I dream of how things could be.....

I have a dream to be a church

1. Where we take seriously the gospel message that we are sinners in need of grace.

2. Where there is a wide diversity of all kinds of personalities, generations, and social background.

3. Where people can come to know and follow Christ in ways appropriate to their culture and background.

4. Where holiness is determined by the big themes of justice and mercy as well as the more traditional themes of personal purity.

5. Where we undertake to ensure that there are no needy persons among us.

6. Where eating together features as one of the most spiritual things we do.

7. Where the importance of the nuclear family works alongside the need to be a church family in which friendships can form across generations, ethnicity and gender.

8. Where there is a healthy respect for ordained ministry but never at the expense of every member ministry and the value of the workplace.

9. Where in a culture of statistics and league tables we celebrate the uniqueness and importance of each and every individual in the body of Christ.

10. Where childhood is celebrated as a sign of the kingdom of God and not simply as a stepping stone to adulthood.

11. Where old people are honoured, loved and cared for.

12. Where people of a homosexual orientation but committed to a life of celibacy can be full participating members of the church.

13. Where the differences between men and women are celebrated, but not in a way that limits the opportunities for women to fully participate in the life of the church.

14. Where young people are catered for in terms of their needs, but also challenged in the way of discipleship.

15. Where children and young people are not seen as separate departments but as part of the whole church.

16. Where students feel they can get involved without losing touch with the campus.

17. Where retirement is viewed as an opportunity for further adventures in the Spirit and not as the end of Christian service.

18. Where we learn a counter-cultural rhythm of prayer, solitude and Sabbath rest.

19. Where basic devotional practices such as prayer and Bible study are fostered.

20. Where the task of initiation into the ways of the kingdom and membership of the church is not rushed but given time to develop.

21. Where the church meeting is less a business meeting and more like a place to discern together the mind of Christ together.

22. Where congregational involvement is encouraged in the decision -making of the church.

23. Where the definition of the charismatic includes preaching and sacraments as well as the more overt gifts of prophecy and tongues.

24. Where congregational singing is encouraged whilst never reducing worship to just singing.

25. Where there is an expectation of healing but not in such a way as to induce guilt among those not healed, nor in such a way as to deny the sovereignty of God.

26. Where Lord’s Day worship is taken more seriously as an expression of Christian discipleship.

27. Where there are meaningful mid-size groups that help people to find fellowship and exercise spiritual gifts.

28. Where we give space to embrace the wintry seasons of our lives as well as the sunny seasons.

29. Where we move beyond welcome towards hospitality.

30. Where our homes and our engagement in the community become the mission base of the church rather than our programmes.

31. Where a visitor among us can enjoy anonymity but neither not leave as a complete stranger.

32. Where we recognise those things that are good in our culture and resist living only in the Christian ghetto.

33. Where we affirm not just those on the mission field but the missionary potential of each member and every vocation.

34. Where evangelism is driven by the love of God and not the agenda of church growth.

35. Where we are known not so much for those things we stand against but for those things we are for.

36. Where a generosity of spirit prevails in every aspect of church life.

37. Where the cause of global mission continues to feature as a large part of our overall giving.

38. Where our gifts and resources are made available to the community and the wider church.

39. Where what we don’t do is as important as what we do.

40. Where we learn to thank God for what we are, rather than complaining about what we are not.

Ian Stackhouse May 2010

Flame of God

From prayer that asks that I may be
Sheltered from winds that beat on Thee,
From fearing when I should aspire,
From faltering when I should climb higher
From silken self, O Captain, free
Thy soldier who would follow Thee.
From subtle love of softening things,
From easy choices, weakenings,
(Not thus are spirits fortified,
Not this way went the Crucified)
From all that dims Thy Calvary
O Lamb of God, deliver me.
Give me the love that leads the way,
The faith that nothing can dismay
The hope no disappointments tire,
The passion that will burn like fire;
Let me not sink to be a clod;
Make me Thy fuel, Flame of God.

Amy Carmichael

Always winter and never Christmas...

Christmas is about visit and rescue... C.S. Lewis, writes about how Narnia is a land trapped in the grip of a situation where it is always winter, but never Christmas. That the dead season of winter, when the life of nature is snuffed out by the cold and the ice and winds, and where the only thing that can alleviate the suffering of the long dark evenings the scratching for warmth and food is the arrival of Father Christmas, or at least what he represents. Community, generosity, provision, feasting, togetherness.... For some it seems that all year is winter, and Christmas in that sense never arrives. 

