tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-71075510836212375162024-03-04T11:45:45.044-08:00Pickett PostMark Picketthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15154344622862130047noreply@blogger.comBlogger137125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107551083621237516.post-32965898477065490932024-03-04T11:44:00.000-08:002024-03-04T11:44:47.688-08:00Letters to Peter, 2<h3 style="text-align: left;"><span face="Aptos, sans-serif" style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-size: 13.2px;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjULh_9tAoGzKtB22UYaioqucEndWteLaqaRnq2xjFCewTjd6qPXMVxp6_92db-JWYUTbiyQEQ9ICquW9GXDhd-uNALL1MLHQZt9pwNlxXDcAA0QoDly9G37l5l7nGxTEBGSbIy8LSPQLo3F4dc-L0F3YROoHkZVnHmsTxVE3fTAGzVcBdb_jHRG_NtwgPL/s768/86B0EEAD-38E2-4D5A-BCF8-C14A220FF50E.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="768" height="188" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjULh_9tAoGzKtB22UYaioqucEndWteLaqaRnq2xjFCewTjd6qPXMVxp6_92db-JWYUTbiyQEQ9ICquW9GXDhd-uNALL1MLHQZt9pwNlxXDcAA0QoDly9G37l5l7nGxTEBGSbIy8LSPQLo3F4dc-L0F3YROoHkZVnHmsTxVE3fTAGzVcBdb_jHRG_NtwgPL/s320/86B0EEAD-38E2-4D5A-BCF8-C14A220FF50E.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span face="Aptos, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 13.2px;"><br /></span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span face="Aptos, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 13.2px;">(My friend Peter has set me a challenge for 2024: each month he is going to ask me a question for me to answer. I want my answer to come from the heart, so I will try not use books, except the Bible. And I will try keep it to 500 words. </span><span face="Aptos, sans-serif" style="color: #222222; font-size: 13.2px;">Thanks for the challenge Peter. I hope others find it helpful too.)</span></div></span></h3><h2 style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; break-after: avoid; color: #0f4761; font-family: "Aptos Display", sans-serif; font-size: 16pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 8pt 0cm 4pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span></span></h2><div><span face="Aptos, sans-serif" style="caret-color: rgb(34, 34, 34); color: #222222; font-size: 13.2px;"><br /></span></div><h2 style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; break-after: avoid; color: #0f4761; font-family: "Aptos Display", sans-serif; font-size: 16pt; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 8pt 0cm 4pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span>2. How do you go about seeking leaders for your local church, (within a team leadership model) and what characteristics should they have?</span><span face="-webkit-standard, serif" style="font-size: 24pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></h2><p class="MsoNormal" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0cm; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><br /></p><p align="right" class="MsoBodyText" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt; orphans: auto; text-align: right; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"><span>February 2024<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">Dear Peter,<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">I thank the Lord for putting me in local churches that have had godly leaders. They weren't perfect, and still aren't - I am one of them now! But when a leader has a close relationship with the Lord, that sweetens even their mistakes.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">There is, I think, a lot of bad leadership about. Recent scandals to hit church and agency alike have been very saddening to read. Marcus Honeysett's<span class="apple-converted-space"><span face="-webkit-standard, serif" style="color: black;"> </span></span><i><a href="https://uk.10ofthose.com/product/9781789743227/powerful-leaders" style="color: #96607d; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><span face="-webkit-standard, serif">Powerful Leaders</span></a></i>, is compulsory reading for Brits involved in church leadership. Likewise,<span class="apple-converted-space"><span face="-webkit-standard, serif" style="color: black;"> </span></span><i><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OwE6gwhlF7A" style="color: #96607d; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><span face="-webkit-standard, serif">Not So With You</span></a></i>, edited by Mark Sterling and Mark Meynell, looks very helpful too.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWoPLKZlFMUo-f5c8FIJZ0H6Ie1ewSsVXnFiCPxVzkZATmixf-qaLqe-7jQNnUsuOUgzlivmd7tSQzDIHH9j0Aob7EwwpwKOwOjnkaeCh6mgKuP7_ndRlJce2DPgLMOg-sS4G17cwlcNEdOieQhPf6L165E99vUzQg0oYgm-jEvgWRaDJTd3HZQnt_UfE_/s558/50BEA763-BA34-4728-9B3E-7472DDAE2966_4_5005_c.jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="558" data-original-width="360" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWoPLKZlFMUo-f5c8FIJZ0H6Ie1ewSsVXnFiCPxVzkZATmixf-qaLqe-7jQNnUsuOUgzlivmd7tSQzDIHH9j0Aob7EwwpwKOwOjnkaeCh6mgKuP7_ndRlJce2DPgLMOg-sS4G17cwlcNEdOieQhPf6L165E99vUzQg0oYgm-jEvgWRaDJTd3HZQnt_UfE_/w217-h320/50BEA763-BA34-4728-9B3E-7472DDAE2966_4_5005_c.jpeg" width="217" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWoPLKZlFMUo-f5c8FIJZ0H6Ie1ewSsVXnFiCPxVzkZATmixf-qaLqe-7jQNnUsuOUgzlivmd7tSQzDIHH9j0Aob7EwwpwKOwOjnkaeCh6mgKuP7_ndRlJce2DPgLMOg-sS4G17cwlcNEdOieQhPf6L165E99vUzQg0oYgm-jEvgWRaDJTd3HZQnt_UfE_/s558/50BEA763-BA34-4728-9B3E-7472DDAE2966_4_5005_c.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWoPLKZlFMUo-f5c8FIJZ0H6Ie1ewSsVXnFiCPxVzkZATmixf-qaLqe-7jQNnUsuOUgzlivmd7tSQzDIHH9j0Aob7EwwpwKOwOjnkaeCh6mgKuP7_ndRlJce2DPgLMOg-sS4G17cwlcNEdOieQhPf6L165E99vUzQg0oYgm-jEvgWRaDJTd3HZQnt_UfE_/s558/50BEA763-BA34-4728-9B3E-7472DDAE2966_4_5005_c.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="text-align: left;"><br /></span></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjWoPLKZlFMUo-f5c8FIJZ0H6Ie1ewSsVXnFiCPxVzkZATmixf-qaLqe-7jQNnUsuOUgzlivmd7tSQzDIHH9j0Aob7EwwpwKOwOjnkaeCh6mgKuP7_ndRlJce2DPgLMOg-sS4G17cwlcNEdOieQhPf6L165E99vUzQg0oYgm-jEvgWRaDJTd3HZQnt_UfE_/s558/50BEA763-BA34-4728-9B3E-7472DDAE2966_4_5005_c.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /></a></div><o:p></o:p><p></p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;">When I was a student I was immensely helped by J. Oswald Sanders' little book,<span class="apple-converted-space"><span style="font-family: -webkit-standard, serif;"> </span></span><i>Spiritual Leadership</i>, which I picked up from an OM book table in Belgium and devoured while hitch-hiking round Europe after the month of ministry. It is probably out of print now but had lots of helpful biblical wisdom and encouragement.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">But your question focusses on leadership in the <i>local church</i>, and that is more specific. You have already narrowed the question further by telling me that your church operates with a 'team leadership model'. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">Leadership in your church will largely be circumscribed by the church's ecclesiological commitments. It seems to me the local church's structure must allow for both respect for authority (1 Tim 5:17) and accountability. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">That having been said, the NT tells us, in my understanding, of two offices that the Lord has given to lead the local church: elder and deacon. I like the way<span class="apple-converted-space"><span face="-webkit-standard, serif" style="color: black;"> </span></span><a href="https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/reviews/deacons-matt-smethurst/" style="color: #96607d; text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank"><span face="-webkit-standard, serif">Matt Smethurst</span></a><span class="apple-converted-space"><span face="-webkit-standard, serif" style="color: black;"> </span></span>distinguishes between the two roles: he says that an elder serves by leading and a deacon leads by serving. When elders and deacons work together, with their respective gifting recognised by the congregation, a church is truly blessed. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">Also with Smethurst, I believe the biblical pattern is for a plurality of elders, rather than a single minister giving pastoral oversight (1 Tim 3; Titus 1).<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">More generally, though, a local church needs leaders for all kinds of works, and they don’t all have to be elders or deacons, although you could say that anyone who serves is a kind of deacon.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="-webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; caret-color: rgb(0, 0, 0); color: black; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-weight: 400; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt; orphans: auto; text-align: start; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: auto; word-spacing: 0px;">Many volumes have been written on this. I hope you will want to read further. But, in answer to your question, I hope the following tips would be helpful:</p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt; text-align: left;"></p><blockquote style="border: medium; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;">1. Only people who have a credible profession of saving faith in Christ should be leaders in the local church. You can ensure this (not perfectly but as best you can with the help of the Spirit) by keeping church membership only to those who have such a profession. If among your church membership there are those who have clearly never experienced the grace of God then you need to do something about that. You will need to keep a very careful oversight over the church membership so that decisions that are made by the congregation in regard to leadership are spiritual decisions. </p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;">2. Make sure that you are looking for the right people for the right roles. The qualifications for elder and deacon are clear from the passages above.</p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;">3. Take note of who comes to the prayer meetings. If they don’t show up to the prayer meeting they really should not be in leadership. What is the point of appointing a leader for a work in the church if they don’t demonstrate their need of the help of the Lord by coming together with the Lord’s people to pray?</p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;">4. Look for who is already serving. The people you want to serve the church in leadership are those who are already looking for ways to serve. Do they serve the teas and coffees or help out on the media desk? Do they have a track record of <i>faithfulness</i> in serving? Do they arrive on time when they are on a rota? This is the sort of thing Paul was getting at when he said that “They must first be tested” (1 Tim 3:10).</p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;">5. You are not looking for perfection, but are they quick to accept when they have done something wrong? Are they teachable or stubborn? I would rather have someone who is only barely competent but willing to learn than a whizz-kid who is full of themselves.</p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;">6. Likewise, are they quick to forgive when someone wrongs them? I don’t think the Bible requires us to forgive the unrepentant but the lack of forgiveness toward one who has acknowledged their sin is deadly. A church member who harbours bitterness should not be in leadership of any kind.</p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p></blockquote><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-left: 36pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-left: 36pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-left: 36pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-left: 36pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-left: 36pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-left: 36pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><o:p></o:p></p><p><style class="WebKit-mso-list-quirks-style">
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</style></p>Mark Picketthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15154344622862130047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107551083621237516.post-72366300747519989732024-01-27T09:23:00.000-08:002024-01-27T09:23:18.111-08:00Letters to Peter, 1<h2 style="text-align: left;"></h2><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-family: Aptos, sans-serif; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtrtJqBkYvwVim3qAa9_fg5ORLvVw3ehrOCDpt1z8qFrCsjhyphenhyphenHHWeB2cVACWmLWvV0RZENtPQlZc1wqRemhrmJi3WfxdjEQm3UN7uzgJPfgxNhZlJw0Fq8HSGNLJfadt0CSXMLe62-LQ3oOri31tsnaJ9JhKPY6CTYiiMw3SwOKYpZdrmYr79qGCxNm8Qb/s474/CAC5CEE2-1B6C-4038-B0AE-5CD2E3BF6468_4_5005_c.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="316" data-original-width="474" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtrtJqBkYvwVim3qAa9_fg5ORLvVw3ehrOCDpt1z8qFrCsjhyphenhyphenHHWeB2cVACWmLWvV0RZENtPQlZc1wqRemhrmJi3WfxdjEQm3UN7uzgJPfgxNhZlJw0Fq8HSGNLJfadt0CSXMLe62-LQ3oOri31tsnaJ9JhKPY6CTYiiMw3SwOKYpZdrmYr79qGCxNm8Qb/w400-h266/CAC5CEE2-1B6C-4038-B0AE-5CD2E3BF6468_4_5005_c.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: Aptos, sans-serif;">My friend Peter has set me a challenge for 2024: each month he is going to ask me a question for me to answer. I want my answer to come from the heart, so I won't use books, except the Bible. And I will try keep it to 500 words. </span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: Aptos, sans-serif;">Thanks for the challenge Peter. I hope others find it helpful too.</span></p><p><br /></p><p><br /></p><p><span style="color: #0f4761; font-family: "Aptos Display", sans-serif; font-size: 16pt; text-indent: -18pt;">1.</span><span style="color: #0f4761; font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal; text-indent: -18pt;"> </span><span style="color: #0f4761; font-family: "Aptos Display", sans-serif; font-size: 16pt; text-indent: -18pt;">How do you encourage and build the prayer life of your local church fellowship?</span></p><h2 style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><o:p></o:p></h2><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-size: medium;">Background is that we have been plugging prayer over the last year or more and have a number of prayer meetings and opportunities to pray yet the leadership generally feel that prayer is still a weak area of the church at the moment.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></p><p align="right" class="MsoBodyText" style="font-size: medium; text-align: right;">January 2024<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-size: medium;">Dear Peter,<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-size: medium;">Thanks for prompting me to think about prayer in the local church. What an vital question! There can be few things about the life of the local church that are more important.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-size: medium;">And there can be few things about the life of the local church with which we can feel more of a sense of failure.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-size: medium;">The great exhortations of Scripture – “Be…faithful in prayer” (Rom 12:12); “…always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people” (Eph 6:18); “…in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God” (Phil 4:6); “Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful” (Col 4:2); “Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances” (1 Thess 5:17), etc., – these great exhortations are a huge challenge.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-size: medium;">And they might be crushing, were it not for the great promises and encouragements that go along with them: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light” (Matt 11:28-30); “I can do all this through him who gives me strength” (Phil 4:13).<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-size: medium;">And that same Lord Jesus has sent the Holy Spirit to help us and be with us for ever (John 14:16). And he is the Spirit of truth (17), the one who has inspired the Scriptures to teach us, rebuke us, correct us, and train us in righteousness, so that we may “be thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Tim 3:16-17; John 16:13). And that includes the work of prayer.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-size: medium;">We are exhorted to “pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests” (Eph 6:18). Prayer is something the Spirit both empowers us for and guides us in: “We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans” (Rom 8:26). <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-size: medium;">And what wonderful examples of prayer we have in the Scriptures: the prayer the Lord Jesus taught his disciples (Matt 6:9-13); the prayer of the disciples in those early days after Pentecost (Acts 4:23-31); and Paul’s great prayers in his letters (e.g., Eph 1:15-23 and 3:14-21).<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-size: medium;">But the greatest motivation to prayer is surely the gospel itself, isn’t it? We can organise prayer meetings, download apps, and sign up for prayer letters from all over the world. We can instruct, exhort, and challenge till we are red in the face. But none of these will fire up a church to pray like the gospel will.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-size: medium;">So more than anything else, my prayer for you and your church, Peter, is that you would once again be captivated by the grace of God in the Lord Jesus Christ. That you would be thrilled as you listen again, in the preaching and teaching of the Word of God, to the wonderful reality that, “God was reconciling the world to himself through Christ, not counting people’s sins against them” (2 Cor 5:19).<o:p></o:p></p><style class="WebKit-mso-list-quirks-style">
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</style>Mark Picketthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15154344622862130047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107551083621237516.post-90511240374422725712024-01-01T09:49:00.000-08:002024-01-01T09:49:45.867-08:00Favourite Books of 2023<h2 style="text-align: left;">Theology and Culture</h2><p style="text-align: left;"><i></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioPhC1lal1LWzZYFCdPL7j2yZBshl7gmHTIB8A2BPF88tNDWG_GjFslbSJhQc1ZoS_H1fI3uUMJj6MPSsPyKIymQwdRGvbglz7ihVZ0nyiG07AAIE4KKS8c_X2hv8dff00iQ-aZXtibz6CcNuAsp7K5qDc6j2vo6FI3Rnbn4ILqLsolJx4aWfgYIZtez92/s500/34C63981-745D-4389-A7BA-2F65459A698F_4_5005_c.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="333" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEioPhC1lal1LWzZYFCdPL7j2yZBshl7gmHTIB8A2BPF88tNDWG_GjFslbSJhQc1ZoS_H1fI3uUMJj6MPSsPyKIymQwdRGvbglz7ihVZ0nyiG07AAIE4KKS8c_X2hv8dff00iQ-aZXtibz6CcNuAsp7K5qDc6j2vo6FI3Rnbn4ILqLsolJx4aWfgYIZtez92/w133-h200/34C63981-745D-4389-A7BA-2F65459A698F_4_5005_c.jpeg" width="133" /></a></i></div><h3 style="text-align: left;"><i>Biblical Critical Theory: How the Bible's Unfolding Story Makes Sense of Modern Life and Culture</i>, by Christopher Watkin.</h3><p></p><p style="text-align: left;">Watkin is a Yorkshireman who teaches French Literature in Australia. In this chunky book Watkin uses Augustine's <i>City of God</i> as a model of how to use the Bible in cultural engagement. I have found it bristling with insights and hope to go over it again to try to retain some of the stuff I have learned from it.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></p><p style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8CNZ7scmLvses_ZJ9YyVBBrN6woc2IXXumuBmfeBS9AQtc0rIRjXkgabgiRCavIROliBXBmFxNYZI1oohPM8kFa6jeRSwjRpuTMukJMxkEqVgL2diHy1rjZwfz6Zw35BiJXdKrjPrtyCGasMgTTlcXyqe97KI6GWHgrlihOuul4uKVCPyLuXMH_1nfulc/s1500/08B686AE-2F97-4229-8733-2B0A32BE26C4.jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1500" data-original-width="971" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8CNZ7scmLvses_ZJ9YyVBBrN6woc2IXXumuBmfeBS9AQtc0rIRjXkgabgiRCavIROliBXBmFxNYZI1oohPM8kFa6jeRSwjRpuTMukJMxkEqVgL2diHy1rjZwfz6Zw35BiJXdKrjPrtyCGasMgTTlcXyqe97KI6GWHgrlihOuul4uKVCPyLuXMH_1nfulc/w129-h200/08B686AE-2F97-4229-8733-2B0A32BE26C4.jpeg" width="129" /></a></div><h3 style="text-align: left;"><i>Unpacking Forgiveness: Biblical Answers for Complex Questions and Deep Wounds</i>, by Chris Brauns. </h3><p></p><p style="text-align: left;">This is the one book (apart from the Bible) that I took into hospital with me in November. Chris is an American Presbyterian pastor with a lot of experience of helping people work through the pastoral issues related to forgiveness. He lands squarely on the need for repentance to precede forgiveness. Some people are horrified by such a stance, and many would be puzzled, but Brauns makes a solid case that, to me at least, is convincing. I am still working through issues in this area myself and this book has been a helpful guide.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><i></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWv1MDIv-R4S3mReni5dmVAho3tLjQ_RM5V2eZSElE6usxdUOtVpfNaZFmXAasMBTFoTM1nR5dgzVuDiMTzdjOAgi0vW8VH_Phht4f5tIclhjnkRch4f0qNiqcPfN3kH02Gwd3oYbIITJvnfJ7YDwuqbW3ZIMGfiH7jIjZ24e8y6jmLyG_UljkDnJkAeHL/s400/199173AF-BDCF-410D-8787-0E287A81DE18.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="392" data-original-width="400" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWv1MDIv-R4S3mReni5dmVAho3tLjQ_RM5V2eZSElE6usxdUOtVpfNaZFmXAasMBTFoTM1nR5dgzVuDiMTzdjOAgi0vW8VH_Phht4f5tIclhjnkRch4f0qNiqcPfN3kH02Gwd3oYbIITJvnfJ7YDwuqbW3ZIMGfiH7jIjZ24e8y6jmLyG_UljkDnJkAeHL/w200-h196/199173AF-BDCF-410D-8787-0E287A81DE18.jpeg" width="200" /></a></i></div><h3 style="text-align: left;"><i>Into His Presence: Praying with the Puritans</i>, by Tim Chester.</h3><p></p><p style="text-align: left;">Tim is an old friend of mine, and I have benefitted from so many of his books - he is a prolific writer. I am not normal big on written prayers, but having enjoyed <i>The Valley of Vision</i> a couple of years ago, thought I would give this a try. I was not disappointed. Gave copies to the family for Christmas.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIZcfJt083GGEQ4rnrxeIbUcmsd6LtfOSKFsIip6eqBjUTJzjoujxDiaXCgK4mg62vxQKTGN0CV15orldlP7OoSojmJPcPu1NwWoYL5pfE61sOkUABAeQXpnRDl9d1qZIbNs8EKqMy2m5K_0a-ViIJt27fzvizmQjbZ31wfnKX7pB8hjEP7SuUybmNgC8z/s400/C55D2803-5ADF-41BD-8392-4B737738B8F7.jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="392" data-original-width="400" height="196" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIZcfJt083GGEQ4rnrxeIbUcmsd6LtfOSKFsIip6eqBjUTJzjoujxDiaXCgK4mg62vxQKTGN0CV15orldlP7OoSojmJPcPu1NwWoYL5pfE61sOkUABAeQXpnRDl9d1qZIbNs8EKqMy2m5K_0a-ViIJt27fzvizmQjbZ31wfnKX7pB8hjEP7SuUybmNgC8z/w200-h196/C55D2803-5ADF-41BD-8392-4B737738B8F7.jpeg" width="200" /></a></div><h3 style="text-align: left;"><i>What Makes Us Humans? And Other Questions about God, Jesus and Human Identity, </i>by Mark Meynell.</h3><p></p><p style="text-align: left;">Mark calls this a "short book about a big subject". There can be few subjects that are so important in our cultural moment. It is so vital we get a proper view of what it means to be human when all around us people are questioning reality and coming to grief. If you haven't read anything on this, please give this one a read. It is one of a series on hot topics by The Good Book Company called 'Questions Christians Ask'. They are bite size, biblical, and brilliant.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><i><br /></i></p><p style="text-align: left;"><i></i></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><i><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiRvg9jgrT5gi3RHVWrVoNsKnwqztV5DKf-mif1YTHOiwT3b2lf3zxAaREr3XAVZhJ6hyphenhyphendu2XwgD-qx6DK2e2oGXuN6GBQYnWGNvlR7_YLg9xG8bOk80vTu1Oyg7f7SlJK4Eh2erkcM5WtDbvVE2VjA_5-l_yEsRin78csFAxLUDkDkBVVs-FuzsGHdqfl/s500/AB9C98B6-8CED-4A0E-AFCD-F491DCC09D2F_4_5005_c.jpeg" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="312" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhiRvg9jgrT5gi3RHVWrVoNsKnwqztV5DKf-mif1YTHOiwT3b2lf3zxAaREr3XAVZhJ6hyphenhyphendu2XwgD-qx6DK2e2oGXuN6GBQYnWGNvlR7_YLg9xG8bOk80vTu1Oyg7f7SlJK4Eh2erkcM5WtDbvVE2VjA_5-l_yEsRin78csFAxLUDkDkBVVs-FuzsGHdqfl/w125-h200/AB9C98B6-8CED-4A0E-AFCD-F491DCC09D2F_4_5005_c.jpeg" width="125" /></a></i></div><h3 style="text-align: left;"><i>Reality and Other Stories: Exploring the Life We Long for through the Tales We Tell</i>, by Matt Lillicrap and Peter Dray.