There is nothing like the local church when it's working right. Its beauty is indescribable. Its power is breathtaking. Its potential is unlimited... I believe that the local church is the hope of the world. I believe to the core of my being that local church leaders have the potential to be the most influential force on planet earth. If they 'get it,' and get on with it, churches can become the redemptive centers that Jesus intended them to be. Dynamic teaching, creative worship, deep community, effective evangelism, and joyful service will combine to renew the hearts and minds of seekers and believers alike, strengthen families, transform communities, and change the world.The quote is from Bill.Hybels, Courageous Leadership (Zondervan 2002)
Showing posts with label church. Show all posts
Showing posts with label church. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 01, 2010
When church works, it's brilliant
I started reading Terry Virgo's Does the Future have a church? (Kingsway 2003) which looks like a very nice little book, and was impressed by this quote from Bill Hybels on the local church in the first chapter:
Sunday, September 19, 2010
The Pilgrims' Destination and Church Life: Alec Motyer on Psalm 122
I'm currently reading through the Psalms of Ascent (120-134) with the help of two books - The Journey by Eugene Peterson and Journey by Alec Motyer. Hmm, I wonder if Tony Blair's A Journey is also about the Psalms of Ascent.
Motyer suggests that the Psalms of Ascent go in groups of three, the first describing a situation of stress and distress, the second focussing on the Lord's power to save, deliver, build and strengthen and the third bringing us home - arriving in the safety of Jerusalem. (Motyer says this works for the first four groups of three, with the fifth being all Zion-centred; I haven't got beyond Psalm 122 yet, but it certainly works for the first triad)
They are Psalms for pilgrims, and thus Psalms for Christians on our journey to the Jerusalem from above, to the New Creation.
Here is some of Motyer on Psalm 122, in which he explains how the vision of our pilgrim destination shapes our church life now. Or, as he puts it, how "our pilgrim goal is also our daily task."
Motyer suggests that the Psalms of Ascent go in groups of three, the first describing a situation of stress and distress, the second focussing on the Lord's power to save, deliver, build and strengthen and the third bringing us home - arriving in the safety of Jerusalem. (Motyer says this works for the first four groups of three, with the fifth being all Zion-centred; I haven't got beyond Psalm 122 yet, but it certainly works for the first triad)
They are Psalms for pilgrims, and thus Psalms for Christians on our journey to the Jerusalem from above, to the New Creation.
Here is some of Motyer on Psalm 122, in which he explains how the vision of our pilgrim destination shapes our church life now. Or, as he puts it, how "our pilgrim goal is also our daily task."
How easily, then we can identify with this psalm. In the dim, distant past, we used to sing a hymn with the chorus lines: We're marching to Zion, beautiful Zion! We're marching to Zion, the beautiful city of God!
Antiquated? Certainly... True? Oh yes! That is our goal, and the more we set out minds on it, the more enthusiastically we will march on; the more we long for it, the more zealously we will love as if already there (which, in the truest sense, we are); the more we dwell on its glories and on the beauty of the King, the more our hearts will be set on holiness; the more we bring the coming New Heaven and Earth and the ascended Christ into our thinking the more we will live as New Earth people in this old world. People around us may talk about being so heavenly minded that we are no earthly use. Bible in hand, we turn their mockery on its head, for it is only those who have pilgrimage in their hearts who know how to live this earthly life (Psalm 84:5-6); the goal of the Jerusalem to come, the New Heaven and the New Earth, the City of the Lord God and of the Lamb, casts its radiance before it for those who live in its light; the values of the city that is yet to be arm us for living in the city that is now.
Or, to put it another way, our pilgrim goal is also our daily task. We are on our way to Zion, but we have already come to Zion - and, importantly, to its present location in the local church to which we belong.
When we see even the slightest sliver of a crescent moon, we don't say, 'Oh look, there's part of the moon'; we say, 'Oh look, there's the moon.' In exactly the same way, our aim should be that whoever looks at the tiniest, most insignificant, struggling church should be not only able but compelled to say, 'Oh look, there's the New Jerusalem.'Yes, the Church is a foretaste of the New Creation. Of course, often it doesn't match up, and tragically so. But let us not the failures rob of us of the ideal, and the goal of shaping our church to life to be those outposts of heaven. In this line, Motyer then goes on to describe the church as a place "where problems are solved."
