Future Australian Leaders

Okay so this is probably a lot of sour grapes because neither of my daughters got to be School Captain. Oh reader, you will have to judge...

I'm really disturbed by the process of choosing Captains in Primary Schools here in Sydney. If our local primary school is typical of the public school system then it is basically a popularity contest.

Candidates promote themselves through a poster and a speech (apparently all candidates are uniquely qualified, caring, brilliant at public speaking etc.) and then the pupils decide via a straight ballot paper. I understand the teachers have a little influence but do we really appreciate children from (let's say) year 3 downwards to be able to make sensible choices over a poster and a speech?

It gets particularly frustrating when one person is elected who is famous throughout the school for their (note the non-gender specific language) bad behaviour in class. But they are well popular with the kids. Leadership is about being well known it has nothing to do with good character.

And then we wonder why our political system is in a mess?

I think this has a lot to do with confusion over consensus and consent, between popularity and leadership, and listening and representation.

Leaders who are appointed through a straight popularity contest will:

1. Seek consensus rather consent all the time. Consensus is an ideal but people disagree most of the time about most things. Frequently consent to move ahead is what is required.
2. regularly do what is popular rather than what is needed. It is built into the way we think about appointing leaders right from primary school.
3. get confused about what representation means. Good leadership listens to all those who are represented. That does not mean that the leader has to present all possible views of those represented though.

What say ye?

(Although it has been so long since I posted anything maybe you've all gone to sleep!)

[PS Coincidently I've just noticed an article in the SMH complaining about awarding Dave Warner the man of the match instead of Kiwi Doug Bracewell - apparently it was decided by a vote from Australian viewers!?]

Yay, Holiday

I'm off to the UK for most of September.

Yay!

Under Valued Gifts (9)

9. The Gift of Giving

Did you know that the NT describes the ability of Christians to give money to their local church and to mission as itself a ‘gift’? In 2 Corinthians 8 verse 7 Paul talks about giving in the same way he speaks about other spiritual gifts:

“But just as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us—see that you also excel in this grace [or gift] of giving.“

Therefore our financial giving to the church is as important as other gifts such as preaching, singing, or teaching kids about Jesus.

Most of us realise that our giving is part of our Christian faith but I think some of us have confused generosity with spontaneity. In other words, I think to myself, ‘I have the freedom to give generously to whatever needs come across my path.’

However, this is a common fallacy. Research has shown that, while disciplined givers often view their giving as modest and spontaneous givers as generous, regular givers are by far the most generous. Why do you think Street Chuggers (that is Charity Muggers who accost you with their clipboards) are so desperate to get you to sign up for monthly direct debits? They do this because they know full well that even if you only give $15 a month it will still add up to much more than a ‘generous’ donation of $100 once every few years.

Have a read of 2 Corinthians 8 & 9 - I’m preparing a Bible Study on it for BS groups. You will see that Christian giving is a gift, and it is meant to be done sacrificially, willingly and regularly.

• Have you read 2 Corinthians 8 & 9?
• How do you decide how much to give and how often?
• Have you reviewed your giving to PBC?

“Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” (2 Corinthians 9: 7)

Hillsong

Okay, so it has taken nearly 4 years but since Hillsong is just a couple of suburbs away I thought I'd go and check out an evening service.

It was the 7pm 'Sunday Night Live' service.

Here are my initial impressions. I'm still in shock (from sensory overload) and so this is not supposed to be a carefully considered review but merely a collection of random thoughts and impressions:

• the professional production of the service was AMAZING - Lady Gaga and U2 would be chuffed if they could produce a show this good.
• there wasn't a hint of the prosperity gospel.
• it wasn't very pentecostal - e.g. no speaking in tongues.
• it seems (from the last two points) they have worked hard on removing things that would seem alien to your average Sydneysider.
• they weren't ashamed to ask for money though - the offering was preceded by a reading from Deuteronomy and the (very helpful) explanation that if we develop the habit of surrendering our finances to the Lordship of Christ then this will help us surrender in other areas too.
• did I say that it was all very well done? Sometimes churches are said to be like a concert, this wasn't like a concert - it was a performance. Dark lighting for the audience, smoke machines, flashing lights, live video feed of the band (song words were tiny - right at the bottom of the screen). I've been to loads of gigs and plays. As I say this was not like a performance, it was one. To be fair to Hillsong I think that is the intention. Sunday Night Live is meant to be an evangelistic shop window which is easily accessible to the modern consumer.
• The talk took multimedia to a whole new level. The theme was 'going in and going out' and the stage had props consisting of doors - the preacher would speak for a while and then walk through a door only to appear (seemlessly) in a video clip on the screen. These clips seemed to have been filmed (at great expense) during the week just for the service. When I say great expense I mean it. The last clip was of the speaker doing a parachute jump and speaking into the camera as he did it. My guess is that this one service was 'worth' at least $10k of production.
• The speaker was also very polished. He hardly had any notes and yet quoted scriptures throughout. The talk was peppered with bible verses. It was very inspirational. Although I have to say that it was very lacking in content. At no point throughout the talk or the service (apart from giving our tithe, I suppose) was any specific example given to explain what things like repentance or 'letting God into our transitions' might look like. I realise that everyone's life is different and we mustn't do the Holy Spirit's job for him but it is easy to go away from a service like that fired up about obedience in life without having a clue what it will mean. Likewise I noticed a lot of the songs were about wholehearted obedience - great words but I cringe when making promises with my lips that I have no idea if I can keep.
• At the end there was a time for response. After a general response to the talk there was an evangelistic appeal. Generally speaking I thought it was great. He explained the gospel simply and then expected people to respond. That was when it started to get manipulative. After asking us all to close our eyes we were asked to raise our hands if we want to trust in Christ. After a while (with the traditional keyboard key in the background) he pushed a bit harder and then started saying 'thanks' for all those who had raised their hands but I couldn't see any! (I was very disobedient and kept my eyes open.) It is possible there were a couple behind me but I could see about 3/4 of the congregation and I couldn't see any. While understandable (people are more likely to stick up their hand if they think they are not alone) it is highly manipulative.

So, overall, a mixture of emotions. Not quite what I expected. I'm still reflecting on it. The dominant issue is the level of the production. I can't quite work out if they are being 'all things to all men to win some...' in great evangelistic zeal to reach Sydney for Christ - or being like the Corinthians in losing their trust in the gospel as the power of God to change lives.

Evangelism made less difficult

Early Christians couldn't stop talking about Jesus. We find it hard to start. Why is this?

After the current section of Isaiah we are going to do something thinking about evangelism.

I'm really keen for comments on why we find it so hard to share our faith in our culture. Also suggestions of key topics worth considering related to this issue.

I can't promise anything that will make evangelism easy, but it would be good to help make it easier.

Under Valued gifts (8)

8. The gift of welcome

Tim Keller has written that there are only two kinds of churches:

1. One kind says to its community: ‘You can come to us, learn our language, learn our interests, become like us and meet our needs.’

2. The other kind says to its community: ‘We will come to you, learn your language, learn your interests, join in your life and try to meet your needs.’

A welcoming attitude is something that has to be constantly relearnt. Only the gospel can reorientate our vision - away from the inward, selfish desire to mix with people like ourselves and towards the selfless desire to love the wider community around us. Ministries like the Op Shop, Flo Harris Lodge and School Scripture help us to keep this focus. When it comes to the love of Christ it should be just as much ‘show and tell’ as ‘come and hear’. What practical things can we do to join in the life of the community around us?

However, that attitude will only translate into action ‘out there’ if it starts ‘in here’. This attitude of welcome should pervade all our meetings too - on Sunday, Bible study groups, Playtime ... etc.

Why not evaluate any PBC activity you are involved with from this perspective of welcome:

• is there a language newcomers are expected to learn?

• do our songs only appeal to one particular interest group?

• is it obvious what to do and how to get involved?

