Lots happening this week. The hightlights:
Conflict Avoidance seminar at LCM headquarters tomorrow morning. I'm giving the talk at the younger Hub tomorrow night, then a glimpse of what God's done in my life at the Holiday Bible Club at Ley Street on Wed.
Thursday, my parents and brothers arrive for a week! Yea!! I'm very excited. Also probably won't be blogging much more this week. but we'll see.
Monday, March 21, 2005
Newsweek Article
Looks like the cover story of this week's Newsweek is "How Jesus Became Christ". From Jesus to Christ is a pretty balanced account of the early development of the Church as it centers on Jesus' death and resurrection.
a few comments:
1. I was surprised at how many Americans believe Jesus rose from the dead, and how many say they believe he was sent to absolve the world of its sins (75%! See page 2 of the web version of the article). It reminds me that informing people what they should believe about Jesus doesn't really cut it. As the article itself states, the disciples weren't all that clear themselves about the meaning of Jesus' death and resurrection, and their confusion lasted for quite some time. I'd rather someone follow Jesus and work things out as they go along than get it all straight first before being "allowed" to trust him.
2. The article picked up on some very foundational points in terms of how the early disciples of Jesus saw his death and resurrection. It was the focal point of history and of the scriptures. It forced them to wrestle with the Old Testament and sometimes find meanings there that could only make sense to someone looking back after Jesus' resurrection. The article didn't really mention the fact that for many Christians, we take the Bible to be the work of many people, and at the same time to be God's words. The way the early apostles reflected on Jesus' life/death/resurrection is also God's reflection and interpretation of what happened.
Your thoughts?
a few comments:
1. I was surprised at how many Americans believe Jesus rose from the dead, and how many say they believe he was sent to absolve the world of its sins (75%! See page 2 of the web version of the article). It reminds me that informing people what they should believe about Jesus doesn't really cut it. As the article itself states, the disciples weren't all that clear themselves about the meaning of Jesus' death and resurrection, and their confusion lasted for quite some time. I'd rather someone follow Jesus and work things out as they go along than get it all straight first before being "allowed" to trust him.
2. The article picked up on some very foundational points in terms of how the early disciples of Jesus saw his death and resurrection. It was the focal point of history and of the scriptures. It forced them to wrestle with the Old Testament and sometimes find meanings there that could only make sense to someone looking back after Jesus' resurrection. The article didn't really mention the fact that for many Christians, we take the Bible to be the work of many people, and at the same time to be God's words. The way the early apostles reflected on Jesus' life/death/resurrection is also God's reflection and interpretation of what happened.
Your thoughts?
Grace Church Hackney
Went to Grace Church Hackney yesterday evening, and loved it. The highlight for me was when they brough the kids into the main hall after the sermon, so that everyone could take communion together. They asked the parents if they wanted their children to receive the bread and wine, and if not, then the people distributing took time to bend down and pray with the child. It was wonderful! We're going to try to get back next Sunday.
Sunday, March 20, 2005
Spring is here!
Spring has arrived in London! It has been in the upper 60s the past few days, with bright sunshine! We spent the whole morning at the park, and had a picnic lunch. More pictures here
Fast Emperors
Somer and I saw Fast Emperors play at the Windmill in Brixton last night. they put on a good show. i'm hoping to score a copy of their yet-to-be-released CD today from my friend Luke, who plays bass in the band.
they were part of a 12-band Northern Ireland invasion taking place this weekend at the Windmill. Fast Emperors were the best of the three bands we heard.
Hightlight of the evening: It was our first time out without the girls since we've been in London - many thanks to David and Jan who babysat for us.
Surprise of the evening: the free BBQ out in back of the Windmill, complete with steaks, burgers, chicken, and our favorite - real hotdogs (or at least they tasted pretty darn close to the real thing - I think they just took some plane english sausage and smothered it with barbeque sauce).
they were part of a 12-band Northern Ireland invasion taking place this weekend at the Windmill. Fast Emperors were the best of the three bands we heard.
Hightlight of the evening: It was our first time out without the girls since we've been in London - many thanks to David and Jan who babysat for us.