...In the world, there is adversity (120.1), enmity (120.2), verbal sniping (120.3), deep unsettlement (120.5), antagonism to the ways of peace (120,6-7). In the church there is delightful fellowship, family feeling (122.1,8), a sense of security (122.2), delight in peace and in speaking peace (122.6,8). The church is a place where the problems of the world are solved - and this is not just an essential of our testimony to the watching world, it is for our own enjoyment and healing. It is, of course, what the world needs to see - for why shold anyone want to join a church not worth joining, a company beset by the very problems a person wants to be rid of? But, at the deepest level, it is what believers themselves need: a secure, restful, curative fellowship, a 'time out' from the world, not, negatively, an escapist withdrawal, but, positively, a 'recharging of batteries'.
Friday, May 22, 2009
Richard Baxter on church divisiones
Read this today, from Tidball, Derek Skilful Shepherds. In a chapter on unity, he discusses Richard Baxter's work The Cure of Church Divisions in which, "with astute insight and spiritual depth he addresses sixty propositions to those who would cause division and a further twenty-two to the pastors who had to handle the situation." (301) Tidball summarises about half of Baxter's 60, of which these are my own selection:
1. Not to forget the legitimate differences between being a younger and older Christian.
2. To be wary of the deep-rooted temptation to spiritual pride.
6. Of the need to recognize the difference between the visible and invisible church, so that they do not demand more of the church on earth than God does.
9. That for a church to excommunicate the impenitent is a duty, but for the godly to separate themselves from the church is usually a sin.
21. That religious people who speak evil of others should not be believed or even given a hearing.
27. That it is possible to misinterpret the answers to our prayers, believing that God has approved of them when we are really only seeing the effects of our own prejudices, passions and ignorances.
29. That care needs to be exercised when uncertain in case, in a desire to find a solution to our troubled minds, we follow a path that becomes a snare.
30. That one must be a learner until fit and called to teach.
38. That truth must not be neglected but neither should one insist on every detail of it at the expense of peace in the church.
47. Of the danger, in opposing error, of swinging the pendulum to the opposite extreme, which is just as bad.
48. That there is need to talk more about our own faults than the faults of others.
49. Of the need to talk about the good in others rather than their faults.
52. That revenge of heart and tongue is as bad as physical revenge
1. Not to forget the legitimate differences between being a younger and older Christian.
2. To be wary of the deep-rooted temptation to spiritual pride.
6. Of the need to recognize the difference between the visible and invisible church, so that they do not demand more of the church on earth than God does.
9. That for a church to excommunicate the impenitent is a duty, but for the godly to separate themselves from the church is usually a sin.
21. That religious people who speak evil of others should not be believed or even given a hearing.
27. That it is possible to misinterpret the answers to our prayers, believing that God has approved of them when we are really only seeing the effects of our own prejudices, passions and ignorances.
29. That care needs to be exercised when uncertain in case, in a desire to find a solution to our troubled minds, we follow a path that becomes a snare.
30. That one must be a learner until fit and called to teach.
38. That truth must not be neglected but neither should one insist on every detail of it at the expense of peace in the church.
47. Of the danger, in opposing error, of swinging the pendulum to the opposite extreme, which is just as bad.
48. That there is need to talk more about our own faults than the faults of others.
49. Of the need to talk about the good in others rather than their faults.
52. That revenge of heart and tongue is as bad as physical revenge
Friday, December 14, 2007
Review of Newbigin - The Gospel in a Pluralist Society
Newbigin, Lesslie (1989) The Gospel in a Pluralist Society (London: SPCK)
Summary
In The Gospel in a Pluralist Society, Lesslie Newbigin addresses the question of how Christianity can survive in a culture that is radically pluralistic, (contemporary Britain is particularly in view) a society in which religion is relegated to the sphere of opinion or value (as opposed to ‘facts’), claims to ultimate truth or that one religion is true where others are false are treated with suspicion and hostility and doubt is lauded as far superior to belief.
