Now that we’ve had a look at judging others, discernment and what the two entail, how do you put these things into practice? For example, how do you figure out whether or not you can work with someone? Guan Un finds some answers in the Gospel of Luke. (more…)
‘Just how sovereign is God?’ and ‘Doing little things well’
Interchange
A couple of things ‘got me started’ in Up Front (January 2009). Jean Williams (‘Just how sovereign is God?’) wrote a timely reminder of how vital it is to immerse oneself in the knowledge that God is sovereign, and I agree with most of what was written. I did find myself wondering, however, if there was a more nuanced way of understanding God’s sovereignty over the ‘big history’ events and over “the small, everyday occurrences of life”. God’s ultimate purposes cannot be thwarted, but God’s sovereignty does not necessarily mean that every event in our lives is pre-ordained (as seems to be suggested by the quote from Spurgeon with which the article begins). God’s sovereignty does mean, however, that he is able to work all things together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose (Rom 8:28). This applies equally to the ‘big’ and the ‘little’ things of life. Sometimes we mess up: we sin, we fall short, we rebel against his will, we find ourselves in a quandary, or out of fuel miles from a petrol station with young children in the car. We become ill (whether from a cold or cancer). Tragedy strikes. I take comfort not in knowing that God necessarily meant such things to be, but that he is able to make even these things work together for his glory and my eternal good. (more…)
The ethics of a balanced life
Sola Panel, Up front
Should we be extreme or should we be balanced? You know what I mean by ‘balanced’: be generous, but not too generous; take Christ seriously, but don’t be a religious fanatic; tell the truth, but not to a fault, and so on. This approach is as old, at least, as the ancient Greeks. Lots of voices in our lives call out for this balance: parents, colleagues, work, talkback radio, novels and academia. But are these the voices of wisdom? (more…)
‘God, sin and Christ’ and ‘Preaching to the sinners’
Interchange
I found thearticles by Martin Foord and Simon Manchester in December’s Briefing very helpful. It’s always good to be reminded of the seriousness of sin both in our own relationship with God and in speaking to others. However, shortly afterwards, I read two other articles by Jim Packer and Ray Comfort that made me wonder if there was something missing from what Martin and Simon had said. (more…)
Prosperity teaching without the bling
Up front
Reading through Beyond Greed in the lead-up to Christmas last year made me think again about ‘prosperity teaching’ and whether I’m as immune to it as I like to think I am. I can spot the Joel Osteen variety a mile off, but when it comes without those trappings, I’m not so sure that I’m as good at spotting it and guarding my heart against its temptations. Yet, if Jesus says it’s the ‘deceitfulness’ of wealth that makes it so dangerous to my perseverance and fruitfulness as a disciple (Mark 4:19), then I need to be on guard for the subtle half-truths as well as the big lie. (more…)
When life’s Donne
Up front
These famous words reflect life in another time. Death was announced to all by the clanging of the local church bell. Without knowing who had died, you were reminded that you belonged to the race of Adam—the inheritors of death. (more…)
What is a leader? (Factotum #7)
Pastoral Ministry
First published some 14 years ago, this article reminds me that there are some things that never change. What makes a good leader? Hopefully this will get you thinking.
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Fiery and sharp images of hell
Life
The Bible is full of horrifying and lurid images of what divine judgement will be like. So Psalm 21, for example, begins innocuously enough. If, like me, you are a Psalm skimmer-overer, you will have skimmed this one many times without noticing it properly, lying as it does in the rainshadow of the majestic Psalm 22 and the world-famous Psalm 23 (“The Lord is my Shepherd”). The Psalmist writes:
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The comfort of fear
Life, Sola Panel
I find myself drawn back to 1 Corinthians 4 like a moth to flame. I’m like a small child watching the scary parts of the movie from behind his mother’s skirts, afraid to look, but unable to look away. (more…)
Creating the right question
Pastoral Ministry
I’ve heard it said that, in terms of relating the gospel to culture, the mistake that traditionalists make is that they give the right answers to the wrong questions; they’re answering questions that no-one is asking anymore. They’re tackling issues and fighting fights that belong to a previous generation. (more…)
Lies, damned lies, and … (#2)
Thought
At the end of my previous piece about empiricism and ethics, I suggested that there were a number of implications that needed to be drawn out—the most important of which, for my money, involving the way we present the truth of the gospel (both inside and outside of Christian circles). (more…)
Stranger evangelism
Everyday Ministry, Sola Panel
I believe in stranger evangelism.
Over the course of 2009, my own denomination in this part of the world is mounting a concerted campaign to make meaningful, relational connections with everyone in our area, and thus help them to come into a relationship with God through his word. For me personally, this has involved (often tough) deliberate decisions to do less internal church-based activities so that I can slow down and hang around chatting with parents at our local school, talking to the neighbours in our street, and considering how we can connect meaningfully with the huge numbers of ‘unreached’ people who live within a few kilometres of our church building. It’s been a joy for us to start to get to know people in our area—to have barbeques with neighbouring families, to share with them the joys and challenges of life and parenthood, and so on. I trust and pray that, when we eventually give them a copy of Luke’s gospel and offer to talk about it with them, this evangelistic effort will be understood as a natural outflow of the friendships we’ve developed. (more…)
Fallen short
Thought
Psalm 19 is famous and rightly so:
The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
Day to day pours out speech,
and night to night reveals knowledge.
Regulative or normative?
Pastoral Ministry, Sola Panel
The discussion following my last post on church meandered around to the question of how Scripture should shape our congregational meetings. This question has often been cast as a debate between the Normative Principle and the Regulative Principle. Putting it very simply, the Normative Principle says “You’re allowed to do this thing in church so long as Scripture doesn’t forbid it”, whereas the Regulative Principle says “Only do this thing in church if Scripture gives clear warrant to do so”. (more…)
Lies, damned lies, and … (#1)
Thought
Okay, so I wanted to write about statistics, and I’m hopelessly unoriginal (I’m sure some people will be able to suggest a better title). This is one of those posts that started out as a rant inspired by one of my pet peeves, but hopefully it ends with some helpful reflections. We shall see!
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