Some of course are waiting for the arrival of a parcel from A Viking, some Internet from a virgin, a sky fall with a dinner jacketed rescuer, or a windfall from the lottery, help us we cry, come and rescue us. What are you waiting for? 

Have you ever searched for something, and after a while, found it right under your nose? Have you ever waiting for something to arrive, and found that it arrived ages ago, and you hadn't noticed? Have you ever waited for a parcel, and found its gone next door, and they've gone away..!?

Have you ever thought, that the answer to your winter is Jesus, he's been right under your nose all the time? Have you ever thought that, the answer you have been searching for arrived 2000 years ago, and has actually been quietly at work in your life ever since? 

Have you ever thought, that Jesus has been at your neighbours house all this time, waiting for you to open your door to him...?

Step by step we're moving forward...

I loved watching Seth run in the schools cross country last Saturday. There were several races, yr6 down to yr 3 boys and girls races, and Seth was in yr 4 boys race. In the past he has come 12^th, and 14^th. He came 14^th in the last one because his trainer fell off and he went back to get it, then caught up loads…didn’t fulfil his potential because 1. He wasn’t properly kitted out. 2. He went back. 3. He ran the last bit in one shoe….make some spiritual lessons from that lot.

However, this weekend he was running again, properly kitted out…(trainers with laces not Velcro), properly rested and fed, and at the venue in good time. He was running with about 40 or so others squashed along the start line, 3 others from his school. He was squashed towards one end, and I could see that he was going to get either bunched in, or have to run through or round the parents on the edge, so I gave him some advice, to get in front of the others, to run at a slight angle away from the edge etc…Next thing I know they’re under starters orders, and while I’m looking at the starter as he shouts go…Seth has gone, raced away, and at the first corner he is in second. I then lose track of his progress, as they go down a slope and up the other side, but at the far end of the course I see he’s in 3^rd, quite a bit behind the first two, but a reasonably long way from the 4^th person (all the others were from one school- the Lance Armstrong school perhaps?...just joking), as I’m watching, I notice something very clever that Seth has done quite naturally. To compensate for being tireder, he has lengthened his stride pattern and so has kept his pace up during the middle section, then as he goes around the last corner his stride pattern shortens again as he sprints for the line (unlike a friend of his, and part of the church who stopped 20 metres short with his eyes closed and one finger in the air in celebration- but who soon got going to the end as me and his dad shout that he ought to finish before celebrating – he won his race by the way-), and goes right to the end to finish his highest ever, 3^rd, we are very pleased…why am I telling you this?

Well, it seems in the Faith, both individually and corporately we can start with a great sprint and not finish.. beware of those who burn bright and fade away, the New Testament is full of encouragements to persevere and keep going. What we need to do is to recognise that after our first burst of enthusiasm, energy, thrust, there will need to be a time of adjustment in order to keep the momentum going, just as Seth during the race made adjustments instinctively, so we, as we listen to the Holy Spirit, ought also to be listening about how and when we put in the extra prayer and fasting, the needed retreat, and accountability, the new time to seek God in worship and the word.

May be when life is easier we coast, but that may be the time to put in the extra strides to gather the momentum for when the going gets tougher….

Comfortable?

A night a couple of weeks ago, as a friend and I were leaving the pub after having long conversations and getting all fired up about radically following Jesus, I told him that the whole evening I'd had a thought at the back of my mind of a man with a sling on. No cast, but one of those fabric straps to hold an arm up. I joked that it would be really inconvenient if we saw someone with a sling as we left cause it would mean a serious out-of-comfort-zone experience. No sooner had I mentioned it, and just before we got to the door, three guys walked in and one of them was wearing a sling. Exactly as I'd been imagining.
It would thrill me to say that I turned around and bought him a drink, had a nice chat and then explained that I was a follower of Jesus and I believed that Jesus heals, and then asked whether I could pray for him.
Actually, after pacing around outside for a while and then even going back in to the pub and ordering another drink to 'wait for the opportune moment', I bottled it, and didn't even say hello before they left, about 2 hours later.

I was handed a divine opportunity by the Jesus that I love and serve, and I was too scared to act on it.

