Christmas 2013

Christmas brings temporary insanity to the UK.  Think about it.  We cut down pine trees and erect them in our living rooms, kiss distant aunties we don't like, and gorge on tasteless meat with Brussels sprouts whilst donning party hats and pulling crackers.  And what about the shopping! We spend hours in busy shopping malls, buying expensive presents no one needs, with money we don't have, in a desire to keep up with everyone else's generosity.

Christmas becomes The Day of Getting; huge piles of presents under the tree, where we all play the children's game ‘how many are for me?’.  Tearing off carefully wrapped paper, ribbons, bows, to glimpse briefly at the present before returning our gaze to the next.  We yearly mount the stairs later that day with armfuls of presents coupled with a sense of disappointment, a longing for more, a sense of deeper hunger.

C S Lewis wrote "earthly pleasures were never meant to satisfy ‘desire’ but only arouse it, to suggest the real thing."

Our yearnings and restlessness will never be satisfied with the getting of more.  These things only bloat us to uncomfortable proportions, like stomachs after Christmas pud. Yearning, hunger and restlessness are reminders that God has made us this way; a divine compass in the heart of mankind, pointing us to a greater reality - God himself. We are programmed with an endless capacity for knowledge and experience, but will never feel full.

This year Heather and I stood on the edge of Niagara Falls, with all of  its powerful majesty.  We cruised the fjords of Norway, worshipped in crowds of thousands at Westpoint and recently celebrated my mums 80th birthday surrounded by all the family.  Rich experiences, heaven blessed.  And yet immersed in each experience there is a sense of longing - glorious moments slipping between our fingers like some slippery bar of soap.

Truth is we are made for a better country, a heavenly one, a city God has prepared for us (Heb:11). God has put eternity in the hearts of men, and Christmas reminds us that we are homesick for the eternal, and that is why more than any time of the year we feel this greater pull.  It's meant to be this way, we were made for God, the real thing.

Does God have a watch?

Time flies I hear you cry, like wispy clouds across the sky,

Dreamy slow, then cirrus fast, warm summer breeze, cold winter blast.

Children captivated by animal forms, that  lovers ignore on green summer lawns,

Grandparents kicking through winters leaves, one fighting cancer, the other grieves.

Time flies I hear you cry, onward its march, no mortal defy.

Seasons of war, moments of peace, despotic dictators, empires cease.

All In a moment, the herald proclaims, we are at war, now amnesty reigns,

History records time’s gravity pull, this moment, no practice, embracing us all.

Time flies I hear you cry, in one direction the hours fly,

Big Ben chimes out another year, hopes and dreams, with smiles, a tear.

We long for a break, a TV remote, a pause, rewind, just time to note,

All of the changes in family, with friends, we’re just getting started, no talking of end.

Time flies I hear you cry, and what of God beyond our sky?

A watchmaker unseen, bent to His task, with cogs and small springs, biology masks.

A world full of rush, like ants in a nest, striving for more, hoping for best,

The maker forgotten, the windings threadbare, His handiwork busy, not sensing His care.

Time flies I hear you cry, we've each grown old, so soon we'll fly,

God's perfect timing without delay, a thousand years is like a day,

Scientists, paleontologists, geologists all, piecing the jigsaw, ignoring our fall,

God the creator, infinite trinity, His time piece settings, a watch of infinity.

A Load of Bull

On a cold September evening, in the city of Madrid, to a fanfare of trumpets and cheering crowds, a huge black bull steps nervously onto the sands of the Plaza De Toros Monumental.  Magnificently dressed matadors and picadors swirl their brightly coloured cloaks to attract the proud creature, but to no effect.  The crowd grows restless and prods are applied to goad the animal to life.  Eventually it charges at the nearest enemy and the whole macabre theatre unfolds with jabs and stabs that weaken the bull and draw him closer to the final act.  Just before the Coup de Gras this forlorn creature bows its head to smell the bright red blood, his blood, shed for the amusement of the rich.  It was not a fair fight.

In an economically cold and financially pinched Britain, another group are addressed with a fanfare of conferences and the blasts of politician’s rhetoric – they are the poor.  Sadly, more are reluctantly joining their ranks, stepping nervously into a world with only jabs and energy sapping rejection.  Crowds roar on the professionals but much of the rhetoric is a load of bull.

Step forward the church "to loose the chains of injustice", to embody Jesus Christ by doing what He did and continued to do in the early church.  "There were no needy persons among them." says Acts 4:34.  Rodney Stark in ‘Rise of Christianity’ observes that the explosive growth of the church came from its engagement with those who were suffering and impoverished.  

