 'righteousness' the perfect obedience of Jesus
Christ! <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">So when we sit at communion we are viewed by God perfected "in Christ" no matter what our own personal shortcomings or failings may be. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Gospel truly is astounding!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">It's important, also, to note the reason Paul included the solemn exhortation to self-examination. <br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #783f04; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b>Unforgiveness and Thoughtlessness <br /></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The first letter to the Corinthians was written to a messed-up church. All sorts of divisions abounded in the fellowship. This is situation Paul writes his warning about eating and drinking in an unworthy manner to. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Some Corinthians, for example, gorged themselves at the fellowship meals while others - sitting in their very presence - went hungry!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">How could these believers be so uncaring and unforgiving towards their brothers and sisters who were members of <i><b>The Body</b></i> of Christ, but then think they could go on and honour <i><b>The Head</b></i> of the body by taking the elements? </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">They despised The Body, but came to the table wanting to honour The Head! Something seriously amiss there!<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Eating the bread and drinking the cup with such wrong attitudes towards brothers and sisters is eating and drinking in an unworthy manner.<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b><span style="color: #783f04;">How to Examine Ourselves</span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">We should never take communion in a casual way, that's the big take away from 1 Corinthians 11. We ought to examine ourselves, and do so <i>before</i> we eat the bread and drink the cup. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Examine what? <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Our relationships with brothers and sisters. Are we harbouring unforgiveness? Then we should freely forgive - even those who may have made themselves our enemies and won't be reconciled with us.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">We should examine our beseting sins. We all sin, but to take the elements of forgiveness while we harbour deliberate, unrepentant sin is to make a mockery of the Cross. Godly and sincere repentance is what we need to excercise every day.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">We ought to confess all our sins, clinging to the promise of complete forgiveness when we do so. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">We need to feed on Christ by faith. The regular visible reminders of his love and forgiveness which the table represent are one of the basic necessities of our spiritual lives. We must not allow the Accuser of the saints keep us from the table.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Once self-examination is done, our hearts should rejoice. Communion should be a place, not only of godly sorrow, but of delight in a salvation so rich and free.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Examination and introspection may be the first steps of our communion journey, but gladness, joy and thanksgiving should be the destination.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>AI Drawing:<br />"Dalle draw a picture of a person taking communion with a sad face"<br /></i></span></p>roysummersblogspothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16898720933893809538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3966626754260619440.post-79575700476812239192023-11-14T17:55:00.001+00:002023-11-28T09:52:38.128+00:00Do theologians exist?<p> <span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizzmm7IdZUSi9UgANowA7dKEf8V4M36i64Tb1U_97mQb8N6B2rafHrq9-XYsfrSzceohuasIfjx7BOsJHpThLDv_KaHU_SyPwBe5xJ9OEui_CHj6N4e2ZdSfvliO7m1k4pbGiexP3GF0JV3sgXBuLVnUXXkGRIC8qYnVXwZOg6luqa-izxhtUXCodSchEm/s1024/DALL%C2%B7E%202023-10-30%2020.23.13%20-%20draw%20a%20theologian%20in%20the%20style%20of%20cubism.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizzmm7IdZUSi9UgANowA7dKEf8V4M36i64Tb1U_97mQb8N6B2rafHrq9-XYsfrSzceohuasIfjx7BOsJHpThLDv_KaHU_SyPwBe5xJ9OEui_CHj6N4e2ZdSfvliO7m1k4pbGiexP3GF0JV3sgXBuLVnUXXkGRIC8qYnVXwZOg6luqa-izxhtUXCodSchEm/s320/DALL%C2%B7E%202023-10-30%2020.23.13%20-%20draw%20a%20theologian%20in%20the%20style%20of%20cubism.png" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b><span style="color: #b45f06;"> The "t" word</span><br /></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Of set purpose, I do my best to avoid using the word <strike>theology</strike>. <strike><br /></strike></span></p><span style="font-family: verdana;">I never use</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> it in sermons except perchance by accident.</span><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">By contrast I love the word doctrine. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">At the moment we are exploring Christian doctrine - its uses and dangers, primary and secondary doctrines, the creeds and councils and so on - in monthly talks for everyone at our small little local church. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">My do I love doctrine!<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">My shelves bow with doctrine books. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Unfortunately most of them are mistitled:</span></p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"Systematic Theology" by Mr Grudem should read "Christian Doctrines" </span></p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">"Systematic Theology" by that Berkhof chap should also read "Christian Doctrines"</span></p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Misprint "Manual of Theology" by Dagg should read "Christian Doctrines"</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">(Not going to drag the other heavy chaps off the shelves to emphasize the point.)<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Surely, someone protests, this is a debate about semantics, and in particular the interchangeability - or otherwise - of two English words - doctrine and theology.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">I wish it was, but it isn't.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">It really isn't.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Here are ten reasons we should abandon the word <strike>theology</strike> and its human cognate, <strike>theologian</strike>, and limit ourselves to the words doctrine and teacher. <br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b><span style="color: #b45f06;">#1 The t word is not in the Bible<br /></span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The t word is not in the Bible - that</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> on its own is reason enough to shun it. The Bible uses words like "truth", "doctrine" and "teaching," but never theology.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">"But we happily use the word Trinity which is not in the Bible?"<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">There's a world of difference between the use of the word Trinity and the other t word. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The word "Trinity" is our attempt to describe in brief what the whole Scriptures teach about the character of God. We needn't use the word Trinity. We could say instead "There is only One God. Nevertheless there are Three who are God. But there are not three Gods, for the Three are One." But that would be clumsy. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Trinity is shorthand for a wonderful inscrutable Bible truth, a truth we can state but not understand. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">But in the case of imposter t, we have good Bible words such as teachings, truths and doctrine; there is no need to introduce a new one. </span><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><span style="color: #b45f06;">#2 The t word is a worldly word </span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Theology belongs to the large class of secular "ologies", biology, anthropology, biotechnology, etc. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">In the same way that biology is the human attempt to understand the living world, and anthropology the human attempt to comprehend mankind, so theology is the human attempt to understand God.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Theology is a part of the vast human enterprise to understand the "other."</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Where man is the subject and the "other" is the object.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Doctrine by contrast is different. It does not stand <i>over </i>God assuming that human reason can whip its object into some kind of logical shape, it stands <i>under</i> God wondering if it can fathom anything at all, given the vast disparity between minds and beings; and marvels worshipfully at crumbs of divine truth from Scripture. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Theology stands over God, doctrine bows at his feet. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Of course someone will reply "theology doesn't <i>have</i> to stand over God." Well then why not dissociate from all other global ologies which do? </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Why not revert to the simple word doctrine?<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b><span style="color: #b45f06;">#3 The t word is a university word</span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Theology has a dry, scholastic, academic and university feel about it. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">(Not to mention a lifeless air: just ask the man on the street what he thinks about the t words).<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">But the church is a very different <a href="http://roysummersblog.blogspot.com/2023/09/the-church-is-sui-generis.html">entity</a> to the university. In the church there are no professors, no faculties, no research papers, no degrees, no experts, no festschrifts (see how clever I am? You can google it, but I wouldn't bother), nothing like that in the church of the New Testament. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Why confuse the ordinary person trying to understand the Gospel with scholastic claptrap? <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Gospel is for everyone, not just for those who have been 'headucated'. Cooks, carpenters and cleaners shouldn't have to learn additional difficult words when they already have to master glorious great Bible words such as justification and redemption. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">And most seriously, why pander to one tiny portion of society and create a stumbling block to the majority? (Only a third of brits have <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/a-third-of-adults-now-have-degrees-or-similar-as-area-with-highest-proportion-with-no-qualifications-revealed-12783674" target="_blank">degrees</a>, the majority don't). <br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b><span style="color: #b45f06;">#4 The t word makes people proud<br /></span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Apart from our thoughtless use of the word, this is the main reason the word and its cognates are used in the evangelical church: it's all about boasting. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Chests puff up at the thought of being referred to as a theologian.</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> Highfalutin language comes out, irrelevant to spiritual growth, but invaluable to status formation. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Knees bow to those who have letters after their name. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Why not be called a "teacher" rather than a "theologian?" The answer is obvious the instant the question is asked.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The whole purpose of using the t word is to boost one's worldly position. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Prestige is the name of the game.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">"That fellow over there is a mere run-of-the-mill pastor, poor soul. And see her over there? - just a Bible teacher, wee lass. But <i>I</i> am a Theologian - and capital T while you're at it."<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Since Christmas is around the corner, here's the humble birth of Jesus in theological terms: "The uncontrollable mystery on the bestial floor." </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Put that one on your outreach cards!<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">And since pride and arguing are inseparable twins, where the one is found, so too is the other. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">You must have heard about the Third Law of <strike>Theology</strike>? For every theologian there is an equal and opposite theologian! <br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b><span style="color: #b45f06;">#5 Theology is left-brain</span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Theology is an intellectual pursuit that</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> appeals to a narrow group of believers, especially those who tend to be so-called left-brain. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Logical</span></p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Analytical</span></p><p style="margin-left: 80px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Orderly <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Cerebral types love to use this word and enjoy the torrent of enigmatic terms that flow from it. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Doctrine is for everyone. Theology for just a few. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">We all want spiritual depth but not when nomenclature excludes whole groups of people. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">We're all encouraged to leave elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, but nowhere are we encouraged to go to university to attain it. <br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b><span style="color: #b45f06;">#6 "I've got a good t, I am safe."<br /></span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The 20th century prophet (small p) AW Tozer, complained that his generation of evangelicals were asleep beside the highway of good theology. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">That is a real danger today: it is easy to take security in having the right theological books on our shelves and the right big-shot theologians in our circles, but be stone dead in our hearts. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">"I've got Berkhof and Grudem on my shelves, I'm OK."<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b>#7 Theology gives the impression that truth is specialist</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Every believer should be keen on truth, and most believers identify with the desire to know Christ better. But the t word gives the impression that one needs to be a specialist to grasp truth. <br /></span></p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">I've not been trained in psychology so I can't help my troubled fellow man.</span></p><p style="margin-left: 80px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">I don't have a degree in geology, so I shan't bother trying to appreciate beautiful gems. </span></p><p style="margin-left: 120px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">I've not studied theology, so I can't possibly know anything about God.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b><span style="color: #b45f06;">#8 Theology gives the impression that knowledge of God is intellectual knowledge</span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">While we need truth and doctrine to grow in our walk with the Lord, we must never confuse knowledge of God with knowledge of truth. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ comes about through walking with him through trial, joy, temptation, disappointment, success and failure. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">It's as much - or more - relational than it is rational. Heart more than head. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Nicodemus-like, we can know Berkhof back to front and still be a total stranger to Christ. <br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b><span style="color: #b45f06;">#9 The t word sends the wrong message about our great task</span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The great task of the church is to make disciples of all nations. That task is not accomplished by filling heads with knowledge in a classroom-like setting. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">It's accomplished Jesus-like by spending much time with new converts so that they can see Christ in our lives as much as hear truth from our lips. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The command of the Lord is to make disciples how? By "teaching them to <i>obey</i> everything I have commanded you." </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">A teaching that leads to obedience, to a changed life, not a learning that leads to the mere acquisition of knowledge.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b>#10 Error often enters the Church through academic institutions <br /></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">It is sobering to discover that many of the most liberal institutions in the USA (and elsewhere) began on sound biblical foundations.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">It's no surpise at all.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">For an institution that apes the world is bound to end up like the world.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">How do errors most often - and most easily - enter the church? Through clever chappies whose writings - at the time - seem unassailable.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">In our day NT Wright is a tragic example of this tendency to be swayed by brains (see <a href="http://roysummersblog.blogspot.com/2011/12/is-wright-wrong-questions-about-tom.html">here</a> for my analysis). Why do people respect Mr Tom, oops Dr Tom? Because he's written three inscrutable tomes, which no-one has or can read but everyone thinks "wow he must be the real deal with all that foxey language" and here's the corollary, "therefore what he says must be right." </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">(These three tomes sit on my shelves; I began one of them years ago and gave up a few pages in, not because they were difficult but because they were paint-dryingly boring). <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">On some doctrines Wright is Right.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">On many others Wright is Wrong. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Ah - but he's clever.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">So he must be right. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Our approach to clever chaps who like to be looked up to as Theologians should be this: don't fuss about them; put them on the shelf and let the next generation judge them. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Sometimes it takes a while for clever errors to be unpicked. Besides, remember, most of one age's celebrity books are charity shop fodder in the age that follows. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Certainly, don't bow or be overawed by them. Just keep on preaching the same old same old Gospel. <br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b><span style="color: #b45f06;"> "Teachings" "Truths" and "Doctrines" are all we need</span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The inspired words "teachings", "truths" and "doctrines" are all we need in our great task to make disciples, to build up the saints, and to present everyone perfect in Christ.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">These words are Bible words, simple words, universal words - and most of all - humble words.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">So away with the t words!<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b><span style="color: #b45f06;">So Do Theologians Exist?</span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">So what shall we do with the vast machinery of "theology" that infects - pollutes? - the evangelical world today?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Pride resolutely prevents it being abandoned, at least not in our age of ease. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">We need to stop calling anyone a "theologian." There are no theologians in the New Testament Church of Jesus Christ. There are teachers, and preachers, but no theologians. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Theologian is an imposter office in the church of Jesus Christ.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Someone has to say it. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">We need to stop giving any special weight or authority to those who wish to self-identify as T men. Just because a man (or woman) calls themselves a theologian does not mean we should treat their words pope-like ex-cathedra. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Remember - the local Christian butcher may know more of God than them Ts. Acquaint thyself with true greats.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">I have little doubt that a true reformation of the church today would dismantle the whole proud apparatus of this wretched system and return us to the purer church of the New Testament. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">But that's unlikely to happen until persecution knocks on, or probably, knocks down, our door.<br /></span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-small;"><i>AI Image: <br /></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-small;"><i>Dalle draw a theologian in the style of cubism </i></span><br /></div>roysummersblogspothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16898720933893809538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3966626754260619440.post-11353035174783846582023-11-03T08:30:00.001+00:002023-11-09T09:32:32.697+00:00Is the Old Testament God the same as the New Testament One?<p><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNGJWIN4N3KFIXIFbauDfOA0TefXyP3KDbPz6VRULHsG1bdtVMlW2KujB1Uo7YjSyZ3OOFl0doD_vC4hfT6otUgQxQF4hm24LvvsXOTneKxbTSuQvB-H8Fd3Wca0tl_bCIC_gVx7QGpafPau_FMSlQsXWiifxAT8Vl7VxJ2ns5izqDVQ-Xpbxya5LEe6lb/s1024/DALL%C2%B7E%202023-10-30%2008.54.33%20-%20draw%20fiery%20mount%20sinai%20in%20the%20style%20of%20Van%20Gogh%20.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNGJWIN4N3KFIXIFbauDfOA0TefXyP3KDbPz6VRULHsG1bdtVMlW2KujB1Uo7YjSyZ3OOFl0doD_vC4hfT6otUgQxQF4hm24LvvsXOTneKxbTSuQvB-H8Fd3Wca0tl_bCIC_gVx7QGpafPau_FMSlQsXWiifxAT8Vl7VxJ2ns5izqDVQ-Xpbxya5LEe6lb/s320/DALL%C2%B7E%202023-10-30%2008.54.33%20-%20draw%20fiery%20mount%20sinai%20in%20the%20style%20of%20Van%20Gogh%20.png" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: red; font-family: verdana;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;"> A Common Objection</span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">One of the most common objections to the Bible is that the God of the Old Testament seems to be a harsh unyielding God compared to the kinder God the New Testament.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Moses is punitive, Jesus compassionate.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Sounds persuasive - and on the surface conclusive.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">A grain of truth is found in most objections, including this one.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Let's see if we can unpack it.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">(Beforehand, we should note in passing, that</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> there is more judgement in Jesus than sceptics are willing to acknowledge; and more compassion in the Old
