An Older Brother

Kind of post title you think is going to refer to the offended legalistic brother in the parable of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15 used as a platform to refer to someone like that in our fellowship isn't it? Well it's not actually, it's exactly the opposite idea.

I tell people that my theology - well my ecclesiology to be exact - changed somewhat once I actually got to leading a church. Before leading X1 I would have been the, "I only want the lost to join us, I don't want anyone that already has faith, only growth through salvation Lord," type. Not long into my leadership journey I began to pray earnestly for significant 'Kingdom Movers' to join us. Those whom God would move about within His kingdom to bless another area of what He is doing to advance His Kingdom.

3 months after our move into Vue Cinema an 'older brother' (someone matured, wise, and secure in the faith) and his wife visited us and 9 months later after significant prayer and a brilliant leaving of his church (tears, honor, love, blessing - o Gosh how few people leave a church like that!) they joined us.
Well it is hard to quite explain how much he is blessing this body of believers, blessing this Eldership in fact. We are transitioning to a far more effective, healthy system of administrative, structural existence and I am feeling certain that this will only aid our impact as a Holy Spirit people set on fulfilling our portion of the great commission!

Thanks Lord for an older brother! Bring more if you can, and bless other churches with men (and women) such as these.

Simon

Wow, this is a call!

Inter-church unity

One brief glimpse at Christ's prayer for the 'future believers' in John 17 gives glorious credence to His great desire for unity among His people. Interspersed in almost all the epistles in the NT we see similar hopes, even pleas for unity.
Christ's promise over unity in His prayer of John 17 is majestic and one that I, as a local church leader, am jealous to receive. It's not easy though. Those on the fringes of church leadership, or with a naive view of all things pertaining to the complexity of leadership often can lay offense at 'church'for the disunity that appears to mark us. I will be the first to agree that it is in no way what it should be. Both within the family of a local church and again within the broader fellowship within a village, town or city.

At X1 we are going to make efforts to achieve some form of unity that would hopefully bring honor to our Lord, bring glory to Him, and also receive the rewards of that John 17 promise. I feel that it must be relational, and thus it is with great joy that I can reflect on a wonderful meal with the family called to lead another brilliant local church within Watford. There is so much that binds us and there is the growing foundation of a meaningful relationship that makes me hope and believe for some fruitful partnership in the future.

Bless this church Lord and draw us together to display something of what you prayed for those two millenia ago, and for which you still pray today.

Solo gloria

Simon

Grace - what a ring in that word.

As I tweeted earlier in the week I've got the great privilege as a teaching pastor here at X1 Watford to spend time studying the thoughts, arguments, and stunning expositions on God's word as I prepare to share with our people here. I mentioned that we are to enter into a series on 'Grace' as of Sept 19th and so I'm doing a lot of reading on that subject.
I hope to deposit several jewels from that reading over the next few weeks to enable others to enter into reading they may not have the time or motivation to do themselves. I'll start with something from Charles Spurgeon (not a bad place to start many would say) which is clear and concise on the beauty of God's grace:

"What a ring there is in that word grace. Why it does one good to speak it and to hear it; it is, indeed, a charming sound, harmonious to the ear. When one feels the power of it, it is enough to make the soul leap out of the body for joy.

Grace how good, how cheap, how free,
Grace, how easy to be found!
Only let your misery
In the Saviour's blood be drowned!

Grace, how it suits a sinner! How it cheers a poor forlorn wanderer from God!"

Sweet, and simple.

Simon

Wise words to preachers & bible teachers from Spurgeon

We do appear to live in an age of Christendom in the West that is at the very least shy of doctrine but can often actually be averse to it. Again and again I am confronted by this in my ministry. Here, in a sermon almost 144 years old, the wonderful Charles Spurgeon highlights his thoughts on preaching doctrine, and it's great importance:

"If we would influence thoughtful persons it must be by solid arguments. Shallow minds may be wrought upon by mere warmth of emotion and force of excitement, but the more valuable part of the community must be dealt with in quite another manner. When the apostle Paul was desirous to influence his son in the faith, Timothy, who was a diligent and earnest student and a man of gifts as well as of grace, he did not attempt to affect him by mere appeals to his feelings, but felt that the most effectual way to act upon him was to remind him of solid doctrinal truth which he knew him to have believed.

This is a lesson for the ministry at large. Certain earnest preachers are incessantly exciting the people, and but seldom if ever instructing them; they carry much fire and very little light. God forbid that we should say a word against appealing to the feelings; this is most needful in its place, but then there is a due proportion to be observed in it. A religion which is based upon, sustained, and maintained simply by excitement, will necessarily be very flimsy and unsubstantial, and will yield very speedily to the crush of opposition or to the crumbling hand of time.

