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About Church 2007

Mega-city Churches 9: How to meet

July 1, 2007

Developing strategies for meeting as God’s people is important if the church is to grow in the big city.  But strategies for meeting also imply strategies for multiplying meetings – after all where will the new disciples go when they change their mind and start following Jesus?

So far I have referred to meetings rather than church services. Church services ought to be a form of meeting. In the Anglican tradition they are meant to serve the goals of building up God’s people by the regular hearing of the Word of God, by the confession of sin, by the prayers and by bringing our praise and thanksgiving together.

These traditional Sunday meetings of the church serve valuable purposes because they bring many together to hear the scriptures and to praise and pray together.  But they do not need to be restricted to Sundays.... Read the rest of the Article.  Post a Comment  [1 Comment]

Mega-city Churches 8: Facing up

June 24, 2007

Disciples need to meet if they are going to be built up together. And when they do meet, they need to be able to talk to each other about what builds them up – that is the word that has come from God. And they need to pray for each other, and encourage each other, and bear each others burdens, and teach each other. So now we are getting closer to the problems of mega-city churches.

Large cities usually have serious transport problems. In order for people to meet together they need to travel. And travel is one of the things that tire people in big cities. So there is often a reluctance to make yet another journey. Especially if the journey is over an unfamiliar route.

But a difficulty is not an impossibility. .. Read the rest of the Article.  Post a Comment

Mega-city Churches 7: Facing in

June 17, 2007

Disciples are always going out with the message from the Father and gathering together in the body of the Son where the Spirit of God meets with them and builds them together as one body. And that building together is one of the hardest parts of discipling.

We began this series by asking how the church can grow in a mega-city. One of the difficulties concerns making disciples. But this difficulty is not peculiar to the mega-city. Indeed it may be easier in a big city where traditional customs and habits are looser and where people are already adapting to new ways of life.

However another difficulty concerns the gathering of the disciples into churches where they can build each other up. .. Read the rest of the Article.  Post a Comment

Mega-city Churches 6: Facing the world

June 10, 2007

The Son willingly laid down his life for us. That is part of the core of the message that gathers people into churches. But it places disciples in an entirely new position.  Paul put it this way, “we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again.” 2 Cor 5.14.

Disciples are dead people granted a new life by Jesus who took them to death in his death, and raised them to new life in his resurrection. So disciples have no claim over their lives anymore. They owe their life to Jesus. In fact the life they are living is not their life but rather his life which he is living in them. This means they can only sustain this new life by trusting Jesus to  continue to live his life in them.

They are on a perpetual life support system... Read the rest of the Article.  Post a Comment

Mega-city Churches 5: What to say?

June 3, 2007

And what if some are not very good speakers, or not very bright, or too frightened, or too ignorant? Or live in what we could call a restricted context?  None of this seems to trouble the Father because he calls all those kinds of people to be disciples of Jesus, and places them just where he wants them. And gives them the message that fits them and their context.

So does that mean the message varies? Undoubtedly.... Read the rest of the Article.  Post a Comment [1 Comment]

Mega-city Churches 4: Help for disciple-making.

May27, 2007

Disciple-making involves bringing into the public sphere the wonderful story about Jesus.  But who is responsible for this? The excellent answer is, not us.

This is God’ s responsibility, but we are his agents, servants, messengers, explainers, persuaders, witnesses. We are his help. He is the great evangelist who comes himself into the public life of his world and into the secret places of the hearts of humans to whisper and shout and shine his own light.

He does this because he is Spirit and it is the Holy Spirit sent from the Father who brings the Father’s message. But he does this through human speech and words, spoken and written by humans. It is as though we human messengers and the Holy Spirit work together in the great task of making disciples...  Read the rest of the Article.  Post a Comment  [1 Comment]

Mega-city Churches 3: how does disciple-making happen?

May20, 2007

How does disciple-making happen? Mysteriously I suppose, but essentially through talking. You can see the pattern in Jesus’ ministry – he was always talking. Even his miracles of healing involved discussion, explanation, rebuke.

Jesus taught his disciples to talk, to proclaim, to announce a great event. He gave them the words for it, he spoke about the Kingdom of God being on their doorstep. He taught them how to make sense of the promises in the Old Testament. He taught them what the key ideas were, and what was the basis of their life as disciples.