</h3><p></p><p style="text-align: left;">Stories are fundamental to what it means to be human (see above). Matt and Peter reflect on seven kinds of stories that we tell each other. This book started as a series of talks by Peter at Cambridge Inter-Collegiate Christian Union and then reworked with Matt, using the framework provided by Christopher Booker in his <i>The Seven Basic Plots</i>. It's brilliant.</p><h2 style="text-align: left;"><br /></h2><h2 style="text-align: left;"><br /></h2><h2 style="text-align: left;">Missiology</h2><p style="text-align: left;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVH4U9k8GXTodcBARhNrKP45VmUVd6myJM7dGo0WHYITeyivc4v4Wejn8bdVvZU1a3BeljXUuNgAsO94gVgNbumDzVUsXOOj6P72IMbYPrYQUuNj8-41vnZpptEDMsthgRRM4nQ7IVUXZlp5jNdAfBi3OdBsWJ1gD2elSDhxBMXMepzXnzMN8E-wAKOycB/s691/3D3A979E-FAAC-4042-834F-EECDB38C4CF6.jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="691" data-original-width="460" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVH4U9k8GXTodcBARhNrKP45VmUVd6myJM7dGo0WHYITeyivc4v4Wejn8bdVvZU1a3BeljXUuNgAsO94gVgNbumDzVUsXOOj6P72IMbYPrYQUuNj8-41vnZpptEDMsthgRRM4nQ7IVUXZlp5jNdAfBi3OdBsWJ1gD2elSDhxBMXMepzXnzMN8E-wAKOycB/w133-h200/3D3A979E-FAAC-4042-834F-EECDB38C4CF6.jpeg" width="133" /></a></div><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span><i>Motus Dei: The Movement of God to Disciple the Nations</i>, edited by Warrick Farrah.</span></h3><p></p><p style="text-align: left;">News from far-flung places suggests that great numbers of people around the world are turning to Christ. And we are told that a leading factor in this movement is a relatively new method of church planting or disciple making. <i>Motus Dei </i>(Latin for the 'Movement of God') is a multi-author work that reflects on this phenomenon in a number of contexts around the world. It's a mixed bag. I offered to review this book for the <i style="font-weight: 400;">International Journal of Frontier Mission</i> but the project snowballed and now a whole issue is to be given over to it with my review article being followed by responses by other writers. Spoiler alert: I am sympathetic but have serious misgivings.</p><p style="text-align: left;"><br /></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">Bibliography</h2><div><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwUvpPrtwuci94KSn0yWMl6rorxJ78MSsf0V2u_CO8SlCZUjwffPWRqtTB_WCdbQxb9wBcQs-ipwW6zXjL6XQF1uB7pBu-_C33QNLLF-gvxu5E4GhMMkNIJVb8u_7KuE86zRKc0123ZClVAlEB9zhBZUb-7PMiefSMKLAnw6UNmj8BnLiEnSv2rHCjk-mA/s400/62494915-6CFA-43D5-9AE3-A577A63DE519_4_5005_c.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="400" data-original-width="259" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwUvpPrtwuci94KSn0yWMl6rorxJ78MSsf0V2u_CO8SlCZUjwffPWRqtTB_WCdbQxb9wBcQs-ipwW6zXjL6XQF1uB7pBu-_C33QNLLF-gvxu5E4GhMMkNIJVb8u_7KuE86zRKc0123ZClVAlEB9zhBZUb-7PMiefSMKLAnw6UNmj8BnLiEnSv2rHCjk-mA/w129-h200/62494915-6CFA-43D5-9AE3-A577A63DE519_4_5005_c.jpeg" width="129" /></a></div></i><h3 style="text-align: left;"><i>A Camaraderie of Confidence: The Fruit of Unfailing Faith in the lives of Charles Spurgeon, George Müller and Hudson Taylor</i>, by John Piper.</h3></div><div><br /></div><div>This is the fourth book that I have read in this series of potted biographies by Piper. They spring from papers that he has given at his annual pastors' conference at Bethlehem Baptist Church. They are always super-encouraging and challenging. Piper doesn't focus on critique or analysis, though he could, but he does think freshly on his subject. His concern is to bring the faith of these three great men into focus so that we would emulate that faith in our day. I gave copies to a bunch of pastors in my area, with whom I hope we too form a camaraderie of confidence in the Lord.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><h2 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4rVLmFB58c-ItfgX4K4trDeo2Kgs2PpEczPRYztM0Bcu9yp7NAPUnCA7p55BFemoIKj-tSf6evlAQvh68DLejzme6SWe-vFCSt1QNHAMq4oHgpjhgg9VOonSn_fKvvAiFOKZ7mRzLTttS5xR2rEYrF8bpP0t-CtKUE4hFeNqOXgVtn3OK2Ix17kkf4rHa/s684/755D5D49-C30F-4BE1-8E7A-DC8E852B06E8.jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="684" data-original-width="474" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj4rVLmFB58c-ItfgX4K4trDeo2Kgs2PpEczPRYztM0Bcu9yp7NAPUnCA7p55BFemoIKj-tSf6evlAQvh68DLejzme6SWe-vFCSt1QNHAMq4oHgpjhgg9VOonSn_fKvvAiFOKZ7mRzLTttS5xR2rEYrF8bpP0t-CtKUE4hFeNqOXgVtn3OK2Ix17kkf4rHa/w139-h200/755D5D49-C30F-4BE1-8E7A-DC8E852B06E8.jpeg" width="139" /></a></div>Fiction</h2><h3 style="text-align: left;"><i>The Murder of Roger Ackroyd</i>, by Agatha Christie.</h3><div>I am not an aficionado of crime fiction as some of my friends are, but this has got to be one of the best. An excellent plot with a stunning plot twist. </div>Mark Picketthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15154344622862130047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107551083621237516.post-73945866747371164772023-10-31T05:29:00.002-07:002023-10-31T05:31:24.503-07:00Francis Schaeffer at Lausanne<p style="text-align: left;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="237" data-original-width="474" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi29Ipqb6GPGHRTsvkOUPByFZWY7OKAvbQf-fYHkI4pbUXQRhCbH3FBFWi1tLab2ohop6HE7xkbScm9FAynIDWG32_zBMBsmzKSFdw_26dwxRwb86V4EeiE3b0UXDTeJH7sGQ7Y9OYVK2BK/s320/D3F2BCDD-47D2-4B57-908A-C7E362E45A19_4_5005_c.jpeg" width="320" /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><span style="font-size: medium;">This weekend, Lord willing, I will join 134 others in Budapest for the Lausanne Europe Gathering. This is preparatory to the next large congress that is scheduled for next September in Seoul. There are four of us going from Great Britain, representing a spread of age, gender, ministry situation, and ethnicity. <br /></span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">Often when we consider the first Lausanne Congress in 1974, we think of the important contributions of John Stott, Samuel Escobar, Rene Padilla, and Ralph Winter.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;">But one of the less well-known contributors to that first congress was Francis Schaeffer. Francis and Edith Schaeffer were American missionaries who had developed a very significant ministry, inviting disillusioned young people to their home in Switzerland, and sharing the gospel with them.</span></p><p></p><style class="WebKit-mso-list-quirks-style">
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</style><p class="MsoBodyText"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoBodyText"><span style="font-family: arial; font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-size: medium;">I had come across Schaeffer as a teenager, and read everything I could that the Schaeffers had written.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-size: medium;">Schaeffer’s talk at Lausanne was published as “Two Contents; Two Realities”.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-size: medium;">As I reread that talk the other day, I was struck by two things:<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-left: 36pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]-->1.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><!--[endif]-->How this message had been so influential on my ministry throughout my life; and<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-left: 36pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]-->2.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-feature-settings: normal; font-kerning: auto; font-optical-sizing: auto; font-size-adjust: none; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal; font-variation-settings: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><!--[endif]-->How relevant it is half a century later.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-size: medium;">This is what he said:<o:p></o:p></p><div style="border: 1pt solid rgb(68, 114, 196); margin-left: 1cm; margin-right: 57.6pt; padding: 10pt;"><p class="MsoBlockText" style="border-style: none; border-width: medium; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm;">There are four things which I think are absolutely necessary if we as Christians are going to meet the need of our age and the overwhelming pressure we are increasingly facing. They are two contents and two realities:<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoBlockText" style="border-style: none; border-width: medium; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm;"><span> </span>The First Content: Sound Doctrine</p><p class="MsoBlockText" style="border-style: none; border-width: medium; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm;"> The Second Content: Honest Answers to Honest Questions</p><p class="MsoBlockText" style="border-style: none; border-width: medium; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm;"> The First Reality: True Spirituality</p><p class="MsoBlockText" style="border-style: none; border-width: medium; font-size: medium; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm;"> The Second Reality: The Beauty of Human Relationship</p></div><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-size: medium;">I want to read to you one short quote from each point to give you a flavour of his presentation:<o:p></o:p></p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><br /></h3><h3 style="text-align: left;">The First Content: Sound Doctrine</h3><div><br /></div><h3><o:p></o:p></h3><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-size: medium;">Schaeffer focusses firstly on the importance of believing and practicing truth:</p><div style="border: 1pt solid rgb(68, 114, 196); margin-left: 1cm; margin-right: 57.6pt; padding: 10pt;"><p class="MsoBlockText" style="border-style: none; border-width: medium; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm;">…nowhere is practicing the truth more important than in the area of religious cooperation. If I say that Christianity is really eternal truth, and the liberal theologian is wrong—so wrong that he is teaching that which is contrary to the Word of God—and then on any basis (including for the sake of evangelism) I am willing publicly to act as though that man’s religious position is the same as my own, I have destroyed the practice of truth which my generation can <span style="font-style: normal;">expect</span> from me and which it will <span style="font-style: normal;">demand</span> of me if I am to have any credibility. (411)<o:p></o:p></p></div><h3><br /></h3><h3>The Second Content: Honest Answers to Honest Questions<o:p></o:p></h3><div><br /></div><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-size: medium;">His second point is on the importance of what we would now call cultural engagement:</p><div style="border: 1pt solid rgb(68, 114, 196); margin-left: 1cm; margin-right: 57.6pt; padding: 10pt;"><p class="MsoBlockText" style="border-style: none; border-width: medium; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm;">Christianity demands that we have enough compassion to learn the questions of our generation. The trouble with too many of us is that we want to be able to answer these questions instantly, as though we could take a funnel, put in in one ear and pour in the facts, and then go out and regurgitate them and win all the discussions. It cannot be. (414)<o:p></o:p></p></div><h3><br /></h3><h3>The First Reality: True Spirituality<o:p></o:p></h3><div><br /></div><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-size: medium;">Here Schaeffer tells of a spiritual crisis he had gone through twenty years before, as he reflected on his life, and how he recognised that his spiritual life had not kept in line with his stated beliefs. He took time out to rethink his whole belief system, and then he says this:</p><div style="border: 1pt solid rgb(68, 114, 196); margin-left: 1cm; margin-right: 57.6pt; padding: 10pt;"><p class="MsoBlockText" style="border-style: none; border-width: medium; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm;">I found something I had not been taught, a simple thing but profound. I discovered the meaning of the work of Christ, the meaning of the blood of Christ, moment by moment in our lives after we are Christians—the moment-by-moment work of the whole Trinity in our lives because as Christians we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit. That is true spirituality. (416-17)<o:p></o:p></p></div><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-size: medium;">True spirituality, he is arguing, is essential if we are to have any kind of lasting fruit in our lives. And that spirituality must be real, not fake.<o:p></o:p></p><h3><br /></h3><h3>The Second Reality: The Beauty of Human Relationships<o:p></o:p></h3><div><br /></div><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-size: medium;">Here he is talking about the importance of love in the community of God’s people:</p><div style="border: 1pt solid rgb(68, 114, 196); margin-left: 1cm; margin-right: 57.6pt; padding: 10pt;"><p class="MsoBlockText" style="border-style: none; border-width: medium; margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0cm; margin-right: 0cm;">Now if we are called upon to love our neighbour as ourselves when he is not a Christian, how much more…should there be beauty in the relationships between true Bible-believing Christians, something so beautiful that the world would be brought up short!...if we do not show beauty in the way we treat each other, then in the eyes of the world and in the eyes of our children, we are destroying the truth we proclaim. (419)<o:p></o:p></p></div><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-size: medium;"><br /></p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-size: medium;">It is my conviction that these things are as true now as they were when Schaeffer first spoke them, and that is why they continue to have a profound influence on my life. My prayer is that these convictions would also shape the way we interact in Budapest.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-size: medium;">(All refs are to the <i>Complete Works of Francis Schaeffer</i>, Vol. 3)</p>Mark Picketthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15154344622862130047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107551083621237516.post-74007713242258324612023-04-17T09:30:00.014-07:002023-06-08T04:14:55.743-07:00George Verwer (1938-2023)<h2 style="text-align: left;"><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">One of my heroes, George Verwer, died on Friday, 14</span><sup style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">th</sup><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"> </span><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">April.</span></h2><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn81MSZIPe-WONeQFs80_R8XHIapA_dAVj0eXQ1JTt-CgyvXGZlPpbaqVmCLLn7ylC5v0pWzyjgx2gtuAo77-MoHp7QbzGvPWlt38PtENK5wOxmxzpvd1TuKessBnVQGKoQORHG6FcwaetGWTSIe0Cro9VMM-43EEl6see7Wxa5F3wdYJiMm4RfHzkzg/s680/C5D37A58-776E-4BC4-9074-79929322501B.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="680" data-original-width="680" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn81MSZIPe-WONeQFs80_R8XHIapA_dAVj0eXQ1JTt-CgyvXGZlPpbaqVmCLLn7ylC5v0pWzyjgx2gtuAo77-MoHp7QbzGvPWlt38PtENK5wOxmxzpvd1TuKessBnVQGKoQORHG6FcwaetGWTSIe0Cro9VMM-43EEl6see7Wxa5F3wdYJiMm4RfHzkzg/w400-h400/C5D37A58-776E-4BC4-9074-79929322501B.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br /><span face="Calibri, sans-serif"><br /></span></div><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;">I first came across George as a teenager, when I read a copy of <i>Come, Live, Die!</i> My brother Dave had picked it up on a book table somewhere or other. I was attracted to the radical call to discipleship and felt, probably judgmentally in retrospect, that I had not really come across people who lived like this.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;">I had felt God’s leading in my life to serve the Lord among the least reached since even before I truly trusted Christ (I would have travelled over land and sea to make a single proselyte, just like the Pharisees). But my perception of the missionaries I had come across was that they did not live as radically as I thought they should.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;">Reading Verwer was adding fuel to the fire. But I was reading others too. Francis Shaeffer (who had also had a positive influence on George and his friends in the early years) was also radical but in a way that, I felt, acknowledged our creatureliness more coherently. Imagine my confusion, then, when I heard George say that he had bought a pizza at a take away. Reading his books and listening to his messages on tape, had led me to believe that eating out would be overindulgent! Clearly my perception of the man and his radical discipleship needed some rethinking.</p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;">George Verwer grew up in New Jersey, not far from where my wife Becky also grew up. He came to Christ at a Billy Graham rally, after reading a John’s Gospel, sent to him by a local woman, Dorothea Clapp, who had been praying for the children at her son’s school. That story, and a few others, attained the status of origin myths for Operation Mobilisation, shaping the philosophy and identity of the movement, especially in its first few decades.</p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;">In honour of George, here are six words, in no coherent order, that come to my mind as I reflect on his life and especially his impact on me:<o:p></o:p></p><h2 style="break-after: avoid; color: #2f5496; font-family: "Calibri Light", sans-serif; font-size: 13pt; font-weight: normal; margin: 2pt 0cm 0cm;">Encouragement<o:p></o:p></h2><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;">I first met George when I went on my first OM ‘summer campaign’ in 1982. Every now and then, I got the opportunity to meet up with him at conferences or when he visited Nepal. In the midst of his very busy schedule, he always had time for people, even young men of little importance like me. And that went on - my last email from him, in response to one from me, was a couple of weeks ago - just one word: 'praying'.<o:p></o:p></p><h2 style="break-after: avoid; color: #2f5496; font-family: "Calibri Light", sans-serif; font-size: 13pt; font-weight: normal; margin: 2pt 0cm 0cm;">Discernment<o:p></o:p></h2><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;">George sometimes seemed to have an unusual spiritual insight. In 1989 he visited Nepal just after I had been arrested and ordered to leave the country. He must have sensed a note of pride in my telling of the story, as his response went something like this: “I guess the Lord didn’t think you were ready for a longer stay in jail.” Ouch. I think it was just what I needed. <o:p></o:p></p><h2 style="break-after: avoid; color: #2f5496; font-family: "Calibri Light", sans-serif; font-size: 13pt; font-weight: normal; margin: 2pt 0cm 0cm;">Communication<o:p></o:p></h2><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;">George was never an expository preacher, but he was a gifted gut preacher: He walked with the Lord, so when he preached he unburdened what was on his heart from his meditation on Scripture and his interactions with people around the world. It was never deeply theological or closely argued, but it was always fresh, always earnest, always challenging. I appreciated that.<o:p></o:p></p><h2 style="break-after: avoid; color: #2f5496; font-family: "Calibri Light", sans-serif; font-size: 13pt; font-weight: normal; margin: 2pt 0cm 0cm;">Passion <o:p></o:p></h2><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;">George had a lifelong passion to get the gospel to every individual on the planet. And there can be few who have had more impact especially in getting literature to those who have not previously heard or read about Jesus; it wouldn’t surprise me if over a billion pieces of gospel literature have gone out through George’s influence as well as many thousands of gospel workers.<o:p></o:p></p><h2 style="break-after: avoid; color: #2f5496; font-family: "Calibri Light", sans-serif; font-size: 13pt; font-weight: normal; margin: 2pt 0cm 0cm;">Generosity<o:p></o:p></h2><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;">One thing I always appreciated about George is that he never clung onto anything. He was giving things away all the time. He discerned his co-workers’ gifts and made space for younger men and women to take over an aspect of the work. And when one of those younger or older men left OM to begin a new organisation, he encouraged them to flourish, rather than resent them or see them as a threat. There are literally hundreds of organisations, especially in India, that are led by former OMers and which have been helped to flourish through gifts of literature from George’s Special Projects ministry.<o:p></o:p></p><h2 style="break-after: avoid; color: #2f5496; font-family: "Calibri Light", sans-serif; font-size: 13pt; font-weight: normal; margin: 2pt 0cm 0cm;">Sensitivity<o:p></o:p></h2><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;">George was not always easy to work with. One gets the impression that in the early days he expected too much from the young people who worked with him. But George was always ready to repent of his arrogance or insensitivity. The story told by Peter Conlan of their altercation on the Silk Road between Istanbul and Ankara is very moving:</p><div style="border: 1pt solid rgb(68, 114, 196); margin-left: 57.6pt; margin-right: 57.6pt; padding: 10pt;"><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;"><span style="color: #4472c4;"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;">It was 1968, we were both young men, and I was driving a VW van packed with the Verwer family and team. Everyone was tired, thirsty and hungry. George was impatient to keep pressing on. I eventually slammed the brakes on and shouted to George to get out. To the stunned amazement of the team George and I faced each other with clenched fists. I said to George, ‘go on, Christian leader, hit me!’ For a moment we glared at each other and I waited for impact. Then George began to shake, tears started to flow and his arms were wrapped around my shoulders. Brokenness at the foot of the cross is not only his message, it is his life. (“Incurable Fanatic, Unshakeable Friend” in Global Passion: Marking George Verwer’s Contribution to World Mission, ed. David Greenlee; Secunderabad, India: OM Books, 2003, 194).</span><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic;"> </span> (“Incurable Fanatic, Unshakeable Friend” in <i>Global Passion: Marking George Verwer’s Contribution to World Mission</i>, ed. David Greenlee; Secunderabad, India: OM Books, 2003, 194). </span></p><p class="MsoBlockText" style="border: medium; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; padding: 0cm;"><span style="color: #4472c4;"><o:p></o:p></span></p></div><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;">How differently it could have turned out. And how much spiritual fruitfulness might have been lost if they had borne a grudge against one another.</p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;"><o:p></o:p></p><p><span face="Calibri, sans-serif">I thank the Lord for the life of George Verwer. He has finished the race and is now enjoying the glorious face-to-face intimacy with his Saviour who bought him at such a price. And I pray that a small part of his mantle might rest on me and on all true disciples.