The first move is to undermine several ‘myths’ of contemporary secular society which are deeply ingrained but decidedly shaky. For example, the fact-value dichotomy is false, since ‘facts’ are always interpreted. What is treated as fact is only known because of its embeddedness in a way of seeing – a plausibility structure. The modern mindset asserts the superiority of its scientific methods because it appeals to reason over and against revelation or tradition. But this, too, is a wrong move. The Christian and the modern pluralist both use reason in interpreting the data of experience, but the former’s framework of thought includes certain things (such as that God has made himself known in Christ) that the latter denies. Moreover, reason always operates out of a tradition – the modern scientific method being no exception – such that we should talk about competing traditions of rationality rather than reason vs tradition.
Newbigin argues that Christianity provides an alternative plausibility structure to pluralism (or indeed to any other dominant worldview), it does not sit comfortably with the way modern society thinks, but that is not something to be ashamed or nervous about since the modern way of thinking has cracks in its roots. The Christian worldview is rooted in the conviction that God has acted decisively in human history (“it is the story of actions by which the human situation is irreversibly changed”) and chosen a community to bear witness to those decisive events. History has a meaning, and the clue is found in the gospel of Jesus Christ. The Christian congregation is the means by which the gospel impacts society; the living out of the Christian faith – as a ‘hermeneutic of the gospel’ – will demonstrate the truth of the Christian message.
Evaluation and Questions
The Gospel in a Pluralist Society is a powerful apologetic for the Christian gospel. Its dissection of the pluralist worldview is brilliant, and its presentation of the Christian alternative of gospel-lived-out communities attractive. I like the emphasis on the events of the gospel giving us the meaning of history and therefore that our own lives in our day fit into an overarching story. There is a strong emphasis on community and on Christians living out the gospel in their secular places of work. Particularly helpful is the confidence that Newbigin gives the Church to be what we are meant to be and to not be intimidated by a hostile pluralistic culture.
However, there are also questions that arise. For example, it is not clear to me precisely how Newbigin is defining either ‘Church’ or ‘gospel’. There are many versions of Christianity: can they all be described as true manifestations of the Church, or are there limits? Given that a true church must embody and teach the gospel, the question then becomes whether there are ‘false gospels’ which in essence disqualify a group from being a true Church. Newbigin’s definition of ‘Church’ would seem to be pretty broad and ecumenical, which perhaps raises the question of how the gospel is being defined. It is something to do with the incarnation, cross, resurrection and return of Christ, but these can be understood in different ways.
A second question is whether Newbigin’s argument actually succeeds in answering the problem of choosing between alternative worldviews (plausibility structures). If the Christian and the modern pluralist worldviews provide competing visions, how is one to adjudicate between them? There is no neutral point of view from which they can be compared. Commitment to one plausibility structure, which, in turn, provides the framework for interpreting the world (and, therefore, evaluating other plausibility structures), is inevitable. How can one know which plausibility structure is true? Newbigin’s answer takes a number of angles. Firstly, we will only know the answer at the end of history. Secondly, it is possible (and, indeed vital for the Christian) to live in two worldviews. That is, it is possible to some extent to enter into the thought patterns of another worldview and hence to be able to critique it from within. Thirdly, Newbigin appeals several times to an argument from Polanyi, namely that subjectivism is avoided when we hold our beliefs (as personally committed subjects) with “universal intent” and “we express that intent by publishing them and inviting all people to consider and accept them” (126) Fourthly, the radical gospel life of the Christian congregation authenticates the message proclaimed. There are knotty epistemological and apologetical issues here, and I don’t know the answers! I wonder whether this view would be sufficient, say, to argue against the Mormon view of the world on this basis.
Thirdly, Newbigin’s views on certain issues are very different to views I have long-thought to be biblical. In particular, I have in mind election (the emphasis on the purpose of election being for mission is superb, but the polemic against the view that God chooses some and not others, I’m not sure that (a) he deals with the biblical evidence sufficiently or (b) that this point is strictly necessary for his main argument anyway) and the status of people of other faiths (basically, the Christian gospel is unique but we cannot say who will be saved in the end). It is beyond the scope of this review to explore these areas any further.
