the electrics in your car…

I have preached three times this year on Ephesians 6 and the Armour of God. In speaking about the battles we face in the Christian life, I’ve noted that Christians, along with the spiritual battle they face, also have to contend with the general stresses and strains of living in a fallen world. In the sermon I put it this way, ‘If you’re a Christian the pound in your pocket is not worth more than the pound in your next door neighbour’s pocket, neither are the anti-bodies in your blood stronger than the bloke down the pub’. However, in the last few weeks I would have been tempted to include a third example, ‘Neither are the electrics in your car more reliable than your friend's’.

Yes, there are few things that bring home to me  the reality that our current world is subject to frustration and imperfection more than an unreliable car. So after three weeks, a new alternator, a new fuse box, 7 days of car-lessness while it was in the garage, and the inevitable ‘stinger’ of the garage bill – we still have the problem of the battery light randomly coming on and threatening to force the car into shutdown (as has happened twice now).

Being of course so dependent on our car and hating all inconvenience in my life, it’s been  a struggle not to become obsessive about this issue. Indeed me and my wife (neither of us who have any engineering or electrical knowledge) have spent some time speculating widely about possible causes and trying to identify tell-tale patterns in the randomness of the battery light. I’ve spent time on web forums trying to see if someone has had a similar problem. All as if, I’ll maybe discover the magic fix while the mechanics with decades of experience continue to scratch their heads (and systematically charge me for replacing every component in my car). Obsessed? I’m even writing a blog on it!

However, in my saner moments, I’ve been able to reflect a bit more maturely and hopefully spiritually on what God might want to teach me in such a situation. So here goes….

1.    Perspective. It’s a hassle, annoying, expensive – but ultimately not a crisis. I’m writing this in the week the Philippines has been devastated by Typhoon Haiyan: the scenes of devastation and human misery are truly shocking and indeed humbling. Not that I should need a typhoon to shame me about being so self-pitying, there is more than enough misery on my doorstep to remind me of real difficulty and hardship in life. Like most Westerners I’m quick to make mountains out of molehills and elevate my relatively minor woes into great traumas. I remember a number of years ago a couple, who were scarcely at a church prayer meeting (you know the one for Mission, the sick, the nation), suddenly sending out ‘panicked’ prayer requests because they were struggling to sell their house. Lord give me perspective – not least in what I pray about.

2.    Jonah-esque Priorities. This follows on from the above but the story of Jonah came back to me in all this. Remember Jonah, after announcing his message of judgement to Nineveh, retreats to an overlooking hill in order to observe its destruction. But it’s hot, so God in His providence provides a shady plant for Jonah to sit under, however the next day God in his providence withers the plant – and Jonah is baking. All Jonah’s concern then becomes focussed on his personal comfort even to the point of crying out, ‘It would be better for me to die than to live’ (Jonah 4:8). It’s a shocking indictment, here is a man apparently blasé about a people facing judgement, who can take in his stride the forthcoming ruin of a city – but falls apart when his sun-shade malfunctions. Oh for a tenth of the concern for the welfare of my neighbours and my city that I have for my car! I can only pray that God will soften my heart in that regard and give more compassion for others – but in the meantime I do need to stamp on my own tendency to get stressed over such relatively trivial things.

3.    Grace. Along with the tough rebukes that I feel in this, I’m also conscious of grace. I’m conscious of the fact that 20 years ago this kind of situation would have ‘killed me’ – I would have been ‘up the walls’ with worry, trying to solve it, fretting about mechanics and how things might work out. Yes, I’m still a bit snarled by it – but not half as much. God does work in our lives by the Holy Spirit and I’m thankful for the evidence of that grace even in writing this blog.

4.    Hope. Whether a typhoon or unreliable electrics, we are surrounded by the reminders that this world is broken, it does not work properly, it is not as it should be. We live in a world subject to frustration and decay – a world bearing all the hallmarks and scars of having rejected its Creator. That’s not to be fatalistic – yes I want Vauxhall to build more reliable cars, and much more importantly there to be better flood defences, housing, and social conditions in the Philippines – but I also know none of those things is the ultimate cure to this world’s frustrations. Our great hope is in a renewed Creation brought back into line with the good Creator whose ways are life, health, blessing and perfection. For those who have that hope, the trials of life should make it burn that bit more brightly.  

FIEC & The Power of God

Just back from FIEC's annual Leaders Conference, this year in Norfolk. A record 466 delegates attended representing over 250 churches across the UK. The theme of the Conference was 'The Power of God' and we were blessed with great morning ministry from John Stevens looking at Ephesians and expositions of Psalms 32,33&34 in the evening sessions.

Particularly encouraging for me was to have 20 delegates from Scotland - who were able to meet together and discuss how FIEC can have an increasing impact in Scotland for Christ.

