So what does the gathering look like? (Part 1)

Everyday Ministry, Sola Panel

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In a recent post on ‘Why we gather’, I suggested that there were three basic purposes for the Christian assembly: as testimony to Christ, for fellowship in Christ, and to build towards maturity in Christ. Or if you wanted a more catchy one-sentence summary, you could say that in our gatherings, we meet with Christ in each other’s presence as a testimony to the world and as a spur to godly living.

Now before you even think of quibbling with this definition, or asking how the ‘W’ word relates to it, that’s not the purpose of this post! Instead, I’d like to share a few examples of how a Sunday gathering might be structured if these were its theologically driven purposes. In this post (and over the next several), I’ll be sharing five ‘standard meeting templates’ that I’ve been working on and trialling over the past few years. Each one has a theological movement or trajectory to it, and they also strive to connect the various elements in a way that flows and makes sense.

I’m interested in your comments and feedback—especially if you are bold enough to give some of them a fly and see how they go!

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The goodness of God

Thought

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What is goodness? What does it mean that God is good? Do we really believe in a good God, and if we do, how can we even begin to talk to other people about him? Paul Grimmond investigates. (more…)

For those with eyes to see

Resource Talk, Sola Panel

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It starts with trying to read the microwave instructions on the back of the packet in the kitchen, and having to move into some better light. Then you notice you’re habitually setting the zoom in Microsoft Word to 200 per cent. The crunch comes when it starts to affect the really important things: you’re some distance from the television and realize you can’t quite make out the score at the bottom of the screen.

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Purity in the age of mobile porn

Up front

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Until recently, I’d not owned a mobile phone. But I was aware of the growing need for one: as the kids get older, my family seems more and more reliant on using mobiles to keep in touch. It was inevitable; resistance was futile.

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Power to witness

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If the gospel is the true revelation of God’s goodness, then why do we often feel so uncomfortable about speaking it? Phillip Jensen suggests that perhaps we’re looking for empowerment in the wrong place. (more…)

What to do with morality?

Up front

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I was listening to a sermon the other day, in which the preacher said, “Christianity is not about morality. It’s not about right and wrong. It’s about a relationship.” It’s not the first time I’ve heard that phrase, or something like it, and I’m sure it won’t be the last. In fact, I’m sure that I’ve used it myself in the past. I know what it’s trying to say. I just can’t help feeling that we’ve got the right argument for the wrong moment in history.

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Podcast: Holding onto the gospel: An interview with Grant Retief

Audio

Grant Retief talks to Paul Grimmond about enormous social issues in South Africa, and what it means to hang on to the gospel and serve people there (MP3).

Audio MP3

Improve your biblical and theological word power 5: Imputation

Thought, Sola Panel

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Today we are going to conclude our series on biblical word power with something slightly different: a brief introduction to imputation. ‘Imputation’ is not actually a word used in the Bible. Nevertheless, imputation is still a very important word, because it can help us to plumb the depths of the issues surrounding the Bible’s use of words like ‘righteousness’ and ‘justification’, which we looked at in previous posts.

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Sometimes the costly choice is to stay

Everyday Ministry

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I’ve just spent a week in a country I doubt you’d want to live in; I don’t think I would. It’s a country wracked by multi-level poverty, which makes it a difficult place to visit and an even more difficult place to live. (NB: for the security of the people involved, I’ve deliberately omitted the name of the country.) The economic poverty is apparent on every street corner: buildings and infrastructure are run-down, food is scarce and expensive, and essential services are hard to access. But perhaps more pressing is the overwhelming social poverty—expressed in a lack of relationships, constant mistrust and suspicion, and the reality that you are being ‘watched’.

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What ministry is about 10

Pastoral Ministry, Sola Panel

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Well we’re up to the last of our ten propositions about Christian ministry. They don’t say everything (of course). And they are all necessarily short and simple (being very abbreviated summaries of argument of the new book The Trellis and the Vine that I’ve just finished writing with Col Marshall). I hope they’ve been stimulating all the same, and that they’ve whetted some appetites to read and think and talk further.

The first nine were as follows:

  1. Our goal is to make disciples not church members.
  2. Churches tend towards institutionalism as sparks fly upward.
  3. The heart of disciple-making is prayerful speaking of God’s word.
  4. All ministry has the goal of nurturing disciples, not just one-to-one discipling or mentoring.
  5. To be a disciple is to be a disciple-maker.
  6. Disciple-makers need to be trained and equipped in conviction, character and competence.
  7. There is only one class of disciples, regardless of different roles or responsibilities.
  8. The disciple-making imperative of the Great Commission needs to drive fresh thinking about our Sunday meetings, and the place of training in congregational life.
  9. Training almost always starts small, and grows by multiplying workers.

The final proposition is less about the day-to-day life of congregations, and more about the generation-to-generation growth of the gospel.

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