MI7:7

Mission Rally 2011

2011-06-23T11:24:00.002+01:00

If you didn't make it to a packed-out Cullybackey last week, here's Rev. David McCullough's powerful address. Take half an hour and be stirred for mission.

Kraft on Jonathans and Nathans

2011-06-22T14:29:00.001+01:00

Good post for young Christian leaders, particularly guys

http://theresurgence.com/2011/06/22/you-flat-out-wont-make-it-without-these-two

Reformed Christian: Don't Be A Gun Collector; Shoot Something!

2011-05-07T15:38:00.002+01:00

Another great clip from The Elephant Room event from last month. Looking forward to the dvd! Here MacDonald and Driscoll talk to Greg Laurie, the arminian-leaning evangelist. Listen out for rebuke on holding fast to doctrine but failing to use it to lead sinners to Christ - and then being overly-critical of others who do...

Gun-Collectors, Not Soldiers from Harvest Bible Chapel on Vimeo.

Keller On The Death Of "The Mushy Middle"

2011-05-06T09:49:00.001+01:00

Tim Keller - Interview Session #3 from Vintage21 Church on Vimeo.

Excited For The Wedding?

2011-04-28T15:49:00.003+01:00

When the normally dead-pan and serious BBC news presenters are beaming at you under Union Jacks, surrounded by over-excited Royalists from around the globe outside Westminster Abbey, you know something out of the ordinary is happening. Yes, tomorrow's The Big Day and everybody's going Cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs.

As enjoyable as the spectacle of Prince William's marriage to Kate Middleton will be, there's a lot of interesting debate about it going on in the background. The cynics are wondering what all the fuss is about; the anti-royalists are moaning about the tax-payer contributing anything at all to the wedding; the gossip columnists are lambasting Kate Middleton for not leading a more exciting lifestyle for them to obsess over and analyse. Even sadder are the geekish individuals phoning into 5Live to suggest that the country can't afford another Bank Holiday and everyone should be in work tomorrow!

The one constant refrain held to by the wedding enthusiasts against all this is that this lovely big syrupy-sweet wedding takes our minds off the misery of this wretched 'current economic climate' we all keep hearing about. People are struggling, depressed and in need of a break, and the wedding is the perfect tonic to all the financial and social doom and gloom. One woman I heard on the radio the other night summed it up well: it lifts our spirits, she said, to look forward to a joyful and happy event like the royal wedding. Personally I can't wait for Friday, she said with a giggle.

All of which reminded me of the great hope we hold as Christians, awaiting the return of King Jesus. The Wedding to end all weddings is not taking place tomorrow, but on a day in the future known only to the Father (Matthew 24:36). The invitation has been sent out and people have no time to waste with their RSVP. Revelation 21 paints for us the picture of Jesus' Bride, the Church, being wedded to him. No doubt the superlatives will be rolling tomorrow at the sight of Kate's dress; but it will be nothing to compare to the holiness and beauty adorning the servants of the King. Picture language tells us the Bride of Christ, the City of Jerusalem, will have 'the glory of God, its radiance like the most rare jewel, like a jasper, clear as crystal' (Rev 19:10&11).

It is an awesome thought to believe that, sinful and corrupted though we are today, our sanctification will result in our being presented to Jesus holy, spotless and blameless without flaw or wrinkle. He's coming to meet us and it will be the marriage feast to end all others, before we enjoy life in the new heavens and new earth serving him.

That's why William and Kate's marriage at this particular time and in these circumstances is such a helpful reminder for the Christian. Things aren't going well in this world. People are indeed struggling and unfortunately an extra bank holiday won't fix it. But on the last Wedding Day, we won't just be able to forget our problems for a few hours; we will enjoy our full restoration and resurrection, in the new heavens and new earth, thanks to Jesus Christ.

There's something to really look forward to.

TIME's Most Influential People

2011-04-26T11:10:00.012+01:00

It's that time of year again when the widely read and respected TIME magazine publishes a list of what, for it, are the 100 most influential people worldwide right now. Among those on whom the title was bestowed this time, a number should stand out to Christians.

MARK ZUCKERBERG, Facebook Founder

Commenting on the influence of the computer nerd-turned multi-billionaire, April Capone, a mayor from Connecticut, told of how she had been able to provide a kidney for a constituent who had publicised his need on Facebook. She wrote: 'Every year 7,000 people in the U.S. die while awaiting a transplant. I know of at least one person who survived, thanks to Mark Zuckerberg... and his little idea called Facebook.'

ROB BELL, Preacher and Author

Jon Meacham of Ran

dom House publishing claims that Bell is 'at the forefront of a rethinking of Christianity in Am

erica.' On the whole question of who gets saved and what does it even mean to be saved, Meacham writes: 'Rob Bell thinks he knows - or, more precisely, he thinks we can't know, because the biblical discussion of salvation... is contradictory.' Bell says: 'I don't take a position of certainty because, of course, I don't know how it all turns out'. Bell should check out Revelation 19:11 and following...

JUSTIN BIEBER, Pop 'Phenomenon' (TIME)

'He was born a star', writes Usher. 'It's like our vocal coach... tells us: You gave up normality a long time ago for spectacular. Not many people can do that, so enjoy it... Stay tuned because his story will get even better'.

OPRAH WINFREY, Television 'Pioneer'

Ted Turner, CNN founder, writes: 'She has not only made it to the top with the cards stacked against her, but she has also made extra-ordinary contributions to our global community through her philanthropic efforts... I have often said that if women ruled the world... we'd all be better off. I have a feeling that with the possibilities at Oprah's fingertips, we may be one step closer.'

CHRIS COLFER, Actor

Glee fans will recognise

him as Kurt, the gay character from the hugely popular TV show. Of the influence and significance of such a widely known and loved gay character, Colfer's fellow Glee star Dianna Agron writes: 'Chris, 20, lives by extreme truth... To witness the power he gives to his audience firsthand? It's wonderful.'

****************

This post isn't intended to deny the influence, fame or popularity of any of these people. But I think it is important to be aware of their influence. Take Oprah, for example. In 2002 Christianity

Today called her a post-modern icon of 'church-free spirituality'. Her self-help programme, The Secret, encourages users to change their own lives through positive thoughts which then send out good vibrations in the world around them. She has been called an African American goddess on more than one occasion.

Chris Colfer is the latest celebrity in a long line arguing for the 'extreme truth', as Agron calls it, that homosexuality is just another lifestyle, life choice, and it can be your whole identity to be as flamboyantly gay as possible. Because he's a character in one of the most popular TV shows worldwide, no one dares question the place of such a view in mainstream culture, even though the research consistently shows that a gay bias has long existed in the media in general and television in particular.

Whatever your opinion on these individuals, alongside President Obama, Prime Minister David Cameron and Prince William and Kate Middleton's wedding, they are, apparently, among the 100 most influential people in the world. Perhaps it is helpful to be aware of what they stand for, or stand against, as we try to engage in a culture increasingly prone to idolatry and celebrity worship.

In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit... To that end, keep alert with all perseverance...

- Ephesians 6:16-18

RP Young People: Take Some Rebuke

2011-04-14T10:10:00.004+01:00

Just saw a preview of The Elephant Room conference from a few weeks ago. Strongly convicted by this discussion. It seems incredibly hypocritical for me to be posting this, but if it speaks to you like it spoke to me, it will mark a change in attitude and be a blessing. Something Northern Irish Christians in particular seem to get totally wrong is making jokes about gay people/calling something "gay". Making the excuse that we just have a brutal sense of humour is not going to cut it any longer in a society constantly debating this issue. So listen to the words of, among others, a young pastor who planted a church in a former gay bar.

The only person laughing when we make jokes about homosexuality is Satan.

Jokes About Gay People? from Harvest Bible Chapel on Vimeo.

Three New Book Reviews

2011-04-12T11:22:00.009+01:00

Thought it was about time I got back on the blog, so here's some long over-due book reviews to kick us off...

BIBLICAL DOCTRINES ON HEAVEN AND HELL

This wasn't on my actual to-read pile, but it was in my 'mental' to-read pile for ages. Considering everything that's been said in recent months online and in bookshops and everywhere else on the subject, I thought Pastor Donnelly's book deserved to be fast-tracked.

Many things took me aback in the book - a fresh realisation of the awfulness of hell, a conviction over not caring deeply as I should for those who are going there, a lesson in why we should really be looking forward to heaven - but above all, I was taken aback by the author's courage and humility in writing about hell at all. It is not easy to read and must have been even harder to write, knowing how unpopular it is, and aware, even ten years ago, that other pastors have avoided it or watered it down. As Tim Challies notes in his review of the book, we are not at the mercy of the author's own imagination when reading through this. Every line, every single statement about the doctrine of hell, and indeed the doctrine of heaven, is firmly grounded in Scripture. If you don't believe me, buy the book and search in vain for an argument that doesn't refer back to the Bible. It really was humbling to read, and to see the heart of a pastor, earnestly pleading that those unsaved reading would trust in Christ, and that Christian readers would take more seriously the doctrines of heaven and hell.

After an opening chapter on why we have to think about hell, followed by a chapter on the 'Biblical Basics' of the doctrine, Pastor Donnelly covers the biblical teaching that hell is everlasting, referring often to the parable Jesus told of the rich man and Lazarus in Luke 17 as well as to Jesus' frequent references to unending judgement in the Gospel of Matthew. Then there is the convicting chapter on 'Hell And The Believer'. This really was a powerful word personally. Whilst of course we can be thankful as Christians that we are not bound for hell, Pastor Donnelly noted that, given our knowledge of hell and our salvation from it, we should more be: 1. Putting Sin To Death 2. Content 3. Serious 4. Appreciate Christ more and more 5. Have Zeal For Evangelism 6. Humbly Accept God's Sovereign Choice. Convicting words indeed.

Prof. Donnelly then moves on to the doctrine of heaven, and the highlight in this second half of the book is the repeated focus on the person of Jesus being at the centre of it all. He repeats the oft-used analogy of the two great giants, one called Adam and one called Christ. By nature we find ourselves attached to the belt of the first man; but through salvation we are transferred on to the belt of the last man. Jesus is at the centre of heaven, and everything good and enjoyable and funny and uplifting will be there. Additionally, as Christians we can indeed enjoy some of heaven now: 'We may, in measure, live in heaven now, for it is found in any place where we meet with God... Wherever we are may truly be the house of God' (page 79). What a wonderful thought!

This book is celebrating its tenth anniversary, and it is a timely word indeed for Christians keen to understand the biblical doctrines of heaven and hell. There's no hip and trendy video trailer and the page margins are very narrow. The focus is on content and faithfulness to Scripture above anything else, and any questions that are asked are asked humbly and answered by the Bible and from a pastor's heart. Curiosity alone should move you to read it, but be prepared to be convicted and challenged to witness more earnestly for Christ.

LEADERS WHO LAST

On an entirely different topic we have the ultra-practical book Leaders Who Last by Dave Kraft, a leader at The Navigators for 40 years (!) and now an elder at Mars Hill Church in Seattle. The front cover states the startling statistic that only 30% of leaders last, without failing or quitting, and the book is an attempt to re-focus the evangelical church on leadership and legacy.

Kraft splits his book into three parts. Part 1 is Foundations. Kraft begins with focussing on the leader's power, which comes only and always through Christ and his calling to the leader. Without a daily, deep, ongoing relationship with the Saviour leaders can lead no one. He goes on in Foundations to discuss the leader's need for Purpose, Passion, Priorities and Pacing, emphasising the need for Sabbath rest in the last chapter (though admittedly in a typically roundabout, modern sort of way!). Personally I found the chapters on purpose and passion particularly helpful; there are some questions to apply to yourself asking what your gifts are, how you believe you serve others and what you feel called by God to do. Part Two of the book focuses on Formation: chapters cover the leader's Calling, Gifts, Character and Growth. Part Three is Fruitfulness, covering the leader's Vision, Influence and Legacy.

At 148 pages and with a detailed outline, this is a very accessible book. Personally, parts of it were more timely than others - Part 3 focussed a lot on training, coaching and discipling the next generation of leaders (which, Kraft laments, is being widely ignored by the church in general today) and I probably took more away from the chapters on formation and passion and purpose. But there are many, many helpful and practical pointers here. There is focus on accountability, an organised schedule, a need for team-oriented leadership, for vision in the church, and for a leader to surround himself with people who catch his vision and help him to bring it into reality. He stresses the need for accountability in the life of a leader and openness to new ideas, quoting challenging little lines like 'Yesterday's home runs will not win today's ball games'! Kraft has drawn on the experiences of leaders and visionaries from the worlds of business, finance, sport and elsewhere, as well as his own experience of over 40 years in ministry. In his introduction he says that his book is aimed at: senior pastors; ministry staff members; volunteer leaders; Sunday school teachers; small group leaders and leaders in parachurch organisations. The focus is less on going verse by verse through Scripture passages on the subject (though frequent references are made to Titus 1, 1 Timothy 3, Exodus 18 etc) and more on innovation, freshness and vision in the modern-day church leader. You may not agree with everything you read, but it really is a wonderfully practical book, and the questions for personal reflection should be reconsidered every few months. Older leaders, seasoned leaders and the leaders of tomorrow should all read Kraft's book.

MINISTERING LIKE THE MASTER

Finally, I ticked off another 'Olyott' over the weekend with this little book based on Pastor Olyott's addresses at the Leicester Ministers' Conference of some years ago. At 86 pages

it's almost a booklet, but we won't hold it against him! The focus is entirely on ministering in a Christlike way, and he goes straight to the Master and fixes our eyes upon him as he moves in and out of the villages around the Sea of Galilee and the crowds in Jerusalem during his three years of preaching and pastoring on earth. Chapters 1 and 2 focus on Jesus' preaching; Olyott notes that Christ was firstly not a boring preacher: during the Sermon on the Mount he would State, Illustrate and Apply his message. Olyott notes that the Sermon on the Mount is made up of these three elements and that each are given almost equal time in the sermon. Chapter 2 states that Jesus was an evangelistic preacher (Matthew 11:20-27) and that we, like him, should point our finger, bend our knee and open our arms, for this is what Jesus did. Finally, chapter 3 focuses on the fact that Jesus was not just a preacher, he was a pastor (Mark 1). He identified with sinners, he underwent temptation, he made disciples by personal conversations, he personally confronted evil, he cared for the sick, he maintained a life of secret prayer and he touched the untouchable. Stuart Olyott is always enjoyable to read because there's such warmth and delight in his work -he loves to talk about his Lord and Saviour and he loves to simply and practically explain the Word to us. This book is no different, and there is much for the preacher to consider for sermon preparation and delivery. Are we ministering like the Master? Do our sermons mirror his? If not, whose do they mirror? And why would we not want them to be more like Christ's?!

Three great books, five stars for each one. Go and buy them and read them. I pretty much say that every time. But you still should!

Keep An Eye...

2011-03-06T22:51:00.003Z

Not to add too much more to the furore of recent days over Rob Bell's new book, but here's another troubling piece of evidence that suggests Love Wins is going to see him stray further than ever from Biblical doctrine.

The New York Times has been given an advanced copy of the book, and here's what they, a neutral, secular, if anything liberal-leaning body, said:

'Judging from an advance copy, the 200-page book is unlikely to assuage Mr. Bell’s critics. In an elliptical style, he throws out probing questions about traditional biblical interpretations, mixing real-life stories with scripture.

Much of the book is a sometimes obscure discussion of the meaning of heaven and hell that tears away at the standard ideas. In his version, heaven is something that begins here on earth, in a life of goodness, and hell seems more a condition than an eternal fate — “the very real consequences we experience when we reject all the good and true and beautiful life that God has for us.”

While sliding close to what critics consider the heresy of “universalism” — that all humans will eventually be saved — he never uses the term.'

Watch this space.

'We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God's word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone's conscience in the sight of God. And if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled only to those who are perishing... For God, who said "Let light shine out of darkness," has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.'

- 2 Corinthians 4:2,3&6

Book Review: The Lord's Day

2011-02-25T10:58:00.006Z

'So then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. Let us therefore strive to enter that rest...'

Hebrews 4:9-11a

Several months back I listened to a sermon by John Piper entitled 'Is There A Lord's Day?' (blog post here). At the beginning of the sermon he recommended this book by Joey Pipa, a gifted theologian and pastor from the States (Pipa actually spoke at the Reformed Theological College and Shaftesbury Square RPC in Belfast last year and everyone who heard spoke very highly!).

In his extremely helpful book on Lord's Day observance, Pipa's over-arching theme is a comparison of the Lord's Day to a wonderful park in the middle of a city, a park that was designed with a wonderful purpose but which has been mismanaged, neglected or abused at various times over the years. As I read on, this illustration became more and more helpful. Though the book is relatively brief and compact, compared to Don Carson's work 'From Sabbath To Lord's Day', which argues against the need for ongoing Sabbath observance (which I haven't read), Pipa gives a thorough over-view of the biblical principles, commands and purposes behind the Sabbath, beginning in Genesis 2:1-3 and referencing Isaiah 58:13&14, where we find the great promises of rest and delight that are found in honouring the Sabbath.

Pipa argues strongly, from Scripture, against the misinterpretations of passages like Colossians 2:16&17 and Romans 14:5&6 which seem popular and widely held amongst some of the most respected and influential pastors and preachers in the U.S. today. His reasoning, structure and explanation regarding biblical Sabbath observance, from the Old Testament through the New, is really helpful. I found it to be a real spiritual blessing to consider again the gift and delight that resting on Sunday, as an act of faith and remembrance of Jesus' sacrifice, can be to the Christian. Why oh why would we want to ignore it?! Pipa also throws in a chapter over-viewing the attitude to the Sabbath throughout church history. I found this chapter less helpful, since the Church seems to have a patchy record on the issue. I was surprised to learn something of the neglect of the Sabbath that followed the Reformation, though this seems to have been in part a reaction to the legalism that had set in under Roman Catholicism.

However, this only takes us through chapter 9. In the last four chapters, Pipa changes his approach entirely, becoming ultra-practical in sharing his own views and practices when it comes to Lord's Day observance. Honestly, I didn't benefit a great deal from this section. Though Pipa writes with the intention of showing how the Sabbath can be a delight for individuals and families - and some of what he says is indeed very helpful (good family worship times, discussion of the sermon during dinner, having special privileges and Sunday activities for children) - at times some of his pointers came off as a little legalistic and extreme. I suppose he is only sharing his own practices - and perhaps that is the point. When it comes to the hours between morning and evening services, individuals and families need to decide for themselves how they can make the day a delight and a focus on the finished work of Jesus on the cross. Certainly it doesn't seem extreme to suggest that we should try and finish up as many of our chores and work-related responsibilities before Sunday morning, but beyond that I think Christians need to consider carefully for themselves what Lord's Day observance looks like in their households. What is important, and what Pipa constantly reminds of in his book with warmth and grace, is that the Sabbath is a day full of promise and blessing and spiritual nourishment, if we use it the way God has intended.

To remind yourself of how and why God has set aside a day of rest, and why even after Jesus has completed his work on the cross we should still observe a day of rest ourselves, and to consider how it can be a delight, I would highly recommend Joey Pipa's book.

Two thirds of it anyway...!

Long Over-Due Update From Fermanagh

2011-02-18T09:33:00.003Z

Sorry for the lack of pictures; I'll find my camera and put it to use for next time!

To the two of you who were wondering what had happened, no, I haven't ended my short term service prematurely and yes, an update from Enniskillen is long past its due-date. Anyway, better late than never...

