In the early 1990s a survey of expenditure revealed that Americans spent twice as much on cut flowers as on overseas ministry, twice as much on women’s tights, one and a half as much on video games, five times as much on pets, one and a half times as much on skin care, seven times as much on sweets, seventeen times as much on diet related products, twenty times as much on sports activities, twenty six times as much on soft drinks and 140 times as much on legalised gambling [C.L. Blomberg, Neither Poverty Nor Riches, Apollos, Leicester, 1999, p19].
It’s unbelievable isn’t it? Who’d have thought they spend that much on diets! I may also have found new ammunition for my argument that Christians shouldn’t own dogs! But I’m aware that I probably come undone on the sports category.
But I wonder what an analysis of our spending patterns would reveal. What do we do with our wealth? And what should we do with it? Given the current financial position of the church and the current economic climate you can understand why we need to address the issue of what we do with our wealth.
There are, I think, three broad principles to bear in mind.
1. We need to learn to be content
On the whole scripture has a positive view of wealth. It’s a covenant blessing that comes from God, often through the means of human effort (Deut 29:9, Job 1:21, Prov 10:4). The Apostle Paul reckons that if we’ve got food and clothing then we’re sorted (1 Tim 6). He doesn’t quite put it in those terms, but that’s his drift. What he does say is that ‘there’s great gain in godliness with contentment’. And he’s right on the money! If only we believed it. We’d then be liberated from our relentless pursuit of acquisitions that so often drives our working ambitions. The Bible also puts it the other way round when in the Ten Commandments God says ‘Do not covet’. Coveting things or experiences is the opposite of being content with what we have. We’ll never know what it is to be happy until we learn to be content with what we have. God would rather we live within our means than spend our time dissatisfied with what He’s given us. He’s given us what we need. If He thinks we need more then He’ll give us more. He isn’t sovereign for nothing! And so we ought to pray like the writer of Prov 30:8 who said, ‘give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, lest I be full and deny you and say, “Who is the Lord?” or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God’. That sort of contentment is a rare and precious thing. And we need to learn it.
2. We need to learn to be thankful
Wealth is a gift from God and because of it we’re able to do so many things that our predecessors on this earth could only dream of. We have a more comfortable sofa, a better TV, a softer bed, a more permanent house, better transport, more interesting places to visit and so on. Compare our standard of living compared to that of our parents’ generation, and it’s astounding. It’s not simply that we’ve financed a life on easy credit and that they were more frugal than us, though there may be something in that. We live in wealthy times. And for that we ought to thank God. We’re immensely wealthy compared to people in former times and compared to people in other parts of the world. We have much to be thankful for. We ought to be overflowing in thankfulness for all the things that God has given us in this life. We should thank God for all the material blessings that we enjoy. We must never be ascetic. Scripture doesn’t condemn the use of our money for relaxation, entertainment or the consumption of luxuries. The denial of physical pleasures is demonic and so should be resisted at all costs.
3. We need to learn to be generous
One of the remarkable things that characterised the early church was their radical generosity and extravagant compassion (Acts 4). Paul tells us that one of the fruits of repentance is willingness to contribute to the needs of others (Eph 4). The wage we earn, the savings we’ve amassed, or the property that we own is simply part of God’s creation that He’s entrusted to us. It’s under our control but He expects us to use it responsibly. And one of the things He wants us to do with our wealth is give it away; to others, for their benefit. Phillip Jensen once told his congregation, ‘it’s about time we saw our abundant wealth as a resource for addressing needs rather than for increasingly enslaving our lives to the meaninglessness of materialism’ [P.D. Jensen, ‘A Reason to Work’, By God’s Word, (Kingsford, Matthias Media, 2007)] But how generous should we be? At one level it’s a crass question but for people new to the Christian faith it’s a reasonable question to ask. Churches sometimes encourage people to think in terms of the Old Testament tithe. Though it’s nowhere mandated by the New Testament it seems a sensible place to start. In the Law of Moses, God placed on His people the obligation of a 10% tithe. It’s not repeated in the New Testament though there’s loads of material on the subject of financial contribution. In passages like 2 Cor 9:7&8 the emphasis is on generous, voluntary and cheerful giving. It’s hard to believe that God had in mind that we’d lessen the response to His redemptive grace shown in Christ and so the tithe is the starting point. So what’s a good ball park figure to start off with? Let’s say 10% of our gross income [the one they promised to pay you when they hired you!].
Wouldn't it be a terrific thing if, with the wealth that God has given us, we were genuinely content, really thankful and sacrificially generous?
Other Credit Crunch articles here, here and here.
