Mark Conner's Space

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. 

 

 

 

Justice Trumps Spices (Pt.3)

Practicing Justice

Let's take this first important matter that Jesus mentions: justice. How can we move from believing in justice to actually living it out in practice? It requires as to ACT and that involves three things:

Awareness - Ignorance is not bliss. Sticking our head in the sand until the storm blows over is bot meant to be an option for us as Christ followers. Jesus has called us to be ‘salt’ and ‘light’ (Matt.5:12-13) which both involve a proactive positive influence on our world. We now live in a global village and we need to have our eyes andears open to the needs and the cries of those who are hurting (see Prov.31:8-9). Abraham Heschel once said, "The opposite of good is not evil, it is indifference. Indeed, our very humanity depends upon our compassion."

We can do this though simply watching the news, listening to people’s stories, and become involved with ministries that advance the cause of justice such as World Vision, Compassion and our own Everyday Justice ministry. Churches commemorating Abolitionist Sunday is an example of creating awareness.

Jesus saw the multitudes as sheep who were lost and harassed because they had no shepherd … and he then acted, calling his disciples to prayer and sending them out to be the answer to their own prayer. Open your eyes and see the needs in our world. Hear the cries of the poor and oppressed. Feel what God feels.

Justice Trumps Spices (Pt.2)

Weightier Matters

In the Pentateuch, there was as many as 613 different laws or commandments that God’s people were meant to keep - 248 affirmative commands and 365 negative commands. Debates and discussions often occurred as to which were the more important ones. One teacher of the law even asked Jesus this question: “What is the most important commandment?” Jesus selected two: “Love the Lord your God …” and “love your neighbour as yourself.” While not neglecting the others, Jesus made it clear that these are the two most important commands and that if a person does these two things, they essentially encapsulate the rest of God’s requirements for his people.

Unfortunately, the Pharisees had focused on the minute details of tithing but had neglected other commands that were more important in the eyes of God. Jesus mentions three specific priorities: justice, mercy and faithfulness.

In some ways, Jesus was novel in his teaching, bringing new revelation about God and his kingdom. In other ways, Jesus continued in the tradition of the prophets of old. In this teaching, he is simply reinforcing the message that the prophets has preached time and again to God’s people. Here is one example from the prophet Micah … “What does the Lord require of you? To act justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God (Micah.6:8).”

Justice Trumps Spices (Pt.1)

In Matthew 23, we have a record of Jesus’ strong condemnation of the religious leaders of his day, who had not led the people faithfully and who had become hypocritical and legalistic. Here is one of the seven “woe’s” he gave them: “What sorrow awaits you teachers of religious law and you Pharisees. Hypocrites! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore the more important aspects of the law — justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things (NLT).”

To Tithe or Not to Tithe

The entire Israelite nation ran on a system of tithing, or of giving 10% of one’s income for the support of the Levites who worked at the temple and the needs of the poor (Deut.14:22. Lev.27:30). Being primarily an agrarian society, this mainly included the giving of produce from the farms.  Mint, dill and cumin were herbs (spices) from the kitchen garden and they were only grown in very small quantities and to tithe them would be such a small amount that most people would not have even worried about it. But the Pharisees were pedantic tithers!

Jesus actually commends them for their attention to such detail. Giving is important and we should honour God with our resources.

There has been a lot of debate about tithing over the years ...

Known by our Love

Jesus’ dream was that his followers would be known by their love (Jn.13:34-35). Think of all the various qualities Jesus could have told us to be known for – truth, justice, holiness, or righteousness. All of these are very important, yet Jesus’ desire was that LOVE be the mark, measure and goal for his new community – the church.

The apostle Paul picked up on this priority of love from Jesus. In a letter to church at Corinth he addressed various groups within the church that had developed a variety of priorities and pursuits (1 Cor.13:1-3). To those pursuing more spiritual experience, he said, “If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.” To those pursuing more knowledge, he said, “If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge … but didn’t love others, I would be nothing.” To those pursuing more power he said, “If I had such faith that I could move mountains but didn’t love others, I would be nothing.” To those pursuing acts of heroism he said, “If I give everything I own to the poor and even go to the stake to be burned as a martyr, but I don’t love, I’ve gotten nowhere. So, no matter what I say, what I believe, and what I do, I’m bankrupt without love.” As interesting and as noble as these pursuits may be, Paul was concerned that secondary things had become of primary importance. His shock statements were intended to knock them out of their complacency in order to bring everything back into proper perspective. The core of the Christian life is LOVE. This is what matters most. We all need to be reminded of this every once in a while.

I Want to Know What Love Is

Love is such a misunderstood word and concept today. It can mean anything from friendship to romance to sex. Jesus came to demonstrate a love of another kind – a love that caused him to be willing to lay his life down for us (Jn.15:12-13). It was a self-giving, sacrificial love ... all for the benefit of others. It was a love unparalleled in the world.