Unbelievably, this is me at the halfway point of my placement here. Looking back over the last 4.5 months, and these last few weeks in particular, I think what I've been learning most from the Lord is the need for patience and prayer in church planting in general and in evangelism in particular. Last night at the midweek we were studying Zechariah 4:6-14. In verse 6b God says to His prophet: 'Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the LORD of hosts'. As we discussed the way forward and what sort of evangelism and ministry we might engage in when, God-willing, we move to Sligo Road, it gave us great cause to pause and praise God for the work He does, and, we trust, will do through His Spirit. We do not have might or power, but we have the Holy Spirit, and it is only and always through him that the church is built up.

With that in mind, we thank God for the encouragements we have had in recent weeks and look forward to Him adding to them in the months ahead.

FUEL

Give thanks for encouragements in my relationships with the staff. The woman in charge who seemed so wary of having me come in October commented recently on how pleased she is with my work and mentioned that the kids all seem to get on well with me. I don't say this to blow my own trumpet; it is an answer to prayer, because I have been praying that God would soften her heart and that by my words and work I would prove myself to be a good worker and thus a good witness to the Fuel staff.

Fuel was being inspected last week by some outside authorities. The result of the inspection is very important: they basically have to come through it with flying colours to continue their funding. The staff were quite stressed and worried about it. Thank God for the opportunity my Christian colleague, Other Philip (!), had to pray with our boss when she came to him asking for prayer for the inspection. Thank God also for a number of opportunities I've had to speak to some of the kids about spiritual things - when they bring it up. Again, I need wisdom here as I can't be seen to be 'preaching' to them as such. But already there have been opportunities for me to share my faith. Pray also for my conversations with the staff - people I can speak to openly about Jesus. Pray for a clear opportunity to invite one person I've been speaking with to church very soon.

CHRISTIANITY EXPLORED AND OTHER CONTACTS

Continue to pray for the two individuals who are currently doing Christianity Explored with Robert and myself. Give thanks and praise for one profession of faith and pray earnestly for another! The hunger for the Word and for teaching and instruction from these two has been wonderful, and their faithful attendance at church and desire to complete the Explored course is a real answer to prayer for the folks here. Praise God for this.

Pray for Robert at the running club and myself with the five-aside football guys on a Thursday night. Pray for opportunities to build friendships and share the Gospel. Pray particularly for one man Robert has invited to the midweek from the running club, that he will come as he said he will next week and be challenged by what he sees and hears.

Pray for a couple who did marriage classes with Robert and who have just returned from honey-moon. Pray that they might be moved to come out to worship again.

WITS-END MINISTRY

Give thanks for a more encouraging response to the new Wits-End Ministry cards that Robert has created, which we now give out on the doors. They are aimed at people struggling with depression, alcohol/drug abuse, family problems etc. We are currently working in two large Roman Catholic estates, and this week asked a local primary school if it would be possible to hold a future meeting on depression etc at their building. The Principal had no objection; give thanks for this and pray that, should we hold a meeting there in future, that the local residents (who live right beside the school!) would be moved to come.

THE NEW BUILDING

By God's grace the decision to reject our plans to turn a house into a worship building was reversed and we now have permission to do so. However, we will not be starting renovations until April 20th, because there is a three month window in which people can go to court to object to the decision. This is highly unlikely, since it would be a great expense to whomever opposed us, but nontheless we will not finalise the sale until the three months is up. We can, however, begin drawing up more detailed plans for the work and make preparations, with builders coming to inspect the building, working out costs etc. A committee of four, made up of members of the fellowship, has been set up to co-ordinate this work. Pray particularly for Howard Allen as he chairs this committee, and give thanks for the experience and gifts he brings to it.

Pray for the members as they prayerfully consider how best to begin ministry and witness in the community we hope to go to. It is a completely 'unchurched' portion of the town and we will be right in the middle of two large housing estates. We are keen to hit the ground running when we arrive and to serve the community in practical ways, rather than just stuff literature through doors and expect people to come to our meetings. Pray that God would clearly direct us here, and that we will be amazed when we arrive and see the many needs we can practically address.

PRAY PRAY PRAY!

As I said at the beginning, prayer and patience is what I'm learning at the moment. There is so much to give thanks for here; my natural desire is to see all these prayers answered yesterday! But building these relationships and exploring these opportunities takes real time and effort, so pray for us please. And remember, the Spirit of God will work and His Word will not return to Him void.

For whoever has despised the day of small things shall rejoice, and shall see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel.

Zechariah 4:10

Book Review: Don't Waste Your Life; Desiring God 25th Anniversary

2011-02-01T10:36:00.008Z

'I will tell you what a tragedy is. I will show you how to waste your life. Consider this story from the February 1998 Reader's Digest: A couple took early retirement from their jobs... when he was 59 and she was 51. Now they live in Punta Gorda, Florida, where they cruise on their 30-foot trawler, play softball and collect shells... Picture them before Christ at the great day of judgment: "Look, Lord. See my shells." That is a tragedy.'

- John Piper, Don't Waste Your Life

'...I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I might gain Christ...'

-Philippians 3:8

Looking for some inspiration before giving a talk on Facebook and the internet, I picked up this Piper book from my shelf a few months ago. I think I bought it at a camp about 7 years ago and never bothered reading the whole book until now. It was certainly helpful for the talk but it was also just a great read.

Those of you who have read a few 'Pipers' will be familiar with the singular passion and conviction that drives all his books: 'God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in him', also known as Piper's 'Christian Hedonism'. Whilst the latter label can be a little off-putting to some Christians, a proper reading and understanding of Piper's belief can have a huge impact on how and why you work and live for the glory of God.

That said, familiarity with Piper's writing meant that there was a lot of repetition in the early chapters of this book for me. The first two or three chapters serve as a very brief autobiography, explaining Piper's own search for a 'single passion to live by', which of course led him to 'boasting only in the cross, the blazing centre of the glory of God'. Having read Desiring God and Faith In Future Grace, there was nothing new here. But it is worth sticking with it even if you feel you've heard it from him before. Having taken the time to argue his case to the reader for a singular joy and passion in Christ alone, Piper does then move into more practical territory, showing us how this is both commanded and possible according to Scripture. Honestly, I felt each chapter was stronger than the last - he covers the need for risk-taking in the service of Christ, a heart for others to know and love God, and serving God in secular work, before finishing with a powerful chapter in which he throws down the gauntlet to young Christians and challenges us to take part in some form of mission and ministry in our lifetime. With an obvious heart to see unreached peoples hear the Gospel, Piper, highlights some startling statistics about the generosity of Christians when it comes to mission and the number of missionaries still needed to take the Gospel around the world.

Some other highlights from the book included Piper's use of the phrase 'war-time mentality' - ie living and working with the attitude of either a civilian or a soldier on the front-line of our war with the sin of the world - both the soldier and the civilian are necessary fighters; the point is that, whichever you are, remember that it is not peace time until Christ returns. Another challenge came in chapter 7 when Piper dispelled the myth that 'quality time', or time well spent by Christian parents and families can simply take the form of a night in front of the television at home. Consider his words here:

'No one will ever want to say to the Lord of the universe five minutes after death, I spent every night playing games and watching clean TV with my family because I loved them so much. I think the Lord will say, "That did not make me look great in your town. You should have done something besides provide for yourself and your family. And TV, as you should have known, was not a good way to nurture your family or your own soul."'

Convicting words indeed.

So, on the whole, I would heartily recommend Piper's Don't Waste Your Life, a danger that, particularly young people like myself, are more prone to falling into than ever before. But there is challenge here for the older generation too. Remember the shell-collectors at the top of the review. No matter what age you are, whether we are single or married, with children or not, where

is your joy to be found each day? What will you show when you stand before God and account for the 60, 70, 80 years he has given you?

Desiring God: 25th Anniversary

Piper's well-known and widely read work Desiring God: Meditations Of A Christian Hedonist celebrates its 25th anniversary this year. On the Desiring God website, there are some interesting thoughts on the book from Piper and friends; these two videos were particularly interesting. The first is Tim Keller's verdict on the book; the second is Piper reading his journal entry the day the first edition arrived in his hands:

Keller

Piper

Book Review: Counterfeit Gods

2011-01-19T14:45:00.004Z

'The human heart is indeed an idol factory'.

- Tim Keller

'... they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.'

- Romans 1:25

I finally read my first 'Keller' over my Christmas holidays, courtesy of the Feldhake family who planted it in my stocking. I have to say I was wondering whether the Presbyterian preacher and author from New York City would live up to the reputation, but he did not disappoint.

This is an absolute gem of a book. Notice the subtitle on the cover: Keller is particularly concerned with exposing the empty promises of 'love' (as defined by western culture), money and power. If you think that none of these temptations apply to you, read this book and you will soon be convinced that they do.

Apart from anything else, Keller is just a fantastic writer. Straight-forward yet challenging, simple but never simplistic, he takes us through well known Biblical accounts such as Abraham sacrificing Isaac, Jacob marrying Leah and Rachel, Jonah's rebellion against God and in each case draws out the idols of these people as well as their equivalents today. Keller has tapped into the times and written on a subject that couldn't be more relevant in the post-2007/08 great recession era, a day when everything's amazing and nobody's happy. What is most shocking in this book is when Keller takes a well-known truth - for example, that greedy bankers fudged the numbers and took too many bonuses - and then shows us how we've been ignoring that truth in our own lives: 'You don't compare yourself to the rest of the world [ie, those a hundred times worse off than you] you compare yourself to those in your bracket [those you always believe are better off than you]'. This allows us to make excuses when we treat ourselves to new gadgets, luxuries etc - we tell ourselves, 'Others are doing it even more'. Is this not indulging an idol?

Idols are all around us, but often, it seems, we are far too casual about them. When we hear the word 'idol' or listen to the first two commandments, we immediately think of golden statues and unenlightened people. But consider the story of the pastor who went to India to preach to Christians. Walking down the street, he was struck by the number of Buddha statues and other superstitions in the culture, but kept his thoughts to himself. A few days later he was talking with a woman and asked her if she'd ever been to the U.S. She replied that she had, but that she would never go back. She said there was just too much idolatry there. She was referring to sports stadiums, giant posters of celebrities and the worship of them that takes place in the media every day.

Keller's book forces you to consider what it is that you worship more than anything else in your day-to-day life. Paul addresses idolatry as a worship issue in Romans 1, and so Keller is right to do so. The subtleties of your idolatry will be exposed to you in this tremendous little book. Read it, but only if you're willing to be powerfully rebuked.

Book Review: Death By Love: Letters From The Cross

2011-01-19T14:23:00.002Z

This was the third Driscoll book I've read, very different in tone and purpose from either Vintage Church or Confessions. The purpose of the book is to explain the doctrine of the atonement. Driscoll does this by writing a series of letters to various people in his church who have endured or caused incredible suffering in their lives or the lives of those close to them (see promo video). Driscoll takes an aspect of the atonement and applies it to their situation - eg through the atonement Jesus is Katie's 'Christus Victor', to the porn addict Jesus is 'Redemption', to his own infant son Jesus is 'Unlimited Limited Atonement'.

In explaining these doctrines, Driscoll repeatedly visits the Old Testament laws of blood and guilt sacrifices and observance of the Day of Atonement. He explains the practice of one animal being sacrificed and one being chased away from the people as the 'scapegoat', showing how Jesus fulfilled all that was needed for atonement on the cross, and how ultimately these sacrifices pointed forward to him.

This unique approach to the structure of the book certainly keeps your attention throughout. Some of the stories are quite shocking, the experiences hard to believe. Driscoll's directness in dealing with the sins of his friends, as well as his ability to show both firmness, compassion or both when needed is striking, and shows a real care and concern for these hurt or lost souls. Admittedly the book does become repetitive towards the end, as some of the illustrations he uses in his letters are regurgitated. Nonetheless, the full and applicable way in which they are explained is deeply helpful, and personally caused a greater appreciation for Christ's sacrifice on the cross to settle in. The grace of God in my own life hit home, as, just like these people the author is writing to, I was continually reminded of my inability to save myself from my sin. As you observe Driscoll counsel and care for these people, as well as preach the Gospel to them, consider again Jesus' death in your place for your sins.

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

2 Corinthians 5:21

Christian Couple Lose B&B Case

2011-01-18T12:11:00.004Z

Peter and Hazelmary Bull, a Christian couple from England who run a guest-house, were successfully sued today by gay couple Martyn Hall and Steven Preddy. In September 2008 the Bulls refused to give the men a shared room, continuing a policy they have held since they began their business of only giving a double room to married couples. BBC article here, Christian Institute info here.

In his verdict, the judge accepted that as a result of the ruling, the religious convictions and beliefs of the Bulls were being over-looked, and they were being forced to act 'again

st deeply and genuinely held beliefs'. For that reason, he allowed them to appeal his decision if they so desire. Yet, despite this open admission from the judge himself, Mr Hall and Mr Preddy still stood before the press and claimed that the ruling in no way 'attacks the beliefs of Christians'. Just think about the absurdity of that statement in light of what the judge said.

The couple suing the Bulls were backed in their cause by the government-sponsored Equality Commission, which has once again been used 'as a sword rather than a shield', in the words of the Bulls' lawyers. A spokesman for Stonewall, the gay rights charity, reacted to the verd

ict by once again likening the gay cause to that of the Jews or those affected by racism - a comparison often used by Stonewall which is insulting and ridiculous.

The judge also openly acknowledged that years ago, the beliefs of the Bulls would have been accepted as the norm; now, 'it is the other way round'. We live in a country which sees Christian belief and practice as inferior, not equal, to almost any other religious or secular lifestyle. This couple were not prejudiced against homosexuals - their policy meant that they would not give a double room to an unmarried heterosexual or homosexual couple. Yet this particular couple found the need to sue them rather than respect their beliefs and go somewhere else. The media, as well as the government, rallied to their cause and they have successfully sued a Christian couple for more than £3,000.

Christian, pray for your country.

... God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonouring of their bodies amongst themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen...

Romans 1:24&25

Some Good Resources Now Available

2011-01-07T22:18:00.003Z

I promised to put them up when I got them so here they are:

Driscoll On Men: Mandate 'Remix' at Carnmoney

Courageous Leadership Talk w/ Q&A

Redeem Cities w/ Mark Driscoll, Tim Chester and David Stroud

Mandate 2010 is being a little mean and holding out for 4.50 per talk, but if you want to pay the money go here.

2011: Coming Up...

2011-01-06T22:30:00.006Z

To the two of you wondering where/what has become of MI7:7, fear not. I'm lapping up the last of a break with Emily in Michigan and will be back on the blog next week.

After literally taking the plunge on New Year's Day, I'm excited to 'jump in' (see what I did there) to the New Year. Over the break I've been particularly challenged by Steelo's post on Radical amongst other things, as well as digging into the Resurgence's plan for memorising Philippians; anyone else giving this a try let me know and we could push each other on with it.

Coming soon will be book reviews of Counterfeit Gods, Broken-Down House, Death By Love and Don't Waste Your Life, as well as some thoughts on use of Facebook and the internet, ahead of a talk I'm doing on the subject for the Eastern Presbytery Youth in a couple of weeks.

Hope you've all had a good break and already making good use of the time in the New Year.

Back soon!

[God] has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end...

Ecclesiastes 2:10&11

Protests And Politics: What Do You Believe In?

2010-12-10T09:41:00.011Z

It's a bit rich coming from me, I know. I already graduated. I won't be paying back anywhere between £6,000 and £9,000 for each of the three and a half years I spent in higher education.

And it is hard to stomach, particularly when you consider that in Germany tuition fees were banned by law until very recently and in France the government almost entirely subsidises fees, leaving the cost for the average student at the average university about 250 Euro per semester.

But to respond as feebly as the students have is predictable and pointless. I wonder how many of the 'protesters' in London or Belfast, who spent all day gesturing behind reporters on camera or talking about how higher education is a 'human right', not a privilege, have actually read the government's proposals and countered with something they think is a better solution? However reasonable or unreasonable the government's plans are - and if you consider them more closely they aren't as bad as you might first think - what is the alternative? Where are the Student Union presidents stepping forward to say, actually we got together last weekend and instead of holding a 'Back To School' theme booze-up or going on a 'Mystery Tour' of all our famous pubs on Friday night, we sat down and came up with some alternative ideas for how to fix higher education in this country.

Instead we heard students demonising politicians and watched thugs defacing monum

ents and breaking windows. It was truly embarrassing, and it made a mockery of any argument anybody ever makes about how we're more advanced and sophisticated than ever as a nation. I realise that, mixed in with peaceful protesters were a much smaller group of trouble-makers. But was their involvement and undermining of the protests really so unpredictable?

The government is putting constraints on any universities wanting to charge more than £6,000 - they will have to offer more bursaries, scholarships and outreach programmes to students. Additionally, the minimum salary a graduate must reach before the fees are even paid back will rise to £21,000, a figure that will rise annually with inflation. I'm not saying I whole-heartedly agree with this - but could someone please offer another idea so that we can have a

proper debate? Ed Miliband certainly didn't. Instead he condemned David Cameron for being a big bully working against the best interests of the people of Britain. But did he offer any alternatives? No. Did he even pledge to reverse these despicable, evil, wrong, dreadful fees (as the they see it) if he becomes Prime Minister in 2015? No. It was a predictable day in Parliament: demonise your opponent, score some points, say the right things, then get out and slam them in the media. Call me a cynic but I would imagine Ed was mighty relieved that the story now is all about the Lib Dem split and the violence in London; no one's going to bother grilling him about his ideas in the next few days.

Yesterday's events were sad to see. Not just because I don't think such protests have achieved much; more so because it displayed one of the great idols that we in western democracies are prone to indulging: man-centred causes and ideas. Fighting for our 'rights'. Demonising politicians or ideologies instead of demonising demons and sin. Putting all our faith in our beliefs, our convictions, our human leaders, rather than in our Saviour and King, Jesus Christ. Christians finding themselves too caught up in 'fighting the cause' yesterday, either in person or online, should perhaps consider: am I this passionate about Jesus? About my church?

The problem with anything we set our hope on in this world is that not only do we end up demonising everyone else (for example, to support Manchester United you have to hate Liverpool, to vote for someone on X Factor you have to hope the others fail), but ultimately that person, that cause, will be a let-down at some point: Nick Clegg is being de-friended all over Facebook; the liberals' Messiah has failed his people. Because he's raised tuition fees, David Cameron is the Devil, in the mind of his opponents. If higher education is a 'human right', that is a cause worth protesting for and making a mess for. That is how our minds work in these situations.

Paul calls Christians to a higher cause and a nobler fight. For the sake of Jesus Christ, not tuition fees or politicians, he says in Romans 12:18:

"... so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, 'Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord'..."

He has the audacity to go on in chapter 13:

"Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgement..."

Paul was writing to people who were in real danger of losing much more than their 'human right' to higher education; he was writing to people who could very likely be persecuted in future for their faith in Jesus and even lose their life. Yet he says to respect the Roman Empire, to pay taxes whether you like it or not, and to be peaceable. Why? For the sake of the name of Jesus Christ (14:7-9). So if you disagree with men, do so respectfully and constructively. Vote remembering you don't need to vote, protest remembering you don't need to protest, play sport remembering you don't need sport. Do it all so that when people notice that you are different, they will ask you: "What do you believe in?"

Then you can tell them about Jesus Christ. His is the only cause worth fighting for.

Book Review: Redemption Accomplished And Applied

2010-12-08T12:27:00.006Z

"... for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus..."

