As someone who has grown up in a Christian/church environment I always believed that there was supposed to be one defining moment when I “became a Christian” or “got saved”. We characterise this moment as when we “ask Jesus into our heart” or say “the sinner’s prayer”.
I did this when I was a three year old child. I knelt down next to my bed with my dad and sister and humbly asked Jesus to come and live in my heart. I loved Jesus in the only way a three year old could but I had no idea what inviting a grown man to come and live in my little heart meant. When I stood up from that prayer I didn’t feel any different but I remember how excited my dad was.
It wasn’t until many years later that I truly experienced God for myself rather than just catching the rebounds of my parent’s experience. My “conversion” took place over many years. I can’t pinpoint one defining moment when I suddenly knew that I was saved. Even now, thirty years later, I am still learning more and experiencing God in new and fresh ways.
It is interesting to note that there is no mention in the Bible of asking Jesus into your heart or quoting the sinner’s prayer in order to “get saved”. Jesus welcomed everyone who came to him. He spoke to them, comforted them, healed them, delivered them, taught them, loved them and encouraged them. He didn’t call an altar-call or even pray with them. In many cases he farewelled them with words such as “your faith has saved you”, “go in peace” and “do not sin anymore”.
Prayer is the way we communicate with Jesus now. The Bible says that if you believe in your heart and confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, then you shall be saved. I assume the sinner’s prayer stems from this passage, but what about those who never have the opportunity to hear about Jesus?
The Bible says that God can be seen in the beauty of creation. God’s truth can be found anywhere, not just in our churches. Thousands of people around the world have never heard the name of Jesus, but I do not believe that means they are doomed to eternal damnation. God looks at the heart and I can’t believe that his grace does not extend to those who have never had the opportunity to hear about his son, and yet have searched for him in their own way.
I guess the key to the “sinner’s prayer” is follow up. I know many people who have said the prayer and never moved on from there – no transformation, no shift in priorities, no change in mindset – just good people who have continued on with their life as they did before. I believe salvation is only the first step of the journey. The real journey is about discipleship, not just saying a simple prayer and being done with it, but about a life-time of change. Discipleship is becoming like Jesus and it takes time, commitment, passion and sacrifice.
Monday 23 July 2007
Thursday 19 July 2007
Social Justice And Christianity
Matthew 25:31-46 has always fascinated me. For most of my Christian life it was one of those passages I skimmed over, mainly because I knew that if I looked at it too closely, it would challenge me to step way out of my comfort zone, and that can be a difficult place to be. In recent years, however, my desire to be more like Jesus has overcome my fear of studying these verses and I have started delving into them a little further.
Many church leaders I have spoken to believe that “missions”, “outreach” and “providing for the needy” are jobs for a minority of Christians – those who have been “specifically called” to that particular ministry. They set up departments in their churches to cater for the few who have a passion for these things and then say that they have done their bit. Once that has been done, they can get on with the more important issues of preaching, music, small groups and the general running of the church. These things are all important in a church, but I believe that Matthew 25 blows this kind of mentality out of the water.
In this passage the way Jesus distinguishes those who will be with him throughout eternity, from those who will not, is based on their passion for social justice. Those who took care of the needs of the people around them and made time for those who were not socially accepted are the ones who Jesus said would share in his inheritance. Those who did not provide for the needy or care for the socially unacceptable were sent to “eternal punishment”.
Jesus effectively says that if you don’t help those in need, you will not be known by him. That is a pretty big call. As Christians we focus on so many aspects of God that I think we can easily lose the importance of this story. John 3:17 reinforces this way of thinking, saying that if we have material possessions but do not provide for those in need, then God’s love is not in us.
It seems difficult from these scriptures, to separate social justice and actively loving others from salvation and a personal relationship with Jesus. I guess if you love God wholeheartedly, from that should flow a love for his creation, and from that a demonstration of love in action.
As I said, way out of the comfort zone, but right where I need to be.
Many church leaders I have spoken to believe that “missions”, “outreach” and “providing for the needy” are jobs for a minority of Christians – those who have been “specifically called” to that particular ministry. They set up departments in their churches to cater for the few who have a passion for these things and then say that they have done their bit. Once that has been done, they can get on with the more important issues of preaching, music, small groups and the general running of the church. These things are all important in a church, but I believe that Matthew 25 blows this kind of mentality out of the water.
In this passage the way Jesus distinguishes those who will be with him throughout eternity, from those who will not, is based on their passion for social justice. Those who took care of the needs of the people around them and made time for those who were not socially accepted are the ones who Jesus said would share in his inheritance. Those who did not provide for the needy or care for the socially unacceptable were sent to “eternal punishment”.
Jesus effectively says that if you don’t help those in need, you will not be known by him. That is a pretty big call. As Christians we focus on so many aspects of God that I think we can easily lose the importance of this story. John 3:17 reinforces this way of thinking, saying that if we have material possessions but do not provide for those in need, then God’s love is not in us.