In the letter to the Corinthian church mentioned above, Paul paints of portrait of the kind of love God wants us to be known for (1 Cor.13:4-7). This love is patient and kind. It is not jealous or envious of others. It is not boastful or proud. It is not rude or always demanding its own way. It is not easily irritated and it keeps no record of wrongs. It does not rejoice in injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out. It never gives up and never loses faith. It is always hopeful and endures through every circumstance.

God offers us this kind of love so that we experience it deeply … then pass it on to other people around about us. We are to pay forward what God has given so freely to us. Love is to be the hallmark of those in whose lives the presence of God is being reflected. For us to be known by our love, our love needs to not only be genuine, it needs to be VISIBLE. People are to SEE the love that we have for each other.

What is the "Gospel?"

Have you ever done any street witnessing before? It’s definitely not an activity for the faint of heart! I was involved with some street teams many years ago and we had some good conversations with people. I really admire people who still engage in street evangelism or door-to-door witnessing today and I have heard some amazing stories of people coming to Christ this way. However, it is important that we not see this as the only means of evangelism. Otherwise, we can wrongly think that evangelism is only for the courageous people who are bold enough to start up conversations with strangers in public. Evangelism is intended to be a normal part of the everyday life of all followers of Christ, not a ‘mode’ that a few people go into on a Friday evening or whenever. It is also not necessary to download the entire gospel story in every conversation we have with people. More often than not, we’ll be answering questions (Col.4:5-6. 1 Pet.3:15) and sharing brief ‘sound bites’ more than giving a detailed doctrinal presentation. Sharing our faith involves more than talking too. Prayer, acts of service, and loving actions are also an important part of sharing God’s love with people. Finally, we need to realise that the gospel is much broader than just personal salvation, as important as that is.

A Biblical Understanding of the Gospel

The word “gospel” means “good news.” It was a media term in the ancient world, similar to our idea of a newsflash. It involved the announcement of important events or achievements. Gospel language was already known to God’s people (Israel) centuries before the Roman Empire. The biblical gospel begins in the Old Testament, not in Matthew. For example, during the time of Israel’s exile, they had lost their land, their city, their temple and their hope. They were in desperate need of “good news” and that is what the prophet Isaiah came preaching (see Isaiah 40:9; 41:27; 52:7-10; 61:1).  The good news was that God reigns as King and his kingdom is coming, which meant peace, good things for all creation, and salvation for everyone. God returned to redeem his people and all the nations (Ps.96:1-3).

Far beyond the horizon of the Israelite exiles was the horizon of the greater arrival of God among his people in the person of Jesus of Nazareth. The first gospel written opens with, “The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah” (Mark 1:1) and goes on to quote from the prophet Isaiah. Very early in his ministry, Jesus declared himself as the preacher of this good news (Luke 4:16-21). For the Gospel writers, the good news was the long-awaited reign of the true sovereign that Jesus came proclaiming. The call was to repent and believe this good news.

Lee Camp, in his excellent book on discipleship, says, “The good news is not first and foremost a message that gives one hope for the afterlife, a message that one may have inner peace and tranquillity or that one may experience an authentic life. It is first and foremost a proclamation that the long-anticipated rule and reign of God has now come in the midst of human history.”

The apostle Paul offered the Corinthian church a brief summary of the gospel (1Cor.15:1-8). The gospel is not the announcement of a mere idea (God reigns) but how that reign has been revealed to the world through actual deeds of Jesus Christ (his birth, miracles, teaching, death, resurrection and eventual return). The preached gospel is identical with the written Gospels. It is about the life and work of Jesus Christ and it’s significance to a fallen, broken world. It is about both historical events and theological ideas intricately interwoven together. The “gospel” is about Jesus – his entire story from start to finish. The good news of the gospel is that God’s kingdom has arrived with Christ and we are invited to participate in what God is doing.

Recovering the Wholeness of the Gospel

The gospel truly is good news that speaks to and can transform every area of human life that has been touched by sin. It is individual and cosmic (affecting all creation). It is for believing and for living. It is to be proclaimed (words) and demonstrated (actions). Jesus not only preached; he went around “doing good” (Acts 10:38). Evangelism and social action need to work together closely.

New Testament scholar G.E. Ladd once said, “The Gospel must not only offer a personal salvation in the future life to those who believe; it must also transform all of the relationships of life here and now and thus cause the Kingdom of God to prevail in the world.”

N.T. Wright says, “Our task as Christians, in the midst of individual, social, corporate and cultural angst, is to demonstrate the love of God, a self-giving love that trumps suspicion through giving itself away. Our vocation is to tell the story (of the cross and resurrection of Jesus which displays the self-giving love of the God who made the world), to live it out in practice, and to answer the questions in such as way that we become the answer to our own prayers.”

Such good news is not to be hidden but to be announced everywhere – to the whole world. It is a story that needs to be told.