Romans 3:23,24

This week I finished off my first piece of set reading while I'm here in Enniskillen, John Murray's Redemption Accomplished And Applied. Everyone always says the older books are better. I'm starting to see why.

This book is easily the most challenging and concise book on reformed doctrine I've ever read. Murray writes with a wonderful assurance on the great truths of the necessity, nature, perfection and extent of the atonement - redemption accomplished - before moving on to explain how God effectually calls, justifies, adopts, sanctifies and ultimately gives us the grace to persevere until the glorification of Christ - redemption applied. To have these wonderful doctrines explained with such authority, humility, and Christ-centeredness is truly uplifting as well as soul-searching. Books like these are more important than ever to read in an age when so many professing Christians are straying from and stripping away the doctrines of the substitutionary atonement of Christ and justification by faith in Christ. Admittedly it was 'heavy' in places; but I for one certainly need to consider the 'heavy' doctrines far more often. This is a book to read carefully and slowly, with a Bible beside you to meditate as you go on the hundreds of verses and passages Murray takes you to. At 181 pages, to say that Murray packs a lot in is the understatement of the year. All the more reason to pick it up, take your time, and learn how to understand and articulate better the glorious truths that explain so well the reality of your faith in Christ and all the implications of it.

We're indebted to men like Murray for the time they have taken to study and write - though Murray would surely point us back to our Saviour, our gracious Father, who has both accomplished and applied our redemption so perfectly.

Read this book to find out more about it.

Go See Feel Do - Enniskillen Update

2010-11-18T14:19:00.019Z

"Go and see what's happening in your city. Then you will know what to do about it".

It's been a busy few weeks in wet and windy Fermanagh.

Give Thanks For Fuel

Two weeks ago I sent an email and prayer update around the church, asking for prayer for my work with the Fuel Centre in the heart of Enniskillen. Most of you probably know by now that God answered prayer in a wonderful way: the Fuel staff for the most part were glad to have me, but one of them turned out to be a fellow believer, a young guy called Philip (!). He was mightily encouraged to have another Christian come work there, and said he has been praying since he got his job with Fuel six weeks ago for another Christian to come. We praise God for the ways He chooses to work; I had never even considered what an encouragement it would be for me to even have one other Christian there; it makes going back to Fuel each Friday so much easier. Please do continue to pray for Philip and I as we work with the young people. Philip has a 30 hour per-week paid position, so pray particularly for him with his job.

The Roof Over My Head

Margaret and I are still getting on very well; it's been great to meet her children and their children and make new friendships with brothers and sisters in Christ. As you can see, the accommodation ain't too shabby!

Preaching Prep

In the past few weeks I've been studying the lives of Isaac and Jacob. I'm preaching twice a month, but between Robert's commitments and my Christmas trip to good old Michigan, this works out at 3 times in November and once in December. So over the next three Lord's Days I'll be preaching 4 sermons. Pray for energy and power from the Holy Spirit for this. I've really enjoyed studying the Scriptures in preparation for preaching; there's so much to learn from imperfect patriarchs.

Enniskillen CY

I began the Enniskillen CY last Sabbath evening, studying Vaughan Roberts' God's Big Picture. I really enjoyed going through the first chapter with them and discussing it. At present there are 6 of us, so any time you're in Enniskillen on the second Sabbath of the month feel free to stay late for it! pray that it would be a good time of fellowship and study for us.

Mandate

This past weekend was a fantastic time of teaching, challenge and encouragement, with Mark Driscoll coming to Belfast to speak at The Mandate 2010. Despite the horrendous name-choice, this conference was superb. On Saturday, Driscoll spoke on the theme of "True Greatness", challenging the men to be great worshippers, sages, patriarchs, kings, artists, husbands and warriors. Plenty to chew over here, but I'll save it for a future post when I put up the audio (keep an eye on mandate.net

for everything he said at the Waterfront and Carnmoney). Suffice to say when he yelled at us at the end he had everyone's attention and we collectively had the pants scared off us. Sandwiched between the morning sessions and the evening session were some great seminars to go to. Pete Loughridge enjoyed hearing Matt Baggott share his experience of sitting 4 seats away from Eric Cantona's fly kick victim at Selhurst Park amid a talk about true greatness at work, whilst Ian and I heard from Rev. Derek McKelvey from Fisherwick Presbyterian on greatness in prayer. Whilst we did have to wait a day or two for our pizza at Pizza Hut and Paul Baloche was a bit too much to take, I thoroughly enjoyed my first Mandate!

Courageous Leadership

After stalking Driscoll to Bloomfield Presbyterian on Sabbath morning, where he apologised for not wearing a suit and told us all not to be so religious, Robert and I headed back up the M1 on Monday morning and just made it to Carnmoney in time for the Mandate's Courageous Leadership conference. I enjoyed this perhaps even more than Saturday: it was a purely practical talk from Driscoll, sharing the experiences, successes and failures of Mars Hill in reaching their neighbourhoods with the Gospel. Among some of the many MANY things that I think all RPs have to think about if they hear his talk were the following:

- community groups v small groups: the difference being that community groups start with a meal at the leader's house, where non-Christian friends/family are invited. the previous Sunday's sermon is then discussed, before practical ways of meeting the needs of the neighbourhood are agreed and acted upon

- fast eats slow: church size/tradition is no longer the issue when it comes to growing spiritually and numerically, and holding to your doctrine whilst being culturally relevant. The issue is how fast will you change what you need to change, scrap what you need to scrap, and add what you need to add.

- combine attractional services with missional living: feel free to support missionaries that go across the water - but BE missionaries who go across the street. Empower your people to conduct ministries specific to their neighbourhood/community. Then when you preach commitment they don't just feel guilty for missing the midweek last month.

Above all, we were encouraged to "Go See Feel Do": Nehemiah went to Jerusalem, he saw the broken walls, he felt broken-hearted and so he did something. How many of us know what's going on in our town at 11.30 on a Friday, Saturday or Sunday night? How many of our churches have been in a location for years and years but are still out of touch with the community? How many churches are becoming museums without even realising it?

These were just some of the many challenges he threw down. Suffice to say jaws were firmly on the floor, certainly amongst the RP delegation, as his talk came to a close. The challenge for us now is to "Go See Feel Do" in Enniskillen and wherever else we are. Are reaching out without selling out? Culturally liberal and theologically conservative? When non-Christians walk into your church for the first time does it feel like a museum? So, just a few things to think about after it all.

More Prayer Please

In closing, I would ask for your prayers for the following:

- give thanks for the encouragements of the last few weeks: answers to prayer for Fuel, the regular attendance of two non-Christians at Enniskillen since the summer and a good first meeting of the CY.

- give thanks for the great teaching and challenges we received on Monday.

- the Enniskillen building, which is being considered for use by the council TODAY (update will follow asap).

- ideas for how to reach people in the town more effectively in light of the challenges we heard at Courageous Leadership. Pray for me as I consider possible outreach to young people in the town.

- a bigger heart for the lost in this town.

- my work at the Fuel Centre

- energy for preaching in the next few weeks.

- a strong sense of mission and fellowship amongst the Enniskillen believers.

- responses from the door-to-door work we have been doing in the Cornagrade estate.

Thanks for your prayers. It seems fitting to finish with a reminder from Scripture from the need to commit all things to God. Ultimately we need Him to work and we are weak and sinful creatures who will achieve nothing by our own strength.

The plans of the heart belong to man,

but the answer of the tongue is of the LORD...

Commit your way to the LORD,

and your plans will be established.

Proverbs 16:1&3

Enniskillen: Month 1

2010-10-28T19:21:00.002+01:00

Turns out Fermanagh Time goes faster than I thought.

I've had a lot to give thanks for in my first month (!) of Short Term Service. Margaret McCrea has warmly welcomed me into her home. I knew we’d get on well when she had tea and pancakes waiting for Robert and I on Day One! I feel like we’ve gotten to know each other very quickly, and I feel very at home with her. She has a great house in the country just outside the village of Lisbellaw. She is a wonderful cook – one Saturday she had a fry on offer for lunch when I came in from a run! – so unfortunately I won’t be learning too many new skills in the kitchen. Oh well…

Robert and I have already established a good routine during the week. We both take Monday off, though we have the Enniskillen Running Club (started by Robert of course) in the evening. The club already has 60 members, so there is a large group of people Robert is in direct contact with. Tuesday to Friday I study at Robert’s in the morning. I will be preaching twice a month, doing a series on the lives of Isaac and Jacob. It’s certainly been a challenge studying this section of Scripture and preparing sermons. We also do Greek and Hebrew at some point each morning. Greek has been fairly enjoyable so far; Hebrew not so much! After lunch we’ve been visiting the various members of the Fellowship. This has been a good experience for me, both as a way of getting to know the members but also listening to them and learning from Robert as he speaks to them and counsels them. Some are facing very hard circumstances in life at the moment.

I’ve also sat in on some other interesting meetings in the last two weeks. On my first day of work Robert was due to meet with a man he’d spoken to at the summer Agricultural Show. He came to Robert’s for coffee that morning, and turned out to be a Cooneyite, someone who only believes in house churches, and who had come out of a concern for our salvation, since we don’t share his belief. He was very friendly, but this was a good lesson in being prepared for anything and anyone coming to the door.

A few days later we were “sussed out” again when Robert was invited for coffee at the home of a woman from the Fermanagh Churches Forum. She is the clerk of session in the local Presbyterian Church. She said that Robert had made an impact in the community and they wanted to meet him and introduce themselves. They are a group from all denominations including Roman Catholic, and encourage inter-church co-operation and sharing of faith and tradition. I learnt a lot from watching and listening to Robert as he spoke with them, as he was very gracious and friendly throughout the conversation, but firm on his conviction that he would never participate in a service involving a mass, for example.

On my first Wednesday I went to find out about a possible volunteering job in a local community centre called Fuel. It is aimed at teenage to early twenties young people, and offers social activities as well as counselling and help with addictions. They were at the centre of some controversy a few months ago when they gave out free contraception as part of a sexual health and education course (Robert actually wrote about it in the local paper at the time). Nonetheless, they claim to be open to working with churches. I introduced myself to one of the organisers, who was very friendly and said they need all the help they can get. I then sat down with the woman in charge, Diane. She was friendly but also very wary of having me there. She said she didn’t want people coming to judge or preach to the young people and that she didn’t think they needed to worry about church. She said she would love to have me come, but if I do I can’t talk about Jesus or encourage people to go to church.

After much prayer about this, since it was something that had me really torn, I went back to Fuel yesterday and told Diane I'd be willing to work one afternoon a week doing anything they need. She was agreeable and glad to have me, and so we'll see how this goes. Please pray for help to maintain a Christian witness silently and practically at this place, and that I would be able to build good relationships with the staff and teenagers.

Other than these highlights I’ve taken a local primary school assembly which Robert speaks at regularly, began door-to-door with Robert in a very republican part of the town on Thursdays and play 5-aside football with a man who has been coming out to worship as a result of the Enniskillen summer Go Team. So I’ve already been kept busy, and plan to begin a CY for the church next month.

With all of this in mind, I would ask you to remember the following in your prayers:

· Give thanks for Margaret’s hospitality and friendliness. I’m well looked after and have a great place to stay where I feel welcome and at home.

· Give thanks for God’s help and guidance in preparing sermons from the second half of Genesis.

· Give thanks for good times of fellowship and conversation between Robert and myself, especially on long car journeys, and for all the effort he has put in to my programme of work.

· Give thanks for opportunities already to meet new people and share the Gospel with them.

Pray for:

· The young man who invited Robert and me to 5-aside football on Thursdays.

· Help for working at Fuel.

· Discipline in learning Greek and Hebrew. Robert and I meet with one of the core members, Colin Bell, on Tuesday nights to do Hebrew. I’m yet to meet anyone who’s enjoyed studying it! Pray that I would be disciplined in taking a little time each day to go over it by myself.

· Discipline and help from the Spirit in my study of Genesis, and in my own daily walk with the Lord.

· Courage and wisdom for door-to-door in Corna-grade, a very Catholic/republican area. I didn’t have any conversations on Thursday; pray that people would nonetheless read the literature we have given out.

· The on-going witness of the church in the community. It was encouraging to learn about the impact it has had from those two unexpected meetings last week. Pray for success in the purchase of a house that we hope to convert into a place of worship. The next-door neighbours have objected but on no legitimate basis. God-willing it will be given the go-ahead at the end of this month.

· Guidance for future opportunities for ministry and witness in the town.

Book Review: Church Planter

2010-10-27T13:59:00.005+01:00

Any excuse to show this video again.

Last month Re:Lit released its latest book, Church Planter, along with this absolutely cracker trailer. The book, you'll be pleased to hear, is just as good.

Darrin Patrick, lead pastor at The Journey in St. Louis Missouri and vice-president of Acts 29, divides his book into three sections: The Man, The Message, The Mission. His influences, mentors and experience come through in footnotes ranging from Spurgeon and Baxter to modern-day writers like Tim Keller and John Stott. Each chapter is grounded firmly on biblical principles and full of Scripture references. Patrick begins with a chapter reminding the church planter or pastor of the need to make their calling and election sure - are you even a true Christian or are you doing ministry for some other foolish or sinful reason? - and goes on to discuss the need for qualified men to lead churches, for our message to be the historical, salvation-accomplishing, sin-exposing, Christ-centred Gospel, and for Christians to reach their cities with contextualised, caring mission.

For a book only 240 pages long, Patrick certainly covers a lot of ground. It's full of ideas and shared experience from both The Journey in St. Louis and the wider Acts 29 Network; but it is also grounded firmly in reformed theology as the basis for a renewed interest in and care for the cities of our nations. You can't help sitting back and thinking, after reading this book, what might some of this look like if it was applied to my city? What would our church leaders and church members look like if they were calling Christians like the ones described in Part 1 of the book to lead the church?

For all the advice and discussion of the Man, the Message, and the Mission, Patrick sums up his argument well towards the end of the book:

'Jesus is "The Man." The ability for us to change into the men God has called us to be is dependent upon our surrender to Man who has perfect character...

Jesus is "The Message." The power for others to change is rooted in the Gospel...

Jesus is "The Mission." The hope we have for this world to change is rooted in the resurrection of Jesus Christ... who forever conquered the radical effects of sin through his resurrection.'

That's what this book is all about.

'How are they to preach unless they are sent?'

Romans 10:15

Is There A Lord's Day?

2010-10-15T16:52:00.004+01:00

One of the strangest things, I think, going on in modern evangelical Christianity is the wave of new approaches to observance of the Sabbath, or Lord's, Day. I love my ESV Study Bible. It is a fantastic resource and guide for reading through any section of Scriputre. But it has the most bizarre and misguided note on Romans 14:5&6. Those verses read:

"One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. The one who observes the day, observes it in honour of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honour of the Lord..."

The ESV Study Bible comments:

"Given the Jewish background, the day that is supremely in view is certainly the Sabbath.... Each person must follow his own conscience. What is remarkable is that the Sabbath is no longer a binding commitment for Paul but a matter of one's personal conviction. Unlike the other nine commandments... the Sabbath commandment seems to have been part of the "ceremonial laws" of the Mosaic covenant, like the dietary laws and the laws about sacrifices, all of which are no longer binding on new covenant believers. However, it is still wise to take regular times of rest from work, and regular times of worship are commanded for Christians (Hebrews 10:24-25; cf Acts 20:7)."

I found this quite incredible. I had always taken Paul to be referring here to the various "mini sabbaths" that had built up in Jewish tradition and custom - virtually any holiday or feast was known as a"sabbath" - and of course these and the sacrificial demands certainly are done away with after the finished work of Jesus. But surely the Sabbath is not invalid! What sort of theology do we have when we start claiming which of the ten commandments is still valid and which isn't!

Browsing through the Desiring God website, I was interested to see that John Piper had dealt with the issue fairly recently. As one of the leading reformed pastors in America today - and a contemporary and role model for many of the reformed leaders who seem to have developed a very loose theology concerning Sabbath observance - I suspected he too would dismiss the subject as no longer relevant after the Lord's life, death and resurrection.

Instead he preaches a great sermon on the theme of Christ as our rest and the need to remember that on the Lord's Day. He begins with the text in question, Romans 14:5, and moves through the creation account, the receiving of the Mosaic Law, through to Jesus taking on the Pharisees in Matthew 12 and John 5. Halfway through I wasn't sure about his phraseology or where he was going, but he tied it altogether brilliantly. His central point, partly based on Jesus' words in John 5:17, is that Jesus came and completed God's work on the cross, thus providing eternal rest for those He would save. In that sense, Christ is our Sabbath. He is the reason we have rest and security. In another sense of course, no one will experience true rest until they reach Heaven. So there is a Lord's Day, and it has its purpose in resting in recognition of what Jesus has done. We will rest eternally in Him, not in our work or earthly pursuits. The implication from Piper, though he is careful not to get bogged down in do's and don't's, is that we should set those things aside on the Lord's Day. I found that line of thought wonderfully refreshing and encouraging.

So I would heartily recommend this sermon both to the Christian who thinks the Lord's Day ends with the benediction, and to the Christian who has lost sight of why they do and don't do this or that on the Sabbath Day. I know I was convicted of both to varying degrees after listening to this. Watch and discuss!

Book Review: Searching For God Knows What

2010-10-01T12:11:00.006+01:00

Just wanted to get two book reviews in before I hit the road.

This week I finished Donald Miller's Searching For God Knows What, a writer's re-evaluation of how Christians should represent and understand the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

I must say I didn't warm to Miller's meandering, fuzzy book at first. The early chapters I really found hard to finish because I kept forgetting what he was talking about. I was taken aback by his style: this is very much a Searching book, and it is not aimed solely at well-grounded Christians - in fact, it is most likely not aimed at them primarily at all. Miller marketed the book to a secular audience, just as he did with his previous best-selling book Blue Like Jazz. That book invited some criticism from mainstream evangelicals, and this one probably has too. Written in 2004, you certainly get the feeling that it is a heartfelt response to the corporate, televised, religious, right-wing Christianity that was receiving more attention than ever in George Bush's America. At the core of the book, once you get there, is a plea with people from all sides, both in and outside the church, to remind themselves of the true meaning of the Gospel of Jesus - that he invites us to have a relationship with him.

As I say, it's just a little annoying Miller takes a while to get to that. Amid much talk of 'lifeboat' theology (if we were left in a lifeboat with doctors, lawyers, criminals etc how would we justify ourselves) and 'circus' redemption, it's easy to lose patience with him. But persevere for a few chapters and you do hit some personal, honest and heartfelt writing. He tells horribly awkward stories of radio evangelists from the Christian Right making fools of themselves in the name of their faith; muslim friends questioning the bullet-point summary of the Gospel on a tract; and churches reaching out to young people by holding events geared for jocks and cheer-leaders. At times he will shock, at times he will make you reluctantly laugh, at times he really really takes his time explaining himself. But I would just about say, stick with it.

The book has some fluffy language but a good point to make: our theology, our faith, should be centred around our relationship with Christ, not on apologetics, systematics or hermeneutics. Those things are necessary only to help us understand that relationship better. In and of themselves, they are surely only noisy gongs or clanging bells.

Miller is certainly a gifted writer. It's just a very different style from what I'm used to, and so it took me a while to enjoy the book. But as I say, it's aimed at the non-Christian, perhaps even the hardened atheist, as much as it is at Christians. This might puzzle you, but I assure you the conclusion of the book is one any Christian would agree with and cheer for. Perhaps this extract will give you an idea of what to expect:

"If our minds are not on Christ and we treat communion like a religious pill, or baptism like a woo-woo bath, or fast to feel some kind of pain about our sacrifice, the significance is gone. It is the trick of Satan to get us to go through religious motions divorced of their relational significance."