Testament than they care to find. See comments at the end of this blog).<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: medium;">God speaks through two Books<br /></span></span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">According to the Bible, God reveals himself in two Books. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">First, through the Book of Creation, which is God's word to every child of Adam. From its ingenious and beautiful pages we read of a God who is Power, Innovation, Goodness and much more. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">All can read this Book for there is no speech or language where its words are not heard. <br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><span style="color: red;"><span style="font-size: medium;">The Book of Scripture</span></span><span style="font-size: medium;"><br /></span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The second way God reveals himself is through words on pages: The Book of Scripture; the words of the Old Testament plus the words of the New Testament.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">This Book is our concern here.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Unlike the book of Creation, the book of Scripture was given progressively over time.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">This is an important point.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Little by little, through the story of Old Testament Israel and the writings that emerged from their prophets, God disclosed more and more of his character.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">By the time the Old Testament closes we know God better than we did in the days of Genesis and Abraham - but by no means completely. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Old Testament is constantly looking forward to Someone, a Messiah, who will reveal God more fully. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">So if we base our understanding of God on the Old Testament <i>alone</i>, we won't have the full picture. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">We're not meant to.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">In a dramatic change from this progressive approach, God suddenly and fully revealed himself in the Person of Jesus Christ, born in Bethlehem, crucified outside of Jerusalem and triumphantly raised from the dead on the third day.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">In a flash of 33 short years, through a brief ministry of 3 years, in one blink of time's eye, the full revelation of God was given. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">This new and personal<i> </i>disclosure of God builds on but eclipses all previous ones and is recorded in the pages of the New Testament. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Jesus Christ is the radiance of God's glory and the <i>exact </i>representation of his being. </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">When
we read his life, character and words, we're reading what God is
actually like.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Not approximately, but precisely, because Jesus Christ <i>is
</i> God come in human flesh.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="color: red; font-size: medium;"><b>What about the Old Testament then?</b></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Where does that leave us? </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Is the God of the Old Testament different from the God of the New?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The question is wrong headed because the presumed dichotomy between Old and New is false. There is only <i>one </i>revelation of God - the combined Old and New Testaments.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Old Testament was never meant to be a full revelation of God, only an introduction to Him and a signpost to Jesus Christ who would reveal God fully. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">They
say first impressions matter most, but how many times have we
discovered that someone we have grown to admire and love over time did not yield up their whole spirits to us straight away? We would have been wrong to judge their character by first draft.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">That's how to understand the Old Testament, an introductory and partial revelation of God. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">In the same way that a handshake does not say much about a new friend - and is not meant to - so the Old Testament does not reveal the whole character of God and was never meant to. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">We need the Old which points forward to the coming of God to earth, and the New which points backwards to explain that Astounding Life to get the Full Picture. </span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="p"><b><span style="color: red; font-size: medium;">Read the Gospel of Mark (Matthew, John or Luke)<br /></span></b></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="p">So,
to everyone stumbled by the objection "the Old Testament God is severe"
we would say read the Gospel of Mark (or Matthew, or Luke or John). For there you will read what God is really, fully and gloriously like. <br /></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="p">And there you will discover a God who is filled with grace and truth.<br /></span></span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="p"> </span></span></span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="p">AI Image:</span></span></span></i></div><div style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="p">"Draw a fiery mountain of Sinai in the style of Van Gogh"</span></span></span></i></div><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> -------------------------------oOo----------------------------</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b><span style="color: red;">Additional Note about Compassion and Judgement</span></b></span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b><span style="color: red;"><br /></span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Yes, there is more judgement in Jesus than the sceptics would care to acknowledge; and more compassion in the Old Testament than they are prepared to find.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Old Testament law was compassionate to three universally needy categories, the orphan, the widow, the alien (outsider). Their safety and well-being was ring-fenced by numerous laws. Old Testament laws were also kinder when compared to the laws of the surrounding nations. We see this when we compare the <i>Code of Hammurabi</i>, for example, with the laws found in the Old Testament. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Contrawise, Jesus said some of the most striking things about judgement found anywhere in the Bible. To towns who rejected his truth he said, "Truly I tell you, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town."<span class="p"> (Matthew 10:15). To someone who stumbles young faith Jesus said, "It would be better for them to have a large millstone rung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea." (Matthew 18:6) </span></span></p>roysummersblogspothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16898720933893809538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3966626754260619440.post-48735562170595179452023-10-26T21:14:00.001+01:002023-10-26T21:14:23.100+01:00Why does God Hide his Face?<p><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh998fqh7ZE6FpfmFfi5orZiNrBr7jxyn80Swsp6QXpaOFnOsI60VaXya53JfIQiKYe3MpIsECteXYRO7IuxG6-j1ras3gCu01NPbvsRephNyz4pWhVI9zP5yNJYtnKmtld0kcv8u1OyHP7hIv4vWXOzFSgwXKAF5o2Plv00caGn1E3hG2kzfJ48ec-gCSg/s1024/DALL%C2%B7E%202023-10-20%2013.22.36%20-%20Someone%20hiding%20in%20the%20style%20of%20van%20gogh.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh998fqh7ZE6FpfmFfi5orZiNrBr7jxyn80Swsp6QXpaOFnOsI60VaXya53JfIQiKYe3MpIsECteXYRO7IuxG6-j1ras3gCu01NPbvsRephNyz4pWhVI9zP5yNJYtnKmtld0kcv8u1OyHP7hIv4vWXOzFSgwXKAF5o2Plv00caGn1E3hG2kzfJ48ec-gCSg/s320/DALL%C2%B7E%202023-10-20%2013.22.36%20-%20Someone%20hiding%20in%20the%20style%20of%20van%20gogh.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><span style="color: #134f5c; font-size: medium;">Why doesn't God reveal himself to the World?</span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">A common objection to Christian faith runs something like this: If God really does exist why doesn't he prove his existence in some dramatic and obvious five-senses way? </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Why must Christians appeal either to history (the incarnation, the miracles, the resurrection of Jesus) or to the future (the day of judgement), or to sixth-sense 'faith' in order to believe?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Why not some dazzling appearance, or other tangible, convincing proof?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">It's a very good question. </span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-size: medium;">"God has signed all of his masterpieces"</span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">It could be argued - and Christians do - that evidence of God's existence is everywhere we look. We would reason that "time + chance + natural law" are simply insufficient to explain the beauty and complexity of this amazing world. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">(And now that scientists have pinned the age of the earth to around 5 billion years, the probabilistic reservoir this provides is defined and small: insufficient to generate the simplest gene by chance, let alone the simplest cell). <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">One song writer in the Bible put it this way, "The heavens declare the glory of God," by which he meant that the universe reveals the existence of an incredibly wise designer. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">In our day, we should include fine-tuning as evidence pointing to Design. A great number of factors must combine to enable the universe to sustain life: a small change in any one of these factors would result in a sterile universe. Looks like Someone tweaked all the numbers. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The argument is this: God has made himself known, if we will only look forensically at the natural world. Every creature, planet and star has his signature engraved upon it. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Or so the Christian argument runs. <br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><span style="color: #134f5c;">"The problem may be with us, not God"<br /></span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Suppose for a moment, that this argument is true, that God shouts to us through the created order. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">How come, then do some people not hear that voice? </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Could the problem be in the listener rather than the speaker?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Could our ears be closed? Our eyes be blind? <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Suppose there is something about <i>us </i>that resists acknowledging the existence of a God? </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Suppose, recognition of his reality might demand a change in my life? </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">After all, if there is a God, he's surely our Master, is he not?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">And presumably, if he is our Boss, we should ask him how he wants us to live?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Yes?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">And this we do not want to do! We prefer to be masters of our own lives, captain of our own fates; we desire none to rule over us. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">We want to do what we want to do. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">And so we suppress the knowledge of God, though it screams from every flower, star and planet.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">We can all suppress truth, after all. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">We don't need historical illustrations or contemporary examples of truth-blindness. Our lives are full of personal examples.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">So perhaps God has spoken, but the real problem is that our ears are stopped up?</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-size: medium;">"Perhaps we are asking for the wrong kind of proof"</span></span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Or perhaps we're asking for the wrong variety of proof. We're looking for some manifestation which employs our five senses, evidence that would presumably overwhelmingly convince us. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Would that not be boring? After a while? Some dazzling shrine or flaming mountain to which doubters could travel and be blown away by divine manifestations of power?<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">And if the moral problem persisted in any case - we don't want to accept the existence of a God who may want to change our life-choices - what good would such an apparition be? </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Either we would not believe what we had just seen, or we'd believe but continue without amending life or lip.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">(Assuming that is, we weren't annihilated in the encounter, for can anyone see God and live?)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Someone retorts "If I saw God I <i>know </i>I would believe in him!" </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Are you sure? Thousands saw the miracles of Jesus and did not believe him. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The evidence problem may be far more entrenched than we care to admit.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #134f5c; font-family: verdana;"><b><span style="font-size: medium;">"Are we looking for the wrong kind of God?"</span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">And then, as I wind up, are we looking for the wrong <i>kind </i>of God? A power-god, who dwells in a Bara-dur or Burj Kahlifa kind of sanctuary which would overwhelm the physical senses?<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Perhaps we've got the character of God all wrong. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Perhaps he is not a Shock and Awe kind of God. <br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><span style="color: #134f5c;"><span style="font-size: medium;">"A Humble Servant God"</span><br /></span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Suppose the God who made the universe, as powerful and mighty as he must be, is actually gentle and humble and loving. <br /></span></p><span style="font-family: verdana;">S</span><span style="font-family: verdana;">uppose that for love's sake he hides his glory, so that we can see him and live.</span><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">And suppose that he has revealed himself most fully, not in the violent energy of supernovae or the power of hurricanes, but in a still quiet voice.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Suppose that Jesus of Nazareth was God come to earth, a humble, ordinary, we-can-relate-to real human being.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Suppose his life of compassion (oh and power), of meekness (yes, and majesty) reveals the true heart of God.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Not some power-hungry, in your face kind of deity, but a God who loves to<i> serve</i> those he created. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Perhaps the servant-hearted humility of God explains why he does not submit to our foolish and childlike demands for showy power proofs. </span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b><span style="color: #134f5c;">This is why we need Faith </span><br /></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The reason we need divine faith is not the absence of evidence.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">We need faith because of the hardness of our hearts. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Faith opens our eyes to reality. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">All of a sudden </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">heaven above is softer blue, earth around a sweeter green, something lives in every hue that Christless eyes have never seen. Birds with gladder songs o’erflow, and flowers with deeper beauties shine...</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">All this glory was there before we were given the gift of faith. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">But faith, along with a changed heart gives sight. <br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>AI Image:<br />"Dalle draw someone hiding in the style of van gogh"<br /></i></span></span></p>roysummersblogspothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16898720933893809538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3966626754260619440.post-9231661930797499212023-10-17T18:59:00.002+01:002023-10-18T07:57:52.946+01:00God, the Holocaust and Hope<p><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtNQLprU4YfAH9SS3Bfi0QrUTOY3l_AZTTnYeJSg6AFJMmO10u4-ReJqzDaQksKM4Sz6ACNuViS3D9_sVHkKxNs8sIS98tY8pD_uH_XmpI3vOuM4f7OqMWbpjN9mevVXGWt7bCrePDAVt8qbv51-7Z-RsxBZ_gmns3zhGc2GoSH61wAcDTPJLL5sHB1aMy/s1024/DALL%C2%B7E%202023-10-12%2022.34.10%20-%20draw%20the%20entrance%20to%20birkenau%20.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtNQLprU4YfAH9SS3Bfi0QrUTOY3l_AZTTnYeJSg6AFJMmO10u4-ReJqzDaQksKM4Sz6ACNuViS3D9_sVHkKxNs8sIS98tY8pD_uH_XmpI3vOuM4f7OqMWbpjN9mevVXGWt7bCrePDAVt8qbv51-7Z-RsxBZ_gmns3zhGc2GoSH61wAcDTPJLL5sHB1aMy/s320/DALL%C2%B7E%202023-10-12%2022.34.10%20-%20draw%20the%20entrance%20to%20birkenau%20.png" width="320" /></a></span></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b>"Let's watch this series together"</b></span><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">In the year 2005, the BBC produced a documentary series, "Auschwitz: The Nazis and the Final Solution." I insisted that all my sons (except for the youngest) sit and watch the series with me.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">I hadn't done that sort of thing before, nor since.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">I wanted to give my sons firsthand proof of what the Bible says about the wickedness of the human heart. And evidence of the existence of an invisible wicked personal evil called the devil.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">My sons still talk about the series today...</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">I have long wanted to visit Auschwitz myself, to see with my own eyes testimony of the holocaust. A desire inspired, in part, by a</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> book written by German-American historian Hannah Arendt with a title that contains the memorable phrase "the banality of evil." Meaning: the men who committed these atrocities seemed to be run of the mill regular guys. </span><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Two weeks ago I went to Auschwitz....<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b><span style="color: #666666;"><span>The experience itself</span></span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The tour began with a sombre walk through a sort of concrete tunnel from whose bleak walls loudspeakers speak out the names of victims. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">No visitor says a word, of course: the purpose is to remove frivolity from visitors.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">We were taken into some of the brick barracks (the wooden versions are all gone except for a few reconstructed ones) and then we were shown one display of evidence after another...<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">...a mountain of shoes, thousands of them - with one small pair of dainty ballet shoes near the front <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">...a case filled with a sea of human locks of hair. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">...a pile of spectacles</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">...mounds of suitcases in all shapes and sizes. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">...the infamous three-tiered sleeping arrangements for the prisoner-workers (and the superior accommodation given to the vicious guards.)