Incarnational Mission

The God we serve is a sending God. God sent Jesus and then He sends us (John 20:21). We are a sent people. Mission is who we are not just what we do. It is part of our core identity ... even if we aren't sent very far.

The incarnation of Jesus Christ (God taking on human form) informs us as to how we are sent on mission. AS the father sent the Son into the world SO Jesus sends us. Mission is about going out while incarnation is about going deep. 

Jesus is the best missionary that ever was ... so let's learn from him. Here are six principles of incarnational mission from the life of Jesus: 

1. Presence.

God was fully present in Jesus. Jesus was full God and fully man. He became one of us. This is identification. Jesus understands us incredibly well. He lived in an ordinary neighborhood for 30 years. He really understood them. No wonder he could connect with them so well.

We need to do the same. Learn about their language, culture, stories, interests, music, and heroes. Don't be too quick to speak. Don't presume to know them. Sit and listen ... a lot. Look and learn. Build relationships and trust. Overseas missionaries get this but we often miss it.

2. Proximity.

Jesus didn't wait for people who come to him. He went to them. He was always on the road, at the marketplaces or synagogue. He got out of the religious zones to be where the people were. 

Where you stand determines what you see. The need is there ... it's just that we are not out there to see. Follow Jesus out into the neighbourhood. Take a step beyond where you are standing now.When we are removed, we are not living out our identity as the people of God. Fear and laziness tend to dominate us. We prefer to be comfortable. However, when we begin to see the need ... our heart breaks and we want to respond. Don't wait for people to come to you. Go to them and connect.

3. Powerlessness.

Our God is humble (Phil.2:1-11). God became a baby - totally dependent and powerless. Jesus didn't start as a man. God emptied himself - the great humiliation. He came a humble servant not as a powerful king or with arrogance. We are to have the same attitude. There is no room for arrogance in those who follow a humble God. 

The Mission

During 2011, our focus at CityLife is simply on 'following Jesus' together. During Term 1 we unpacked the idea of SURRENDER, which is the foundation of our relationship with Jesus Christ. We looked at Jesus’ call to us to COME, FOLLOW, BELIEVE, ABIDE and OBEY. We want to continue to respond to Jesus’ call and follow Him closely each day of our life. It’s about a relationship and a life journey together.

During Term 2, we are looking at what it means to be SENT by Jesus on MISSION. Jesus calls us to follow Him AND He calls us to GO and participate in His mission in the world. Mission originates in the heart and nature of God himself. The Bible is a grand narrative of God's mission to redeem all of creation and to set the world right.  

Here are some great quotes on MISSION:

"It is not the church that has a mission of salvation to fulfill in the world; it is the mission of the Son and the Spirit through the Father that includes the church. There is church because there is mission, not vice versa.” [Jurgen Moltmann]

“Mission is not primarily an activity of the church, but an attribute of God. God is a missionary God." [David Bosch in Transforming Mission]

“All of us should be able to agree that mission arises primarily out of the nature not of the church but of God himself. The living God of the Bible is a sending God.” [John Stott]

"It is not so much the case that God has a mission for his church in the world, as that God has a church for his mission in the world. Mission was not made for the church; the church was made for mission - God's mission." [Christopher Wright]

Reformation Needed

At last year's Third Lausanne Congress in Cape Town, South Africa, one of the speakers was Christopher Wright. In a stirring address, Wright compared in detail the sate of the church today and the church in the generations before Luther.

"What is the greatest obstacle to God's mission in the world?' Wright asked. "It is not other religions or a resistant culture. Our idolatry is the single biggest obstacle to world mission. We are a scandal, a stumbling block to the mission of God. Reformation is the desperate need of our day, and it must start with us. If we want to change the world, we must first change our world." He called for a new reformation beginning within evangelicalism.

Stirring words!

[Source: Christianity Today magazine, December 2010 - p.38]

Apologetics

The apostle Peter wrote the following to some first century followers of Christ ...

"... worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your Christian hope, always be ready to explain it. But do this in a gentle and respectful way. Keep your conscience clear. Then if people speak against you, they will be ashamed when they see what a good life you live because you belong to Christ." [1 Peter 3:15-16. NLT] 

The word translated "explain" in our English language (or "reason" in other translations) is the Greek word apologia, which means to give an account of yourself (in a legal sense) or an explanation and defence of your beliefs. From this thoughts emerges the concept of "apologetics", which refers to the development of a reasoned argument for a belief or set of beliefs.

