Mark Conner's Space

The Centrality of Worship

All kingdom work is worship. Or to put it another way, worshipping the God we see at work in Jesus is the most politically charged act we can ever perform. Christian worship declares Jesus is Lord and that therefore, by strong implication, nobody else is. What's more, it doesn't just declare it as something to be believed, like the fact that the sun is hot or the sea wet. It commits the worshipper to allegiance, to following this Jesus, to being shaped and directed by him.

Worshipping the God we see in Jesus orients our whole being, our imagination, our will, our hopes, and our fears away from the world where Mars, Mammon and Aphrodite (violence, money and sex) make absolute demands and punish anyone who resists.

It orients us instead to a world in which love is stronger than death, the poor are promised the kingdom, and chastity (whether married or single) reflects the holiness and faithfulness of God himself. Acclaiming Jesus as Lord plants a flag that supersedes the flags of the nations, however "free" or "democratic" they may be. It challenges both the tyrants who think they are, in effect, the divine and the "secular democracies" that have effectively become, if not divine, at least ecclesial, that is, communities that are trying to do and be what the church was supposed to do and be, but without recourse to the one who sustains the church's life.

Worship creates - or should create, if it is allowed to be truly itself - a community that marches to a different beat, that keeps in step with a different Lord.

[An excerpt from Simply Jesus by Tom Wright - p.217]

Jesus in all the Books of the Bible

Luke tells us a story of two disciples who were sad and discouraged by the recent events they had experienced in the city of Jerusalem (Luke 24:13-35).They had hoped that this man called Jesus would have been the Messiah - the one who would deliver Israel.There were so many expectations raised by the birth of this child just a few decades earlier - barren women giving birth in old age, angels appearing, wise men coming from the East and prophetic words being given. But now Jesus was dead. Instead of overthrowing the pagans, he had been crucified by them!

Suddenly, a stranger joins them as they journey on the Road to Emmaus. Amazingly, he begins to show them that the whole story (not just a few isolated, random texts), from Genesis to Chronicles (the last book of the Hebrew Bible, the prophets came earlier), was about what Jesus had just accomplished. They had been reading the Bible through the wrong end of the telescope. They had been seeing it as the long story of how God would redeem Israel from suffering, but it was instead the story of how God would redeem Israel through suffering. NO ONE had seen that.

We're not sure what this stranger actually said, but maybe it was something like this ... 

Silent Night Story

Silent Night is one of the most popular carols sun across the world at this Christmas season. There are many romantic stories about how it was composed. Here is one of them that may contain an element of truth to it ...

On Christmas Eve 1818 in Austria, the Vicar of a small church in Oberndorf had written a new song to be sung on Christmas Day. The organist, Franz Gruber had set the words to music but the organ broke and it looked like it was all going to be a disaster. In an attempt to rectify the situation, Frank grabbed a guitar and accompanied the Vicar on the first ever rendition of Silent Night.

When the organ repair man turned up to fix the organ, Gruber played him the new song to test that the organ had been fixed. The repairman loved it so much that he took it back to his own village. There, the four daughters of a local glovemaker began singing it in concerts all over Austria and, as the saying goes, the rest is history. Silent Night is one of the great carols of the world and it got its first big break because an organ broke.

There's a good message in that story. Sometimes when things go wrong, something good comes out of it. God has a way of working like that.

Merry Christmas!

Ever Felt Dry Spiritually?

Have you ever felt dry spiritually? Sometimes our faith can get a little old and our love relationship with Jesus is not what it once was. We're not in "first love" anymore. Stuff has happened. Things have changed. 

Sometimes, we get stuck here ... like a rut that we just can't seem to get out of. What do you do? Stay where you are?

Could it be possible that God at times withdraws the sense of his presence from our lives (not that he ever actually leaves us) ... in order to create a hunger and a thirst for us to seek him ... like the lover in the Song of Songs who withdrew for a period?

Whatever, the case, downright honesty pleases God. He doesn't want us to fake it or keep going through the motions, playing a religious game. Like David, God loves it when we pour out hearts out to him - in transperancy and authenticity. After all, God is not surprised when we tell him how we really feel! He knows our hearts, even more than we do. 

I was reminded the other day of a simple but deadly honest song by Keith Green, a singer who had a big influence on me in my teenage years. Here are the lyrics. 