Surprise of the evening: the free BBQ out in back of the Windmill, complete with steaks, burgers, chicken, and our favorite - real hotdogs (or at least they tasted pretty darn close to the real thing - I think they just took some plane english sausage and smothered it with barbeque sauce).
betrayal
i led the "talk" at youth club at Ley Street Chapel on thursday night. we always have trouble getting the kids to listen to us (surprise, surprise) so I decided that I would listen to them instead. here's what I did (I should mention that I pretty much stole the idea from Reimagining Spiritual Formation)
Have you ever been betrayed by someone you thought was your friend?
What happened, and how did you feel about the other person?
Each time someone talked (4 or 5 people had things to say) the rest of the group would start making noise (they refuse to keep quite for 15 seconds). Each time I would silence the chatter and remind them that one of their friends had something to say that was important for all of us to hear. After a few times of this, they stayed quiet.
Then I read the very short story from Luke 22 where Judas agrees to betray Jesus. Quite a few of them had good comments about the story, and even connected it to the story of Moses that we had been looking at a few weeks ago.
Then I asked:
Why do you think Jesus let Judas into his trusted circle of friends if he knew he was going to betray him?
That was it. No "this is how you should think about the story" or "this is what you should believe" from me. I just wanted these kids to begin to explore what it's like to connect Jesus' story to their own.
Have you ever been betrayed by someone you thought was your friend?
What happened, and how did you feel about the other person?
Each time someone talked (4 or 5 people had things to say) the rest of the group would start making noise (they refuse to keep quite for 15 seconds). Each time I would silence the chatter and remind them that one of their friends had something to say that was important for all of us to hear. After a few times of this, they stayed quiet.
Then I read the very short story from Luke 22 where Judas agrees to betray Jesus. Quite a few of them had good comments about the story, and even connected it to the story of Moses that we had been looking at a few weeks ago.
Then I asked:
Why do you think Jesus let Judas into his trusted circle of friends if he knew he was going to betray him?
That was it. No "this is how you should think about the story" or "this is what you should believe" from me. I just wanted these kids to begin to explore what it's like to connect Jesus' story to their own.
Emergant Tour
Andrew Jones has started a one-week tour of the emerging church. i find it helpful given that I am a late-comer to this scene; and even though i feel like I connect with the way they are approaching church, my personal experience of emerging church is quite limited.
Andrew starts the tour with a vocabulary lesson and continues with a history of the emerging church's connection with the global counterculture.
Enjoy
Andrew starts the tour with a vocabulary lesson and continues with a history of the emerging church's connection with the global counterculture.
Enjoy
Monday, March 14, 2005
Sermon Update
Some of you have been asking for more details about Sunday.
I spoke at a church called City of Peace, which meets at the London City Mission centre called Cafe Forever. The church is mostly people from the Isle of Dogs section of London. A number of the men were away for various reasons, so it was mostly women on this particular week - maybe 15 people in all. Because I don't really know anyone, it's hard to guage how people were impacted...just have to trust the Holy Spirit on that one.
We had a discussion time afterwards, but I didn't introduce it very well. I had planned ahead of time to welcome people to make comments or give their own thoughts because they are valuable and God wants us to be sharing our hearts and speaking into the lives of one another. But instead I just said something like "Now we'll do a discussion?" Kinda lame. Don't know if that kept people quiet or not...several people made comments, but it only lasted about 2-3 minutes.
I think the most valuable thing for me was the time I spent praying and listening to God as I read the passage in Luke over and over.
I spoke at a church called City of Peace, which meets at the London City Mission centre called Cafe Forever. The church is mostly people from the Isle of Dogs section of London. A number of the men were away for various reasons, so it was mostly women on this particular week - maybe 15 people in all. Because I don't really know anyone, it's hard to guage how people were impacted...just have to trust the Holy Spirit on that one.
We had a discussion time afterwards, but I didn't introduce it very well. I had planned ahead of time to welcome people to make comments or give their own thoughts because they are valuable and God wants us to be sharing our hearts and speaking into the lives of one another. But instead I just said something like "Now we'll do a discussion?" Kinda lame. Don't know if that kept people quiet or not...several people made comments, but it only lasted about 2-3 minutes.
I think the most valuable thing for me was the time I spent praying and listening to God as I read the passage in Luke over and over.
Sunday, March 13, 2005
Luke 5:27-32
The sermon's done...written and given. I'd like to start posting my sermons here for your review/comment, and maybe edification(?). In the future i'd like to post them before hand to give you a chance to help shape the message.
Anyway, here it is, warts and all.