<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Then on to the gas chambers disguised as shower rooms; once locked they were filled with poisonous gas which took anything up to 20 minutes to asphyxiate every single soul.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">And then - how very close by, for the design was highly efficient - the crematoria. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Relentless wearying depravity. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">And then to fields where the ashes were thrown; at times the powder was cast into the beautiful Vistula river nearby. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">And then to the death wall where some prisoners were shot rather than gassed; and lastly to gallows where one of the commandants, Rudolf Hoss was returned to be hanged. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">(The house where Hoss and his wife and kids lived a normal life was pointed out by the guide. "The one with the orangey roof through the trees, just over there?" Every evening Rudolf went home, spent the evening with his kids and wife like a million other dads - oh the banality of evil - and then when he woke the next day...)<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Who lives there now? I naively asked. "Oh, the Nazis stole it from a Polish family before the war and it was returned to the plundered family afterwards; they live there happily today." </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Purge the evil with amnestic normality.<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b><span style="color: #666666;">Two deep impressions</span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Auschwitz-Birkenau is a harrowing experience. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">You would need a heart of granite not to be deeply moved. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">We left with two impressions. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">One, which we expected, was the sheer wickedness of Hitler and his regime. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">And although we know that human beings can stoop to great depths of depravity, one could not but ask what demonic influences were added to the brutal mix. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The other impression, unexpected, was the inexplicable collusion of Jews in the Holocaust. So many Jews were involved in the killing machine as operatives in the gassing and crematoria processes. They knew what was happening and they knew they would eventually be killed to rid the world of evidence. But so strong is the power of self-preservation and the ability to squash human conscience that for the sake of a few more months of life, some were prepared to work against their fellows. We dare not judge. <br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b><span style="color: #666666;"><span>Only Christian doctrine can explain the Holocaust</span><span><br /></span></span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">I came away asking how the world might go about explaining this terrifying killing machine. Just what one would expect from a universe of pitiless indifference? </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Only Christian doctrine has the guts and the hope we need to cope with such a place. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i>Fallenness and the Devil</i><br /></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Explanation. The falleness of human beings, made in the image of God, now marred and twisted, accounts for the depths to which those men sank. But we must add to human depravity the influence of the evil one whose only desire is to steal, kill and destroy; only with Satan in the mix do you have the abysmal plenitude of wickedness required to design and carry out the final solution.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i>Judgement to come<br /></i></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Grit. Hitler escaped judgement in this world, but he won't escape it in the world to come. This truth, this fact, is a great comfort as well as a restraint to revenge, for we can leave judgement to the Judge of all the earth. <br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #666666; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b>Only the Gospel Gives Hope in the face of evil<br /></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Americans sent a Christian chaplain (who spoke German) by the name Henry Gerecke to Nuremberg to talk to the evil men who planned and carried out the Holocaust. (For a review of the book, see <a href="http://roysummersblog.blogspot.com/2018/02/mission-to-nuremberg-christ-died-for.html">HERE</a>). </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Week after week padre Gerecke spoke to these notgodforsaken men. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Out of the fifteen men in his pastoral care, Henry was convinced that at least 4 of them eventually responded to the Gospel, repenting of their terrible crimes and confessing their sins to God.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Of course these men were all duly punished for their evils, but if their confession, repentance and faith was sincere, then like the thief on the cross next to Jesus, today they are in paradise!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Only the Gospel can give glorious hope in deepest pits men dig for themselves. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Only the Gospel of Jesus Christ gives hope to sinners. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">To sinners like Hitler, and sinners like us.<br /></span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="ILfuVd" lang="en"><span class="hgKElc"><i><span style="font-family: verdana;">“This is a faithful
saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the
world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.”</span></i></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span class="ILfuVd" lang="en"><span class="hgKElc"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> 1 Timothy 1:15.</span></span></span></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: x-small;"><i><span style="font-family: verdana;">AI image:</span></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: x-small;"><i><span style="font-family: verdana;">"Dalle Draw the entrance to Birkenau"</span></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-size: x-small;"><i><span style="font-family: verdana;">(A remarkable image which catches the grim bleakness of the place)<br /></span></i></span></div>roysummersblogspothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16898720933893809538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3966626754260619440.post-8531394331682951392023-10-10T11:24:00.020+01:002023-11-12T19:22:42.272+00:00In Honour of Godly Ministers<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB5xt8lvz7DdZsm4IVrWnD_4frINJRWhclNeKH1Nuz-8ezINHBb0gImu0-LAgJ3UkQZoTkLyKwrbF7_sfI6W-6XSCvWV7ce42nRejbzEmB1iMMO-MxukSomfQcl56pqqsd2tjZc_TCo3GPdiUUp0WuQF2xN9Vrq0Zguyyg1F0fvxjY05zM9njow1wEVluH/s1024/DALL%C2%B7E%202023-09-29%2008.58.41%20-%20draw%20a%20group%20of%20five%20male%20shepherds%20looking%20after%20a%20flock%20of%20sheep%20in%20the%20style%20of%20van%20gogh%20.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB5xt8lvz7DdZsm4IVrWnD_4frINJRWhclNeKH1Nuz-8ezINHBb0gImu0-LAgJ3UkQZoTkLyKwrbF7_sfI6W-6XSCvWV7ce42nRejbzEmB1iMMO-MxukSomfQcl56pqqsd2tjZc_TCo3GPdiUUp0WuQF2xN9Vrq0Zguyyg1F0fvxjY05zM9njow1wEVluH/w200-h200/DALL%C2%B7E%202023-09-29%2008.58.41%20-%20draw%20a%20group%20of%20five%20male%20shepherds%20looking%20after%20a%20flock%20of%20sheep%20in%20the%20style%20of%20van%20gogh%20.png" width="200" /></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #b45f06;">Surprised by This Fad</span></b></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">I cannot possibly be the only church minister who has been saddened and surprised by the recent spate of pastor-bashing taking place in parts of the evangelical Christian press. At least in the UK. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Every tribe has its bandwagons on which everyone is obliged to jump, and at the moment this is a fad we're all expected to lamely and throughtlessly embrace and promote. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Mary had a little lamb... <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">But it's essential to question every fad, evangelical or not.<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><span style="color: #b45f06;"><span style="font-size: large;"> I have never met a dodgy Pastor</span></span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">I have been in full time ministry for over 30 years and before that lived in a missionary-Pastor's home from birth, so let's call that around 50 years of observation. My parental home was like a railway station, with numerous evangelists, missionaries and pastors flowing through it every year. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">In those fifty years I have never once come across a dodgy pastor. I have never met a pastor who was unkind to his sheep or who lived for himself rather than for those the Chief Shepherd called him to care for.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Not one.</span></p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Zilch.</span></p><p style="margin-left: 80px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">None.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">I have come across pastors who have weaknesses (every one of them). Pastors who are sinners (that's all of them). I have come across pastors who have made mistakes (who hasn't?) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Let me tell you what I<i> have </i>come across: pastors who have been mistreated by church leaders. Pastors who were slandered by wolves. And churches that are little more than pastor-eating machines.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">But in half a century I have not known a single dicey pastor.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Instead I have known dozens of humble, faithful, hard-working, self-sacrificing and diligent pastors of whom the world is not worthy. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Let's thank God for godly Pastors. <br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><span style="color: #b45f06;"><span style="font-size: large;">A discrepancy that needs Explaining</span></span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The enormous dissonance between my personal experience and the current fad needs explaining.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">It is possible that my experience is not wide enough. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">It is possible that I have worked among an unusual band of godly ministers. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">We know that there must be dubious characters out there because the Scriptures warn against false teachers and wolves who dress up in the clothing of sheep, false leaders who appear as angels of light. No-one disputes that.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">But none of these facts explain the discrepancy adequately. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">I believe there is a deeper problem that evangelicals simply do not want to face up to and here's the tell-tale clue...<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: large;">The reason for the fad</span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">...nearly every</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> fallen pastor of recent notoriety has belonged to one of the mega-churches, or in some cases to a mega-para-church outfit. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">I could list the names, but that would be unkind, and for all I know they may have repented. (Moreover, we are not The Judge.)<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">As a result of these mega falls, ordinary pastors are tarred with the same fallen big-shot preacher brush. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The underlying problem no-one wants to face is that the evangelical church is plagued by idolatry. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">We now all worship at the shrine of B.I.G.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Perhaps mega-churches should not exist. Perhaps they are a twisted caricature of New Testament churches (which were all small, we must assume, since they met in homes). <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Perhaps the existence of a mega-church, designed to be a temple of worldly fame, power and prestige "I go to Lakewood," "I belong to the Village Church," "I go to Saddleback," "I attend the Potter's House," "I'm a member of Grace Community," "I used to go to Westminster Chapel," is the real problem.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Why are large churches a big problem?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Because no human being, absolutely no-one, can be trusted with power. The story of the Old Testament kings teach us that lesson. So does the New Testament where no hierarchal church structures exist with some human pope at the top. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Numbers go to the head, and not one person in this world or in the church is immune to the temptations of power. Not one. And its from these large "churches" that most if not all of the recent ministerial falls have come. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Could the real problem have nothing to do with the ranks of ordinary pastors and everything to do with big churches and the notion of a big-shot preacher? </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Our idolatry of Numbers?<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Perhaps every church should be of such a size that the undershepherd can actually care for them. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">By producing and exalting big churches we set up ministers for their falls.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">And when the big shots fall they tar thousands of ordinary pastors with the same wretched brush.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Could this not be the underlying reason for the present pastor-bashing fad?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">I believe it is. <br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><span style="color: #b45f06;"><span style="font-size: large;">The Cure </span><br /></span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The cure is not to go on a witch hunt, as some evangelical papers are presently doing, but to take the following steps:</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i>1) Break up big churches</i></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Acknowledge that with increased number and finances comes increased temptation. So let big churches disappear from the face of the earth and be replaced by real local churches where the pastor knows every member of his flock. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">(I have no doubt that the cause of the Gospel across the world would flourish exponentially if every mega church broke down into dozens; members would be free to serve in new ways and among new groups). </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Let pastors pursue care for their flocks rather than chasing power, influence and fame.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i>2) Exercise Biblical justice</i></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">If we can't break up large churches, let's stop honouring their leaders above the pastors of small churches. Every pastor, in God's eyes, stands on equal ground, and as much can be learnt from the one as from the other. By relentlessly honouring the big-shots and their churches (a mistake I have made in a recent blog) we despise the ordinary pastor and set the scene for the fall of the former. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><b>3) Avoid heirarchy structures in church denominations / affiliations <br /></b></i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Church denominations are notorious for advancing the cause of their large churches - because those larger churches pay them the most dosh; they have no choice but to treat the big shots preferentially. Denominations must act equitably among their church constituents, treating all pastors equally; if anything, with a Christ-like bias to the poor. But of course they don't, and won't. <br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><span style="color: #b45f06;"><span style="font-size: large;">Why Pastor-Bashing Matters</span></span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">There are five reasons we should all be concerned by this present fad.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i>1) Ministerial discouragement.</i></b> I cannot be the only pastor who has been profoundly discouraged by writers in the evangelical press in recent years, who rather than being critical of this fad, have embraced and even enlarged it. Some papers have gone on witch-hunts across land and sea to pursue who they regard as dodgy in a programme reminiscent of the inquisition. Fancy that, an evangelical inquisition! <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">When pastors who work extraordinary hours in difficult labours read article after article either of the fall of the latest big-shot or the need to set up "OfPast" their already difficult work becomes even more burdensome.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i>2) Profound Imbalance.</i></b> Add to this the imbalance of reporting. Most Tesla cars do not burst into flames but the reported few give exaggerated negative press to the company. If the number of articles was in proportion to the problem found among ordinary pastors, that would be OK; and if for every negative article there were three positive ones, that would also be OK. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i>3) Pastors now fear Biblical rebuking.</i></b> One part of a pastor's work is to rebuke the flock, lovingly and gently, but firmly if needed. I know of no pastor who enjoys this, or wants to do it. Most pastors run a mile from confrontation. It's the nature of a true and loving under-shepherd. But my guess is that in the present climate, they will be tempted to run a mile from any sort of loving rebuke, to the spiritual detriment of the saints. Because they may report him to OfPast. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i>4) Churches may distrust their pastors</i></b>. A fourth effect of this fad is the rise of distrust towards goldy loving and upright church pastors. Why should we trust our pastor if most, or so it would appear from parts of the evangelical press, are dodgy?<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i>5) A confusion between personality and character.</i></b> If churches buy into this false fad they could easily confuse personality with character. Godly character can be found in a wide range of personalities, from shocking pink to boring magnolia. From the Elijahs and John the Baptists of the church to the apostle John's. But, as a consequence of this fad, we are seeing a dramatic rise in magnolia. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Vanilla is OK - but so is Carolina Reaper. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Where among the evangelical leaders of today are there any <i>interesting </i>personalities? Luthers? Grebels? Spurgeons? Wesleys? Tozers? We look in vain!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i><b>6) Future pastors discouraged</b></i>. If, as a young man, I was thinking and praying about ministry today, I would think not twice but three times. </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">Anyone who needs encouragement should stay clear.</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> Only magnolia men should apply. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Prophets stay in your caves. </span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span><br /></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><span style="color: #b45f06;"><span style="font-size: large;">In Honour of Godly Pastors</span></span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Someone needs to say these things, remembering that the approval of Christ is infinitely more precious than the acceptance of men. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">October is called "Clergy Appreciation Month." (A new one on me). We should not need a formal month to thank God for our pastors, who do not seek the approval of men in the first place. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">But we need to start a new tradition. One in which the tens of thousands of ordinary godly pastors around the world are honoured, loved and cared for, not bashed, bruised and tarred with all those big-shot failures. <br /></span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-small;"><span><i>AI Image above:<br /></i></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-small;"><span><i>Dalle: "draw a group of five male shepherds looking after a</i></span></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-small;"><span><i> flock of sheep in the style of van gogh.</i></span>"</span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-small;"><i>(clearly Dalle can't count, because it has painted only one shepherd!)</i></span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-small;"><i><br /></i></span></div>roysummersblogspothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16898720933893809538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3966626754260619440.post-35006274785153321202023-09-27T22:05:00.004+01:002023-09-28T10:29:37.048+01:00To Marry or Not to Marry - Now that is a Very Good Question<p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-qIwGOZNJ_o1UYjKkn-kvYIx38ZnRPnGq7fVEN29je_v5_pAEwn6ALYJ4OE4ZTGmnjXgY4EypD4Ex41ZdR_PeBh4deGXJYu2NprXAq_y6rrhwW4Nivb5wKDjCu1Hv_79N-0zl2tMebx9HpSlup0TmmclXDyAeyFlF10GroVtl-D0mHZrVtCS89HXV_f7o/s1024/DALL%C2%B7E%202023-09-26%2021.15.01%20-%20draw%20a%20happy%20single%20person%20in%20the%20style%20of%20impressionist.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-qIwGOZNJ_o1UYjKkn-kvYIx38ZnRPnGq7fVEN29je_v5_pAEwn6ALYJ4OE4ZTGmnjXgY4EypD4Ex41ZdR_PeBh4deGXJYu2NprXAq_y6rrhwW4Nivb5wKDjCu1Hv_79N-0zl2tMebx9HpSlup0TmmclXDyAeyFlF10GroVtl-D0mHZrVtCS89HXV_f7o/w200-h200/DALL%C2%B7E%202023-09-26%2021.15.01%20-%20draw%20a%20happy%20single%20person%20in%20the%20style%20of%20impressionist.png" width="200" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: large;"> </span><span style="font-size: medium;"><b>A Couples World?</b></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">It is all too easy to gain the impression among our evangelical churches that the married state is the only option for believers to pursue.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">For example when we preach on marriage and assume the teaching will apply to everyone. Or perhaps when we highlight Mother's Day or Father's Day. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Or when matchmakers in the congregation go to work subtly - or not. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Or when we do not honour the singles in our congregations in the same way we honour the marrieds.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">It's easy to do, and we can always default to Genesis 2 in defence, "God made Adam to marry and have an Eve."<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b><span style="color: #ff00fe;">The Fall Changes Some Things</span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">But the Fall of Mankind has changed a few things. For one thing, marriage has become more difficult. "Those who marry will face many troubles in this life." (1 Corinthians 7:28). </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Paul does not spell out what these difficulties will be, but among them must be strains in the relationship between man and wife, who are both selfish fallen sinners, plus the troubles brought upon parents by their children and grandchildren (not of course, neglecting the tremendous joys!)<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b><span style="color: #ff00fe;">Redemption Changes Some Things</span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit adds a new dimension to the "should I marry?" equation too. The gift of singleness is now a possibility, "Each man has his own gift from God; one has this gift, another has that." (1 Corinthians 7:7)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Add to this the new-born desire of a believer to serve the Saviour who they love, wholeheartedly, single-mindedly, without any distractions. "An unmarried man is concerned about the Lord's affairs - how he can please the Lord." (1 Corinthians 7:32)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">And on top of these redemptive changes, the example of the Man Christ Jesus and his Apostle, Paul.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Fall and Redemption have changed the marriage equation in this present, passing world.</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">So too - and most supremely - has this amazing heavenly truth: one day every believer will be truly "married." </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Since human marriage was modelled on