Our faith as Christians involves a great degree of trust, but it is not faith without reason. There are good reasons for faith and we need to be prepared to share them with others. In helping to equip ourselves to know what we believe and why we believe it, there are a number of excellent resources. Here are a few that I would highly recommend:

1. www.apologetics.org - a web site sponsored by the C.S. Lewis society.
2. Christian Apologetics and Research Ministry (CARM) - a web site dedicated to helping Christians defend their faith.
3. www.apologetics.com - a web site dedicated to challenging believers to think and thinkers to believe.
4. Ravi Zacharias Ministries - Ravi's ministry has some excellent resources on apologetics.
5. Lee Strobel - Lee was once a devout atheist but came to faith in Christ after investigating the claims of Jesus. He has produced a variety of very good videos and books, including the best-selling The Case for Christ.
6. N.T. Wright - Tom Wright is one of today's leading biblical scholars. His writings provide a wealth of material for thinking Christians.
7. Mere Christianity by C.S. Lewis - this classic is still one of the best explanations of the Christian faith.

As we share about our faith, God does not desire us to do so in an argumentative manner. After all, it is ultimately the Spirit of God that reveals Christ to the human heart, even though truth is often a part of the process. 

Our Approach in the Marketplace ...

Most Christians and churches today have a variety of approaches to presenting Christ and the gospel in the public marketplace. Some go with "Turn or Burn" while others try "God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life." It is important to carefully consider what the gospel actually is and what our approach should be to people we are trying to reach.

In Luke 10, Jesus gives detailed instructions to his disciples as they were about to go out into the villages with the good news of the kingdom. In his teaching, Jesus has a clear strategy. First of all he tells them to seek to bring peace (shalom) to the people they are reaching out to. People are already under a curse because of sin and don't need to hear judgment. They need to know the "good" news that there is a God who loves them and has paid the price for their forgiveness (sure, if they reject, they remain under that judgment but that is not the core message of the gospel). Second, he encouraged them to eat together with people in the community, which implies the forming of relationships. Then they were to "heal the sick" which implies the meeting of felt needs. Finally, they were to announce the arrival of God's kingdom.

Notice the order. Jesus was teaching them that pre-evangelism is important. When we bring a blessing to our communities, build relationships with people and meet needs, we often see people's hearts open to the good news of Jesus. How common it is for Christians to start with the final step and ignore the first three! No wonder not many people respond.

I also think its admirable that a non-Christian community leader (the city mayor) said this about Paul, during a riot in Ephesus where many people had turned to Christ ...

"Citizens of Ephesus," he said. "Everyone knows that Ephesus is the official guardian of the temple of the great Artemis, whose image fell down to us from heaven. Since this is an undeniable fact, you should stay calm and not do anything rash. You have brought these men here, but they have stolen nothing from the temple and have not spoken against our goddess." [Acts 19:35-37. NLT]

Isn't it amazing that Paul did not speak against the idols and false gods but rather, obviously, spoke for and about Jesus. In contrast, Christians today often tend to be known for what they are against and can easily get into attacking everything and anything that they don't believe in rather than being know by what they are for ... We have much to learn from Jesus and Paul if we are ever to become more effective in being the kind of influence God desires for us as his people. May their tribe increase!

A final comment from Paul ...

"Live wisely among those who are not believers, and make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be gracious and attractive so that you will have the right response for everyone. [Col.4:5-6. NLT]

The Global Shift

Rick Warren recently said ...

The last 50 years has seen the greatest redistribution of a religion ever in the history of the world. There is nothing even to compare to it. For instance, at the beginning of the 20th century, in 1900, 71% of all, quote, "Christians" lived in Europe. By 2000 only 28% claimed to be Christian, and I'm sure it's far smaller than that who actually even go to a church.

On the other hand, Christianity was exploding in Africa, Asia and Latin America. If you want to know the future of evangelicalism, it is in those continents. To give you an example, in 1900 there were only 10 million Christians in all of Africa -- 10% of the population. Today there are 360 million Christians in Africa, over half the population. That is a complete turnaround on a continent that's never, ever been seen or done in history.

You may be surprised to know that there are more Christians in China than there are in America, by far. There are more Presbyterians in Ghana than there are in Scotland, where they came out of with John Knox. There are more Baptists in Nagaland, a state in India, than there are in the South here in America. There are more Anglicans in either Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Nigeria -- any of these -- than in England. There are 2 million Anglicans in England. There are 17 million Anglicans in Nigeria.

The Church of England is a misnomer. It is now the Church of Africa. I have been involved in the ordination of many of those Anglican leaders. They have spread all over. Last Sunday there were more Christians who went to church in China than all of Europe combined. That is a fundamental shift. If you want to know the future of Christianity, it is the developing world. It's Africa, it's Latin America, and it's Asia.

In fact, there are about 15,000 missionaries now working in England from Brazil, China, Korea, other countries that you used to think, well, those would receive missionaries. In fact, Brazil sends out far more missionaries than either Great Britain or Canada combined. So that's a fundamental shift.

That's all I'm going to say about the future of evangelicalism. It ain't here. Okay?

[To read the complete transcript of this interview with Rick Warren, click here]

I can only agree. The non-West is leading the world in evangelism, church growth and spiritual vitality. We in the West have much to learn from what God is doing in Africa, Asia (including China) and South America.