The preacher may touch the feelings by rousing appeals, as the harper touches the harpstrings; he will be very foolish if he should neglect so ready and admirable an instrument; but still as he is dealing with reasonable creatures, he must not forget to enlighten the intellect and instruct the understanding...
...I do not doubt but that a far greater power for usefulness lies concealed within the doctrines of grace than some men have ever dreamed of. It has been usual to look upon doctrinal truth as being nothing more than unpractical theory, and many have spoken of the precepts of God's Word as being more practical and more useful; the day may yet come when in clearer light we shall perceive that sound doctrine is the very root and vital energy of practical holiness, and that to teach the people the truth which God has revealed is the readiest and surest way of leading them to obedience and persevering holiness."

- Salvation Altogether by Grace, July 29th 1866.

Simon

Personal Reflection on TOAM 2010

Just back from a brilliant 4 days in Brighton at the Newfrontiers TOAM Conference. This is a yearly gathering of the leaders of Newfrontiers churches from all over the globe (38 nations represented this year). It is always a great time and so strengthening while often restoring a vision for God's heart for the nations - this year was no different. It was extra special this year to know that 19 people from X1 (only 5 of us last year) would be part of the week and taste the heart and ethos of Newfrontiers as a movement of churches.

In the very first session on Tuesday we were launched immediately into God's global mandate, His passion for the nations, and His calling upon us to plant healthy word & spirit churches for the sake of the redemption of mankind. Scott Marques now based in Nampula, Mozambique (literally in a mud/metal hut in the bushes) who is living this mandate out encouraged us to be radical, adventurous and wild in capturing God's heart for people. Other individuals echoed this throughout the 4 days, with Dave Stroud (Christ Church, Central London) fixating our attention particularly on God's 'demand' upon us to remember the poor in all we do. (Strongly echoing the themes in a book by Tim Keller, Ministries of Mercy: The Call of the Jericho Road)

For me personally, the afternoon sessions with Terry Virgo were so enriching and uplifting in their effect that I am so pleased to have been able to hear them.

Terry expounded Ephesians 6: 10 - 20 with biblical accuracy, clarity, and much pastoral wisdom. On day 1 he highlighted that we are to be 'strong', that we are to see that we are soldiers in conflict as we follow Christ. In fact the whole book of Ephesians must be read with this mindset. But this strength is not stoic, or self-induced, it is 'being strengthened in the mighty strength of the Lord.' This means drawing on the promises and power of God regularly.
On the second day, Terry detailed the elements of the armour of God with real brilliance and then brought the exposition to a crescendo in highlighting the 'salvation' that is intimated by Paul as he writes 'helmet of salvation.' This is so much more than a one off personal-historical event but the transformation, restoration, reconciliation and renewal of all of creation. The day when 'darkness disappears and all of creation is brought into the light.'
The final day was truly apostolic in its application as he centred on Paul's exhortation to pray 1) with various prayers on different occasions, 2) empowered by the Spirit, & 3) with focus on the apostolic gospel mission to the nations.
Here Terry's heart for prayer was truly evident and the charge to be likewise in our leadership - to lead with prayer and in prayer - was certainly taken on board by this elder.

The Thursday night offering was as stunning and mind-blowing in it's fervor and passion as ever and affected each of the X1ers who were part of it.
Yip, we had a wonderful time and my hope is that we will bring back much that we learnt and absorbed and affect our church with it. O and of course I hope that next year we will have even more than 19!

Check out the videos as they get uploaded here.

Simon

Eugene Peterson on 'Training a Pastor for the modern Christian Consumer'

As mentioned in my last post, I am sharing a quote read by Matt Chandler in a sermon I have listened to this morning (the context of the quote was to rebuke modern pastors who tend to just pursue technique to try and grow church rather than pursuing substance and being like the heroes of Hebrews 11).
The challenge of this quote is laid squarely at us as Pastors - how easily we can mislead and 'grow' church in the wrong way - but also quite definitely at the feet of the modern Christian with their expectations of a leader - how low they can be with regards to the things that TRULY count rather than the often-overemphasis on minor things that really don't.

Here's the quote from a book entitled Working the Angles: The Shape of Pastoral Integrity

For a long time, I have been convinced that I could take a person with a high school education, give him or her a six-month trade school training, and provide a pastor who would be satisfactory to any discriminating American congregation. The curriculum would consist of four courses.

