october 24, 2008 08:55am

The Gospel Centred Church

Next week sees the launch of the next phase of the churches home group ministry. We have recruited some new home group coordinators and reorganised the groups slightly and we are all ready to launch on Wednesday night. Over the next year or so we are going to be focussing on what it means to be a gospel centred church. We will be using material by Steve Timmis and Tim Chester who are part of the leadership team of the Crowded House in Sheffield www.thecrowdedhouse.org/ The material is aimed at reflecting on the fact that, "Gospel ministry is much more than simply evangelism. It is about shaping the whole of our church life and activities by the content and imperatives of the gospel. It is about ensuring that our church is motivated by and focussed on the Gospel, as opposed to our traditions, or the scores of other worthy causes and needs that could fill our time." To help encourage us all to interact with this material we have set up a discussion thread on the Church Forum, so please feel free to share your views and enter into discussion throughout the month as we get into, 'The Gospel Centred Church'.

Posted By: Alan McKnight

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october 23, 2008 12:33pm

Why Theology In Worship Songs Is Important

Here is an account from Bob Kauflin, Worship Leader at Sovereign Grace Church. Very Challenging for all of us involved with Worship:

I don't know Terry Stauffer personally, but he attended the Together for the Gospel conference in 2006 and blogged on a hymn we sang there, How Sweet and Aweful is the Place. He's a pastor in Alberta, Canada. That was all I knew. Until yesterday.

Yesterday, someone left a comment on the post where I referenced Terry and passed on some very sad news. Emily Stauffer, Terry's daughter, was murdered this past Saturday afternoon while taking a walk. She was 14 years old.
Providentially, Terry has been studying the book of Job, and recently wrote a post on the Sovereign Grace CD, Come Weary Saints, a CD we put together for those going through challenging times. When we're putting together songs for a project, along with trying to write music that people will want to sing and listen to, we always aim to write songs that are rich in biblical truths and the gospel.

Music can only comfort us emotionally and for a brief time. The gospel comforts us in every way and forever.
So it was encouraging to hear how God has been using the songs we've written, and others I'm sure, not only to communicate God's care and grace to the Stauffers during this difficult time, but to prepare them for it.

Yesterday, Terry shared some of this thoughts:

In August we bought a CD from Sovereign Grace Music, Come Weary Saints. I posted a brief recommendation back in the beginning of September. This album, along with Valley of Vision and other Sovereign Grace albums have been a lifeline for our family since we received the news of Emily's death. Our little girls, 7 and 9, have gone to sleep listening to these songs the last two nights. My wife Juanita commented that one song, It Is Not Death to Die, gripped her from day one. I remember her saying that when we first listened to this album. Now we know why. You can read the rest here. Please pray for the Stauffer family, that in their grief they would be most aware of God's sovereign, loving, and wise care, ultimately evidenced in the giving of his only Son for our salvation.

KeyWords: Worship , Providence

Posted By: Jim Coyle

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october 13, 2008 02:32pm

Redemption and Blood

Whilst researching Sundays sermon on Redemption I read many very interesting things. One of which I would like to share with you on this new blog, A quote from the great church father ANSELM - The debt was so great, that while man alone owed it, only God could pay it. CJ Maheney in The Cross Centred Life reports this story:

She was what psychologists call a "cutter" - and a friend of mine (who's a pastor) wrote me a letter in which he described an unforgettable counseling session with this troubled young woman.

It was her mother who had asked for the meeting, as my firend explained to me: 2she related how he oldest daughter had been in the emergency room four times so far that year. Three times she had cut herself so deeply that stitches were required. Another time she had taken a bottle of pills, survived, and was detained in a psychiatric ward for teenagers. Now back at home, her daughter had cut herself again." The pastor agreed to meet with the daughter.

The next day, the woman's daughter walked into my office. My friend's letter explains how the session developed:

She wore an oversized turtleneck with sleeves that went down almost completely over her hands. After a time of gentle questions and listening, the conversation turned to "cutting." She said that when she was upset with herself, or upset over the offences of other people, she cut herself. It seemed to relieve tension. Cleaning up from the bloody wounds distracted her from other problems.

She pulled up her sleeve and showed me her arm, and I don't think I will ever forget the sight. That image stayed in my mind for days and was painful every time I recalled it.

What could I do? All I really knew about biblical counselling was to pray for people and to tell the about the gospel. Very small errors in a person's understanding of the gospel seemed to result in very big problems in that person's life.

The pastor pulled out a pad of paper and drew out for the young woman a diagram of the gospel. He agreed with her that blood can indeed "solve problem" - but pointed out that the blood "did not have to be here own, and that the cutting had already been done on her behalf. The Spirit brought illumination, and she prayed to accept the gospel."

At the time the pastor wrote tome, six months had passed since that meeting, and the young woman had gone the entireduration without cutting herself again.