Reinhard Bonnke

Reinhard Bonnke is an evangelist from Germany who has a great passion for Africa. In the last decade, he has seen over 55 million people make decisions for Christ in his large outdoor meetings. God uses him to see many sick people healed and oppressed people delivered from the power of Satan. You can read his story in his newly released autobiography 'Living a Life of Fire.' His ministry is called Christ for All Nations.

May we as Christ's followers be motivated afresh by the Holy Spirit to share our faith boldly in our own context.

World Impact Week 2010

At CityLife Church, our mission is to "raise up fervent followers of Jesus Christ who will reach out and impact communities, cities, and nations for the kingdom of God." This statement is a combination of the great commandments given to us by Jesus (a fervent follower is a disciple who loves God and loves their neighbor) and the Great Commission. This is the primary purpose of the church and we will be doing this until Jesus returns. Local community outreach and world mission are core to who we are as a church family.

World Impact is the cross-cultural mission’s ministry of our church. Our World Impact mission is to "plant and empower churches across cultures to impact unreached people for the kingdom of God." We are ministering in some of the least reached, most persecuted and poorest parts of the world. We are planting and empowering churches in nations and regions that are torn apart by violence, poverty, religious conflict and prejudice.

Although world mission is a focus throughout the year, we also take one full week each year to focus exclusively on this mission. World Impact Week 2010 is from May 15th-23rd and world mission will be the focus in all of our celebration meetings, culminating in our International Night on Sunday evening, May 23rd. Our World Impact Director and myself will be speaking, along with a number of our mission workers. It should be a challenging and inspiring time together.

There are many ways that churches and individuals can become active in world mission:

1. Pray. Jesus said that his Father's house was to be a house of prayer for all nations. Prayer can literally change the atmosphere over nations and provide encouragement and strength for those on the field.

2. Give. The gospel is free but it takes financial resources to get the message out. Give generously to your local church's mission vision and to other reputable mission agencies. Despite some reductions last year made in response to the impact of the global economic situation, our church currently invests over 20% of its annual revenue into local community work and overseas mission. Where we spend our resources shows where our heart and priority is.

3. Go. There is nothing like going to a foreign country yourself and reaching out to people with God's love. Apply for a passport and start off by being a part of a short-team team. You'll never see the world the same again.

Together, we can literally impact our world!

P.S. Click here for more information about our World Impact ministry.

Urban Neighbours of Hope - Ash Barker

We were privileged to have Ash Barker with us on the weekend, as part of our community outreach focus. Ash and his family live in a slum in Bangkok where they have been reaching out to people with the love of Christ for the last eight years.

Ash is the founder of UNOH - Urban Neighbours of Hope. He is also the author of a number of books, including Surrender All and Making Poverty Personal. Click here and scroll down the page to see the full range of UNOH publications.

Ash is currently doing a PhD on "What is a Christian response to the rise of urban slum and squatter neighbourhoods?" Last year, for the first time in history, saw over 50% of the world's population now living in cities. Increasing urbanisation is leading to the increase of 'urban slums', with 1 billion people now living in this type of environment. Within 20 years, it could be 3 billion. This presents a great challenge to the Christian Church as we seek to love our neighbour and share the goods news of Jesus with our global village.

May each of us be stirred afresh with the love of Christ to engage more effectively with the people in our world, wherever he has placed us. As someone once said, "Maybe more Christians need to quit watching Neighbours and start being neighbours!"

A Family Plan

Ministry Today Magazine recently publishing an excellent article by Rob Rienow called 'The Family Plan.' Ron is the family pastor at Wheaton Bible Church in Wheaton, Ill., and the co-founder of Visionary Parenting, which equips churches to build biblical family ministries.

A few excerpts:

1. Evangelism and discipleship are in crisis in Western countries such as the USA - and it's a generational crisis. Although more than ever is being done to equip adults to share Christ with their friends at work and in their neighborhoods, we're losing the souls of millions of our own children. For the last 100 years, we have been losing more of our own children to the world than we have been winning adult converts to faith in Christ. Europe was the greatest Christian continent 100 years ago. Now, out of 728 million people, only 2-4% know Jesus. How could this happen? Christianity literally died off as generation after generation failed to win the souls of their children. The same is happen in the West.

2. The natural instinct is to look to the church and try to find another program to solve the problem. But first of all it is a crisis of the Christian family. Christian parents have stopped discipling their own children and adopted a model of 'delegation parenting' - hoping someone else will do it for them (possibly the Christian school, the church, or the local youth group).

3. Family discipleship is taught throughout the Bible. Parents are to take the primary responsibility for the evangelism and spiritual formation of their own children. Parents are to pass on their faith to their children through their life and their words (see Deuteronomy 6:5-6). Children are to be brought up by parents "in the training and instruction of the Lord (Ephesians 6:4)."