God forbid that we stand safely in a crowd and chant and point and applaud the professionals yet mock the poor, who are bleeding in the sands of our arena.  With eyes of faith, let us seek to help, rescue, and empower those in our community that are struggling. God has chosen the poor in the eyes of the world to be rich in faith and to inherit the kingdom He promised to those who love Him (James 2:5).  Church arise! It is our time to not only speak but to act with compassion, and reject the bull!

Three things to know...

There is something quite awesome to hold a baby in your arms and to look at this tiny bundle of love and happiness and wonder. What future, what talents, how like mum or dad will they be? And then the great adventure called parenting begins.

 I shared at our Commission Prayer days last week three things I observe in the life of the prophet Jonah and priorities I desire to see reproduced in all of the churches I serve and in each member  - three things for us to know.

 Firstly knowing God. A few years ago my son announced from the back seat that church had been "boring" that morning. I swiftly told him he had no idea just how dull and boring church can get but then reflected that while styles may be lively it is no substitute for the presence of God. There exists within the heart of every human being a shrine reserved for God alone. Idols can quickly accumulate in that hallowed place, gifts God has blessed us with, skills, intelligence with which we soon find our identity.

Our hearts put down roots into these things and only violence can tear them from us: “those who cling to worthless idols forfeit the grace that could be theirs” (Jonah 2:8). Our God is too small, our appetites too easily satisfied. God wants all of us, intimacy, prayer, worship, a childlike delight in our Father and a refusal to become professionals.

 Secondly and in every way linked to the first is a knowledge of God’s word. A God who lives in unapproachable light speaks. Living words that bring God life, conception, birth, small steps growing through to soul maturity. "I speak to you children…young men… Fathers” (1 John 2:12ff).

 God calls and we walk - we grow up into Christ through the nourishment of word and Spirit. Ephesians 4 is a pivot point in the letter, to live a life "worthy" of the calling. The Greek word Axios functions here like an enormous pair of scales in equilibrium. Good doctrine must result in good living, calling means walking; a mature life is one of balance. We live in the day of the soundbite, the quote, tweet, where scales are quickly loaded dogma or caricature. Questions designed to box us in, to label and subsequently ignore biblical dialogue and depth.  I.e. Driscoll or Johnson, complementarian or egalitarian, charismatic or missional? The pressure increases for the one liner and the church becomes unbalanced, illiterate and immature. Each of us must go deeper and engage in open biblical dialogue if we are to grow strong and mature.

 Thirdly we must know God's mission. ‘What is your Commission?’ is the theme for this Westpoint 2013, encouraging every believer to know God's unique kingdom plan for each of his children. Jonah is us and we can quickly run from the cost of discipleship and being true to all God wants us to do for his glory. Of course this means churches being planted, missionaries commissioned to new nations, churches growing.

 But our mission is so much more. It involves families, mums and dads, singleness, business, conservation, care, development, education, music, politics, art, sport and so much more. The questions Jonah asks our generation are the three great knowings - knowing God, knowing his word and knowing his mission, the Great Commission.

In appreciation of burdens

Arriving at Bournemouth hospital (year 2000) in the small hours of the morning with my sick body writhing in pain I found myself wheeled into an old people's ward; all others were full! It was a veritable farmyard experience with grunts, snores, shrieks and other unmentionable noises leaving the air smelling like a plowed turnip field. I wanted out, I did not belong. I pulled the covers over my head and hummed.

Day however brought about a new perspective. Nurses speaking tenderly to the old lady in pain, laughing and joking with the wards chatterbox, or sheltering the embarrassed with an NHS no nonsense bed bath. Relatives arrived in the afternoon pleased to touch the wrinkled hand, kissing the fevered brow, bringing gifts new and familiar to brighten each small world. What struck me most was the delight most staff and visitors shared in carrying a loved one’s burden.

The legislative fight for voluntary euthanasia is without doubt complex and needing great wisdom from the many involved, particularly the doctors and nurses, clergy, politicians etc. with life and death legal decisions to make. We must pray with great compassion for all those who suffer and for those seeking to address the complexities of this important issue.

I wanted to simply address the common mantra, "I don't want to be burden to anyone" to those of us who are believers.  I would like to ask, “when did being a burden” become something to be avoided. Babies arrive burdensome. In fact it takes a Transit van or garage to store baby burden equipment. Mothers bodies are not their own, fathers learn the happy art of nappy changing, and sound sleep becomes a distant memory as Zombie-like adults are consumed with their precious little burdens.

Interesting to reflect that God became a burden, a baby in need as any other human child. Even in his hour of greatest need at Calvary where we read of his betrayal and abandonment from his Father and his disciples we glimpse burden carriers. His mother, with a few of his closest, cried, cared and took his bruised and bloodied body. They then washed, wrapped and laid it carefully to rest in the tomb. Jesus became a burden as well as a burden carrier. It was Jesus who encouraged his disciples to take up their cross daily and it is Paul who writes, “carry one another's burdens and in this way you fulfill the law of Christ” (Gal 6:2).