It seems difficult from these scriptures, to separate social justice and actively loving others from salvation and a personal relationship with Jesus. I guess if you love God wholeheartedly, from that should flow a love for his creation, and from that a demonstration of love in action.
As I said, way out of the comfort zone, but right where I need to be.
Sunday 15 July 2007
The Price Of Excellence
Do you have any idea how many times I have heard the word “excellence” at church? By definition excellence means “the act of being admirable, exceptional, fine, first-class, superb”. I understand the mentality behind the whole “excellence” phenomenon that has hit our churches (to give God our best), but I think we have gotten a little bit carried away.
I look at the list of “requirements” for service (above) that our churches are looking for today (especially in the area of music) and I think what hope do we have? I am a good person who loves God wholeheartedly, but I wouldn’t describe myself as exceptional or first-class. I would rather be referred to as humble and willing. A friend of mine says that excellence makes people feel inadequate, and I tend to agree.
When you read the Bible it is interesting to note that not one person God used throughout scripture was qualified to perform the job that God called him (or her) to do. NOT ONE! On the contrary, God usually called the last person we would deem as appropriate to fulfil his purpose. I believe he does this because, at the end of the road, when the under-dog has prevailed and the impossible has been accomplished, everyone will know that it was God who did it, not man, and he would get all the glory.
1 Corinthians 1:27-29 says that God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, the weak to shame the strong; the lowly, despised and insignificant to abolish the things that are, so that no-one can boast before him.
God is glorified when real people follow his call to be followers of Jesus, not when people strive to be excellent. The men Jesus chose to be his disciples were not the educated rabbis who had completed Bible college, but the humble “tradies” who had a heart to serve. These are the men who turned our world upside-down. How many “uneducated” people are stifled by the church in the name of excellence? How many “qualified” people are doing it their own way, instead of God’s way, because they believe that their excellence is all that is needed?
So yes, I believe excellence is over-rated. God is more interested in our hearts, humility and willingness than our abilities. We need to do all we do for his glory, and let God be God.
I look at the list of “requirements” for service (above) that our churches are looking for today (especially in the area of music) and I think what hope do we have? I am a good person who loves God wholeheartedly, but I wouldn’t describe myself as exceptional or first-class. I would rather be referred to as humble and willing. A friend of mine says that excellence makes people feel inadequate, and I tend to agree.
When you read the Bible it is interesting to note that not one person God used throughout scripture was qualified to perform the job that God called him (or her) to do. NOT ONE! On the contrary, God usually called the last person we would deem as appropriate to fulfil his purpose. I believe he does this because, at the end of the road, when the under-dog has prevailed and the impossible has been accomplished, everyone will know that it was God who did it, not man, and he would get all the glory.
1 Corinthians 1:27-29 says that God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise, the weak to shame the strong; the lowly, despised and insignificant to abolish the things that are, so that no-one can boast before him.
God is glorified when real people follow his call to be followers of Jesus, not when people strive to be excellent. The men Jesus chose to be his disciples were not the educated rabbis who had completed Bible college, but the humble “tradies” who had a heart to serve. These are the men who turned our world upside-down. How many “uneducated” people are stifled by the church in the name of excellence? How many “qualified” people are doing it their own way, instead of God’s way, because they believe that their excellence is all that is needed?
So yes, I believe excellence is over-rated. God is more interested in our hearts, humility and willingness than our abilities. We need to do all we do for his glory, and let God be God.
Monday 9 July 2007
What Will You Leave Behind?
I love this devotional from “The Word For Today”.
What Will You Leave Behind?
"When your days are over and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you." 2 Samuel 7:12 NIV
Solomon says, "The memory of the righteous will be a blessing" (Proverbs 10:7 NIV). So, how will you be remembered? Whatever your story, you're writing it now. Don't get the wrong idea; we're not thinking about dying so much as we are about living.
Here are five things that will remain when you go.
1. Your investments for Christ in people: therefore you must increase your spiritual deposits.
2. Your prayers will live forever before God's throne: therefore you must pray more, and pray for the generations that may follow you.
3. Your life's story may live on to inspire others: therefore you must live to the fullest God's script of faithfulness, excellence and godliness.
4. Your giving can enable your local church to reach your community, cause a mission's school to thrive, a devotional to be printed, a Christian station to be supported, or a lost loved one to be reached: therefore you must give, and give sacrificially so that the harvest you reap will far outlive the seeds you have sown.
5. Your children will carry your physical and spiritual DNA: therefore you must know that they walk with God, and that the faith of your fathers will live on through your children and your grandchildren to touch future generations.
Concerning Abel, the Bible says, "By faith he still speaks, even though he is dead" (Heb 11:4 NIV).
You can touch the future for good and for God – but only if you plan to!