Monday, 17 November 2008
Friday, 7 November 2008
Christmas Gift
For those of us able to contribute to the 1% Christmas Gift you'll find this an easy way to go about it.
Wednesday, 29 October 2008
Dear Friends - October
Dear Friends
Despite the nonstop coverage, I guess that most of us struggle to make much of the BBC Business Correspondent, Robert Peston’s illuminating analysis of all things economic! Some of us may even be under the impression that the ‘Credit Crunch’ is what Alistair Darling has for breakfast! But for many of us, the words ‘derivatives’, ‘hedge funds’ and ‘sub-prime mortgage’ have now become familiar, if not welcome, additions to our vocabulary. Joking aside, few of us will be left unaffected by the economic recession. And sadly some of us may have to face the harsh reality of unemployment. What’s certain is that none of us is immune from recent events in the world’s stock markets. But what are to think about the current financial crisis?
I think the biblical concept of idolatry is as good a way as any to make sense of things. An idol is essentially a God substitute. It’s a created artefact that’s taken the rightful place of God in our attention and affections. It’s the thing we believe can provide us with the experience of our version of heaven for which we so long. And so it becomes our functional saviour and the thing to which we offer worship, obedience and sacrifice. Associated with whichever idol we’ve chosen is a religious system involving the holy places and those who conduct the rituals of worship, the High Priests. Underpinning the whole thing is an evangelistic mission that seeks to keep our love of the idol on the agenda. And so, I wonder whether the following four observations might help us chart a way through the treacherous waters of financial analysis?
1. The functional saviour that we believe can deliver the heavenly experience is the free market economy. We might not express it in those terms, but that’s what’s going on. In the past, people used to regard God as the self sufficient, inexhaustible, mysterious, benevolent and all-powerful source of what we need for an abundant life. But that old religion has now been displaced by the worship of the capitalist economic system. And so, as one person put it, ‘If people in the ancient world worshipped sticks and stones, today everywhere can be found the worship of stocks and shares’. And so the economy is revered and afforded sacred status and any criticism of the capitalistic ideology is regarded as blasphemy. Many are absolutely convinced that capitalism is the thing that can save us.
2. The heavenly experience for which we so yearn is material wealth. To be wealthy is to have attained salvation; poverty is hell from which we must be delivered. The purpose of life is simply to be wealthy. In plain denial of Jesus’ words in Luke 12, many are committed to the idea that salvation is found in the abundance of our wealth and possessions. And so the meaning of life is described in economic terms. We’re valued only to the degree in which we participate in the economy system. This means that the stay at home Mum, the unemployed, the unemployable or the homeless are viewed with sympathy, at best or derision, at worse.
3. The high priests are the only people that properly understand the intricacies of the financial markets. They gather together in the financial institutions where they pour over their sacred writings in the financial press, like the Financial Times. Laymen might try and get our heads round what’s going on by reading the popular literature like the supplements in the Sunday papers, but for most of us it‘s nothing more than incomprehensible mumbo jumbo! If it’s true that many have yet to find someone who can explain the truth of the gospel in language they can understand, the same could be said of the financial world!
4. The evangelistic mission of this false religion is propagated through advertising. This marketing endeavour could simply inform us of the merits and benefits of a good or service. If that was all that it did, it would serve a valuable purpose. But advertising seeks to tap into our insatiable appetite for more. Apparently the average American watches about 85 different television advertisements every day! Every single one of them has one unrelenting message; you’re life is imperfect until you accumulate the good and services that we’re promoting. Cultivating contentment and thankfulness against such a barrage of unhelpful visual stimulation requires godly determination.
Conclusion
And so, given recent events in which this idol has been stripped bare, it ought to be apparent that worshipping the economic system is an exercise in futility. The free market economy is nothing more than the creation of human hands and therefore it cannot save. We don’t need to get rid of it; it’s still the best way of doing things. Just don’t expect it to do what we hope that it will; provide salvation.
Some of us may have become secret devotees of materialism, worshipping at the altar of the economic system. And so, this is a good time therefore to do the following two things; first, to repent of our willing greedy participation in the perpetuation of this senseless idolatry and secondly, to redirect our trust and hope for the future to the God who has promised to save us.
With best wishes in Christ
richard
Despite the nonstop coverage, I guess that most of us struggle to make much of the BBC Business Correspondent, Robert Peston’s illuminating analysis of all things economic! Some of us may even be under the impression that the ‘Credit Crunch’ is what Alistair Darling has for breakfast! But for many of us, the words ‘derivatives’, ‘hedge funds’ and ‘sub-prime mortgage’ have now become familiar, if not welcome, additions to our vocabulary. Joking aside, few of us will be left unaffected by the economic recession. And sadly some of us may have to face the harsh reality of unemployment. What’s certain is that none of us is immune from recent events in the world’s stock markets. But what are to think about the current financial crisis?