Yes it requires blood to solve our very worst possible problem. For God, who in righteous wisdom determined that sin's just penalty is death, also determined that without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins.

That is really all simply to say that redemption was accomplished and it cost nothing less than the unimaginably valuable blood of the Lord Jesus Christ to solve the problem that sits at the very basal level of all humanity our slavery to sin.

Posted By: Jon Gemmell

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october 02, 2008 12:38pm

Ted Herbert

I heard yesterday (30th September 2008) that Ted Herbert had gone to be with the Lord. Ted, who was Vice Principal at International Christian College in Glasgow, was a truly remarkable godly man. I first met him about 10 years ago when I had dinner with him prior to him beginning a three week series at Plains in which he took us through the whole Old Testament! Only Ted could manage that in three nights!

I still remember insights that he pointed me to in the Psalms and the book of Amos in particular. In the years following, Ted had preached at Plains every year or so and we have been thoroughly blessed by his ministry to us. The last time Ted preached at Plains was on the last Sunday of 2008. He was 'in the Spirit on the Lord's Day' for the sermon he preached that day spoke to the very heart of our life as a church community in Plains.

I personally thank God for Ted and his ministry and on reflecting on his being taken home to be with the Lord, I have thought there goes a man I wish I had got to know better. Our prayers at this time are for his family who though knowing where he is and who he is with, will feel the loss of one so special. You can hear the inspiring testimony of Ted below:

Posted By: Alan McKnight

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october 02, 2008 12:36pm

Driscoll's Friendly Assessment of the Sydney Anglicans

Last month Mark Driscoll, one of Christendom's hottest and most controversial preachers made his way to Sydney to engage in a conference with the Sydney Anglicans. It seems a very useful time was had by all involved and Driscoll gave a friendly critique of what he sees wrong with the Sydney Anglican movement. Obviously the critique was aimed at a different denomination on a different continent, but in reading through the critique I am very struck by how relevant it is to our own church and to the church in Scotland today. Natasha Percy's summary of Driscoll's challenge is as follows:

"Mr Driscoll introduced these points asserting that, if we are seeing no fruit from our ministry, rather than doing more, we have to ask what we are doing wrong. He also asserted that "pruning" must precede "harvesting". This pruning could involve such things as people and programs.

"You need to cut that which is taking energy away from evangelism," he said.

Mark Driscoll asserted that these 18 points were coming from a "friend", as he asked all present to consider whether their ministry was doing "all" that it could to ensure people were "meeting Jesus" (1 Cor 9:22)

1. The Bible guys are not the missional guys, which leads to proud irrelevance - (Ministers are) less aware of the context of their ministry and more aware of the content of Scripture. It's not enough to just be the faithful, you must be the fruitful.
   
   
2. Your culture struggles with a lack of entrepreneurialism, due to the influence of Socialism and Great Britain. Socialism brings the concept that everyone must be taken care of, with resources given to the weakest pastors in the weakest churches rather than pruning. This means you are neglecting to send nourishment to new buds and branches in the name of socialistic equality. The British are not an entrepreneurial people - they play by the rules and operate within existing structures. This has caused Aussie culture to not be very entrepreneurial and new things are not highly embraced.
   
   
3. There is a lack of merit-based reward in denominations. In the United States there are far more entrepreneurs. I'm not saying your culture is bad and my culture is good. I'm saying your culture is bad and my culture is bad differently. People are rewarded for tenure but not for fruit. Men can't be demoted or thrown out of ministry for more than stealing money or falling sexually. Just because you're doing ministry long-term doesn't mean you should be guaranteed of a job. You all know that some churches are being led by men who are not the best men for the job.
   
   
4. Christian Australian men are immature. There is a lack of entrepreneurialism and a system which discourages the ambition of young men. Men are living with their mother until 25, getting married at 32, delaying the taking of responsibility for as long as possible. The fact is, there is not a denomination in the room that I'm qualified to pastor in. I planted a church at 25 - could I do that with you? The answer is 'no'. What if there is a young man who wants to be responsible and plant a church... is there a system built to accommodate? The longer you delay responsibility, the longer you delay masculinity. Being in a Peter Pan lifestyle indefinitely is a sin. Jesus Christ had atoned for the sins of the world by the age most men become associate ministers. There are good godly men in their 30s leading big churches overseas, and you are flying them in to preach to you because you don't have them in your system.
   
   
5. Church planting is not widespread or welcome. The skills required of a church planter are very different. There is not widespread opportunity for young innovative men in this area. Young men who want to plant a church are left with a terrible dilemma - innovate and destroy the church or live within the parameters of the system and negate God's call on their life. No less than 300 men have walked up to me and said 'I want to plant a church and I can't. What do I do?' They need to be assessed and trained and only those who are fit should be released, but they have to be released.
   