My eyes are dry
My faith is old
My heart is hard
My prayers are cold
And I know how I ought to be
Alive to You and dead to me

But what can be done
For an old heart like mine
Soften it up
With oil and wine
The oil is You, Your Spirit of love
Please wash me anew
With the wine of Your Blood

Click here to listen to the song.

May God's Spirit touch our hearts afresh today.

P.S. For some challenging reading, check out Keith Green's life story in the book No Compromise.

The Upside of Discomfort?

Long distance runner, Dean Karnezes, recently said,

"Western culture has things a little backwards right now. We think that if we had every comfort available to us, we’d be happy. We equate comfort with happiness. And now we’re so comfortable we’re miserable. There’s no struggle in our lives. No sense of adventure. We get in a car, we get in an elevator, it all comes easy. What I’ve found is that I’m never more alive than when I’m pushing and I’m in pain, and I’m struggling for high achievement, and in that struggle I think there’s a magic."

Popular blogger, Michael Hyatt, picks this theme up and suggest three insights:

1. Comfort is overrated. It doesn’t lead to happiness. It makes us lazy — and forgetful. It often leads to self-absorption, boredom, and discontent.
2. Discomfort can be a catalyst for growth. It makes us yearn for something more. It forces us to change, stretch, and adapt.
3. Discomfort is often a sign we’re making progress. You’ve heard the expression, “no pain, no gain.” It’s true! When you push yourself to grow, you will experience discomfort.

Yes, we want to be on guard against burnout, but let's not forget the dangers of being too comfortable either.

Food for thought.

Read Michael's full article here.

Back to First Love

Jesus' message to the church at Ephesus is always a challenging one. They were doing a lot of good things and church was going along as usual ... yet the love that they had for God and each other at the beginning had faded. Jesus wrote to warn them about the danger they were in to urge them to do the things they had done at the beginning - to return to "first love."

The lyrics of Steve Fry's song First Love captures the cry of a heart desiring a return to first love:

Take me back to first love. To the place where I once was. 
Where my passion was just obeying, 
And prayer was sweet, the sweetest thing I knew. 
Everything was possible with you. 
Take me to the place of my first love with you.

Take me back to first love. To the place where I once was. 
I could hear you, oh so clearly, and holiness was all I desired. 
Wanting nothing less than being like Jesus. 
My cry is take me to first love with You.

My heart was free from wanting to be seen. 
Just wanting only your anointing. 
They say you rise as you get older, all I know is I've grown colder.

Take me back to first love. To the place where I once was. 
Where my passion was just obeying, 
And prayer was sweet, the sweetest thing I knew. 
Everything was possible with you. 
Take me to the place of my first love with you.

May we each live in that first love with our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. 

Knowing God More

Back in the 1980s, Steven Fry wrote a musical entitled We Are Called. It was an outstanding call to worship and our team presented it numerous times. It contains some inspiring songs. One of favourites is Oh, I Want to Know You More, which was written during a spiritually dry period in Steve's life. Here are the lyrics:

Just the time I feel that I've been caught in the mire of self
Just the time I feel my mind's been bought by worldly wealth
That's when the breeze begins to blow, I know the Spirit's call
And all my worldly wanderings just melt into His love

Oh I want to know You more
Deep within my soul I want to know You
Oh I want to know You
To feel Your heart and know Your mind
Looking in Your eyes stirs up within me
Cries that say I want to know You
Oh I want to know You more
Oh I want to know You more

When my daily deeds ordinarily lose life and song
My heart begins to bleed sensitivity to Him is gone
I've run the race but set my pace and face a shattered soul
But the gentle arms of Jesus warm my hunger to be whole

Oh I want to know You more
Deep within my soul I want to know You
Oh I want to know You
And I would give my final breath to know you in your death and resurrection
Oh I want to know You more
Oh I want to know You more

May our cry to know God more grow each day.

You can listen to the original of the song here.

Australian Human Rights Award goes to Tony and Lisa Clark

Congratulations to Tony and Lisa Clark who were selected as the winners of the Australian Human Rights Commission - Community Organisation award at a ceremony in Sydney today.

Tony, who founded Swags for Homeless in 2007, started the non-profit homeless charity in Melbourne when he questioned what was given to street sleeping homeless turned away from shelters. Tony and Lisa Clark designed the emergency relief Backpack Bed, which received the worlds largest and most prestigious product design award the Red Dot ‘Best of the Best’ in Germany this year. Backpack Beds are provided to homeless and are distributed through 139 charities around Australia.