I think the biblical concept of idolatry is as good a way as any to make sense of things. An idol is essentially a God substitute. It’s a created artefact that’s taken the rightful place of God in our attention and affections. It’s the thing we believe can provide us with the experience of our version of heaven for which we so long. And so it becomes our functional saviour and the thing to which we offer worship, obedience and sacrifice. Associated with whichever idol we’ve chosen is a religious system involving the holy places and those who conduct the rituals of worship, the High Priests. Underpinning the whole thing is an evangelistic mission that seeks to keep our love of the idol on the agenda. And so, I wonder whether the following four observations might help us chart a way through the treacherous waters of financial analysis?
1. The functional saviour that we believe can deliver the heavenly experience is the free market economy. We might not express it in those terms, but that’s what’s going on. In the past, people used to regard God as the self sufficient, inexhaustible, mysterious, benevolent and all-powerful source of what we need for an abundant life. But that old religion has now been displaced by the worship of the capitalist economic system. And so, as one person put it, ‘If people in the ancient world worshipped sticks and stones, today everywhere can be found the worship of stocks and shares’. And so the economy is revered and afforded sacred status and any criticism of the capitalistic ideology is regarded as blasphemy. Many are absolutely convinced that capitalism is the thing that can save us.
2. The heavenly experience for which we so yearn is material wealth. To be wealthy is to have attained salvation; poverty is hell from which we must be delivered. The purpose of life is simply to be wealthy. In plain denial of Jesus’ words in Luke 12, many are committed to the idea that salvation is found in the abundance of our wealth and possessions. And so the meaning of life is described in economic terms. We’re valued only to the degree in which we participate in the economy system. This means that the stay at home Mum, the unemployed, the unemployable or the homeless are viewed with sympathy, at best or derision, at worse.
3. The high priests are the only people that properly understand the intricacies of the financial markets. They gather together in the financial institutions where they pour over their sacred writings in the financial press, like the Financial Times. Laymen might try and get our heads round what’s going on by reading the popular literature like the supplements in the Sunday papers, but for most of us it‘s nothing more than incomprehensible mumbo jumbo! If it’s true that many have yet to find someone who can explain the truth of the gospel in language they can understand, the same could be said of the financial world!
4. The evangelistic mission of this false religion is propagated through advertising. This marketing endeavour could simply inform us of the merits and benefits of a good or service. If that was all that it did, it would serve a valuable purpose. But advertising seeks to tap into our insatiable appetite for more. Apparently the average American watches about 85 different television advertisements every day! Every single one of them has one unrelenting message; you’re life is imperfect until you accumulate the good and services that we’re promoting. Cultivating contentment and thankfulness against such a barrage of unhelpful visual stimulation requires godly determination.
Conclusion
And so, given recent events in which this idol has been stripped bare, it ought to be apparent that worshipping the economic system is an exercise in futility. The free market economy is nothing more than the creation of human hands and therefore it cannot save. We don’t need to get rid of it; it’s still the best way of doing things. Just don’t expect it to do what we hope that it will; provide salvation.
Some of us may have become secret devotees of materialism, worshipping at the altar of the economic system. And so, this is a good time therefore to do the following two things; first, to repent of our willing greedy participation in the perpetuation of this senseless idolatry and secondly, to redirect our trust and hope for the future to the God who has promised to save us.
With best wishes in Christ
richard
Monday, 27 October 2008
Reform Conference
For those interested to disocover some of what took place at the recent Reform National Conference, you'll find a summary of Jonathan Fletcher's opening talk here, Vaughan Roberts' talk on Unity, Co-Belligerency and secondary matters here, a copy of the Reform Conference Resolutions here and my reflections here.
Friday, 12 September 2008
Dear Friends - September
Dear Friends
So that was the summer. Didn’t last long, did it? How was your holiday? We had a great time as a family in our ‘canvas country residence’ on the Atlantic Coast of France. Don’t worry, I’m not about to promote the merits of the camping holiday. I thought I’d think about work. No really! Most of us have started back at our place of employment and I suspect that we’re feeling cheesed off with that state of affairs. Of course, some of us never really stopped working because our work is our family. And so, even on holiday, we carried on working because presumably we took them along with us!
I don’t wish to be irritating, but I’ve got a renewed appetite for work fuelled by my recent studies of the subject for the CCB Autumn Bible School. I thought I’d share the fruits of my labours in the hope that you might enter the workplace this September with a spring in your step!
Let me give you four motives for your work.