Course
I: Creative Plagiarism.
I would put you in touch with a wide range of excellent and inspirational talks, show you how to alter them just enough to obscure their origins, and get you a reputation for wit and wisdom.

Course
II: Voice Control for Prayer and Counseling.
We would develop your own distinct style of Holy Joe intonation, acquiring the skill in resonance and modulation that conveys and unmistakable aura of sanctity.

Course
III: Efficient Office Management.
There is nothing that parishioners admire more in their pastors than the capacity to run a tight ship administratively. If we return all phone calls within twenty-four hours, answer all the letters within a week, distributing enough carbons to key people so that they know we are on top of things, and have just the right amount of clutter on our desk—not too much, or we appear
inefficient, not too little or we appear underemployed—we quickly get the reputation for efficiency that is far more important than anything that we actually do.

Course
IV: Image Projection.
Here we would master the half-dozen well-known and easily implemented devices that that create the impression that we are terrifically busy and widely sought after for counsel by influential people in the community. A one-week refresher course each year would introduce new phrases that would convince our parishioners that we are bold innovators on the cutting edge of the megatrends and at the same time solidly rooted in all the traditional values of our sainted ancestors.

(I have been laughing for several years over this trade school training with which I plan to make my fortune. Recently, though, the joke has backfired on me. I keep seeing advertisements for institutes and workshops all over the country that invite pastors to sign up for this exact curriculum. The advertised course offerings are not quite as honestly labeled as mine, but the content appears to be identical—a curriculum that trains pastors to satisfy the current consumer
tastes in religion. I’m not laughing anymore.)

Let us pursue, and expect, ministry that pleases the Lord and is built off of character and devotion to the Lord and not that which pleases man built off of modern style-based initiatives.

In Him
Simon

Revival Thoughts from Finney - Breaking the 'fallow ground' or confession of sin

Ok now Finney is starting to get just a little inappropriate, highly un-PC should I say for our contemporary-Christian liking. O I'll just write what he states regarding confession of sin:

"You must honestly look at yourself, using your bible as your checkpoint. Do not expect God to miraculously break up your fallow ground [remove sin from your heart] for you. You must actively participate, and you must submit your will. If you look at yourself accurately, taking note of your sins, you will definitely feel something. You cannot see your sins for what they are without feeling something...

... Start your work now. Resolve that you will not stop until you find you can pray. You will never have access to the full power of the Holy Spirit dwelling within you unless you completely confess your sins. Let there be this deep work of repentance and full confession, this breaking down before God.
Then YOU WILL HAVE AS MUCH OF THE SPIRIT OF PRAYER AS YOU CAN TOLERATE!"

My my my, Lord Jesus what has been my experience of 'the spirit of prayer' up till now as I feel I am barely tasting such?

Are we hungry for revival?

Simon

Revival Thoughts from Finney - The Role of the Church & it's 'Minister'

Yesterday, one of the zealous young men that God has blessed X1 with recently came to my home for breakfast, giving a book to me that he noted was just 'burning him up.' I promised to read the copy he was giving me and set to it this morning. The book is 'Experiencing Revival' by Charles Finney (an updated, abridged version thus easier for us all to read). Finney was an alarmingly gifted evangelist but also a theologian and a man of the word, so a good read indeed.

On the early pages he states the demands upon the people of the church and the 'minister' of the church in expecting/allowing revival within the church. A taster:

"A revival is when Christians begin to confess their sins to one another. Usually they confess in a general, halfhearted manner. They may do it in eloquent language, but it means nothing. But when there is an honest breaking down and a pouring out of the heart in confession of sin, the floodgates will soon burst open, and salvation will flow everywhere [O please precious Lord!].

A revival can be expected when Christians are willing to make the sacrifices necessary to carry it on. They must be willing to sacrifice their feelings, business and time to help the work. Ministers must be willing to expend their energy. They must be willing to offend the impenitent [proud, self-righteous, 'sinless' members of your congregation] by plain and faithful speech and perhaps offend many members of the church who will not repent. They must take a stand regarding the revival, whatever the consequences. They must be prepared to go on with the work even though they risk losing the affection of the impenitent cold members of the church."

I know Terry Virgo has urged the leaders and people of Newfrontiers to start praying deliberately and passionately for revival. I guess I better get down to it, more importantly better prepare myself/us for what it may require!

