Tis the season to be jolly?

This year’s X-factor finalists sang first round songs which capture the different ways people feel about Christmas. Alexandra sang Silent Night beautifully and fittingly for Christmas as she reminded us of the birth of Jesus. JLS sang the old Wham number about a boy whose heart was broken Last Christmas. And Eoghan, with all his youthful optimism, sang I wish it could be Christmas every day, about Santa and snowmen and festive fun, being jolly.

Of course, lots of people at Christmas are like JLS; broken hearted, dumped, bereaved, families with soldiers on duty in Iraq or Afganistan, the recently redundant, the long term sick or depressed, children whose parents divorced. Other people are Eoghan sorts of people, young, happy, joyful, in the party mood, loving every moment of Christmas. They are the heart and soul of the party, always with a smile on their face. They love the presents and feasts. And that’s the way most people like to think of Christmas. It’s the season to be jolly, even if you have not much to be jolly about. It’s the time when people who are broken hearted have to put on a brave face.

I think two characters make us, especially Americans and Brits, think that Christmas is about being jolly, happy, festive. First, there’s Santa. He’s fat and happy, jolly, generous. The sort of person we all want to have at our party. The other character who keeps lots of people in the festive spirit is, Ebeneezer Scrooge. Scrooge is everything that Santa isn’t. He’s mean, miserable, cold, unfriendly, grumpy and stingy. No one wants to be like Scrooge. And so, with Santa as the positive image of Christmas and Scrooge as the negative image, people are forced to be jolly even when they don’t feel like it. Christmas shaped by Santa and Scrooge is a cruel Christmas.

Christmas is not the season to be jolly but joyful. Which is why it is essential for each of us to have our Christmas shaped by another character, Jesus Christ.

The day Jesus was born, an angel said to the shepherds “Fear not, I bring you good news of great joy which is for all people, that today in the town of David is born a Saviour who is Christ, the Lord.”

The birth of Jesus Christ, the Lord, the Saviour, is good news of great joy for all people. The joy comes from knowing what sort of Saviour Jesus is. That is, what he came to saves us from. When you know the real Jesus, he saves you from false joy or forced joy. False joy is what we whip up at parties but which pops like a balloon at the end Christmas. Forced joy, is the sort of joy the broken hearted put on. Like the tears of a clown.

Jesus also saves people from the fist of the devil. The devil is real, he’s nasty piece of work, he’s a fallen angel. We sing a lot about angels at Christmas. Not all angels are good. In one carol we sing, “remember Christ our Saviour was born on Christmas day, to save us all from Satan’s power when we had gone astray”. And so Jesus saves people from the fist of the devil.

Jesus saves people from a fascination with sin. Sin, that old fashioned word, simply means doing things we ought not to do and not doing things we should do. Jesus saves people from the folly of wanting to do the wrong thing, time and time again. And so, Jesus saves people from the fury of God. God is not happy with our sin, he’s furious. But when Jesus died on the cross he saved people from God. And so, knowing that Jesus makes peace for us with God, he saves us from the fear of death.

This Christmas, will you thank Jesus for being your Saviour?

“Fear not,” said the angel, “I bring you good news of great joy which is for all people, that today in the town of David is born a Saviour who is Christ, the Lord.”

If you have never thanked Jesus for being your Saviour, then today is a good day to do that. Thank him in your heart. Once you have thanked him, then acknowledge him as Lord. The angel said “ today in the town of David is born a Saviour who is Christ, the Lord “

Lord means Jesus is boss. He knows what’s best and so we should listen to him and do what he says. Acknowledge him as Lord.

As you love him and trust him, he’ll save you from false joy; forced joy; the fist of the Devil; a fascination with sin; from the fury of God and from the fear of death. This brings joy which lasts all year.

And then as Alexandra Burke sang the winners song on X-factor, so you will sing, “Hallelujah.”

Why do I blog?

Today is the 1st anniversary of this blog. It’s as good a time as any to ask, “why do I blog?” There’s lots of reasons why I shouldn’t blog: I don’t write very well; Transforming Grace doesn’t receive many hits; blogging seems to be passing fashion (I’ve noticed other bloggers have reduced the frequency of their posts); there’s lots of other, better blogs on the same subject; I’ve a handful of regular readers, probably sympathetic friends; it takes up to half an hour a day to write, three or four days a week; so why do I blog? Here’s a few reasons which have convinced me that blogging is a good thing for me to do.

