You've just got to keep them

Earlier this week, I visited a dear older couple, where the wife is growing increasingly frail and dependent on her husband.

As I got up to leave, I made a comment to the wife about what good care her husband took of her.

Quick as a flash her husband replied, "Well, it's like this, Mike. You make promises years ago and you've just got to keep them. That's the way it is. Anyway, we wouldn't have it any other way."

What a great reply!

And what a great encouragement that visit was!

Plodding on

One of the things people frequently ask me is, 'How are things at church?'

To be honest, I'm never quite sure what to say.

I'm aware of the temptation to reply superficially... 'They're fine, thanks.' When the truth is, they're anything but fine.

I'm aware too of the temptation to reply from a purely human perspective, which is more concerned with worldly indicators of 'success' (such as numbers) than anything else.

I'm also aware that, spiritually speaking, times of hardship and difficulty, may actually be far better for us than times of ease, because they're times of refining, when we learn to lean the full weight of our trust on the Lord.

The truth is that most of the time, my answer to that question depends on the last conversation I had, or the issue that I happen to be wrestling with at that point.

Was it an encouraging conversation? In which case, I tend to feel more positive.

Was it a discouraging conversation? In which case, I tend to feel more negative.

Generally, I tend to say, 'We're plodding along.'

I'm aware that that doesn't sound particularly exciting - when ministry can sometimes be very exciting - and I don't want to ignore this.

At the same time, the more I go on, the more I realise that what counts is perseverance for the long haul and that this is only possible by God's grace and through a powerful work of His Holy Spirit.

This is what I have in mind when I say, 'We're plodding along.'

Plodding is good.

Lord, please keep us plodding along. Amen.

Election and evangelism

I gave a talk at TEAM recently (Training for East Anglia Ministry) on the new birth.

I made two points:

• we cannot become a Christian simply by our own choosing
• we cannot become a Christian unless we're born again

Afterwards someone asked me how the doctrine of election shapes the way we proclaim the gospel.

Here are 6 pointers to get us started:

1. Proclaim the great invitations - the doctrine of election doesn't mean that we can't issue an open invitation to people. Passages like Matthew 11:28 and John 6:35 are wonderful examples of Jesus inviting people to come to him
2. Proclaim the great invitations in context - I am struck by how both of these invitations come in the context of very clear statements about the sovereignty of God in salvation (see Matthew 11:25-27 and John 6:44). Clearly Jesus saw no contradiction between these two things, and, therefore, neither should we
3. Proclaim grace - grace and election walk hand in hand. If our situation is as bleak as the Bible says it is (think of some of the pictures the Bible paints - outside of Christ we are dead, enslaved, condemned, lost, blind, deaf...), and we are saved by the extravagant grace of God alone, then the initiative must lie with God - not us. This is both very humbling and very reassuring
4. Proclaim the gospel confidently - election is our guarantee that our evangelism will not be without success - God will save his people (see 2 Timothy 2:10)
5. Proclaim the gospel consistently - we rightly encourage Sunday School teachers not to teach anything that will have to be corrected later on, as people grow in age and understanding. The same principle applies to our evangelism. We must proclaim the gospel in a way that is consistent with the rest of the Bible's message and the rest of our teaching
6. Encourage people to ask for faith - in the past, when someone has said to me, 'I don't have your faith,' I have tried to say that we all have faith. The question is, 'What is our faith in?' There's a sense in which this is right, but (if this is possible) there's also a sense in which it is wrong. Faith is a gift of God. The unbeliever doesn't have 'my' faith. The next time someone says this to me, I'm going to say, 'That's right. But you can have it, if you ask God.'

Strategic planning

I am a Governor at our local primary school.

Last night I attended a Governor Training Session on Succession Planning. We were encouraged to think about 'finding, developing and keeping great leaders'.

It was actually a very useful training session - partly because I could see the benefits of it for church as well as school.

One of the things that struck me during the evening was that this kind of strategic planning requires dedicated time and effort. It's not the kind of thing that just happens.

The problem is there are so many immediate needs, that unless time is set aside in the diary for this kind of planning, it just won't happen.

Church life is very much like that.

As a pastor, there are all sorts of things that require my immediate attention: sermon preparation; prayer; study; visiting; meetings to attend; services to prepare for and take; etc etc

Unless I plan to set aside time for this kind of strategic planning, it just won't happen.

I remember reading a book by Mark Driscoll in which he said something to the effect of, the larger a church grows, the less time we should spend working in church, and the more time we need to spend working on church.

In other words, what he's saying is that the larger a church grows, the more important it is that we set aside time for just this kind of strategic planning. Otherwise, we'll end up running around, from one immediate need, to another.

One of the things I've started to do, is to set aside time each month, for this kind of thinking and planning. It's just a start, but I'm convinced it's essential, both for the health of the church and the glory of God.

A family of grace

Last night we had a meeting at church for people who are involved in our Sunday services. We wanted to think about the different elements that go into our services, what 'good' looks like in these areas, and how we can encourage one another to serve better.

I began by laying out what I described at the time as two principles. In actual fact, I think one is a Bible principle; the other is an observation (borrowed from a very helpful paper by Tim Keller entitled Church Size Dynamics).