the "Marriage" between Christ and his people (Ephesians 5:32) we will
all enjoy capital "M" Marriage even if we never experience lower case
"m" marriage. Heaven awaits every believer, single or married. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">And in
heaven the faint echo of union with Christ expressed through human
marriage will give way to the exponentially more glorious reality of true "Marriage" with Jesus
Christ our Lord.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">My (married, obviously) mother's famous hymn expressed this "M" Marriage hope: <br /></span></p><p style="margin-left: 40px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Face to face with Christ, my Saviour<br />
Face to face, what will it be?<br />
When with rapture I behold him<br />
Jesus Christ who died for me</span></p><div style="margin-left: 40px;">
</div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 40px;"><i style="font-family: verdana;">Face to face shall I
behold him<br />
Far beyond the starry sky<br />
Face to face in all his glory<br />
I shall see him by and by</i></p><div style="margin-left: 40px;">
</div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 40px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Only faintly now I see him<br />
With the darkened veil between<br />
But a blessed day is coming<br />
When his glory shall be seen</span></p><div style="margin-left: 40px;">
</div><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 40px;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Face to face, oh, blissful moment<br />
Face to face, to see and know<br />
Face to face with my Redeemer<br />
Jesus Christ who loved me so</span></p><div style="margin-left: 40px;">
</div><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b><span style="color: #ff00fe;">The Possibilities of Single Believers</span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Under the New Covenant, then, the creation ordinance of marriage is relativized on the one hand, and hope-gradioised for the world to come, on the other hand.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Every single believer ought to prayerfully ask themselves - has the Lord given me the gift of singleness? A critical part of that gifting lies in the ability to remain celibate, "it is better to marry than to burn with passion." (1 Corinthians 7:9) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">What amazing Gospel industriousness lies in the gift of single saints! <br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #ff00fe; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b>The teaching of the Church</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">And then the church, for her part, must back off from insisting singles should marry. She must stop pretending that the marriage state is for everyone. The church must honour the singles and make sure the real option of singleness is placed before every single saint.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">For a sermon about singleness and marriage, see <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eosU2ctgrEc&t=2s" target="_blank">HERE</a>. <br /></span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span style="font-family: verdana;">AI Painting above:</span></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span style="font-family: verdana;">"Dalle, </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">draw a happy single person in the style of impressionist."<br /></span></i></span></div>roysummersblogspothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16898720933893809538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3966626754260619440.post-50055957332025847762023-09-22T10:23:00.013+01:002023-10-30T10:25:07.294+00:00The Church is in a Class of its Own<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5brrmkAkk6e6W2AebovAvS6BRz7t0WxBZ_5oDqwUP3DG5fs2yUZrtbRU_vGCIVAOYz-HN90Zri1bf7DpaO6Ejbpwr3x6vH7tWCXipyvlh1WmRnaPD3UGsBu5Mk5QlUZ5RZqGvhyb65T5cF8t8kIKdD_ly8V3vpIj2KiVnY28J2kgxbpvqwDO_OK1ku4CD/s1024/DALL%C2%B7E%202023-09-15%2009.18.42%20-%20Paint%20in%20the%20style%20of%20the%20impressionists%20the%20church%20is%20a%20sui%20generis%20.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5brrmkAkk6e6W2AebovAvS6BRz7t0WxBZ_5oDqwUP3DG5fs2yUZrtbRU_vGCIVAOYz-HN90Zri1bf7DpaO6Ejbpwr3x6vH7tWCXipyvlh1WmRnaPD3UGsBu5Mk5QlUZ5RZqGvhyb65T5cF8t8kIKdD_ly8V3vpIj2KiVnY28J2kgxbpvqwDO_OK1ku4CD/s320/DALL%C2%B7E%202023-09-15%2009.18.42%20-%20Paint%20in%20the%20style%20of%20the%20impressionists%20the%20church%20is%20a%20sui%20generis%20.png" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #a64d79; font-family: verdana;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"> In a Class of its Own</span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Church of Jesus Christ, as a living organism, as a group of people, has no parallels in the world; neither the Church, capital "C" (all Christians who have ever lived) nor the church, small "c" (each local congregation). </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">There is no grouping with which we can compare the church to. No society, no organization, no association, no federation, no guild or league.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">And yet throughout history - and strangely right from the closing of the New Testament, the end of the apostolic age - there have been numerous attempts to exchange the pure ecclesiology of the New Testament for the ephemeral structures of the world. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">And so the church is in desperate need of reform in every decade and every century. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Reformation must never be regarded as a "done that in the 1500's" activity, but a regular and never-ending conforming of the church to the ways of Scripture, for like sheep, we are always going astray. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The uniqueness of the church is manifold:<br /></span></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Church of Jesus Christ, for example has no visible or earthly leader, no pope, no archbishop. The elders of every local church are accountable directly to their glorious heavenly Head. <br /></span></li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">There are no human hierarchal structures in the New Testament to bind (or in some case to blind) congregations together apart from the Gospel and love - no denominations, where pyramid hierarchies abound: pastors, bishops, archbishops.<br /></span></li></ul><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">(There is a very good reason for this latter uniqueness: every human organisation - including every Christian organization - has the potential for corruption, and if not corruption, human foibles, such as nepotism, old-boy networks, the abuse of power, imbalance, mono-culture, and so on. Only One Leader is free from human bias and folly.)</span></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">The New Testament Church has no physical location and possesses no property. </span></li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Church is utterly unique in the way it is made up of people from every tribe and nation, class and culture - in contrast to this world where, "birds of a feather flock together." Similar folks hang out with similar folks. But in the church there should be a radical difference on that front; people from every age, nation and rank rubbing shoulders, worshipping the Lord and breaking bread together. The Gospel alone connects God's people. <br /></span></li></ul><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">A further unique feature of the Church is its complete disinterest in numerics. Every company, business and political party is driven, judged, assessed, and obsessed with the numbers game. Whether the numerics pertain to annual growth percentage, the number of hits, number of members or dollars. Numbers are everything in the world. But the Scriptures, if anything, are number-phobic, to prevent glory going to man.<br /></span></li></ul><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">So how does the church ape the world today, rather than remaining in a class of its own, or to use an old Latin phrase, a <i>sui generis?</i> </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">And more importantly, how does each distortion harm the glory of Christ's church?<i><br /></i></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><span style="color: #a64d79;"><span style="font-size: large;">The Church as Night-Club<br /></span></span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Hillsong. Oh dear. Where do you start? You would have thought you'd walked through the wrong doors at the wrong time of the day. Lights, music, lasers. And then, worst of all, the composition of the congregation. Only healthy, Turkey-teeth, youngsters. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Emphasize the visible</span></p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Emphasize the audible</span></p><p style="margin-left: 80px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Emphasize the youthful beauty of the congregants<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The nightclub is a tiny sub-culture within wider western society. And apart from a thousand other reasons a church should not ape that model, the exclusive appeal to a narrow age-band is enough to condemn it. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">You might as well hang a sign on the door, "If you are older than 30, do not enter." No grey-hairs, no one who likes hymns, no sober minded folks....</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><span style="color: #741b47;"><span style="font-size: large;">The Church as a University department </span></span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">A common caricature is the Church as a department of the university. In these churches people are always going on "courses" and the pastors boast about, seek, and compare their academic qualifications. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The blurb on the books written by members of this community inform the reader what institutions the writer has studied at and what level he/she has achieved. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">All of this is utterly alien to the New Testament, where God's servants might boast about how much they have<i> suffered</i> for the Gospel, rather than how much they have been <i>lauded </i>by the world. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">To be part of the in-crowd you need to have read the latest evangelical scholar-gurus - even though their writings will probably be unknown before the decade's out. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Long words are used and abstract ideas preferred. (Like, for example, the Latin words I once used in this blog's title, "The Church is a "sui genereis""😑). You discover strange words, to quote Simon and Garfunkel, you "never heard in the Bible" such as "Pastors Academies" and "Theologians in Residence." Acts chapter what, we should ask? <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The tragic effect of this parody is at least two-fold. First, the supernatural elements of our faith are toned down, since rationalism generally tends to despise the supernatural. And secondly, ordinary people - once again it's the ordinary folks - are all too easily turned off; only the educated are allowed truth and comfort of the Gospel. <br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #741b47; font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><b>The Church as TV Studio</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Ever since the pandemic, churches have sought to studioize (not a recognized word; you read it here first!) their church buildings and especially their stages. I am amazed how many church platforms now have a black (or dark) background, with cool LED lights, where fair flowers of paradise once bloomed. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">On the one hand there is a new post-pandemic opportunity to share the Gospel with the world, but on the other hand dangers abound. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The service is now structured for the outside viewer. So let's introduce a strict time limit. Let's up the professionalism, so no more amateurs reading and no more learning-curve mistakes. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Only the most experienced musicians, meeting leaders, readers and preachers please. And of yes, make sure they are mostly young and mostly good looking.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">In other words, the aim of morning worship is now to seek approval by the world and - oh yes - to gather as many hits as possible. What a nest of errors creep into the studio perversion of the church! </span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><span style="color: #741b47;"><span style="font-size: large;">The Church as Ted Talks</span></span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">In this aberration, the singular and attracting feature is the big-shot who preaches every Sunday, the Sage on the Stage. </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">Always dissatisfied with the rather humbling title "Pastor" this bloke adds worldly titles to enhance his standing, perhaps "Apostle" or "Bishop" or "Dr" or perhaps he just slips in where he was educated, from time to time.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">And as the sage gets older weird stuff happens. He looks dafter and dafter as those around him struggle to fix up his looks with facelifts, toupees and teenager teeth (old faces don't get hits you see). Must cost a bomb - and no-one is deceived. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">And then as soon as he dies or moves on, the church unravels, because he was the soul and hub. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The true church, by contrast, is a priesthood of many believers, the church is likened to a body where every part and every gift - not just one - is vital and plays a role. Our only Head is Jesus Christ who is in heaven. <br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><span style="color: #741b47;"><span style="font-size: large;">The Church as a Building</span></span></b></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><span><span>This is the most prevalant mutation of the Church; Church = building. "I'm going to church," "join us at church," "if they don't own a building they're not a proper church," etc. Even though we all know that the church is never a building in the New Testament and only ever people - who can meet in any location whatsoever.</span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><span><span>Out there in the world this is <i>the </i>definition of the church, "there used to be a church on every corner." </span></span></span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><span><span>AI art program Dalle produced the church building drawing above when asked to draw a "church." </span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><span><span>A very subtle shift in ecclesiology takes place when we begin identifying the word Church with a building. People stop using their homes, organism is replaced by organisation, and "We're <i>going </i>to church" replaces "We <i>are</i> the church."</span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><span style="color: #741b47;"><span style="font-size: large;"> The Church as a Mono-Culture</span></span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Another all-too-common ecclesiastical mutation is the mono-cultural church. In a mixed city, the church is all white people, or all black people. In a city with blue and white collar workers, the church is all blue collar or all white collar. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Or all educated, or all non-educated. And so on.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">In the true church of Jesus Christ there ought to be Jew plus Gentile, Slave (the oppressed) and the Free, Male and Female.<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><span style="color: #741b47;"><span style="font-size: large;">The Church as Empire</span></span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">This variety of church is alive and well in all the denominations of the world and was the very first mutant of the Christian era. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Long before Constantine we find pyramid structures showing up in the church. It is astounding to discover within a century of Pentecost, individual churches happily buried under the heavy and chilling snow drift of bishops, archbishops, and so forth. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Some of the human reasons that were originally used back then are understandable (to protect the church from error while the New Testament canon was being formed, for example), but human reason should never trump Scripture. Now that we have the completed Scriptures which nowhere mentions bishops or archbishops, local churches should free themselves from the tyranny of church empires, out of loyalty to Jesus Christ. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The pyramid empire notion comes from the world where lust for power shapes the structure and shape of every human organisation. </span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b><span style="color: #741b47;">Reformation Today<br /></span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">There is a vast need in every era to return to the simplicity of the Gospel and the Scriptures vision of a pure church. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">And that is need is no less today than at any time in the history of the church. <br /></span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span style="font-family: verdana;">AI Drawing above:</span></i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><i><span style="font-family: verdana;">"Dalle paint in the style of the impressionists "the church is a sui generis""</span></i></span></div>roysummersblogspothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16898720933893809538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3966626754260619440.post-47636948756235405342023-09-20T17:12:00.009+01:002023-09-22T09:26:15.481+01:00Doubt is OK<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyUxH7NvSt6ic5Y0-3p3vIxd3N4_nbTIPdaFfnEodLWlr02TEL1Iq_hLW_msPnlyYhjr4cXHFGOlfkb5aBaBY1aanLAkon37xOeNKwpMbmQjzmVasVkA4-TFTfN5SVab1ZMCK8Win82yI3B9E3fIwr7rpQForIJyxbzLynWsjSgMArKxVm3dff4Sh8f5aR/s1024/DALL%C2%B7E%202023-09-18%2019.08.49%20-%20Draw%20a%20person%20in%20doubt%20digital%20art.