I've been asked if I will be making changes when I get back to church and if I have a new vision for church. The answer to both those questions is yes. However, before I do anything with regard to what I feel God has been saying to me over the last four months, the first thing I want to do is find out what God has been up to in Church while I've been away. I don't want to come back to church with ideas and plans that I feel are from God and then actually cut across what God has been doing in the life of our church. So my first task will be to listen.
I'm also still working on some aspects of what I feel needs to be done in Church. Some of the changes I have in mind are small, others could be quite difficult to develop, others you may not see come into effect for a couple of years and there are changes that will effect every area of church life. So probably for the next 4-8 weeks I'll still be refining some of my thoughts. As I have mentioned in a previous post I am writing down how I see things developing in Church and this will include a timed strategy . This document will then be shared with the leadership of the church. It won't be secret and it will be open for discussion.
I am really looking forward to getting back to church. You'll never know just how much I missed everyone there. I can't wait to find out what God has been doing, so don't hold back on telling me your stories. I also know that a number of people have been working incredibly hard during my absence - Mike, Sue, Julia and Anna, - to name but a few. I hope you all appreciate what they have done for you.
Tuesday 27 November 2007
Wednesday 21 November 2007
Nothing New Under The Sun
At the beginning of my sabbatical I had two things in mind. Firstly, how were we going to develop a process that allowed people to grow in their faith in a practical and intentional way. The second thing was really just a hunch that real discipleship happened best within a framework of small group and one to one relationships.
I really liked that word 'intentional', it kind of caught my imagination, perhaps because it was what I saw of Jesus discipling of the twelve. It was by accident, it had purpose and direction. So I started to use the phrase 'intentional discipleship' in my thinking and when I talked to other church leaders on my travels. This was a phrase I was quite 'proud' of really, I'd never heard it used before - that was until I got to page 73 of the book I'm currently reading (Transforming Discipleship) and there in bold lettering is the phrase 'Intentional Discipleship'. I was gutted!! This was my phrase - I'd thought of it all on my own. In fact I'm writing down the things I believe we need to work on out my sabbatical in a document I'm calling 'Intentional Discipleship'. But there really is nothing new under the sun is there?.
However, despite being gutted, I'm also really encouraged by this as I feel it is confirmation from God that all that I've been thinking of over the last four months is really from him. Interestingly, the book (which I bought in America) is all about using relationships as the main focus for discipleship and even goes on to say some the very same things I'd been inspired by at last weeks conference (There really is nothing new!). I didn't know the book was going to say these things and I hadn't been inspired to read until this week. So I really feel God is confirming things to me.
I really liked that word 'intentional', it kind of caught my imagination, perhaps because it was what I saw of Jesus discipling of the twelve. It was by accident, it had purpose and direction. So I started to use the phrase 'intentional discipleship' in my thinking and when I talked to other church leaders on my travels. This was a phrase I was quite 'proud' of really, I'd never heard it used before - that was until I got to page 73 of the book I'm currently reading (Transforming Discipleship) and there in bold lettering is the phrase 'Intentional Discipleship'. I was gutted!! This was my phrase - I'd thought of it all on my own. In fact I'm writing down the things I believe we need to work on out my sabbatical in a document I'm calling 'Intentional Discipleship'. But there really is nothing new under the sun is there?.
However, despite being gutted, I'm also really encouraged by this as I feel it is confirmation from God that all that I've been thinking of over the last four months is really from him. Interestingly, the book (which I bought in America) is all about using relationships as the main focus for discipleship and even goes on to say some the very same things I'd been inspired by at last weeks conference (There really is nothing new!). I didn't know the book was going to say these things and I hadn't been inspired to read until this week. So I really feel God is confirming things to me.
Who Are You Being Discipled By?
Everyone, Christian and non-Christian, is being discipled by someone! A person is either being discipled into the ways of the world, the flesh and the devil or into the ways of Christ. In our discipling of others we are constantly in a battle against these other disciplers (media, influential friends and family, tradition etc).
Individuals have responsibility for their own discipleship. They should be looking to learn and grow in their following of Christ at every opportunity. However, it is the responsibility of the Church to provide the time, resources, relationships and encouragement to ensure that everyone has the right opportunities to grow. The Church needs to create an ethos in which everyone is expected to grow in their faith and is hungry to grow.