1. We work so that we don’t scrounge from others (2 Thessalonians 3:7&8)
When he was in Thessalonica Paul worked hard as a tent maker so that he wouldn’t be a burden to the church. If he was to survive then either he needed to work or someone else needed to work to support him. He wanted them to receive the gospel from him rather than him receive support from them. Love demands that we don’t sponge off others. Where possible we should avoid being dependent on anyone else. We’re to work so that we can survive and provide the food, clothing and shelter that we need. On the whole, if we’re not prepared to work then we shouldn’t expect to have any of those things. So when we work we’re making sure that we’re not being a free-loader.
2. We work so that we can serve the community (Galatians 6:9&10)
As Christians, God calls us to do good to everyone. And so, we should serve the local community and not just the church community. Sure, we’re especially concerned to look after our Christian brothers and sisters but we’re not to be exclusively concerned for their welfare. God expects us to love our unbelieving neighbours. And so we ought to find a job where we can make a contribution to the common good. The odds are that we already have one but we might not have worked out how it fits into the bigger picture. It’s worth doing. How does your job make the community more a more habitable and enjoyable place to live?
3. We work so that we can support our families (1 Timothy 5:3&4)
God reckons that families and not principally the state ought to be caring for one another. I guess that most unpaid work comes under this heading. For those of us that are stay at home Mums this attaches great importance to our work. It may be doing our heads in, but as we nurture and discipline our awkward toddler or we change yet another dirty nappy we’re bringing pleasure to the Lord because we’re doing what he’d have us do. We’re looking after our families. One of the things that struck me is that God’s creative work was unpaid. And whilst we may think there’s a strong correlation between the significance of someone’s work and the financial value that’s attached to it, God doesn’t agree. The free market isn’t always right! God was an unpaid volunteer craftsman and yet you’d be hard pressed to think of a more skilful and valuable work than God’s efforts in the creation of the universe!
4. We work so that we can share with the needy (Ephesians 4:28)
Instead of stealing, the thief is told to put his hands to good use so that he can have something to share with others. Our work therefore, is an opportunity to be generous to others. Whatever our views about the size and role of the Government, the principle of taxation is a right one. One way of looking at taxes is that the Government is ensuring that we fulfil God’s requirement to share with the needy! Does that help? We’re supposed to be working so that we can either earn something or produce something so that we can be generous and contribute to those who need our assistance.
Conclusion
Of course, I’ve said nothing about God’s role as a worker in which He dignifies work. I haven’t said anything about our role as God’s representatives trying to bring order out of chaos. Nor have I said anything about the frustration brought to our work by the effects of God’s condemnation on our sin. You’ll get that if you come to the sessions. But for now, I just want you to appreciate the work that God has given you to do.
I have no idea how you’re feeling about your workplace at the moment. But I hope once you start to think about these principles and apply them to your own job you might feel a lot more positive about what you spend over half your waking hours doing.
With best wishes in Christ
richard
So that was the summer. Didn’t last long, did it? How was your holiday? We had a great time as a family in our ‘canvas country residence’ on the Atlantic Coast of France. Don’t worry, I’m not about to promote the merits of the camping holiday. I thought I’d think about work. No really! Most of us have started back at our place of employment and I suspect that we’re feeling cheesed off with that state of affairs. Of course, some of us never really stopped working because our work is our family. And so, even on holiday, we carried on working because presumably we took them along with us!
I don’t wish to be irritating, but I’ve got a renewed appetite for work fuelled by my recent studies of the subject for the CCB Autumn Bible School. I thought I’d share the fruits of my labours in the hope that you might enter the workplace this September with a spring in your step!
Let me give you four motives for your work.
1. We work so that we don’t scrounge from others (2 Thessalonians 3:7&8)
When he was in Thessalonica Paul worked hard as a tent maker so that he wouldn’t be a burden to the church. If he was to survive then either he needed to work or someone else needed to work to support him. He wanted them to receive the gospel from him rather than him receive support from them. Love demands that we don’t sponge off others. Where possible we should avoid being dependent on anyone else. We’re to work so that we can survive and provide the food, clothing and shelter that we need. On the whole, if we’re not prepared to work then we shouldn’t expect to have any of those things. So when we work we’re making sure that we’re not being a free-loader.
2. We work so that we can serve the community (Galatians 6:9&10)
As Christians, God calls us to do good to everyone. And so, we should serve the local community and not just the church community. Sure, we’re especially concerned to look after our Christian brothers and sisters but we’re not to be exclusively concerned for their welfare. God expects us to love our unbelieving neighbours. And so we ought to find a job where we can make a contribution to the common good. The odds are that we already have one but we might not have worked out how it fits into the bigger picture. It’s worth doing. How does your job make the community more a more habitable and enjoyable place to live?