Just so you know, I tend to write out everything I want to say, talk through it a few times so i have a general idea where I'm going, and then talk without looking too much at my notes...so generally it doesn't come out exactly the way I've written it.
Anyway, here it is, warts and all.
Just so you know, I tend to write out everything I want to say, talk through it a few times so i have a general idea where I'm going, and then talk without looking too much at my notes...so generally it doesn't come out exactly the way I've written it.
Saturday, March 12, 2005
Jesus for sinners
i'm preaching tomorrow on Luke 5:27-32 - the story of Jesus calling Levi and having to answer questions about why he hangs out and eats with tax collectors and other sinners. so today is being spent mostly in preparation.
Well...mostly. Right now I'm getting the girls dressed and then we're off to "Play Park", their name for the local park with geese, ducks, a slide, and some swings.
Well...mostly. Right now I'm getting the girls dressed and then we're off to "Play Park", their name for the local park with geese, ducks, a slide, and some swings.
John 4 retold
Steve has a compelling retelling of the woman at the well.
A fairly good challenge to the evangelical church. One of the dangers we face is the tendency to pay lip service to the inclusiveness of the gospel. What I mean is, we'll say "We're all sinners in need of Jesus" with the silent caveat "but homosexuals need to stop their behavior in order to come to Jesus."
Reminds me of the Marrow Controversy.
"It is not sound and orthodox to teach that we must forsake sin in order to our coming to Christ" Auchterarder creed, 1717.
A fairly good challenge to the evangelical church. One of the dangers we face is the tendency to pay lip service to the inclusiveness of the gospel. What I mean is, we'll say "We're all sinners in need of Jesus" with the silent caveat "but homosexuals need to stop their behavior in order to come to Jesus."
Reminds me of the Marrow Controversy.
"It is not sound and orthodox to teach that we must forsake sin in order to our coming to Christ" Auchterarder creed, 1717.
Wednesday, March 09, 2005
Emerging Church Link
Matt, a fellow WHMer in London, sent me this link to an article by Tom Sine at Mustard Seed Associates. It's a nice quick summary of many of the things that characterize the emerging church.
Give in to temptation
I found this picture fascinating on several levels. I had just spoken to the kids club at Ley Street last week about Jesus' temptation in the desert by Satan. This was handed to me on Monday afternoon when I was taking a couple American friends around Camden Town in central London. I won't tell you what your reaction to it should be. Be free to draw your own conclusions.
Saturday, March 05, 2005
LCM Strategic Plan - Part 2
Continuing from the previous post on LCM's new strategic plan, I'd like to offer two critiques.
First, one of the reasons why I've followed Jesus to London is because of John Piper's book Let the Nations Be Glad!. Piper says that missions exists because worship does not - that is, the church's primary commitment is to the enjoyment of God (worship) and we go to people outside the church because we desire for God to be enjoyed by them as well. Now, this applies to LCM's strategy in this way: there is no mention of LCM being a worshipping community. LCM is seen as supporting the local church "in its task of evangelism" (quoting from the Core Values of LCM). The vision and values of the mission do not reflect the dynamic of evangelism flowing from worship. This does not mean that LCM doesn't value worship (most of its centres run worship services on a weekly basis). But my understanding is that even these services are meant to serve the overall goal of evangelistic outreach. LCM also would probably counter that it is not the job of LCM to be a worshipping community - it is the job of the local church. In practice, this sets up two separate communities - the community that centers on the LCM missionary(s) or the LCM centre, and the community of the local church (I'm speaking based on my experiences of the functioning of an LCM centre...I don't know what ministry is like for the work-place missionaries). There is no sense that evangelism involves inviting people to experience the life of a worshipping community.
Julian and I have talked about this to a certain extent as it relates to our decision about where to worship on Sundays. Partly we'd like to be part of the same church that Julian and Laura are part of, simply for the sake of people we're in relationship with at the centre. This would allow the work we do at the centre to flow more directly from the worshipping community at Oxlow Lane Baptist (Julian & Laura's church).