The Word For Today
by Bob & Debby Gass & Ruth Gass Halliday
What Will You Leave Behind?
"When your days are over and you rest with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring to succeed you." 2 Samuel 7:12 NIV
Solomon says, "The memory of the righteous will be a blessing" (Proverbs 10:7 NIV). So, how will you be remembered? Whatever your story, you're writing it now. Don't get the wrong idea; we're not thinking about dying so much as we are about living.
Here are five things that will remain when you go.
1. Your investments for Christ in people: therefore you must increase your spiritual deposits.
2. Your prayers will live forever before God's throne: therefore you must pray more, and pray for the generations that may follow you.
3. Your life's story may live on to inspire others: therefore you must live to the fullest God's script of faithfulness, excellence and godliness.
4. Your giving can enable your local church to reach your community, cause a mission's school to thrive, a devotional to be printed, a Christian station to be supported, or a lost loved one to be reached: therefore you must give, and give sacrificially so that the harvest you reap will far outlive the seeds you have sown.
5. Your children will carry your physical and spiritual DNA: therefore you must know that they walk with God, and that the faith of your fathers will live on through your children and your grandchildren to touch future generations.
Concerning Abel, the Bible says, "By faith he still speaks, even though he is dead" (Heb 11:4 NIV).
You can touch the future for good and for God – but only if you plan to!
The Word For Today
by Bob & Debby Gass & Ruth Gass Halliday
Friday 6 July 2007
Church Leadership Styles
I heard a message about church leadership styles which I would like to share with you.
Corporate Style
Many of our churches today run on a “corporate” leadership style. First, they employ a CEO (the pastor) who sets the vision of the church and everyone else “lays down” or adapts their own vision to follow his. They then elect a board of directors (oversight team) to assist the pastor with the decisions he makes. Next they elect managers (leadership team) to develop and run various departments within the church to cater for all different age groups and people groups. Then they have the laity who are expected to be involved in as many departments as possible, thereby making them too busy to spend time in the “real world”.
I can’t find anything in the Bible that supports this style of leadership and yet it seems to be such a popular style today. The early church was a group of believers who gathered together whenever they could, wherever they could, to share scripture, sing songs, share personal testimonies, eat and drink together, develop relationships and provide for those in need. There was no one person who was “qualified” to run the group. They followed the leading of the Holy Spirit and each person was accountable to the others in the group. There is very little in many churches today that resembles the early church.
Midwife Style
Another style of church leadership is the “midwife” style. When a pregnant woman is ready to give birth, she seeks the assistance of a midwife. The midwife, through her training, experience and skills, assists the woman to safely give birth to her newborn child.
A pastor who leads in this style is there to help each member of his congregation give birth to whatever it is that God has planted within them. Through his experience, knowledge of God’s word, personal testimony and love for his people, he can assist, guide, prepare, train and encourage people to fulfil the personal vision and purpose God has given them. This purpose can be fulfilled with or without his help (just like a woman can have a baby without a midwife), but it is safer, less painful and more effective with his guidance.
This style of leadership is much closer to resembling the early church style and, from what I have observed, is much more effective in fulfilling the purpose of the church.
Corporate Style
Many of our churches today run on a “corporate” leadership style. First, they employ a CEO (the pastor) who sets the vision of the church and everyone else “lays down” or adapts their own vision to follow his. They then elect a board of directors (oversight team) to assist the pastor with the decisions he makes. Next they elect managers (leadership team) to develop and run various departments within the church to cater for all different age groups and people groups. Then they have the laity who are expected to be involved in as many departments as possible, thereby making them too busy to spend time in the “real world”.
I can’t find anything in the Bible that supports this style of leadership and yet it seems to be such a popular style today. The early church was a group of believers who gathered together whenever they could, wherever they could, to share scripture, sing songs, share personal testimonies, eat and drink together, develop relationships and provide for those in need. There was no one person who was “qualified” to run the group. They followed the leading of the Holy Spirit and each person was accountable to the others in the group. There is very little in many churches today that resembles the early church.
Midwife Style
Another style of church leadership is the “midwife” style. When a pregnant woman is ready to give birth, she seeks the assistance of a midwife. The midwife, through her training, experience and skills, assists the woman to safely give birth to her newborn child.
A pastor who leads in this style is there to help each member of his congregation give birth to whatever it is that God has planted within them. Through his experience, knowledge of God’s word, personal testimony and love for his people, he can assist, guide, prepare, train and encourage people to fulfil the personal vision and purpose God has given them. This purpose can be fulfilled with or without his help (just like a woman can have a baby without a midwife), but it is safer, less painful and more effective with his guidance.
This style of leadership is much closer to resembling the early church style and, from what I have observed, is much more effective in fulfilling the purpose of the church.