What I have realised more than anything else in my time off is that radical discipleship happens within a type of relationship that we see don't see enough of in Church. It is the kind of relationship Jesus had with his disciples, that Paul had with Timothy, Titus and others and that Barnabus had with Mark. Yes, we can grow through all sorts of ways - Bible Study, Cell groups, sermons, training events and courses, the list is endless. But what we see in the New Testament is discipleship through relationship. The kind of relationship in which one person takes a small group of others and invests something of themselves into that group of people. Within that group there is honesty, love, authenticity and accountability.
I see discipleship as being about the formation of the whole person into the likeness of Christ in terms of character, purpose, motivations, action and destiny. It is helping a person discover who they are in Christ and to live in that discovery for the rest of their lives and in every area of their life. This is a huge task and one that no person can do on their own - all the evidence of the New Testament says that. I know some people would want to say that they are being discipled by Jesus through his Holy Spirit. That is true - but it is absolutely clear in the New Testament that this only happens through the mediation of other people.
So who are you being discipled by? Very few people in our church would be able to answer that. However, it is my intention that, within a few years, anyone who is serious about their growth as a Christian would be able to give a very clear answer to that question. To actually get to that point will require some changes in Church life and it is really hard to say just how big a change will be required.
Individuals have responsibility for their own discipleship. They should be looking to learn and grow in their following of Christ at every opportunity. However, it is the responsibility of the Church to provide the time, resources, relationships and encouragement to ensure that everyone has the right opportunities to grow. The Church needs to create an ethos in which everyone is expected to grow in their faith and is hungry to grow.
What I have realised more than anything else in my time off is that radical discipleship happens within a type of relationship that we see don't see enough of in Church. It is the kind of relationship Jesus had with his disciples, that Paul had with Timothy, Titus and others and that Barnabus had with Mark. Yes, we can grow through all sorts of ways - Bible Study, Cell groups, sermons, training events and courses, the list is endless. But what we see in the New Testament is discipleship through relationship. The kind of relationship in which one person takes a small group of others and invests something of themselves into that group of people. Within that group there is honesty, love, authenticity and accountability.
I see discipleship as being about the formation of the whole person into the likeness of Christ in terms of character, purpose, motivations, action and destiny. It is helping a person discover who they are in Christ and to live in that discovery for the rest of their lives and in every area of their life. This is a huge task and one that no person can do on their own - all the evidence of the New Testament says that. I know some people would want to say that they are being discipled by Jesus through his Holy Spirit. That is true - but it is absolutely clear in the New Testament that this only happens through the mediation of other people.
So who are you being discipled by? Very few people in our church would be able to answer that. However, it is my intention that, within a few years, anyone who is serious about their growth as a Christian would be able to give a very clear answer to that question. To actually get to that point will require some changes in Church life and it is really hard to say just how big a change will be required.
Sunday 18 November 2007
Relational Discipleship
It only takes a casual reading of the Gospels to understand that Jesus spent most of his time with just twelve people. It seems that a huge part of the purpose of his ministry was to invest all of who he was into the lives of those twelve guys. He deliberately chose those twelve out of the many who he could of chosen. He spent most of his time, not in teaching the crowds or healing the sick, but in letting these twelve into his life so that they could understand who he was, what he was like and to share in his passion for God and the lost. Finally, he deliberately left the twelve to carry on the work that he had started in the cross and resurrection.
This is one aspect of discipleship that we are very weak on. I knew this when I first started my sabbatical and it was one subject that I wanted to work on. Last week I attended a conference at St Thomas Church in Sheffield. This is the Church that LifeShapes came out of and they have worked hard at developing what could be called relational discipleship. I attended the conference because I knew that there would be a lot of teaching on how they have established these kind of relationships.
The Church is really three Churches. It started at St Thomas, Crookes, but as that grew they developed another congregation which is now called St Thomas, Philadelphia. Since then The King's Centre in Sheffield has become part of the set up there. Altogether they are about 2000 people and are a very mission focussed Church. This is based on a strong ethos of discipleship, worship and innovation.
It was a really stimulating week for me. I came away with a lot to think about, not just on relational discipleship but also cells, my leadership and the direction of our church. There is a lot I could put in this post but I'll refrain for now until I have processed it a little more and integrated it with some of the things I have been thinking about. For now I'll share a word I was given on the last day by Nicole Brown (who some of you will know). She said she had a picture of me standing on my 'land' (our community). She said that God knows how much I love the land I am in and that he was saying the land will yield its fruit. She also had the words 'shattered glass', although she wasn't sure what they meant. Although I'm not sure what those words mean, I did remember a time a few years ago when I felt that God was talking to me about a glass ceiling in church. In other words there was something hidden that was hindering our growth. May those words relate to that, maybe they don't. If you have any insight let me know.