The second concern I have about the strategic plan is related to the first. The plan lays out a model for the relationship between the mission and the local church. It calls this the "City Mission Approach to Urban Evangelism". This approach lays out four concentric circles representing four steps in the development of evangelistic relationships. From outside in they are: 1. Making contact; 2. Building friendships; 3. Relevant sharing of Gospel; 4. Joining a Church
This is a pretty standard evangelical view of evangelism. It relies on at least two assumptions that I would like to question. The first is the assumption that people should only be incorporated into a church after they have been "converted". I'm certainly not the first to question this assumption. Bob, another Londoner with World Harvest, says that people need to become belongers before they become believers - people experiencing a sense of belonging to and sharing in the life of the community of Jesus' followers before they make a decision to trust Jesus themselves. Evangelism taking place in the context of relationship within the life of the church, not as a pre-requisite for experiencing that life. I like the belong before believe model because it helps to remind us that becoming Christian is not so much a one-time decision as it is a life-long process. deciding to trust Jesus is part of that process, but it neither begins the process nor completes it. There may be some who are incorporated into the life of the church who in the end decide not to trust themselves to Jesus' care, but that's o.k. (see Hebrews chapter 6 and the discussion of those who taste the good things of the Kingdom). Much of my current thinking on this idea of becoming Christian is shaped by Reimagining Spiritual Formation
The other assumption behind the four-step approach to evangelism laid out by LCM that I want to question is the assumption that the gospel is primarily information to be communicated. Now, I realize that the overall methodology of LCM indicates that they are very much committed to ministry to the whole person, and the statement "relevant sharing of gospel" doesn't necessarily mean the gospel is primarily information. In practice, however, "sharing the gospel" means communicating a series of facts that must be believed. That's why at every kid's club we do, there's a message about what people need to believe about Jesus or God or the Bible. In fairness, this is probably not so much a strategic decision by LCM as it is a result of the climate of the evangelical church in the UK from which LCM's missionaries come.
O.k. those are my critiques. Maybe in part 3 I'll imagine with you how some of my concerns would affect the practice of LCM. i.e. "What would I do differently?"
First, one of the reasons why I've followed Jesus to London is because of John Piper's book Let the Nations Be Glad!. Piper says that missions exists because worship does not - that is, the church's primary commitment is to the enjoyment of God (worship) and we go to people outside the church because we desire for God to be enjoyed by them as well. Now, this applies to LCM's strategy in this way: there is no mention of LCM being a worshipping community. LCM is seen as supporting the local church "in its task of evangelism" (quoting from the Core Values of LCM). The vision and values of the mission do not reflect the dynamic of evangelism flowing from worship. This does not mean that LCM doesn't value worship (most of its centres run worship services on a weekly basis). But my understanding is that even these services are meant to serve the overall goal of evangelistic outreach. LCM also would probably counter that it is not the job of LCM to be a worshipping community - it is the job of the local church. In practice, this sets up two separate communities - the community that centers on the LCM missionary(s) or the LCM centre, and the community of the local church (I'm speaking based on my experiences of the functioning of an LCM centre...I don't know what ministry is like for the work-place missionaries). There is no sense that evangelism involves inviting people to experience the life of a worshipping community.
Julian and I have talked about this to a certain extent as it relates to our decision about where to worship on Sundays. Partly we'd like to be part of the same church that Julian and Laura are part of, simply for the sake of people we're in relationship with at the centre. This would allow the work we do at the centre to flow more directly from the worshipping community at Oxlow Lane Baptist (Julian & Laura's church).
The second concern I have about the strategic plan is related to the first. The plan lays out a model for the relationship between the mission and the local church. It calls this the "City Mission Approach to Urban Evangelism". This approach lays out four concentric circles representing four steps in the development of evangelistic relationships. From outside in they are: 1. Making contact; 2. Building friendships; 3. Relevant sharing of Gospel; 4. Joining a Church
This is a pretty standard evangelical view of evangelism. It relies on at least two assumptions that I would like to question. The first is the assumption that people should only be incorporated into a church after they have been "converted". I'm certainly not the first to question this assumption. Bob, another Londoner with World Harvest, says that people need to become belongers before they become believers - people experiencing a sense of belonging to and sharing in the life of the community of Jesus' followers before they make a decision to trust Jesus themselves. Evangelism taking place in the context of relationship within the life of the church, not as a pre-requisite for experiencing that life. I like the belong before believe model because it helps to remind us that becoming Christian is not so much a one-time decision as it is a life-long process. deciding to trust Jesus is part of that process, but it neither begins the process nor completes it. There may be some who are incorporated into the life of the church who in the end decide not to trust themselves to Jesus' care, but that's o.k. (see Hebrews chapter 6 and the discussion of those who taste the good things of the Kingdom). Much of my current thinking on this idea of becoming Christian is shaped by Reimagining Spiritual Formation
The other assumption behind the four-step approach to evangelism laid out by LCM that I want to question is the assumption that the gospel is primarily information to be communicated. Now, I realize that the overall methodology of LCM indicates that they are very much committed to ministry to the whole person, and the statement "relevant sharing of gospel" doesn't necessarily mean the gospel is primarily information. In practice, however, "sharing the gospel" means communicating a series of facts that must be believed. That's why at every kid's club we do, there's a message about what people need to believe about Jesus or God or the Bible. In fairness, this is probably not so much a strategic decision by LCM as it is a result of the climate of the evangelical church in the UK from which LCM's missionaries come.