3. We work so that we can support our families (1 Timothy 5:3&4)
God reckons that families and not principally the state ought to be caring for one another. I guess that most unpaid work comes under this heading. For those of us that are stay at home Mums this attaches great importance to our work. It may be doing our heads in, but as we nurture and discipline our awkward toddler or we change yet another dirty nappy we’re bringing pleasure to the Lord because we’re doing what he’d have us do. We’re looking after our families. One of the things that struck me is that God’s creative work was unpaid. And whilst we may think there’s a strong correlation between the significance of someone’s work and the financial value that’s attached to it, God doesn’t agree. The free market isn’t always right! God was an unpaid volunteer craftsman and yet you’d be hard pressed to think of a more skilful and valuable work than God’s efforts in the creation of the universe!
4. We work so that we can share with the needy (Ephesians 4:28)
Instead of stealing, the thief is told to put his hands to good use so that he can have something to share with others. Our work therefore, is an opportunity to be generous to others. Whatever our views about the size and role of the Government, the principle of taxation is a right one. One way of looking at taxes is that the Government is ensuring that we fulfil God’s requirement to share with the needy! Does that help? We’re supposed to be working so that we can either earn something or produce something so that we can be generous and contribute to those who need our assistance.
Conclusion
Of course, I’ve said nothing about God’s role as a worker in which He dignifies work. I haven’t said anything about our role as God’s representatives trying to bring order out of chaos. Nor have I said anything about the frustration brought to our work by the effects of God’s condemnation on our sin. You’ll get that if you come to the sessions. But for now, I just want you to appreciate the work that God has given you to do.
I have no idea how you’re feeling about your workplace at the moment. But I hope once you start to think about these principles and apply them to your own job you might feel a lot more positive about what you spend over half your waking hours doing.
With best wishes in Christ
richard
Thursday, 4 September 2008
CCB AGM Pastor's Letter
A ’short’ reflection on the year just gone for our annual general meeting.
Dear Friends
When we stop and think about it we’ll realise that it’s been an incredible year for us at CCB. As you read your way through the AGM reports, as I have, you’ll realise that God has enabled us to accomplish far more than we might have hoped or imagined. We have much to give thanks for. And we will. That’s what this AGM is really about.
At last year’s church dinner three new and surprising items appeared on the annual calendar; a church mission, a park party and a holiday club. We’d never tried those things before. The plans were ambitious. In all honesty I thought that we may have to pull at least one until the following year. Under God I was proven wonderfully wrong. The stressful sleepless nights proved unwarranted and the anxiety unfounded. Through the wonderful organisation of Christian Fielder and his team for the Park Party, the Mission Action Group and Polly MacLachlan and her team for the Holiday Club they all came off. And they were brilliant events. Not perfect, but brilliant.
But I don’t want the review of our year to be an exercise in verbal back slapping and self congratulatory sentiments. Make no mistake about it, I am absolutely thrilled that we did what we did and I’m very grateful to God for answering our prayers and enabling us to do what we did. But as we reflect on the past 12 months I wonder whether there are four dangers of which we ought to be aware. These are trends that I think I’ve spotted that we ought to be aware of. Let’s not overstate them. Don’t panic. We’re not in imminent danger of wholesale repudiation of the gospel. But if left to develop, these pitfalls could prove our undoing.
1. Let’s beware of undervaluing training in godliness
Training programmes are terrific. I’m a big fan of providing specific instruction tailored to a particular goal. They’re a way of ensuring that certain key things get covered. Last year we began to address this issue across the Co-Mission Initiative through Prepare, because we were aware that more should be done. It should be noted that within CCB we already equip people for local church leadership through Ministry Matters. We provide training in the necessary skills required for small group leadership in Christ Church Kids, Knowing God, Women’s Bible Study and Home Groups. And we’ve continued to help our musicians use their God given talent in their word ministry. Occasionally we provide input for evangelism, parenting and marriage. As the Lord grows CCB we should be able to provide an ever increasing array of training courses intended to equip us for a whole life of Christian service. But as we do this, we must be wary of thinking that the task of growing in Christian maturity is exhausted by attendance at training courses. It’s not. Any idiot can attend a course. That doesn’t mean you grow. And let’s not fail to distinguish between growing in ability and growing in godliness. Growth in Christian maturity surely means both. Therefore, in our commendable desire to be trained and equipped, we must seek to develop our godliness as well as our skills. In an age that values talent more than character we need to remember that godliness is in fact far more valuable to a church than ability. If you gave me the choice between a godly inexperienced man with few Bible handling skills and an ungodly but really able expositor, I’d take the former every time. So let’s not undervalue the informal and unstructured opportunities that church life presents to be trained in godliness.