“As well as warmth and protection, the Backpack Bed provides the homeless with dignity,” said Mr Clark.

This year the Backpack Bed also received an Australian International Design Award and the Sydney’s Powerhouse Museum Design Award for innovation and benefits to its users. 

Paul Moulds AM (Major) from The Salvation Army says the Backpack Bed has been invaluable to their organisation and used in many of their outreach programs for the homeless.

Before Christmas

CityLife Church's very own Christmas presentation, Before Christmas, is just over one week away. Over the weekend of December 17-18th, there will be five presentations at our Knox Campus - Saturday 4.00 and 6.15 pm, Sunday 9.00 and 11.15 am and also at 6.00 pm.

Special guests include the Melbourne Gospel Choir. Entry is free but come early for a good seat. This is an excellent opportunity to invite friends or family members to discover the true meaning of Christmas.

Full details here. 

Growing in the Dark

Jesus clearly explained to his followers that in this life there would be a good deal of challenges and difficulties (John 16:33). However, they were to not be overwhelmed by them knowing that they can overcome and continue to live with God's peace and joy, regardless of the circumstances. This perspective on trials of all kinds is emphasised by all of the New Testament writers (see Acts 14:22. James 1:2-4. 1 Peter 1:6-9). 

As we journey through this life of faith as disciples of Jesus Christ, some of our growing will be in the dark. We all face times and seasons when we aren't sure where God is or what he is up to. We can't see very clearly. We don't have God's full perspective so we have to trust that he is in control and working things together for our ultimate good - which is the formation of Christlikeness in us (Rom.8:28-29).

Click here to read an excellent article from Christianity Today on what some people refer to as the "dark night of the soul" and some lessons from those who have walked this path. For an even more indepth article by John Coe on this topic, click here.

Thankfully, even when we walk or sit in times of darkness, the Lord promises to be a light to us (Micah 7:8).  

Questions for Different Stages of Faith

We recently shared about "stages of faith" as a helpful model for understanding our journey as disciples of Jesus. All six stages are important in our journey as each one has a profound impact and role in our lives. Also, different activities are more helpful in one stage than they may be in another. For instance, during stage 4, times of solitude and silence, as well as time with a mentor or spiritually mature person can be extremely helpful.

Below are some helpful questions to ask yourself or a friend, relevant to each of the stages.

Stage 1

How do you experience God the most?

What need brings you to this place in your life?

Who do you need God to be for you right now? What do you need from God?

How has your image of God changed lately?

Stage 2

What new insights are you learning?

Who are your spiritual heroes that you seek to emulate?

Who is journeying with you?

Is your community supportive? Is it healthy or unhealthy?

Australian Communities Report

Olive Tree Media recently launched the results from their Australian Communities Report conducted by McCrindle Research to discover what Australians really think of Christian faith, Christians and the Church. Held in Sydney on 4th November, the research was launched by Archbishop Peter Jensen. Mark McCrindle, Principal of McCrindle Research presented the findings to 50 church leaders and business people. Click here to watch excerpts of the presentation and here to download a summary of the research results or purchase a copy of the full report. 

The Research was commissioned in preparation for a new Apologetics Series being produced by Olive Tree Media in 2012 which will tackle the issues arising from the research. 

Some interesting insights from the research include:

• Overall, 1 in 2 Australians do not identity with a religion. 40% consider themselves Christian. 31% do not identify with a religion or spiritual belief, while another 19% consider themselves spiritual but not religious.
• Parents and family have a strong influence on people's perceptions of Christians and Christianity.
• There is significant "warmth" towards Christianity by a large proportion of Australians.
• The church's views on homosexuality, hell and science were seen as potential faith blockers.
• There was a surprisingly high awareness of some of the core teachings of Jesus, although 6% of Australians believe that "Such is life" was a statement made by Jesus (actually it was Ned Kelly!). More surprisingly, 28% of those surveyed had no idea when Jesus lived and 27% believed he lived in ancient times (BC).  

We live in a land of great opportunity. Although only 10% of Australians attend church on a weekend, many are open to a real and living faith, especially when modeled by their peers and friends. Let's continue to pray and believe that the Australian church will reach many more Aussies with the good news of Jesus Christ in these next few decades.