O.k. those are my critiques. Maybe in part 3 I'll imagine with you how some of my concerns would affect the practice of LCM. i.e. "What would I do differently?"
LCM Strategic Plan - Part 1
This past Wednesday all of London City Mission gathered for their monthly divisional day. This particular divi-day was devoted to the unveiling of the new strategic plan for the mission. First the things i really like about the new plan.
The plan lists three key goals: LCM will be "a growing mission, an all-the-people mission, and a church-filling mission." that second goal, to be an all-the-people mission, is the continuation of LCM's 170 year heritage of embracing the social outsider - the poor, the immigrant, those in prison, the sick...the kind of people Jesus hung out with. The exciting thing for me is that these guys aren't just talking about connecting to outsiders, they're actually doing it on a daily basis. Another part of this goal to reach all the people is the desire to reach all ages in the city. The general secretary of the mission mentioned that a number of the large city-center churches are planting daughter churches, but that these daughter churches look very similar to their parents - young, wealthy professionals. I have been challenged to avoid the desire to see churches planted that end up looking a lot like me.
Another thing i love about the new plan is the ongoing commitment to what they call "district evangelism". That is, while the mission itself is seeking to introduce everyone in London to Jesus, individual missionaries are assigned a specific geographic or relational district comprised of a sufficiently small number of people that they can reasonably maintain contact with each person in the district. I like the fact that they're thinking along the lines of communities and asking the question "what are the primary communities that Londoners feel part of?" For some Londoners, their community is the housing estate on which they live. so LCM have a centre on the estate. For other Londoners, their community is their work-place, so LCM have evangelists with the Metropolitan Police and the fire brigade. I also like the fact that they are commited to regular contact between an evangelist and her district. The same person going to the same people, sharing the joys and sorrows of life together...Henri Nouwen would be proud.
I have a few critiques, but I'm going to save them for Part-2, which is coming shortly.
The plan lists three key goals: LCM will be "a growing mission, an all-the-people mission, and a church-filling mission." that second goal, to be an all-the-people mission, is the continuation of LCM's 170 year heritage of embracing the social outsider - the poor, the immigrant, those in prison, the sick...the kind of people Jesus hung out with. The exciting thing for me is that these guys aren't just talking about connecting to outsiders, they're actually doing it on a daily basis. Another part of this goal to reach all the people is the desire to reach all ages in the city. The general secretary of the mission mentioned that a number of the large city-center churches are planting daughter churches, but that these daughter churches look very similar to their parents - young, wealthy professionals. I have been challenged to avoid the desire to see churches planted that end up looking a lot like me.
Another thing i love about the new plan is the ongoing commitment to what they call "district evangelism". That is, while the mission itself is seeking to introduce everyone in London to Jesus, individual missionaries are assigned a specific geographic or relational district comprised of a sufficiently small number of people that they can reasonably maintain contact with each person in the district. I like the fact that they're thinking along the lines of communities and asking the question "what are the primary communities that Londoners feel part of?" For some Londoners, their community is the housing estate on which they live. so LCM have a centre on the estate. For other Londoners, their community is their work-place, so LCM have evangelists with the Metropolitan Police and the fire brigade. I also like the fact that they are commited to regular contact between an evangelist and her district. The same person going to the same people, sharing the joys and sorrows of life together...Henri Nouwen would be proud.
I have a few critiques, but I'm going to save them for Part-2, which is coming shortly.
Friday, March 04, 2005
Completion of the Temple
For those who did not work with me at the WHM home office, I'm a bit of a table football fanatic. you could say I worship the game. well, we just erected a new temple of table-football-worship in Dagenham at The Hub. Here Julian and I (the two head priests) are conducting the consecration ceremony.
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