I wonder how many more times this sort of thing will happen before I finally let go of my foolish pride, and step out in to uncomfortable land, so that Jesus might be introduced to someone lost.

Wake up Tom; this is getting serious.

"I'm a part of the fellowship of the unashamed.”

I'm a part of the fellowship of the unashamed.
The die has been cast.
I have stepped over the line.
The decision has been made.
I'm a disciple of His and I won't look back, let up, slow down, back away, or be still.
My past is redeemed.
My present makes sense.
My future is secure.
I'm done and finished with low living, sight walking, small planning, smooth knees, colourless dreams, tamed visions, mundane talking, cheap living, and dwarfed goals.
I no longer need pre-eminence, prosperity, position, promotions, plaudits, or popularity.
I don't have to be right, or first, or tops, or recognized, or praised, or rewarded.
I live by faith, lean on His presence, walk by patience, lift by prayer, and labour by Holy Spirit power.
My face is set.
My gait is fast.
My goal is heaven.
My road may be narrow, my way rough, my companions few, but my guide is reliable and my mission is clear.
I will not be bought, compromised, detoured, lured away, turned back, deluded or delayed.
I will not flinch in the face of sacrifice or hesitate in the presence of the adversary.
I will not negotiate at the table of the enemy, ponder at the pool of popularity, or meander in the maze of mediocrity.
I won't give up, shut up, or let up until I have stayed up, stored up, prayed up, paid up, and preached up for the cause of Christ.
I am a disciple of Jesus.
I must give until I drop, preach until all know, and work until He comes.
And when He does come for His own, He'll have no problems recognizing me.
My colours will be clear!"
Amen



Written by Dr Bob Moorehead

Suppose we try Pentecost...?

Suppose we try Pentecost…. (nicked from Samuel Chadwick).

The church has never talked so much about itself and its problems. The lust for talk about work increases, as the power for the work declines. conferences multiply when work fails. The church is failing to meet modern needs, grip the modern mind and save the modern life. The church has lost the note of authority, the secret of wisdom, and the gift of power.

Suppose we try Pentecost?

The church is the creation of the Holy Ghost, but for much of the churches activity he is unnecessary. You don’t need the Holy Ghost to run bazaars, fetes picnics and social clubs. The church that is man managed rather than God governed is doomed to failure. A ministry which is college trained but not spirit filled works no miracles. The church that multiplies committees and neglects prayer may be noisy fussy enterprising but it labours in vain. It is possible to excel in mechanics but fail in dynamic.

Suppose we try Pentecost.

Too much gas, not enough oil….

The resources of the church are in the supply of the spirit. He can reveal what Christ could not speak. He is the spirit of truth, the Spirit of witness, the spirit of conviction, the spirit of power, the spirit of holiness the spirit of adoption, the spirit of life, the spirit of help, the spirit of liberty the spirit of wisdom, the spirit of revelation, the spirit of promise, the spirit of love, the spirit of meekness, the spirit of sound mind, the spirit of grace, the spirit of glory, the spirit of prophecy.

A man managed, world annexing church cannot fulfil the mission of Christ……

Suppose we try Pentecost….

Perspective

I love it when I get a glimpse of a new perspective.
It's like seeing an incredible view for the first time and going "wow that really is amazing."

Sometimes that new perspective comes through a new experience,
                                                                              a book I've read,
                                                                              a conversation I've had,
                                                                              a mistake I've made.

But the annoying thing is that new perspectives always challenge what I believe and in honesty I never like them at first.
I think the issue is that I dislike being wrong, lets be honest who likes being in the wrong?

If, when you get into a debate you're like me, you'll fight to the death. Whether it's a debate on the best colour in the rainbow to how we are made righteous as Christians, once I've decided on my opinion I will fight my corner even if the argument is as flimsy as wet rice paper.

2 Timothy 3:16 'All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.' and here's the benchmark, God's word.

How often my mind has slipped away from God's word to Adrian's theology.
How regularly I vehemently defend my opinion rather than God's word.
How frequently have I chosen to defend my argument with my own words and experience rather than God's word?

I guess today's message is asking one simple question, when did you last allow God's word to challenge your views, your experience and your perspective?

I never find it easy to allow this to happen.
Change is a struggle.
Being wrong is not a nice feeling.

