Following on from my last post, I have been thinking a lot about what it means to be a people of the kingdom. Is it enough just to be a fully paid up member of a local church or is there more to it than that? What does a kingdom based Church look like and how can Churches get there?
I have nearly finished Brian McLaren's book, "The secret message of Jesus" and have been struck by its depth yet simplistic nature. He (McLaren) has been able to dig deep, right to the bone in places, and reveal to me a lot of the bits of have missed or misplaced of my understanding of the kingdom of God. You could be forgiven for thinking that he is taking a huge swipe at the church but I think he is off loading his own frustration and allow himself to become vulnerable to Jesus' message.
God has been testing me and challenging me about what my part is in His kingdom is and about what that will entail. With Appointments only 7 days away it seams all a little to late but actually the timing could not be better! I believe that God has called me to do this and so must believe that he has and still is preparing me for what is to come. The world needs a church that is raw, that is real and is willing to admit that it has missed the point once to often and needs moulding once again by a message that can change the world now! Can I do it, can Lizzy and I do it, can the church do it????? I don't think we have a choice!!
Matt
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Saturday, January 19, 2008
Is Planting for me?
It don't really enjoy gardening, so why on earth would I want to plant something??
Obviously, I am not talking about flowers but church planting. Last week I was let out of the college to attend the "First steps in church planting" conference. It was a great few days listening to the speakers go through the various aspect of the what, where and why of planting!
The thing that struck me was the need for any expression of the church to a) know it's context and b) be relevant to it's context. I would love to go and plant church but that is not for me to decide (two weeks Thursday til we find out where we are going). If I do, I know that our responsibility is to discern the heart of God already at work in peoples lives and jump on board and play an active role in his impressive story. If I go to an established corps, my prayer is that through prayer, vision and obedience, I will see just where God needs the presence of His people.
Matt
Monday, January 14, 2008
Vicar to stand for council!
Lizzy and I watched the Vicar of Dibly last night - the one where Geraldine stands for the local council against David Horton. This was just the example I needed to help me answer the question I set a few posts ago. "How much should the church be involved in politics?" and "how can we be involved in politics?".
It is clear to me that faith and politics should not be kept apart, in fact they go hand in hand. Politics and church, at their best, are about transformation. That does not mean that Christians make the best politicians but it does mean that Christian need to be involved in politics both locally and national. Political agendas, whether we like it or not, are here to stay and make significant impact on the moral and ethical environment of you and me! We may not understand the terminology but we will experience the impacts.
For example: The "opt out" proposal for organ donations; ID cards, Identity fraud, Hospital cleaning, human cloning, recycling, Education systems etc
We are not inumuune to the effect of decisions made by the goverment (not just our own). We have to relate and seek to unstand the reasons and implictions through diaolgue, newspapers, the internet, Prime Ministers questions and blogs. All are good sources of insight in to the world of politics and provide the church with oppertunitys for interaction.
Matt
It is clear to me that faith and politics should not be kept apart, in fact they go hand in hand. Politics and church, at their best, are about transformation. That does not mean that Christians make the best politicians but it does mean that Christian need to be involved in politics both locally and national. Political agendas, whether we like it or not, are here to stay and make significant impact on the moral and ethical environment of you and me! We may not understand the terminology but we will experience the impacts.
For example: The "opt out" proposal for organ donations; ID cards, Identity fraud, Hospital cleaning, human cloning, recycling, Education systems etc
We are not inumuune to the effect of decisions made by the goverment (not just our own). We have to relate and seek to unstand the reasons and implictions through diaolgue, newspapers, the internet, Prime Ministers questions and blogs. All are good sources of insight in to the world of politics and provide the church with oppertunitys for interaction.
Matt
Friday, January 11, 2008
Go Go Power Rangers!!!!
"The christian message is not about transcendence and power, but about weakness, vulnerability and powerlessness." (Drane, 2000:13)
I found this quote this week whilst reading for an assignment at College. I love it, i buy in to it!! But i have to be honest and say that I am not sure that I live it!! This idea of being vulnerable seems to go against a lot of what I have been taught about church ministry. I have been told, "don't get to close" or "you need to detach yourself form the people." This has always made me feel very uncomfortable, it goes against who I am. For me, it goes against the purpose of the church and its ability to bring about transformation with in communities. The church seems to quake at even the idea of being vulnerable with each other in the fellowship, let alone strangers.
I don't believe for one moment that we should let people walk all over us (That achieves nothing for anyone) but I am beginning to realise that we need to put ourselves in harms way so that the gospel is clear and real to those who cross our paths.
Matt
P.S My next post will answer the questing I set two post ago!!
I found this quote this week whilst reading for an assignment at College. I love it, i buy in to it!! But i have to be honest and say that I am not sure that I live it!! This idea of being vulnerable seems to go against a lot of what I have been taught about church ministry. I have been told, "don't get to close" or "you need to detach yourself form the people." This has always made me feel very uncomfortable, it goes against who I am. For me, it goes against the purpose of the church and its ability to bring about transformation with in communities. The church seems to quake at even the idea of being vulnerable with each other in the fellowship, let alone strangers.
I don't believe for one moment that we should let people walk all over us (That achieves nothing for anyone) but I am beginning to realise that we need to put ourselves in harms way so that the gospel is clear and real to those who cross our paths.
Matt
P.S My next post will answer the questing I set two post ago!!
Saturday, January 05, 2008
Legend
I went to see I am legend last weekend. What a film! I loved it from start to finish. Will Smith was excellent and brought the whole character to life and believable! I can't wait to see it again. I won't spoil what happens, just go and see it for yourselves. The ending is slight weak, it all happens a bit quickly but it is still rather emotional!
At about the same time I had just finished "Intelligent Church" by Steve Chalke. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is frustrated by their church, those who believe their church should do more or just wanting themselves to live out a more together significant Christian life. It was a really easy read but challenged me at the core of my understand about church and it's mission in the world.
Having watched "Legend" and finished "Intelligent Church", it raised in me a question. What "legend" does the church leave on our communities? What do people remember about us? What do people assume they know about us? I don't believe the church should create a legend that makes it look good but be a legend that makes God look good, a legend that means something maybe even just to one person.
I have been challenged to assess not only what I do and why, but how? Let me give you an example. I believed that if I spent time with non-christian friends that I could help them become Christians. A noble cause but I have completely missed the point. My role is to love them for the people that they are not what I want them to be. No agenda, no goal, no evaluation just love. This, I pray, will be my "legend."
Matt
At about the same time I had just finished "Intelligent Church" by Steve Chalke. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is frustrated by their church, those who believe their church should do more or just wanting themselves to live out a more together significant Christian life. It was a really easy read but challenged me at the core of my understand about church and it's mission in the world.
Having watched "Legend" and finished "Intelligent Church", it raised in me a question. What "legend" does the church leave on our communities? What do people remember about us? What do people assume they know about us? I don't believe the church should create a legend that makes it look good but be a legend that makes God look good, a legend that means something maybe even just to one person.
I have been challenged to assess not only what I do and why, but how? Let me give you an example. I believed that if I spent time with non-christian friends that I could help them become Christians. A noble cause but I have completely missed the point. My role is to love them for the people that they are not what I want them to be. No agenda, no goal, no evaluation just love. This, I pray, will be my "legend."
Matt
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