</span> </p>Mark Picketthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15154344622862130047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107551083621237516.post-33712926509729611862022-12-21T12:36:00.000-08:002022-12-21T12:36:29.050-08:00Favourite Books of 2022<p>So much of my reading these days is online. I read lots of articles. I find many of them helpful. This year, as before, I have found the articles on <a href="https://unherd.com" target="_blank">UnHerd</a> informative and insightful, especially on the current issues and trends in politics and culture. This year, though, I think the website that has been most helpful to me has been that of <a href="https://mereorthodoxy.com" target="_blank">Mere Orthodoxy</a>. If you haven't read any of their material you are missing out. They are often long-form articles so you may need half an hour of undisturbed reading. But they are well written and often display profound theological and cultural depth.</p><p>As for books though, as usual I have not read nearly as many as I had hoped. But here are my top ten books from this year:</p><h3 style="text-align: left;">Commentaries</h3><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizHxgRYS6Ge08BqOkPNFz8GhzkTs1F2GWTbuWe4KxHvnzzbucbw6seZR7EqIR41MzU9z3C5xLcZ3DIAqC96RH96G6i4m1CdxwHCEFusIOCpHaz-xDPv0aa_-pTg9RzklY1Yc8IQuHIEI6Z4RHsz_S-0kWcHPqYjyFVHXHTyr86W5xY9N2Inn-_dInuMQ/s695/7A44BBA9-7A29-4701-A41B-009E15CADC4F.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="695" data-original-width="474" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizHxgRYS6Ge08BqOkPNFz8GhzkTs1F2GWTbuWe4KxHvnzzbucbw6seZR7EqIR41MzU9z3C5xLcZ3DIAqC96RH96G6i4m1CdxwHCEFusIOCpHaz-xDPv0aa_-pTg9RzklY1Yc8IQuHIEI6Z4RHsz_S-0kWcHPqYjyFVHXHTyr86W5xY9N2Inn-_dInuMQ/w137-h200/7A44BBA9-7A29-4701-A41B-009E15CADC4F.jpeg" width="137" /></a></div><h4 style="text-align: left;"><i>The Letters to Timothy and Titus</i>, by Philip H. Towner </h4><p></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Over the last few years at Freeschool Court Church, we have been working through the letters Paul wrote to his friends Timothy and Titus in our bimonthly home groups. We are nearly finished and it has been so helpful. I don't have a great wall of commentaries in my study as many of my friends do, as I have not been in a pastorate with the need to be constantly working on new preaching material. But I have adopted the practise of asking my good friend John Kendal (among others) for a recommendation when I have to spend more time on a book. This is what John suggested. It is chunky - nearly 900 pages - and scholarly. But it is not technical so you don't have to have Greek to benefit from its wisdom. Highly recommend it if you are willing to spend the money - it's expensive.</p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><br /></h3><h3 style="text-align: left;">Theology & Culture</h3><h4 style="text-align: left;"><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOrjWmkdG4qy9NafHuhP8PtSYBFMLKD4ogXvYQY9AbxrAGZT8sfIvZkIwSHFvApLGb3NLmhNa1atBpJZbbTvpzHUQ-b2xgVcSqoJCgqJkah9me78qTSOVQTY0_14Y1PZcgyapZs6FGD4jAt6mh55naSrhbDQlmAPXLp8z8oXiBtm8idNB99AuMuetS5Q/s711/ACC3B517-9D42-4257-AD02-879A8AFAE6D1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="711" data-original-width="474" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOrjWmkdG4qy9NafHuhP8PtSYBFMLKD4ogXvYQY9AbxrAGZT8sfIvZkIwSHFvApLGb3NLmhNa1atBpJZbbTvpzHUQ-b2xgVcSqoJCgqJkah9me78qTSOVQTY0_14Y1PZcgyapZs6FGD4jAt6mh55naSrhbDQlmAPXLp8z8oXiBtm8idNB99AuMuetS5Q/w133-h200/ACC3B517-9D42-4257-AD02-879A8AFAE6D1.jpeg" width="133" /></a></div>The Intolerance of Tolerance</i>, by D. A. Carson</h4><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">This is ten years old and already a little out of date but still well worth the read. Like all Carson's books it is well-researched and readable.</p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Carson distinguishes between what he calls the 'old tolerance' and the 'new tolerance'. The old tolerance involves the acceptance of the existence of different views. The new tolerance involves the acceptance of different views. It is a subtle shift linguistically but profound in its impact. In the old tolerance of liberal democracy citizens were not to impose their beliefs on others. In the new tolerance the mere expression of disagreement with the radical agenda is to be banned.</p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">The author reports a number of often high-profile cases in politics, the media, and the universities in which the new tolerance has been displayed. He then looks at the history of the idea of tolerance, directs the problems with the new paradigm, and suggests ten words as ways ahead. Still relevant.</p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><h4 style="text-align: left;"><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgblmJeo-EfZsneu9Wp5dOvsb70Vm94nb2fxD-k1i1-EHWxW5Kfn-InLdtw0BOreCRBOvNfus9ukx7sS7XlwC_bBCRbHinMVY5iTyOIS_LMOCzmtsjV2JULzvnF0nszjlNVtQdw7_ITO9jewYnNutwmG1EZaK-mz1vhVOKHKu6cmde47o7Fr5La3xCTiw/s727/BAB22011-F348-41A7-937E-1BE707959AFB.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="727" data-original-width="474" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgblmJeo-EfZsneu9Wp5dOvsb70Vm94nb2fxD-k1i1-EHWxW5Kfn-InLdtw0BOreCRBOvNfus9ukx7sS7XlwC_bBCRbHinMVY5iTyOIS_LMOCzmtsjV2JULzvnF0nszjlNVtQdw7_ITO9jewYnNutwmG1EZaK-mz1vhVOKHKu6cmde47o7Fr5La3xCTiw/w131-h200/BAB22011-F348-41A7-937E-1BE707959AFB.jpeg" width="131" /></a></div>Healing the Divides: How Every Christian Can Advance God's Vision for Racial Unity and Justice</i>, by Jason Roach and Jessamin Birdsall</h4><div>The authors, a Black British medic/pastor and a white American adult missionary kid writer, tackle this very thorny issue of race and especially the way Christians and churches should respond to ethnic diversity and prejudice.</div><div><br /></div><div>They write well and explain current thinking clearly. They tackle the Black Lives Matter movement, Critical Race Theory, and anti-racism activism. Instead of emphasising one angle on racism they accept that there are individual <i>and</i> structural perspectives that are both useful. I had not come across the idea of 'interest convergence' before. Roach and Birdsall give plenty of practical suggestions along the road. I found the book helpful. It is a popular-level book and it left me wanting to go deeper into the concepts and theories that are informing much of the activism of our generation. I think that the authors on the whole did a fairly good job at navigating what is a potential minefield in writing this book. If there is any weakness I think it is in uncritical use of categories like BAME.</div><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><h4 style="text-align: left;"><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3NVhNc_0sQYnjP0V18ZYHNle-E4yLsOr5hRbDhKWbJF5aQOGzoyKKWtsWtsNgrebqrrKWrov1TIMhBsNyo0YEJoBj0UvQrQOWaR6r-7dsFH0UslDUFF4qBxH5ZViraglgbBQyoXqBV857wzPR3wSFbZvyluRHekNv-f5R8O3cmvYtMn5w9y0762_Tuw/s238/5FB08B31-6D2A-4C7E-942A-E7FE9C29FE87_4_5005_c.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="238" data-original-width="200" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3NVhNc_0sQYnjP0V18ZYHNle-E4yLsOr5hRbDhKWbJF5aQOGzoyKKWtsWtsNgrebqrrKWrov1TIMhBsNyo0YEJoBj0UvQrQOWaR6r-7dsFH0UslDUFF4qBxH5ZViraglgbBQyoXqBV857wzPR3wSFbZvyluRHekNv-f5R8O3cmvYtMn5w9y0762_Tuw/w167-h200/5FB08B31-6D2A-4C7E-942A-E7FE9C29FE87_4_5005_c.jpeg" width="167" /></a></div><br />He Still Speaks: Francis Schaeffer’s Enduring Relevance</i>, edited by Steve Wellum</h4><div>I picked up this book at the FEUER conference. I am a Schaeffer fan and thoroughly enjoyed these essays by folks involved in L'Abri: Andrew Fellows, Dick Keyes, Ranald McCaulay, and others. Schaeffer is shown to be prescient in so many ways. It is astonishing to see how he really understood the times way ahead of pretty much everyone else. If you have not read Schaeffer himself (I read nearly all his books while I was a student) this would be a good way into his works. (I couldn't find a photo of the book and don't know where to buy it either.)</div><h3><br /></h3><h3>Biographies</h3><h3 style="text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi84j0pVWGdXMt-WmmteWlg93eB7ijD_HdNSzErkaPkyesKUZpSv3_NMO2yR3QF8sdYMsEcOJZ546xwnyKo-q7MYbNCDxNyvC4EoKwCdIfyPjE_HdJqbgCdJz85L5i-RxTxX4AOnxaSq8bMI8ZRqIslyagL1HtezgP2s8Uldt2bDg_atZyt-fdpshDj8Q/s708/77B26231-9CD3-4509-858E-9BC58B4C34B0.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="708" data-original-width="474" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi84j0pVWGdXMt-WmmteWlg93eB7ijD_HdNSzErkaPkyesKUZpSv3_NMO2yR3QF8sdYMsEcOJZ546xwnyKo-q7MYbNCDxNyvC4EoKwCdIfyPjE_HdJqbgCdJz85L5i-RxTxX4AOnxaSq8bMI8ZRqIslyagL1HtezgP2s8Uldt2bDg_atZyt-fdpshDj8Q/w134-h200/77B26231-9CD3-4509-858E-9BC58B4C34B0.jpeg" width="134" /></a></div></h3><h4 style="text-align: left;"><i>Bavinck: A Critical Biography</i>, by James Eglinton</h4><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Herman Bavinck was a prodigious Dutch theologian at the turn of the last century and for a long time was not well known in the English speaking world. Eglinton, of Edinburgh University, is a leading Bavinck scholar and, with others, is in the process of translating his works into English. I have not read any of Bavinck's works (though I have read some work of his missiologist nephew John Herman Bavinck) so wanted to read this biography as a way into understanding his significance. The book is scholarly but readable. I hope to go on to read some of Bavinck himself before long, though I doubt I have it in me to read his <i>magnum opus,</i> the four volume <i>Reformed Dogmatics</i>. (An interesting personal connection with Bavinck was when I was stopped by the police for riding a bike on the very Leiden street on which student Bavinck lived [a century before - I admit this is tenuous!]. I explained that I was visiting and couldn't read the Dutch no cycling sign, so he let me go.)</p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfLdpMbbcX9mJ_UbbDeuKD0EOt5O4aLrRHjl2FE9cVcTwI9ycZeIi-bMUP9JBsP2UqtpqU3LKM7h-GXVSceF8-s0DUu_fa33NU4yaM96s7c1nWZ8EEzYRPo7npfPoTxtHt_Jlpa-pKnk2VnyhtOKQIsGP_GwzoO2W_lc0iR4gejXsaLtV5Mx5pEDY62A/s500/5236FC36-E9A7-4292-804B-644054DEB5AD_4_5005_c.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="500" data-original-width="334" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfLdpMbbcX9mJ_UbbDeuKD0EOt5O4aLrRHjl2FE9cVcTwI9ycZeIi-bMUP9JBsP2UqtpqU3LKM7h-GXVSceF8-s0DUu_fa33NU4yaM96s7c1nWZ8EEzYRPo7npfPoTxtHt_Jlpa-pKnk2VnyhtOKQIsGP_GwzoO2W_lc0iR4gejXsaLtV5Mx5pEDY62A/w134-h200/5236FC36-E9A7-4292-804B-644054DEB5AD_4_5005_c.jpeg" width="134" /></a></div><h4 style="text-align: left;"><i>In the Shadow of the Rock</i>, by Geoffrey Thomas</h4><p></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;">Geoff is my old pastor from student days in Aberystwyth and continues to stay in touch with me. He has written this autobiography in the hope that it will be a blessing to his readers. It was a joy to read old stories again and learn so many new anecdotes from his life. In a way Geoff was an ordinary pastor. But in that he ministered in the same congregation for over 50 years you want to read his story to glean lessons for your own life. So many men, especially, have benefitted from his mentoring over all these years, including me. When I was a teenager I was already convinced that the Lord wanted me to go overseas with the gospel and wanted to prepare by going to Bible college. But I was advised to go to university first and so I ended up in God's providence at Aber. I always say that sitting under Geoff's ministry for three years was my Bible college! </p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUkBNkEcAXOSEnzU9QOEUIOfllP1MWAWdF9sPstG_xWs-WKyqjj4VHwyls73NzuWpMpCgX1P-E55rARBnUffT78b_TvJyMWfeEwEaqmlSzSK8svNWMOuf8wQW50VOLY9Oe75JCtNTChO_5Am8Qrl1QH1wjgPCZ2G4eczU-nETFOhiZB9T_h1YQKk2OQA/s386/2E7D5194-3D2D-4200-A55B-B2ECEDA880EC_4_5005_c.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="386" data-original-width="248" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhUkBNkEcAXOSEnzU9QOEUIOfllP1MWAWdF9sPstG_xWs-WKyqjj4VHwyls73NzuWpMpCgX1P-E55rARBnUffT78b_TvJyMWfeEwEaqmlSzSK8svNWMOuf8wQW50VOLY9Oe75JCtNTChO_5Am8Qrl1QH1wjgPCZ2G4eczU-nETFOhiZB9T_h1YQKk2OQA/w129-h200/2E7D5194-3D2D-4200-A55B-B2ECEDA880EC_4_5005_c.jpeg" width="129" /></a></div><h4 style="text-align: left;"><i>The Snow Leopard</i>, by Peter Matthiessen </h4><p></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;">I used to see this book in every book shop in Nepal and had often wanted to read it. When I saw it among the dross at the local lockdown book exchange - I periodically drop off gospel books there and they are always taken - it was like encountering someone I had known for ages but never had the chance to meet. It is a completely different book from what I had expected. Part travelogue and part Zen Buddhist meditation, <i>Snow Leopard</i> traces the journey of the author with his zoologist friend, George Shaller, into the snowy wastes of Dolpo to observe the rut of the Himalayan blue sheep. Evidence of those elusive and majestic cats is all around them, but would they actually get to see them with their own eyes? A tale of grief, human relationships, and personal discovery in an epic theatre.</p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px; min-height: 15px;"><br /></p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><br /></h3><h3 style="text-align: left;">Novels</h3><h4 style="text-align: left;"><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXneamm1wLQfldsIjW-vTOhmA49UeA3ha67270Yd2kAy8IsMuv-6lCMZ2Dll5JiUPp2yEu-ykeMPRB1IfSR0DfIPH7WST9P1Y9x9rMkBEp8SMhV3YUnri-hyE5MPKnBfkcf2SC4hSzYZ9XS0zp0QZ51AMNXg9AGRIfnHucYTalhREOLtyxAuwY9XFJNw/s729/B2DE1D22-386A-4870-812C-94EFA6BDE97F.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="729" data-original-width="474" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgXneamm1wLQfldsIjW-vTOhmA49UeA3ha67270Yd2kAy8IsMuv-6lCMZ2Dll5JiUPp2yEu-ykeMPRB1IfSR0DfIPH7WST9P1Y9x9rMkBEp8SMhV3YUnri-hyE5MPKnBfkcf2SC4hSzYZ9XS0zp0QZ51AMNXg9AGRIfnHucYTalhREOLtyxAuwY9XFJNw/w130-h200/B2DE1D22-386A-4870-812C-94EFA6BDE97F.jpeg" width="130" /></a></div><br />The Thursday Murder Club</i>, by Richard Osman</h4><div>Osman's first, blockbuster novel. I resisted jumping on the bandwagon for a while but when a copy was left at our house I resisted no more - and thoroughly enjoyed it. The plot is a bit of a stretch, but the characters - especially the four friends who form the club at Cooper's Chase retirement home - are a delight. I love the idea for the setting, especially as Osman paints older people in such a positive light. </div><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"><br /></p><p style="font-family: "Helvetica Neue"; font-size: 13px; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal; margin: 0px;"></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipE0ndnwu7mrEy5ctmcui3HnBRHRZngoxS4345OqNqku_oVQGfwFVpYGdAfvTimJkiEgru5EUjPUjYSQ_SD5ax9HKBJkNlnyzSY9ki_eglrwovmhpn_Tv4nbs6p8SbngsR4ywpZACKz2XIzgFsXr1ZxtivYhF3QaQ-keIy8eXC1S1PugpcVBKiEesBZw/s729/45B95C57-ED3D-493B-9810-94C0396B96CC.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="729" data-original-width="474" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipE0ndnwu7mrEy5ctmcui3HnBRHRZngoxS4345OqNqku_oVQGfwFVpYGdAfvTimJkiEgru5EUjPUjYSQ_SD5ax9HKBJkNlnyzSY9ki_eglrwovmhpn_Tv4nbs6p8SbngsR4ywpZACKz2XIzgFsXr1ZxtivYhF3QaQ-keIy8eXC1S1PugpcVBKiEesBZw/w130-h200/45B95C57-ED3D-493B-9810-94C0396B96CC.jpeg" width="130" /></a></div><h4 style="text-align: left;"><i>Klara and the Sun</i>, by Kazuo Ishiguro</h4><p></p><div>This is the fourth of Ishiguro's novels I have read, after <i>The Remains of the Day</i>, <i>Never Let Me Go</i>, and <i>When We Were Orphans</i>. I think <i>Klara</i> is more like <i>Never Let Me Go </i>than any of the others but really quite different as well. Ishiguro is an expert in making you think about what it means to be human. And that is perhaps the most important issue in Western culture in our generation. Thoroughly recommend it. But don't read it if you want to read something to relax and make you happy. It made me renew my commitment to reaching lost people with the good news of Jesus.</div>Mark Picketthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15154344622862130047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107551083621237516.post-72280249335931576822022-11-30T08:14:00.014-08:002022-12-21T07:27:06.819-08:00The Joy and Sorrow of Hindu Conversion Stories: Review of Brahmin Reborn by Bhaskar Sreerangam with Esther Sandys<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqlp8BT8EE0VQfGvGHcQq04UAfDaSnmn1tLXALcrwfy7Ppz13ADZL7xB6AsBjfdAzd8Rn__7mtghXfReKt4n0aMV5DxMmEEhYVkNXnuBER3i0QW6rxNDbVlrbx3TjI2Ci3Sg_JmxuxmGBNGiL2vSaW9TygvhzjKdogmkRvWwYL1nbcaaGpvOzMW5EZvQ/s807/C6E141D2-1ECC-4F63-A1E5-0AF9180C0F0A.jpeg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="807" data-original-width="522" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqlp8BT8EE0VQfGvGHcQq04UAfDaSnmn1tLXALcrwfy7Ppz13ADZL7xB6AsBjfdAzd8Rn__7mtghXfReKt4n0aMV5DxMmEEhYVkNXnuBER3i0QW6rxNDbVlrbx3TjI2Ci3Sg_JmxuxmGBNGiL2vSaW9TygvhzjKdogmkRvWwYL1nbcaaGpvOzMW5EZvQ/s320/C6E141D2-1ECC-4F63-A1E5-0AF9180C0F0A.jpeg" width="207" /></a></div>The publisher 10 of Those kindly sent me a sample of this book to check out.<p></p><p>I confess I was reticent. As I expected <i>Brahmin Reborn</i> fits neatly into the genre of Hindu conversion stories, alongside others such as <i>Death of a Guru, </i>by Rabi Maharaj<i>, </i>and <i>Found by God</i> by Rahul Patel.</p><p>Like those others, Sreerangam's story resonates with authenticity. One is brought into the life of a young man in a very different setting to the experience of many of us. You marvel at the concerns of the family, the punctilious nature of their attention to ritual purity, the enormous respect that people have for the boy simply on the basis of his pedigree - a high-caste priestly family, and their devotion to the gods.</p><p>I was struck with young Bhaskar's spiritual wrestlings: how from a young age, he badgers his relatives and other respected people to show him how he can achieve eternal life. His dismay at his devout uncle's despairing death cry is very moving. How sad indeed that people leave this world without hearing how they can be made right with God and have a hope for eternity.</p><p>And so, if, like me, you read this book, you will enter into the heart-felt spiritual quest of a young man who is desperate to have that assurance but completely without any hope that he will gain it.</p><p>And as you read, you know, because of the sort of book it is, that there is [spoiler alert!] a happy ending. Sort of. A happy ending indeed for young Bhaskar who fulfils his quest. But not for his father, who disowns him, or his mother, who weeps at his abandonment of the family tradition, or his Akka, or his brothers, or his sisters, or his uncles and aunties, or anyone else in his community. Indeed, it is a bittersweet ending for Bhaskar himself.</p><p>But let me back up: young Bhaskar the engineering student in 1960s Madras (now Chennai) is handed an invitation to an event put on by the local group of UESI (IFES). He has never heard the name Jesus before and is intrigued by the talk about this person. And just in the nick of time - but I won't give it all away.</p><p>Love, community, kindness, long conversations, and in six weeks Bhaskar is brought to faith in Christ.</p><p>But then his troubles begin. And if, unlike me, you were not prepared for that, you are now. It was a train crash waiting to happen. Why the secrecy about the baptism? Why drop it all on the family as a fait accompli? I hope I am not being unfair but this is my take: it is necessary for Mr Giri to advise Bhaskar in this way, in order to satisfy Mr Giri's own psychological need (p. 103). And so a clean break is arranged for Bhaskar, though he doesn't realise it until he reports the momentous news to his parents.</p><p>And that is how these testimonies go. The agonising spiritual journey, the release, the conflict, the break. So glad, but also so sad.</p><p>So will I be recommending this book (or that of Maharaj or Patel) to the Hindu students I meet in the coming months? What do you think? If I believed that faith in Christ required a complete severance of one's family ties, then sure. But I don't. That may happen in some cases, even when the new Jesus devotee is wise and sensitive. In such situations, I think, Jesus' well-known words apply most acutely (Luke 14:26-27). But for most, happily, such a social death is not inevitable (1 Cor 7:17, 20, 24). </p><p>And, I would contend, that applies to the most devout Brahman of all. Sreerangam didn't come to understand that. But a few others have. Take <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Narayan_Waman_Tilak" target="_blank">N. V. Tilak</a>, for example. Tilak went through all the same agonising spiritual and social contortions that Sreerangam did. But later he came to understand that he had let his people down as he responded to the gospel and sought to make up for his mistakes.</p><p>My prayer is that those mistakes are not made in the first place. And that demands careful communication of the good news of Jesus that is sensitive to the respondent's social and cultural situation.</p>Mark Picketthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15154344622862130047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107551083621237516.post-55920721267027751932022-11-23T12:41:00.001-08:002022-11-23T12:41:14.218-08:00Sense and Sensibility: Two Dimensions of Pioneering Evangelism<p><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiTrprOpMn07CnfWOxwuhALZX3cU8MGumnnxzKXB4iS5Gz7qdfVoGHAobitqSUB4H5Xk8SNKvge0U4T8rAUUTYba-8m59Ee68NOKpW4pSTpcaCUKfk6hroqW-FbLgIeUGdxOwBrEuSZ6uiUd3ZzONMsSyFrHcLPKotkMIm2MG4h0M6X8QIPEhMwfdpMA/s474/58F86633-086B-4D30-A82D-FFEDE174C0C5_4_5005_c.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="293" data-original-width="474" height="249" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiTrprOpMn07CnfWOxwuhALZX3cU8MGumnnxzKXB4iS5Gz7qdfVoGHAobitqSUB4H5Xk8SNKvge0U4T8rAUUTYba-8m59Ee68NOKpW4pSTpcaCUKfk6hroqW-FbLgIeUGdxOwBrEuSZ6uiUd3ZzONMsSyFrHcLPKotkMIm2MG4h0M6X8QIPEhMwfdpMA/w400-h249/58F86633-086B-4D30-A82D-FFEDE174C0C5_4_5005_c.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">[This message was given at the close of a half-day conference with EMF at my church, Freeschool Court Church, Bridgend, Wales, on 19th November 2022. I had been asked to stand in for my friend who was not well.]</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;">We have been listening throughout the morning to the great challenge of taking the glorious message of the gospel of Jesus Christ to the dark continent of Europe.</span></p><p></p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-size: medium;">And what a challenge it is!<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-size: medium;">How can we be faithful in reaching Europe with the gospel in the 21<sup>st</sup> Century?<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-size: medium;">It seems to me that there are two miss-steps we can make as we think through that question:<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]-->1.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><!--[endif]-->It all comes down to strategy. We need to research the European scene in careful detail, analysing the social demographics, and interpreting the cultural themes that dominate the minds of her people. Then we need to assess methods of engagement, adopt successful models, manage our ‘human resources’, train a rising generation in the latest in effective mission techniques, invest in dynamic technologies, and develop a sustainable support base to ensure that we can always affirm that “God’s work, done in God’s way, will never lack God’s supply.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l1 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]-->2.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><!