But when that new perspective finally drops into place,
when I've finally gotten past my stubborn ego... what a view, what a revelation, what a King we worship!

Ouch!

When God wants to drill a man,
And thrill a man,
And skill a man
When God wants to mold a man
To play the noblest part;

When He yearns with all His heart
To create so great and bold a man
That all the world shall be amazed,
Watch His methods, watch His ways!

How He ruthlessly perfects
Whom He royally elects!
How He hammers him and hurts him,
And with mighty blows converts him

Into trial shapes of clay which
Only God understands;
While his tortured heart is crying
And he lifts beseeching hands!

How He bends but never breaks
When his good He undertakes;
How He uses whom He chooses,
And which every purpose fuses him;
By every act induces him
To try His splendor out-
God knows what He's about.

(Anon)

Proverbs 3:11-12....

Happy New Prayer!

It’s the second day of February and this morning I posed this e-question to one friend (who I haven’t spoken to for a while but wanted to catch up with), ‘is it too late to wish you a Happy New Year?’

Well, is it?

I guess not and of course, it doesn’t really matter whether it’s too late or not. The important thing is to know whether the happiness for the new year that we wished upon those to whom we offered the sentiment, is borne out, or not.

February for them, as for us, will be different to January, and September to June. Different daily and monthly challenges determine how happy our respective years will be.

January is a month of cold weather, dark evenings, credit card bills, school examinations. February, the same.

So who knows what this year has already brought for some – or what the rest of it - will bring for others? Which raises the question, is it futile to wish someone a Happy New year, to hope for it even?

Just prior to Christmas, the local paper did a short interview with me about mission and the work I am involved with. I said something that I often say to people, along the lines of ‘when you start praying for people, you start loving them.’ When the article was written, the word ‘praying’ was replaced with the word ‘hoping’ which for me, missed the point completely, though I understood why it was done.

Reminds me of that old Dusty Springfield song, ‘wishing, and hoping, and thinking and praying…’

What’s the difference between the words?

Well, for Christians there is a difference, of course, between merely wishing for something that has no real impact, and praying for its success.

The great thing about prayer is that we can cause an effect, we can make an impact in the lives of those to whom we may have (maybe casually) wished a Happy New year to at the turn of the year.

We can bring about the intended outcome to the greeting if we believe in prayer.

We can’t foresee what is to come in the lives of those we pray for, but God can, and He hears our prayers.

But how intentional are we of turning our wishing and hoping into thinking and praying?

One thing I did over two days in the New Year period was to pray through my mobile phone contacts. That’s a good way of cross sectioning our contacts, friends, work colleagues, neighbours and so on. I prayed for some really random people and really enjoyed it.

I am expectant of God’s impact on their lives this year because I know He is faithful.

Intentional prayer. Let’s get on to it.

Crumbs!

Picture our fellowship as a loaf of bread.

Would it be brown or white?

Wholemeal, granary, with large air holes or doughy and heavy?

I like to think of it as a seeded, nutty loaf, maybe with some malt and the odd sultana!

I can say this as a coeliac; the sort of loaf we don’t want to be is gluten free!

It is the gluten that holds bread together, if you’ve been at communion when we handed round gluten free bread you know it falls apart, turns into crumbs and is hard to swallow as it stays dry and separate.

A whole gluten free loaf is a rather brittle thing, so our fellowship loaf would be better with a bit of give, and able to hold together when dropped!

So, the gluten is an illustration of love, which helps us stick by each other when things get difficult, the masks come off and sometimes we are not so nice to be with.

We are one body, and love holds us all together.

That doesn’t mean we are all the same, in fact, it is how we love and appreciate our differences that make us so fascinating to others.

Nuts and seeds are both great nutritionally, especially together, and we are healthiest when we have a varied diet.

God has made us uniquely and put us together, and He knows what He is doing, so we will grow best when we co-operate with where we are and those we are with.

Decide which bit of the loaf you are, or feel God is growing you to be, but don’t look at others and copy them, be your own sultana!

Fill in the space

When God created humankind, I'm not convinced that he ever intended for communication between us to be any harder than, 'Hey Dad, how business?' 'What's on your mind, Dad?' 'Tell me about you, Dad.' 'I was thinking the other day, Dad...'

What d'you reckon?