   
6. You suffer from tall poppy syndrome. Through preaching, people must realise this is a sin. Having a church of 1000 as a high-water mark is unhealthy. You don't want to rise up because people will think you're proud - the fact that you're thinking of yourself means you're already proud. This is a sin. We should celebrate if God would allow a church to grow. My elders give 10 per cent of our money to church plants. Having a big church is not bad - it all depends on what that church believes and what they do.
   
   
7. Your teaching lacks three things: apologetics, mission and application. (i) Anticipate the objections of your hearers and answer them. This will also encourage people to bring their friends. (ii) Ask the church what is our mission and how are we to live that? This is application for the whole church. (iii) Offer personal application for individuals, It's not just enough to give doctrine. Application needs to connect life and doctrine.
   
   
8. Many of you are afraid of the Holy Spirit. You don't know what to do with Him, so the trinity is Father, Son and Holy Bible. You are so reactionary to pentecostalism that you do not have a robust theology of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit calls people into ministry. He also empowers people for ministry. You don't have to be charismatic but you should be a little charismatic, enough at least to worship God with more than just all of your mind. The word charismatic here means prosperity, excessive, bizarre. In London, it means you're not a liberal. Don't get hung up on all the terminology. Do you love the Holy Spirit? Jesus says the Holy Spirit is a 'He' and not an 'it'." Ministry cannot be done apart from the Holy Spirit - I think that is in part leading to the lack of entrepreneurialism and innovation, because if it's not already done and written down, you're suspicious of it.
   
   
9. Many of you are Anglican. The parish system works for some, not all. Less than half of those who live in this city own their own home and do their social networking online. People have three places, where they work, play and live (the place where they play is the place they really like and would live if they could afford it). So what place is theirs? The parish model says we've drawn boundaries... but this makes evangelism in this society very difficult. People no longer organise themselves by geography, but by affinity. People are moving all the time. The parish system also makes church planting very hard. And the overseer may deny it.
   
   
10. Denominations are built on an old paradigm that young men don't understand. This is a paradigm of control - we control your benefits, your income, your tenure, we control you. Young men operate under influence - some young men are disrespectful towards authority and need to be rebuked. Not all young men are disrespectful, but they operate through influence - this comes through relationships and mentoring. "Influence comes up close and control can be maintained at a distance". They need to be given encouragement and responsibility. Young men will increasingly avoid a system that's built to control them and will increasingly work around the system to make their freedom.
    
    
11. There is a propensity to call the trained rather than train the called. People need to be tested and proved by church leaders but ministry needs to begin with a calling. There should be an innate sense of desire, rather than going to college, then being trained, then being called into ministry. Colleges that have alternative delivery systems, for example part-time options, will be more effective in training the called. Four years in college without sufficient practical experience can lead to idealism and self-righteousness, where young men critique older men who've done something. That then gives the young men the false impression that they themselves are doing something. Pastor Driscoll said Mars Hill had grown to 8000 by the time he finished his Masters degree in Theology. "Sometimes you don't know what you don't know until you're doing ministry - and then you're more teachable than ever."
    
    
12. Churches need prophets, priests and kings, according to 1 Peter 5 where Jesus is chief shepherd, leaders are undershepherds under Him. Prophets do preaching and teaching, priests look after people (for example, hospital visits), and kings are concerned with systems, policies, procedures, real estate and the like. Most churches in Sydney are filled with priests and there's a deficit of prophets and kings. There is a limit to how many people a pastor can care for... pastors can't do all three. Kings are discouraged by systems that are already built.
    
    
13. There is a lack of missiologists A missiologist evaluates the culture and uses discernment to find the idols, "so missionaries can be employed and churches can be missional". "Theologians defend the truth of the gospel and missiologists then take it to the streets." When you stack the team with theologians and not missiologists... lots of people still don't know Jesus.
    
    
14. There is a proclivity to try to raise ministers before making them husbands and fathers. Many men delay marriage and children so they can enter college and ministry. They need to learn to be good husbands and fathers and shepherd a little flock. If they are not good husbands and fathers, they are not going to be good ministers. "In fact... being a husband and father trains you more for ministry than any college." You should really press young men to take responsibility early, be good husbands and fathers, and then encourage them into ministry. Otherwise their priorities end up being God, ministry, wife, children, rather than God, wife, children, ministry. If you delay marriage for ministry, you are organising a paradigm that is dangerous.
    
    
15. There is the doing of evangelism but not mission. Evangelism doesn't belong just to the individual Christian, evangelism is something that belongs to the Christian church. Are we using all the resources at our discretion? Don't ask, 'what would a faithful minister of the gospel look like?'. Ask 'what would a faithful missionary of the gospel look like?'.
    