Wednesday 4 July 2007
Being Christ-Like
We hear a lot in our churches about being Christ-like, but what does this actually mean? I believe it is more than just showing love and grace to the people we happen to come in contact with. We need to imitate Jesus’ life. It seems like we have made Jesus into someone we can adore, but we have forgotten that he is also someone we should replicate. When Jesus walked the earth he questioned and challenged everything (interestingly enough, he was especially unpopular with the church leaders of the day), but he loved so unbendingly that he changed the life of every single person he came in contact with.
Mike Frost talks about “vandalising our pictures of Jesus”. We have made Jesus into a nice person who got along with everyone and was loved by all. In actual fact, if you read the gospels and the stories of Jesus’ life, you find a man who was seen as a rebel by many – he ate and drank with sinners, he argued with church leaders, he destroyed the church’s merchandising stands, he whipped up more wine at a wedding when they ran out. He saw more than the rules – he saw the people who were lost and hurting, and they were his priority. He constantly put himself in the path of people who were not worthy of his attention.
Surely we should follow the example he set – the principles he lived by. To be Christ-like is about imitating the life of Jesus in everything we do, every moment of every day. I am starting to realise just how uncomfortable and challenging this kind of life can actually be, but I have also never enjoyed life more.
Mike Frost talks about “vandalising our pictures of Jesus”. We have made Jesus into a nice person who got along with everyone and was loved by all. In actual fact, if you read the gospels and the stories of Jesus’ life, you find a man who was seen as a rebel by many – he ate and drank with sinners, he argued with church leaders, he destroyed the church’s merchandising stands, he whipped up more wine at a wedding when they ran out. He saw more than the rules – he saw the people who were lost and hurting, and they were his priority. He constantly put himself in the path of people who were not worthy of his attention.
Surely we should follow the example he set – the principles he lived by. To be Christ-like is about imitating the life of Jesus in everything we do, every moment of every day. I am starting to realise just how uncomfortable and challenging this kind of life can actually be, but I have also never enjoyed life more.
Sunday 1 July 2007
Church - The Mission Killer
I have a friend who, when I first met him several years ago, was passionate about prison ministry. He was involved in a band that played in prisons and he talked about little else. His passion and excitement for this ministry was contagious and I used to hang out to hear him talk more about it.
Now, four years later, this man shows no interest in prison ministry whatsoever. He is heavily involved in the music department of a local church and he is so busy with church that he has little time for anything else. Nearly every night of the week is taken up with a church activity – music practices, leadership meetings, young adults group, church basketball team, small groups, men’s group and the like. Worse still, he spends what little spare time he does have hanging out with other people from the church, further minimising any opportunity he may have to “outreach” anyone.
It breaks my heart to see that his involvement in church has actually killed his passion for mission.
How many people have experienced or witnessed the same situation? Church is supposed to fuel our passion for the lost; it is supposed to increase our desire to show others Jesus; it is supposed to instil in us a determination to “go into all the world and make disciples of all men”. Yet with the busyness of church these days, many Christians in many churches experience the exact opposite.
In my own life I discovered that once I took a step away from church leadership (worship leading, running a department, being on the missions committee) and the pressure to be at every meeting and event held by the church, my relationship with Jesus became so much more intimate and real. I began to get back to the basics, to look at the way Jesus lived his life, and as a result, my passion for outreach and mission soared.
God is a mission God. God sent Jesus to save us. Jesus sent his Holy Spirit to guide us. The Holy Spirit sends us to reach the lost. God is not just interested in mission – God is mission. The church needs to rise up and free their congregations to be the people God saved them to be.
Now, four years later, this man shows no interest in prison ministry whatsoever. He is heavily involved in the music department of a local church and he is so busy with church that he has little time for anything else. Nearly every night of the week is taken up with a church activity – music practices, leadership meetings, young adults group, church basketball team, small groups, men’s group and the like. Worse still, he spends what little spare time he does have hanging out with other people from the church, further minimising any opportunity he may have to “outreach” anyone.
It breaks my heart to see that his involvement in church has actually killed his passion for mission.
How many people have experienced or witnessed the same situation? Church is supposed to fuel our passion for the lost; it is supposed to increase our desire to show others Jesus; it is supposed to instil in us a determination to “go into all the world and make disciples of all men”. Yet with the busyness of church these days, many Christians in many churches experience the exact opposite.
In my own life I discovered that once I took a step away from church leadership (worship leading, running a department, being on the missions committee) and the pressure to be at every meeting and event held by the church, my relationship with Jesus became so much more intimate and real. I began to get back to the basics, to look at the way Jesus lived his life, and as a result, my passion for outreach and mission soared.
God is a mission God. God sent Jesus to save us. Jesus sent his Holy Spirit to guide us. The Holy Spirit sends us to reach the lost. God is not just interested in mission – God is mission. The church needs to rise up and free their congregations to be the people God saved them to be.
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