4. The family is the most powerful discipleship small group ever devised, where spiritual growth happens in th context of relationships, where people 'do life together,' and where true authenticity can potentially be found every minute of the day.

6. Churches need to inspire and equip these family disciplehip centres to fulfill their mission. God's promises are for us and ur children (Acts 2:28-29).

Thought-provoking stuff ...

How can the church do a better job of equipping parents in their important ministry to their own children?

Movements that Change the World

Steve Addison is a lifelong student of movements that renew and expand the Christian faith. Thankfully, he has now published his many years of reflection and research into an inspiring new book, Movements that Change the World.  It should help to fuel church planting movements everywhere.

Steve notes that movements that change the world are characterised by five things:

1. White-hot faith. Missionary movements begin with men and women who encounter the living God and surrender in loving obedience to His call.

2. Commitment to a cause. Nothing is more important that their faith in Christ and his cause.

3. Contagious relationships. When movements spread rapidly, they do so through pre-existing networks of relationships.

4. Rapid mobilisation. New converts are won and fresh workers are recruited so that there is a constant supply of workers for the mission.

5. Adaptive methods. Ministry methods of movements are supremely adaptable, flexible, and transferable in contrast to the static, rigid, and anchored nature of the institutional form of church. The heart of the Gospel remains the same but the forms are changed to fit the context and to serve the needs of an expanding movement.

For further information, you can also visit Steve's blog and web site or click here. To whet your appetite, click here for a free PDF of the Introduction from Steve's book.

This book is important reading for church leaders and disciples everywhere. After all, Jesus didn't found a religion. He started a people movement! As Steve states, "movements change people and changed people change the world."

P.S. Interestingly, Ben Wong, Director of the Cell Church Mission Network based in Hong Kong, notes these five dynamics of all rapidly reproducing church movements:

1. They have 'fire' - passion, zeal, and international motivation.

2. They write their own songs that carry the movement 'ethos.'

3. They train their own leaders.

4. They publish their own material (books and other media) to pass on the truth and movement story to the next generation.

5. They are relevant - they reach out and meet the needs of the society they are within.

Insightful observations ...

World Missions

The internet has a wealth of information on a wide variety of topics. This includes material that is helpful for those people who are passionate about spreading the love and good news of Jesus Christ to our global village.

I asked our World Impact director, Andrew Chisholm, for a list of the best web sites he uses in relation to world mission.

Here is his list:

The Joshua Project - comprehensive information on the world's unreached peoples

William Carey Library - missions related books

Brigada -a weekly missions related e-zine and networking

Perspectives - a great course on the world Christian movement that runs around Australia

US Center for World Missions - resources and links related to global missions

Global Prayer Digest - daily prayer focus for world missions

International Bulletin of Missionary Research - articles and analysis of missions issues

World Christian Database - subscription database of information on world Christianity

Global Mapping International - research and mapping tools for the missions community

Thanks Andrew!

Melbourne

Here are a few statistics from our beautiful city of Melbourne given at the recent Transforming Melbourne research launch:

• Melbourne is growing by 44,000 people per year. It will become Australia's largest city in the next 20 years.
• Although church attendance is not keeping up with population growth, there are still more people attending church than the AFL (Australian Football League)! Over 1.2 million people attend church during a year (excluding another 1.3 million who attend events such as funerals and weddings) while about 1 million people attend AFL games. About 520,000 people attend church monthly while 360,000 attend the AFL frequently. Over 300,000 people attend church weekly.
• There are 1700 churches in Melbourne made up of 100s of ethnic churches, 22 large regional churches (of over 500 people), and 100s of emerging and house churches.
• The fastest growing municipalities in Melbourne are Casey, Whittlesea, Hume, Melton, and Wyndham. These have the fewest number of churches per population.
• Let's keep praying for our city and the many churches already it in. It takes all different sorts of churches to reach the many different types of people. We need all existing churches to reach out more and we also need many more churches to be planted.

P.S. There is currently 1 church for every 2070 people in wider Melbourne. However, in the faster growing regions mentioned above, the ratio is much wider. For instance, in the City of Whittlesea, there is only 1 church for every 3757 people, in Wyndham - 1 for every 3722, in Melton - 1 for every 3010, in Hume - 1 for every 2654, and in Casey - 1 for every 2338 people. Let's keep looking outside and remember that there are far more people not in church than those who are.

Transforming Melbourne

Transforming Melbourne is a ministry that exists to unity, servanthood, and prayer to see the church become a united missionary movement for our city. Recently, this ministry has been a catalyst for a major research project aimed at giving an accurate picture of the current condition of the church in Melbourne, a metropolis made up of 31 different cities or municipalities.

For the first time ever, the National Church Life Survey results from participating denominations have been combined with additional surveys carried out by Transforming Melbourne. The Christian Research Association research has been added, and all this put alongside the National Census figures to compare church data with the demographics of the city. 

