Triumphal processions

April 5,  2009  - Dale

Triumphal processions.  Everyone likes them. Think back to January when the President of the United States was inaugurated. The whole world watched, and many more would have loved to have been down on the street amongst the crowds to wave and cheer.

Parades happen everywhere to celebrate victories, to welcome back sporting heroes, to honour soldiers, or to welcome visiting dignitaries.

The Sunday before Jesus death was one of those days. A spontaneous outpouring of popular hope and support. A political campaign in disguise perhaps. People attracted to a man they thought might be able to save them in some way.  No doubt they all had different ideas about what he could do.

What most of them didn’t know was that his method of helping them would be fatal. .. Read the rest of the Article.

The big picture

March 29,  2009  - Ian

Our All Saints history month of March is at an end and so the quiz now finishes with the last main section of history; the time from the end of the second world war until now.

As I have look over the whole 190 year period what has struck me as important to note is that the church has been a great influence amongst the local population – be they ‘Indonesians’ or ‘Expatriates’, but also at times the church has been very small and seemingly insignificant.

Yet what has never changed, nor ever will, is the work that God does in this land. He wants people to know Christ and so God will always leave representatives of his people here to be a witness for him.

How effective we work with God is very much in our hands and His in this partnership we call church.

Ian Hadfield

What shapes the service?

March 22,  2009  - Dale

One of the most devastating critiques of church life occurs in Paul’s letters to the Corinthians. There were lots of tensions between the Corinthians and Paul, and his letters include quite a lot of heartfelt appeals to them to change their attitudes. He encourages them to stop being proud of the wrong things, to look after those who don’t understand much, and to leave behind the values of their background culture in favour of the values of the gospel.

The Corinthians were a resourceful and able group of Christians. They knew how to take initiatives, they were talented and full of enthusiasm. They were great on service. They knew they had been “shaped for serving God”. But some had not yet learned that building a church and serving brothers and sisters did not start from gifts or enthusiasm.  

It starts with love.  Paul’s devastating critique of church life has been turned into a sentimental poem by modern people. It is popular at weddings. But it does not seem to have come to life as a manifesto of relationships in church. .. Read the rest of the Article.

Grateful hearts

March 15,  2009  - Dale

This Sunday Menteng congregations have a chance to look back at 190 years of mission and ministry centred on the Menteng site. Some of us know the main parts of the story, some have favourite stories or characters. Some have been here for long enough to be part of the history ourselves.

Looking back at history is always selective. Partly due to our lack of knowledge, partly due to what interests us. When Christians look back at the history of a Christian mission or ministry, one of their interests is in what God has done, as well as what his servants have done.

Whether we look back a month, a year, or a century we can see the evidence of God at work in and through his servants. We can give thanks for what God has done. We can also give thanks for what people have done.  The apostle Paul often thanked God for his Christian friends.

There are some stand out people in the history of the ministry here.... Read the rest of the Article.

What to do while you are waiting

March 8,  2009  - Dale

In the years between the Great Revival of the 1700s and the Treaty of Nanking in 1842, a great movement of enthusiasm and deep commitment developed in Europe and Britain. Some of the energy went into reforms at home. Anti-slavery movements, and working conditions for example.

But the newly discovered lands to the east had captured the imagination of thousands of Christians. Missionary Societies were formed. Christians were challenged,  trained, and sent out as missionaries. In many cases entering new lands on the heels of the East India Company, or the Dutch East Indies Company or following traders and government officials.

One of the great destinations was China. ... Read the rest of the Article.

All Saints History Month -  Quiz 1

March 1,  2009  - Ian

It has been 190 years since All Saints commenced. The month of March is history month to help us learn more about the workings of our wonderful saviour in this part of the world. Questions will be written each week with answers the following week. Buy a copy of the wonderful book – “Changes and Chances”  by Andrew Lake and learn the whole story.

This week: the early period of the church we know as All Saints Menteng.

1) When was the church originally founded? ... Read the rest of the Article and see the answers to the Quiz

The Rest

February 22,  2009  - Dale

It feels as though it is time for a little rest. The Mission Trip was a terrific time, with the usual unexpected changes and challenges. The Mission Goals launch followed last week and brought new challenges, opportunities and questions.

Church Council had a major meeting last Monday and decided to invite a person to serve as a Youth Minister  in the parish. This has come as one of the big outcomes of our planning process which began at the end of 2007. It will challenge us both financially as well as in the way we work together to help in the ministry and outreach to young people.

One of our main goals at the moment is to build the church. Starting from the inside out. Strengthening the fellowship, welcoming and including the newcomers. Especially seeking to build up the different foreign contingents and helping them mix and grow together.

And after that there seems to be the opportunity and challenge to start new congregations.... Read the rest of the Article.

Encouraging, and being encouraged by, Christians in Central Java. 

Ministry Trip Reflection

February 15,  2009  - Ian

3 E’s summarise for me the 4 day trip of 19 people from All Saints Menteng and South Jakarta as we travelled around central Java. The 3 E’s: exciting, energising and encouraging. 

Exciting as we saw the gifts that God has given us and how he can use those gifts to help build the church: the church of All Saints and the 5 churches with which we had contact over the weekend. We heard how God had worked in Sugi’s life and Trevor (Joy’s brother in law) with no  Indonesian speaking shine in communicating as he made a speech at a DVD hand over ceremony...ably assisted by Maria or Mega (from All Saints’ Outreach project group ; tell-a-village) and Cheryl (Joy’s sister) talking to many people in whatever way she could. ... Read the rest of the Article.