--[endif]-->It all comes down to the Holy Spirit. We need to allow the Holy Spirit to lead the ministry. If we are truly spiritual people, we will be filled with the Spirit and we will be able to operate in the power of the Spirit rather than in the power of the flesh. In the spirit of the Proverbs, if in all our ways we acknowledge him, he will direct our paths. And in that way, we will taste success in in such a way that has never before been seen in the history of missions. The Spirit will give us Europe. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-size: medium;">Now, these are really caricatures, and in practice we may be hard pressed to find such extreme thinking in reality. But we can readily find examples of churches and organizations who have adopted one or the other of these models as their general approach.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-size: medium;">Why do I say these two approaches to ministry in Europe today are miss-steps? For a simple reason: each, at least in these stereotypical forms, leaves no room for the other. They are totalizing. All you need, say both camps, is this. They are Shredded Wheat approaches: nothing added, nothing taken away.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-size: medium;">How should we move forward in the great task of disciple making 20 centuries after the Lord first gave his disciples his final instructions? <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-size: medium;">It seems to me that we need to have a two-dimensional approach. And I think we can see that very clearly in the story of the way the gospel first came to the mainland of what we now call Europe, around the year 50AD. Turn with me to Acts 16:6-15.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-size: medium;">So in this wonderful story, we observe two dimensions of pioneering evangelism – with apologies to Jane Austen – sense and sensibility:<o:p></o:p></p><h2 style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]-->1.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><!--[endif]-->Sense<o:p></o:p></h2><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-size: medium;">Imagine the scene: Paul and his companions are walking through the hot, dry interior of what is now called Turkey. Where are they going? They were not wandering around the Mediterranean Basin in a random manner. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-size: medium;">If you look carefully at Paul’s movements throughout the book of Acts, you will be struck that Paul was intentional in all he did. Remember how he was sent out from Antioch, and how he and Barnabas “went down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus” (Acts 13:4)? Why did they go there on their first excursion? We are not told, but that fact that we are told that Barnabas was <i>from </i>Cyprus surely gives us a very strong clue. That was Barnabas’ place. He knew it well. He had connections. They could stay with relatives. He understood the Cypriot mindset and could help Paul to avoid some of the faux pas that every cross-cultural worker knows so well.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-size: medium;">But where do they go when they land in Cyprus? The port towns of Salamis where they landed and Paphos from where they sailed for Perga in Pamphylia to the north. And that is what we see on all Paul’s gospel journeys – he makes for important cities and when he arrives proclaims the gospel, often staying until he is kicked out.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-size: medium;">Clearly, Paul and his companions were seeking to evangelise according to a plan, according to an approach, according to a strategy. They were in other words, using their sense. Using their God-given gift of intelligence.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-size: medium;">In Paul’s letter to the Romans he tells them that he had “planned many times to come to you” (Rom 1:13). At the end of his letter, he outlines his whole approach to his ministry: “It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else’s foundation” (Rom 15:20). Then he tells them of his ‘plan’ to visit them on his way to Spain (24). <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-size: medium;">In the same way, Paul discusses his plans to visit the church in Corinth (2 Cor 1:15-17).<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-size: medium;">Now this is important. As we have seen, there are those who suggest that strategic planning is unspiritual. They criticise those who spend time researching the people among whom they are hoping to witness. “Just go out and see how the Spirit leads you,” they say. Strategy is unspiritual.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-size: medium;">Not so to Paul. And that is why he and his companions, Silas and Timothy, were on their way through the interior. They had revisited the cities at which they had previously preached: places like Derbe and Lystra. And now they are heading west. Where are they going? They are heading to the Roman Province of Asia. Now that is not the vast continent we call Asia today. Asia in Paul’s day was a much smaller region – a Roman Province. And, more importantly, Paul is heading for Ephesus, the principal city of the province. How do we know that? In v. 6 we read that they had “been kept by the HS from preaching the word in the province of Asia.” But there is further evidence: this verse begins a new act in the drama of the Acts of the Apostles. You can see it is a new act because the previous verse is one of Luke’s summary statements (5).<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-size: medium;">So Asia is mentioned right at the beginning of this section – of this act. Paul is wanting to preach in Asia, and especially at its principal city, Ephesus. He doesn’t manage to get there at first but gets diverted – more on that in a minute. But after he and his team travel all around Macedonia and Achaia they do in fact end up in Ephesus (19:1). Finally, phew, they arrive in the great city and have such a fruitful visit they end up staying for over two years (19:10). And so Luke can wrap up that act in the drama by showing how Paul’s plan had been successful, even though he had had to get there in a convoluted manner (19:20).<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-size: medium;">So really, Paul’s ministry in Macedonia and Achaia could be described as a diversion from Paul’s plan. But what a diversion it was. And that leads us to the other dimension of pioneering evangelism:<o:p></o:p></p><h2 style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l0 level1 lfo2; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]-->2.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><!--[endif]-->Sensibility<o:p></o:p></h2><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-size: medium;">By this I mean, sensitivity, or the ability to perceive the leading of the Spirit.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-size: medium;">Paul and his companions “were kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia” (Acts 16:6). That would mean nothing if they hadn’t been prevented from carrying out a plan. In the next verse we read that they “tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to.” <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-size: medium;">We are not told in what way the Holy Spirit had prevented them from ministering in Asia and Bithynia. Perhaps there was a word of prophecy. Or a dream. Or maybe it was circumstantial, a river in flood across their path, for instance. We are not told. But whatever it was, Luke tells us that it was the work of the Spirit. And they recognised it as such. That is what I mean when I say they had sensibility, or sensitivity.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-size: medium;">And so they pass by Mysia and make their way down to the port city of Troas (8). And it is there, during the night, that Paul has a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, ‘Come over to Macedonia and help us’ (9). Well, you would think with such sensibility as Paul evidently had it would be a no-brainer. But read on and how do we find them responding to that vision (10)? Don’t miss it. They “concluded that God had called [them] to preach the gospel to them.” How did they do that? They must have talked it over. Paul could be very strong when he needed to be. But he did not issue a directive. He mulled it over with his companions, Silas and Timothy and now also Luke.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-size: medium;">I love that about Paul. He planned, he strategized, he used the sense that God had given him. But he was also sensible – sensitive to the leading of the Holy Spirit in extraordinary ways. And even with such extraordinary leading, he still discussed it with his companions. Wouldn’t you have loved to be part of that team? No heavy handedness, no throwing his weight around, no abuse of power. A far cry from the way that some gospel workers operate.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-size: medium;">So, they put to sea and arrive in Neapolis (11). And after disembarking they make their way up the hill on the outskirts of the town, and down the other side, heading inland through the Macedonian scrubland to find the Egnation Way, the Roman road that linked the eastern part of the empire with Imperial Rome itself. And after a few hours of walking, there it is.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-size: medium;">They join the road with its marble flagstone heavily rutted by the chariots and carts of numerous Roman legions, and head west for the important Roman colony of Philippi. They can see the rocky hill of the Acropolis up ahead, above the city. And finally they arrive at their destination. It is a small city – less than half a mile across and packed with houses, administrative buildings, a market place and forum, and off to their right, at the foot of the Acropolis, the amphitheatre whose acoustics no doubt Paul was eager to try out.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-size: medium;">And we are told that they stay there several days. They need to rest after their journey. No doubt also they are praying that the Lord would open up a door of opportunity for the gospel.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-size: medium;">And so it is that, on the Sabbath, they make their way passed the prison on their right and out of the city, and ten minutes later arrive at a small river, where, just as they expected, they find a place of prayer (13). And it is there that they speak to the women who have gathered.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-size: medium;">And then read this: “One of those listening was a woman from the city of Thyatira named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth.” And then these wonderful words: “The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message” (14).<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-size: medium;">And that is how the gospel first came to the European mainland.<o:p></o:p></p><h2 style="text-align: left;">What Can We Learn from This?</h2><h2><o:p></o:p></h2><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-size: medium;">We must always resist the temptation to reduce the ministry that the Lord has given us to a single dimension. It’s not sense <i>or</i> sensibility. It is sense <i>and</i> sensibility. And that means we can learn two lessons for our ministry in Europe today:<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]-->1.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><!--[endif]-->The Lord has given us minds. And one of the works of the Spirit in the life of a believer is to elevate our minds so that we can think clearly and be wise in the way we act. So it is entirely appropriate for us to do our demographic research and our social analysis and our cultural interpretation. Because that is a God-glorifying use of our rational faculties. That is why, a few weeks later, Paul could say to the Athenian philosophers, “As I walked around and looked carefully at your objects of worship, I even found an altar with this inscription: <span style="font-variant-alternates: normal; font-variant-caps: small-caps; font-variant-east-asian: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; font-variant-numeric: normal; font-variant-position: normal;">TO AN UNKNOWN GOD</span>” (Acts 17:23). What a thing for the zealous Jew Paul to do! Before he came to Christ, he would not have been seen dead near a detestable idol. But now the Lord had liberated him from that scrupulosity. He would observe their artefacts. He would read their poets. He would find points of contact, the bridges of God, and he would cross them with the gospel. He was not worried about being polluted by false religion. He would reason with everyone who would want to engage with his message.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="margin-left: 36.0pt; mso-list: l2 level1 lfo3; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]-->2.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><!--[endif]-->The Lord has not left us as orphans. He has given us his Spirit. You remember the last words of our Lord before he was taken up into heaven in front of his disciples: “…you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). The Spirit would lead them. And he would ensure that the gospel would ring out across the globe. Even to Europe, and the other ends of the earth. And sometimes he will do that by diverting us away from our best laid plans and sending us to a country controlled by the mafia, a university controlled by the thought police, or a sink estate where no one controls anything.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-size: medium;">May the Lord give us grace to use the gifts he has given us and the wisdom and sensitivity to recognise when he will have us go out of our comfort zone and step into the unknown, trusting him to lead us. Amen.<o:p></o:p></p><style class="WebKit-mso-list-quirks-style">
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</style>Mark Picketthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15154344622862130047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107551083621237516.post-46124099880693136862022-11-22T11:04:00.004-08:002022-11-22T11:04:26.420-08:00Why I Can't Enjoy the World Cup<p>It is true that I am not a big football fan, so avoiding the World Cup is no great hardship.</p><p>But I can't enjoy the World Cup because of the way my friend Karna and so many like him have been treated.</p><p>I find it disgusting that the head of FIFA - I can't remember his name which is fine by me - can draw some sort of moral equivalence between labour relations in the UK and those in Qatar. </p><p>How many labourers have to work in 55C heat day in, day out, in Manchester? </p><p>How many migrant workers in Birmingham are put up in a dormitory without air conditioning in the middle of the desert? </p><p>How many migrant workers in London have their passport taken away when they arrive? </p><p>How many watch their mates die falling off the building they are working on because they fainted in the heat, and then have to watch them get packed off home where their wife and mother have to pick them up using two luggage trolleys to give them a funeral for which they have to borrow money?</p><p>There is no moral equivalence. The reason the FIFA boss has gone on the attack is that FIFA never did any due diligence on the building of the infrastructure they had commissioned. </p><p>And, in spite of partial reforms, the exploitation is <a href="https://www.nepalitimes.com/opinion/labour-rights-legacy-of-the-fifa-world-cup/" target="_blank">still happening</a>.</p><p>Karna showed me the 'contract' he had signed for the job. It was one side of A4 paper detailing his duties with nothing about their duty to him. "What to do brother?" he lamented. He left his wife and two children to cope without him.</p><p>Two years later, he returned. After paying back his friends the money they had lent him to get the job, Karna had earned £1000. </p><p>"I survived," he said.</p>Mark Picketthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15154344622862130047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107551083621237516.post-90565522757954339662022-06-04T10:07:00.000-07:002022-06-04T10:07:21.535-07:00The 10/40 Window<p><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; font-size: 11pt; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5BdoBNQ6KOyR2OCdcckE9f2XD7ykWr_dGmq6CAsE1jtq0J---7uMdAFd1A58-0FBmBPSyP1oMx0hxTSzADDwKK4NKWg1q4_lSMuVvtuEEt5h-b_30AZL-6RMo7MS4lrCUOuBcf4Oi13j3SAtxPzdr82HunA3DpK9CwzPEfxtEjykANmmBR81tkPr7NA/s474/43ED81B3-BB1A-45B3-A405-9972E860FE53_4_5005_c.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="237" data-original-width="474" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5BdoBNQ6KOyR2OCdcckE9f2XD7ykWr_dGmq6CAsE1jtq0J---7uMdAFd1A58-0FBmBPSyP1oMx0hxTSzADDwKK4NKWg1q4_lSMuVvtuEEt5h-b_30AZL-6RMo7MS4lrCUOuBcf4Oi13j3SAtxPzdr82HunA3DpK9CwzPEfxtEjykANmmBR81tkPr7NA/w640-h320/43ED81B3-BB1A-45B3-A405-9972E860FE53_4_5005_c.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"><p>I have been putting together some study material for student workers recently and have had to be quite draconian in editing as there is only so much you can expect them to do in 20 hours.</p></span><p></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">As I looked through potential material I came across the '10/40 window' and realised that I don't see many people using it anymore. If this concept is new to you, it is the area of the eastern hemisphere between 10</span><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 11pt;">°</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">and 40</span><span style="font-family: Symbol; font-size: 11pt;">°</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;"> </span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">north. It is a funny old thing. It was invented by Luis Bush of the AD2000 and Beyond Movement in the run up to the end of the last century. (I know that sounds like a long time ago, but some of us oldies remember the 90s very well, and to me it seems like only last year.) </span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 11pt;">The concept was quite handy to help focus people's interest and prayers. I was </span><span style="font-size: 14.666666984558105px;">working</span><span style="font-size: 11pt;"> 'in the window' myself and was glad to have more people praying for me and the people among whom I was ministering. But, to be frank, I think the concept rapidly took on a life of its own that became unwholesome. To hear some people talk, it was as if communities outside the window were not worth focussing on at all. Some people even linked the idea to the completion of the Great Commission.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">It was always a very clunky tool for identifying where there was most gospel need. I remember George Verwer saying, "Somehow Indonesia isn't</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14.666666984558105px;"> in the 10/40 window!" T</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">he fourth most populous country in the world with so many communities barely touched by the gospel was left out. But of course, it wasn't a mystery at all. It was the result of giving objective significance to imaginary lines on the map</span><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: 14.666666984558105px;">. </span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt;">And once missiologists started identifying the window as having <i>spiritual</i> significance it led to all kinds of weird consequences.</span></p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16.866666793823242px; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;">Best buried in my opinion. </p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16.866666793823242px; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;"><br /></p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 16.866666793823242px; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;"><o:p></o:p></p>Mark Picketthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15154344622862130047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107551083621237516.post-4447472700670845152021-12-31T12:32:00.030-08:002024-01-01T09:54:00.691-08:00Favourite Books of 2021<p>Since so many friends are doing this I thought I would join them. I am a slow reader so I am in awe at the piles of books some people get through. I have read books in the fields of theology, missiology, religion, church history, military history, and horology (yep), as well as a few novels. I read to warm my heart as well as to feed my mind, or just to relax. A few books are re-reads, and one I have now read three times.</p><p>Here are my favourites, in no particular order:</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><i><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi4e_QXEsee5wdykMRiG4zj_T_jttGfb0rfR3V9KIxOIbxoqdT0cmR9HibemRojIdWAGq4lISc6GQWehl5TxMqM1XfnLFj5_ikWT57x4haPGly0FoBlIeLjhPljgHBfTAgTS61HRkPq-cxyc2q77CQkDwwM3Jc_VDkoiVJzSYWnCNuzmwSQMjQy96JgxA=s218" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="218" data-original-width="145" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEi4e_QXEsee5wdykMRiG4zj_T_jttGfb0rfR3V9KIxOIbxoqdT0cmR9HibemRojIdWAGq4lISc6GQWehl5TxMqM1XfnLFj5_ikWT57x4haPGly0FoBlIeLjhPljgHBfTAgTS61HRkPq-cxyc2q77CQkDwwM3Jc_VDkoiVJzSYWnCNuzmwSQMjQy96JgxA" width="145" /></a></div>The Rise and Triumph of the Modern Self</i> is Carl Trueman's attempt to trace the development of modern Western culture with its focus on sexuality and identity. He traces the development from Rousseau through the romantic poets, Wordsworth, Shelley and Blake, and the philosophies of Nietzsche, Marx and Darwin, and on to Freud and the New Left. He is a good writer so it is not as difficult as you might think. Well worth the effort.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiWLdh4qDdKylI02kjZkwO2H0dasJ0TRKwgTV9ZJxfIJgu_p7LtYLZ1omidWCZ1Flu5cAE9zBB4OXqY0WkZ6QJXLKta_KPFNFdxT4wn8JfI5fEvb_lk6PfIaQg5BqGk9Y20L8yvl49sJYwkiFu2fNKqkN5qqr_C2GV1rpXBJcx0karL5756nF9RtTdlLg=s218" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="218" data-original-width="139" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiWLdh4qDdKylI02kjZkwO2H0dasJ0TRKwgTV9ZJxfIJgu_p7LtYLZ1omidWCZ1Flu5cAE9zBB4OXqY0WkZ6QJXLKta_KPFNFdxT4wn8JfI5fEvb_lk6PfIaQg5BqGk9Y20L8yvl49sJYwkiFu2fNKqkN5qqr_C2GV1rpXBJcx0karL5756nF9RtTdlLg" width="139" /></a></div><br />In <i>Who Shall Ascend the Mountain of the Lord?</i> Michael Morales gives us a biblical theology of Leviticus. It is packed with insights into the text and connections between the various parts of Leviticus and with other parts of Scripture. I found it very helpful.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhZL1vqdzO_72Ra5vDF8hiWs9n2mJBTWPbl2lcRPyJ7hQe-jsaSfLlHBEJKZRCoRdMn7LwAoqhSN9vuDLDYWd5dYZX4vNDbCB7i3_B6-g8dDsC0jUwkqF3xqfD6x55TyCbxbzDLcYarZ0QjRgueRJomzEpLbu33Qp99Zy6NjJ4ZxgTp2NwxEAh5_99qXQ=s218" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="218" data-original-width="153" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEhZL1vqdzO_72Ra5vDF8hiWs9n2mJBTWPbl2lcRPyJ7hQe-jsaSfLlHBEJKZRCoRdMn7LwAoqhSN9vuDLDYWd5dYZX4vNDbCB7i3_B6-g8dDsC0jUwkqF3xqfD6x55TyCbxbzDLcYarZ0QjRgueRJomzEpLbu33Qp99Zy6NjJ4ZxgTp2NwxEAh5_99qXQ" width="153" /></a></div>I have been reading books on creation since I was a teenager. I started with <i>The Genesis Flood</i> but when I studied geology at university became dissatisfied with its treatment of the evidence.