Personally, I find my default setting when thinking of prayer is to panic, look back over the last week of my life, decide that it would be probably more agreeable for the Almighty to not hear from me given the state of my soul, and make a personal commitment to self to 'sort my life out' before Sunday church so that I can engage with 'the worship', whatever that means; my prayer life is reduced to firing off quick one-liners of generic christianese that don't really help anyone.

Feels a bit foolish to me.

Actually, I'd suggest that the Father is waiting, longing, even desperate, for us to drop such ridiculous methods and start behaving a little bit more like His CHILDREN.

I spend an awful lot of my time complaining to God, and frankly to anyone who will listen, that I'm not quite where I want to be 'with God.' The thing is, that's a completely human and downright idiotic way to go about this Christian business.

As I understand it, the Father gave everything, including His own son, so that I could be in relationship with him - that's filial, Father-son, closer than anything else sort of relationship by the way - so if I'm finding any space between us, you can bet large sums of money that it's because I made the space.

If I don't feel I'm 'doing well with God', best to start by telling Him that; it's called confession.

The space needs to be filled from our end.

May I suggest that it might look a bit like this:

'Hey Dad, how business?'

'What's on your mind, Dad?'

'Tell me about you, Dad.'

'I was thinking the other day, Dad...'

'Dad, I'm really struggling with this...'

'I love you, Father.'

Just a thought.

The Weeds

When I was young I never dreamt for one second that living in your own house would mean you have to do the gardening.

I guess it was my mum rather than nature itself that kept the lawn mown, the bushes in some kind of order and the grass cut.

Over the last year and a half I’ve learnt the toils of cutting back bushes and mowing the lawn (grass grows really quickly!).

However, I discovered no enemy is more arduous and longsuffering than weeds.

Weeds are phenomenal, they grow back again and again.

They don’t need planting.

They don’t need good weather.

They don’t need watering.

They don’t even need soil sometimes!

As I was spraying weed killer all over my weed infested flower bed I had a bit of a moment where I felt God spoke to me.

He said, ‘What are the weeds in your life?’

I thought about this a while and after tweeting a little note of how I declared ‘war’ on weeds, the words of Romans 5:3-5 came to mind.

‘…but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, who he has given us.’

Sometimes it is the very weeds of our lives that God uses to bring about hope.

It might be a situation we have no power to change,

someone who persistently winds us up,

an addiction to something that causes us to stumble.

Whatever these weeds might be, God has called us to persevere through them.

Don’t run from them, face them, rejoice in them!

As we persevere and our character is refined, we see Jesus’ victory in these situation.

We see God intervening with situations,

we see love breaking through the hearts of those that wind us up,

we see freedom from addiction.

If we persevere and don’t give into the first suffering we encounter, hope springs up.

Hope in a God that acts.

Hope in a God that saves.

Hope in a God whose love conquers all.

The example of Noah

Genesis 9:9 says that 'Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked with God'.

The Bible is full of verses with threefold areas to focus on. Here three elements are something to aim for.

Firstly, Noah was a righteous man. When we are in God's family we bear His name and we long for what is on his heart. Righteousness is central to that. Seeking justice, fairness and all that is right is part of wanting to see His Kingdom come.

Secondly, he was blameless among the people of his time. So many Bible characters stood out in society for their contribution, their attitude, their integrity. Paul encourages us similarly in 1 Thessalonians 4: 11 & 12 to make it our ambitions to lead quiet lives, minding our own business (not busybodies or gossips) and working hard. By so doing our lives will win the respect of outsiders. We're to conduct ourselves in a manner worthy of the Lord. To be blameless among the people of our time.

And of course, thirdly, he walked with God. Noah and Enoch are listed as ones who walked with God. Moses talked with God as a man talks with a friend, face to face. We should seek to walk with God. Not ahead of Him, not away from Him, not too far behind Him, but with Him. Jesus saw what the Father was doing and then did that. So should we. We don't invite God to walk with us, and to grant what we want. We should seek His will and His kingdom, and get alongside Him in what He is doing.

So, as we start this new year make Noah your example. Desire righteousness, seek to be blameless among the people of our time, and walk with God.

Welcome

Welcome to Northchurch Baptist Church's blogging site.
You can expect insightful, funny, God pursuing thoughts that will hopefully encourage and challenge you in your walk with God.
There will be at least weekly updates so please keep checking the blog for the latest thoughts and comments!

Thanks for reading!