That's on page 203 of 232. So Miller takes a while, but if you stick it out, I think it's worth your while. At its core, Searching For God Knows What is a reminder that what we all ultimately need to find is a personal relationship with Jesus.

Book Review: Vintage Church

2010-10-01T11:51:00.004+01:00

Earlier this year I read through Mark Driscoll and Gerry Breshears' Vintage Church, an effort at redefining what a church is according to Scripture, and explaining the structure and methods employed by their churches in particular.

The subtitle of the book is Timeless Truths and Timely Methods, and in essence the book is split into two parts: the first explains the need for the timeless truths to be preached in and at the core of any modern church, and the second goes into some detail in explaining the methods that the authors and their adherents believe are best in the twenty-first century.

I found the first few chapters, on the whole, very refreshing. Driscoll and Breshears (though it is mostly Driscoll writing the chapters and Breshears handling Q&As at the end of each) take us right back to the basics of what should be happening in churches big or small: the preaching of God's Word, the membership of professing believers, heartfelt worship, administering of the Sacraments, and church unity. The writer should be aware, however, that the book is as much a defence of the theology and beliefs of Driscoll and his church as it is a call to uphold these elements. A criticism I would make of Driscoll, having listened to and read his work for a while now, is that at times his practice seems to be based on a fairly thin reading of the New Testament, rather than on a full reading of the whole of Scripture. So, for example, I wasn't entirely convinced on secondary issues like mode of baptism or frequency of having the Lord's Supper. Nonetheless, his emphasis on the importance of preaching and the other biblical elements of corporate worship is encouraging.

All the same I found the second half of the book more interesting. The last four or five chapters deal with the methods of a modern church; for Driscoll this means multi-site churches, lots of video and a missional theology. Again I wouldn't say I was entirely swayed by everything here - I'm far from convinced of the merits of a multi-site church with one preacher beamed all round them 75% of the time - but I think there is a lot here that any church should consider in its efforts to remain in touch with modern culture whilst at the same time absolutely holding to their biblical and theological convictions. For those churches that still don't even have a website, these chapters will be truly revolutionary!

On the whole I would say Vintage Church is well worth a read, if even only to get you thinking about how well your church is getting out its message or to find out more about why Mars Hill Church in Seattle looks and sounds the way it does. Again I would stress you probably won't agree with everything you find here, and you don't have to; but I did appreciate that every point Driscoll made was backed up with Scripture references, and the footnotes indicate a wide range of reading and influence being brought to bear on the book.

Vintage Church challenges the reader to evaluate the performance of its church in holding to timeless truths with timely methods. It may not answer all the questions, but it certainly gives useful suggestions.

Off to Enniskillen

2010-09-29T21:57:00.003+01:00

Trust in the LORD with all your heart…

In all your ways acknowledge him,

and he will make straight your paths.

Prov. 3:5&6

I leave Limavady for Enniskillen this Friday. Whilst I don't have as far to travel as cousin Steve, and, yes, I can't explore sea caves or hold meetings on the beach (at least not meetings that anyone will come to!), I do believe the Lord has clearly led me to work alongside Robert and the church down there. I'd say I'm 60% excited and 40% nervous at the minute! Among the things I'd appreciate you all remember in prayer:

Give thanks for Mrs. Margaret McCrea, who has very kindly invited me to stay at her house in Lisbellaw, just 6 miles outside Enniskillen. Finding somewhere to stay was one of the major prayer points the last few months, and it is really good of Margaret to have me.
Give thanks for the leading from the Lord to do short term service this year. Pray that He would continue to lead, and that I would rely upon that leading as I pursue ministry opportunities in the town.
Please pray that I would be guided particularly in deciding whether or not to find a part-time job, join a sports club or do something else which allows me to meet people and get to know them personally, so that I can share the Gospel with people in an informal situation.
Pray that I would settle in quickly in the town, and in the church. A big plus is that Robert and I know each other very well already, so we can get to work more quickly. Pray that we would be an encouragement one for the other.
Pray for wisdom, leadership and discipline as I lead Bible studies, begin a youth ministry, and preach. Pray that I would be disciplined in my personal walk with Jesus so that I can in turn be a blessing to others.
Pray for Robert and I doing door-to-door work. Pray that this would lead to opportunities to share the Gospel with people the Spirit may already be calling.
Pray for the proposed plans for renovating a building, which will, God-willing, be turned into a meeting house. Pray for all the practical and physical work that will go in to achieving this aim of the church.
Pray that we would see bountiful fruit for the work in Enniskillen, even in our own time if God wills it. Pray that new individuals and families would join the church this year.
Pray that in all things, God would be given the glory in Enniskillen.

Thank you in advance for your support and prayers. I'll try and do a weekly/bi-weekly update here to let you know how I'm getting on. I can only hope it's more interesting than some of the election posts I did a few months ago...

I look forward to sharing good news with you soon. Pray expectant prayers for Enniskillen.

Check out the swish Enniskillen Church website at www.enniskillenrpc.com

Getting to the Gospel and Lifestyle Evangelism

2010-09-21T22:32:00.003+01:00

Some interesting thoughts on what evangelism should look like from influential pastors:

What The Pope Said

2010-09-20T13:21:00.004+01:00

'And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding so that we may know him who is true; and we are in him who is true, in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.'

1 John 5:20

I found the Pope's visit to Britain very interesting. What he chose to say to a group of school children on Friday, and to political leaders, was bold and even a tad controversial. And on the face of it the average evangelical would have to agree. He said he could not but voice his concern at the 'increasing marginalisation of religion', particularly Christianity. At various times over the weekend he spoke of the 'absolute truth' of Scripture and the need for people to search for true happiness only in a relationship with God, and His Son the Lord Jesus. He even hinted at the idea that sainthood is attainable for anyone, a rather radical claim for the leader of the Roman Catholic Church to make.

These sentiments, coupled with his stern warning against the advance of secularism, caught the attention of the media over the weekend. A fresh debate was had on radio and television about the role of 'religion' in modern day Britain, and how it could fit beside secularism. For this, I think, we can be grateful.

Of course none of that changes the fact that the Pope currently resides over a church whose doctrine is formed as much from the traditions of man as from the Word of God. It seems hypocritical to speak on Fridayof the 'absolute truth' of Scripture and then to pray for a dead cardinal's soul on Sunday - something the Bible never directs us to do. A warning against rampant secularism doesn't change the fact that the teaching of Rome is in open conflict with the teachings of Jesus and his apostles in any number of areas.

Yet the Pope's visit has at least provided a talking point - and he has started an interesting conversation. Perhaps this is a good opportunity to ask people this week what they thought about the visit: what do they think about what he said? What do they think about secularism vs religion? What are they relying on for happiness rather than a relationship with Jesus?

We could waste a lot of energy declaring what the Pope is or isn't or what he said or didn't say; or we could ask those who need to hear the Gospel what they took away from the weekend - if anything.

Not Burning the Qur'an

2010-09-14T12:12:00.003+01:00

"... I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgement; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, 'You fool!' will be liable to the hell of fire..."

"... I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also..."

Matthew 5:22, 39

Pastor Terry Jones decided not to burn Qur'ans this past Saturday, the ninth anniversary of 9/11. Whilst we should be extremely thankful that he didn't, I hope he regrets the damage he did by threatening to do so in the first place.

In Afghanistan, amid violent protests by Muslims against the American's threat, one protester was shot dead. I wonder if Pastor Jones does not feel somewhat accountable for the man's death.

The past few weeks, and indeed months, in America have witnessed truly breath-taking spectacles. The controversy surrounding plans to build an Islamic centre two blocks from Ground Zero in New York City have attracted global attention and debate; the rise of the right-wing Tea Party movement and their hugely controversial rally in Washington, DC two weeks ago comes in the run-up to critically important elections in November; and in the middle of it all has come an angry, and it has to be said, at times seemingly clueless pastor from Florida threatening to send the Muslim world into hysterics.

When I first went to work at a Christian camp in America in the summer of 2007, I remember several of the mid-teen kids I worked with telling me that, though they were Christians, they would never use that word to describe their faith at school or in their communities. It was because the word 'Christian' is often associated with the extremist, politically-biased, 'evangelicals' like Pastor Jones. When asked last week by a CNN news-reader in an interview if Jesus did not tell us as Christians to 'turn the other cheek', Jones replied, 'That's true, up to a point'. Otherwise, go ahead and just get angry?

A few years ago, I read an interesting book by a left-leaning progressive Christian named Jim Wallis. The book was entitled God's Politics: Why The Right Gets It Wrong And The Left Doesn't Get It. Though I wouldn't have agreed entirely with all of Wallis' politics, or his theology for that matter, he made interesting arguments about the role of faith in politics. He also tried to argue that the era of right-wing conservative 'evangelical' Christians in America stamping their faith over their politics, acting always in the name of God and His Country, often to the embarrassment of many other Christians in the US, was coming to an end. The book pointed to the new wave of progressive young people, interested in both faith and social justice, who were rising up to claim a new middle ground. Many of these young people would have become Obama activists only a few years later.

But it seems Jim Wallis was wrong. Claiming a veto on God and whose side He is on is clearly still a bad habit for some in the U.S, just as it is with many Unionists in Northern Ireland. I don't believe God would have smiled on Dove Outreach Centre for burning Qur'ans any more than He would have smiled on Al Qaeda for flying planes into the Twin Towers.

Christians need to be extremely careful when they find themselves in the media spotlight. It would have been a much more positive witness had Pastor Jones' church broken a record for most aid sent to the floods in Pakistan; instead he's confirmed the suspicions of many of those hostile to Christianity both in America and around the world, and created the perception that our religious leaders are bigoted, backward, and intolerant.

We can be thankful that Jones relented. But one wonders just how much damage his stunt has done to the name of Jesus. The Qur'an is a false doctrine created by a man following a false god. But I'd much rather see Muslims converted to following Jesus, and choosing to get rid of their copies themselves.

Book Review: The Hiding Place

2010-07-23T19:59:00.003+01:00

"This is what the past is for! Every experience God gives us, every person He puts in our lives is the perfect preparation for the future that only He can see."

- Corrie ten Boom, The Hiding Place

I once had a Sabbath School teacher who talked almost weekly about how we needed to read The Hiding Place. I'm not sure why I didn't back then - as you'll have noticed from my rather sporadic book reviews on the blog, my eyes are often bigger than my stomach when it comes to completing books! - but once again I was prompted to at the insistence of someone else. As with Shadow of the Almighty, I'm very thankful that I was.

Corrie ten Boom, for those of you who have never heard of her, was the daughter of a watch-maker, born in Holland in 1892. Her family lived a humble life, guided by their Christian faith, in the town of Haarlem, where they were well-known and loved in the community. When the Nazis invaded the neutral Holland in 1940 and began rounding up Jews, the ten Booms became involved in the underground resistance.

I've almost already told you too much. But for a true life story of bravery, unjust suffering, humble Christian faith and divine sovereign guidance and provision, look no further than this astonishing book. Reading of how God miraculously used and cared for the ten Booms, particularly Corrie and Betsie when they arrived in Nazi Germany, is truly amazing. That they were able to forgive their oppressors and betrayers should be a rebuke to those of us who hold petty grudges against others. That they were able to pray for the vilest of enemies in the vilest of circumstances is a reminder that so often we fail in obeying Jesus' command to love our enemies, pray for our persecutors and have a burden for lost people.

Corrie's story is not for the faint of heart. But her account of how God so powerfully used two weak, unsavvy and humble Christian women should encourage us to pray more often, " Here am I, Lord, send me!" (Isaiah 6:8)

Facebook Hits Half A Billion

2010-07-23T19:34:00.003+01:00

You know, this thing might just get popular.

Facebook reached another milestone this week when the 500,000,000th person created an account. One in thirteen human beings ON THE PLANET now use Facebook. We've probably all joked that Facebook is taking over the world. Well, really, it has already.

Everywhere you look now you'll see the trademark 'F' - from Powerade bottles to cinema advertisements to church groups. It's almost as important to have a Facebook page as it is to have a website if you're a serious organisation looking to publicise yourself (which is embarrassing for a lot of churches, when you think about it, since they don't even have a decent website to begin with). But what are we doing on Facebook that is so incredibly wonderful?

I'm not about to launch in to a scathing critique of it and tell you that I think Christians shouldn't be on it, that it's a great evil, etc. Like all the other technologies that have changed the world - and Facebook is changing the world - Christians stand to gain so much if only we use this thing correctly. Already, I'm sure, many of you have enjoyed faster contact with friends and loved ones across the country or around the world that you can share more with - prayer points, exciting events, problems - and of course it's great to see pages dedicated to sharing useful blogs, photos, links, directions, advice, whatever we need really. And let's face it, the pictures and status updates are great fun at times.

But let's be smart too. Like anything else, music, TV, internet, so much of what we see on Facebook is embarrassing, frustrating, at times ridiculous, at times total nonsense. Two aspects that I love to hate in particular are the photo albums full of pictures people have taken of themselves/themselves with friends with the camera 2 cm from their face (does anyone really need 5 in one album?) and the status updates telling us how awesome watching television with a cup of Galaxy hot chocolate in pyjamas was tonight. Please, people.

Having just finished university and now halfway through what is a fairly laid-back and responsibility-free summer, I'm more and more convinced that arguably the biggest challenge to Christian young people today is not sexual purity or alcohol or drugs but the use of our time. How we do in the other three areas really flows from this. In his passage entitled in most Bibles "Walk In Love" in Ephesians 5, Paul says in verses 15&16:

Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best us of the time, because the days are evil...

Read the preceding verses to find out how to walk "wisely". Paul reminds us that we live in a stupid, messed up, sinful world, full of unwise choices. How we spend our time is incredibly important. So if we spend it pasting every little detail of our lives on Facebook, looking for approval or interest from the watching world, we're in trouble.

Next week, why not calculate how much time you spend on Facebook next to how much time you spend in Scriptures and prayer. To be honest, personally, I don't think I'd have done well this week.

Time is precious. Is Facebook taking too much of ours?

Muslims and Man. U

2010-07-23T19:15:00.007+01:00

Interesting story appeared this week about muslim leaders in South East Asia warning their listeners that wearing football shirts - specifically Manchester United, Barcelona, Brazil or Portugal would stir them up to "devil worship" - because Man. United have a "red devil" on their crest and the other three all have a cross. Full story here.

So, what do the Christians think? Should I stop wearing the colours of my favourite club because there's a so-called "devil" on it? Opinions please!

Time To End The Debate: The Pro-Choicers Are Admitting It's Murder Now

2010-07-03T00:26:00.005+01:00

We don't have much else we can say when supporters of abortion openly admit that it's a way of killing. Antonia Senior, columnist for The Times, admitted as much this week in her article on the issue, which you can read online at the paper's spiffy new website. The article is entitled 'Yes, abortion is killing. But it's the lesser evil.' Lesser than what, you might ask? Well, according to Antonia, lesser than taking away a woman's right to choose.

In a ridiculous article that sums up the ridiculous attitude of our sinful culture, Senior admitted that she was once a hardened pro-choicer, who defied anybody to put their pro-life argument to her, including 'God-squaddies'. But then she had a baby, and now, she says, she is 'wavering' on the issue.

Senior's piece was interesting, to a point. She bluntly stated in summary the cases of each 'side' in the abortion debate in what was quite an accurate summary, though it was of course devoid of any Christian/biblical perspective. But then, in a wonderfully post-modern flourish, she inserted a paragraph explaining that definitions of what constitutes a 'life' are very hard to make, you know, and if Friedrich Engels struggled with it, then us humble westerners in the 21st century certainly shouldn't come to any swift conclusions about it. These lines really sum up a lot of what is wrong with the logic of our society:

"Is life defined by consciousness or an awareness of self? Is it simply the ability to breathe? Take a few moments to try to define being human and alive. Done? It’s not easy, is it?

“What seems increasingly clear to me is that, in the absence of an objective definition, a foetus is a life by any subjective measure. My daughter was formed at conception, and all the barely understood alchemy that turned the happy accident of that particular sperm meeting that particular egg into my darling, personality-packed toddler took place at that moment. She is so unmistakably herself, her own person — forged in my womb, not by my mothering...

“But you cannot separate women’s rights from their right to fertility control.The single biggest factor in women’s liberation was our newly found ability to impose our will on our biology.”

Then Senior finishes with this astonishing line:

"The nearly 200,000 aborted babies in the UK each year are the lesser evil, no matter how you define life, or death, for that matter. If you are willing to die for a cause, you must be prepared to kill for it, too."

As I say, there isn't much left we can say if they're admitting now that what they're doing is killing.

I needn't take the time to cite the hundreds of scriptural references that many of us are now familiar with which clearly state that from conception we are alive, created by God for His glory, and His to maintain or terminate. I needn't point to the statistics of hundreds, thousands, maybe millions of women left traumatised by the realisation that they have taken a life. I needn't point out that the vast majority of abortions take place not after rape or incest or the other single percentage causes, but as a form of birth control for irresponsible young couples. None of this is necessary, apparently, because Antonia Senior openly admits that to support abortion is to be comfortable with killing.

Instead, all that is left to do is to pray for mercy and a change of heart. May we pray that these people will realise that Jesus was formed in the womb of an unmarried teenage woman in a conservative town, but that he grew up living sinlessly and paying the penalty for sin on the cross - including the sins of infanticide that are still being committed regularly in our country.

Free Will vs Total Depravity

2010-05-28T21:08:00.004+01:00

Had an interesting chat about this subject with a few people recently. Best summary of what the Bible says on this subject came in the form of a Driscoll sermon. He does a good comparison between arminianism and calvinism near the start, but skip to 30 minutes in for free will talk.

Western Presbytery Men's Leadership Conference 2010

2010-05-25T13:24:00.003+01:00

The first (to the best of my knowledge) annual (hopefully!) Western Presbytery Men's Leadership Conference, hosted by Enniskillen RPC, took place in The Clinton Centre on Saturday 22nd May. The conference was attended by 26 men, 23 of whom were elders/pastors. Me, Jonny, and Martin all enjoyed it nonetheless!

Rev. Andrew Kerr spoke in the morning session on "Church Unity". Andrew spoke on:

1. The Causes of Disunity (doctrinal, pasotral, personal, and party spirit)

2. Curbing Disunity:
- prayer
- avoid dogmatism
- sacramental discipline
- resisting "Diotrephes" characters
- rapid action
- studying relevant Scripture
- watch for factions
- ongoing instruction and education
- avoid "stupid" plans (!)
- congregation learning submission
- look out for warning signs

3. Curing Disunity
- realise the consequences - disastrous
- don't abandon ship
- discuss the cross
- absolute impartiality
- shroud everything in Scriptural principles
- a Christ-like approach

After some brief discussion and a light lunch, during which Jonny and I ran through the town centre looking for a cash machine with little success, Rev. Robert Robb spoke in the afternoon on "Biblical Church Discipline". He spoke on:

1. Objections:
- Unloving
- Judgmental
- Divisive
- Difficult

2. The Biblical Basis:
- Teaching of Jesus, eg Matt 16:19 ff
- Teaching of Paul, eg 1 Cor. 5

3. The Need For Discipline

4. The Goals of Discipline:
- Restoration of the offender, eg Galatians 6:1
- Deterrance for others, 1 Tim. 5:20
- To maintain the purity of the church, 1 Cor. 5:4-7

5. The Spirit of Discipline:
- Gentleness
- Humility
- Love
- Sorrowful Reluctance
- Prayerfulness

6. The Steps of Church Discipline:
- Personal Conflicts, Matt. 18:19
- Public Sins, 1 Cor. 5

Great fellowship and encouragement was enjoyed by everyone. Personally, I really enjoyed the opportunity to listen to older, more experienced men who don't complain through a blog share their thoughts and give advice. Hopefully next year, with some better publicity, more of the younger guys will be able to make it (though I know with exams this year wasn't maybe ideal).