<br /><div><br /></div><div>In <i>Seven Days That Divide the World</i>, John Lennox, professor emeritus of maths at Oxford, argues, convincingly, that the biblical data does not require us to take a young earth position. </div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiqxPSy4Lf44mxhrF4A1wy0sbVx8HgKnAs3i3bEmekkOOUHP34ki7ZPvVSWgkjolEnWZrl31AP174brgOEwfFiMSRPqY7dvd1zdewjn1osvznLSnqBInDTJHm91niHv6EXNXRMQnxXvUJ5fhkMM6Py6Mn7SiS1aL55yzLkm2VYRwNsVdQcYbm8ba2Wnnw=s218" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="218" data-original-width="154" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiqxPSy4Lf44mxhrF4A1wy0sbVx8HgKnAs3i3bEmekkOOUHP34ki7ZPvVSWgkjolEnWZrl31AP174brgOEwfFiMSRPqY7dvd1zdewjn1osvznLSnqBInDTJHm91niHv6EXNXRMQnxXvUJ5fhkMM6Py6Mn7SiS1aL55yzLkm2VYRwNsVdQcYbm8ba2Wnnw" width="154" /></a></div>Ray Ortlund's <i>The Gospel: How the Church Portrays the Beauty of Christ </i>is a powerful little book. It is in the 9Marks series on Building Healthy Churches and focusses on how a local church needs to cultivate a healthy <i>gospel culture</i> that matches and adorns the <i>gospel doctrine</i> that it confesses.</div><div><br /></div><div>Juicy quote: "The command of Christ is that we love one another. The example of Christ is that we die for one another. The promise of Christ is that our love will show a skeptical world the difference he really makes" (112).</div><div><br /></div><div>Everyone would benefit from reading this.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh1DtkAabq9S3YKfHrrLjNxMSEoK6LARn68eQVa6w_a1Q8yDnZXCVGXXrscXxiB-xBJ23WsNbamtVGoAiybqGOZusR5rEymRDRoKHJhE9aRspVYDXrdA_ZYGkX1SWDzXgaghre-vR5t0t3PdsdbKgBcEadbvz8Ru9YXWeIsjy3PeEs1fghDF-6Bx39yug=s218" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="218" data-original-width="140" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEh1DtkAabq9S3YKfHrrLjNxMSEoK6LARn68eQVa6w_a1Q8yDnZXCVGXXrscXxiB-xBJ23WsNbamtVGoAiybqGOZusR5rEymRDRoKHJhE9aRspVYDXrdA_ZYGkX1SWDzXgaghre-vR5t0t3PdsdbKgBcEadbvz8Ru9YXWeIsjy3PeEs1fghDF-6Bx39yug" width="140" /></a></div>I have been following Tom Holland for a short while and am praying for him often. Last year I read his magisterial <i>Dominion. </i>He is on a journey, in his understanding of history and, I hope, in his understanding of the gospel.<div><br /></div><div>This is the previous book he wrote, on the history of Islam. It didn't go down well with Muslims as it casts serious doubt on nearly all the claims of Islam's origins and early development. I met a lovely Muslim Pakistani doctoral student in Leiden last year who said that Holland's book destroyed his faith. Like Holland, though, Mohammed was not yet ready to confess Christ.</div><div><br /></div><div>It is really important, in seeking to understand Muslims, to <i>both</i> read critical studies <i>and</i> talk with Muslims themselves. This book does a great job with the former.</div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgd-JwXIcQLj52i23z0tOK9IPSvFeUZm0L4mBo1Pdckc1bsUNB6kStQLA0Kw3pxWulz-h3htdEENzDU8ILAfs5t1dmYi2BjHlBb8ETkvkiVA-qLGUu7XFfZ78kOXAVhU0a5gsNEwLdr0JRdPkNDtcYkwn8EcdxJbiRqA1Pgyuzuo0j09lugsM9i0LD6cg=s218" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="218" data-original-width="143" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEgd-JwXIcQLj52i23z0tOK9IPSvFeUZm0L4mBo1Pdckc1bsUNB6kStQLA0Kw3pxWulz-h3htdEENzDU8ILAfs5t1dmYi2BjHlBb8ETkvkiVA-qLGUu7XFfZ78kOXAVhU0a5gsNEwLdr0JRdPkNDtcYkwn8EcdxJbiRqA1Pgyuzuo0j09lugsM9i0LD6cg" width="143" /></a></div><div><br /></div>I have developed a fascination with the history of the Burma Campaign in WW2, probably because it features the Gurkha Regiment so much. <div><br /></div><div>This is the sequel to Master's first autobiographical book, <i>Bugles and a Tiger</i>. It tells the story of his leading a battalion of Gurkhas and others behind enemy lines as part of the Chindit force. The description of battles and deprivation is gripping. The book is sadly spoiled by the parallel account of his unfolding adulterous relationship with another officer's wife.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiJj_0lOn15URVAGO_um4WeKdHhXEciyY6ziWiE6kfsM4NshvGJmXOKGQduQbvNvoq5uwYSobBS34gIT32GTmqEKB3fdn3g_8-kjAkITybxd0hGQF_yam3reZsAVaeG7bomaWnd_xBALPOJSxX3MVG3J_5WAp7zfrpyVcMvZpQnY1bA82eroVb3ZtVpbg=s218" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="218" data-original-width="142" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEiJj_0lOn15URVAGO_um4WeKdHhXEciyY6ziWiE6kfsM4NshvGJmXOKGQduQbvNvoq5uwYSobBS34gIT32GTmqEKB3fdn3g_8-kjAkITybxd0hGQF_yam3reZsAVaeG7bomaWnd_xBALPOJSxX3MVG3J_5WAp7zfrpyVcMvZpQnY1bA82eroVb3ZtVpbg" width="142" /></a></div>This is my favourite devotional book of the year. We read it slowly at the breakfast table each day over a period of several weeks. Dane Ortlund (Ray's son, see above) takes a deep dive into the Bible's portrayal of the person of Christ, expounding especially Matthew 11:28-30, in which the Lord Jesus tells his disciples that he is gently and lowly of heart.<div><br /></div><div>Some in the family did not find the extended quotes from Puritans so helpful but if you are struggling it is not a problem to simply skip onto the next paragraph where Ortlund lays it all out in contemporary language. Much to dwell on and chew over. Worth working through it slowly.</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjpdRf7ivBE33E3GhgIYWeU-kNyvvyu937ir8sTmghF94pmoxtRi_VLjxxjNCZjYSQ1kZTD0cmsPP7MENc_VD2ReRP3b-VXMZUNOQaBNVLNU7ZIIBmUE8F8DfVan2cage78_5kFAfBk154GTEZcooOwegbgvFn0wcExgY4XgzF0XSv2QuIUE-kmcND1_w=s218" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="218" data-original-width="143" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEjpdRf7ivBE33E3GhgIYWeU-kNyvvyu937ir8sTmghF94pmoxtRi_VLjxxjNCZjYSQ1kZTD0cmsPP7MENc_VD2ReRP3b-VXMZUNOQaBNVLNU7ZIIBmUE8F8DfVan2cage78_5kFAfBk154GTEZcooOwegbgvFn0wcExgY4XgzF0XSv2QuIUE-kmcND1_w" width="143" /></a></div>This is the book on horology - the study of time. Really fascinating historical account of how the 'longitude problem' was solved. I won't spoil it for you but it is a wonderful story of patience and persistence in the face of a consensus of scepticism. Clock making may seem not to offer much promise of interest but Sobel is a master story teller. I loved it.<br /><div><br /><div><br /><div><br /><div><br /></div></div></div></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj8CEQXWxotN6BT9digsrOoh0otecD0cVqOB7kt4aFs5Usa7LEc7Mmq9BirOv0lulzMnymU2tQ-NMEO4JZvfB1mSUWZvwHFXYZZQJt1HELpESClU0UJ8e-mST-jlGAPTim5eSh73hiZFzFkgt318GRIr4OoYkkhJZMutnm-FD8NdfTbEZwltSqN1rp5hw=s767" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="767" data-original-width="500" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/a/AVvXsEj8CEQXWxotN6BT9digsrOoh0otecD0cVqOB7kt4aFs5Usa7LEc7Mmq9BirOv0lulzMnymU2tQ-NMEO4JZvfB1mSUWZvwHFXYZZQJt1HELpESClU0UJ8e-mST-jlGAPTim5eSh73hiZFzFkgt318GRIr4OoYkkhJZMutnm-FD8NdfTbEZwltSqN1rp5hw=w131-h200" width="131" /></a></div>Finally, this great little book by a bunch of pastors, many of whom are friends of mine, on the issue of depression. I have written about it already <a href="https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/preview/7107551083621237516/6444817944531001273" target="_blank">here</a>.<br /><div><br /></div>Mark Picketthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15154344622862130047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107551083621237516.post-80155703011557466912021-11-01T10:21:00.004-07:002021-11-02T06:03:00.185-07:00Seven Criteria for Partnering with Gospel Workers and Organisations<p><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="color: #2f5496;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRxf7-HMvRcKI8xmI4SGZaQjPbRmRD8px3i0RN_2knwv4Grhyv9QJPy2rkriBfzeq93tNtwy9X04CMGFIEqRKHTVjNKnRspw1aERcPs8uX1ZeVn4ww0Z68YpkDKPZX7JJBtEG_bJNytH_n/s474/052FBC4E-184E-406B-BE95-1FEB74BD606B.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="462" data-original-width="474" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRxf7-HMvRcKI8xmI4SGZaQjPbRmRD8px3i0RN_2knwv4Grhyv9QJPy2rkriBfzeq93tNtwy9X04CMGFIEqRKHTVjNKnRspw1aERcPs8uX1ZeVn4ww0Z68YpkDKPZX7JJBtEG_bJNytH_n/s320/052FBC4E-184E-406B-BE95-1FEB74BD606B.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><br />The following seven criteria present a draft check list of questions to help a local church discern where to best apportion support for gospel ministries outside the church. No one criterion should be taken alone but all considered in a balanced way, with some being more important in one situation and others in another.<p></p><p><span face="Calibri, sans-serif" style="color: #2f5496;"><span style="caret-color: rgb(47, 84, 150);">Let me know if you think I have missed anything out or am muddled in some way!</span></span></p><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-size: medium;"><o:p></o:p></p><h3><!--[if !supportLists]-->1.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><!--[endif]-->Gospel Commitment<o:p></o:p></h3><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-size: medium;">Does the potential partner have a clear and explicit commitment to the gospel? An affirmation of an evangelical statement of faith or doctrinal basis, such as that of the UCCF or Affinity, is essential.<o:p></o:p></p><h3><!--[if !supportLists]-->2.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><!--[endif]-->Relational Proximity<o:p></o:p></h3><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-size: medium;">How close, relationally, is the potential partner to the church? One might conceptualise this criterion as a set of concentric circles radiating out from the church, with members themselves being at the centre. A non-member who is well known by many members is closer than one who is known by only a few. A member of a sister church in town may be considered closer than one who is from a distant part of the country.<o:p></o:p></p><h3><!--[if !supportLists]-->3.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><!--[endif]-->Ministry Suitability<o:p></o:p></h3><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-size: medium;">Has this person or organisation been assessed and endorsed by our church or by a church with which we are affiliated? The assessment process must be judged to be appropriate to the role being envisaged. Someone who would not be considered suitable for, say, youth ministry in their home church, should not be approved for such a ministry elsewhere.<o:p></o:p></p><h3><!--[if !supportLists]-->4.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><!--[endif]-->Service Faithfulness<o:p></o:p></h3><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-size: medium;">Does the person or organisation have a track record of faithfulness in service? In the case of an individual, there should be evidence of faithfulness in the small things before they are given greater responsibility. <o:p></o:p></p><h3><!--[if !supportLists]-->5.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><!--[endif]-->Strategic Significance<o:p></o:p></h3><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-size: medium;">Does support for this partner have a developmental effect on others? Partnership with a leadership training programme or theological college, for example, would be expected to have a broadly fruitful influence through the ministries of those who are trained. An evangelistic work that places a high value on the creation of churches would have a higher strategic significance than that of one that takes a more hit or miss approach, especially if that church is in a community with little previous gospel witness.<o:p></o:p></p><h3><!--[if !supportLists]-->6.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><!--[endif]-->Adequate Management<o:p></o:p></h3><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-size: medium;">Does the potential partner demonstrate clear and adequate accountability in the management of personnel and the use of financial resources, etc.? In the case of an organisation, good governance is crucial. In the case of an individual or family, there needs to be a clear structure and procedure to care for their needs while in service.<o:p></o:p></p><h3><!--[if !supportLists]-->7.<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman"; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;"> </span><!--[endif]-->Genuine Need<o:p></o:p></h3><p class="MsoBodyText" style="font-size: medium;">Is there a particular need that has become known to the church? All potential partners would likely be able to inform us of various needs that they are aware of in connection with their ministry, but some individuals and families, and even institutions may have acute needs. Unforeseen needs may arise, such as for a new car or hospital costs, for which the partner is not prepared. <o:p></o:p></p><style class="WebKit-mso-list-quirks-style">
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</style>Mark Picketthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15154344622862130047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107551083621237516.post-51964238865448660942021-09-21T07:00:00.076-07:002022-05-19T03:55:06.354-07:00Let the Earth Be Glad<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizf_Zy2wdrtlrMqgTKkzE694tJGkCNigCwWiMgRhFr6LgT12_dIRbFFGSwLgZhb5OX-epNUQIE2koh6CC4hTZNvlFjq76NbAtru67l7Z_NG7wk5GizrMRUk_PRjI-EFy6hM5FQMQnRlFVq/s1280/12FAB610-13B7-413E-BC14-8AAB0F334142.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" height="362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizf_Zy2wdrtlrMqgTKkzE694tJGkCNigCwWiMgRhFr6LgT12_dIRbFFGSwLgZhb5OX-epNUQIE2koh6CC4hTZNvlFjq76NbAtru67l7Z_NG7wk5GizrMRUk_PRjI-EFy6hM5FQMQnRlFVq/w640-h362/12FAB610-13B7-413E-BC14-8AAB0F334142.jpeg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">A sermon series, preached at Freeschool Court Church, to help the local church understand God's ultimate purpose in salvation and our part in joining with him in that work.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_QpUuBurMI" target="_blank">Declare His Glory (Psalm 96)</a></li><li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wpKkneB90Xg" target="_blank">Discipling the Nations (Matthew 28:17-20)</a></li><li>God's Great Concern (Acts 1:8) (not recorded; ms available on request)</li><li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nABgR9Bu-4g" target="_blank">Witnesses to the World (Acts 1:8)</a></li><li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tv-5ujASR6w" target="_blank">How God Uses Ordinary People (Acts 11:19-21)</a></li><li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vc18FK0yhyw" target="_blank">How God Builds His Church (Acts 11:22-26)</a></li><li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bk71KFh1_ks" target="_blank">The Church in A<span style="font-family: times;">ction (Acts 11<span style="font-size: 11pt;">:26b-30)</span></span></a></li><li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wkiX-QV2vQ" target="_blank">The Church in A<span style="font-family: times;">ction II (Acts 13<span style="font-size: 11pt;">:1-3)</span></span></a></li><li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q8Bk6rybwfk" target="_blank">The Honourable Church (3 John)</a></li><li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oXvsCVq5eTE" target="_blank">God's Ultimate Purpose (Habakkuk 2:14)</a></li></ol></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><br /><p></p>Mark Picketthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15154344622862130047noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107551083621237516.post-64448179445310012732021-05-20T09:06:00.005-07:002022-01-08T13:41:22.115-08:00Pastors Get Depressed Too<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijRhuqupA67mBMS2dyDhFw7TzUZTJO7_77y1l-IEgXWrmHb5QHUKGVgLMrZICvVPmG8-Yiu7uxy6yS99z4FbWKr8WImM3crtaMpizEumQQmecKw4kBV3sHwvB2BHCDLcIEvMQEy0s-VZA5/s767/764AD036-EEE4-489A-B7AF-E10F379E8D20.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="767" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijRhuqupA67mBMS2dyDhFw7TzUZTJO7_77y1l-IEgXWrmHb5QHUKGVgLMrZICvVPmG8-Yiu7uxy6yS99z4FbWKr8WImM3crtaMpizEumQQmecKw4kBV3sHwvB2BHCDLcIEvMQEy0s-VZA5/s320/764AD036-EEE4-489A-B7AF-E10F379E8D20.jpeg" /></a></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Review of <i>The Pastor with a Thorn in His Side</i>, ed. Stephen Kneale (Grace, 2021, 144 pages, £7.99).</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Depression is a reality for pastors just as much, it seems, as it is in the wider population here in the UK.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Stephen Kneale has pulled together six other pastors to join him in telling their stories. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">After an introduction by the editor, each of the seven men tell of their experience of depression and share what they found helpful or unhelpful in dealing with the experience. A number of the men are suffering from depression still.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">It might seem strange to some readers that pastors suffer from depression. After all, you might think, surely they are supposed to have it all together mentally as well as spiritually. These pastors, however, take the view, which I think is right, that mental illness may be the experience of followers of Christ just as physical illness is, because we live in a fallen world.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Reading the stories of these men is sobering. It is difficult, isn't it, to read about someone harming themselves or even attempting suicide. But that is the reality and we need to face it squarely. This book pulls no punches but tells it like it is.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The authors all write with a very readable style - a product, I guess, of their calling to make truth plain to their hearers and readers - so it is an easy read.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I am a friend of one of the authors and know most of the others in one way or another so I could picture them in their situation. I found their reflections on what was helpful or unhelpful instructive. I never thought, for example, that asking someone suffering from depression "Is there any way I can help?" could be so difficult, but if you are the sufferer it is adding to the burden by giving them one more thing to think about and act on when all their emotional resources are severely depleted.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">If I may have any criticism it is that I would have liked to read more analysis of the stories. Kneale's concluding reflections are good but I would have liked more sustained theological, ecclesiological and sociological reflection. </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">By theological reflection, I mean, for example, on the mystery of providence and the dimension of spiritual warfare in mental health issues. The use of the Bible in counselling is merely touched on and little is said about prayer. Should they have called their elders to pray for them and anoint them with oil (James 5:13-16)? In many parts of the world, churches would find the silence of these matters puzzling. Is it a cultural blindspot for us in the West?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">The multifactorial nature of mental illness comes across clearly and should dissuade the reader from simplistic conclusions. However, I think it would have been good to have more reflection on the role of non-physical causes. There is a recognition that sinful behaviour might be one result of depression but is it ever a cause?</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Furthermore, though I am pretty sure there is a Reformed consensus among the authors, it would have been good (if that is the case) to state this explicitly because it has a bearing on the interpretation of one's experience and on the options considered valid for management.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">By way of ecclesiological reflection, there could be more discussion of the significance of a plurality of elders in the churches in which these men have been ministering. Some of the authors do mention the important role of elders (or deacons functioning as elders) but more explicit discussion of this would have been helpful.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">By sociological reflection, I would have liked to see how each man's story is situated socially. Is their church in a residential suburb or a council estate? Derek French tells us about the fact that his house was overlooked from hundreds of windows. Having, I believe, visited that church, I can tell you he is not exaggerating - the church and manse lie in the midst of several Soviet-inspired high-rise blocks of flats. If that is a sink estate, the manse is the plug hole. If I am not mistaken, the previous minister had also had mental health issues. It seems a neglect of the duty of care that the church should allow that situation to have persisted. Ministers need to be able to relax just like anyone else. To be in a situation where one is perceived to be always available to the community (especially in such a needy one as that) is to load a heavy burden on a gospel worker with a sensitive conscience. </div><p></p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">No doubt the editor will say that if he had included all that it would be a different book. Fair enough. But somewhere we need that sort of discussion.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">You can read more about the book <a href="https://www.pastorwithathorn.org.uk" target="_blank">here</a>.</div><br /> <p></p>Mark Picketthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15154344622862130047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107551083621237516.post-23245082121576829522021-05-18T04:14:00.000-07:002021-05-18T04:14:14.889-07:00Pastor Robert Karthak Has Died<p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv5N3De39VX0HbMMHCfOnWpooMq8jhZZoPjWM_LTMzfRM8htUsJ0TzL-2f59w_Je4fdKEu4SLAdhI5mMIWHuGOXky55EUw-n8t6V7X4PbwIAVO6s8w78u0zqYnbYAlIa9AbQBqv2ZA4wL9/s1080/F36D536A-96BD-4CC9-8283-B87AB77D9CF1.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv5N3De39VX0HbMMHCfOnWpooMq8jhZZoPjWM_LTMzfRM8htUsJ0TzL-2f59w_Je4fdKEu4SLAdhI5mMIWHuGOXky55EUw-n8t6V7X4PbwIAVO6s8w78u0zqYnbYAlIa9AbQBqv2ZA4wL9/w400-h400/F36D536A-96BD-4CC9-8283-B87AB77D9CF1.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: xx-small;">(Photo courtesy UMN)</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Pastor Robert Karthak has gone to be with Jesus this morning at the age of 95. That is an extraordinary age for Nepal. When I first arrived in Nepal in 1985, Robert was already way past the life expectancy at the time, which was a dismal 45. (That has changed massively - the current life expectancy is 71!)</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Robert Karthak was for many years the pastor of Gyaneshwar Church (aka Nepali Isai Mandali) in Kathmandu, which has been called the largest congregation in the country.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I met Robert many times during my first years in Nepal. He was always kind and gracious. He had a lovely sonorous voice that made him easy to listen to and, being from Kalimpong, India (he was ethnically a Lepcha) he had very clear Nepali speech that was easier for learners to follow than some of the more local preachers.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">In meetings I became aware of the huge authority he had. A discussion I once hosted had plenty of young men eager to offer their opinions. But then, when Robert cleared his throat, you sensed a hush as people listened intently. And his word carried weight. Once he had spoken, the whole room had a unified opinion!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I count it a privilege to have met this man who worked so hard in the kingdom of God. I appreciated his ministry. But I also had my misgivings. More than any other, I think, Robert defined the <i>culture</i> of the Nepali church. How would I characterise that? It was really the culture of global evangelicalism of the second half of the twentieth century - evangelical, non-denominational and charismatic - with a Nepali twist.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">When the Kalimpong band arrived in Kathmandu in 1956, not long after the country had opened up to outsiders, Robert had a clear sense of the way they were to operate. Many of the mistakes that had plagued the churches in India over the preceding century were to be rectified: denominationalism was out, an indigenous approach to leadership, financial support and gospel proclamation was in. All well and good.