I wonder in our modern world that places happiness as almost a human right and the ultimate goal of human existence, if suffering, sickness and even death need to be legally sanitized and brushed under an easily available and presentable NHS bed sheet! We all desire a good death, as free from pain as possible, and as far removed from public view, embarrassment and avoiding all those costly care and drugs (particularly if we are beneficiaries of the relatives will). But is it biblical and should we not embrace the burdens God gives each one of us with faith?

Let me finish by talking of a dear friend of mine. A church leader married for over 50 years who has for the past 4 years held his beloveds hand as she has battled with Alzheimer’s. He has never once in my hearing complained and watching his pure delight in caring for his wife in her confusion and distress I am reminded of the 16th century Bishop who said "Marriage has less beauty but more safety, it is full of sorrows and full of joys. It lies under more burdens but is supported by all the strengths of love and those burdens are delightful!"

WALKING ON LEMONS - Iberian Leadership Conference 2013

Travelling through Spain and Portugal is a beautiful experience that seduces the senses and leaves a terrible thirst for more. The sweet citrus smell of the lemon and orange tree blossom, the rich heavy aromatic port of the Duror valley, the beautifully layered acres of vineyards terraced down the mountain slopes, and the baking sun on the rich fertile soils. In so many ways you step into C S Lewis's Narnian wood between the worlds, a land that still holds to most of its time honoured cultural values. A land that time forgot.

However this is not true for their cities. These growing ethnically diverse metropoli are changing, morphing from local into international. Huge stadia, modern airports and road systems, so like any other across the world, you could be in London or New York.

Beneath all this beauty and change there lies a lot of pain. The dark religious legalism of a past generation is still visible in the black clad women visiting the shrines and statues of the nation. But on a national scale their religion is being rejected by a young ambitious generation eager to know the ways of material prosperity and licentiousness found in other parts of Europe. Sadly, as we have read in our newspapers, the god mammon has abandoned both nations to a frightening emptiness with around 60% of a younger generation unable to find work. It feels desperate; your heart breaks at the hopelessness of this generation. 

But with these changes comes hope from unexpected quarters. The church is growing; the gospel is bearing fruit and joy experienced in new outpourings of God, and not least at our latest Iberian Conference in Penafiel.

A weekend given over to God with 250 people from Spain, Portugal, UK, Guinea Bissau, and Mexico packed into the splendid new building, A Fonte. English was the third language and I cannot explain how joyous it was to be given headphones for English translation of the messages. Our theme for the conference was ‘Authentic’, believing what these nations most need to experience is the genuine gospel, authentic Holy Spirit outpourings and the release of authentic apostolic ministry planting and building authentic churches. The worship was so colourful, Oscar from Mexico leading parts, Peter leading the international band and even the Guineans gave us a taste of their vibrant body moving style! It was brilliant and the fragrance of God filled the house.

 One of my highlights was the Sunday morning where we felt God break in to minister to the leaders who then formed a prayer tunnel to pray for every person there. It was powerful, unifying and prophetic in how we move forward to strengthen existing churches but also plant new ones. I am also thrilled by our new involvement with the Guinea churches in Portugal and Spain. Our mission field continues to enlarge and others are joining hands with us in the battle.

Mike and Jessica Shore are two of my heroes, releasing each of their children into whole hearted missionary involvement, as they themselves continue to care for the growing number of churches across Iberia. God is doing something amazing in these nations and next year we are planning another conference in May 2014 as well as two evangelistic teams into major cities. Why not experience this unique moment for Iberia?

I can promise you a life changing time that will challenge your spiritual appetites, it is like walking on lemons!

 

The danger of the camel's nose

The story is told of an Arab on a freezing cold night huddled inside his small tent with his camel outside. Towards midnight the camel complained to his master of his discomfort which could easily be rectified if only his nose could be permitted inside the tent. Compassionately the master agreed. An hour or so later the shivering creature asked if his head and neck might be permitted to enjoy the warmth of the tent. ‘Fine,’ said the disgruntled owner. Another hour passed and the camel this time asks for his front legs to be permitted entry and by the time it reached 4 o’clock in the morning the camel’s owner sat shivering outside the tent whist the camel slept soundly.