• do we take the initiative in welcoming new people?

• are we addressing the needs of the wider community or just the needs of those who come already?

“Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus:...” (Philippians 2: 4-5)

Under valued gifts (7)

7. The gift of prayer

“All I could do was pray.” How often have we heard that as an expression of helplessness. All I could do? All?

During my life I have met several old people who had a profound ministry of prayer. They all seemed to be women, but I haven’t yet worked out the significance of that. These people had reached a stage in life where they were no longer physically able to do much to serve the church. So they did what they could - they prayed. Some of them were apologetic, as if their contribution to the work of the Lord was rather pathetic.

Far from it. The Lord had used their frailty to teach them a lesson that we all need to learn - that without him we can achieve nothing. Only the branch that remains in the vine will bear fruit.

Our human nature has a strong bias towards self-reliance. Even good things like studying the bible, evangelism, serving the poor can quickly become about us - what we are doing to bring about Christ’s kingdom. However, the gospel of grace is supposed to cut through all of that.

While it is true that even prayer can become yet another thing that we do to show off to God, it is probably the hardest arena in which to trust in ourselves. Just as men hate asking for directions (because it means admitting that: 1. They are lost. 2. They need help) so the very act of prayer is admitting that we cannot solve our own problems but only God can.

Christians who really understand the gospel are people who pray. They pray all the time. About everything. No event and no decision is faced without asking for God’s help. Their utter dependence on him has a direct correlation with their prayer life. It has been said that if you want to know how popular the preacher is count how many people turn up on a Sunday; but if you want to know how popular Jesus is then count how many are at the prayer meeting.

Prayer is, I think, the most undervalued ministry in churches today.

• read the bible - learn from the heroes of our faith and how they prayed.
• pray - on your own, in pairs, in threes, as a church. Anywhere.

“Pray continually.” (1 Thessalonians 5: 17)

Under Valued gifts (6)

6. The gift of hospitality

This strikes at the heart of why we have lunch together once a month - hospitality is really important in the bible.

Have you ever noticed how much of Jesus’ ministry revolved around food? From the miraculous (Feeding of the 5,000 or the Wedding at Cana) to the mundane (having dinner at the home of a Pharisee named Simon), and even to his ministry (how many parables climax with a big banquet?).

Take a gospel. Luke is a good place to start. Read it through in one go pausing to note how often hospitality breaks into the story.

In every culture that I have ever encountered there is something special about eating and drinking together. It breaks down barriers - it both symbolises and encourages a deepening of relationships.

Now I realise that some find this easier than others. Finances or other circumstances of life may make it much harder for you to open up your home for others. Some of us are paraylsed by high expectations of entertaining. But hospitality is not entertaining. Just put the kettle on. All that’s okay - Jesus does not expect us all to be the same - but he does expect us all to get the principle.

That’s why we have lunch together after PBCam once a month. Anyone can join in that and invite others to stay. If you aren’t a good cook then why not invite some people from church out to a cafe? Of if money is an issue then why not go out for a coffee? Or stay in for a coffee?

There is something magic that happens when we eat and drink together. Suddenly we relax and become more ourselves. Then it is so much easier to laugh and cry together. Table Talk. That’s such a valuable gift in encouraging people to follow Jesus.

• read - through Luke’s gospel looking for meals.
• invite - people over for a meal or coffee. It doesn’t have to be much.
• explore - grab some friends and check out the Bourke Street Bakery or Coffee Alchemy (both in Marrickville). If anyone asks, then tell them your Pastor said you had to go!

“Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling.” (1 Peter 4: 9)

Under Valued gifts (5)

5. Talking about Jesus.

I don’t think we are very good at evangelism in Sydney. I don’t think there is at lot of evangelism going on at PBC for that matter. There are many things that we do well, but sharing our faith isn’t one of them.

So what do you do about it? I met up for a coffee with the Pastor of Castle Hill Baptist this week and he said that he was tired of training courses. “Church needs a kick up the pants about evangelism? Get them to do this course!” Courses can be helpful but I agree that the problem runs much deeper than that.