Talks were recorded and should be forthcoming. Same time next year please!

Matthew 18:19&20: '... if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three gather together in my name, there am I among them.'

Facebook and the whole 'RPs Don't Vote'... Thing

2010-05-18T12:51:00.004+01:00

The RP Church has good grounds - biblical grounds - for holding that, unless your candidate is a Christian seeking to uphold the Kingdom of Jesus before everything else, you really should consider strongly whether you have any grounds to vote for them. (For more full and historical reasons, see Steelo's blog).

Fair enough.

Here's what's stupid though. Adopting an 'I'm RP so I would never vote' position and pasting it all over Facebook. This may come as a shock to some, but RPs don't actually have great reputations in some quarters. It's true. So if all we add to our repetoire, apart from 'RPs only sing psalms' is 'RPs don't vote' and if that is all anyone knows us for, that is pretty sad. I stress right now, I do not in any way disagree with the biblical basis for either singing psalms or not voting. But there is something terribly pharisitical, unattractive and unhelpful about declaring proudly to the world that one intends not to vote, and that no one in good conscience ever could.

When Jesus told the parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector, he told it 'to some who were trusting in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt'. Those who join Facebook groups declaring Christmas to be pagan, or have as their religious views: 'Christian - Reformed Presbyterian', or who tell everyone it's not right to vote, they may not be doing it out of pride or contempt for others, but do you see that it could come off like that? Facebook, a lot of the time, is just a pain in the neck. There is so much nonsense and unhelpfulness about it. Christians who use it need to be extremely careful not to damage their church or the Name of their Saviour when they contribute to it. And this RP mindset of 'this is the way we do things', and declaring it to cyberspace is immature.

Again, let me stress, I do not disagree with the position. At all. But we need to be aware that the vast majority of people would never have considered it, and that many Christians in Northern Ireland consider it a duty to vote. So instead of just confusing and irritating them with pithy statements on Facebook, take your opportunities, when you are asked, to explain why you believe what you believe. But don't proudly broadcast it on Facebook without any explanation.

In Jesus' parable, the Pharisee declared to God: 'I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all I get...' We could easily add on: 'I don't vote'. Is God impressed?

RPs don't vote. So what? Read Steelo's blog to find out why. Make your own mind up about it. Show a teachable and submissive spirit to your church's doctrine. Just don't let pride and arrogance ruin the reputation of the church by riling people up on Facebook.

Election '10: Why It's Possible No One Will Win

2010-04-22T14:09:00.004+01:00

Anyone keeping an eye on polls and commentary at the minute will have heard the phrase "hung Parliament" being bandied around a lot. But what is it? Why is it important? Does it refer to some sort of mass execution of politicians? Whilst you may think that doesn't sound so bad, that's not what it means...

What Is A Hung Parliament?

It's when there is no one political party that has an overall majority at Parliament, ie more MPs than all other parties put together. Britian has a "first-passed-the-post" system of electing politicians. This means that, rather than the winner of a constituency needing more than 50% of the votes cast, he only needs to get more votes than everybody else once the votes are counted. It's the same when it comes to forming a government. There are 650 seats in the House of Commons up for grabs at this election, an increase of 4 so to have an overall majority a party needs 326 seats. If no party reaches that number, we have a hung Parliament.

Why Is There So Much Talk Of A Hung Parliament This Year?

Because it's a very strong possibility; in fact, depending on which polls you believe, it's the most likely outcome. In 1997, Tony Blair led the Labour Party to a near unprecendented majority of 179, after their landslide sweep of 418 seats. This was almost completely replicated in 2001, when the majority was reduced by 12, but a less popular Labour goverment had its majority whittled down to 66 in 2005. Nonetheless, Labour's large majority means that it would take a huge swing of seats to their closest rivals, the Conservatives, for David Cameron's party to become the largest - 116, in fact. The Tories would also become the largest party if Labour lost 24 seats; anything in between these scenarios leaves us with a hung Parliament.

It seemed much more unlikely a year ago, but in the wake of the expenses scandal, and with Cameron's Conservatives largely failing to convince voters and the media that they have concrete and tangible alternatives to Labour, they have slipped in the polls and find themselves almost in a tie at the moment. Last week Nick Clegg, leader of the smaller Liberal Democrats, was widely viewed as having won the first ever Prime Ministerial debate, something few expected, least of all this blogger. His party has enjoyed a ten point surge in the polls, overtaking Labour and posing real problems for the Conservatives.

Has There Ever Been A Hung Parliament Before?

Yes. The last hung Parliament was in 1974. The incumbent Conservatives ended up with four seats fewer than Labour, and tried to form a government. Labour tried to form a coalition government; both failed and another election was called six months later, when Harold Wilson's Labour Party won a slim majority of 3 seats. There was also a hung Parliament in 1929.

What Happens If It's A Hung Parliament on May 7th?

That depends on who the largest party is, really. It also depends on whether or not the Liberal Democrats and other smaller parties - including the Northern Irish parties like the DUP and SDLP - can be persuaded to form a coalition with either Labour or the Conservatives. If Labour don't lose too many seats and the Conservative don't win enough, Gordon Brown will most likely try to form a coalition government with the Liberal Democrats. If the Conservatives were the largest party but without a majority, they too could try and do a deal with the Lib Dems; they would most likley also come knocking at the door of the DUP.

If no party can form a coalition government with another party, the largest party in Parliament could try and form a minority government - ie one that would be seeking to lead a majority of others. However, this is more unlikely, since the party trying to govern would most likley face crippling opposition from everyone else. If no coalition government were formed in the wake of a hung Parliament, it is more likely that a fresh election would be called for the summer or autumn. And that would be a bit too depressing.

Will It Happen?

It really is very hard to say! Maybe in a week's time I'll stick my neck out and make a prediction. At the moment, it's looking likely. Cameron is really struggling, Brown is trudging onward and everyone's suddenly in love with Nick Clegg, who no one much expected to create such a stir at all before last week's debate. Some polls have started asking people if they want a hung Parliament; many people have started to claim they do, describing it as the "safest outcome", since none of the three main parties have convinced them.

We will perhaps be a little closer to knowing after tonight's second debate. If Nick Clegg can build on the huge surge of support he gained after last week, we could be less than 2 weeks away from the election with the three parties in a dead heat. It's rather exciting for those of us who are particularly interested; for the rest of you, it just means more boring nonsense being served up all over again in a few months' time. Sorry!

BBC On The Christian Vote

2010-04-21T11:04:00.002+01:00

Interesting piece today on BBC online. Apparently one in ten people in the UK now say they go to church. But what impact could their vote have? Find out here...

What Happens In Northern Ireland? Part 2: The Nationalist/Republican Parties

2010-04-20T14:56:00.004+01:00

On this side of things in Northern Ireland, the choice is slightly more straightforward.

The Parties
By far the larger of the two parties - and by some estimates the largest party in Northern Ireland - is Sinn Fein ("Ourselves Alone"). Sinn Fein is a very old political party which has changed in ideology, size and appeal dramatically over the decades. During the Troubles, several of its current members were accused of IRA involvement at high levels. This is a charge repeatedly denied by party President Gerry Adams; by contrast Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness openly admits to it. Today the party presents itself as a diverse, forward-looking, equality-seeking republican party; any former involvement with the Provisional IRA is set aside and they have officially committed themselves to the Peace Process and to democratic politics since at least 1998. Their branching out as a party in terms of political, social, cultural and economic approach helped them gain steadily on the more moderate SDLP over the last 20 years. They are now far ahead of their rivals in terms of support and seats at Stormont and Westminster.

The Social Democratic Labour Party (SDLP) are a party fighting to remain relevant in this election. Much of their moderate policy has been adopted by Sinn Fein, and they now struggle to draw clear dividing lines between themselves and their republican rivals. They currently hold only three seats in Westminster; two of these, Foyle and South Down, are, arguably, only being held because Protestants in these constituencies vote SDLP to keep Sinn Fein from winning the seat. The third seat, South Belfast, previously a long-standing unionist seat, was taken in 2005 because of a split unionist vote. Alex Maskey of Sinn Fein dropped out as a candidate for this constituency only today, in an effort to guard against the seat being retaken by a unionist. The SDLP are loosely associated with the British Labour Party, and would usually vote with Labour in major votes at Westminster. They are more socially liberal than any of the other parties, and whilst they claim to be committed to a united Ireland, they are strongly opposed to the violence of the IRA. The party was born out of the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Movement of the late 1960s.

What Do They Stand For?
Sinn Fein believe strongly that Northern Ireland's economy, health, education and society would be better off if the six counties were incorporated into the Irish Republic, where Sinn Fein also stand in all major elections. They are the only party that operates on both sides of the border on the island, and in their Party Election Broadcast for radio, they describe partition as having "blighted" the island of Ireland. They do not take their seats at Westminster or swear allegiance to the Queen and the British State. Sinn Fein have been heavily criticised south of the border for their vague yet ambitious economic policies and their attempts to operate in both Northern Ireland and the Republic. Yet north of the border, their seemingly progressive politics and their deliverance on devolution pledges have convinced nationalists and republicans to return the party as the largest in the Province - depending on how you look at it. The SDLP, not unlike the Ulster Unionists, have sought to recast themselves as a moer forward-looking, less sectarian party, partly through running well-known, minor celebrity, former UTV journalist Fearghal McKinney and electing Margaret Ritchie as leader, though neither have performed well in public so far.

Who Will Win What?
It seems highly unlikely that the SDLP will win any new seats. The infamous education minsiter, Catroina Ruane, is running against Ritchie in South Down. Forgive my slip into unbiased commentary, but the two are as dire as each other; nevertheless, Ruane's appearance on the ticket should be enough to drive even more unionists towards voting for Ritchie, if only to avoid Ruane winning a seat at Westminster. Sinn Fein face severe competition in Fermanagh South Tyrone from independent Rodney Connor (see yesterday's post), but their other four seats seem safe. They will be looking forward to next year's Assembly Election, when many more SDLP MLA seats could be vulnerable.

Election '10: What Happens In Northern Ireland? The Unionist Parties

2010-04-19T12:49:00.013+01:00

A few people have been asking me what happens in Northern Ireland at the General Election. Obviously, to quote American television, "We have a whole thing of our own goin' on here", in that our political parties are founded on their beliefs about our relationship to mainland Britain. We don't vote directly for any of the main parties that will most likely form a government and nominate a Prime Minister, since none of them stand here. Nevertheless, our MPs still sit in Westminster and vote on all the major issues that affect Northern Ireland, epsecially our budget. Whilst most major issues such as education and health have been transferred to our own Stormont government, our representation at Westminster is still very important.

The Unionist Parties

On the unionist side, the biggest party is the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), which currently holds 9 of the 18 Northern Ireland constituencies. The DUP was founded by Ian Paisley, who stepped down as leader three years ago. They are politically and socially conservative, more so, perhaps, than the British Conservative Party. They pride themselves in representing a "traditional Protestant Christian" vote, which caused them real embarrassment and criticism when news of Iris Robinson's personal problems broke in January. In 2006 they agreed to share power with Sinn Fein, a highly controversial and potentially divisive move for the party, but one that has been largely supported by their voters - until now at least.

The DUP has repeatedely stated that they would not align themselves to any of the main British parties, but they would usually vote with the Conservatives.

Behind the DUP come the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), who for the purposes of this election will be standing with the British Conservatives under the joint banner of Ulster Conservatives and Unionists - New Force (UCUNF). Despite this rather dreadful choice of name (does anyone else think it sounds a bit like a paramilitary Northern Ireland version of the Power Rangers?) they believe this link-up could benefit both parties in the event of a Hung Parliament (ie if no one party gets enough votes to form a government). It's also an attempt by the UUP to come across as a more forward-looking, less sectarian Northern Ireland party. Technically, they currently do not have a seat at Westminster - their only MP, Lady Sylvia Hermon, resigned from the party in protest at the decision to join with the Conservatives and will be standing in her North Down constituency as an independent. The DUP are not opposing her and she is widely expected to comfortably hold her seat. If UCUNF fail to win a seat - a very real possibility - it could have huge implications for the future of unionism and the Assembly in Northern Ireland.

A third unionist option has appeared this year in the form of the hard-line, staunchly conservative Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV). This party was founded by Jim Allister, formerly of the DUP, in 2007, in protest at their decision to share power with Sinn Fein in the Assembly. Allister and his followers still view Sinn Fein as synonymous with the work of the IRA, and support majority rule in Northern Ireland (ie unionist dominance with nationalists and republicans in an almost permanent minority). Allister is unlikely to win a Westminster seat, but he will be looking to do as much damage as possible to the DUP in preparation for next year's Assembly elections. He himself is running in North Antrim, Rev. Ian Paisley's constituency, held by the Free P founder since the 1970s. This year it is being defended for the DUP by Ian Paisley Jr. A TUV victory here remains unlikely, though not impossible. Again, depending on the TUV performance, it could ask big questions of where unionism in Northern Ireland is headed; this is the DUP heartland and failure to hold it would be totally humiliating.

Lastly, we have independent Rodney Connor standing in the Fermanagh South Tyrone constituency. This constituency has sent Sinn Fein's Michelle Gildernew to Westminster in the past two elections, mainly because the unionist vote has been almost evenly split between the DUP and UUP. In an effort to replace Gildernew with a unionist, the DUP and UCUNF have stood aside in favour of Connor this year. There have been some calls for such a "unity candidate" to be found for the South Belfast constituency, where the SDLP won the seat last time round, again because of a split unionist vote. Connor is currently a slight favourite to win the seat, but it's really too close to call.

What Do These Parties Stand For?

They are all, traditionally, socially conservative on issues such as abortion and lowering the age of consent. The DUP and TUV would both claim strong support from conservative evangelicals, as would the UUP, though to a lesser extent perhaps. However, RP readers needn't get too excited: their views on the Orange Order and the importance of Ulster as a "Christian homeland" don't really register with those of us who believe in the sufficiency of Christ and His spiritual Kingdom as commanding our ultimate allegiance. Nonetheless, in terms of social policy and morality, we would probably find more in common with one of these three parties than with the Nationalist, Catholic parties (SDLP or Sinn Fein).

Who Will Win What?

On the whole, not much is expected to change on the unionist side in terms of who wins the seats. What will be more important is how much of an impact the TUV make and whether or not the Ulster Unionist/Conservative link-up turns out to be a master-stroke or a disaster - at the moment it looks likely to be the latter. Most DUP seats are safe, but keep an eye on North and South Antrim, where the TUV and UCUNF respectively have their best chance of winning a seat.

Do You Know What's Happening In Three Weeks?

2010-04-15T12:24:00.009+01:00

I'm not talking about the Belfast Marathon and the likely discomfort it will cause to the McCulloughs and everyone else; three weeks from today is the General Election.

Since I'm not sure of the political awareness or interest of this blog's readership - or even if this blog has a readership - I thought I'd fill you in a bit on what's going on and what might be the outcome of this election lark. So, here's the first in the series.

The Story So Far

Pundits are calling it the most unpredictable election in at least 20 years. At the moment, you will find absolutely no one who can say with any certainty who is going to win. There are a number of reasons for this. Mainly, it's because none of the three British parties have done a very good job of telling us what they're all about.

This is particularly true of David Cameron and the Conservatives, who should be miles in front and already picking out his furniture for Downing Street. But in the last six months his party have offered little in the way of substantive policy, and at times have struggled to explain the main differences between themselves and Labour, in terms of how they would approach things like health, Afghanistan, and cleaning up the expenses system at Westminster. Gordon Brown has basically been arguing that since his party have been in government for 13 years, they are the most experienced and able party to get the country out of recession; critics would point out that much of the damage to the economy was done when Brown was Chancellor, so why trust him and his party any longer? Nick Clegg is the awkward third wheel of the party leaders. His Liberal Democrats are not going to become the largest party, and again, in recent months you would struggle to say what they're about.

The expenses scandal of last summer, the economic woes, and the seeming lack of substantial difference between the two main parties has led to widespread voter apathy and frustration, and there are real concerns about the level of turnout robbing any eventual winner of real credibility.

Leaders' Debates

Tonight we have the first ever Prime Ministerial Debate, live on ITV. It will be the first in a series of three. Sky get next week's, and the BBC have the final one the week before the election. There has been much debate over this presidential-style debate and whether or not we need to have one. At first I'd have agreed with the critics and questioned the point of such an event - it could end up being style over substance, PR politics that everyone's so fed up with - but at least it gives us a chance to see if there really is any substantial difference between the three (or two if you forget Nick Clegg). So if you've nothing better to do, you may as well tune in and see for yourself what all the fuss is about.

I'd finish by reminding readers (and myself) that the best thing we can do in the coming weeks is to pray earnestly over this election. Whatever the outcome, we need to pray for mercy on our country, that a new government would turn us away from the unbibilcal, unethical laws that are being imposed on us, and that our Gosepl freedoms, which we take for granted, would be preserved for many years to come.

To keep up-to-date with the election coverage, check out the BBC's special website. The Times also has a great set of resources and info.

Book Review: Shadow Of The Almighty

2010-04-09T20:51:00.012+01:00

I think a lot of us have a "to-read" list of great books that we never get round to reading. Shadow Of The Almighty was at the top of mine for years. Then someone smarter, better-looking and altogether more American suggested we read it, and I finally finished it earlier this month.

What a book! What a servant Jim Elliot was. Reading of his life and faith was such a rebuke, challenge, example. I only wish I'd read it in my first year of university rather than my last. Elliot was a young guy who, like Daniel, recognised the infinite value of disciplining yourself in daily Bible study and prayer. He didn't view his college days as a time to waste on trivial, pointless pursuits; he used it as a time to immerse himself in the Word of God, to know it intimately, to memorise it, and to turn to it before anything or anyone else in hard times.

Jim Elliot is perhaps most well-known for how he died - at the hands of savage indians in Ecuador, people he had determined years before to bring the Gospel to. But it is his knowledge of the Scriptures, the sheer effort and determination he put in to learning them and understanding them, that will stay with me. One has to ask: if he hadn't put in all that time and effort when he was younger, would he have been able to do what he did in Ecuador, to evangelise to those who could barely read or write let alone hold a Bible? Would he have been able to obey God's will as whole-heartedly and unfalteringly as he did? Jim Elliot refused to see things as everyone else did. Sport, girls, holidays, parties, even college work had no significance for him unless it was viewed from a biblical perspective, unless he could reconcile it with his understanding of Christ and the Scriptures. Some of his views on Christmas, family and marriage might seem a bit extreme even to Christians today (though he did mellow in some of these areas), but before we rush to criticise, surely we should ask if we know our Bibles as well as Jim Elliot knew his?! If we did, maybe we would view these things differently too!