A thank you from the Team Leader

Dear Team

Thank you for all your time, effort, work, service, creativity, laughter, joy, words, patience, helpfulness, kindness, generosity, care, perseverance (even endurance!) RISK taking spirit, and overall for showing what it really means to be servants of God. It has been such an honour working alongside all of you, and despite unforeseen obstacles, and as Natalie puts it, “it was such a joy to be stranded with such a lovely bunch of people!” ... Read the rest of the Article.

In Us God Trusts

February 8,  2009  - Dale

Down and sad. The world seems to be feeling like that at the moment.  Hopes dashed. Future uncertain. The world’s major religion apparently in tatters – well perhaps consumer capitalism is not in tatters but it seems a bit sick.

And groups like the church that depend on voluntary gifts can be tempted to join the depression. What does one do when the usual resources are threatened? Look for new ones, tighten belts, protect what is more vital, shed the fat, undertake the long deferred efficiency drive. All helpful no doubt.

But groups like the church are not quite the same as other groups. ... Read the rest of the Article.

Building up

February 1,  2009  - Ian

“To know and make known the love of Jesus”. This is the All Saints Anglican Churches’ mission statement. It is a great mission statement showing two responses to Jesus’ initiative in our lives. The two responses are; 1) to know the love of Jesus and 2) to make the love of Jesus known.

Today we look at All Saints’ planned response to 1).The key word for knowing the love of Jesus is “building”.

To know the love of Jesus is firstly about a personal response to Jesus as saviour and Lord. That is, make sure that you have a personal relationship with Jesus, that you know him as friend, saviour and king, that he is your hope and joy. Do it as soon as possible. It is the best thing that you can do – ever. That is building a wonderful home on the foundation of Jesus’ love.

We at All Saints want each one of us to build on that relationship with Jesus; to not only understand the love of Jesus in our minds but to demonstrate it in our lives.... Read the rest of the Article.

How old?

January 25,  2009  - Dale

Is it an advantage to be so old? Or is age a hindrance to life? Does life increase or decrease the longer it lasts?  I suppose it depends on who is living the life. In this case it is a church. But is the church that old?

Something has been at Menteng since 1819. We say it is a church (we are not talking about the building at this point). We could be talking about the organisation or institution that has been here under different names for 190 years. But this is a kind of historical construction in our minds. A way of summarising the life of groups of people as that life is seen through the organisation they developed.

The living thing that is the church is not quite the same as its institutional structure. The church is the continuously changing group of people who have met here for 190 years to worship and serve the Lord Jesus Christ, and to build each other up.

The church that is alive now is a group of people that has been meeting for a much shorter time. It is both old and new. It is continuous with the first group, but it is an entirely different group.

And that is where we can see potential for both strength and weakness... Read the rest of the Article. Post a Comment [0 Comment]

Mission

January 18,  2009  - Ian

Do you know that All Saints has a mission statement? Now here is a harder question; do you know the words of the mission statement? I’ll give you ten seconds to say it correctly 10, 9, 8, 7, 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1. Ding! Your time is up. Did you get it right? ½ right? Had no idea?... the mission statement of All Saints is to know and make known the love of Jesus.

Over the next few weeks of February, as a whole church and Menteng and South Jakarta, we are going to have a look at the church’s mission statement and see the implications for what we will plan to do for the rest of this year and beyond.  A mission statement is what businesses use as a short sentence explaining the company’s purpose. So for example Starbucks’ mission statement is to “Establish Starbucks as the premier purveyor of the finest coffee in the world while maintaining our uncompromising principles while we grow”.

The church IS different to a business but... Read the rest of the Article. Post a Comment [0 Comment]

Probably no worries?

January 11,  2009  - Dale

At last atheists in Britain have their own buses. At least buses with their religion advertised. 140,000 pounds has been raised to place the message – "There's probably no God. Now stop worrying and enjoy your life" – on 200 bendy buses, according to the Telegraph. More adverts will follow in other locations. A Christian group even contributed to the fund-raising, presumably on the grounds that it encourages people to talk about the Christian faith.

Some atheists apparently wanted to say “There is no god.” But advertising laws were thought to have prevented such a bold claim.

But, supposing that there is no God, does it follow that one should now stop worrying and enjoy life?  Might it not be more worrying to discover that there may not be a God? Does the alleged absence of a God make life more secure and certain? What is it about the absence of a God that takes the worry out of life? ... Read the rest of the Article. Post a Comment [0 Comment]

Be ready for 09

January 4,  2009  - Ian

At the cusp of another New Year, we have just said goodbye to the old one and welcomed in the new. There is a stronger sense of hope that this year must be better than the one just gone. After all, the last one was so hard, so difficult and so challenging things must get better.

My prayer is that it will be a better year, but maybe it will not. Maybe it will be harder with an economic crisis still in the foreground, global warming changing our climate, an Indonesian election year and all the uncertainty and unrest that this can bring etc, etc. 2009 still needs us to be ready for what it might bring.

How can we be ready? ... Read the rest of the Article. Post a Comment [0 Comment]