The result is a snap shot of the size, vitality, diversity and trends in the life of the Body of Christ in our city, together with descriptive reports on many vital aspects and ministries of the Church.

The Report reveals the strengths of the Church and something of the great range of resources and the vital support provided for the people across Melbourne by local churches, Christian welfare agencies, Christian schools, health care and chaplaincies in many sectors of society.

There are many encouraging aspects of the report, but the statistics of the Church as whole and the current trends are quite a shock. The good news is they provide a basis for developing effective and strategic plans for collaborative mission and ministry to reverse these trends.

To learn more, consider attending the All MELBOURNE MATTERS report on Wednesday 1st April from 9.30 am to 4.00 pm at New Hope Baptist Church (Cnr Middleborough and Springfield Roads, Blackburn Nth). This is an especially relevant event for all church pastors and leaders from any ministries and movements across Melbourne. Hear the report. Listen to key speakers. Be part of practical Workshops. Ask questions. Raise issues. Share insights.

Click here to register online or here to order any of the research reports.

One Seed

A few years back, one of our church's young adults, Craig Mawdsley, started a ministry called One Seed.

The goal of this ministry is ... "to empower people living in developing nations to overcome poverty in a sustainable way through starting small businesses."

One Seed is now starting to see is not just the meeting of basic poverty needs (such as food, water and shelter) but a restoration of dignity for people - life becoming worth something, as well as a chance for people to dream and hope often for the very first time.

See below for a few stories ...

Why not log on to the One Seed web site and consider supporting this excellent ministry through buying some Christmas presents through their on-line store. This will really make a difference in the life of a poor and needy person.

Thanks forgiving this consideration.

Third Space Conversations (Cont'd)

To follow on from yesterday's post on "Third Space Conversations" ... here are a few reflection questions ...

1. One approach to evangelism is for Christians to invite unchurched people into the ‘first space’. What kind of person is this applicable to? What kind of person may never come straight into a ‘first space’ gathering? What ways could we can make the ‘first space’ more welcoming to outsiders?

2. The majority of Christians spend a great deal of their time and energy in ‘second space’. How can the church better equip them to fulfil God’s purpose for them in this space?

3. Reflect on a ‘third space’ experience you have had. How did it happen and what was it like?

4. What are some practical ways we can become more comfortable in communicating in ‘third space’ environments? [Consider reading Erwin McManus' book "Soul Cravings" as a tool to learning to communicate the gospel in a third space context]

5. What are some keys to them receiving more ‘third space’ opportunities?

6. Church staff spend the vast majority of their time and energy in ‘first space’. What are some of the benefits of this? What are some of the dangers? Is it a reasonable expectation of church staff for them to spend some time in the ‘second space’? If so, how can they create more ‘second space’ moments in their world?

Third Space ... think about it .... then go there ... Jesus is already there :)

Third Space Conversations

Slowly read the following record of the Apostle Paul visiting Athens ...

"While Paul was waiting for them in Athens, he was greatly distressed to see that the city was full of idols. So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and the God-fearing Greeks, as well as in the market-place day by day with those who happened to be there. A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to dispute with him. Some of them asked, 'What is this babbler trying to say?' Others remarked, 'He seems to be advocating foreign gods.' They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection. Then they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus where they said to him, 'May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we want to know what they mean.' All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas. [Acts 17:16-21. NIV]

Here we see Paul engaging in three different spheres or ‘spaces’ while in the city of Athens.

1. First Space

Paul began by speaking to those inside the synagogue. These were Jews and God-fearing Greeks who would have been believers in God and who would have known the Old Testament Scriptures well (note the sermon content in the Book of Acts to Jewish people). He already had common ground with them and was able to connect to them in language they understood from their religious environment and experience.

'First Space’ refers to inside the church community or to relationships with people who believe in God and know about Christian culture. This is easy for us as we have lots in common – beliefs, customs, and language.

2. Second Space

Paul also spent time in the market-place. This was outside of the synagogue where people went about their daily life and work. In this second space there is less common ground. There is a range of beliefs and insider language doesn’t connect. ‘Second Space’ refers to the marketplace – outside the church community, where people live, work, and do life. This is where most Christians spend the majority of their time. The challenge is to connect and bring the good news of Jesus to people into this space in a language they can understand.

3. Third Space

Because Paul was able to build rapport and generate interest in the second space, he was invited to a meeting in another place. This was a place where he had no previous influence and no common ground. He was in another world. He only entered there because 'they took him' there.

‘Third Space’ refers to places and people groups where Christ is unknown and where we can only enter through invitation. In this space, we need to be able to speak the good news of Jesus in language that they understand.

This thought was gleaned from Erwin McManus when he ministered at our church earlier this year. Erwin's book Soul Cravings was written to ‘third space’ people. It starts with people (not the Bible) and then points them towards God. It speaks of the cravings for intimacy, meaning, and destiny within the heart of every human being and how these cravings can only be truly satisfied through a relationship with God.