    
16. There are a lot of No 2 guys in No 1 slots. Number 1 guys are preachers, teachers, leaders, innovators. A No 2 guy isn't bad, but he's not the right one for the job. This is part of the issue of having a system based on tenure rather than meritocracy. No 2 guys need to have the humility to step back as John the Baptist did with Jesus - which is good to preach but hard to practice. When a No2 guy is in a No 1 slot, the church will survive, but it will not multiply.
    
    
17. There is not a great sense of urgency "I believe God has a sense of urgency for planting churches, and releasing young men" but this urgency is not evident. You're not seeing a lot of conversions, and everywhere I go I'm having guys come to me and complain that they have no permission to plant churches. Urgency shows itself with new services and new churches. Lack of urgency shows itself with a lack of innovation. Not everyone is an innovator or entrepreneur - but is there room in the system for those who are? You can allow innovation without taking away from what is good.
    
    
18. Movements have become institutions and museums. A movement is where God does what He always does, but in greater depth than we normally see, for example the Puritans, Methodists, Charismatic movement.
    
    

Defining variables of a movement are:

• Young people are often at the centre of a movement - everywhere but Sydney. I'm an older guy where I'm from - but here, I'm young. Young people are often at the centre of movements - most of the Methodists were guys in their 20s, Billy Graham was 19 when he first started preaching.
  
  
• "Statistically I think one of the reasons your church is so small is that your young men don't get to lead them until they are old" - and they run out of gas before they get there. You say, 'but the young are irresponsible' - of course they are! Young men say and do stupid things, but it's good to get the losses out of the way early.
  
  
• Movements are marked not just by birth, but by new birth. New churches have to be planted and you need new leaders so there can be new churches.
  
  
• A lot of movements are completely unaware of their influence - "I was shocked by the number of Aussies who download my sermons."
  
  
• Movements have supporting organisations, such as theological colleges and publishing houses.
  
  
• Usually, new movements come into existence when there's new technology. For example, the Protestant Reformation happened at the time of the printing press, Billy Graham used the advances in amplification and radio at the time he was preaching. Today, we have the internet. Old systems were based on control, but today, there is no control. "You can sit on your Macbook and even if no leader approves of it, you could communicate to the world. That changes everything." People spend more time looking at a screen than a human being. Mark Driscoll's sermons are downloaded more than 10 million times each year. "That's crazy - we could never have a meeting with 10 million people, we'd call it a country."
  
  
• The movement leader embodies the values and then tells the story of the movement so that the movement has integrity into the future. They are attacked and maligned and usually not appreciated until after they're dead.
  
  
• Movements become organisations, which become institutions. Innovators don't go into or come out of institutions. Institutions are marked by a fear of failure and a preservation of previous wins. "Eventually, young leaders realise that it is too cumbersome to get anything done and they leave."
  
  
• If an institution doesn't come back to being an organisation or a movement, it becomes a museum. "A museum exists to tell the stories of when God used to work." A museum doesn't exist to call future leaders. So you need to ask: 'Are we a movement, an organisation, an institution or a museum?' Do the best and brightest entrepreneurial young men want to partner with you, or are they unwilling to walk with you because they don't want to be controlled by you?"
  
  

Five ways you've gone off track:

1. Doctrinally, you have too much or too little control. You define the world so tight theologically that you don't give much flexibility.
   
   
2. Relationships - people love each other and don't want to walk away from the relationships they have with others in leadership - so the love of relationship means all seats (of opportunity) are taken.
   
   
3. Organisationally, you have too much or too little control - too much, and ministry becomes too complicated, too little and people who don't have good doctrine or character can come in.
   
   
4. Pride or 'Not invented here syndrome' - not adapting something unless it was created by someone on your team. Your worship and service structure is painful and slow and frustrating - you need to have humility to learn from other people in other denominations and discernment to know what not to implement.
   
   
5. Failing to honour founders and future. Issues of succession are difficult and significant. The key is to honour both your founders and your future. You need to do some things differently, and you need to be innovative in what we do."
   
   

The Sydney Anglicans are being big enough and brave enough to take these challenges and work through them and allow them to spur them to action. Philip Jensen, a leading spokesman for the Sydney Anglicans in an article reflecting on Driscolls challenge outlines three dangers; reactionary defensiveness, sycophantic following or doing nothing and ended his article with his own challenge, "his (Driscolls) challenge to us was to get moving, to take initiative, not to wait around to be told what to do next." If we look at our own churches, or indeed the church in Scotland, we can see that some of Driscoll's challenges have sharp application to us. May the Lord give us the strength, the humility and the determination to look, see and act.

If you would like to read more about this debate you can do so at www.sydneyanglicans.net/ or perhaps you like to comment on which of these challenges the church in Scotland most needs to hear.

Posted By: Alan McKnight

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