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">But that left so much to be desired. Robert daju went to London Bible College in the 1960 where, among others, he would have had Ernest Kevan as his tutor. I am sure he benefitted hugely from that. But, as with so much preparation for ministry in other contexts there would have been little attempt to help the young pastor to wrestle deeply with Hindu and Buddhist notions and customs, and develop a distinctly Nepali theology.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Consequently, local folk who dropped in to his church to see what was going on (as remains a common feature) would have left with their preconception that the Christian church was 'foreign religion' unchallenged. I could never understand why Robert's wife, who predeceased him by many years, always wore white. White, for Hindus, is the colour of mourning, and typically worn by widows. So imagine the surprise of locals to find she was the pastor's wife!</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">I think this lack of contextual theologising also left Robert daju open to 'every wind of doctrine': among other innovations, he introduced the Toronto Blessing to Nepal in the 1990s. I don't know how much impact that had. By then I was seeking to identify more thoughtfully with the Hindu and Buddhist community to whom the Lord had led us.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">My prayer is that the church in Nepal would honour the legacy of this man of God while seeking to move beyond his limitations.</div><br /><p></p>Mark Picketthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15154344622862130047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107551083621237516.post-39385101192197294312021-02-21T13:15:00.064-08:002021-08-15T12:57:19.753-07:00Living by Grace<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWVjvXIEPDpC1fe4h4yqdYnjcLG_hMCG8KyjryfEuSFGepJrZv0nG4nkLOnfI1J95Fu2D3pUQFG19H4T21BilBAujqVhPu4nFFFGaPSOpltPyzrV-DJVqkhnGBcxOfxEKz2_z9lOavEtho/s1280/8ACDED9F-F398-4126-B0E8-06BAE9836325.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1280" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWVjvXIEPDpC1fe4h4yqdYnjcLG_hMCG8KyjryfEuSFGepJrZv0nG4nkLOnfI1J95Fu2D3pUQFG19H4T21BilBAujqVhPu4nFFFGaPSOpltPyzrV-DJVqkhnGBcxOfxEKz2_z9lOavEtho/s320/8ACDED9F-F398-4126-B0E8-06BAE9836325.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div><p></p><p>I just began a new sermon series at our own church - Freeschool Court Church.</p><p>My aim is to consider the words of Romans 5:2 in particular and what it means to stand in grace.</p><p>As before, I will add links to messages as they come up.</p><p>1. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6tCDo_rU3Rw" target="_blank">How to Have Peace with God</a> (Romans 5:1)</p><p>2. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMgW-k2e2Lo" target="_blank">The Foundation of Discipleship</a> (Romans 5:2)</p><p>3.<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7nZOeENbJqo" target="_blank"> Rejoicing in Hope</a> (Romans 5:2)</p><p>4. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CGfAlTYGGag" target="_blank">Hope in Suffering</a> (Romans 5:3-4)</p><p>5. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=slBEY962hVE" target="_blank">New Life</a> (Romans 6:1-4)</p><p>6. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ECPKHHcptA8" target="_blank">New Lifestyle </a>(Romans 6:1-14)</p><p>7. <a href="https://youtu.be/JMvh_t3kwZ4" target="_blank">Our Spiritual Conflict </a>(Eph 6:10-24)</p><p>8. <a href="https://youtu.be/4rp8pUAVTi8" target="_blank">How to Outfox the Devil</a> (2 Cor 2:11)</p><p>9. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h3mNLF_-Sus" target="_blank">Understanding Spiritual Problems</a> (Mark 12:28-34)</p><p>10. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eQke_IICPwA" target="_blank">Dealing with Spiritual Depression</a> (Psalms 42 & 43)</p><p>11. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GaEF7qfGobA" target="_blank">How to Deal with Failure</a> (Romans 6:15-23)</p><p>12. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aws3u1n4v9c" target="_blank">How to Handle Doubt </a>(Matt 28:17)</p><p>13. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-lcivr0RX8A" target="_blank">Led by the Spirit </a>(Rom 8:12-13)</p><p>14. <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ie7VjGWDuJY" target="_blank">Sons of God</a> (Rom 8:14-17)</p>Mark Picketthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15154344622862130047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107551083621237516.post-26778781408373593232021-01-14T13:41:00.017-08:002021-05-11T08:21:16.876-07:00Should All Missionaries Be Elders?<p><span style="font-size: medium;"></span></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtULHk-YxyKYEVxBVsIiru2_vJE1BLcA9STktKP3WnxNSz2-Jr4L63QyrQmKkis04e6YqRFvSKBjpdnIK8hDLF5EZcm_NnBaoXv8xW5uCXMzseTCARxaITHrI66ZVqvMjTgwu8H6oWKL9B/s1500/Mangah.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1025" data-original-width="1500" height="407" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtULHk-YxyKYEVxBVsIiru2_vJE1BLcA9STktKP3WnxNSz2-Jr4L63QyrQmKkis04e6YqRFvSKBjpdnIK8hDLF5EZcm_NnBaoXv8xW5uCXMzseTCARxaITHrI66ZVqvMjTgwu8H6oWKL9B/w597-h407/Mangah.png" width="597" /></a></span></div><p></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: ArialMT;">Phil Remmers has recently published an </span><span style="font-family: ArialMT;">article - </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Arial;"><a href="https://www.9marks.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/begm-1.pdf" target="_blank">Biblical Eldership and Global Missions A Vital and Necessary Union</a> - </span><span style="font-family: ArialMT;">on the 9Marks website, on the selection, training, and funding of missionaries, and especially on the relationship between missionaries and their sending church.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: ArialMT; font-size: medium;">Remmers has had extensive experience of ministry in Asia and now is involved in publishing reformed literature in many Asian languages.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: ArialMT; font-size: medium;">He writes many good things in the course of the article, for which I am thankful. The comments on funding are especially helpful, though hardly groundbreaking - people have been saying stuff like this for decades. But it is worth banging on about the broken system that has been developed and continues to be pursued. In fact, in my opinion he could have gone much further. Why, for instance, is a family needing $8000 a month for their salary? I can imagine some situations - ministry in Singapore or Tokyo, for instance, where this level of support is necessary. But if, as I have observed myself many times among certain mission organisations, the family is living in a posh compound with a brand new imported jeep, in a community in which even well off locals can only dream of that lifestyle, further questions need to be asked.</span></p><p><span style="font-family: ArialMT;"><span style="font-size: medium;">He says that at least half of the missionaries he encountered in his ministry location (unspecified for security reasons) should not have been there at all because they were unqualified for the ministry and in any case tended only to stay for 2-3 years and leave without bearing fruit. And that is not counting 'short-term missionaries'.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: ArialMT; font-size: medium;">Although I can see how he can come to such a judgment, I am uneasy about this. He affirms, in a footnote, that God is sovereign in salvation. But he nevertheless is happy to sit in judgment on the fruitfulness of others in ministry. How can he have sufficient knowledge about the relationships these folk had developed in their short time? And even if he did have that sort of data, real spiritual fruit is often unseen. I hope he is not ashamed on the Last Day for having written that.</span></p><p><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: ArialMT;">The main burden of the paper, though, is to argue that all missionaries should first of all be elders of the local church back home before they are appointed to their ministry overseas. I get the sentiment. After all, as the argument goes, why would we send out people for ministry in hard places overseas if we wouldn't have them be involved in ministry at home? Fair question. He has diagnosed a serious </span><span style="font-family: ArialMT;">missionary malady.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: ArialMT; font-size: medium;">But Remmers' remedy is unbiblical, naive, and worldly.</span></p><h3 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: ArialMT; font-size: large;">Unbiblical</span></h3><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: ArialMT;"><span style="font-size: medium;">In Acts 13 the Antioch church sent out two of their 'prophets and teachers' - Barnabas and Saul. There does seem to be something of a paradigmatic character to this story, situated as it is in the unfolding story of the expansion of the gospel to the ends of the earth. And yet Paul was happy to have all sorts on his apostolic team: Luke the doctor, for example; Timothy, who, we are told, was a 'disciple' when he was taken on by Paul as a travelling companion (Acts 16:1-3); Erastus, who along with Timothy is called Paul's 'helper' (Acts 19:22).</span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: ArialMT;"><span style="font-size: medium;">When Paul left Corinth he was accompanied by Priscilla and Aquila (Acts 18:18). Now I suspect (since this is on 9Marks) that Remmers would not be happy with female elders. So what does he do with Priscilla? Is she not a missionary?</span></span></p><h4 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: ArialMT; font-size: large;">Naive</span></h4><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: ArialMT;">This leads on to the training of missionaries. The best missionaries the author has encountered tended to have been trained at Master's Seminary, where the training is explicitly for <i>elders</i></span><span style="font-family: ArialMT;">. Now, as I have said, much that he says here is valuable. Better, he says, to have fewer, better trained, and proven missionaries, than the mess that he has seen.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: ArialMT;">But he overstates his case.</span><span style="font-family: ArialMT;"> And the reason he does that is this: he has not diagnosed the malady correctly. The disease is much more serious than he realises. It is not just the two- to three-year, untrained, unqualified missionaries who are caught up in the problem. It is a whole lot more, including, perhaps Remmers himself.</span></span></p><h4 style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: ArialMT; font-size: large;">Worldly</span></h4><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: ArialMT;">Remmers</span><span style="font-family: ArialMT;"> is operating out of a paradigm for cross-cultural ministry that has been weighed in the balances and been found wanting.</span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: ArialMT; font-size: medium;">It comes out in numerous ways and is exemplified in the uncritical use of the term 'missionary'. As I have explained here <a href="https://markpickett.blogspot.com/2017/06/transcending-mission-eclipse-of-modern.html" target="_blank">before</a>, this term, and the notion it represents is seriously problematic. It is not a biblical word and continues to have much baggage that seriously compromises a healthy approach to cross-cultural ministry, including the financial aspect mentioned earlier.</span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: ArialMT; font-size: medium;">Remmers observes that Master's Seminary has no missions professors but that their graduates are "</span><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: ArialMT;">both biblically qualified </span><span style="font-family: Gautami;"></span><span style="font-family: Arial; font-style: italic; font-weight: 700;">and</span><span style="font-family: Gautami;"> </span><span style="font-family: ArialMT;">are able to use their gifts in a foreign language and culture" - without any training in intercultural communication, or in understanding how other cultures operate, or in appreciating anything about how other workers have fared in previous generations, or in examining the state of churches in the nations to which they are sent. (This is an issue I have addressed frequently, such as <a href="https://markpickett.blogspot.com/2015/07/reformed-cross-cultural-naivete.html" target="_blank">here</a>.)</span></span></p><p style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><span style="font-family: ArialMT;">Remmers' seems to have no appreciation of how culture-bound his view of cross-cultural ministry is. This lack of self-awareness is the chief weakness of the article and why I do not commend it.</span></span></p><p><span style="font-family: ArialMT; font-size: medium;"><br /></span></p>Mark Picketthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15154344622862130047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107551083621237516.post-10685907862386728252020-12-24T09:16:00.005-08:002020-12-24T09:19:42.525-08:00Donald Mitchell<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbaSnksz-nMCLEXgVextYC_vljniqKJRcOpJXcxYxz4NGrmi3hPeqQ-gMMH1xQ4sOruOSGd66YyCmQ5LaFqFmBzLnzHn661wDZ5mEWzvha9E-6clg1ArkYR5_r2qtg-VxqEShhbFWEoCUF/s976/7CFFD15D-A9B5-451E-9DA6-7C674A445BDA.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="549" data-original-width="976" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbaSnksz-nMCLEXgVextYC_vljniqKJRcOpJXcxYxz4NGrmi3hPeqQ-gMMH1xQ4sOruOSGd66YyCmQ5LaFqFmBzLnzHn661wDZ5mEWzvha9E-6clg1ArkYR5_r2qtg-VxqEShhbFWEoCUF/w400-h225/7CFFD15D-A9B5-451E-9DA6-7C674A445BDA.jpeg" width="400" /></a></div><br />A week ago, around this time, my friend Donald Mitchell was cycling home to St Brides Major from his job as librarian at Union School of Theology. He never made it. He was struck from behind by a car on the A48 and killed instantly. <p></p><p>This is how the <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-55362437">BBC</a> reported it.</p><p>We got the news later that evening. It was devastating. Donald was a former colleague of mine from when I worked at WEST (as Union used to be called). He was also a fellow church member at FreeSchool Court in Bridgend.</p><p>People have stated how they enjoyed his banter. He could take it as well as give it out. Others have also chipped in of how helpful Donald was to students in the library. I think Donald always felt a little frustrated in the library with the lack of resources. With his experience he could have led a team doing the work that he did. As it was, he was the sole librarian, with help from volunteers. He didn't complain but just got on with it.</p><p>One thing I really appreciated about Donald was that he always arrived early, I think by a whole hour, in order to have quiet time with the Lord before the work started. </p><p>He was also a disciplined man: he clearly struggled with staying trim so he watched his diet closely and I think twice a week had 'control days' in which he hardly ate anything at all.</p><p>But the thing I appreciated most about Donald, along with his widow Sian, was that he gave himself to generous hospitality. Many are the students and church members, and others I am sure, who were invited to their home for a meal. </p><p>Hospitality is a neglected gift in the Western church. We have so much but many of us don't share that with others. Donald was a busy man and could easily have said that he works hard during the week so he needs his Lord's Days to rest. Hospitality doesn't blend with that mindset. Donald never complained about people coming over to his house - he enjoyed it. I think he and Sian simply saw a need and sought to use their energies and gifts and time to address that need.</p><p>I am sure many lives have been enriched as a result. And unbelievers have seen faith in action. At least one Korean student came to faith while taking a one-year course at the college. It is in the <i>home</i> that those who don't know Christ see his loveliness tangibly expressed - who will pick up the mantle that fell from Donald's shoulders?</p><p>Home - he never made it back to that home. But he did make it home in the truest sense of that word. "This world is not our home, we're just a-passing through." Donald understood that and lived by it. And now he stands in heaven enjoying unbroken communion with the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, with the angels and with the rest of that glorious multitude.</p><p>To close, I want to add the words that our former pastor, Stephen Clark, wrote a few days ago:</p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.693333625793457px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt 72pt;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.1200008392334px;"></span></i></p><blockquote><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.693333625793457px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt 72pt;"><i><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.1200008392334px;">And the stately ships go on To their haven under the hill; But O for the touch of a vanish’d hand, And the sound of a voice that is still.<o:p></o:p></span></i></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.693333625793457px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt 72pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.1200008392334px;"> (Alfred, Lord Tennyson)<i> <o:p></o:p></i></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.693333625793457px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.1200008392334px;">For the many who knew and loved him, Donald’s death has left an aching void in their hearts. The terrible pain which his dear wife and children feel must surely be indescribable, as is the great loss to his parents and to all of his family, to all of whom he was utterly devoted.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.693333625793457px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.1200008392334px;">Donald had so many sterling qualities. As his pastor for 22 years, it was always sheer, unmixed joy to spend time with him, whether this was just chatting after a Sunday or mid-week meeting, at the Union library, or in his home. My wife Lynne and I spent many happy hours in Donald and Sian’s home because they were very much given to hospitality and together they were an ideal host and hostess. On numerous occasions we enjoyed a sumptuous Sunday lunch or a Saturday evening meal, sometimes just ourselves and at other times in company with others. The fellowship was always perfectly natural and spiritual: at one moment we could be sharing aspects of our Christian experience, then discussing the meaning of a passage of Scripture or the significance of a biblical doctrine, only to move on to family matters, aspects of gardening, current affairs or world history. The conversation was always interesting because Donald – and Sian – were so interesting.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.693333625793457px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.1200008392334px;">God’s grace was very evident in Donald’s life. We were in the same home group for some years, a group which I led. He confided in me that he was aware of the fact that he may at times say too much in the study and that if this were so, I should ask him to be quiet. He was at pains to stress that he would not be at all offended if I were to do so but that he would be grateful: he was concerned for the benefit of the whole group. I was struck by his humility in speaking thus.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.693333625793457px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.1200008392334px;">Donald had taken a course in what used to be called the Glasgow Bible Institute in the days when the godly and scholarly Geoffrey Grogan was its principal. Consequently Donald was more aware of certain theological issues and trends than would otherwise have been the case and he was concerned that he would not, in his comments in a home group, burden others with contributions which they might not find that relevant. I thought that this revealed the sort of sober self-knowledge which Paul commends in Romans 12:3 and which is encapsulated in the ancient Greek adage, ‘Know thyself’. At the same time, it meant that he was able to be of help to other believers who may not have seen as clearly as he that their understanding of a passage might be somewhat off beam. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.693333625793457px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.1200008392334px;">Donald was a conscientious information resources manager and librarian who, in the world’s eyes, must have taken a demotion by abandoning his career in secular academia to become the information manager and librarian at what used to be known as WEST and is now Union. It was, however, the opposite of demotion, for Donald had a sense of vocation to serve the students and faculty, as well as the wider church. To have a man of his qualifications and experience was surely a God-send. He worked hard and untiringly and was utterly devoted to the college. I can still see the flash of righteous anger in his eyes and the tone of indignation in his speech when, from time to time, unjust accusations were made that the college had abandoned evangelical truth. It was the more striking because Donald was essentially a gentle person.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.693333625793457px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.1200008392334px;">Although a serious Christian, Donald did not take himself too seriously and had a great sense of humour and of fun. The fact that both he and I would be quite happy to wear clothes which others would regard as sartorially off the wall became the source of much amusement between us. In explaining to him why I had bought a pair of Italian trousers which others in the church thought to be more like pyjamas, I said that they had been a tremendous bargain. He replied, ‘Some bargains are best left where they are!’ We both roared with laughter. Apparently, given the Austrian blood in him, Donald had once been minded to buy a pair of <i>Lederhosen </i>– the kind of leather shorts which some Austrians wear, as well as being worn by Bavarians at their beer festivals. Sian had put her foot down. Mindful that Donald also had Scottish blood in him and having heard that it was possible to buy tartan <i>Lederhosen</i>, I playfully suggested to him that he should be the man in his house and the next time he went to Austria he should buy himself a pair. Sian said to me that if he did, she would never forgive me for having planted such an idea in his head. Again, there was hilarity all around.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.693333625793457px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.1200008392334px;">One of the great things about Donald, to which I have already alluded, was that there was no dualism in him. I mean by this that he knew that the God of salvation is the God of creation and that God has given us all things richly to enjoy. This was why he was every bit as much at home in the garden or riding his bike through breath taking scenery, as he was when tracking down an obscure theological article for me or praying in a prayer meeting. <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.693333625793457px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.1200008392334px;">Donald was a true friend and the Scripture says that faithful are the wounds of a friend. On two occasions he gently remonstrated with me or exhorted me, on both occasions in his capacity as librarian at Union. The first time was when I was explaining something to him on the phone which I had already explained in the past. We were both busy at the time and he felt that I was, therefore, wasting his time and mine. The second occasion related to my having kept a book longer than I really should have: it was Spurgeon who, with his characteristic wit, once said that many Christians were great book keepers but poor accountants! This having been said, Donald would let me borrow books on his card when I had reached the limit on my own. This was but one of the ways in which he served the wider church, for I know that I was not the only pastor to benefit from him being the librarian at Union.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.693333625793457px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.1200008392334px;">And now he is no longer with us. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Truly God’s ways are inscrutable to us. Who can fathom why Donald should have been taken when he was taken and in the way in which he was taken? Surely the only comfort for dear Sian, the three girls and the rest of the family is to be found in Jesus’ remarkable words to Peter about ‘the beloved disciple’, who was almost certainly the apostle John: ‘If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you?’ Ultimately when we die is in the hands of Jesus Christ. Donald had long since placed his trust in Jesus for life, for death and for eternity. He was safe and is safe. He shall be sorely missed. </span></p></blockquote><p class="MsoNormal" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 11pt; line-height: 15.693333625793457px; margin: 0cm 0cm 8pt;"><span style="font-family: "Times New Roman", serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 17.1200008392334px;"><o:p></o:p></span></p>Mark Picketthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15154344622862130047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107551083621237516.post-14355424510101704552020-10-24T10:06:00.024-07:002020-11-25T04:14:46.459-08:00The Mystery of Godliness<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ3fdcAjgxq7mjf6NsIYLZu10ysltTQmRCV-Y45dWxQkNDDBlZ5-RtARmnJM_1YzjmZMVG5ftc0-k5FX3ZkzLo26KMXJrjXRS42S6N4uX9C3CfU2jnY3eEjDU2LQNzXAHl4znv6fKCEKjK/s2048/THE+MYSTERY+OF+GODLINESS.jpeg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="2048" data-original-width="2048" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ3fdcAjgxq7mjf6NsIYLZu10ysltTQmRCV-Y45dWxQkNDDBlZ5-RtARmnJM_1YzjmZMVG5ftc0-k5FX3ZkzLo26KMXJrjXRS42S6N4uX9C3CfU2jnY3eEjDU2LQNzXAHl4znv6fKCEKjK/s320/THE+MYSTERY+OF+GODLINESS.jpeg" /></a></div><br />This is my second series for Freeschool Court church, of which I am an elder.