Connections
The importance of analysing and deconstructing our society’s plausibility structures. The Gospel in a Pluralist Society provides a useful starting point. As does Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hands in its getting its hands dirty in the dredging up the idolatries and evil desires of the human heart. Perhaps the former helps on the corporate, social level, and the latter on the individual, heart level. The two books therefore complement each other brilliantly.
The importance of understanding the overarching story of the Bible, and one’s place in it. In other words, having a Christian interpretation of history and the world. This understanding is rooted in the gospel. This story (in the words of Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hands) gives us our identity, purpose and sense of direction.
The importance of living out the gospel in the world. The following quotes are brilliant, in relation to the Christian in his day-to-day and the role of the Christian minister: “the major impact of such congregations on the life of society as a whole is through the daily work of the members in their secular vocations…” (234-5) “The priestly people [in secular vocations] needs a ministering priesthood to sustain and nourish it… we set apart a man or woman to a ministerial priesthood not in order to take away the priesthood of the whole body but to enable it.” (235)
The need for courage in the Christian minister. There is a particularly powerful picture painted at the end of chapter 19 (in relation to Christian teaching) of Jesus “going ahead of his disciples, like a commander leading troops into battle. The words he speaks are thrown back over his shoulder at fearful and faltering followers. He is not like a general who sits at headquarters and sends his troops into battle. He goes at their head and takes the brunt of the enemy attack. He enables and encourages them by leading them, not just by telling them. In this picture, the words of Jesus have a quite different force. They all find their meaning in their central keyword, ‘Follow me’.” (240)
Summary
In The Gospel in a Pluralist Society, Lesslie Newbigin addresses the question of how Christianity can survive in a culture that is radically pluralistic, (contemporary Britain is particularly in view) a society in which religion is relegated to the sphere of opinion or value (as opposed to ‘facts’), claims to ultimate truth or that one religion is true where others are false are treated with suspicion and hostility and doubt is lauded as far superior to belief.
The first move is to undermine several ‘myths’ of contemporary secular society which are deeply ingrained but decidedly shaky. For example, the fact-value dichotomy is false, since ‘facts’ are always interpreted. What is treated as fact is only known because of its embeddedness in a way of seeing – a plausibility structure. The modern mindset asserts the superiority of its scientific methods because it appeals to reason over and against revelation or tradition. But this, too, is a wrong move. The Christian and the modern pluralist both use reason in interpreting the data of experience, but the former’s framework of thought includes certain things (such as that God has made himself known in Christ) that the latter denies. Moreover, reason always operates out of a tradition – the modern scientific method being no exception – such that we should talk about competing traditions of rationality rather than reason vs tradition.
Newbigin argues that Christianity provides an alternative plausibility structure to pluralism (or indeed to any other dominant worldview), it does not sit comfortably with the way modern society thinks, but that is not something to be ashamed or nervous about since the modern way of thinking has cracks in its roots. The Christian worldview is rooted in the conviction that God has acted decisively in human history (“it is the story of actions by which the human situation is irreversibly changed”) and chosen a community to bear witness to those decisive events. History has a meaning, and the clue is found in the gospel of Jesus Christ. The Christian congregation is the means by which the gospel impacts society; the living out of the Christian faith – as a ‘hermeneutic of the gospel’ – will demonstrate the truth of the Christian message.
Evaluation and Questions
The Gospel in a Pluralist Society is a powerful apologetic for the Christian gospel. Its dissection of the pluralist worldview is brilliant, and its presentation of the Christian alternative of gospel-lived-out communities attractive. I like the emphasis on the events of the gospel giving us the meaning of history and therefore that our own lives in our day fit into an overarching story. There is a strong emphasis on community and on Christians living out the gospel in their secular places of work. Particularly helpful is the confidence that Newbigin gives the Church to be what we are meant to be and to not be intimidated by a hostile pluralistic culture.