1. Blogging is like an exercise bike for my mind, if I don’t use it I get flabby. I have lots of fairly vague thoughts about Christ, ministry and faith. The discipline of writing these thoughts down, where they might be read by others, helps to me to clarify and crystallise things.
2. My blog encourages me to read, study and think about these things, and then to keep a record of helpful stuff.
3. The blog is a great way of storing this stuff for retrieval. I know where to find the things I’ve written.
4. What I write might be of a benefit to someone, which it can’t be if it’s in a lever arch file on my shelf.
5. I find it really helpful when other people comment on, criticise or review what I’ve said. Iron sharpens iron.

That’s it. I’ll keep blogging, for now. Does anyone else have other reasons for blogging?

10 commandments of Christian ministry

I found these notes on my Palm yesterday and can’t remember when I wrote them, who suggested them or if I gathered them from different sources. Whatever, I find them helpful reminders for ministry. Has anyone got any others to add to the list? It doesn’t need to stop at 10!

10 commandments of Christian ministry

1. Be shepherded by Christ before shepherding others. Soft heart & godliness, love God in Christ.
2. Pray at all times
3. Do not make idols of success, numbers, business
4. Rest – limit work to @ 55 hours per week
5. Do not coerce, manipulate or guilt-trip people into doing anything
6. Do not know how much money people give to the Lord
7. Do not assume that ministry can be broken down into technique, process, projects, tasks or productivity. Know and love those whom you are addressing at all times (1-2-1 or talks)
8. Honour others by asking what they need from me to do their ministry work better.
9. Do not covet other peoples’ ministries. Do your own thing, according to the gifts God has given you.
10. Speak truthfully at all times.

The difference between a legalist and an evangelical

Following yesterday’s post on avoiding neonomian evangelism, this extract from Ralph Erskine’s work, Gospel Truth, helps clarify the difference between a legalist (neonomian) and an evangelical (”gospel-believing”) Christian:

(1.) They differ in their complaints. The legalist will complain more for want of holiness than for want of Christ; seeing he hath taken up with self-righteousness, it is his all, it is his happiness, it is his husband, it is his God. But the language of the evangelical Christian, who is dead to the law, is, O for Christ! O for a day of power! O to be wrapt up in the covenant of grace! to get an omnipotent power, determining me to comply with the gospel-offer.

(2.) They differ as to their comforts, – the legalist finds comfort in law-works, even in all his extremities. In the prospect of trouble, who comforts him? Even this, that he hath done many good duties. He wraps himself in a garment of his own weaving. Upon challenges of conscience, what comforts him, and gives him peace? He even covers himself with the same robe. In the prospect of judgment, what comforts him, and gives him peace? Why, he hopes God will be merciful to him, because he hath had a good profession, and said many good prayers, and done many good duties; but a sorry peace-maker. The only thing that gives a believer peace and ease in these cases, is the law-abiding righteousness of Christ, under which he desires to shrowd himself. He flees to the blood of Jesus Christ, saying, O I am undone, unless my soul be wrapt up in the mantle of Christ’s perfect righteousness; upon this righteousness of Jesus, I venture my soul.

(Gospel Truth, pp. 292-293)

HT Peter Cockrell

Avoiding neonomian evangelism [updated]

Ten years ago evangelicals would deride liberals for their notion of the spiritual journey. Today, it seems, the liberals were right. The language, or at least the notion, of journeying is now almost ubiquitous. The evangelical trip with God begins with friendship, then a course offering an introduction to the Christian faith. At some point along this path, perhaps after a second time along, the person is merged into the church and the journey continues.

Within this model of conversion, personal evangelism is purely invitational, “would you like to come on a course with me, where you’ll learn about Jesus.” Christians lose the focus and ability to present the gospel on their own, whenever the opportunity presents itself. There is little expectation of people being converted on the spot.