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyUxH7NvSt6ic5Y0-3p3vIxd3N4_nbTIPdaFfnEodLWlr02TEL1Iq_hLW_msPnlyYhjr4cXHFGOlfkb5aBaBY1aanLAkon37xOeNKwpMbmQjzmVasVkA4-TFTfN5SVab1ZMCK8Win82yI3B9E3fIwr7rpQForIJyxbzLynWsjSgMArKxVm3dff4Sh8f5aR/s320/DALL%C2%B7E%202023-09-18%2019.08.49%20-%20Draw%20a%20person%20in%20doubt%20digital%20art.png" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #6fa8dc;"> </span></b></span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b><span style="color: #0004ff;">A Painful Experience</span></b></span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #0004ff;"><span style="color: black;">Anyone who has passed through a season of doubt will know what a painful experience it is. Doubt comes in one of two varieties. </span></span></span></p></div><div style="text-align: left;"><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #0004ff;"><span style="color: black;">Tier 1 doubt, by far the most painful and serious, is when we doubt our own salvation. This may arise out of personal failures, the apostasy of someone close to us or some terrible church experience. Or any number of other causes. I plan to write about this kind soon. <br /></span></span></span></p></div><div style="text-align: left;"><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #0004ff;"><span style="color: black;">Tier 2 doubt is also painful, but far less serious and takes place when we begin to doubt some truth we once held dear. I'm not thinking about the divinity of Jesus Christ, or any such central truth, but a secondary, or even tertiary doctrine. </span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #0004ff;"><span style="color: black;">In this blog I only consider the less serious variety of doubt, which is a common experience of believers: </span></span></span></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #0004ff;"><span style="color: black;">After the resurrection of Jesus, Thomas doubted (John 20)<br /></span></span></span></li><li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #0004ff;"><span style="color: black;">In Galillee some of the eleven doubted Jesus had risen from the dead, "but some doubted." (Matthew 28)</span></span></span></li><li style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #0004ff;"><span style="color: black;">Jude encourages us to be "merciful to those who doubt." (Jude 22) <br /></span></span></span></li></ul></div><div style="text-align: left;"><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;"><span style="color: #0004ff;"><span style="color: black;">Tier 2 doubt can make you a wiser and stronger believer. <br /></span></span></span></p></div><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b><span style="color: #0004ff;">My own Journey of Faith (and doubt) </span></b></span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b><span style="color: #0004ff;"><br /></span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">I used to believe everything "solid as a rock."</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Key word is "everything."</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">You could ask me a question about any spiritual topic and my answer, should I have had one, would be immediate, clear and certain. Doubt? Never. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">But then one day, perhaps 20 years ago, I began to question my own stance on one of the secondary doctrines of the Christian faith - it does not matter which one it was for the purpose of this blog. I did not doubt the doctrine itself, I began to doubt my own particular secondary views about that doctrine.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">All I had believed and read thus far on that particular issue, I began to question. It was quite a rocky journey. And for me a rather dramatic U-turn.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">(Now before anyone calls the Doctrine Police or hails the Truth Ambulance, the secondary doctrinal change I'm talking about is in the same category as say an Amillennialist becoming a Premillennialist. They continue to believe that Jesus Christ is returning in power and glory, they are just less certain of the secondary details, and especially the details they used to hold. Nothing foundational. No phone calls please.)</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">The Joy of Certainty</span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">My own life-long journey of faith and doubt has taken me on parallel train tracks.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">On the one hand, I have become more and more certain of the primary truths of Christianity, of the Gospel - found for example in the Apostle's Creed.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">I am more sure today that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who rose triumphantly from the dead than at any previous time in my life. I believe more firmly that there is a heaven to gain and a hell to shun. I am convinced that faith alone is the way to eternal life. I am convinced that God alone (not chance or law) is the Creator of this glorious universe.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">But at the very same time, I have become more and more sceptical of the stance I once took on some secondary doctrines. (I have learnt to hold on to these with a lighter touch, and sometimes even placed them on a shelf labelled "not sure yet."). </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Never sceptical of the doctrine itself but only about the secondary stances I used to take on it. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Secondary doctrines include the following:</span></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">the precise work of the Holy Spirit we can expect today in the life of a believer and in the church</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">the age of the earth and the age of the universe</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">the exact details of Christ's return</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">the precise nature of the narrative of Genesis 1 (poetry? narrative? elevated prose?)<br /></span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">what is the exact nature of the church <br /></span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">and so on</span></li></ul><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">I used to be totally convinced that the secondary positions I had adopted were right...<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b>No Place for Doubt</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">... and the reason for this certitude was not merely youthful pride or zeal without knowledge. There were - and often still are - two doubt problems in the good evangelical traditions I grew up in and love. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i>(1) First, there was no place for doubt.</i></b> Doubt was frowned upon and even regarded as a sin. Which meant that if a doubt was rising in your mind, one of two things happened. Either you ignored or suppressed it and lived with the pain of cognitive dissonance, or you apostastized and left the church altogether.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Doubt - asking questions - was treated in the same way as unbelief. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i>(2) No distinction was made between primary and secondary doctrines.</i></b> Even more significant, we were taught to hold primary and secondary truths with <i>equal</i> zeal. No distinction was made between primary and secondary truth. Which meant that if we were beginning to question our take on a secondary doctrine we found ourselves feeling guilty of primary unbelief. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">There is a vast - indeed an eternal - difference between primary and secondary doctrines. </span><span style="font-family: verdana;">(See a fuller explanation of the difference between primary and secondary <a href="http://roysummersblog.blogspot.com/2018/09/primary-truth.html" target="_blank">HERE</a>.)</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b>"Be merciful to those who doubt" (Jude 22) </b></span><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Churches ought to teach the difference between primary and secondary truth. We all need to hold onto primary salvation doctrines with utter conviction and certitude. But we must hold secondary doctrines with sensitivity and humility.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">We can't be sure about many secondary doctrines, not least because genuine believers on different sides throughout history have and do believe different things. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The very fact that good Christians do not believe the same things about how Jesus will return, for example (will he come before or after a millennium or without a literal millennium's involvement at all), should humble us all.<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #2b00fe; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b>A Sobering Tale</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Imagine a believer who was taught that the earth was created in six days about 6000 years ago (something God is quite able to have done, BTW). Imagine, however, that this doctrine was taught him with the same conviction and certainty as the Resurrection of Jesus from the dead. Suppose there was no recognition or admission that there is a world of difference between the resurrection of Jesus and one particular interpretation of Genesis 1-2.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Then imagine that this believer goes on to study the wonderful world of atomic physics. He (of course it could be a she) begins to understand the atomic clocks God has created and placed into the natural world. And he begin to question, and even to doubt, that the world is only 6000 years old.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">This would be fine if he was able to ask questions and to share his doubts with his church community who might have replied something like this: "The most important creation truth is that God made this glorious universe and everything in it. Do you believe that? And do you still believe in the Resurrection which is far more important than whether the world was created 6000 years ago in six days." </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">But suppose his newfound doubts were treated in the category as heresy? He would feel obliged not only to give up his original secondary views of creation, but the whole Gospel to boot, for they have been tied together. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">I once had a friend....<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;">Doubt is OK</span></b></span><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><br /></span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Our evangelical churches need to make space for doubt. If they don't we'll drive doubters into the hands of a strange modern aberration called "emerging Christianity" which has already abandoned not only secondary doctrines but primary ones too.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Our churches need to make space for doubt.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Not unbelief. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">There is a world of difference between doubt and unbelief.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Doubt says "I believe in Jesus Christ but I'm struggling with this issue or that issue." </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Unbelief says "I won't believe, full stop, no matter."</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Unbelief is a sin. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Doubt, on the other hand, is the human flip side of the genuine coin of faith.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Jesus never condemns Thomas for doubting. Quite to the contrary, he does everything he can to calm his heart and alleviate his doubt.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Unbelief damns the soul while doubt strengthens our faith in the long run, and makes us more sensitive to the questions of others and the questions of the lost and needy world Jesus came to save. </span></p><div><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-small;"><i>AI drawing: "Dalle draw a person in doubt, digital art"</i></span><br /></p></div>roysummersblogspothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16898720933893809538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3966626754260619440.post-47020612950010174482023-09-15T09:16:00.004+01:002023-09-20T08:49:49.098+01:00Why did God allow Evil into the World?<div style="text-align: center;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPtJjXI0TbE3Cz_uyA5zZgDA_SozV96YHzMBIn6SNc1h__zElvSrIAKCOHH-CTZweLROegB23UWdh7BnaekwgQkIB_qidBhuyVs_3tfg3lu-IqRdjMRJvUnZofuZOzouOws-NJ98CyLZ8X9PhhDA1PZsm8T57fXp2uWNvr8kItkjDQ0J2AO1utL62ULrcX/s1024/evil.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPtJjXI0TbE3Cz_uyA5zZgDA_SozV96YHzMBIn6SNc1h__zElvSrIAKCOHH-CTZweLROegB23UWdh7BnaekwgQkIB_qidBhuyVs_3tfg3lu-IqRdjMRJvUnZofuZOzouOws-NJ98CyLZ8X9PhhDA1PZsm8T57fXp2uWNvr8kItkjDQ0J2AO1utL62ULrcX/s320/evil.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /></div><p style="text-align: left;"></p><p></p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><span style="color: #990000; font-size: medium;"> </span><span style="color: #990000; font-size: large;">No-one Knows (and that's OK)</span><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #990000;"><br /></span></span></b></span></p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span class="text Isa-55-8" id="en-NIV-18749" style="font-family: verdana;">“For my thoughts are not your thoughts,</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /><span class="indent-1"><span class="indent-1-breaks"> </span><span class="text Isa-55-8">neither are your ways my ways,”</span></span><br /><span class="right"><span class="text Isa-55-8">declares the <span class="small-caps" style="font-variant: small-caps;">Lord</span>.</span></span><span class="text Isa-55-9" id="en-NIV-18750"><sup class="versenum"> </sup></span></span></p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="text Isa-55-9" id="en-NIV-18750"><sup class="versenum"> </sup>“As the heavens are higher than the earth,</span><br /><span class="indent-1"><span class="indent-1-breaks"> </span><span class="text Isa-55-9">so are my ways higher than your ways</span></span><br /><span class="indent-1"><span class="indent-1-breaks"> </span><span class="text Isa-55-9">and my thoughts than your thoughts."</span></span></span></p><p style="margin-left: 120px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="indent-1"><span class="text Isa-55-9"><i>Isaiah 55</i> <br /></span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="indent-1"><span class="text Isa-55-9">True worshippers are never the happier than when they acknowledge the incomprehensible grandeur of our ineffable God in worship: </span></span></span></p><div style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><div class="ujudUb"><i><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span>Eternal Power, whose high abode</span><br aria-hidden="true" /><span>Becomes the grandeur of a God,</span><br aria-hidden="true" /><span>Infinite lengths beyond the bounds</span><br aria-hidden="true" /><span>Where stars revolve their little rounds:</span></span></i></div><div class="ujudUb"><i><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span> </span></span></i></div><div class="ujudUb"><i><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span>Thee while the first archangel sings, </span><br aria-hidden="true" /><span>He hides his face behind his wings;</span><br aria-hidden="true" /><span>And ranks of shining ones around</span><br aria-hidden="true" /><span>Fall worshipping and spread the ground.</span></span></i></div><div class="ujudUb"><i><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span> </span></span></i></div><div class="ujudUb WRZytc"><i><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span>Lord, what shall earth and ashes do?</span><br aria-hidden="true" /><span>We would adore our Maker too!</span><br aria-hidden="true" /><span>From sin and dust to thee we cry,</span><br aria-hidden="true" /><span>The great, the holy, and the high!</span></span></i></div><div class="ujudUb WRZytc"><i><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span> </span></span></i></div><div class="ujudUb WRZytc"><i><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span>(Isaac Watts)</span></span></i></div></div><p style="text-align: left;"></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="indent-1"><span class="text Isa-55-9">To worship a God we can rationally understand is to worship our equal and thus to worship an idol. </span></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="indent-1"><span class="text Isa-55-9">Even after the incarnation has revealed so much more of the character and beauty of God there remains much room for wonder:<br /></span></span></span></p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><i><span class="text Rom-11-33" style="font-family: verdana;">Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!</span><span style="font-family: verdana;"><br /><span class="indent-1"><span class="indent-1-breaks"> </span><span class="text Rom-11-33">How unsearchable his judgments,</span></span><br /><span class="indent-1"><span class="indent-1-breaks"> </span><span class="text Rom-11-33">and his paths beyond tracing out!</span></span><br /><span class="text Rom-11-34" id="en-NIV-28244"><sup class="versenum">34 </sup>“Who has known the mind of the Lord?</span><br /><span class="indent-1"><span class="indent-1-breaks"> </span><span class="text Rom-11-34">Or who has been his counselor?”</span></span><br /><span class="text Rom-11-35" id="en-NIV-28245"><sup class="versenum">35 </sup>“Who has ever given to God,</span><br /><span class="indent-1"><span class="indent-1-breaks"> </span><span class="text Rom-11-35">that God should repay them?”</span></span><br /><span class="text Rom-11-36" id="en-NIV-28246"><sup class="versenum">36 </sup>For from him and through him and for him are all things.</span><br /><span class="indent-1"><span class="indent-1-breaks"> </span><span class="text Rom-11-36">To him be the glory forever! Amen.</span></span></span></i></p><p style="margin-left: 80px; text-align: left;"><i><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span class="indent-1"><span class="text Rom-11-36">Romans 11 <br /></span></span></span></i></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">So no believer should be troubled at the ineffable, indescribable, inscrutable ways or character of God. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The hymn by Watts quoted above ends thus:</span></p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><i><span style="font-family: verdana;">Earth from afar has heard Thy fame,<br />
And worms have learned to lisp Thy name;<br />
But, O! the glories of Thy mind<br />
Leave all our soaring thoughts behind.</span></i></p><div style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;">
</div><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><i><span style="font-family: verdana;">God is in Heaven, and men below;<br />
Be short our tunes, our words be few;<br />
A sacred reverence checks our songs,<br />
And praise sits silent on our tongues.</span></i></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b><span style="color: #cc0000;">A Feeble Potential Answer?</span></b></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">After saying all of the above, and acknowledging that no-one on earth knows why God permitted evil into the world, here is one line of reasoning, which I believe flows from Scripture, if not always chapter and verse, then at least in line with general doctrine.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">We know that God is utterly sovereign, that he "works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will" (Ephesians 1:11). So we know that no independent power rose to rival God, "you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted." (Job 42:2) </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">So God more than knew of the fall of the evil one and had good purposes in mind through Satan's fall. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">We also know that the universe glorifies God, "How majestic is your name in all the erth" (Psalm 8), "the heavens declare the glory of God" (Psalm 19). <br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">With this in mind, suppose that the ultimate purpose of the universe is to glorify God - to make him known. This is no selfish or proud end, which would be the case if <i>we </i>wanted ourselves to be known. All our 'glory' is reflected glory; as the moon has no light of its own, so any glory we might possess is borrowed rays from the Sun who should, alone, be praised.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">When God sets a purpose to glorify himself, that is in every way a good, noble and proper thing, without selfishness or shame, because he is, in fact glorious. <br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Suppose the ultimate purpose of the universe is to glorify God - to make known all of his qualities, his attributes, his character. That's what glorify means, to make famous, to reveal, to make known. <br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Well, in a perfect world, at least some of God's glorious attributes would be unknown. In a perfect world, God's goodness, his power, his greatness could all be known. But not his mercy and grace, nor his justice.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">So God allows one of his great angels to fall. God allows that angel to tempt human beings. He allows those people to sin. Now - and only now - is the stage set to reveal the incredible mercy and grace of God. Grace is lavish kindness towards someone who does not deserve it. Before the fall of mankind there existed no "someone who did not deserve it," so the grace of God remained unknown to the universe of angels and men.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">So too God's justice. How can justice be revealed if there is no-one deserving of judgement? <br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Could this be one reason God allowed first the Serpent and then Adam and Eve to fall and to sin? So that he could show grace to those who repent and justice to those who refuse?</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">And in this way to make known to the universe his justice and grace?</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">To glorify himself?</span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><p><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> AI Drawing above: </span><i><span style="font-family: verdana;">"Dalle, draw a painting in the style of digital art evil coming into the world, where the world is a round globe"</span></i></span></p></div>roysummersblogspothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16898720933893809538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3966626754260619440.post-73451559958302254772023-09-12T09:53:00.002+01:002023-09-13T16:05:03.202+01:00True or False: "The Arrow of Truth can sometimes fall outside of Scripture"?<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJizi8uprPKsVaKXC0_FxGRiEHePM-DLjSBEYtb8r4Ibdy7f0x5cRHtzAq2NngStSc4QYSwmlVEGAQdv6MkVn-Yj3Q82iHgr15OJKUvNsbBSQjYRhB4ZAzgG78sHwvuiwONAZ5ugibIS80iz4cAZ-WjqHwberLZvhshK98M4FBmPPYaOdmhRbVfTKj3O7f/s1024/DALL%C2%B7E%202023-09-11%2016.52.51%20-%20Paint%20a%20picture%20which%20shows%20an%20arrow%20of%20time%20shooting%20out%20of%20the%20Bible.