This parable helpfully illustrates the dilemmas we all face in accommodating the needs and desires of those around us - friends, family and work colleagues. A visitor wanting a bed for the night, a relative needing financial help, or a relationship stepping over a moral line. But what about Christians engaging with the secular worldview of our nation? Nuclear power, pornography, immigration, abortion, conservation,  medical ethics and most recently so called gay marriage to name but a few. It’s tempting for most of us to retreat into our shell, or up drawbridge and hide in the security of our church castles. Here we can find family, comfy surroundings, nice music and only the distant sound of the enemy guns.  But this surely is to forget the lesson of the Arab and his camel. Powerful forces and spiritual powers work on the hearts and minds of men, and every believer is called to engage intelligently and prayerfully in hope to bring freedom to the captive and sight for those blind. Let me suggest a number of ways of how we might do that:

 

1. Avoid caricatures. Our struggle is not against flesh and blood - Eph 6 v12. A caricature is to take one feature of a person or argument and stress it above all else. A politician is portrayed as two faced, a bank manager a greedy pig, the Muslim a terrorist, and the policeman as twisted as the proverbial cork screw. We fear such images and fail to see such people as lost and love them.
2. Remember the puzzle box lid. Life can seem like a giant jigsaw and our lives one little piece that does not fit. God has saved us in this generation for his good purpose. God has a good pleasing and perfect will for your lives.  Finding our place is not in passive abdication, but passionate engagement with the grand narrative of the bible, a renewal of our minds. A biblical worldview is the believers high calling and the gospel our hope for our nation.
3. Beware professionalism. John Piper’s words to pastors, “brothers we are not professionals" should help us not be intimidated by the proliferation of academic letters after the latest guru writing on the family or ethics.  Laws are being passed that have taken the obvious and common sense out of everyday life and instructed us that we need academics to tell us what is as plain as the noses on our faces, i.e. breast is best, smoking kills, and exercise brings well-being!
4. Watch our language. The devil speaks lies, it is his native tongue. Mainstream TV, our daily newspapers, and the internet seek to blur the lines on issues such as marriage, abortion, euthanasia etc. by using language that exaggerates exceptions to make them the norm. We are religiously told we are animals, the selfish gene, and products of nature not nurture. Language changes, words and meanings change and with them a rabid political correctness that searches out those who won't sing their tune.

So beware the camel’s nose. Marriage between one man and one woman in an exclusive commitment for life may end up being called evil (Isaiah 5 v 20). Paedophilia now appears the last bastion of national consciousness but already the cracks are appearing. A recent main stream paper suggesting  we change our language from calling paedophilia evil to now ‘different opinions’ or ‘people born with those leanings’ -apparently one in five men are meant to be turned on by a naked child!

 The line is questioned, redrawn and the innocent suffer. It is every believer’s duty to engage in the dialogue, to speak graciously but courageously, and to fight for the age old boundary lines found in God's book.

The Circus

I can remember my first circus trip and the excitement together with the amazing smells of the candy floss stalls mixing with those of big animals I had never seen before. Elephants and lions, funny clowns and brightly coloured ladies. One thing I was not prepared for were the trapeze artists high in the canopy walking tightropes and hurling themselves between swinging bars. It thrilled my childish heart.

I don’t think I have witnessed greater aerial displays until these past years and months reading Christian articles on key biblical doctrine with leaders swinging on a strong hermeneutical principle suddenly launching themselves across a yawning chasm to miraculously end on the opposite side. So called Gay marriage, Evolution, Propitiation, heaven and hell to name but a few. Doctrine seen as some dinosaur, and those who peddle its wares as elephants attempting to cross the hire wire to the boos and ridicule of the media and sometimes the faithful. We live in the age of soundbites, tweets, and caricature which does not allow time for genuine dialogue and serious biblical exegesis.  Our churches are emptying and biblical exposition handed to the clowns or jugglers more interested to entertain than challenge.

So our society crumbles, the solid walls of marriage are cracking, the doors of privacy and intimacy wrenched from their hinges, and windows that allow God's light to enter are boarded up in the guise of political correctness, and people ask where will it all end? I believe it is to apostolic doctrine we must return to understand the true nature of our problems i.e. the foundations. Psalm 11 v 3, "when the foundations are being destroyed what can the righteous do?" The very beginning of every building and that which is hidden to human eye and costly to procure - foundations.

In the beginning God, (Gen 1:1), in the beginning was the Word (John 1 v 1), sin entered the world through one man (Rom 5 v 12), Adam was formed first then Eve (1 Tim 2 v 13), after He had provided purification for sins, He sat down (Hebrews 1 v 3)! The atonement with Christ the cornerstone, an immovable huge rock that trips us, stumbles all human pride and on which we either reject or build and shape our lives. We must get back to our roots, back to biblical beginnings, believing every human problem and evil is at root a theological issue. Genesis the book of beginnings trusted and built upon. The atonement, justification, and propitiation are doctrines to believe and kneel before rather than swing from the high bar of the latest circus and wow crowds in a triple hermeneutical somersault! 

I am longing for a generation that will say enough is enough, the Emperor has no clothes, for preachers who will begin with this age old foundation and cornerstone to build glorious churches with leaders who will turn from the fickle circus crowds approval and show themselves work men (and women) who do not need to be ashamed and who correctly handle the word of truth.