Horatius Bonar challenges this sort of process evangelism in the third chapter of “God’s way of Holiness“. The challenge centres on a recovery of the clarity of gospel, an awakening from neonomianism [update in response to comment: neonomianism is the mixing of gospel and law as the basis of our acceptance before God, and so, the neonomian journey of faith involves a mixture of belief and behaviour]:

The apostles evidently had great confidence in the gospel. They gave it fair play, and spoke it out in all its absolute freeness, as men who could trust it for its moral influence, as well as for its saving power, and who felt that the more speedily and certainly its good news were realized by the sinner, the more would that moral influence come into play. They did not hide it, nor trammel it, nor fence it round with conditions, as if doubtful of the policy of preaching it freely. …They had no misgivings as to its bearings on morality, nor were they afraid of men believing it too soon, or getting too immediate relief from it. The idea does not seem to have entered their mind, that men could betake themselves to Christ too soon, or too confidently, or without sufficient preparation. Their object in preaching it was, not to induce men to commence a course of preparation for receiving Christ, but to receive Him at once and on the spot; not to lead them through the long avenue of a gradually amended life to the cross of the Sin-bearer, but to bring them at once into contact with the cross, that sin in them might be slain, the old man crucified, and a life of true morality begun…

[today's preachers] state the gospel so timorously, so warily, so guardedly, with so many conditions, terms, and reservations, that by the time they have finished their statement, they have left no good news in that which they set out with announcing as “the gospel of the grace of God.” The more fully that the gospel is preached, in the grand old apostolic way, the more likely is it to accomplish the results which it did in the apostolic days. The gospel is the proclamation of free love; the revelation of the boundless charity of God. Nothing less than this will suit our world; nothing else is so likely to touch the heart, to go down to the lowest depths of depraved humanity, as the assurance that the sinner has been loved–loved by God, loved with a righteous love, loved with a free love that makes no bargain as to merit, or fitness, or goodness.

It seems that modelling straightforward personal evangelism with clear, uncluttered, gospel preaching in the Apostolic sense is necessary for local revival, otherwise we will continue to rely solely on the gradual persuading others to join us on the journey.

That’s Christmas

Take a few moments in all the hustle and bustle of Christmas to watch this:

What ever happened to the devil?

At a camp planning meeting a while ago, I suggested that the devil might go alongside a list of people who is thought to have control in the world. Gordon Brown, George Dubya Bush, Osama Bin Laden and the British Police were other likely candidates. One planning group member said “do we really want to mention the devil? We don’t want to upset the kids.”

Not upsetting the kids is a fair concern, but it seems we talk so little of the devil today that we’re frightened to speak of him at all. I can’t remember the last time I heard anyone speak from the pulpit about the devil. I don’t often mention him myself. There is the fear, perhaps, of being thought of as irrational or over spiritual, slightly loony-fringe.

William Still had a phrase he used frequently in the pulpit, “keep your eyes fixed on Jesus but make sure the devil’s in your peripheral vision. Keep Satan in the corner of your eye.” That seems about the right balance, to stop the devil taking centre stage but being aware of his work and making others aware of his presence. It seems to me that for most Christians today, the devil has vanished from our vision and he’s delighted to be able to work undetected.

Familiar gospel outlines might play a part in this. Two Ways to Live, for example, usefully over simplifies the gospel but it can also shape the way we speak about salvation. “We need to be saved from the righteous judgement of God” is true but is less than half the story. If we repeat the phrase enough times, however, it is soon all we say.

What else does Jesus save us from? Surely, ourselves, the destructive power of sin in our life and from the clutches and oppression of the devil:

He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work. 1 John 3:8

So, bring back the devil! Don’t let him work undetected.

Vision and personality

We had a mission action plan meeting at St Luke’s a few weeks back. Part of the day was spent discussing our current aim statement and whether or not we needed a vision statement. As we reviewed vision statements of other churches, their strengths and weaknesses, I saw the Redeemer Presbyterian, Bethlehem Baptist and Mars Hill Seattle vision statements side by side for the first time.

What was striking was the language of each seemed, as far as I am aware with as little as I know each of the senior pastors of these churches, to reflect the core vision and values of the leader himself, as scripture is filtered through him. Here’s the vision statements. Have a read and work out which matches which personality:

Seeking to renew the City, Socially, Spiritually and Culturally.
To spread the gospel, first through ourselves and then through the city by word, deed, and community; To bring about personal changes, social healing, and cultural renewal through a movement of churches and ministries that change [this] City and through it, the world.