However, there are also questions that arise. For example, it is not clear to me precisely how Newbigin is defining either ‘Church’ or ‘gospel’. There are many versions of Christianity: can they all be described as true manifestations of the Church, or are there limits? Given that a true church must embody and teach the gospel, the question then becomes whether there are ‘false gospels’ which in essence disqualify a group from being a true Church. Newbigin’s definition of ‘Church’ would seem to be pretty broad and ecumenical, which perhaps raises the question of how the gospel is being defined. It is something to do with the incarnation, cross, resurrection and return of Christ, but these can be understood in different ways.
A second question is whether Newbigin’s argument actually succeeds in answering the problem of choosing between alternative worldviews (plausibility structures). If the Christian and the modern pluralist worldviews provide competing visions, how is one to adjudicate between them? There is no neutral point of view from which they can be compared. Commitment to one plausibility structure, which, in turn, provides the framework for interpreting the world (and, therefore, evaluating other plausibility structures), is inevitable. How can one know which plausibility structure is true? Newbigin’s answer takes a number of angles. Firstly, we will only know the answer at the end of history. Secondly, it is possible (and, indeed vital for the Christian) to live in two worldviews. That is, it is possible to some extent to enter into the thought patterns of another worldview and hence to be able to critique it from within. Thirdly, Newbigin appeals several times to an argument from Polanyi, namely that subjectivism is avoided when we hold our beliefs (as personally committed subjects) with “universal intent” and “we express that intent by publishing them and inviting all people to consider and accept them” (126) Fourthly, the radical gospel life of the Christian congregation authenticates the message proclaimed. There are knotty epistemological and apologetical issues here, and I don’t know the answers! I wonder whether this view would be sufficient, say, to argue against the Mormon view of the world on this basis.
Thirdly, Newbigin’s views on certain issues are very different to views I have long-thought to be biblical. In particular, I have in mind election (the emphasis on the purpose of election being for mission is superb, but the polemic against the view that God chooses some and not others, I’m not sure that (a) he deals with the biblical evidence sufficiently or (b) that this point is strictly necessary for his main argument anyway) and the status of people of other faiths (basically, the Christian gospel is unique but we cannot say who will be saved in the end). It is beyond the scope of this review to explore these areas any further.
Connections
The importance of analysing and deconstructing our society’s plausibility structures. The Gospel in a Pluralist Society provides a useful starting point. As does Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hands in its getting its hands dirty in the dredging up the idolatries and evil desires of the human heart. Perhaps the former helps on the corporate, social level, and the latter on the individual, heart level. The two books therefore complement each other brilliantly.
The importance of understanding the overarching story of the Bible, and one’s place in it. In other words, having a Christian interpretation of history and the world. This understanding is rooted in the gospel. This story (in the words of Instruments in the Redeemer’s Hands) gives us our identity, purpose and sense of direction.
The importance of living out the gospel in the world. The following quotes are brilliant, in relation to the Christian in his day-to-day and the role of the Christian minister: “the major impact of such congregations on the life of society as a whole is through the daily work of the members in their secular vocations…” (234-5) “The priestly people [in secular vocations] needs a ministering priesthood to sustain and nourish it… we set apart a man or woman to a ministerial priesthood not in order to take away the priesthood of the whole body but to enable it.” (235)
The need for courage in the Christian minister. There is a particularly powerful picture painted at the end of chapter 19 (in relation to Christian teaching) of Jesus “going ahead of his disciples, like a commander leading troops into battle. The words he speaks are thrown back over his shoulder at fearful and faltering followers. He is not like a general who sits at headquarters and sends his troops into battle. He goes at their head and takes the brunt of the enemy attack. He enables and encourages them by leading them, not just by telling them. In this picture, the words of Jesus have a quite different force. They all find their meaning in their central keyword, ‘Follow me’.” (240)
Sunday, December 02, 2007
Newbigin on the witness of the church
On the witness of God's people to the hope of the gospel:
The Gospel in a Pluralist Society p.120
The Church is not the source of the witness; rather, it is the locus of the witness. The light cast by the first rays of the morning sun shining on the face of a company of travellers will be evidence that a new day is coming. The travelers are not the source of that witness but only the locus of it. To see for oneself that it is true, that a new day is really coming, one must turn around, face the opposite way, be converted. And then one’s own face will share the same brightness and become part of the evidence.
The Gospel in a Pluralist Society p.120
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