I decided to do a series on godliness, a.k.a. spirituality, after we studied 1 Timothy in our home groups over the past year. Godliness is an important theme of that letter and I felt compelled to explore it further for my own benefit as well as for the benefit of others. The more I meditated on this theme, the more I found in Scripture so that I developed a whole series on it, that frankly could go on a long time!
Although I had quite a bit more material that I could have developed on this theme, I decided to bring it to a close with 10 messages. The last thing I would want is for people to get bored of godliness! Better to leave people wanting more.<div><br /></div><div>I have found the writings of Jerry Bridges - especially, <i>The Practice of Godliness -</i> helpful, as well as various writings I have been able to pull off my shelves from over 40 years of buying good books. These include works by J. I. Packer, Thomas Watson, John Owen, Tim Chester (<i>Enjoying God</i>), <a href="https://banneroftruth.org/uk/resources/articles/2013/john-owen-communion-god/" target="_blank">Iain Hamilton</a>. But mostly I have sought to meditate on Scripture and not try to reproduce what others have said. <div><br /></div><div>You can click on the links below to access the videos:</div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=54ZYk40ThEI" target="_blank">10. The Hope of Godliness</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IDrLf9dzaI" target="_blank">9. The Guide to Godliness</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y2xtMV1556s&feature=youtu.be" target="_blank">8. The Longing of Godliness</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdu3Niiqwsc&feature=youtu.be" target="_blank">7. The Catalyst of Godliness</a><br /><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcCZqVz7OH4" target="_blank">6. The Soul of Godliness</a></div></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbKhfuVDJTU" target="_blank">5. The Key to Godliness</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BZPH9agmwMY" target="_blank">4. The Gateway to Godliness</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HIU1NH-UxbY" target="_blank">3. The Promise of Godliness</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UQnT7RiGjU" target="_blank">2. The Pursuit of Godliness</a></div><div><br /></div><div><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fK-1gCUK7RA" target="_blank">1. The Source of Godliness</a></div></div>Mark Picketthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15154344622862130047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107551083621237516.post-46804185006099135282020-09-08T07:46:00.001-07:002020-11-02T09:44:47.781-08:00The Tie That Binds<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0DhfNXSyxO0DiwqTDs3Ya5XhD2IGw81Up8v0LlZA9D7A9psqrThXpkPIWFTPw43QU3lrdBQ2NWZim4PqRY8yQp0VvlrilnjFBvsntDXsOMsQHos7n-m43wK9D9uz339DIpEB4izI7zRUD/s960/07A68215-F4B0-492A-8F17-2F56A8A4B65E.png" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="960" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0DhfNXSyxO0DiwqTDs3Ya5XhD2IGw81Up8v0LlZA9D7A9psqrThXpkPIWFTPw43QU3lrdBQ2NWZim4PqRY8yQp0VvlrilnjFBvsntDXsOMsQHos7n-m43wK9D9uz339DIpEB4izI7zRUD/s320/07A68215-F4B0-492A-8F17-2F56A8A4B65E.png" /></a></div><br /><span style="font-family: arial;">With the retirement from our church of our minister, Stephen Clark, I have
been doing a fair bit of preaching, which, predictably, has been a challenge
and a joy.</span><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">I decided to preach a series on fellowship to start with. (I have only preached one other series in my life before - 25 years ago in Nepal!)</span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">I thought
it would be helpful for the church at this point in our life together for three
reasons: </span></div><div><ol style="text-align: left;"><li><span style="font-family: arial;">In a time of transition for the church while we pray and search for a new pastor it is important for us to understand what we are and why we are still a body of believers covenanted together even still;</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">We have been able to meet only on Zoom for months now. What is fellowship when you
can't even touch each other and you only get to meet each other virtually? Can we even call our gatherings that when we are not in the same physical space?</span></li><li><span style="font-family: arial;">Our cultural moment - what the Bible calls the 'world' - is one of increasing fragmentation. Everyone is encouraged to do their own thing, be yourself, 'do you'. What are we in this context? How can we swim against the tide and watch out that we don't get pulled downstream instead?</span></li></ol><div><span style="font-family: arial;">So that is what I have preached on over the last six weeks.</span></div></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: arial;">I called the series <i>The Tie That Binds</i>, from the hymn:</span></div><div><br /></div><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;">Blest be the tie that binds</span></div></div></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;"> Our hearts in Christian love;</span></div></div></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;">The fellowship our spirit finds</span></div></div></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;"> Is like to that above. </span></div></div></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><div style="text-align: left;"><br style="font-family: helvetica, verdana, arial; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;" /></div></div></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;">Before our Father's throne,</span></div></div></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;"> We pour our ardent prayers;</span></div></div></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;">Our fears, our hopes, our aims are one--</span></div></div></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;"> Our comforts and our cares. </span></div></div></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><div style="text-align: left;"><br style="font-family: helvetica, verdana, arial; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;" /></div></div></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;">We share our mutual woes;</span></div></div></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;"> Our mutual burdens bear;</span></div></div></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;">And often for each other flows</span></div></div></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;"> The sympathizing tear. </span></div></div></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><div style="text-align: left;"><br style="font-family: helvetica, verdana, arial; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;" /></div></div></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;">When we asunder part,</span></div></div></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;"> It gives us inward pain;</span></div></div></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;">But we shall still be joined in heart,</span></div></div></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;"> And hope to meet again. </span></div></div></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><div style="text-align: left;"><br style="font-family: helvetica, verdana, arial; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;" /></div></div></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><div style="text-align: left;"><p class="MsoBlockText" style="border: none; font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; padding: 0cm;">This glorious hope revives</p></div></div></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><div style="text-align: left;"><p class="MsoBlockText" style="border: none; font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; padding: 0cm;">Our courage by the way,</p></div></div></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><div style="text-align: left;"><p class="MsoBlockText" style="border: none; font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; padding: 0cm;">While each in expectation lives,</p></div></div></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span face="" style="font-size: 12pt;">And longs to see the day.</span></div></div></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;"><br /></span></div></div></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;">From sorrow, toil, and pain,</span></div></div></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;"> And sin we shall be free;</span></div></div></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;">And perfect love and oneness reign</span></div></div></blockquote></blockquote><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><blockquote style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0px 40px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;"><div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Verdana, Arial; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;"> Through all eternity.</span></div></div></blockquote></blockquote></blockquote><div><div style="text-align: left;"><p class="MsoBlockText" style="border: none; font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; padding: 0cm;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoBlockText" style="border: none; font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; padding: 0cm;"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoBlockText" style="border: none; font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; padding: 0cm;"><o:p></o:p></p></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br style="font-family: helvetica, verdana, arial; font-size: 16px; text-align: center;" /></div><p class="MsoBlockText" style="border: none; font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; padding: 0cm;">If you would like to watch these messages you can follow the links below:</p><p class="MsoBlockText" style="border: none; font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; padding: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="MsoBlockText" style="border: none; font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; padding: 0cm;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PlI89frbCuo">1 Hearts in Christian Love</a></p><p class="MsoBlockText" style="border: none; font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; padding: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="MsoBlockText" style="border: none; font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; padding: 0cm;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V9AVD0Kh_Tk">2 The Fellowship of Kindred Minds</a></p><p class="MsoBlockText" style="border: none; font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; padding: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="MsoBlockText" style="border: none; font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; padding: 0cm;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljhwvLRC5io">3 Joined in Heart </a></p><p class="MsoBlockText" style="border: none; font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; padding: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="MsoBlockText" style="border: none; font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; padding: 0cm;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DyNzUWop2Ik">4 Like to That Above </a></p><p class="MsoBlockText" style="border: none; font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; padding: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="MsoBlockText" style="border: none; font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; padding: 0cm;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCLVpqBdYQg">5 This Glorious Hope </a></p><p class="MsoBlockText" style="border: none; font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; padding: 0cm;"><br /></p><p class="MsoBlockText" style="border: none; font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; margin: 0cm 0cm 0.0001pt; padding: 0cm;"><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpuGyuW43pc">6 We Pour Our Ardent Prayers</a></p></div>Mark Picketthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15154344622862130047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107551083621237516.post-36203572062740366062020-05-01T04:26:00.002-07:002020-08-28T07:32:59.403-07:00The Southgate Fellowship: Theological Distancing and the Problem of Tribalism<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSM6RzkwhDlUn0pTJrnObC1i6-wFT_avIoqXxju_JmMDdkzGDJwgegmRdjXz2JbLbNrVeqCecpVfVJt5K7hDH14eOmILMISuzlUJBxy9w_cOGKz17XB11m7vhWOyyfFvewi8zC9YnqqtkH/s598/ABD27FD8-F3DF-4B89-9B7B-217B38F59114_4_5005_c.jpeg" style="display: block; 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This is the last of my series of posts on The Southgate Fellowship. You can use the label at the bottom to find the others. Here I pick up on yesterday's thread...<br />
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Harvie Conn (1933-99) taught at Westminster Theological Seminary after a significant period of ministry in South Korea. In his seminal and still important book, <i><span lang="EN-US">Eternal Word and Changing Worlds: Theology, Anthropology, and Mission in Trialogue</span></i><span lang="EN-US">,</span><span lang="EN-US"> </span>Conn argued that it is precisely because the faith “has travelled to Asia in confessional carts and wagons made in the West for a Western context” it has never taken root in Asian soil as it should have done (p. 246<span lang="EN-US">)</span>. As so few have taken heed of Conn’s warning, it is no surprise that it is still seen as ‘foreign religion’ to the vast majority of Asia’s people.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Sadly, Conn’s august institution no longer even has a resident missiologist. As I have argued <a href="https://markpickett.blogspot.com/2015/07/reformed-cross-cultural-naivete.html" target="_blank">before</a>, since Conn went to be with the Lord, there has been a retrenchment of Reformed thinking on mission. I can only hope that, with the publication of the TSF statement, this slide has reached its nadir. But I am not confident of a change any time soon for the following reason.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I have already noted that the TSF statement is endorsed by a panoply of the great and the good of the Reformed world, many of whose works have greatly blessed this writer and some of whom I have had the privilege to meet. These leaders had the opportunity to read the statement before its publication. It is worrying enough that they were happy to endorse it.<o:p></o:p></div>
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What is more worrying, however, is that a number of additional endorsements have been made astonishingly quickly since its publication. Did these signatories read and digest the entire document and give it the thought that it demands before endorsing it?</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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I make no judgment, but it strikes me that, who would want to jeopardise their ministry by being accused of ‘error’ for not signing up? Sometimes leaders get in touch to give me some encouragement for writing material like this. And they tell me they can't speak out publicly. In at least one case, they have been subject to a barrage of unrighteous emails for stating views like those that I have stated.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I don’t know the hearts of those who drew up the TSF statement, so I don’t pass judgment. However, I am concerned that some who endorse the statement will do so purely out of an evangelical tribalist motivation.<o:p></o:p></div>
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I am concerned that many are far too quick to make judgments about ministries and their statements on the basis of the endorsements of celebrity leaders than on hard, prayerful listening and thinking. Aping the polarized politics that has characterized both the UK and USA recently, we retreat into our favourite conferences and, like the Pharisee, pride ourselves on who we are not. <o:p></o:p></div>
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While we are busy nailing our theses of theological precision on the front door, the devil sneaks in the back door and infiltrates our attitudes. Our worldviews are nicely sanitized, but the virus of evangelical identity politics catches us unawares. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Paul had some strong words to say about such posturing: “What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul” (1 Cor 3:5)?<o:p></o:p></div>
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The men of the TSF council (there are inexplicably no women) may have had no intention to exacerbate this problem. But the law of unintended consequences may well kick in.<o:p></o:p></div>
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So, I plead with my brothers to avoid such tribalism with the same effort we are giving to saving lives in the current pandemic. Let us learn to listen not only to each other across the North Atlantic, but also to those who are in Asia, Africa and Latin America; not only to those with whom we get along but also to those with whom we do not. And may the Lord use such brothers and sisters to sharpen our thinking and make us more faithful and fruitful.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Mark Picketthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15154344622862130047noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107551083621237516.post-83605500073993987092020-04-30T04:38:00.002-07:002020-08-28T07:32:26.693-07:00The Southgate Fellowship: Categorical Fallacies<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIxFqMFhxJ4kbYcXkj07GijC980xn8LX1P2D_GfedUV7OD2zYnsDymyE7Pil5dQ34n3XFittf_7df28WPVPlUWtxje0M8wSRXIt4F96dfV78Kdp3lSabfpZk2w1VMUxczqmR3UMdV1S2wE/s598/ABD27FD8-F3DF-4B89-9B7B-217B38F59114_4_5005_c.jpeg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: none;"><img alt="" border="0" width="320" data-original-height="339" data-original-width="598" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIxFqMFhxJ4kbYcXkj07GijC980xn8LX1P2D_GfedUV7OD2zYnsDymyE7Pil5dQ34n3XFittf_7df28WPVPlUWtxje0M8wSRXIt4F96dfV78Kdp3lSabfpZk2w1VMUxczqmR3UMdV1S2wE/s320/ABD27FD8-F3DF-4B89-9B7B-217B38F59114_4_5005_c.jpeg"/></a></div><div class="MsoBodyText" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;">
I want in this post to wrap up my series on The Southgate Fellowship by going back to the core convictions of the group. Tomorrow, Lord willing, I will make a final plea.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Under ‘Who We Are,’ the TSF states that it “exists to advance biblical thinking and practice in world mission.” And their <strong><span style="font-weight: normal;">aim is “that God’s name will be glorified among the nations.”</span></strong><o:p></o:p></div>
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Very good, and something I truly rejoice in. We all need to work, by the Spirit, on our understanding and application of the Word on our ministry practice.<o:p></o:p></div>
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It is their observation, however, that,<br />
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due to a convergence of forces in contemporary theology and the global church, many in the study and practice of world mission have strayed methodologically from the sure foundation of Scripture; they functionally deny the categorical uniqueness of the Christian faith, and impose non-biblical and even anti-biblical interpretive grids upon people, religions, culture, and the work of mission.<o:p></o:p></div>
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It is my conviction that the TSF have made precisely the mistake that they accuse others of making, in that they too have imposed a “non-biblical interpretive grid on people, religions, cultures and the work of mission”.<o:p></o:p></div>