Of course, Jim's work as a missionary in Ecuador leaves the reader fairly gob-smacked and soul-searched as well. We may not all be called to the same work, but will we find a burden for something the way he found a burden for South America? He faced death, disease and hard-ship on a regular basis; he got discouraged at the lack of fruit his work seemed to bare; he waited patiently for years to marry Elisabeth for the good of the minsitry. Above all, of course, he realised the infinite wisdom of giving what he could not keep to gain what he could not lose. He asked God to let him live a full life rather than a long life. And he was willing to go where his Master pointed.

Often I wonder how we can have a more heavenly, eternal perspective. How do we view life on earth through the eyes of Jesus, through the eyes of people storing treasures in Heaven? Jim Elliot was someone who, I think, lived with such a perspective. He spoke and acted like someone assured of the pleasures of Heaven, not Earth. He worked for eternal reward, not temporal gain or significance. What a challenge that is to us.

Jim Elliot isn't the only hero in this book. Its author, Elisabeth Elliot, is just as wonderful an example as her husband. She knew him better than anyone and she sought to learn from him, help him, support him and share with him all she could. She too had to sacrifice much for the sake of her calling, not least her husband, who left her behind to raise their young daughter. Their marriage was short, but the example of their relationship from beginning to end is one that we should all seek to imitate. They shared their faith and everything else they had entirely, but before they gave to each other they gave to God. He was at the centre of all they did and all the decisions they made.

This certainly won't be the last time I turn to this book; it would probably be well worth copying out the epilogue and carrying it around or sticking it above the desk! It's a collection of extracts from his journal, written over the course of his life. Reading through them, it almost seems like Jim was expecting to lay down his life for Jesus the way he did. Whether God had clearly revealed that to him or not I don't know; what is obvious though, is that Jim's love for the Scriptures had him prepared for whatever end God had in store for him.

Jim Elliot valued the Gospel more than life itself. Do I? Do you? Read Shadow Of The Almighty if you need help answering that question.

Book Review: The Holiness Of God

2010-04-08T00:01:00.005+01:00

Before election madness kicks in, I wanted to squeeze in a review of one of the best books I've ever read - really, it is. R. C. Sproul was a name I'd often heard quoted in books or sermons, but I didn't really know much about him and had never read any of his material. Then a few months ago, Mark Driscoll posted an interview with him on his Resurgence blog, and talked about this book a little.

It really is super. The chapter titles should catch your interest as much as anything else - "The Trauma Of Holiness", "The Insanity Of Luther" (don't worry - nothing heretical in there!). Sproul approaches a weighty subject in a reverened but accessible way. He's easy to read and uses great illustrations to back up his point. But perhaps best of all, the book really does give you a greater sense of God's holiness. As we consider Scripture passages such as Peter's reaction to the catch of fish, the call of Isaiah, Jacob's encounter with God, as well as deeper theological subjects like the Trinity, Sproul forces you to confront God for yourself, to really ask yourself if you appreciate His holiness as much as you should. Each chapter finsihes with 3 or 4 questions for meditation, which would serve as ideal quiet time pointers. Here's an example from chapter one:

"1. When you think of God as holy, what comes to your mind?

2. Describe a time when you were overcome by God's holiness.

3. Are you attracted to God's holiness?

4. What does it mean for you to be holy in the coming week?"

That last question best sums up the direction this book takes us in - not just to consider God's holiness in an abstract way, but to think about how that impacts on us, practically, on a daily basis. Sproul does that brilliantly throughout the book, and really I should probably just go back and read it again to think about thse questions more! For now, let me encourage you to read a great book that reminds us of the glory, justice, righteousness, sovereignty and justice of our holy God. What Sproul deals with here is a subject we can never think about enough.

Conservative-Unionist Differences Highlight How Little Either Party Has To Offer

2010-03-31T17:06:00.015+01:00

Quick background for those who have no clue what the headline is about:

It concerns a major party in Northern Ireland, the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP). Until 2003 they were the largest party in Northern Ireland, when the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP, aka Ian Paisley's lot) overtook them.

It also concerns a major British party, the Conservative Party, led by would-be Prime Minister David Cameron.

Historically the two parties have a sort-of link - back in the early days of Northern Ireland the Conservatives were the most likely British party to look after unionist interests. Ideologically, they were much closer 80 years ago than they are now.

Last year the parties committed themselves to an electoral pact, going with the horrendous name choice of "Ulster Conservatives and Unionists: New Force" (shortened to UCUNF). You couldn't make such a name up; these guys did though. The agreement basically meant that in Westminster and European elections, they would field joint candidates. Last year Jim Nicholson was the first politician to do so, standing under the UCUNF banner in the 2009 European Election.

The pact is supposed to provide political advantage to each party: the UUP start to look less "sectarian" and more progressive, offering more to more voters; the Conservatives potentially pick up a precious few more seats in Westminster in the event of a close election. As I'll explain, none of this has really materialised.

Clear as mud? Good.

So, what's the problem with this little Conservative/UUP love-in? Problem number one appeared when the parties had to start agreeing on who should stand under the UCUNF banner (now shortened simply to Conservatives & Unionists) in each of Northern Ireland's 18 constituencies in the 2010 election. The idea of having 9 unionists and 9 conservatives was discarded when it became clear no such agreement could be made. At the moment, only two conservatives and fourteen unionists are standing under the joint ticket.

Problem number two came last month when the DUP and Sinn Fein agreed a deal on devolving policing and justice powers to Northern Ireland under the Hillsborough Agreement. The Conservatives have always supported this final phase of devolution; last month, all the major Northern Ireland parties did, except for the Ulster Unionists. Of course this was rather embarrassing for the Conservatives, who now faced questions as to why they were standing under a joint ticket with a party who didn't agree with them on a major issue in Northern Ireland.

Problem number three came when the UUP's only Westminster representative, Lady Sylvia Hermon, decided she would resign in protest at the party's pact with the Conservatives. Lady Hermon is running as an Independent Unionist for North Down in the election, and will most likely win back her seat.

Problem number four has been the most embarrassing for both parties. Time to meet UUP councillor Adrian Watson, who has been hoping to stand in the South Antrim constituency.

Adrian's not the most charming of characters, but he's been given a bit of a hard time of late. He runs a bed and breakfast near Antrim with his wife. In 2006, he was asked on a radio show if, hypothetically, he would allow a gay couple to book a room in his guest house. He said he would have serious reservations about it, since his wife has strong evnagelical views and they had a 14 year-old daughter with them in the guest house. He said:

“That was what concerned me as a husband and father at that specific time. It was a purely personal concern as a husband and a father which I know most people would understand..."

Indeed they would - wouldn't they? The Conservatives, the super diverse, tolerant, ultra -modern Conservatives, thought not. They've vetoed the nomination of Watson as a candidate in South Antrim, today prompting the resignation of eleven UUP councillors. This comes a day after a senior UUP MLA, Alan McFarland, also resigned from the party in protest at the pact with the Conservatives, which he described as detrimental to unionism in Northern Ireland.

I don't have much sympathy with any of these players. The UUP offer next to nothing in terms of taking Northern Ireland forward. Their "principled stand" against the devolution of policing and justice, albeit a stand taken due to some legitimate concerns, was purely political, an attempt to draw a dividing line between themselves and the DUP. Their decision to enter a pact with the Conservatives probably seemed much smarter at the time, taken over a year ago before the expenses scandal broke and the Conservatives seemed certain to sweep into power with a small majority. The UUP could have been in a powerful position under such a scenario. But a year later the Conservatives' victory is far from sure and everyone else in Northern Ireland is moving on with devolution. In a desperate attempt to be in vogue, the UUP have come off as out of touch.

As far as the Conservatives are concerned, their decision to dip their toes in the murky waters of Northern Irish politics now looks like a rash and irresponsible move. By censoring Adrian Watson, for making honest statements from a position of conviction and principle, they have confirmed the suspicions of many in Northern Ireland - that they do not share the principles or beliefs of many people in the Province, and they are more concerned with keeping everyone happy than they are with adopting positions of similar conviction or substance. If any of us were in any doubt as to whether there was a substantial difference between Labour and the Tories over their approach to the militant gay rights movement or the accommodation of Christian ethics and opinions in their policies, we are under no illusions anymore.

I'm still wrestling over the whole issue of voting, and whether it's something worthwhile to do as Christians. But as I look around at the choice in this election, I'm not sure there's any party that I'd be happy to endorse at the ballot box. Certainly I don't want to endorse a pair of parties that silence a man who responded to a hypothetical question based on his wife's Christian convictions and what he felt would be best for his daughter. The closer we get to this election, the bigger the hole these two parties seem to dig themselves into. What, if anything they have to offer, they need to make clear - and soon.

What Next For The Republic?

2010-03-22T15:51:00.017Z

We're only a quarter of the way through 2010, but it's already been a miserable year for the 26 counties down there and over there. Economic woes have been compounded, unemployment has sky-rocketed, and the well-documented problems of the Catholic Church, problems which, in reality, have been going on for decades, have left even devout Catholics in the Republic disillusioned with their religion, wondering just how far the rot has spread in the priesthood and beyond. A Church which has consistently stood in opposition to many of the secular trends that have become the norm in the Western world, such as euthanasia, abortion and the challenges facing traditional marriage, and which has done so claiming the moral high ground, has now lost all credibility in the eyes of many of Ireland's citizens, both Catholic or otherwise. There seems to be little remaining reason to take the declarations, traditions and dictations of this insitution seriously, in light of the horrendous scandals it has brought upon itself. Many Catholics, who have lived by the beliefs and standards preached to them from their priests and bishops, now feel a sense of shame, despair, and embarassment in light of the allegations that have been made against these same priests and bishops.

I say none of this to gloat over or judge those either in authority in the Catholic Church or who are members of it - there is no place for such an attitude, and as Christians we should feel only the same disappointment at the stories we have heard in the news - I say it only to reiterate what has already been said, to point out the hurt and betrayal being felt by Catholics both north and south of the border.

The revelations concerning the Catholic Church come in the wake of growing disenchantment with the political leaders of the country. The current coalition government in the south, made up of the republican Fianna Fail party and the Green Party, is now paying the price for the irresponsible economic policies they adopted in the latter years of the Celtic Tiger era in Ireland - years in which they did not invest wisely and chose to line their own pockets rather than build on Ireland's success for the future. Expenses scandals not dissimilar to those which surfaced in the UK last year have also cropped up in the Republic, and the unfinished building projects in Dublin, the unending strikes and protests, and the long queues of Irish shoppers appearing in Newry and Enniskillen each week point to a broken economy and disheartened society down south.

Clearly, in recent years, the people of the Republic placed a lot of faith in both the strength of their economy and the leadership of their Church. Now, many of these people will be looking for something else to place their faith in. Ireland needs strong leadership and direction, both politically and spiritually (on both sides of the border). Some of you will be familiar with the vision that has been talked about amongst some members of our church for the last few years - 32 churches in 32 counties by 2032. Some of those 32 counties have never even heard the Gospel we preach explained to them properly. Some of these disillusioned, disappointed people have never even been given the choice of trusting in Jesus rather than in dithering politicians or hypocritical priests. Perhaps in the midst of political and religious uncertainty, God is preparing the hearts of the hearers in Ireland for the message of salvation - not a salvation of works, but a salvation of grace through faith. Perhaps the current problems of the Catholic Church and the Irish economy should move us to pray more than ever for God to equip us for the work of witnessing to our needy island. Now, more than any time in recent years, its citizens may be open to a new message, to the good news of Jesus.

Just a thought.

Romans 10:13,14 seems to be the verse of the moment in blogs these days. Equally applicable here!

graph taken from http://www.finfacts.com/artman/uploads/3/Ireland-cross-border-shopping_dec042009.jpg

Book Review: The Gospel As It Really Is: Romans Simply Explained

2010-03-18T19:43:00.006Z

"Paul...to all those in Rome... Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ"

Romans 1:1&7

Those of you who have followed the blog from Day One (so that's a big shout out to the pair of you 8) ) will probably be wondering what happened to the frequent book reviews I promised! Well, I'm coming close to the end of two super books, which I'll review soon, but I also just finished this one on Romans, which I've been doing for personal Bible study.

I'd never studied Romans for myself before, and any time you find yourself in a similar situation with any Bible book, I'd heartily recommend you look to the Wellwyn Commentary Series first. Any I've read are superb, and this is no different. They don't go into excruciating detail, they're entirely readable, and they give you an excellent sense of the purpose, themes, and application we can take from any book of the Bible. Stuart Olyott does this as well as anyone, and does a great job here of taking the reader through an overview of Romans.

My edition, which is slightly older than the one pictured, came in at 163 pages, so any serious Bible reader should immediately recognise that the purpose of this book is not to cover absolutely everything in Romans with a fine tooth-comb (otherwise I'd be reviewing several series right now). It's simply to teach you about a part of Scripture you want to get more familiar with or understand a bit better. Most of Olyott's studies comprise between 10 and 15 verses of the epistle. He takes time for context, content, purpose and application, and does it all with great expertise. So much of Romans became more enjoyable or understandable for me, especially the wonderful middle section, chapters 8-11, that so many of us hold up as the basis for our hope in Christ, passages that remind us of our own inadequacy, of our condemnation under the Law, and our salvation in Christ. This book impresses these truths upon you, causes you to meditate on them, and explains them more fully, all in an easy-to-read, straight-forward style.

I hope someday I can study Romans more fully and thoroughly, but after reading Olyott's book I really did feel I understood it and valued it more than I have in the past. It's impossible to over-state the importance of the epistle, the epistle through which Martin Luther had his eyes opened to the truths of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the epistle that so clearly contradicted the man-made traditions and demands of Romanism, the epistle that explains how we can be dead to sin and slaves to Jesus. If you feel you want to learn more about Romans and are wondering where to start with such a rich, full and central part of Scripture, look no further than Stuart Olyott's commentary. It does exactly what it says on the tin.

What We're Up Against From The Guys On "Our Side"

2010-03-10T10:45:00.013Z

I came across this story on a link somewhere during the course of my week. Just about gathered my faculties to write about it having read it. Prepare to be disappointed...

Rowan Williams is continuing to carve out a whole new belief system all by himself. Quite what we should call it or what he's basing it on, I'm still not sure, but it all seems to be with the aim of making Christianity as confusing and irrelevant as possible.

In a speech at Guileford Cathedral, Williams criticised Christians who believe that the Bible provides them with all the answers, and that Jesus Christ is truth; I would assume the Archbishop doesn't have much time for the Gospel of John, particularly the first 18 verses.

Here are some of Williams' most outrageous (and yet sadly not unsurprising) lines:

- “What could we possibly mean by saying that a truth expressed in the Middle East 2,000 years ago was truth applicable to everybody, everywhere?”

- Belief in the uniqueness or finality of Christ, in the way it has usually been understood, is something that “sits very badly indeed, not just with a plural society – whatever that means – but with a society that regards itself as liberal or democratic”.

- In the Gospels, Jesus said: “No one comes to the father, except through me". Dr Williams said that in this context: “The father cannot be shown as an object in the sky, something abstract, something you can point to.” Instead, God should be understood in the first or second person, walking with Jesus towards the cross and resurrection.”

-The Archbishop quoted the Koran: “And God did not elect to make everybody the same. God has made us to learn in dialogue.”

- On the question of whether Christians could legitimately believe that people of other faiths could be saved, Dr Williams said believers were too reluctant to leave this to God to sort out.

“We have often a vague feeling that God hasn’t read the proper books,” he said. “I’m very content to let God be the judge of how far anyone outside the visible family of faith is related to Jesus or has turned towards the father.”

Perhaps most tellingly, Williams' speech contained a series of questions, questions which he did not adequately answer for himself. Not only that, but he conceded, as I mentioned above that a belief that Jesus is the only way to salvation is a belief that “sits very badly indeed, not just with a plural society... but with a society that regards itself as liberal or democratic”. Well, yes Rowan, I agree. But is that not the whole point? Again, let's consider what John records for us in his Gospel on this - Jesus said to his disciples "If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you" (John 15:18&19). So if the message of salvation through Jesus Christ that we preach as Christians is offending somebody, or "doesn't sit well" them, then Jesus says we are doing something right. Or let's consider what Paul said about the truths of 2,000 years ago. Writing to Titus, Paul reminds us that he is an apostle working for Jesus Christ in hope of eternal life, "which God, who never lies... manifested in his word through the preaching with which I have been entrusted by... God our Saviour" (Titus 1:2&3). If God never lies, and has manifested the truth of Jesus in Scripture, why didn't Rowan Williams base the title of his speech (“The Finality of Christ in a Pluralist World”) on an informed and accurate reading of the Scriptures?

The answer seems simple enough: Williams has always been on a desperate crusade to remain relevant and attractive. He is willing to compromise on anything he finds in Scripture if it means the Church of England isn't criticised or ridiculed. He would do well to consider the warnings of both Jesus and Paul - that not many should presume to be teachers, that if any rise up in leadership and lead others astray, they face a severe judgement.

It seems to me that if we want to persuade people of the good news of the Gospel, of the love and work and person of Jesus Christ, that more than ever we need to know our Scriptures, have an answer for the faith we profess, and stand against men like Williams who preach a wishy-washy, senseless, incoherent Christianity. In a bid to make Jesus relevant, Williams is running the risk of portraying him as completely irrelevant. We should expect no help from men like him. We should pray earnestly that he will read his Bible, reconsider some of what he believes, and return to a Christ-centred, Christ-honouring message of salvation through faith in Christ alone. Pray for Rowan Williams, but don't preach his current message.

"And I, when I came to you brothers, did not come proclaiming to you the testimony of God with lofty speech or wisdom. For I decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified"

1 Corinthians 2:1&2

House Of Lords Endorses Gay "Unions" In Churches - But Labour To The Rescue?

2010-03-05T12:57:00.008Z

Earlier this week the House of Lords passed an amendment to the Equality Bill, tabled by homosexual Labour peer Lord Alli, to allow civil partnerships to take place in religious-affiliated premises.

The amendment, supported by all three major parties in a free vote, would lift the current ban on gay couples having a religious ceremony for their unions or using "religious language" in the "service". The amendment was endrosed by several leading Church of England clerics but met with fierce opposition from other churches and Christian pressure groups.

Coming to the party a bit late, I assumed that if the Lords were voting on this, it was a foregone conclusion in the House of Commons. Imagine my shock, then, when I read this morning that Equality Minister Harriet Harman could scupper plans for the amendment being voted on in the Commons for fear it would leave the marriage system in dissarray. You think so Harry? Just one result of such an amendment becoming law would be that civil marriages would not be taking place in churches in the UK, while civil partnerships would.

Never mind the disgust and dismay we should feel that such a situation has even arisen in the UK, the sad fact is that already, if a homosexual couple wants to find a church in which to conduct a civil partnership, there are plenty willing to cooperate, at least across the water. The only good news to take out of all this is that, should the issue be debated in the Commons and MPs were given a free vote (ie to vote with their conscience), there's a strong possibility that the entire Equality Bill could collapse, since the general election is only weeks away, and if the Equality Bill is not finalised before then, whatever happens in May the Bill most likely would not make it to the Commons floor again for quite some time.

We really have had bigger losses. Harman's willingness to remove this amendment is an indication of just what a mess it would make of the marriage system in the UK, and suggests she sees the concerns of church leaders that they could be sued for refusing to perform a civil partnership as entirely realistic and valid. If it's enough to scare Harriet Harman into dropping it, she who has been banging on the equality drum repeatedly since she took up her post, we really do need to pray that this evil Bill would go away.