[This church] lives for Jesus as a city within the city – knowing culture, loving people, and seeing lives transformed to live for Jesus.

Spreading a passion for the supremacy of God in all things for the joy of all peoples through Jesus Christ.

Vision statements, it seems to me, reflect scriptural mandates not objectively but, as Keller talks about with preaching, according to the personality, questions and motivation of the person or people who develop them.

Vision statements only really work, therefore, if they are consistent with the nature and personality of the church leader(ship) as well as scripture. They must be seen by congregation and the church leadership as capable of fulfilment, according to their visionary gifts and ability. It will not do to ape the vision of others if we are not built by God to function in the same way as them.

St Luke’s Aim Statement

St. Luke’s Aim Statement Explained

Our Aim: To be a prayerful, bible-based, united church, serving Jesus Christ together in mission.

Prayerful
The urgent need of the church is prayer. We seek, therefore, to pray as individuals, small groups and as a whole church for all people, the ministry at St. Luke’s and for the spread of the gospel of Christ.

Bible Based
It is through the teaching of God’s word in the power of His Spirit that we come to know God, are transformed and built up as His people,, and proclaim Jesus Christ as Lord. Expository bible teaching is therefore central to the ministry at St. Luke’s. We do this in different settings to encourage people to live as Christians ought.

United Church
As the word is taught faithfully, the gospel of Jesus Christ creates unity. Attempts to unite around anyone or anything apart from Christ is idolatry and will cause disunity. We seek to make God’s word available to people of all ages, backgrounds, ethnicity, gender and spiritual maturity.

Serving Jesus Christ Together
The church pays some people to organise church life, but all of God’s people are called to serve Jesus Christ by serving one another. We therefore encourage every member of St. Luke’s to serve in some way. The Holy Spirit gives different people different gifts which we aim to recognise in people and then equip them to serve. When we use these gifts together the church becomes effective in works of service and in mission.

In Mission
Mission is at the heart of God’s eternal purposes. We therefore aim to steward our resources towards ministries which are growing the church. In particular, we aim to find new and imaginative ways to take the joy and hope of the gospel out into the community of Blakenhall and beyond, so that those we get to know can hear and respond to God’s love in Christ where they are. We want to have strong links with the staff, pupils and parents of our church school.

5 types of Christian preachers

After posting yesterday on revival, I received some helpful comments about revivalism. These reminded me of what William Still wrote in his autobiography as he moved away from revivalism to solid biblical teaching about Christ. His move created what might be thought of as a local revival, with far reaching effects. The way this revival came about is similar to what Tim Keller said at Oak Hill on “preaching to the heart” and this might be represented by a Venn diagram:

A – this is the category of preachers Keller describes as “stony”. Their preaching is true, sound, faithful, but dry and dusty as it fails to address the issues of the day. It engages largely with matters of theological nuance, doctrinal controversy or internal church affairs, all of which are questions the preacher brings to the text. It fails to address the life and faith or the hearer, including unbelievers, as the preacher does not meet with people outside the core of the church and so does not understand their questions, issues or anxieties.

B – this sort of preaching appears detached from the bible as it is apparently based on the knowledge of preacher. It catches the big picture of God’s work and promises in the bible in a relevant and applied manner, but does not show where God says it in the bible. It is text book stuff made real to the hearers but it could be preached with the bible closed.

C – this might be described as preaching which does not see the wood for the trees. It demonstrates detailed exegesis of a passage in the context of the big biblical storylines. The sermon risks lacking coherence with the rest of scripture, as the preacher has little knowledge of how the text in view fits with others passages within a systematic framework. For example, preachers with a poor systematic doctrine of justification by faith will tend to preach works-righteousness.

D – this is here and now preaching with a sketchy grasp of biblical history. Relevant, applied, true but with no real sense of direction, past, present or future.

E – the target for preachers. Preaching which is clearly derived from the bible, set within a proper doctrinal framework, applied as it addresses questions of the age in the vernacular and which gives the hearer a sense of place in God’s big picture.