2. Let’s beware of forming exclusive church relationships
In the early days of CCB I can remember trying to encourage a newly formed congregation to get more involved socially with one another. We saw each other on a Sunday evening but that was about it. We were all a little unfamiliar and disconnected. It dawned on me that we could hardly expect anyone to want to join a church if the people who were already there didn’t socialise together! Wonderfully I don’t need to say that any more. If anything we may need to be reminded to focus a little less on some of our church relationships. No doubt the Lord will provide us with friends in church with whom we get on brilliantly, and that’s fantastic. We ought to pray that everyone will find a home at CCB and will find a Christian friend with whom they really connect. We want a whole range of friendships in our church, our congregations, our small groups and our prayer triplets in which we can give and receive support and prayerful encouragement. And we’re getting there. But we may be in danger of developing a cliquey exclusivity that newcomers find intimidating. That’s perhaps overstating it, but I’m sure you can feel my concern. I’m convinced that most of it is unintentional. Most of us are simply unaware that it’s an issue. And we’d all be horrified to discover that our behaviour may in fact be contributing to it! And so it’s always worth looking around and asking ‘who’s new?’, ‘who’s not being looked after?’ and ‘who should I be making an effort not only to welcome but also to include?’ And I’m not simply talking about Sunday meetings. We know that being involved in church life is much more than pitching up once a week.
3. Let’s beware of withdrawal from the public square
As our country drifts further from its biblical heritage the church will find itself increasingly at odds with prevailing opinion on a number of issues. We’ve begun to see this codified in recent legislation. How should Christians respond? Like an ostrich with its head in the sand, we could just deny that it’s happening. But the difference between the Christian and the secularist world view is now so obvious that no one can really do that. We’ll be tempted to run for cover, especially when the attacks get personal and uncomfortable. But withdrawal is not the answer. Engagement is. We need to rediscover our prophetic voice and continue to engage with what’s going on outside the walls of the church community. God’s word is true; not simply for His people but for His world. Many of us rightly prioritise our personal spiritual disciplines like Bible reading, prayer and meditation. We must not neglect those. But our responsibilities towards Christ go beyond simply paying attention to his word. They extend to believing his word to the degree that we’ll act on it. And that means we must learn to contend for the truth; graciously but firmly. We mustn’t simply withdraw and disengage and think that we’re honouring Christ. I’m anxious that our reluctance to stick our heads above the parapet may reveal that in our heart of hearts we’re ashamed of Christ and his words. And so let’s encourage one another to do what we can to get involved with our community and make sure that the predominant secularist agenda at least has a Christian competitor. We may lose but at least we’ll face Christ knowing that we gave it our all.
4. Let’s beware of increasing isolation from unbelieving friends
I think it was a Campus Crusade for Christ study that discovered that after two years of being converted most Christians had lost 80% of their non Christian friends. That’s frightening. I don’t think it was because all their non Christian friends were being converted. It was because newly converted Christians were being submerged in church culture with all its alternative activities. We must be wary of this trend. I still think that one of the most valuable contributions we can make to church life is an evangelistic passion, priority and practice. But lots of us aren’t there. It was very interesting reading the feedback forms from people after The God Confusion mission. The honesty of some concerning their lack of local friends to invite was humbling. We’ve long been sympathetic to those whose primary source of friendships is at work and whose friends live in other parts of London. For them the workplace ministries are vital and their evangelistic contribution to CCB probably won’t be inviting friends. But lots of us have also expressed concern at not knowing people nearby. I think we need to give serious thought to how we can be more involved with people locally. There are lots of ways to address this and adult education courses at Chestnut Grove, reading groups at the library and local sports clubs are good places to start. But whatever we do, we must not become isolated from the thousands of unbelievers who live around us. We must remain a missional congregation who intend to send missionaries across the world and also send church members across the street.
Conclusion
In my opinion these four concerns are things about which we ought to be aware. They ought not to be our only reflection on church life at CCB in 2008. In fact they ought not to be the foremost thing to remember. But they are worthy of our consideration and repentance. Our overriding response to what God has done in us, through us and for us in 2008 ought to be gratitude. There’s so much that you’re about to read that’ll stimulate your thanks and appreciation. We have a great and gracious God who continues to give us so much more than we deserve or ask for.
To God be the Glory
richard
Dear Friends
When we stop and think about it we’ll realise that it’s been an incredible year for us at CCB. As you read your way through the AGM reports, as I have, you’ll realise that God has enabled us to accomplish far more than we might have hoped or imagined. We have much to give thanks for. And we will. That’s what this AGM is really about.