Dan Walker In Sport & Sundays

2010-03-04T14:40:00.009Z

Should have had this up a few weeks ago, but hopefully it won't be old news! A friend passed on this great little magazine put together by Christian BBC presenter Dan Walker, in which he outlines his reasons for believing that we should avoid playing or participating in sport on Sabbath in an effort to honour the fourth commandment.

The magazine is split between Dan's personal testimony, where he talks through his early life, his career opportunities, and the maturing of his Christian faith, alongside the most frequent and difficult questions he faces about why he believes and practices the way he does. Personally I found these questions, and Dan's answers particularly impressive. A whole page is devoted to this question, which he has often faced: "Do you think you take the whole Sunday issue too seriously?" To which he repsonds with a series of seven bullet-points, all referring to multiple Scriptural references (including Gen. 2:1-3, Exodus 20:8-11, Deut. 5:14-15, Matt. 12:1-12, Mark 2:28, Luke 6:1-11, John 5:1-18, Acts 20:7, 1 Cor. 16:2, Rev. 7:9-17, Heb. 4:1-13. Take your pick!) Some of the main reasons he gives for believing he doesn't take things too seriously are:

Sabbath rest was a gift to all of us before sin

The principle of the Sabbath was laid down in God's moral laws and is still relevant
Jesus upheld the Sabbath principle by going to Synagogue, and putting the principle back in its rightful position. The New Testament assumes the Sabbath principle, refers to it naturally and builds on its significance.
It was observed by the New Testament Church.
It points forward to a blessing that will be enjoyed eternally in Heaven.

Dan faces questions on everything else, from "What does Huw Edwards say to you at the end of the news?" to "Have You Ever Met David Beckham?" (he has, and Ryan Giggs, and he got to speak to Giggs about going to church on Sunday!) to "Is it wrong for us to show the World Cup Final on a Sunday in church? Surely we could get more people in." Dan's answers are strikingly genuine, hoenst, and full of conviction. He talks at length at the beginning of the magazine about what a crazed sports fan he is himself - he was an all-rounder in school, and harboured ambitions of professional football for a long time - but how a commitment to Jesus means setting aside these interests for one day of the week. He doesn't deny that he often feels like participating in sport on Sunday, and he talks a lot about the career opportunities he had if he had been willing to change his position, but his belief stems from the conviction that if we enjoy, participate in, and devote time, energy and interest to something for six days of the week, it is something we should be willing to set aside for one day of the week in order to honour God. What he has to say about mercy and necessity on the Sabbath Day, from Matthew 12, Luke 13&14 and 1 Corinthians 16 is also extremely helpful.

Dan comes across as a really genuine, likeable guy with a great sense of humour. He talks openly about the immaturity of his Christian faith in university, and how God shaped and moulded him into someone with deep, biblical convictions. He isn't preachy and he isn't legalistic. He's worked hard to get where he is - presenting the sports news on BBC 24, presenting Football Focus on Saturdays and reporting regularly from sporting events, and all along has seen his situation as an opportunity to witness for Jesus and demonstrate that there are more important things in life than sport. One piece of advice he was given seems particularly noteworthy, given to Dan from sports reporter John Pickford: "If you're going to stick to [this belief], you are going to have to be good to get anywhere - and not just good, but the best!". He must be then - and what an example that is by itself of a Christian honouring God in their work.

So, if you can, have a read through the magazine. Space doesn't permit me to go into more detail, but I promise you you'll be impressed and challenged by Dan's answers to questions on Sabbath observance, legalism, and the relevance of Scripture.

Q: "What about going to church in the morning and playing football in the afternoon - what is wrong with that?"

A: "That itself could be sailing rather close to legalism - the idea that I have done my bit for God so now I can go off and do my own thing for the rest of the day... It gets to the matter of your heart. Is the corporate worship of God a dry duty that you go through out of obligation? Is it your tip of the hat to God so that you can go and do what you want for the rest of the day? It asks the question of your heart: what do you really look forward to? What is the highlight of your day?...It is a day when we put the legitimate business and pleasures of the other six days on the back burner and are able to glorify and enjoy God".

Prayer In Spiritual Warfare Series Online Now

2010-02-24T13:43:00.004Z

The three camp reunion talks are now available for free download:

1. Be A Good Soldier Of Christ Jesus

2. Know Your Enemy

3. Fight The Good Fight

If you haven't heard them yet get them all downloaded and skip Glee or Neighbours or Home And Away or Facebook stalking tonight and get the first one listened to. If you have heard them already, listen to them again!

Elton John, 1 John, And The Church of England

2010-02-23T19:09:00.007Z

One of the most annoying things about celebrities is that the more people start to get over them, the more desperate for attention they seem to become.

Take Elton John for instance, the openly gay, much-loved and talented singer/song writer. We don't hear much about him these days, except that he raises lots of money for charity and dresses like a rainbow. Then this past weekend, in an interview with U.S. magazine Parade, unprompted and for no real reason he claims that Jesus Christ was a "compassionate, super-intelligent gay man who understood human problems". But just as depressing and frustrating as Elton John's claim was the response from the Church of England - a spokesman for the Church told the BBC: "Sir Elton's reflection that Jesus calls us all to love and forgive is one shared by all Christians. But insights into aspects of the historic person of Jesus are perhaps best left to the academics." In other words, Elton, thanks for the nice sentiment, and we'll not get into the gay thing, work away. The latest spineless response from a church that has compromised and compromised and compromised to stay relevant in an increasingly secular UK.

The apostle John's warnings in his first epistle concerning "antichrists" came to mind when reading Elton John's remarks, as well as the the response from the C of E: "Children, it is the last hour... so now many antichrists have come... They went out from us, but they were not of us... Who is the liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, he who denies the Father and the Son" (1 John 2:18-22). "Antichrist" sounds awfully strong and scary, and it is. But often it seems Christians, or those claiming to be Christians, have an idea of one all-conquering or all-powerful antichrist, coming to have a face-off with Jesus. This isn't exactly what we see in Scripture; here, John warns us, as Christ did, that many false teachers will come, claiming to know Christ or be Christ, but who have no knowledge of him, or seek to distort the truth. Jesus was not gay, neither would he give the thumbs up to Elton John's lifestyle, as the Church of England seemed to suggest. He was the Son of God, sinless, pure and full of grace and truth. Anything or anyone that denies or distorts or dilutes this is "antichrist", according to John. So Christians, as well as non Christians, need to be careful not to.

Elton John is, I'm sure, a compassionate and friendly person. His interview bemoans the hatred and violence there is in the world, as we all do. But he doesn't know the Bible, and so is in no position to talk about what Jesus was like. Neither, it seems, is the Church of England, if they think that finding out about Jesus is best left to "academics". Here is a reminder that we need to preach the Gospel, and tell people about the Bible, and about the Saviour we find there. People just don't know anything about these subjects. And their ignorance leaves the door open for false teaching and false beliefs.

"How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!"

Romans 10:15b

What "Christian Faith" Means For Our Would-be PMs

2010-02-23T18:31:00.005Z

"First of all then, I urge that supplications, prayers, interscessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions..."

1 Timothy 2:1

As we head towards an election that increasingly looks likely of delivering us a hung parliament, it was interesting to read today that, seven years after Alastair Campbell famously said of the Labour Government that they "don't do God", the party might be willing to review their policy if it means snatching up a few extra votes. What the last remaining outposts of anglican England will make of it remains to be seen, but as Scottish secretary Jim Murphy, top right, explained his belief today that "it's wrong to think that [faith] plays no role in British politics", and that faith, like the family, is "another force for good", I thought it worth considering the few references to faith that have been made by the three big party leaders. Prime Minister Gordon Brown, the son of a Scottish Presbyterian minister, has frequently made reference in the past to the "values" and "virtues" that he had instilled in him through the preaching and faith of his parents. Conservative leader David Cameron, he who prides himself in leading a new brand of conservatism that is metropolitan and metrosexual, said of recently when asked about the importance of his "Christian" faith that it grows "hotter and colder by moments", that he did not have a "direct line" to God and that he did not pray for "guidance from the almighty". Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg simply does not believe in God, yet is keen to tell us that his wife is a devout Catholic and that they raise their children Catholic. One wonders why Nick bothers teaching his children about religion if he himself doesn't see the value of faith in his own life. And of course, all our leaders are quick to add the tag line to these statements that they welcome and respect people from all faiths and religions in the UK. That is most likely with the exception of islamic jihad, I assume.

Note that none of our leaders, even in giving vague and non-committal references to their own faith or endorsement of the faith of others, mention the name of Jesus. Whether it be out of fear of embarrassment, lack of knowledge, or fear of demonising voters who don't believe in Jesus, none of the three men who could become our next Prime Minister want to mention him when talking of faith. How sad. The UK seems so in the dark morally, so unsure of where the lines are to cross, or whether we should even care about crossing lines anymore. And here we have an open confession from all three would-be "leaders" that they don't really-want-to-sort-of-maybe-ever-much you-know-think-about the place of religion. But, if the moderates, mothers and money-makers were all converted tomorrow, I wonder if there would be a frantic policy change worked up in the offices of Westminster?

Machiavelli and Tim Keller on Religion and the State

2010-02-18T19:44:00.011Z

Imagine my excitement this week as I was treated to not one but two different discourses on religion and the state, and was forced to think for myself yet again on what Christians should think when it comes to this tricky business of politics.

First, in a class I'm taking this semester called "The Religious And The Secular In Modern Political Thought", we read Machiavelli's "The Prince".

Mach, writing in the 1500s, is now seen as way ahead of his time, with his belief that the State should be independent of religious influence and morality and not feel the burden of having to live up to religious ideals or values. Since he was writing in Italy in the pre-Reformation era, this was a not-so subtle criticism of the Catholic Church.

Mach also had several interesting ideas about how a "Prince" (he wasn't a democrat) should act with a view to holding on to his power and position as ruler of a people. Most interestingly, he warned that statesmen shouldn't always keep their word:

"Everyone realises how praiseworthy it is for a prince to honour his word and to be staightforward rather than crafty in his dealings; none the less contemporary experience shows that princes who have achieved great things have been those who have given their word lightly, who have known how to trick men with their cunning , and who, in the end, have overcome those abiding by honest principles".

Basically Mach believed that by nature men are imperfect and corrupt, and so there is little point in a prince trying to be virtuous and honest all the time, when there is no reason for him to expect anyone else to be. And so to be overly influenced by Christian morality, and to uphold it in the rule of law, in his view, was commendable, but would not lead to a strong and stable state. Christianity and politics didn't mix for him. So he wouldn't have thought much of my blog, I'm guessing!

Contrast all that with Tim Keller, one of my new favourite people. Suddenly he has a podcast on iTunes, I think they've just thrown some of his best sermons from recent years on there in the last few weeks, but one today caught my eye immediately; it was entitled "Arguing About Politics". You can listen here. His sermon, perhaps unsurprisingly, was on Mark 12:13-17, where Jesus is confronted by Pharisees and Herodians abot paying taxes to Caesar. Keller had three main points:

1. Jesus was asked a revolutionary question. The tax in question was a deeply unpopular one; someone had already attempted to stir the Jews up to rebellion over it and lost their head. It was a political hot potato.

2. Jesus gave a revolutionary answer. He said both to "render" to Caesar. This was a different verb from the one used by the pharisees and co. It was ambiguous - give Caesar his coin, since his head is on it. But realise that, in doing so, you aren't joining his party (to put it in modern terminology); the state demands it of you, so give it. But don't be radicalised by the demands of men.

3. Jesus offered a revolutionary revolution. Keller tied the story in with the beatitudes, which show us four things that dominate our world: power, success, comfort and recognition. Those who don't follow Christ make all their decisions based on these things; those who don't have them are outcasts and less impressive. Politicians and political movements need all four to work. But in dying on the cross, King Jesus gained none of them. He died in anonimity, a common criminal, rejected by God, the "king without a quarter", as Keller puts it.

So here is a revolutionary revolution: even the most radical of man-centred revolutions need these four things to work. Jesus' revolution - His coming kingdom - need none. Jesus is against political complacency, political primacy, and political simplicity, which basically means we might be interested in politics, we should pay our taxes like good citizens, but we shouldn't ever expect long-term success or achievement to arise out of political allegiance to any man or party. The only revolution we should be involved in is Jesus' revolution.

"Truth is a thing of this world" said Michelle Foucault. What he meant was that no politician or political movement has a monopoly on it. None can claim to truly stand for the interests of everyone; in standing for someone they inevtiably stand against others and exclude them from the circle of power. Jesus does not. He is above ad beyond our politics, and His revolution really will be a permanent one. So whatever we endorse or whatever side of the debate we come down on today, don't forget about the kingdom of tomorrow.

"Blessed are you who are poor, for yours is the kingdom of God" - Luke 6:20

Prayer In Spiritual Warfare

2010-02-08T19:47:00.010Z

Hopefully I'm not breaking any RP copyright laws with this post, but after a great weekend at camp renunion, where we all received excellent instruction from Rev. Warren Peel on the subject of prayer, I thought I'd share some of his main points for those of you unfortunate enough not to have been there!

Talk 1: Be A Good Soldier Of Christ Jesus (Daniel 6)

Why Prayer?

Because we need to go over the basics again and again in the Christian life.
"What a man is on his knees before God, that he is, and no more"

Because we're so desperately bad at it

Why are we so bad at Prayer?

A Lack Of Discipline
Creeping Materialism - prayer is the most unmaterialistic activity imaginable

What Role Does Prayer Play In Spiritual Warfare?

Daniel Prayed, No Matter What

Despite the threat to his life and the obvious intentions of his enemies (who acted out of jealousy at Daniel's success), Daniel carried on praying as he had always done even when this ridiculous decree was passed. He was dead serious about prayer. Could this be said of us? Would it be hard for us to stop praying the way we do at the minute?

Why do you think Daniel saw so many amazing things happen in his lifetime? It was because he was a man of prayer. If we long to see God work in our generation, we need to pray like Daniel did.

2. Daniel Prayed Strenuously (10:2&3)

Upon hearing the news that opposition had halted the rebuilding of the Temple, Daniel fasted and prayed for three full weeks. He could have easily ignored the troubles of the Jews, he was thousands of miles away. But he had a burden for God's glory, and he prayed, and prayed, and prayed.

Why not skip a meal sometime to set aside extra time for prayer? Set aside an hour or two in your week to pray over a particular person or situation on your heart. Pray strenuously. Daniel started young and kept up the habit. We should do the same.

Talk 2: Know Your Enemy (Daniel 10)

"If you know your enemies and know yourself, you can win 100 battles without a single loss".

Verses 4-6 record Daniel's prayers being answered by a heavenly visitor - the Son of God (cf Rev. 1).

1. The Enemy

Daniel is told that his prayers were heard immediately. But the "prince of Persia" delayed the Son of God for three weeks. Behind earthly rulers there are spiritual rulers (cf Isaiah 24:21). Satan and his servants are continually working against Christ and his followers. Daniel 10 draws back the veil and shows us that the real enemies of God's people are spiritual - the evil spirits using the Samaritans and blinding the Persians (cf Ephesians 6:12). Your struggle is not against flesh and blood (persecuting governments, militant homosexuals, hardened atheists etc). You need to know your enemy.

2. The Strategy

Our strategy willbe all wrong if we focus only on the enemies we see. We often see a hardened disposition in those whom we try to evangelise to - a disposition brought on by the power and influence of evil spirits. They are real creatures, not abstract forces. When we're tempted to sin, it's partly because of our sinful nature. But at the same time, our spiritual enemy plays on our desires, stirring them up inside us.

All this seems terribly discouraging. But remember that it's not at all an equal fight - Jesus is the clear and undisputed victor! The tiny little church of Judah, insignificant by the world's standards, has the Son of God and his angels coming to rescue it. One small church can do much in God's name if they know their foes and pray for God's servants to act. Daniel shows us what happens when Christians pray properly.

Talk 3: Fight The Good Fight

The fight began in Genesis 3; the rest of the Bible is an outworking of that struggle. Jesus defeated Satan at the cross, but a wounded animal can still inflict a huge amount of damage. Rev. 12:12 describes Satan as being filled with fury, knowing that his time is short. Some of the fiercest fighting in WW2 took place after D-Day - which was the decisive conflict of the war.

1. The Enemy's Resistance

Daniel's prayers had an immediate and awesome effect - the Son of God goes immediately to the king of Persia to change his heart. But he is resisted by the prince of Persia - how can the Son of God be resisted by anyone? When Jesus came to earth, all he had to do was speak and the demons were forced to submit. But all of Jesus' ministry on earth was just a glimpse of his coming kingdom. Until that kingdom comes in its fullness - upon his return - the devil and his servants have some power in our world - limited power, but real power.

People resist Jesus every day, when they hear the Gospel preached or see it practised. They might even be conscious of God speaking to them, but they choose to suppress His voice. Even Christians can harden themselves in this way, by cherishing some sin or refusing to change some area of their life. To some degree, Satan is always behind these rejections.

2. The Christian's Repsonse

So it is because the enemy is able to resist Jesus that we need to pray. That is the overwhelming message of Daniel 10. Prayer brings greater and greater spiritual pressure to bear on the enemy. We are in the middle of spiritual war; we need to pray spiritually and strenuously. We need to pray for our churches, for our fellowship, for the lost. This chapter shows us what happens in the spiritual realm when we do - look at what Daniel's prayer accomplishes. The devil trembles when he sees the weakest believer on his knees. Do we realise what we accomplish with our prayers? One reason people don't exercise is because they don't see the harmful results of not exercising on their bodies; but once they see an X-ray or have a heart attack they commit much harder. Our prayers are built into the universe; they have cause and effect.

As well as praying, we must persevere. This chapter shows us that even though our prayers are heard immediately, they may not be answered for a long time. Daniel's prayers were contributing to an ongoing struggle. Your prayers are making all the difference in the world. Even the best medicine may take a while to kick in. This is what it means to have a faith in things hoped for, unseen.

We've all sinned in our prayer lives. But Daniel shows us how we can move on and be more faithful in our prayers.

At some point in the near future Rev. Peel's talks will be available to download on the Enniskillen website. I'd heartily recommend you listen to them!

Partial Retraction: It's A Deal

2010-02-05T00:39:00.008Z

So of course I put off doing the post on the politicians and then as soon as I do they do their deal. James McCullough said he wanted to read it here first, so if he's still up or reads this first thing in the morning I'll have managed it...

Read all about it on the good-old BBC

Deal or no deal, what's to be done with the politicians?

2010-02-04T16:40:00.006Z

What a frustrating couple of weeks to be interested in Northern Ireland politics. As if The Folks On The Hill didn't already provide us with a farcical soap opera version of our MLAs, they've gone and acted out one in real life. First they're on the brink of a deal, then they're nowhere near. Ah, but now they're close again; no, actually they're not. The DUP are in tatters and can't agree amongst themselves; no, actually they're fully united and waiting for the right time or right conditions or right level of "community confidence" (whatever that is; none of us feel it toward them) to broker their deal. And all the while our education system is left in a shambles, our hospitals are under-staffed and under-resourced, and people all over the Province are losing their jobs. Could somebody please step forward and get something done?