I think that the reason why we find it so hard to tell our friends and neighbours about Christ (and we do, or at least I do) is that we even find it hard to talk to other Christians about the gospel. Quotes from the Early Church Fathers suggest that the early Christians couldn’t help talking about Jesus all the time - and so it naturally spilt out in conversations with non-Christians.

In fact some of the most interesting descriptions of early Christianity come from pagans! For example Celsus was a second century pagan who argued with Origen. Despite their cynicism even those opposed to Christianity had to concede that the Christians both lived the gospel and kept talking about it.

So let’s start by talking about Jesus to one another. How did you become a Christian? What difference does Jesus make to your week? Those are the kind of questions we should get so used to they become second nature.

• Practice - write out your testimony and share it with another Christian
• Encourage - how about asking someone how they became a Christian over morning tea?
• Encourage one another in conversations to apply the gospel to our lives in simple and practical (and therefore visible) ways.
• Don’t avoid people who talk about Jesus as ‘weird’ and ‘super-spiritual’. Actually, when it comes to Christians, they are the ‘normal’ ones.

Under Valued gifts (4)

The Gift of Sympathy

According to the Apostle Paul sympathy should be the automatic outworking of the gospel. You can tell if someone’s life has been changed by Jesus because they show sympathy.

However, by sympathy I don’t mean the way it is often portrayed on TV. I’m talking about the ability to put yourself in someone else’s shoes. Technically sympathy involves more than empathy (feeling what other people feel), it also entails a positive concern for the well-being of the other person.

For example, instead of turning up at PBC thinking, “Wow, I’ve had a tough week at work, I’m going to sit back and receive encouragement this morning...” turn it the other way round - “Wow, I bet everyone else has had a tough week - how can I encourage them?”

Similarly instead of expecting others to cut me some slack because I’m new / sick / tired / a hassled parent ____ (fill in the blank) I’m going to cut everyone else some slack because they are all of the above, and more!

So here are some tips on how to develop this ministry. Anybody can do this:

• turn up early (before 9.30am) - think: if I was new to church, how would I like people to treat me?

• pray as I enter the building - how can I serve people this morning?

• look around you at those sitting near you - what are their needs?

• if someone is short with you, or doesn’t treat you as you would expect - think: is there a reason (I don’t know about) why they are acting like this?

“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.” (Philippians 2: 3-4)

Under Valued gifts (3)

3. The Gift of Supporting World Mission

World Mission is something most of us put into the ‘too hard’ basket. We admire missionaries who go off to other side of the world but actually what they do makes little connection with our lives.

Instead let’s learn to think of PBC as a family where we all have the same purpose, to “... make Jesus known to people in the Inner West of Sydney and throughout the World.”

Mark and Rochelle are simply carrying out that purpose in a different country but they are just like you and me. (Well, Mark is not just like anyone, but you get my point.) They are a normal family with normal needs and normal hopes and fears. They miss family and find evangelism hard work just as much as you do.

Therefore simple things like sending them an email / card just saying “G’Day” really encourages them. Gifts for the kids say a lot. Most of all they crave our prayers. Pray for them regularly and tell them that you are praying for them when you pray.

They need financial support to stay in Slovenia so consider either giving to PBC or supporting CMS directly. Although it is a sacrifice to give money it is not particularly hard, in the sense that once you’ve set up the bank transfer it happens automatically and you don’t even have to remember - easy as!

However, if we are a united family at PBC then we should also consider going ourselves. What about a holiday to Europe? Visit Slovenia on a short-term mission trip and you might love it so much that you want to stay. Scary, yes, but exciting too!

• Encourage - what can you do this week to encourage a PBC misho?
• Pray - buy a copy of Operation World, and then use it!
• Give - nuff said.
• Go - short term mission trip to one of our mishos? Long term mission?

“⁴ In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy ⁵ because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, ⁶ being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.“ (Philippians 1: 4-6)

Under valued gifts (2)

2. The Gift of Small Talk

Here is another gift that it is worth exercising at PBC - the gift of small talk.