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After all, as I have repeatedly asserted, they are looking at traditions through the Enlightenment grid of ‘comparative religions.’ I have argued this before in my <a href="http://www.affinity.org.uk/foundations-issues/issue-67-article-5---review-article-afor-their-rock-is-not-as-our-rocka-dan-strange" target="_blank">critique</a> of Dan’s book:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">A major problem with Strange’s construction, then, is his failure to distinguish sufficiently between “religion” and “religions”. This is most plainly seen in his explanation of his approach (36-38). Acknowledging that the term “‘religion’ as a defined category is more ‘Western’ than biblical”, he nevertheless wants to use it inclusively “in terms of one’s ultimate heart commitments and presuppositions concerning reality” (37): so far so good. But Strange then explains that his “focus will be on what are often called ‘world religions’”. The argument is suddenly and with little explanation turned away from ultimate heart commitments to “rival social realities... that are competitors to Christianity”. And so we are introduced to the world of “‘other religions’”. J. H. Bavinck, as Strange himself recognises (70), warns us that, in dealing with the “adherents of other religions” “[e]ach generalization, every systematization, carries within itself the danger that one will do injustice to the living person.”</span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/u/1/null" name="_ftnref15"></a><a href="http://www.affinity.org.uk/foundations-issues/issue-67-article-5---review-article-afor-their-rock-is-not-as-our-rocka-dan-strange#_ftn15"><span style="color: #52ab21;">[15]</span></a><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"> But Strange is happy to argue that “Religions are hermetically sealed interpretations of reality (worldviews) and as such are incommensurable” (242). No place seems to be allowed for the phenomenon of syncretism or of someone following Christ within a non-Christian religious tradition.</span><a href="https://www.blogger.com/u/1/null" name="_ftnref16"></a><a href="http://www.affinity.org.uk/foundations-issues/issue-67-article-5---review-article-afor-their-rock-is-not-as-our-rocka-dan-strange#_ftn16"><span style="color: #52ab21;">[16]</span></a><span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;"> This, it seems to me, is a problem inherent in the method that Strange has adopted.</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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And this is a problem inherent in the method of the TSF. <o:p></o:p></div>
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I have argued that the TSF has elevated systematic theology to such a status that it becomes the rule to interpret every other theological and missiological endeavour. Only Scripture should have this status.<o:p></o:p></div>
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And so, the question arises as to what we should make of the great confessions and creeds of church history. In an important chapter in <i>Globalizing Theology: Belief and Practice in an Era of World Christianity</i>, edited by Craig Ott and Harold A. Netland, Kevin Vanhoozer has this to say about the great confessions of the faith:<o:p></o:p></div>
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At their best…confessions are more than ephemeral performances, more even than a series of local theologies. Confessional theologies are rather ‘great performances’—responses to their own historical context that contain lessons for the rest of the church as well.”<span class="MsoFootnoteReference" style="vertical-align: super;"> </span>(“‘One Rule to Rule Them All?’ Theological Method in an Era of World Christianity,” p. 109)<o:p></o:p></div>
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This is precisely what I am arguing for. Let us give the ‘great performances’ the attention they deserve. Yes, let’s even translate them into the vernaculars of our brothers and sisters in Cameroon and Cambodia. But let us give our brothers and sisters the freedom to express the truths that they find in the Scriptures in their own ways and not burden them with having to sign up to a statement that has ‘From the West to the Rest’ written all over it.<o:p></o:p></div>
Mark Picketthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15154344622862130047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107551083621237516.post-63506769580167264602020-04-29T04:52:00.002-07:002020-08-28T07:30:51.053-07:00The Southgate Fellowship: Ideals and Realities<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMACxSHLIov3MXcQEVe9NPoqHs9cBSF3hv4DyaLAoajY9SLUdFaG8-L6XwgHjtUQN_M5T9RQ_Q0GgNmVoIFf63nk7w73tc28FH1zGuJ8JRqR6XMOctaY2SGbK7vwQ7x8fIIvK51GhIbfvW/s598/ABD27FD8-F3DF-4B89-9B7B-217B38F59114_4_5005_c.jpeg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: none;"><img alt="" border="0" width="320" data-original-height="339" data-original-width="598" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMACxSHLIov3MXcQEVe9NPoqHs9cBSF3hv4DyaLAoajY9SLUdFaG8-L6XwgHjtUQN_M5T9RQ_Q0GgNmVoIFf63nk7w73tc28FH1zGuJ8JRqR6XMOctaY2SGbK7vwQ7x8fIIvK51GhIbfvW/s320/ABD27FD8-F3DF-4B89-9B7B-217B38F59114_4_5005_c.jpeg"/></a></div><div class="MsoBodyText" style="font-family: calibri, sans-serif; font-size: medium; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt; text-decoration: none; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; word-spacing: 0px;">
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The issues discussed below flow on from those of my previous posts, especially <a href="https://markpickett.blogspot.com/2020/04/the-southgate-fellowship-religion-and.html" target="_blank">here</a> and <a href="https://markpickett.blogspot.com/2020/04/the-southgate-fellowship-antithesis.html" target="_blank">here</a>.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Repeatedly, the TSF statement revels in ideals. Take this for example:<o:p></o:p></div>
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53b) We deny that the Holy Spirit would ever lead and empower any movement outside of the church of Jesus Christ or any movement in the name of Christ that pits one part of the evangelical faith against another.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The Apostle Paul disagreed. He was able to rejoice even when people preached out of selfish ambition (Phil 1:17-18). He seems to have been able to hold up an ideal <i>and </i>rejoice even when the reality did not match that ideal. This is a huge challenge to many of us who would rather the Holy Spirit worked in a different way.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Under the heading ‘<a href="https://thesouthgatefellowship.org/#the-ministry-of-the-holy-spirit-the-holy-spirit-and-non-biblical-religion"><span style="text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #999999;">The Holy Spirit and Non-biblical Religion</span></span><span style="color: windowtext; text-decoration: none;">’ </span></a>a number of affirmations and denials are targeted at those who, in the words of the statement, seek to ‘remain’ ‘embedded’ in an ‘alien faith system.’<o:p></o:p></div>
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It starts off in this way:<o:p></o:p></div>
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55a) We affirm that the only way of faith, hope, and life is to be a member of the Body of Christ.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Since we are told explicitly that when we are joined to Christ, we become members of his body (1 Cor 12:12-31) it is hard to imagine anyone disagreeing with this affirmation.<o:p></o:p></div>
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55b) We deny that claims about the work of the Holy Spirit or any other claim can be rightly used to justify a person’s remaining within a Bible-denying or Bible-subjugating faith system.<o:p></o:p></div>
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However, many societies do not separate the spiritual and the secular, the ‘religious’ and the mundane. So, all of life is lived in a religious milieu, including family life.<br />
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Which leads me to ask two questions:<o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">1.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Is the newly believing son, daughter or wife of a serious-minded Jewish, Sikh, Muslim, Hindu or Buddhist householder under moral compulsion to leave the home? It would appear that the TSF think so. Paul argues otherwise (1 Cor 7).<o:p></o:p></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-bidi-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-theme-font: minor-latin;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">2.<span style="font: 7.0pt "Times New Roman";"> </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->How should this work out in a country that has a totalitarian government, say North Korea, where any amount of open dissent from its <i>juche</i> ideology can land you in a prison camp or worse? In the West we are blessed to live in lands that allow for free association.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The statement continues:<o:p></o:p></div>
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55c) We deny that the Holy Spirit works to affirm, adapt or improve non-Christian religions.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Without a definition for ‘religions’ this is impossible to evaluate. Does Roman Catholicism count as a ‘non-Christian religion’? <o:p></o:p></div>
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The next affirmation states as a fact a situation that is clearly not true, unless we cast doubt on all those, and there are probably millions, who have chosen, for their own reasons, for a time at least, not to express their discipleship in a visible church.<o:p></o:p></div>
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55d) We affirm that when Christ saves those of other faith systems, he leads them by the power of the Holy Spirit from their false religion into the visible Body of Christ.<o:p></o:p></div>
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If this were so, then anyone claiming to have become a secret believer in, say North Korea or Saudi Arabia, has not been led by the Holy Spirit and is not saved by Christ. Do the TSF really believe that? If not, then they surely need to revise that affirmation.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Section 56 continues in the same vein:<o:p></o:p></div>
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56a) We affirm the Holy Spirit working through the Word is the ultimate authority for a godly and ethical life.<o:p></o:p></div>
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56b) We deny that anyone may live in a manner pleasing to God by embedding a professed faith in Christ within an alien faith system that denies the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.<o:p></o:p></div>
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The TSF states that, <o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; background-position: initial initial; background-repeat: initial initial;">… though a superficial appearance of being a-religious is possible, all human beings are necessarily religious at a more fundamental level, on account of their being divine image bearers. Romans 1 reveals authoritatively that human ultimate commitments are always religious. (§90e)</span><o:p></o:p></div>
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Surely this must mean that late-modern Western culture with its widespread acceptance of secularist notions of privatised faith and its expressive individualism is an ‘alien faith system’.<o:p></o:p></div>
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If this is so, those of us who live and work and witness in this system, including the TSF, are living in a manner that cannot please God.<o:p></o:p></div>
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But, as I have observed (<i>ad nauseam,</i> you will be forgiven for shouting) since there are no definitions of ‘religious,’ ‘remaining,’ ‘embedding,’ and ‘faith system’ it is impossible to be sure if this is so.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Mark Picketthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15154344622862130047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107551083621237516.post-81200399450600762672020-04-28T04:19:00.002-07:002020-08-28T07:30:13.927-07:00The Southgate Fellowship: The Antithesis<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKw7CKKaHGhYmvjXwXYD1DiSc3JXD11QBfXI4cZBmd3rvcWGYS5CFDevU_Ifi3QdWde_fDtumb6ifo27GrXevQhUN7lKe5V5FDqo77VO0tfk45Qyxbt1g3SwD5kuCwTgyxYxbXCZ7pvuMm/s598/ABD27FD8-F3DF-4B89-9B7B-217B38F59114_4_5005_c.jpeg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: none;"><img alt="" border="0" width="320" data-original-height="339" data-original-width="598" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKw7CKKaHGhYmvjXwXYD1DiSc3JXD11QBfXI4cZBmd3rvcWGYS5CFDevU_Ifi3QdWde_fDtumb6ifo27GrXevQhUN7lKe5V5FDqo77VO0tfk45Qyxbt1g3SwD5kuCwTgyxYxbXCZ7pvuMm/s320/ABD27FD8-F3DF-4B89-9B7B-217B38F59114_4_5005_c.jpeg"/></a></div><div class="MsoBodyText" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;">
The TSF make much of the doctrine of the antithesis, <o:p></o:p><span style="font-size: 14.666666984558105px;">the "radical distinction between the Christian and non-Christian religions."</span></div>
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I have <a href="https://markpickett.blogspot.com/2020/04/the-southgate-fellowship-theological.html" target="_blank">already interacted</a> with the following section:<o:p></o:p></div>
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84a) We affirm that theological teaching can legitimately adjust its teaching style, phraseology, selection of content, use of illustrations, and many other ways that prove significant in facilitating the communication and grasp of truth in the audience’s target language and culture.<o:p></o:p></div>
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But there is more:<o:p></o:p></div>
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84b) We deny that such adaptation may rightly interpret any culture, religion, faith, and practice apart from the comprehensive authority of Scripture concerning the radical distinction between the Christian and non-Christian religions, between believers and unbelievers, and between the moral and religious antithesis that exists between those in Adam and those in Christ Jesus.<o:p></o:p></div>
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As religion is <a href="https://markpickett.blogspot.com/2020/04/the-southgate-fellowship-religion-and.html" target="_blank">undefined</a>, it is really difficult to understand what exactly this is denying. It seems to be saying that the doctrine of the antithesis is so complete ‘non-Christian religions’ have nothing to admire, nothing to appreciate, nothing to celebrate. And yet, the importance of extending hospitality to strangers, the demand to respect the aged, the value of modesty, to name but three, are all features of many communities hardly touched by the Bible.<br />
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One might respond that these are merely cultural and not religious. But since the TSF have not adequately defined the difference between those two terms that recourse is not open to them.<o:p></o:p></div>
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And can it really be that only those in Christ are able to help in interpreting a ‘culture, religion, faith, and practice’? If this is so then there can be no point ever in asking those in Adam why they are doing anything. Why do you give flowers to your wife? Why do you applaud a great performance? Why do you play rugby? Why do you attend the funerals of your relatives? Why do you sing in the bath? All are pointless. <o:p></o:p></div>
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An attempt is made to expand on the TSF definition of culture here:<o:p></o:p></div>
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87a) We affirm that the word ‘culture’ is used generally to describe the shared set of artefacts, characteristics, meanings and values that give shape to the total corporate life of a group of people.<o:p></o:p></div>
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87b) We affirm that culture is complex and multi-faceted and operates at many different levels—the external and observable artefacts of culture always expressing more deeply held beliefs and value systems.<o:p></o:p></div>
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But this creates even more problems: do external and observable artefacts of culture always express more deeply held beliefs and value systems? If this is so, then what would they make of the custom of having bridesmaids at a wedding, widely understood to have originated as decoys for the evil eye?<o:p></o:p></div>
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On this, J. H. Bavinck had a wise word to say:<o:p></o:p></div>
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Numerous customs and practices originally based on pagan ideas and conceptions are gradually secularized and have lost their original meaning. Certain forms of politeness originally expressed respect to the divine majesty of the ruler and were forms of religious adoration, but now they have become civil formalities, the meaning of which is scarcely understood by anyone. Other customs of dress were connected with magic and superstition, but now they have completely lost their original meaning. There are burial customs, even in Western countries, which originally arose from fear of the dead, but which now only bear the character of tradition. Thus, even though a national culture is basically an indivisible whole, so that the meaning of each component is determined by religion, nevertheless, in practice, many customs are detached from this coherence and lost their original character. In such cases it is foolish to go back to the original meaning of a custom, because it is now no longer experienced and felt as it had been originally. (<i>An Introduction to the Science of Missions</i>, 1960: 174)<o:p></o:p></div>
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The paradigm expressed in the TSF statement is cut loose from reality.</div>
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Mark Picketthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15154344622862130047noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7107551083621237516.post-92100202438561997532020-04-27T04:30:00.002-07:002020-08-28T07:29:36.605-07:00The Southgate Fellowship: Religion and Culture<div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1F0beKJHjPFBIj24M-V4iAFPtFoOAYMRhhiCLdioYz0EcmRjCLSc4iTPzhyphenhyphenr9Uc5FVvMiUAFOp0l_82eaVUGht0fcO5SJM7HYp6BdTyws4nR1HfyiRb1meIDj-zpm3g4mqRYNeSEwvM7R/s598/ABD27FD8-F3DF-4B89-9B7B-217B38F59114_4_5005_c.jpeg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0; text-align: none;"><img alt="" border="0" width="320" data-original-height="339" data-original-width="598" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1F0beKJHjPFBIj24M-V4iAFPtFoOAYMRhhiCLdioYz0EcmRjCLSc4iTPzhyphenhyphenr9Uc5FVvMiUAFOp0l_82eaVUGht0fcO5SJM7HYp6BdTyws4nR1HfyiRb1meIDj-zpm3g4mqRYNeSEwvM7R/s320/ABD27FD8-F3DF-4B89-9B7B-217B38F59114_4_5005_c.jpeg"/></a></div><div class="MsoBodyText" style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; margin: 0cm 0cm 6pt;">
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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The TSF statement is frequently muddled where it seeks to establish a position on religion and culture.</div>
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Throughout the TSF statement the following terms are employed: ‘faith’, ‘faith system’, ‘worldview’, ‘religion,’ and ‘spirituality.’ Yet none of these terms is defined or distinguished from one another. This would not be such a big problem if it was a piece of popular writing. But this is a statement which the group has been working on for four years. <o:p></o:p></div>
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The result is that it leaves a large number of affirmations and denials ambiguous or even incomprehensible.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Perhaps we are to understand them to be synonyms. If so, then why, for instance, is faith distinguished from religion in the following?<o:p></o:p></div>
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4e) We deny that the Christian faith and religion are purely human constructs.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Despite this lack of definition, religion is supposed to be connected to culture. Hence:<o:p></o:p></div>
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90a) We affirm that culture and religion are interrelated, interdependent and inseparable, the latter informing the former.<o:p></o:p></div>
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But this is incoherent: how can two phenomena be interdependent with only one informing the other? <o:p></o:p></div>
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Likewise, the following:<o:p></o:p></div>
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90d) We deny the existence of any human culture that functions disconnected from or uninfluenced by human religious thought and expression or by the spiritual forces of darkness.<o:p></o:p></div>
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However, if culture is the expression of religion the denial is meaningless: they are saying that ‘religion externalised’ (their definition of culture) cannot be disconnected from ‘religious expression’. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Moreover, what are we to make of the following denial?<o:p></o:p></div>
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6f) We deny that non-Christian religions and worldviews also offer ways of salvation.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Is this a denial of the phenomenon (the offer) or a denial of the claim (salvation)? Many religious traditions <i>offer</i>ways of salvation. This is surely undeniable. So maybe they mean that people cannot receive salvation by those ways. But they have already said that here:<o:p></o:p></div>
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6d) We deny that the adherents of any non-Christian religions and worldviews can receive salvation, except through faith in Christ alone.<o:p></o:p></div>
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If this is so, 6f is redundant.<o:p></o:p></div>
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But 6d is itself problematic: the way it reads, one might be forgiven for thinking that adherents of ‘non-Christian religions’ can receive salvation through faith in Christ alone, <i>while they remain adherents</i>.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Section 6 has, in fact, multiple intractable issues that arise because of a lack of precision in the language. 6a tells us that the ‘practice of false religions’ makes unbelievers ‘blind to saving knowledge’. 6b is in reference to someone who ‘holds a false … religion’. So, we have people adhering to, holding to, and practising false religions. But with no definition of religion, we are left wondering just what it is to which people are holding or adhering.<o:p></o:p></div>
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So, what is the way forward? Let us stop trying to divide the world into neatly distinct religious mega-communities. It is a figment of the imagination. It does not reflect the reality. <o:p></o:p></div>
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Bernard Adeney puts it like this: “The very word <i>religion</i> is problematic, since it groups together the ways diverse cultures understand and interact with ‘the real’ as if such ways had certain common characteristics. In fact, different cultures construe what is real in radically different ways.” “The category of religion,” Adeney continues, “reflects the dichotomizing tendency of Western thought to separate the spiritual from the material world. ‘Facts’ and ‘values’ are considered unrelated” (<i>Strange Virtues: Ethics in a Multicultural World</i>, 1995: 173).<o:p></o:p></div>
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The problem throughout the TSF statement is that an Enlightenment, essentialist construction of world religions has been adopted uncritically. The simple fact is that the religions as they are experienced ‘on the ground’ (as opposed to the way they are described in theological statements) are not nearly so neat and tidy that one can demark true religion (Christianity) from false (everything else – all the other ‘isms’) as the TSF wants to do.<o:p></o:p></div>
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This is not the first time I have argued the inadequacy of this <a href="http://www.affinity.org.uk/foundations-issues/issue-76-review-article" target="_blank">approach</a>.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Mark Picketthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15154344622862130047noreply@blogger.com0