It's been an illuminating first week interning with the BBC. In the bowels of Stormont on Tuesday, some of the correspondents spent all day chasing up the story that on Monday evening, 14 members of the DUP Assembly team voted against signing up to a deal with Sinn Fein in a secret ballot. By the end of the day, they, as well as UTV, the Belfast Telegraph and the Newsletter, had it on good authority from at least three sources that the meeting had indeed taken place and that 14 members had voted no. Then right at the end of the day Nigel Dodds released a statement saying that the party was fully united behind their leader, Peter Robinson, and that no vote on the issue of his leadership had taken place. All very well, but the statement did not deny that a vote had taken place on the deal. Once again we watched our politicians try to be cute and clever, and instead they came off as deceptive and out of touch. It all gets a bit depressing and embarrassing.

Other than dissident republicans, Jim Allister, and the most hardened Orangemen left in Ulster, there seems to be virtually no one left in this Province who does not want to see a swift and substantial deal agreed on the devolution of policing and justice to Northern Ireland. What is keeping the DUP from agreeing to the deal only they know, and Peter Robinson's return to his post as First Minister may be an indication that a deal is close. But whatever the hold-up, this second week of procrastination, blame shifting and finger jabbing has left the public completely frustrated and totally disillusioned with those who hold office at Stormont. If they can't see that a deal is necessary if not popular, they are indeed out of touch with the needs of their constituents. Some of the exchanges between politicians and the media this week have been truly cringe worthy - particularly Sammy Wilson and Gregory Campbell's patronising and arrogant outbursts on the Stephen Nolan show - and to a man the public response has been quite simply: Enough is enough.

It's all very frustrating. But it is a situation in which we can only really sit back and watch. And pray. "Pray for those in authority over you", says Paul, as they will have to give an account to God and have been put in place by Him. The decisions are not easy, but they must act soon. The credibility of our government depends on it. What we must do, no matter how tired, frustrated, or turned off we find ourselves at the end of these two long weeks, is to reach for grace and commend them in prayer. These people need wisdom, they need their eyes opened, and they need to act. Let's pray that they might throw off these childish ways of working, and get on with doing their jobs. Let's pray for patience for ourselves, and pray for peace for our communities. Let's also remember that God is in control, that He is building His kingdom in Northern Ireland, and that, deal or no deal, we can always keep our faith in that promise.

"Now therefore, O kings, be wise;
be warned, O rulers of the earth.
Serve the LORD with fear,
and rejoice with trembling."
Psalm 2:10&11

What's this deal all about?

What happens, deal or no deal?

Are we close?

Book Review: Confessions Of A Reformission Rev.

2010-01-30T20:19:00.007Z

" ... I will build my church, and the gates of hell will not prevail against it"
Matthew 16:18b

Over the past two years I have enjoyed watching various clips of Mark Driscoll on YouTube and more recently listening to his weekly podcast, and after finding out more about him, and his "mega church" in Seattle, I decided to get his book about a year and a half ago, and have only just now got down to reading it. In recent years, Driscoll seems to have been, for one reason or another, a very controversial figure in evangelical Christianity, mainly, it seems, because he says what he thinks and doesn't worry about stepping on people's toes when he does. His views on complimentarianism, large church planning, and his interpretation of some aspects of Scripture in particular have stirred up the most heated debate. Personally, I enjoy listening to his podcasts and reading his blog, and whatever the particulars of his theology may be, one thing is clear: Mars Hill Church has exploded in Seattle and people are being saved in huge numbers. Driscoll has got something right. It was mainly for these reasons that I decided to read this book.

It's short, readable, and engaging; it's also disturbing, shocking, hilarious, and deeply challenging. Driscoll has named it "Confessions", and for much of the book this is exactly what he does: confess his mistakes as a pastor, leader and missionary. The chapter titles are statements of confession themselves ("Jesus, Our Offering Was $137 And I Want To Use It To Buy Bullets"; "Jesus, If Anyone Else Calls My House, I May Be Seeing You Real Soon" etc) and each takes us through a period in the history of Mars Hill Church, named after the place where Paul preached to the pagan city of Athens and founded by Driscoll in 1996. The subtitles emphasise the numbers explosion that has taken place: 45-75 people, 75-150, 150-350, 350-1,000 and so on.

There are so many stories here about individuals coming to faith, of God providing in miraculous ways for the church to continue, but also of the evil of Satan being clearly on display and of the very human errors in judgement that were made along the way. Some of the stories Driscoll recalls, such as a demon-possessed man charging toward him in the church or of his own dreams coming true shortly after really are quite shocking; perhaps we never see such things happening around us, but Driscoll's experience, of setting up a church based on the Gospel of Jesus Christ in a city as secular and dark as Seattle, in other words a place where Satan is nicely settled in, remind us of the realities of the existence and work of the devil and his angels. Driscoll is brutally honest at times, both in admitting his own failures and fears, and in recording his response to those who sought counsel from him who were clearly living in some sin or other. His experiences of virtually shouldering all responsibilities for church growth and leadership himself for long stretches and the health problems this caused him are a reminder of the need all our churches have for Godly, mature people to step forward and share the load that is created in church life.

Driscoll also spends considerable time discussing various apporaches to church growth and mission, weighing up the pros and cons of certain types of church governance, and challenging the reader to consider the views of his/her own church on these issues, with questions like: "Does your church or ministry community exist for the mission of reaching lost people or primarily for itself?" "Name at least ten dogs in your church or ministry that need to be shot [not literally of course!]" "When is the last time your church or ministry took a big risk? How did it turn out?" Some other questions are far more personal, but you can get the book and read them for yourself! On the whole, Driscoll is quite clearly in favour of the "large church" philosophy which is growing in America and coming into the discussion in the UK also. He seems to believe that denominationalism is dying out and that more interdependent or interdenominational churches will soon become the norm.

In terms of theology and doctrine, I did't find myself throwing the book down in disgust at any point at what Driscoll said (though I still am not at all convinced that one can believe based on Scripture that only men can be elders but men and women can be deacons - surely it has to be both for both or only men for both!). He has a fairly Calvinist theology based on man's sin and God's grace, which I believe is the key message of Scripture. I wasn't so convinced though by some of his arguments for large churches. I don't really know what I think about large churches - for a start no one seems to know what a "large church" consists of, but you know it when you see it - but my first reaction to the idea of 6,000 people on various "campuses" across a city tuning in to a sermon is that it surely makes building a close fellowship extremely hard. Driscoll and those who run large churches counter this by emphasising small groups and community groups, and more or less see inclusion in these as mandatory for their members.

Of course, any personal objections I felt when I read through Driscoll's descriptions of the church structure were countered in my head repeatedly by the thought that the his church has grown miraculously quickly and it still attracts new members. But I think a great deal of care has to be shown in churches were one pastor is a preaching pastor exclusively, and so is virtually inaccesible to an average visitor or member, or another pastor is a worship pastor, and so has little responsibility beyond deciding who has the best worship band skills and what order the worship should be conducted in. Surely the danger will always be that the whole place becomes functional more than anything else? Does everything fall apart, for example, if the church website crashes? I don't ask these questions to judge or undermine others, like Driscoll, who are part of churches like his; but they were in my head while I read, and I suppose one result of reading this book for me will be to think more in general about church structure, government and growth.

Driscoll is nothing if not open and honest about what he thinks (fans of theonomy or "The Shack" probably shouldn't bother reading what he has to say on them!) and often his put-downs or puns make for laugh-out-loud moments in reading this book. Whatever we agree with or disagree with in his approach to things, we should surely praise God for the way He is quite clearly working through this man's church; we should also be thankful that God can use human errors, even the errors of the most dedicated and God-fearing of Christian leaders, for good in the work of building His church. That's what he's been doing with Mark Driscoll.

Charles Spurgeon's Response To The Equality Bill

2010-01-26T16:45:00.005Z

" ...Even I and my father's house have sinned. We have acted very corruptly against you... O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayers of your servants who fear your name, and give success to your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of man..."

Nehemiah 1:6,7 & 11

Yesterday God answered the prayers of Christians all over the UK when the Equality Bill was defeated in the House of Lords not once but three times. The Government lost the first vote 216 to 178, but, in a shocking move, tried twice more to gain a victory. They were defeated both times, first by a vote of 195 to 174 and then by 177 to 172. You can read more about the Equality Bill and the debate over it on the Christian Institute website or on the BBC. Basically the Bill was an attempt by the Government to force church leaders to accept applications for leadership from anyone, regardless of gender, sexuality or religious beliefs, and we're all very glad such a ridiculous bill has failed to become law. The other good news is that the Government is unlikely to attmept to get it through both Houses before the General Election in May.

Charles Spurgeon is one of my favourite dead theologians, and I happened to read this today in a collection of his sermons:

" 'Unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's;' to maintain order, to repress
crime, to preserve indiviual liberty, to protect each man's rights, this is
Caesar's business. To teach us religion? Is Caesar to do that? God forbid, for
what religion will Caesar teach us?... He may make what laws he will about
religion, but by our loyalty to God we pour contempt on Caesar when he usurps
the place of God... To Caesar, Caesar's; politics to politicians; obedience,
cheerful and prompt, to civil rulers: to God, and to God only, the things that
are God's; and what are these? Our hearts, our souls, our consciences...
Consciences are for God. Any law that touches a conscience is null and void ipso
facto, for the simple reason that kings and parliaments have no right to
interfere in the realms of conscience. Conscience is under law to none but God.
We do not believe in liberty of conscience towards God. We are bound towards him
to believe what he tells us and to do what he bids us; but liberty of conscience
in respect to all mankind is the natural right of every man of woman born, and
it ought to be tenderly respected."
We should never stand idly by when we see completely unbibilical standards being forced upon us . If you don't already receive email updates from the Christian Institute, sign up today and make sure you know what is going on in your country. This isn't a case of being interested or disinterested in politics. This is a case of giving to Caesar what is Caesar's and to God what is God's.

What Should I Think Of Barack Obama?

2010-01-20T20:50:00.008Z

"Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God... Pay to all what is owed to them: taxes to whom taxes are owed, revenue to whom revenue is owed, respect to whome respect is owed"
Romans 13:1 & 7

As someone who has a real interest in politics, in the character, ideas and ideologies of those who run for office, Barack Obama is someone who, I freely admit, I find pretty fascinating. I am not saying that I think everything he does is always right or that I agree with everything he says. I mean that simply as a politician, and in light of what he has achieved, he is someone I am interested in reading about, listening to or studying.

Today marks the first anniversary of his inauguration as 44th President of the United States. The BBC has done every documentary imaginable on the subject for the past week. With nothing else on my plate but revision right now, I've managed to squeeze a few of these into my study breaks! You can find them here on the iplayer website. The one I enjoyed most was probably the film "By The People", which tracked him over pretty much the same period as the book I just reviewed on his campaign. Historian Simon Schama has also done a two part programme, "Obama's America" and another one follows six americans from across the country who voted for him, to see what they think of his performance over the course of the year. They include a white dairy farmer from California (who gives him 6 out of 10), an african-american couple from Lansing, Michigan, who were unemployed for a year and just got jobs back (8), an african-american postal worker from Virginia who pretty much lost all faith in him over health care (3), a white military wife from Florida (9) and an african-american community worker from Chicago (9).

So, what should I, or any other Christian for that matter, think of him? I stumbled across some interesting videos of John Piper talking about Obama and politics. I found them helpful and worth sharing, but couldn't get the video to upload even after five attempts, so here's the link!

Piper brings up some important points. First, he reminds us that we live in a world that is not our home. My outlook on life should not be shaped by my opinion of who is the President of the US, or the Prime Minister of the UK, or the First Minister of Northern Ireland. As a Christian, I should have the same hope, faith and love no matter how big a tyrant or how great a hero I believe my MP or governing individuals to be. At the same time however, I believe Christians need to be a witness and influence, and thus take an interest in, everything that goes on in our world, from the church hall to the corridors of power in Belfast, London or Washington. Here are some quick thoughts on President Obama:

1. He Is Blessed With The Gift Of Leadership

His harshest critics can deny it all they want, but his presidential campaign speaks for itself. His predecessor will go down in infamy as a man ill-equipped to see all sides of an argument or to envision all possible implications of his actions. His frequent public speaking gaffes, his narrow election victory (some would still aruge "defeat") in 2000 and his recklessness in foreign policy all point to a man rather limited in this area. Gordon Brown is not dissimilar: a leader should inspire and impart confidence and direction to those under their authority. Neither Brown nor David Cameron for that matter have ever really achieved this.

Obama did not always want to be president. I hardly imagine the thought crossed his mind when he was growing up in Hawaii or Indonesia, nor even when he began his Senate career in 2004. In almost all the books, articles and films I have seen on him, he speaks of having had a growing feeling in 2006 that he "had something to offer" the country in terms of his ideas for the future and his particular style of leadership. That was a feeling confirmed as correct in 2008.

Part of being a leader means being prepared to be unpopular, having the courage to see decisions through to conclusion, and having the patience to ride through criticism. Obama has had to do all three in his first twelve months as president, with growing anger and at times shocking displays of frustration and contempt for his health care legislation. It can't be easy to accept that a year ago he swept into office on 76% approval and has fallen to around 50%. But Obama seems convinced that there are more important things to worry about than momentary popularity. It's refreshing to see in a politcian.

2. He Claims To Have A Faith

The "A" word is probably already galloping to the front of your minds when I say that, but bear with me. There isn't much more I can say about this having pointed it out. Neither you nor I know the true condition of Obama's heart. To read more about his self declared faith and what role it plays in his politics, read about it on his campaign website here. Suffice to say that if Obama claims to have Christian faith, then we should be trusting and praying that he draws upon it more for the daily decisions he has to make. We can point to a liberal voting record and any number of issues that we think a Christian might approach differently. But all any of us know about each other as Christians is that we claim to have a faith. Granted, we expect to see it lived out in ourselves and in those we know, but only God truly knows the heart. So if Barack Obama claims to have Christian faith, we should pray that more and more he will live it out.

3. He Has A Liberal Ideology

As a Christian, there is no getting around the fact that he has made it easier for people to have abortions during his time as a legislator. That is something to which the Bible stands in clear and direct opposition (Genesis 1:27, Jeremiah 1:5, Psalm 139:13 ff). It seems that one sense, there are things we should entrust to those whom God has placed in authority over us. They are in a better position to judge what to do than we are, they will, hopefully, have a better understanding of the issue than we do (something we tend to forget in an age where information is the right of everybody and everybody has to have a say). But in another sense, we are obligated as Christians to speak up for those truths we know to be absolute, biblical, and morally right in God's eyes, and the intentional ending of early human life is clearly wrong by any biblical standard - abortion is a terribly evil reality.

This I believe wholeheartedly. What I do not believe is that Obama should be hated or despised because he does not seem to accept or believe this. I wish he did believe it, and I think he should. But I find it extremely disheartening when I hear Christians referring to him as if he were someone who every day sat down behind his desk and put all his effort into having embryos destroyed. Granted, his position on the issue is not biblically acceptable. He has said that he will work to lower the number of teenage pregnancies there are in America and give more support to adoption agencies to advertise themselves and heighten their public profile. But we should surely pray that his heart will be turned fully on the issue, and that he will realise the seriousness of supporting legislation that allows for the killing off of potential human life in such large numbers. For that, I do believe he will have to give an account. We must never become indifferent when we see biblical principles being violated by the majority of those around us, or by those in authority over us, even if it does make us stand out or get labelled "extremist" or fundamentalist. So, strongly disagree with Obama. But leave the judging to God and in the meantime pray that his faith would convict him to have a change of heart.

4. He Has Been Placed In Office By God

In a sense, this brings us full circle. Obama is ambitious, to be sure, and politically succesful, but however lofty those ambitions are and whatever he goes on to achieve or fail to achieve, in seven or perhaps three short years, his time as president will be over. God will still be ruling over the nations, accomplishing His will and exercising His authority. But for now, He has as part of His purposes and His plan Barack Hussein Obama in the most powerful job in the world. We don't know everything there is to know about him, and we never will. And maybe that's the point. Maybe when we see him at work, listen to his words, or debate his decisions, we should think also of the difficulties he faces, the tests of character, of leadership and of faith that his job entails.

He has chosen some of these, but none of us can choose the difficulties and tests we face each day. We can learn from the courage and resolve Obama has shown, as the first african-american man to hold his position in a country that still betrays racist tensions, and as the one who stepped up to deal with a whole host of serious issues the rest of us get to ignore. Sheer hard work, sacrifice and determination lie behind his story as much as anything else, qualities we find commanded of us in Scripture. At the very least, we should honour Paul's command in Romans 13 to respect him.

God has a purpose for Barack Obama. Maybe if we show some audacity, courage and hope as we live out our Christian faith, we will learn what God's purposes are for us.

Two Responses To Haiti: Give And Pray

2010-01-19T16:32:00.012Z

"Arise O LORD; O God, lift up your hand;

forget not the afflicted".

Psalm 10:12

"Whoever gives to the poor will not want,

but he who hides his eyes will get many a curse".

Proverbs 28:27

There is a terrible tendency amongst some Christians, particularly I think in Northern Ireland, to sit back and observe what goes on around us, determine who has been at fault or what has caused the latest national talking point, and never stop to talk about what we can actually do about it.

Amid all the debating back and forth between some limelight seekers from Christian circles in the media this past weekend was a discussion on whether or not God is judging Haiti for its "sins as a nation" (presumably because of the widespread belief in voodoo powers in the country, as well as the corrupt government that impoverished its people long before last week's earthquake did). Without commenting further on what appears to be a rather flawed and pathetic mindset to adopt at the moment, it seems to me there are two fairly obvious and practical things we could be doing as Christians instead of speculating on what God's opinion of Haiti is:

1. Give Our Money.

You won't have to look too far if you are serious about contributing to the urgent effort to get aid into Haiti. At the moment, the airport in Port-Au-Prince is managing 100 flights per day, and still, apparently, this is not enough. Ready-to-eat food ration packs are a priority - over 2 million people need them, and so far only 250,000 have been given out. Medical supplies are also important, with many people requiring surgery on broken limbs or needing amputations. www.dec.org.uk is one of the main sites you can donate through. Phone 0370 6060900. Text GIVE to 70077 to donate £5. No doubt a church near you will be donating soon too, as is Facebook and PayPal.

2. Pray.

Among the many things we can prioritise:

efficient co-ordination of the aid effort. At the moment there is some confusion as to who should be running things on the ground, the US, the UN, or the Haitian government. Pray that one of these groups, perhaps the UN, would step in to run things as smoothly as can be hoped.

that aid workers would be kept safe and healthy as they try to reach people. Already there have been reports of aid workers entering dangerous environments (collapsing buildings etc) in an effort to help others, and then landing themselves in trouble. People can't get help if those who bring it don't look after themselves first.

for the families in Haiti who are mourning. As many as 200,000 could be dead. Hundreds of thousands of children are now orphans who will be sent to the US. 1.5 million people (the rough equivalent of the population of Northern Ireland) are now homeless. I have a Haitian friend who I met in America two years ago, who I got in touch with a few days ago. He is studying in Ohio, but has family and friends in Haiti. He has been unable to contact his family, one of his friends has died and another has had her leg amputated. This is what he said: "These last couple days have been really hard for me. It's painful. People all over the place in my neighborhood are mourned. I can't take that anymore, to hear all these sad news. I hope Haiti can recover from this terrible disater and become another nation... keep lifting Haiti in your prayers. God bless you!" Pray for the people and their families.

Pray that the witness and compassion of the many hundreds, perhaps thousands of Christians going to Haiti might be strong, that it might make an impression on those they serve, that they might stand out as people acting out of real Christ-like love and concern. Pray that God might work through something as disastrous as this and use it for good

Sometimes we shouldn't get caught up in the bigger, deeper questions. Sometimes we should just get on with doing something.