Simon

Entrusted

As an Eldership here at X1 we are trying desperately to discern God's heart on leadership and to reflect that in the whats, the whys, and the hows of our leading. One thing I think we have felt the need to do very early on is to multiply leadership. We see this pattern repeatedly in scripture: Jethro's approaching of Moses and telling him to hand on leadership to good men instead of carrying all the weight himself; Jesus, who would have been more capable than anyone to handle all leadership responsibilities himself, choosing 12 disciples fully aware of the power and future impact of leadership multiplication; and Paul who in his writings to Timothy and Titus displays this multiplying tendency. We're trying to do the same here at X1.

We're aware that the favour of God upon our leadership to allow for growth could easily be hindered were the two of us to demand ownership of every area of church life and to not 'entrust' leadership to those good people He has placed around us. We could easily go from being catalysts of growth to chokers of growth if we do not multiply our leadership. Paul in his second letter to Timothy charges him to 'entrust to faithful men' the things that he has learnt in his own ministry or from Paul as his mentor. We have taken this on and are trusting God to make great things come about.

On Friday morning at 7AM we had our first get together with some fantastic faithful guys hoping that within this context we could excite and equip the leadership and gifting already within these guys. It was a fantastic start and an arena that I pray will become a hotbed for cultivating mighty fruit-bearing oaks for X1 and the Kingdom of God.
God is good, and His eternal models of leadership are essential for the impact of the local church upon culture.

Simon

Doing Something Right?

Oftentimes in our journey of faith, particularly in Christian Leadership we encounter seasons where we feel we are literally at war. This reflects the reality revealed to us by scripture that there is an enemy of those who follow Christ. He is the 'father of lies' he comes to 'steal, kill & destroy,' he is the 'accuser of the brothers [follower of Jesus' and he is constantly at work to distract us from the mission and to steal our joy and assurance in the great love of Christ!

Spurgeon alludes to this with fantastic words here:

"[if anything] makes me believe the work [fruitful ministry] is genuine is just this - that the enemies of Christ are exceedingly mad at it! When the devil roars at anything, you may rest assured there is some good in it. The devil is not like some dogs we know of; he never barks unless there is something to bark at. When Satan howls, we may rest assured he is afraid his kingdom is in danger."

We war against a conquered foe.

Simon

Why I would suggest extreme caution to any watching God TV

I have become increasingly aware that living in a media-heavy age enabling us to access resources literally from every corner of the globe has, like many things, its pros and its cons. One thing that has struck me in the past two to three years is the prevalence of God TV as a reference point for many believers. Often in conversation with individuals I will hear a reference to this channel (or group of channels) and more and more it has left me more concerned than encouraged.

It is often easier to just stay silent on topics like this; but as someone called to shepherd the people entrusted to my/our care I have come to see that it is essential to speak for truth in order to protect. Such words do not need to be heeded, but that does not necessarily mean they should be left unsaid. So I place here, briefly, three reasons why I would be extremely tentative in encouraging anyone to spend much time watching the predominant portion God TV:

1) IT DOES NOT REFLECT AUTHENTIC BIBLICAL COMMUNITY - All of the writings, commands, exhortations of the NT are written to those living out the reality of being immersed within an authentic, damaged, often difficult, grace-demanding body of believers. This is church, and unless you are pursuing your Christian life within such a context you are not actually pursuing your Christian life. God TV offers you an 'edited' world which can withdraw you from and actually make you sour towards the local church. Seek to immerse yourself within 'actual' community with all its flaws for that is true Church.

2) MANY TEACHERS DO NOT SHARE YOUR THEOLOGY - I think it would shock (even rock the faith) of many of the individuals spending many hours watching God TV that some of the most 'profiled' speakers on these shows differ in some absolutely fundamental elements of Theology to them. One such teacher is Modalist Trinitarian something which is totally unbiblical but this man is often referred to by those I have conversation with. Many Western Christians are spending little if any time locked into God's truth and so can be easily misled by those who do not actually have an intention to pastor them and care for their faith discipling and interacting with them relationally. Be very careful, be pastored by 'real' people who are your shepherds, share your values and Theology.

3) ULTIMATELY THESE MEN AND WOMAN ARE NOT YOUR LEADERS - Many people can, sadly I believe, be 'pastored' more by these mega-stars of the Christian world then their own pastors. As I mentioned earlier (point 1) people can actually remove themselves from community and submission to biblical-spiritual-governance because they slip into 'lazy perfect church' that is beamed into their lounges without accountability or responsibility.

Be careful friends, pour your lives into local-biblical community. If each of us is doing that there will be radically different churches reflecting the stunning reality of Gospel-living to those without God.