At last year’s church dinner three new and surprising items appeared on the annual calendar; a church mission, a park party and a holiday club. We’d never tried those things before. The plans were ambitious. In all honesty I thought that we may have to pull at least one until the following year. Under God I was proven wonderfully wrong. The stressful sleepless nights proved unwarranted and the anxiety unfounded. Through the wonderful organisation of Christian Fielder and his team for the Park Party, the Mission Action Group and Polly MacLachlan and her team for the Holiday Club they all came off. And they were brilliant events. Not perfect, but brilliant.
But I don’t want the review of our year to be an exercise in verbal back slapping and self congratulatory sentiments. Make no mistake about it, I am absolutely thrilled that we did what we did and I’m very grateful to God for answering our prayers and enabling us to do what we did. But as we reflect on the past 12 months I wonder whether there are four dangers of which we ought to be aware. These are trends that I think I’ve spotted that we ought to be aware of. Let’s not overstate them. Don’t panic. We’re not in imminent danger of wholesale repudiation of the gospel. But if left to develop, these pitfalls could prove our undoing.
1. Let’s beware of undervaluing training in godliness
Training programmes are terrific. I’m a big fan of providing specific instruction tailored to a particular goal. They’re a way of ensuring that certain key things get covered. Last year we began to address this issue across the Co-Mission Initiative through Prepare, because we were aware that more should be done. It should be noted that within CCB we already equip people for local church leadership through Ministry Matters. We provide training in the necessary skills required for small group leadership in Christ Church Kids, Knowing God, Women’s Bible Study and Home Groups. And we’ve continued to help our musicians use their God given talent in their word ministry. Occasionally we provide input for evangelism, parenting and marriage. As the Lord grows CCB we should be able to provide an ever increasing array of training courses intended to equip us for a whole life of Christian service. But as we do this, we must be wary of thinking that the task of growing in Christian maturity is exhausted by attendance at training courses. It’s not. Any idiot can attend a course. That doesn’t mean you grow. And let’s not fail to distinguish between growing in ability and growing in godliness. Growth in Christian maturity surely means both. Therefore, in our commendable desire to be trained and equipped, we must seek to develop our godliness as well as our skills. In an age that values talent more than character we need to remember that godliness is in fact far more valuable to a church than ability. If you gave me the choice between a godly inexperienced man with few Bible handling skills and an ungodly but really able expositor, I’d take the former every time. So let’s not undervalue the informal and unstructured opportunities that church life presents to be trained in godliness.
2. Let’s beware of forming exclusive church relationships
In the early days of CCB I can remember trying to encourage a newly formed congregation to get more involved socially with one another. We saw each other on a Sunday evening but that was about it. We were all a little unfamiliar and disconnected. It dawned on me that we could hardly expect anyone to want to join a church if the people who were already there didn’t socialise together! Wonderfully I don’t need to say that any more. If anything we may need to be reminded to focus a little less on some of our church relationships. No doubt the Lord will provide us with friends in church with whom we get on brilliantly, and that’s fantastic. We ought to pray that everyone will find a home at CCB and will find a Christian friend with whom they really connect. We want a whole range of friendships in our church, our congregations, our small groups and our prayer triplets in which we can give and receive support and prayerful encouragement. And we’re getting there. But we may be in danger of developing a cliquey exclusivity that newcomers find intimidating. That’s perhaps overstating it, but I’m sure you can feel my concern. I’m convinced that most of it is unintentional. Most of us are simply unaware that it’s an issue. And we’d all be horrified to discover that our behaviour may in fact be contributing to it! And so it’s always worth looking around and asking ‘who’s new?’, ‘who’s not being looked after?’ and ‘who should I be making an effort not only to welcome but also to include?’ And I’m not simply talking about Sunday meetings. We know that being involved in church life is much more than pitching up once a week.
3. Let’s beware of withdrawal from the public square
As our country drifts further from its biblical heritage the church will find itself increasingly at odds with prevailing opinion on a number of issues. We’ve begun to see this codified in recent legislation. How should Christians respond? Like an ostrich with its head in the sand, we could just deny that it’s happening. But the difference between the Christian and the secularist world view is now so obvious that no one can really do that. We’ll be tempted to run for cover, especially when the attacks get personal and uncomfortable. But withdrawal is not the answer. Engagement is. We need to rediscover our prophetic voice and continue to engage with what’s going on outside the walls of the church community. God’s word is true; not simply for His people but for His world. Many of us rightly prioritise our personal spiritual disciplines like Bible reading, prayer and meditation. We must not neglect those. But our responsibilities towards Christ go beyond simply paying attention to his word. They extend to believing his word to the degree that we’ll act on it. And that means we must learn to contend for the truth; graciously but firmly. We mustn’t simply withdraw and disengage and think that we’re honouring Christ. I’m anxious that our reluctance to stick our heads above the parapet may reveal that in our heart of hearts we’re ashamed of Christ and his words. And so let’s encourage one another to do what we can to get involved with our community and make sure that the predominant secularist agenda at least has a Christian competitor. We may lose but at least we’ll face Christ knowing that we gave it our all.