This is one aspect of discipleship that we are very weak on. I knew this when I first started my sabbatical and it was one subject that I wanted to work on. Last week I attended a conference at St Thomas Church in Sheffield. This is the Church that LifeShapes came out of and they have worked hard at developing what could be called relational discipleship. I attended the conference because I knew that there would be a lot of teaching on how they have established these kind of relationships.
The Church is really three Churches. It started at St Thomas, Crookes, but as that grew they developed another congregation which is now called St Thomas, Philadelphia. Since then The King's Centre in Sheffield has become part of the set up there. Altogether they are about 2000 people and are a very mission focussed Church. This is based on a strong ethos of discipleship, worship and innovation.
It was a really stimulating week for me. I came away with a lot to think about, not just on relational discipleship but also cells, my leadership and the direction of our church. There is a lot I could put in this post but I'll refrain for now until I have processed it a little more and integrated it with some of the things I have been thinking about. For now I'll share a word I was given on the last day by Nicole Brown (who some of you will know). She said she had a picture of me standing on my 'land' (our community). She said that God knows how much I love the land I am in and that he was saying the land will yield its fruit. She also had the words 'shattered glass', although she wasn't sure what they meant. Although I'm not sure what those words mean, I did remember a time a few years ago when I felt that God was talking to me about a glass ceiling in church. In other words there was something hidden that was hindering our growth. May those words relate to that, maybe they don't. If you have any insight let me know.
Monday 5 November 2007
Growing Through Encounter
In the last two posts I've outlined two things needed for a person to grow in Christlikeness. The first was education, the second was experience and the third one I want to look at now (also begins with an 'e'!) is encounter. Everyone who wants to grow in their faith needs to encounter the living lifechanging God we worship and to do that on a regular basis.
When you look through scripture and reflect on the lives of people in our Church it is clear that an encounter with God can (and should) change lives. There are those who say that we shouldn't be basing our faith on 'experiences' or events that could have an emotional content. They would say that these things can lead people astray and of course they are right. However, when encounters are balanced by education and experience then they have perhaps even more potential to encourage growth.
When I think of some of the things I have struggled with personally over the last few years I find that I have only really found some level of victory over them when I have encountered the power and the presence of God. This year, during the New Wine Leadership Conference in May, the presence of God was powerfully at work amongst everyone there. It was there in the presence of God that he changed something in my life that I had been struggling with. I hadn't asked the Father to do it, I wasn't even aware of what he did at that time but in the encounter I had with him then he did something that I couldn't have done myself.
Unfortunately, we cannot program in the time and place were we can encounter the powerful presence of God. It is something the He, in his grace, decides to do. There are two things that we can do that make it more possible to meet with God in that way. Firstly, expect that God will change you and that it is his desire and his will to change you. We need to create an ethos in which people believe that God can and will act at any moment in time. We need to teach them to understand it means to be a child of God and to live every day in His presence. There are too many people in St Andrew's who know that God can change lives but they don't trust Him to do it to them! Underneath it all, the underlying belief system at work in their hearts is that God doesn't love me enough to do anything in my life.
Secondly, we can create as many opportunities for God to act as possible. This is something we are pretty good at in St Andrew's. Every opportunity is given to receive prayer and to experience the presence of the Holy Spirit at work amongst us on a Sunday morning. Perhaps we need to do more work on this in cell groups and other meetings we have. Someone in Church once complained to me about the times we have when we invite the Holy Spirit to come. They, quite rightly, said "he is here all the time isn't he so why pray that prayer". The fact is that in asking the Holy Spirit to come in that way we are asking him to work in us in a more specific and powerful way. We are putting ourselves in a place where He has full access to our lives to mould us and change us into the likeness of Christ.
I believe that these three; education, experience and encounter, form the basis of our growth in Christ and provide the structure for discipleship to take place in the Church.
When you look through scripture and reflect on the lives of people in our Church it is clear that an encounter with God can (and should) change lives. There are those who say that we shouldn't be basing our faith on 'experiences' or events that could have an emotional content. They would say that these things can lead people astray and of course they are right. However, when encounters are balanced by education and experience then they have perhaps even more potential to encourage growth.