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1024" data-original-width="1024" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJizi8uprPKsVaKXC0_FxGRiEHePM-DLjSBEYtb8r4Ibdy7f0x5cRHtzAq2NngStSc4QYSwmlVEGAQdv6MkVn-Yj3Q82iHgr15OJKUvNsbBSQjYRhB4ZAzgG78sHwvuiwONAZ5ugibIS80iz4cAZ-WjqHwberLZvhshK98M4FBmPPYaOdmhRbVfTKj3O7f/s320/DALL%C2%B7E%202023-09-11%2016.52.51%20-%20Paint%20a%20picture%20which%20shows%20an%20arrow%20of%20time%20shooting%20out%20of%20the%20Bible.png" width="320" /></a></div><br /><p></p><h4 style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #e69138; font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b> </b></span></span><span style="color: #b45f06; font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b>A new method of interpretation<br /></b></span></span></h4><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">In recent years we have come across an increasingly common idea: that to find Christian truth - and especially ethical truth - all we need to do is to find the general direction Scripture seems to be pointing. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Once that direction is detected, where we ultimately land on the landscape of morality does not really matter. Even if it is outside of Scripture. And sometimes even if it seems to contradict Scripture. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The example always lauded is slavery. It is argued that slavery is never outrightly condemned within Scripture, but today we all believe that slavery is wrong. How come we have arrived at that "extra-biblical" or "post-biblical" conclusion? Answer? Because the general trajectory of Scripture is anti-slavery. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">So, when it comes to determining the rightness or wrongness of a particular sexual behaviour, for example, we do not seek the answer in the Bible itself, 'chapter and verse' so to speak (after all there are new moral issues which the authors never could have imagined). <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">No, to discover right and wrong, we go a hunting for trajectories. And once we have sussed the general direction of Scripture, it matters not where the arrow actually landeth. </span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b>A grain of truth in a barn full of error</b></span><br /></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Satan very rarely tells a bare faced lie. That's just plain stupid. He sugar coats his lies with just enough truth that we at least taste, if not swallow, the devilish deception. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">So there is an ounce of truth in this hermeneutic. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">"God has more light to break forth from his Word" said a wise ancient. We should be continually amazed at the way details of Scripture hitherto overlooked were deliberately placed there by the Holy Spirit anticipating future usefulness. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Take Paul's advice to the pornified city of Corinth: "But since there is so much immorality, each man should have his own wife, and each woman her own husband." (1 Corinthians 7:2). In other words surrounded by so much sexual temptation it is better to marry than to burn. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">But look again at how specific Paul is. He could have said "since there is so much immorality get married." But the omniscient Holy Spirit knew that one day someone would twist such a loose statement like yea: "Look Paul just says get married, he doesn't say <i>who</i> you should get married to." </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The same-sex loop hole was closed by the Holy Spirit the moment Paul's pen left the papyrus.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">So the Scriptures do indeed point forward....there's the grain of truth. </span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><span style="color: #b45f06;"><span style="font-size: medium;">All ethics known by God</span></span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"> ...but not the way our modern interpreters insist. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">They would say, for example, that the situation of a faithful same-sex relationship was never conceived by the writers of the New Testament who, poor things, were pretty unenlightened fellows. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">All Scriptural condemnations of homosexual behaviour - few in number, did you not know, and all revisable, have ye not heard? - were based on scientific ignorance. They were opposing promiscous one-night stands, not monogamous faithful same-sex relationships. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">We "now know" that faithful same-sex relationships are possible.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">So how do we assess the moralilty of faithful same-sex relationships? Well according to trajectory theory such relationships are OK because the trajectory of the New Testament, according to these folks is love and faithfulness. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">If a relationship is loving and faithful, therefore, it satisfies the general criteria and trajectory of Scripture.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: medium;">A Barnful of Errors</span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Now for the barn. Where is this hermeneutic going wrong?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>First,</i> the idea that God the Holy Spirit has ever been caught off-guard is erroneous. The notion that the divine Holy Spirit who inspired the Scriptures failed to anticipate future ethical dilemmas is at best a mistake and at worst a blasphemy. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The fact that the Holy Spirit worked through ordinary human writers does not confine their writings to what they could personally understand at the moment of writing. The prophets, for example, explains the apostle Peter, didn't really understand the messianic things they wrote about, try as they did, for they were serving a future people. (1 Peter 1). </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">There is not a single sexual sin possible to mankind that is not mentioned and put to judgement in Scripture. For the God who designed sex in the first place is all-knowing. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Second, </i>any behaviour could be made permissible by this new hermeneutic. Anyone could discover a trajectory in Scripture to justify a human behaviour - no matter how bizarre. Morality by trajectory is completely open ended. Unlike a proscriptive command, a trajectory ethic is a slippery eel. My subjective trajectory may be completely different from yours. Who is to decide whose trajectory is correct? <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Third</i>, the motive for Trajectory Hermeneutics (TH) is not difficult to discern. It is a blatant attempt to justify, by clever reasoning, what is denied by plain text. For some inexplicable reason it is still thought necessary to consult Scripture (why? Why not just give up on the Word?) and since everyone knows what the Scriptures teach based on a plain hermeneutic, it becomes essential to invent a new and clever hermeneutic in order to deny orthodox historic conclusions.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Fourth</i>, TH denies explicitly what the Scriptures teach about themselves:</span></p><p style="margin-left: 40px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work." (2 Timothy 3:16-17)</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">All of the Bible is inspired, all of it is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, and so broad is its scope that every man or woman of God can be thoroughly, not partially, equipped, for every good work. The Scriptures are self-sufficient for all we need in this life. True they are not exhaustive, but they are sufficient. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Fifth,</i> every issue for which TH is brought in as the knight in shining armour concerns contemporary issues such as sexuality and gender. On these issues the Bible is startlingly clear in two ways. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Take human sexuality as our example. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">There are relatively few (around seven) Biblical texts which explicitly speak against same-sex sexuality. </span></p><p>(<span style="font-family: verdana;">This paucity of prohibitions is regarded as a weakness by revisionists who take these texts one by one and attempt to deconstruct them - with remarkably little success, except to the pre-convinced). </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Seven prohibitions only, because seven are all we need. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">But the Biblical teaching on human sexuality is not confined to seven negative prohibitions! It is set in the context of a thousand positive endorsements of heterosexual marriage. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">It's the way God works. There are hundreds of permitted trees in the garden of life and only one prohibited. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The setting of all-Scripture and the background assumption of all-Scripture is heterosexual, from the opening chapters with Adam and Eve to the closing marriage between Christ (the 'male' bridegroom) and the Church (his 'female' bride). </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">That's why we only need seven prohibitions, because we have, in addition, a thousand endorsements of heterosexual marriage. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Come to think of it, we would need only one prohibition. The Lord has been generous in giving us seven, to make things <i>perfectly</i> (☺) clear. <br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><span style="color: #b45f06; font-size: medium;">Summing Up</span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">But we're drifting off course here...</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">All the ethical truth we need to know is <i>inside </i>of Scripture. This Amazing Book speaks way beyond the confines of its human authors to people of all time, because these authors were inspired by a single Divine Author. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Returning to slavery, the Scriptures, all by themselves speak against the wickedness of treating any human being cruelly or beneath the dignity of being made in the image of God. This truth is plainly inside of Scripture, not an arrow that fell, like Jonathan's dart, beyond it. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The arrow of truth never falls outside of Scripture, but always within it.</span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: x-small;"><i>AI Image: Dalle "Paint a picture which shows an arrow of time shooting out of the Bible"</i></span></p></div>roysummersblogspothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16898720933893809538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3966626754260619440.post-17252447312305033452023-09-04T17:16:00.003+01:002023-09-11T19:49:38.477+01:00All Genuine Christian Ministry is Cross-Shaped<p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNn61SyT_Dtr8EcrTGWBFkUYxeBBKNRN-0fKYy55MK4_uYFUXHfHg-gkKWJKo6PKSrACB_ktX6KLTgUFwWDNu2h1araOq1vMciIj2BgbNpYgS9eqnMnl53OMy3vcuRQ70oh88CcFhRzoAJev9s3DpNEITEAy9maRdvTYW_mewognH6c2zGkwRlwMfvCeoW/s1024/ddd.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="1024" height="250" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNn61SyT_Dtr8EcrTGWBFkUYxeBBKNRN-0fKYy55MK4_uYFUXHfHg-gkKWJKo6PKSrACB_ktX6KLTgUFwWDNu2h1araOq1vMciIj2BgbNpYgS9eqnMnl53OMy3vcuRQ70oh88CcFhRzoAJev9s3DpNEITEAy9maRdvTYW_mewognH6c2zGkwRlwMfvCeoW/s320/ddd.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-size: medium;">A Philanthropic Tweet</span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Some time during the pandemic, a wealthy man posted a tweet with a photo of himself outside his private jet, delivering aid to the poor and needy. The tweet even mentioned how much the man was giving away - and it was a very tidy sum indeed.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">I Googled, as you do, "How much is Mr X worth?" and discovered that the liberality of this man's gift was completely overshadowed by his immense remaining wealth. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The magnanimous gift turned out to be just a few bob to him. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">It cost him nothing, but paid him good PR.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">How does Christian giving - or indeed any kind of service or ministry - differ from this man's philanthropy, and from the world's service?<br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-size: medium;">A Missing Note in Contemporary Ministry</span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">We are happy to discuss many aspects of Christian ministry today: finding our God-given gift, using it in the power God provides, making sure we 'stay in our lane,' serving without complaining, and so on. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">But we hear little about sacrifice, one of the key characteristics of genuine, distinctive, true Christian ministry.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">All genuine Christian ministry involves the giving up of something, and dare I add, perhaps on occasion, the giving up of someone.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">How could it not be? The Son of Man gave up everything to serve us. He gave up all the trappings of divine majesty in the incarnation and then he gave up his very life to save his people. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">His three year ministry was characterised by giving up; he had, for example, no house, no home, no where to lay his head. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Christian ministry, if it is to be like the Master's, must be cross-shaped. <br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-size: medium;">God has wired self-sacrifice into the living world</span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">None of this should surprise a follower of Jesus Christ, for we have already denied ourselves and taken up our crosses. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">If a seed - Jesus used this example - wants to be fruitful it must personally die. It's the way God has wired creation. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">If a parent wants their child to 'live' they must 'die.' Can't have it both ways. The parent can't continue to live the pre-kid life if they want their children to truly thrive and live. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">It's either they die or the kids die. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">If a husband or wife wants their marriage to work, they must often 'die' to their wishes. <br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #3d85c6;">The Example of Paul </span><br /></span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">In Christian ministry, Paul expressed it like this, life is at work in you, but death is at work in us (2 Corinthians 4). Paul rejoiced to see spiritual life in his Corinthian friends (perhaps a little too much life?!), but the price of that life in them was death in himself.</span></p><span style="font-family: verdana;">It's how Paul worked. For example, Paul had no interest in his own reputation, he had died to fame. For the sake of Christ in fact, he had "lost all things." Before he was converted he was a respected big-shot, after his calling he became a hounded preacher of the Gospel. Paul died to fame. <br /></span><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The only time Paul boasted... he boasted about?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">His sufferings!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Because for the apostle Paul, true ministry was characterised by sacrifice and the inevitable suffering that follows. <br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><span style="color: #3d85c6; font-size: large;">The Royal Road to Blessing</span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Odd and paradoxical thing is this: sacrificial service is the only kind that leads to true joy, eternal reward and the blessing of God. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The seed dies and lo and behold - a thousand new seeds are born!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The parent dies - and the child lives.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Christian servant dies - and those around him live.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Service <i>without</i> sacrifice is no different from how the world serves. It's rich man tweet service. Giving the Lord the dog-ends of our time, the spare change in our pockets or the fag-ends of our energy, falls short of the joyful standard the Lord Jesus wants from us.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b><span style="color: #3d85c6;"><span>Summing it Up</span></span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The question we must ask of every ministry we are involved in is this: did it cost us? What sacrifices did we make? Joyfully, willingly, gladly?</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">If the answer is no sacrifice, then our service, whatever good it may immediately appear to do or have done, is not cross-shaped and it is likely we will receive no 'well done' in the world to come.<br /></span></p><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>AI Image above: Dalle was asked, </i></span></div><div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>"Draw a cartoon of a rich man delivering aid next to his private jet."</i></span></div>roysummersblogspothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16898720933893809538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3966626754260619440.post-54711694430915433892023-08-17T09:08:00.009+01:002023-08-21T10:25:18.963+01:00The Memorial Service of a True Saint - Tim Keller - 15th August 2023<p><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggV_WPPmZFWCtnb0DLaKTIoC5V_NHFhgkVvj6aMw5DUkiLNO0OwACjLe2jwAAOJ-5X3KYnpnC-FiFnaWfBqnG0gC5oLvdmv17U3PZz4ZML0XXPdCRM6lck76iNzlkB7JonHUAxQ9Ja-LjfkwuRxmhf3cExV9OsXpOeR2Eu-qr0sTOiARB2kML1WGjBwsDC/s300/tk.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="168" data-original-width="300" height="168" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggV_WPPmZFWCtnb0DLaKTIoC5V_NHFhgkVvj6aMw5DUkiLNO0OwACjLe2jwAAOJ-5X3KYnpnC-FiFnaWfBqnG0gC5oLvdmv17U3PZz4ZML0XXPdCRM6lck76iNzlkB7JonHUAxQ9Ja-LjfkwuRxmhf3cExV9OsXpOeR2Eu-qr0sTOiARB2kML1WGjBwsDC/s1600/tk.jpeg" width="300" /></a></div><br /><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><span style="color: #666666;"><span style="font-size: large;">A Rare Event</span></span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">What we allow to be said at our memorial / thankgiving service says it all.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Those who read this blog will know that I have little time for the celebrities of the evangelical world. The apostle Paul, who was unimpressed by external appearance put it like this<i>: "As for those who <b>seemed</b> to be important - whatever they were makes no difference to me; God does not judge by external appearance..." (Galatians 2:6)</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Timothy Keller, I believe, was different. And his memorial service, which you can watch <a href="https://timothykeller.com/service">here</a> demonstrated why. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">My wife and I watched it, Tuesday 15th August, 2023, from start to finish (we have never watched the memorial service of a well-known believer before). And this is what we noticed:</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Those who spoke admitted Tim was an ordinary flawed Christian man. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Those who spoke did not mention his human achievements. This no doubt was at Tim's request, and because no-one knows how God, the only Judge who matters, will see our work.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Those who spoke mentioned his character as a godly encourager instead of any gifts or acheivements.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The 90 minutes was called "A Worship Service of Praise to God for the Life of Tim Keller." Not an hour of worshipping Tim Keller.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Except in one slip, Tim was called Tim, without any of those foolish human titles we are so used to out there in the world (Dr, Prof, Sir, etc.) <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">No-one listed his educational background, books, etc. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The whole emphasis was on the God Keller knew, loved and served, and the Gospel Tim preached. Tim chose the songs and even wrote out the introductions for the hymns, all of which you can read <a href="https://static1.squarespace.com/static/53189f41e4b0ee73efed7b5a/t/64d6645be3e7091f30166e6d/1691771997282/Timothy+Keller+Memorial+Service.pdf">here</a>. <br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><span style="color: #666666; font-size: large;">Lessons</span></b></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">The biggest lesson from Tim's memorial service for me was this: don't let others determine your memorial service (should you choose to have one) but write it out yourself. The natural tendency of relatives will be to big up their loved one instead of glorifying Jesus. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"> You and I are always and only sinners saved by the grace of God. <br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">When you do write out your service, say nothing about yourself or your supposed achievements. Why? Because you have no idea what God - the only One whose opinion matters - thinks of them: leave judgement to God. "Judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes." (1 Corinthians 4:5)</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Make sure God is exalted, not you.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">Make sure the Gospel is preached because that may be the only time someone in the congregation hears it. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">I have been to many funerals in my work as a pastor, and all too often the eulogies have been filled with FaceBook "lies" where only the strengths and little or nothing of the weaknesses are mentioned: which means, of course, that the person is exalted, not the oustanding grace which saved them. </span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">By instructing that nothing be said about us in advance, we better glorify the One who loved us. <br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;">We'll say nothing more of Tim, because that's the way it should be. But I am thankful that both in life and death, he set a much-needed example in our Celebrity-Culture-Obesssed evangelical world. <br /></span></p>roysummersblogspothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16898720933893809538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3966626754260619440.post-28245994406600654942023-08-08T09:23:00.003+01:002023-08-09T17:49:39.516+01:00Book Review - "Healing, our path from Mental Illness to Mental Health"<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdk2qwj3FGYfq68zc2-nD47NMDYP0PfLv45soLUMR89ft1egQ8DshSQnEyS2ZDmEQELAX_wOU4_0j5qra7csf3boXA9OHYYWcs-WkS7w31yWhIvgpPJiaZSUAvtFQ1wnRX0aICjRwu0_uxHI1UAN7o4xkWjDilRN-OQIbRtDts1IVgmPSlqpR0UktKEFrZ/s591/Healing.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="409" data-original-width="591" height="221" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdk2qwj3FGYfq68zc2-nD47NMDYP0PfLv45soLUMR89ft1egQ8DshSQnEyS2ZDmEQELAX_wOU4_0j5qra7csf3boXA9OHYYWcs-WkS7w31yWhIvgpPJiaZSUAvtFQ1wnRX0aICjRwu0_uxHI1UAN7o4xkWjDilRN-OQIbRtDts1IVgmPSlqpR0UktKEFrZ/s320/Healing.png" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #b45f06; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b> Another American Expert says "Our house is on fire!"</b></span><span style="color: #b45f06; font-family: verdana; font-size: medium;"><b><br /></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Yet another leading American mental health expert is saying, "America is in Big Trouble!" <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">(Much of what author Thomas Insel says in this book agrees with another American expert, Bessel Van Der Kolk in "The Body Keeps the Score" (See my recent review <a href="http://roysummersblog.blogspot.com/2023/08/understanding-trauma-book-review-of.html">here</a>)).</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Thomas Insel defines mental illness as disorders of the mind manifested in how we think, feel and behave (p. xi). His basic premise is that while Americans have grown in their understanding of mental illnesses, this knowledge has not resulted in any improvements on the ground, whether in terms of suicide rates, addiction or schizophrenia. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">His conclusion, after talking to people and groups all around the country is that the whole present approach of psychiatry is wrong, "Mental illnesses are different from other illnesses. Our current approach is a disaster on many fronts." (p.xix). <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">A wise psychiatrist working on skid row told him that what people need is People, Place and Purpose (PPP), and the road to recovery requires much more than clinics and hospitals. Professional help only contributes to around 10% of what is needed. Because we don't include PPP in our treatment people with mental illness end up in prison, homeless and suicidal. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Tragically, Insel thinks that the problem can be solved without divine help, "All that's lacking is commitment." (p. xx). "Our house is on fire, but <i><b>we</b></i> can put the fire out. We know the way, if we can summon the will." (p. xxix). </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><span style="color: #b45f06;"><i>PART 1 - A Crisis of Care</i></span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Here are a few sobering stats, I doubt if the stuation in the UK is much different:<br /></span></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">47,000 people take their own lives in the USA every year, equivalent to a daily mass shooting of 129 people, every day, every year, or one person every 11 minutes. </span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">Disability from mental health issues increased by over 40% from 1990-2016</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">"outcomes for people with mental illness have not changed significantly" (p.18) </span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">"more people are getting more treatment than ever, yet death and disability continue to rise. How can <i>more</i> treament be associated with <i>worse </i>outcomes?" (p.19)<br /></span></li></ul><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Insel acknowledges that modern mental illnesses have been part of the condition of mankind for all time, but he thinks that the difference today is simply that we are not attending to the issue, it's that we do not care. Most mental illnesses begin before the age of 25 (p. 18). Hospitalization does not solve these problems. What works "most of all is social support" (i.e. friends, family, community, p.14). </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">1- Medications - do they work? 500 million prescriptions in the USA for antidepressants and antipsychotics and "no sign of better outomes" (p.45)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">2 - Pscychotherapies - do they work? Many therapists are using out of date therapies. "Matched with the right problem all of these approaches help. Talking with an empathetic friend or pastor can help a well." (p.53)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">3 - Neurotherapeutics - can they help? Sometimes, although we still "understand very little about how the brain works." (p.43)<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">4 - Rehabilitatiative Treatments (whole-person care) - do they work? Insel argues that treatments 1-3 are not cures though they may help. For long-term recovery people need support from - guess what? - ordinary people; they need people who will help them rebuild their lives. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">So what's missing? What's wrong? Symptoms are not being addressed, treatment focusses on short term success, the specific needs of the patient are often not thought through and therapy is focussed on relief rather than recovery. It's easy to relieve symptoms, much harder to heal. The "bible" of psychiatry, the DSM, is based on diagnosing symptoms and therefore the solutions are inevitably based on symptom relief. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">At
root, we don't care enough as a society. We have many examples of
community cure, therapies that work, but not enough committment. This lament comes from both Insel and Van Der Kolk.</span></p><p><span style="color: #b45f06; font-family: verdana;"><b><i>PART 2 - Overcoming barriers to change</i></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Insel suggests how the problems in the system can be solved. Jails have become defacto mental hospitals holding large numbers of people not yet gone to trial with mental health issues - the nation needs to sort this one out. More care, more mental health providers (p. 98), higher quality care, better training, better accountability, more precisely targetted help, all this will solve the problem. Get on with it governments and local authorities. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Insel acknowledges that the stigma of mental illness is still an enormous barrier to folks seeking help (p.144).<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Insel fails to mention is that professionalism often puts people off. It's families and communties who know each other who need to look after one another - not distant experts. He acknowledges the role of the family by citing Germany where "families are funded and even trained to take care of their son or daughter with mental illness." (p.156)<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Insel argues that a radical change in outlook is needed:</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>"Recovery is not just relief of symptoms, it's finding connection, sanctuary, and meaning not defined or delimited by mental illness." (p. 160</i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">1 - People, the crisis of connection. But how are we going to get this without the Gospel and the community that arises from it, called the church? From research it's clear that "social isolation can be devastating: social attachment can be curative." (p.162). "Millions of people risked exposure to the virus rather than face loneliness." (p.163) "Of all the things that we psychiatrists and pscychologists do not acknowledge about people with SMI (serious mental illness), loneliness may be at the top. I rarely hear patients talk about it in clinic." (p. 167)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">2- Place - how is the world going to create the safe place that both the family and the church should provide? </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">3- Purpose - finding the why. Again, how can the world help us work out why we are here? </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">"The three Ps - people, place and pupose - are the keys to recovery" (p.175) So how can the state create a new intentional community? <br /></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><i><span style="color: #b45f06;">PART 3 - The Way Forward</span></i></b></span></p><div style="text-align: left;"><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">We need simpler solutions, says Insel. We need to use technology. There are clever software programs that will evaluate our personal language year on year and detect subtle changes in mental health. Mobile phones can also keep track! Cure by monitoring (Big Brother?). Telepsychiatry - a shrink at the end of Zoom. Virtual therapists! (Apparently people are more honest with virtual therapists because they don't feel judged!)<br /></span></span></p></div><div style="text-align: left;"><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">Then there's prevention. Healthcare, the "repair shop", only accounts for around 10% of what is needed for a good life which is the highway, so to speak. "Healthcare alone might explain only 10 percent of the variance in outcomes." (p. 221), that is between those who enjoy a good life and those who do not. Our immediate surroundings, where we live and who we live with, etc. account for 70% (p.221). [Not sure where the other 20% comes from]. </span></span></p></div><div style="text-align: left;"><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">Insel acknowledges that one of our greatest problems today is our failure to "support families and children." (p. 237) "What matters is not only what they do in Washington but what we do at home." (p. 243). Insel quotes American senator, Hubert Humphrey, "The moral test of governement is how that government treats those who are in the dawn of life, the children; those who are in the twilight of life, the elderly; and those who are in the shadows of life - the sick, the needy and the handicapped." (p. 243) </span></span></p></div><div style="text-align: left;"><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;">"When I started this journey to resolve the mental health crisis, I believed that technology would provide the answers we need... Years listening... left me convinced that the problems are more complex and the solutions far simpler than most of us realise." (p. 244)<br /></span></span></p></div><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #b45f06;"> Reflections on an imporant book</span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Insel is able to diagnose the societel mess the West is in, at least outwardly. He observes that some contemporary discoveries and therapies can do a limited amount of good. What he cannot see is the deep spiritual malaises that lie behind the crisis.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Our crisis on all three fronts, People, Place and Purpose, is a spiritual crisis. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>People </i>- Designed to live in deep community with others, our sin separates husband from wife through divorce, and thus messes children. Our sin separates one man from another through hatred and unforgiveness.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Place</i> - Our sin makes the family an unsafe place and our societies an unwelcoming place. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"><i>Purpose</i> - Without living for the glory of God we have no ultimate reasons to live, we may have temporary shallow ones, such as career and family, but all earthly purposes either fail or fade. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The family (one man and one woman united for life) is God's place for the next generation to grow up in security. The Church is God's place where the outsider should find a home and be welcomed in. Heaven is the hope and destination for troubled souls, where all our tears will be wiped away.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">This book should make every believer passionate about sharing the Gospel with a broken world, for only the Gospel of Jesus Christ has the answers for the ailments of our broken world. <br /></span></p>roysummersblogspothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16898720933893809538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3966626754260619440.post-40752901320841086092023-08-04T09:38:00.004+01:002023-08-07T08:01:14.561+01:00Understanding Trauma : Book Review of "The Body Keeps the Score"<p><span style="font-family: verdana;"> </span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVt4vHsPxOSbsSf4LwoPctguKxUdeuSVG_NxG_8-MTHln-IP1ZzTTmarxB0k1e-FUjQFd4TneLXME8kh0ZgMQ2vzqhErgI1ZGDnVkbWMTplQMW6g1lnLdRivaH7GfSoXTfawYFxvPVviY6PrFJU3lFXwNjlobgkfeOxETyuxWsci4vE2koYg7WLP6Mln7A/s1000/BKTS.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1000" data-original-width="651" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVt4vHsPxOSbsSf4LwoPctguKxUdeuSVG_NxG_8-MTHln-IP1ZzTTmarxB0k1e-FUjQFd4TneLXME8kh0ZgMQ2vzqhErgI1ZGDnVkbWMTplQMW6g1lnLdRivaH7GfSoXTfawYFxvPVviY6PrFJU3lFXwNjlobgkfeOxETyuxWsci4vE2koYg7WLP6Mln7A/s320/BKTS.jpg" width="208" /></a></div><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #2b00fe;"><b>A "we" author </b><b><br /></b></span></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">It is likely, to one degree or another, that in our lifetimes we will all suffer an experience of severe stress - a traumatic experience which leaves a lifelong trace. Whether as a soldier who has been to war, a child who has been abused, or some other, less harrowing event, which nevertheless leaves a permanent mark upon us.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Extreme cases of trauma bequeath the legacy of what the psychologists call Post Traumatic Stresss Disorder (PTSD) where the body is locked in a reactionary cycle to future threats, real, or more often, imaginary. The slightest and most innocent event can set off a train of irrational fears and responses that were never experienced before the traumatic event. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Van Der Kolk, speaking in the American setting sees trauma as the most urgent "threat to our national well-being" (p.418)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Although the author is a practicing psychiatrist who sees patients / clients, he freely admits that experiences he and family members have passed through have shaped his approach. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">There's a warm human being behind this book - a "we're in this together" rather than the more common distant "<i>I'm the expert </i>here to help <i>you my patient</i>" approach. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">His own father locked him in the cellar of the family house for petty three-year old offences and as a result he felt "chronically preocupied with being exiled and abandoned." (page 278). The author's son suffered a mysterious illness given the name, for want of another, chronic fatigue syndrome (page 397). <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Bessel has learnt to listen patiently to the tragic stories he hears "without trying to jump in immediately to fix the problem" (p. 148) because he himself has suffered. <br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><b><span style="color: #0b5394; font-size: large;">Why I read this book</span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Earlier this year, my wife and I attended a very helpful Bible and Mental Health Conference, run by the excellent <a href="https://www.biblicalcounselling.org.uk/" target="_blank">Biblical Counselling UK</a>. The pandemic had spawned a noticable increase in pastoral problems around mental illness and this conference - one of the best I have attended - proved invaluable.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">This book was mentioned. Experts in the field, we were informed, are becoming more and more critical of the "give 'em a pill" approach and moving more towards an understanding that people need Place (a safe place to call home), Purpose (a reason to get up in the morning) and People (that's it, just people) around them. The author Bessel Van Der Kolk (whom I shall just call Bessel) is one of the psychiatrists moving away from chemicals and moving towards humanity. So I bought the book and read every one of the 431 pages. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">And certainly the book displays that move in psychiatry. And of course, any pioneer that questions the paradigms of a movement will get into trouble, so we are in no way surprised that Bessel has attracted criticism as well as praise:</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">"My own profession often compounds, rather than alleviates, the problem. Many psychiatrists today work in assembly-line offices where they see patients they hardly know for fifteen minutes and then dole out pills to relieve pain, anxiety, or depression. Their message seems to be 'Leave it to us to fix you; just be compliant and take these drugs and come back in three months...'" (420)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Ouch! <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The purpose of this review is to ask what the world is saying about trauma and then try to put the conversation into a Christain perspective, especially a church pastor's perspective: how do we help people who have passed through stressful events in their lives, which continue to haunt and/or immobilise them? </span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #0b5394;">A Review</span></b></span></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><b><span style="color: #0b5394;">Part A - the Problem </span></b><b><span style="color: #0b5394;"><br /></span></b></i></span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">This is a long review, but if it spares someone the many hours I have spent pouring over 400+ pages, I will consider it worthwhile!</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Perhaps the most alarming facts around trauma is just how many people in the USA - a deeply troubled nation - have suffered them. Family strife: since 2001 more Americans have died at the hands of their partners or family members than in the wars of Iraq and Afganistan. Women are twice as likely to suffer domestic violence than breast cancer. Firearms kill twice as many children as cancer does (page 418). Approximately<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK470337/"> one in four</a> children experience child abuse or neglect in their lifetime.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">No wonder the US is filled with traumatised people.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Bessel begins with Vitenam war veterans, folk who have experienced violent trauma in their lives. They discover that the least noise or unwitting comment can send them into mysterious anger or fear or retreat. They easily became hopelesly stuck in the past. Their world becomes divided into those people who have been through their experience and those who frankly don't have a clue, further increasing the alienation between them and family and friends. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">But, as Bessel points out, for every soldier who serves in a war zone abroad there are ten children endangered in their own "safe" homes (p.22). More than half of the people who seek psychiatric care have been assaulted, abandoned, neglected, or even raped as children, or have witnessed violence in their familes (p.27). </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">So what is "the gravest and mosty costly health issue in the United States?" "Child abuse." (178) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The vast majority of traumatised kids come "from extremely dysfunctional families" (187). <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Trauma, all too often, it seems, starts in the home. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Whatever the source of trauma it results in a change in the way the mind and brain manage perceptions. Traumatised people keep secreting large amounts of stress hormones long after the actual fight-or-flight danger has disappeared. In normal people these hormones decrease after the threat has passed, in PTSD folks, they don't return to baseline levels. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">A biological system that keeps pumping out stress hormones leads to physical problems: "sleep disturbances, headaches, unexplained pain, oversensitivity to touch or sound." (p.190) "When people remember an ordinary event they do not also relive the physical sensations, emotions, images, smells, or sounds associated with that event. In contrast, when people fully recall their traumas they 'have' the experience: they are engulfed by the sensory or emotional elements of the past." (p.263)<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Early psychiatry, diagnosed mental illness as a chemical imbalance - and therefore, QED, embraced chemicals as the solution; the pharmacological revolution was in full swing. And the initial "success" seemed to warrant the approach - the number of people living in mental hospitals went down dramatically. Pharmacology revolutionised psychiatry. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">But there are big problems with the brain-disease model, and the drug revolution that promised so much may have done "as much harm as good." (p.42). For one it removes control from the patient's own hands and puts it into the hands of doctors and insurance companies. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Taking just the example of antidepressants, Bessel points out that if they were as effective as the hype suggests depression should be a minor issue in society today. The truth is that antidepressants have "not made a dent in hospital ommissions". (p.43) The number of people teated for depression has tripled in 20 years to the point where 1 in 10 Americans now take them. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The basic contention of Bessel is that we need to move away from chemicals to human friendship and normal human activity for the recovery of traumatised people. PPP (Place, People and Purpose). <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">A traumatised person's brain reveals the distress, says Bessel. The left-hand part of their brains (logic, reasoning) does not work very well, while the right-hand part (emotion, visual) brings back the taumatic event. So the age-old cure for traumatised people - that they need to talk their way through the trauma - can sometimes meet a barrier because the speaking part shuts down and is unable to talk the emotional side out of trauma. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Indeed the whole person, body, mind and brain is affected and therefore all must come into the treatment equation. Bessel goes into complex discussion here; in brief the experience of trauma splits emotions, sounds, images, thoughts and physical sensations into their own dissasociated worlds. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The brains threat perception system has now changed and physical reactions in the now are dictated by that past event. The smoke detector goes off at the tiniest whiff of smoke, real or imagined. The opposite may also happen, the explosive flashbacks may numb out in later life and this sense of "not bothered / not feeling/ not alive in the present" can be just as destructive. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The brain affects the body, yes, but the body also affects the brain. This latter notion - that the body feeds back to the brain where our minds are housed - once disregarded in the West is now having a come back.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">We can't disregard the body "The body keeps the score: If the memory of trauma is encoded in the viscera, in heartbreaking and gut-wrendhcing emotions, in auto-immune disorders and skeletal/muscular problems, and if mind/brain/visceral communication is the royal road to emotion regulation, this demands a radical shift in therapeutic assumptions." (p.101) Of war victims, "their bodies keep the score: Their stomachs are upset, their hearts race, and they are overwhelmed by panic." (p. 225)<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Psychiatry has neglected the body, "the foundation of our selves." (104) Three of Bessel's patients who had a history of incest - three in one year - were diagnosed with an auto-immune disease, in which the body starts to attack itself. The connections are impossible to deny. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The need for attachment, the bond created between baby and mother, never leaves us. Our sense of security is very much connected to those around us and to our wellbeing. If we are not secure it's hard to distinguish between safety and danger. Incest victims who have endured profound insecurity find it hard to distinguish between danger and safety. Children, who have no authority except their families, have to organise themselves to survive in that environment. The greatest predictor of how people will cope with life's disappointments is "the level of security established with their primary caregiver during the first two years of life." (p.194) <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">So given the magnitude and complexity of the problem, what can be done? </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">A typical patient may receive 5 or 6 different related diagnoses, because psychiatry, a branch of medicine aspires to define mental illness as precisely as it does physical diseases. The handbook DSM (The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) earning the American Psychiatric Association (APA) $100 million dollars, lists all of these "conditions", now numbering above 300 spread over 945 pages. If the label is wrong, a faulty cure is prescribed, and besides, the poor patient is forced to carry a lifelong sentence created by these labels. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">And besides, none of these diagnoses get to the real person who lies behind the label. "Before they reach their twenties, many patients have been given four, five, six, or more of these impressive but meaningless labels." (189)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Bessel argues that there is a "chasm between official diagnoses and what our patients actually suffer from" (p.165) It's clear that this pioneer has locked horns with The APA - and for good reason, it seems to me, for all human institutions are subject to corruption.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The diagnoses of the DSM "describe surface phenomena that completely ignore the underlying causes." (p. 198) Relationships and social conditions are completely left out - that is the problem with psychiatry - it treats mental illness as if they were like cancer, ignoring the fact that humans are social creatures. "Everything about us - our brains, our minds, and our bodies - is geared towards collaboration in social systems." (p.199) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">People need people. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">In summary then, Bessel points reveals a traumatised United States, with a lot of that trauma originating in dysfunctional familes during childhood. He severely criticises the "give 'em a pill" solutions pointing out that people need more than pills. <br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #0b5394; font-family: verdana;"><i><b><span style="font-size: medium;">Part B. The Secular Solutions</span></b></i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The last third of the book becomes a long list of different therapies all designed to relieve the symptoms of trauma. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">"What has happened cannot be undone. But what can be dealt with are the imprints of trauma on body, mind and soul..." (p.243)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Traumatised people need to find ways to become calm and focused; learn to mainatain that calm in response to sensations that remind them of the past; find ways of being fully alove in the present engaged with the people around us and then avoiding secrets. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Trauma must be revisited he insists, but only when we are calm enough to do so; thus some of the techniques are designed to calm the person down. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Not being an expert, I can do little more than bullet-point the large raft of therapies Bessel desrcibes. What I think is significant is that most of them revolve around the components of an ordinary life. So when the therapy is professional I will place a "P" after it, and when it's something just done in Ordinary life, I will place an "O":<br /></span></p><ul style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">Limbic System Therapy, to restore the balance between the rational and emotional brains, learning to breath calmly (P)<br /></span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">having a good support network, "the single most powerful protection against becoming traumatised." (page 251), "Traumatised people recover in the context of relationships: with families , loved ones..." (p.252) (O)<br /></span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">[Bessel encourages choosing therapists who actually listen (p.254)]</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;"> Communities where there is music and rythm (O)<br /></span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">Massage "the most natural way that we humans calm down our distress is by being touched, hugged and rocked." (257). Why employ a "bodywork practitioner" when we have brothers and sisters in Christ who can comfort us with a loving arm around our shoulders? (O)<br /></span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">you must talk about what happened, "as long as you keep secrets and suppress information you are fundamentally at war with yourself." (page 278). Soldiers remained silent often because no-one wanted to hear their terrible stories (290) (O)<br /></span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">write to yourself - the psalmist did it (O)<br /></span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">art, music and dance has been found to be helpful (in other words, returning to the stuff of ordinary life?) (O)<br /></span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">Some strange therapy called EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) which seems to work - because we are so complex beings, we may stumble upon odd proceedures which just work! Follow the therapist's finger 12 inches from right eye while speaking what happened! (P)</span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">Yoga - listening to your body, getting your breathing and heartrate correct, synchronised (O)<br /></span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">Internal family Systems Therapy (IFS) where each part of us is regarded separately and together as a family (P)<br /></span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">representing people and events as physical objects! (p.358) Bessel's dad was a "gigantic black leather couch" because he was "stern Calvanistic." (O?P?)<br /></span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">neurofeedback (P)<br /></span></li><li><span style="font-family: verdana;">his son was greatly helped by theatre. War veterans "speaking about their memories of the war and reading their poetry was clearly a more transformative experience than any therapy could have offered them." (page 399) (O)<br /></span></li></ul><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Out of the 13 "therapies" listed above, 8 or 9 naturally occur as we live out a normal human life. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Bessel ends his book "close to despair" because, though people are now aware of trauma, and know how to treat it, treatment is just not happening in the USA. He says that society can make the choices that can make it happen.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #990000;"> </span><span style="color: #0b5394;">Personal Reflections</span></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">There is so much in this book that is helpful and positive, and I wish I'd read the book - and about trauma - many years ago. I make the following reflections, not from a professional point of view but from that of a Christian pastor:</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">We must never be slaves to the fads of the day; in any field of human investigation. One moment Psychiatry is all drugs and pills, then there's a reaction to more human helps. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">We are all fearfully and wonderfully made. For that reason, we should not be surprised that quite unusual treatments such as EMDR may have some effect. We should not ridicule the stranger treatments because they may tap into some facet of the way God made us.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">The Psalmist confirms that writing our way out of trouble by writing out our troubles, is one of God's appointed healing balms. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">There is no talk of sin or confession of sin, which is a central omission, because there is no God-centredness in the book. Acknowledging our wrongdoing and confessing it is a major route to healing, as Psalm 32 reveals.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Nowhere does Bessel discuss the fundamental problem in US society which is the break up of the family, leading to traumatised children in their millions. Psychiatry cannot deal with the power of sin, including lust and adultery. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Nowhere does Bessel talk about our relationship with God, the deepest source of all our problems, the alienation which immediately and directly leads to the breakdown of all other relationships too. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">There were times when I wondered how concerned we should be about having perfect mental health in this life, when that will be our experience in the world to come. Christians have hope that allows us to put up with a measure of suffering in this world. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">If you were to sum up Bessel's humanistic findings, they are that people need PPP, a secure Place, People around them and Purpose in life. All of these blessings - and far more - should come from the Gospel. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">Time and again, I found myself saying "the Gospel is the answer here. It provides meaning to life, it provides a safe place, the community of God's people, and it provides a relationship with God, who by his Spirit comforts us in all our troubles."</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">People need family and friends around them - not professionals. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;">I kept thinking to myself that the Gospel, and the Gospel alone, has the answer to all the ills of the mind and soul. We should not discard psychiatry but our hope is not in men but in God. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJibkohrD_ggYkA9jYD_t7UCZZwX0WCFPlKai9jgvWjOIFYJoizx68DDx9x0bn9X_wEPR5O1oSnD38hmjiP-KDUiUylzHgC2_9kPD9ks954rwcd6x2WaQJVt3HR_Unh9u8idwlTybCzcY_490e-63tsKU6nFCX5-BCTlO69uhdyHvyTb4jI4r3XTDF2iO9/s225/wes.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="225" data-original-width="225" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJibkohrD_ggYkA9jYD_t7UCZZwX0WCFPlKai9jgvWjOIFYJoizx68DDx9x0bn9X_wEPR5O1oSnD38hmjiP-KDUiUylzHgC2_9kPD9ks954rwcd6x2WaQJVt3HR_Unh9u8idwlTybCzcY_490e-63tsKU6nFCX5-BCTlO69uhdyHvyTb4jI4r3XTDF2iO9/s1600/wes.jpeg" width="225" /></a></div><br /><p></p>roysummersblogspothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16898720933893809538noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3966626754260619440.post-40673394819281176812023-08-03T08:15:00.004+01:002023-08-14T17:03:58.306+01:00How then shall we Preach? Three Methods Evaluated<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgREOTsYQ03DrU08nHySCR0r0GD4Hftvk_tvZPtRlg2a5QFwXFqC03sTPxa52L6gCecsOEL2WjXK5Jle86TBO_mR1l7ItxTQuEsDa6cfp4SNr9etNMHVeBPnxNuXxz0IgdcZoOsHN4rh_Qgzqw1Ya9cXlzlmEBRrJceNYCX3trrdKVy1iAYaP8PKX6Wlnkz/s403/preacher.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="355" data-original-width="403" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgREOTsYQ03DrU08nHySCR0r0GD4Hftvk_tvZPtRlg2a5QFwXFqC03sTPxa52L6gCecsOEL2WjXK5Jle86TBO_mR1l7ItxTQuEsDa6cfp4SNr9etNMHVeBPnxNuXxz0IgdcZoOsHN4rh_Qgzqw1Ya9cXlzlmEBRrJceNYCX3trrdKVy1iAYaP8PKX6Wlnkz/s320/preacher.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><b></b></span><p></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><b>The Preaching of Charles Haddon Spurgeon</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;">Charles Haddon Spurgeon, the great Victorian preacher, was possibly the greatest preacher England has ever produced. And with his written sermons available to read, I find, in vain, any that run consecutively through a book of the Bible: Spurgeon was a Kangaroo preacher, hopping all over the place each week.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;">This may come as a surprise to many in the Reformed wing of the evangelical church who imagine that Expository preaching is the best and only way of preaching. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;">How come Big Shot Reformed Spurgeon didn't obey their rules? </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;">The basic argument runs like this: only with expository preaching can the congregation hear the whole of God's Word purely without the "interference" of the preacher. That's the received wisdom. Is it true? <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;">Let's evaluate the three preaching styles, Kangaroo, Topical and Expository. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;">The assumption here is that, say over a ten-year period, a pastor needs/wants/ought to make sure that the congregation hears the whole counsel of God. <br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><b><i>Kangaroo Preaching</i></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;">The advantages of preaching from a different text each Sunday - and making the decision of what to preach the week before before speaking - are at least two-fold. A preacher can be dynamic, responding to the immediate needs of the local congregation and his sense of what the Lord is laying on his heart. And the preaching can be more interesting because the preacher is not tied to a particular book. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;">The disadvantages are that each Bible book has a divine rhythm and movement of its own which is never fully appreciated by the congregation. And there is the danger of the preacher imposing his own counsel on the church. And is it really possible to take a single text each week and fully understand the original context? That sounds like an exhausting task, week on week.</span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><b><i>Topical Preaching</i></b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;">The advantage of this style is that real-life issues, such as money, marriage, parenting and so on can be dealt with in full on a regular basis. One of my personal mentors suggested that I preach on these "big" topics every year, and after 30 years I see his point. Working our way through books of the Bible, it may be 5 years before we deal with marriage, in the meantime a dozen married partners are longing to know how to do Christian marriage. And since our culture changes all the time, it's helpful to be able to deal with topics that are current and immediate.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;">The disadvantage of topical preaching is that the subjects are in the hands of the preacher / elders. Besides it does get boring after a while. </span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><i><b>Expository Preaching</b></i></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;">The advantages of this style are obvious: the preacher is obliged to preach through a whole book of the Bible covering subjects he would never otherwise encounter or choose. The church gets to hear a whole book. The preacher's preparatory work is also helpfully diminished because it's the same book week on week. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;">The disadvantages of this style are rarely explored because it's the paradigm of the reformed evangelical world - just assumed to be the best way. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;">But there are significant disadvantages.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;">The notion that the preacher's choice is diminished in this type of preaching is only partially true. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;">The preacher chooses the book. The preacher chooses the length of the passage to preach on. Inevitably since Scripture is exhaustive, within the chosen verses, the preacher must choose exactly what to preach on and what to miss out.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;">What is more, the preacher's doctrine plays a decisive role in what he sees and does not see. A preacher with a certain doctrine of the future or doctrine of the Holy Spirit will only see certain truths and be blind - or omit - others. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;">And over those ten years, the church may only have heard 20 books of the Bible, rather than 66. Certain genres may have been omitted because of the character of the preacher. A logical kind of fellow may go for Romans and Ephesians and neglect Revelation or the Song of Songs. (Example - consider the Bible books that logical Pastor Lloyd-Jones of London preached through). <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;">In other words, the idea that Expositional preaching is neutral, is deeply flawed. <br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;">No-one can escape themselves. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;">Preaching on just one tiny verse, Spurgeon was able to faithfully preach the whole counsel of God to his flock over the years at Met Tab. <br /></span></p><p style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: large;"><b>Summing it up</b></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;">So which style is best? I do not believer there is a single answer to the question. If the preacher is a genius like Spurgeon, he may get away with Kangaroo preaching because his understanding of the Scriptures is so great. A listener may well hear the whole counsel of God from his pulpit. Contrawise, a preacher with ordinary gifts sticking to the paradigm of his tribe may bore his congregation with a five year exposition of Job or the omission of certain genres of Scripture which are out of sync with his personality.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;">Principle 1: Know yourself, know your gifts. </span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;">Principle 2: Preach the whole counsel of God prayerfully.<br /></span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;">Principle 3: Grow in your doctrine - in this way you will avoid ommitting certain verses which you don't understand / don't agree with (?!)</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;">Principle 4: Mix and match preaching styles.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: verdana; font-size: small;">As someone who has generally preached mostly the Expository method, I have grown to see both its value and its weaknesses. For sure we should never impose this method on the next generation of preachers without explaining its weaknesses as well as its strengths. <br /></span></p>roysummersblogspothttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16898720933893809538noreply@blogger.com0