4. Let’s beware of increasing isolation from unbelieving friends
I think it was a Campus Crusade for Christ study that discovered that after two years of being converted most Christians had lost 80% of their non Christian friends. That’s frightening. I don’t think it was because all their non Christian friends were being converted. It was because newly converted Christians were being submerged in church culture with all its alternative activities. We must be wary of this trend. I still think that one of the most valuable contributions we can make to church life is an evangelistic passion, priority and practice. But lots of us aren’t there. It was very interesting reading the feedback forms from people after The God Confusion mission. The honesty of some concerning their lack of local friends to invite was humbling. We’ve long been sympathetic to those whose primary source of friendships is at work and whose friends live in other parts of London. For them the workplace ministries are vital and their evangelistic contribution to CCB probably won’t be inviting friends. But lots of us have also expressed concern at not knowing people nearby. I think we need to give serious thought to how we can be more involved with people locally. There are lots of ways to address this and adult education courses at Chestnut Grove, reading groups at the library and local sports clubs are good places to start. But whatever we do, we must not become isolated from the thousands of unbelievers who live around us. We must remain a missional congregation who intend to send missionaries across the world and also send church members across the street.
Conclusion
In my opinion these four concerns are things about which we ought to be aware. They ought not to be our only reflection on church life at CCB in 2008. In fact they ought not to be the foremost thing to remember. But they are worthy of our consideration and repentance. Our overriding response to what God has done in us, through us and for us in 2008 ought to be gratitude. There’s so much that you’re about to read that’ll stimulate your thanks and appreciation. We have a great and gracious God who continues to give us so much more than we deserve or ask for.
To God be the Glory
richard
Wednesday, 3 September 2008
Co-Mission AGM Report for CCB
'It's been another quiet week in Lake Wobegon'
So begins the weekly radio address by Garrison Keiller concerning the fictional community in America's mid west. Those words could never be applied to church community life South London's finest suburb, Balham. I’m sure some in the congregation would like it to be different. Occasionally I’m one of them! It's been a busy year. But it's been a great year and we're very grateful to God for His resurrection power that has sustained us throughout this time. We’ve worked hard for Christ and his gospel. And, in our best moments, we wouldn’t have it any other way. Sure it’s been costly but nothing of value comes without a cost. And we value gospel ministry at CCB because we know the transformation that it brings.
Our two congregations have been united in a renewed attempt to bring the great news of the gospel to our local area. In all honesty, we've done so with mixed success. The three new events in our busy church programme were
1. The God Confusion Mission at which we provided a wide range of events to which church members could invite friends. The foil for our mission was Richard Dawkins’ popular and influential rant against Christianity. It was intended that this would a starting point for more fruitful discussions about faith. It was. Recognising that people were a long way back from commitment to Christ we designed a programme so that everyone could invite someone to something. Though there were lots of engaging conversations at the various events regrettably it’s not translated into genuine enquiry through our Christianity Explored course.
2. The inaugural Balham Park Party at which we sought to engage with the local community and promote the work of our church. The highlight of the day was the open air service at which huge numbers of families thought about Jesus’ parable of the heavenly party. Wonderfully one Roman Catholic family has started coming to church as a result of the Park Party. Christian Fielder and his action group planned and implemented the day’s events to perfection.
3. The Going Bananas Holiday Bible Club at which a brilliant team of volunteers gave up their holiday and gave themselves to the kids for the sake of Christ. We had nearly twenty children who came along and only five of them came from CCB. Polly MacLachlan and her team of helpers put on a brilliant programme over three mornings in the May Half Term. We continue to pray that our links with Telferscot School parents and kids will prove fruitful.
If you wanted to pray for us please give thanks for
a. Jenni Prosser and our children’s workers who do a great job week in week out in Christ Church Kids
b. The loyalty and unity of our congregations to one another and to Christ
c. The ministry of Gavin McGrath who left to plant Christ Church Earlsfield
And why not pray for
a. Our courage to keep proclaiming Christ and his gospel of transformation
b. Our intention to plant a new church at some stage in the future
c. Our new Assistant Pastor Pete Matthew and his wife Nicki
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