And he left them to it – to talk about him. And talk they did, and write. And as they spoke many who heard them believed what they had to say... Read the rest of the Article.  Post a Comment  [1 Comment]

Mega-city Churches 2: making disciples

May13, 2007

Asking how the church can grow may not be the best way to express the question because it leads us to think about particular congregations getting larger. While this is generally a good thing, the main question is not primarily about the church.

A better way to approach the question may be to ask how the disciples of Jesus can multiply in a mega-city, and if they did multiply, what would be the best way for them to meet as the church.  

Once we talk about multiplying disciples we are taken back to the mandate Jesus gave his followers (Matt 28). And we are faced with a personal decision about whether we want to do what he said. In some ways talking about church and especially about church services is much easier...  Read the rest of the Article.  Post a Comment  [1 Comment]

Mega-city churches.

May6, 2007                                                                

One of the questions I have often pondered is how the church can grow in a mega-city?  There are plenty of people for sure. In some ways the modern city is like the first city of refuge, Babel,  in that it is a place where people congregate for their security and livelihood. But mega-cities are at the same time scattered places. Distance, the tyranny of traffic, the isolation of high rise apartments, and the ubiquitous security defences tend to separate rather then bring people together.

How could the church grow in such an environment? With difficulty, is the short answer. The external and internal constraints are great. But before I get too far ahead of myself, some will ask why does the church need to grow? And which church are we talking about?

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A basis for good practice

15 April  2007                                                                

DEfence! DEfence! DEfence! You know the cry if you have been in a basketball stadium. Reaction! is another way to think about what to do when we come up against something that looks like a threat.

In the world of debates and arguments, reacting in defence against what appears to be a mistaken argument is a normal and natural way to cope – at first at least. Although some people prefer to go on the offensive. But in the to and fro of a debate it is possible for both sides to defend their position so strongly that they deny the true aspects of the other position.

Churches are no exception.  Read the rest of the Article.  Post a Comment  [1 Comment]

What is the issue?

25 March  2007                                                         

In an article on the Ministry Health website http://ministryhealth.net/ , Thomas Fischer discusses some of the factors involved in congregational conflict.  He states again an old principle, that “The issue is not the issue”.

He identifies some of the common issues that emerge in congregational conflicts. My list might include conflict about music, money, evangelism, leadership style, and buildings. But my experience agrees with his, the presenting issues are never the real issue.

He identifies five more fundamental causes...  Read the rest of the Article ... Post a Comment

Substitutes?

18 March  2007                                                         

What is necessary for All Saints to grow as a church? Numerically or spiritually do you mean? The distinction is false. A church can’t grow numerically as a church unless it grows spiritually. It could grow numerically as an association or centre of human interest. It could even grow numerically as a source of entertainment – but then it would not really be a church.

... If it grew spiritually in its devotion and  love for Jesus as a church, then it would also grow in its internal fellowship relationships.  That is what a church is – a fellowship. It may be possible to think of individual Christians growing in their own relationships with Jesus without the church growing. But in that case their real spiritual growth would be seriously stunted because they would have neglected one of the chief aspects of Christian life – fellowship...  Read the rest of the Article.... Post a Comment.

Making a difference.

11 March  2007                                                         

How may pessimistic discussions have you had this week? It is quite easy to start one. Think of tax, transport, corruption, law, business, bureaucracy. Take any country you know. And then ask, can anyone make a difference?

Our brothers and sisters in the Anglican Church in Indonesia have made their theme for this year, “Making a Difference”. But what does it mean? – in English.  Or how would you translate it into Indonesian? Or how could we make a difference? ... Read the rest of the Article.... Post a comment

I'm on your side. (Tears and fellowship)

25 February 2007                                                 

“When you're weary, Feelin' small, When tears are in your eyes, I will dry them all”. Human tears. Humans have tears, and they have friends to dry them. Usually. Sometimes there are no others to hear our cries or dry our tears. Sometimes we feel alone.

“I'm on your side, When times get rough, And friends just can't be found” says the Paul Simon song. But who is it that is on our side when there are no friends?  God will wipe away every tear from our eyes – in heaven, according to Revelation. But what about now?

The song promises a friend to the friendless. So they are not actually friendless. But who is this? Is the song offering an empty hope, or is it a seduction song? Who can come to our side when times are rough? Does God have a plan for this? ...

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