Updates concerning FIEC ministry around the UK included renewed Gospel work in Blackpool and Manchester, FIEC financial support for 22 men being trained for ministry, a project to map the most unreached areas of the UK and church plant initiatives, new personal evangelism material that is taking the city of London by storm, the forthcoming Hub Conference for people considering training for ministry, and the addition of 60 churches to the FIEC family in the past three years.

The message was loud and clear - in the midst of a society turning its back on God in many ways - the Gospel is still the power of God to save men & women and transform lives.

No going back now...

Fantastic and humbling service yesterday marking the end of my 9 years full-time service at Greenview. Above is a presentation to the family of a photograph of Glasgow signed by all the church members. The Lord is good!

The War on Christians

'the global war on Christians remains the greatest story never told of the early 21st century...'

 '11 Christians killed somewhere in the world every hour, seven days a week and 365 days a year, for reasons related to their faith.' 

'of the 65 Christian churches in Baghdad, 40 have been bombed at least once since the beginning of 2003'

'300,000 Christians in North Korea have disappeared' 

Orissa (India), Burma, Nigeria.....

See full article HERE

New Role with FIEC

From November I'll no longer be Greenview's full-time teaching elder but taking up a role as Scotland Director with FIEC. Obviously it's a wrench to step down from serving in a church as good as Greenview - but it's with excitement that I'm moving on to serve the FIEC family of churches in Scotland.

See here for more details.

bye bye baby blue

Last week the UK Crown Prosecution Service decided not to take to action against doctors in the UK who offered to carry out abortions on the basis of gender . This decision was taken, not because there wasn't enough evidence or because the law isn’t clear, but because the CPS deemed such a prosecution ‘not to be in the public interest’. Now to be fair there has been considerable condemnation and unease expressed since in the media and political circles – and with the matter now being reviewed it may well be that action will be taken in the light of this pressure.

However, the moral confusion and double standards around abortion have been starkly highlighted by this case. For a start  the controversy has not been generated because people are concerned about on-demand abortions being carried out on an industrial scale in the UK (that is just accepted), rather what has upset people is the thought that sexism could be a factor (the phrase, ‘Straining at a gnat and swallowing a camel’, does come to mind!).

Now, of course, to say abortion on the basis of gender discrimination is unacceptable cuts both ways – that is, it should protect both sexes. But we also know that the big driver for such gender based abortions is that in certain cultures, for economic and cultural reasons, boys are more valued than girls.  So let’s not be naive in recognising that globally this is largely an issue about girls and hence why it is so politically sensitive. 

David Cameron at PMQs (11/9/13) stated that abortion on the basis of gender was unacceptable. The question that assertion begs, and which no-one in public life seems to want to ask, is why? After all if it is unacceptable to abort a human life on the basis of gender discrimination - why is discrimination in the womb acceptable for the disabled, the poor, the inconvenient, and the unwanted. 

The whole basis of abortion is that foetuses are not really fully functioning human lives and thus can be disposable. But if so, what exactly is the relevance of gender?

It leaves us with the bizarre, indeed grotesque, situation where it seems the only defence to life in the womb (that our society actually cares about) would be because you’re not a boy. Sorry boys but the reality is that any protection you will get because of your gender will largely come because of a concern for girls.

Keep the clubs in the bag

At a meeting of church leaders I attended a while back one of the speakers challenged us about getting balance in ministry. Now keeping things in proportion, not neglecting important truths and avoiding unhealthily pre-occupations with single issues in ministry is important - the other way the cults lie!

However, in this instance the dichotomy being presented to us was misleading. The danger we were told was too much emphasis on doctrine and theology. This was the scourge of evangelical churches - and here comes the analogy - our churches historically have been too taken up with just one 'club' (i.e. doctrine) and thus neglected the other 'ministry clubs' such as evangelism, mercy ministry, community building pastoral care etc.

To be honest I can't remember exactly how it was put - but 'clubs' was the analogy and this blog is about the bigger presentation of these issues rather than a one-off comment - so apologies if I've over-stated that particular incident. However, the general point being made is a common one. Indeed the accusation that evangelicals are obsessed with doctrine is pretty old news - are there any sensible thinking evangelicals who aren't aware of the dangers of 'just having head knowledge' or who think evangelism, mercy ministries and pastoral care aren't really important. As a challenge to evangelicals it is somewhat hackneyed.

What got me intervening in the debate though was not the un-originality of the comments but the false premise of setting doctrine against those other things as if they are separate components of ministry. Doctrine/theology is not a separate club - but 'the bag' in which all the other clubs are kept. Get rid of 'the bag' or forget to take it with you, and all the other 'clubs' will soon be all over the place.

So when someone says (and they will sooner or later), 'Let's stop fussing about doctrine and just get out there and share Jesus'. The question is, 'What are you going to share - what will you say to people?' Because as soon as you make as statement, claim or pronouncement about Jesus - we're talking doctrine.

The 'clubs' of evangelism, mercy ministry, pastoral care, fellowship, praise (you name them) are all drawn out of the bag of doctrine and theology. So make sure the bag is in good order and make sure your clubs are kept inside it.