I want to stick up for small talk and the hard time it often gets in churches and in sermons in particular. How often do we hear church lambasted for how shallow it is? Allegedly all you hear over morning tea is, “Hi ... nice weather ... go the Rabbitohs!” Apparently this is stopping us from bearing our souls and sharing our deepest struggles so that we can grow as Christians.

Well, I want to amount a defence of the beleaguered small talk. I fully agree that much of our conversation can be shallow and that Christian growth means increasing openness. However, it is a cop out to cut out the small talk. If we are to get to know one another we need more small talk, not less.

When I’m struggling in my marriage, when my Mum gets cancer, or I’m made redundant, I’m not going to suddenly unload on complete strangers. Instead if I’ve been saying “G’day” to you every Sunday for the past few years then I’m much more likely to open up when the time comes.

It is true that small talk can be used as a barrier to genuine openness but normally it is the route to it. The way we learn to share our lives with each other is just by talking to one another... about anything. Of course for this to progress past the superficial we need to meet regularly otherwise each time we speak will feel like starting again - hence the gift of presence last week.

So here are some tips on how to develop this ministry. As you will see this is not just for the upfront or extrovert. Anybody can do this:

✓ turn up early (before 9.30am) - newcomers usually do!

✓ sit somewhere different - it’s probably warmer :-)

✓ ask about what you talked about last week - people will really appreciate the interest.

✓ be the first to say ‘hello’ - then they have to think of something to say.

“Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another....” (Hebrews 10: 25)

Under Valued gifts (1)

Gifts of the Holy Spirit:

1. The Gift of Presence

As the series (sermon series at PBCam on What we believe) gets more practical I’m going to write a few short articles on some of the spiritual gifts you don’t hear about so often.

Let’s start with the gift of presence. I mean the gift you use at church (or Bible study group) by simply showing up. In order to exercise this gift you don’t really have to do anything else except say “G’Day!” It is really encouraging to see you every week. Your presence encourages everyone else that, in a world that rejects Jesus, you are still hanging on in there and you are still trying to follow him. It also communicates powerfully that you think it was worth getting out of bed to meet with God’s people. All that just from turning up!

However the effort comes in developing it as a habit. You see for the gift to be effective it has to happen regularly. Of course there are occasions when we have to miss church for all sorts of good reasons, but if I turn up no more often than I’m away then my absence speaks just as loud (if not louder) than my presence.

As I’ve said already this gift is probably more noticeable by its absence. What I notice is that if I miss church then I always feel more distant from people when I return - relationships become harder work. And that becomes a vicious circle - I’m less likely to come and so I feel more distant. (And I’m the Pastor :-) )

On the other hand it is immensely encouraging to meet the same people week after week. Some weeks all we do is smile but the connection has been made. The gift of presence has been exercised. I’m not mad making a church a priority after all! All these people stand with me in faith.

So here are some tips on how to develop this ministry. As you will see this is not just for the upfront or extrovert. Anybody can do this:

✓ turn up early (before 9.30am) - newcomers usually do!

✓ sing enthusiastically - the musos will feel their practice was worth it.

✓ listen attentively - the preacher will get so excited he will finish early.

✓ smile at people - they will think you are up to something.

✓ be the first to say ‘hello’ - then they have to think of something to say.

“Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another....” (Hebrews 10: 25)

Under appreciated gifts

Okay, so here now starts a series of posts on gifts that are seriously under-appreciated at church.

I've called them 'gifts of the Spirit' but basically I mean things we should be doing to encourage one another when we meet together - so, in that sense, gifts we should be exercising.

Resurrection!

I have no idea how people find the time to post to their blogs once a day (never mind several times a day) I seem to regularly find more important things to do.

Nevertheless this PBC blog is pretty pointless unless there are regular posts.

So to kick start it (again!) I'm going to upload a letter I'm putting in the church bulletin each Sunday morning at the moment.