When I think of some of the things I have struggled with personally over the last few years I find that I have only really found some level of victory over them when I have encountered the power and the presence of God. This year, during the New Wine Leadership Conference in May, the presence of God was powerfully at work amongst everyone there. It was there in the presence of God that he changed something in my life that I had been struggling with. I hadn't asked the Father to do it, I wasn't even aware of what he did at that time but in the encounter I had with him then he did something that I couldn't have done myself.
Unfortunately, we cannot program in the time and place were we can encounter the powerful presence of God. It is something the He, in his grace, decides to do. There are two things that we can do that make it more possible to meet with God in that way. Firstly, expect that God will change you and that it is his desire and his will to change you. We need to create an ethos in which people believe that God can and will act at any moment in time. We need to teach them to understand it means to be a child of God and to live every day in His presence. There are too many people in St Andrew's who know that God can change lives but they don't trust Him to do it to them! Underneath it all, the underlying belief system at work in their hearts is that God doesn't love me enough to do anything in my life.
Secondly, we can create as many opportunities for God to act as possible. This is something we are pretty good at in St Andrew's. Every opportunity is given to receive prayer and to experience the presence of the Holy Spirit at work amongst us on a Sunday morning. Perhaps we need to do more work on this in cell groups and other meetings we have. Someone in Church once complained to me about the times we have when we invite the Holy Spirit to come. They, quite rightly, said "he is here all the time isn't he so why pray that prayer". The fact is that in asking the Holy Spirit to come in that way we are asking him to work in us in a more specific and powerful way. We are putting ourselves in a place where He has full access to our lives to mould us and change us into the likeness of Christ.
I believe that these three; education, experience and encounter, form the basis of our growth in Christ and provide the structure for discipleship to take place in the Church.
Thursday 1 November 2007
Growing Through Experience
Following on from my last blog. the second thing we need to grow in our faith is experience. It is obvious that just being around God, living the Christian life and belonging to a group of Christ followers is part of growing in the faith, or at least it should be. However, I've seen lots of people who have lived a long time without ever growing up emotionally, relationally and intellectually because they have never bothered to learn from their life experience. In the same way just being a Christ follower for a long time is no guarantee that a person is mature in their faith unless they have taken time to learn the spiritual lessons that their life experience provides them.
Every experience of life we have is an opportunity to grow in our understanding of who God is, how he works and who we are as God's children. In Romans 5 Paul says "we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope." Everyone in our Church has life experiences that they can use to grow in their faith. Those life experiences do not have to be overtly spiritual in nature for us to learn spiritual truths, to God everything is spiritual. We have seen people in our church go through incredibly difficult times, some of those people grow amazingly through those times, others seem to wilt and die. Lots of people do all sorts of work in Church, some of them seem to thrive and grow in that work, others just find it a drag and don't grow. What makes the difference?
the difference is a person's ability to stop, reflect, learn and act on their experiences. It's their ability to look honestly at what is happening, to ask questions and to seek the answers from God that determines their growth. That is why I thought the first session in the lifeshapes course was so important as it provides a focused way of reflecting, earning and growing through our experience of life and service. Some people are naturally reflective types and do this sort of thing naturally. Others of us need to make time and intentionally go through the learning process, but we all need to do it. The alternative is that our life experience is wasted, we don't grow as we should and we miss out on all that God can do through us.
Every experience of life we have is an opportunity to grow in our understanding of who God is, how he works and who we are as God's children. In Romans 5 Paul says "we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope." Everyone in our Church has life experiences that they can use to grow in their faith. Those life experiences do not have to be overtly spiritual in nature for us to learn spiritual truths, to God everything is spiritual. We have seen people in our church go through incredibly difficult times, some of those people grow amazingly through those times, others seem to wilt and die. Lots of people do all sorts of work in Church, some of them seem to thrive and grow in that work, others just find it a drag and don't grow. What makes the difference?
the difference is a person's ability to stop, reflect, learn and act on their experiences. It's their ability to look honestly at what is happening, to ask questions and to seek the answers from God that determines their growth. That is why I thought the first session in the lifeshapes course was so important as it provides a focused way of reflecting, earning and growing through our experience of life and service. Some people are naturally reflective types and do this sort of thing naturally. Others of us need to make time and intentionally go through the learning process, but we all need to do it. The alternative is that our life experience is wasted, we don't grow as we should and we miss out on all that God can do through us.
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