Tomorrow we'll talk more about the implications of these spaces for our lives ..

The Ripple Effect

In 1855, a Sunday School teacher, a Mr. Kimball, led a Boston shoe clerk to give his life to Christ. The clerk, Dwight L. Moody, became an evangelit.

In England in 1879, Dwight L. Moody awakened evangelistic zeal in the heart of Fredrick B. Meyer, pastor of a small church. 

F.B. Meyer, preaching to an American college campus, brought to Christ a student named J. Wilbur Chapman. 

J. Wilbur Chapman, engaged in YMCA work, employed a former baseball player, Billy Sunday, to do evangelistic work. 

Billy Sunday held a revival in Charlotte, North Carolina. A group of local men were so enthusiastic afterward that they planned another evangelistic campaign, bringing Mordecai Hamm to town to preach. 

During Mordecai Hamm's revival, a young man named Billy Graham heard the Gospel and yielded his life to Christ. 

Only Eternity will reveal the tremendous impact of that one Sunday School teacher, Mr. Kimball, who invested his life in the lives of others.

Makes you think, doesn't it? Everything we do in the name of Jesus Christ has an effect which will be viewed through eternity. 

[Source]

Evangelism for Non-Evangelists (Part 4)

4. Keep the Passion Alive

Priorities can be easily replaced by other seemingly urgent or pressing matters. As we become busy with so many things in church life we can begin to drift from our mission. That’s why the work of an evangelist also involves keeping the evangelistic passion of a church community alive and bright hot.

There are a number of ways to do this:

·         Have new Christians share their testimony with the church. There is nothing more impacting than congregations hearing stories of changed lives.

·         Preach and teach about evangelism every year. Good Bible teaching has a way of heating up important values.

·         Keep a record of important “vital signs” such as people coming to faith and water baptisms. When these numbers stop growing or begin to plateau it’s probably time to stir the fires of evangelism again.

·         Attend other highly evangelistic churches or conferences.

Evangelism for Non-Evangelists (Part 3)

3. Create Evangelistic Opportunities

The third thing that evangelists should do is to create evangelistic opportunities for people. The Great Commission involves both “Go” (Matt.28:18-20) and “Come and see” (John 4:29). In other words, believers are to go and share their faith out in the world and they are to invite their friends to come and see the activity of God within the church community.

The church is not to be a castle surrounded by a moat to keep all of the unbelievers out. Each local church should create as many entry points and bridges as possible so that people can be encouraged to experience the life of Christ within the church community.

Evangelism for Non-Evangelists (Part 2)

2. Equip People to Share their Faith

The second thing we must do if we are to do the work of an evangelist is to train people to share their faith. One of the tasks of an evangelist it to “equip” the entire church to do the ministry of evangelism (Eph.4:11-12). God wants every Christian to be a soul winner. Jesus told his disciples, “I will make you fishers of men” (Mark 1:17). The Holy Spirit comes to give us power and boldness to witness for Jesus Christ (Acts 1:8). The apostle Peter told all believers to “be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give a reason for the hope that you have” (1 Pet.3:15). Solomon tells us, “The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life and he who wins souls is wise (Prov.11:30).

Most Christians know that they should share their faith but often they’re too afraid, they’ve tried and failed or they don’t think that they are capable. Our role as leaders is to not just tell them “what” they should be doing but to teach them “how” so that they gain confidence. People need help with application not just more information. They need to know how to share their faith.

Evangelism for Non-Evangelists (Part 1)

In 1995, I became the Senior Minister of our church. At the time it was called Waverley Christian Fellowship (now CityLife Church) and it was already a large and healthy congregation in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne. As I began my new role, one of things I knew that God was calling me to do was to help our church become more outward focused. The evangelistic passion and effectiveness of our church needed to lift considerably.

My main spiritual gifts are leadership and teaching. Evangelism is not a strong part of the way God has made me. After all, God gave “some” to be evangelists, so not everyone has this spiritual gift (Eph.4:11). However, I sensed the Lord challenging me that although I was not an evangelist I needed to “do the work of an evangelist” just like Timothy was encouraged to (2 Tim.4:5).

Timothy was a young pastor/teacher who was stationed in Ephesus as Paul’s apostolic representative (1 Tim.1:3). This church had experienced significant levels of outreach in its early days (Acts 19-20) but false doctrine emerged within the church and it is highly possible that the evangelistic fervour of the church had waned. Paul did not tell Timothy to be or to become an evangelist (something he was not) but simply to do the work of one.

What is the work of an evangelist? As I contemplated this question a few key tasks emerged: ensuring that churches and believers embrace’s heaven’s priority and have a heart for lost people; training and equipping people to share their faith; ensuring that the churches and believers engages in variety of evangelistic activities; and helping the church and believers keep their evangelistic passion and fervour alive.

Over the next few days we'll discuss each one of these. Today, let's look at the first one - embracing heaven's priority.