The principle: the church is a family (see Ephesians 2:19-22)

The word 'household' is a family word. We're a family built on the foundation of the Scriptures, held together, and given strength and shape by Christ. This has a number of implications:

• We're to treat one another as family (see Ephesians 4:2-3). We don't create unity - the Spirit does that. Our role is to maintain that unity, by treating one another with love and grace. When things don't go well, and we're tempted to get frustrated with one another, we're called to treat each other as Christ first treated us.
• We meet together to build one another up, not to put on a show (see Ephesians 4:12). We are, therefore, free to fail. If we adopt a 'performance' mentality, we will stop treating one another with grace. People will be fearful of making a mistake, lest others jump on them and squash them
• Every member of the family has a part to play (see Ephesians 4:16). Christ gives gifts to every Christian. We don't all have the same gifts and, therefore, we won't all be involved in the same way, but that shouldn't make us feel inferior or unimportant. We need to trust Christ's love and wisdom in giving us the gifts he has. It's exciting to be part of a family where everyone is involved. We lose out when people don't come, or don't serve.

The observation: the size of the family affects how it works

As we grow larger, things change. We can't avoid this. For example, we don't know everyone who comes.

In a smaller church we appreciate it when people serve, even if they're not particularly gifted, because we know them. We're encouraged to see them involved. But as a church grows, this dynamic changes.

People come who don't have that same personal attachment to the people concerned. They're more likely to be distracted by a lack of giftedness or preparation or whatever it may be.

In other words, as a church grows our expectations change. Therefore, we need to put more work into our planning, preparation and communication.

We need to try and hold these two things (the principle and observation) together. We are a family built on grace, but we can't avoid the fact that size has a bearing on the way the family works.

Arsene is different

Last night I finished reading Xavier Rivoire's biography of Arsene Wenger.

I've read quite a lot of football biographies and they tend either to get lost in detail (moving from one match to another) or be a string of anecdotes about the individual concerned.

Rivoire's biography definitely falls into the second camp. But for me, it was all the more interesting because of that.

I'm left with a certain affection for Wenger (not simply because he's transformed the club I love - but because there is much about him that I admire), and yet I suspect he's not a man you want to cross.

Here are some of my favourite quotes from the book...

"I forget quickly what I have achieved. I don't really linger on any memories of the titles, cups or victories I've enjoyed in my career. I'm sure my winners' medals are somewhere in my house, but I haven't got a clue where. All that I'm concerned with, all that matters to me, is what I'm facing up to next. I live my life thinking about the future and constantly looking forward. Any competitive person does, with their focus on the competition to come. I'm like someone betting in a casino, only ever thinking about the next hand..." (Arsene Wenger, p.220)

"A lot of people criticise Wenger for his philosophy, but he doesn't have a conventional view of football. He prefers to lose three or four matches and see that his young players are developing rather than lining up 11 veterans and leaving the youngsters on the bench. He would rather choose a team of kids and see them lose 2-0 than draw 0-0, or even win 1-0, with a team full of old men." (Cesc Fabregas, p.247)

"Just like a beautiful woman... if you don't keep telling her, she can forget just how beautiful she is. A team is the same: if you don't tell them how good they are, they sometimes forget." (Arsene Wenger, p.265)

"My career will never be good enough for me because it is the way I am. You always think about what you could have won and didn't win, and what you win you think: 'That is normal.'" (Arsene Wenger, p. 279)

"You can go to a press conference at Arsenal and ask Arsene: 'What do you think of Great Britain's financial contribution to the annual budget of the EU?' He will answer, and very thoughtfully as well! It is totally inconceivable that another manager in the Premier League would ever do the same." (Mark Pougatch, p.307)

"A lot of people give beautiful speeches but, when you scratch below the surface a little, you realise it's little more than a front. Arsene is different. He is one of the only men truly worthy of trust amongst the masses of hypocrites you will find in the world of football." (Didier Roustin, pp.310-311)

My confidence since my youth

A few weeks ago, (my son) Tom attended a youth service in town and was really struck by a testimony he heard, in which the person recounted how God had rescued him from a depraved background.

The testimony clearly made quite an impact on Tom and the friend he took along.

Later on Tom said that he wished he had a more exciting story to tell.

I tried to explain to Tom that growing up in a Christian home was an exciting story and a real testimony to God's grace.

I wish I'd known Psalm 71.

The Psalmist (was it David? Psalm 71 seems to fit together with Psalm 70) says,

"For you have been my hope, O Sovereign Lord, my confidence since my youth. From my birth I have relied on you; you brought me forth from my mother's womb. I will ever praise you." (vv5-6)

And again:

"Since my youth, O God, you have taught me, and to this day I declare your marvellous deeds." (v17)

In the light of this, he prays that God would give him grace to persevere:

"Do not cast me away when I am old; do not forsake me when my strength is gone." (v9)

And again:

"Even when I am old and grey, do not forsake me, O God, till I declare your power to the next generation, your might to all who are to come." (v18)

In For the Love of God, Don Carson helpfully says,

"The most thoughtful of those who are converted later in life wish they had not wasted so many of their early years. Now that they have found the pearl of great price, their only regret is that they did not find it sooner. More importantly, those who are reared in godly Christian homes are steeped in Scripture from their youth. There is plenty in Scripture and in personal experience to disclose to them the perversity of their own hearts; they do not have to be sociopaths to discover what depravity means. They will be sufficiently ashamed of the sins they have committed, despite their backgrounds, that instead of wishing they could have had a worse background (!), they sometimes hang their head in shame that they have done so little with their advantages, and frankly recognise that apart from the grace of God, there is no crime and sin to which they could not sink."

Psalm 71 is a great encouragement to praise God for his past grace; to seek his future grace; and to make the most of the opportunities I have, as a father, with Tom, Grace & Laura.