Moralistic therapeutic Deism

Hi Team,

I'm busy reading a book on how the church in the US has lost much ground to teenagers called Almost Christian and I have seen much of these issues in our own teenagers in South Africa as I have ministered among them for the last 13 years.

The book makes the following tough point that I am convinced is very true: It is not that we've not taught people well, the problem is that we have taught them well, but we've often taught the wrong things. The church has often taught an ineffective gospel, a self fulfilment ideology and a message about faith in Jesus that has no substance, no call to holiness and no real effect in the world.

In short the church has taught a hollow form of the real deal about the cost and call of following Jesus and living for him.

This has been termed by some thinkers as Moralistic Therapeutic Deism and according to 'Almost Christian' it looks like this:

1. A god exists who created and orders the world and watches over life on earth

2. God wants people to be good, nice and fair to each other as taught in the bible and in most world religions

3. The central goal of life is to be happy and to feel good about oneself

4. God is not really involved in life except when I need him to resolve a problem

5. Good people go to heaven when they die

I see this in our PVFC teenagers...last night when I asked them to pray a prayer to God praising him for some character attribute they battled to do it...they can easily thank him for stuff he does. But they really struggled to worship him as glorious, kind, compassionate, great, holy, jealous, perfect, just, truth, light, hope, creator, eternal , immortal righteous, magnificent, all knowing and all powerful God!!!.

It seems that they have lost the language of worship and see God a s needs provider...ouch, that hurts!

So what do we believe as opposed to Moralistic Therapeutic Deism listed above?

1. There is a God who created everything through Jesus his Son and he is intricately involved in all life on earth

2. God wants people to worship him through Jesus death and resurrection in the power of the Holy Spirit

3. The central goal of life is to glorify Jesus and to live for him as witnesses to his power in everything that we do

4. God is sovereign ruler over all things, times, places and people and wants to be involved in all parts of our lives

5. People who live in faith in Jesus go to be with him when they die

I don't want PVFC to fall into the same trap...so let's keep it real – let's give our kids and those in our homegroups and whomever else we minister to Jesus and not half the story of following him. To follow Jesus is a radical life affirming and world changing thing and we've got to help our kids buy into that Truth!

Reveal conference 2

So last week I wrote about the 5 things that catalyze the growth of believers towards maturity according to the Reveal analysis of several hundred churches worldwide. As I work through some of the conference material I will blog on it.

A second piece of important and useful research indicates what people are looking for in a faith community:

1. 87% want the church to help them read and understand the bible better

2. 86% want the church to help them develop a personal relationship with Jesus , deeper intimacy and a more powerful connection to Jesus

3. 85% want a good program for children (for those who do not have children this has a much lower importance)

4. 83% want to be challenged to grow and take next steps. They want to be challenged about being doers of God's word

5. 80% provide compelling worship services

WOW! Does that not just blow your mind!

People are desiring the things we as leaders often want for those under our care so we need to make sure that we provide the means not so much to meet their needs, but God's desires for them (which according to this statistic seem to be quite convergent – thank God!)

Reveal conference 1

The leaders of the church recently purchased access to a conference about some research called Reveal. This was some research done in hundreds of church in different cultures and countries, some churches are huge, some small. The research has been ground breaking in many ways. I will as I work through some of the material blog on some of the important parts. If you would like a copy of the video material please come speak to me – it is really worth looking at if you are serious about the church and your role in leading it.

 

So what are the top five things that catalyze spiritual growth according to the masses of research in the church. What moves people from nominal faith to following Jesus with devotion:

 

1.       Personal reading and reflecting on the Bible

2.       Developing core Christian beliefs (doctrine) early on

3.       Personal spiritual practices (prayer, reflection, solitude, silence, fasting)

4.       Serving in the church and community

5.       Spiritual community and fellowship (homegroups)

 

These are the five factors that most catalyze us to become the Jesus followers we've called to be...

 

May you as a leader be challenged to make these a focus for yourself and may you encourage others to do the same...

What is God doing in the hearts of people...

Being a pastor is one of the most incredible, challenges, frustrating and joyful things anyone can be called to. In one week you can go from the highest of high to the lowest of lows and you learn to trust Jesus for his sustaining power and you keep reminding yourself that this is less to do with the people you serve and much more to with the God who you love.

Keeping Jesus at the front of my mind helps me face many of the frustrations and difficulties that come with pastoral ministry. When dealing with gross sin, apathetic faith and traumatic death, sometimes it is tough to keep going. It is then that I need to remind myself: this is about serving Jesus and loving Jesus and working with Jesus in what he is doing.

So in a pastoral conversation this week I got thinking about what God is doing through the Holy Spirit in the hearts of his people.

Sometimes from up front as worship leader or preacher it is difficult to see what Jesus is doing. Sometimes you can lead a home group or teach a KidsChurch class for years and see little growth. Sometimes I wonder is anything happening here and then in one week I might have contact with five or six people who are really wrestling with Jesus as to what it means to follow him. They desire to live holy lives, they want to make a real difference in the world, they are broken with pain because of a friends continued lack of belief in Jesus. I meet people who are striving to pray more faithfully, read the bible more deeply and be filled with the Spirit more completely. I hear a businessman wrestle with being honest in a dishonest world. A mother wanting to know how to instil godly discipline into her children. A teenager wanting to retain sexual purity for marriage. A bright thinker struggling to trust Jesus in the questions he has, a grieving family calling on God for strength and grace in a time of loss.

From the outside not much changes. We still look the same. We wear the same clothes and drive the same car.

But inside the heart is being renewed and sometimes we miss what God is doing as he transforms the hearts of men, women and children to be conformed to Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit who lives within us. Trust Jesus that he will build this church. He will raise up the leaders, he will disciple the faithful he will save the lost and we need to do what we are called to do and trust Jesus for the rest.

Communication from our denomination

Hi Team,

Here is a letter from Jerry Pillay our denomination's general secretary.

Worshiping Personalities

Graeme Codrington is a very well known church researcher in South Africa and a great preacher too as I have heard him on a number of occasions. In a recent blog post he talks about how different personality types worship differently and how it should affect how we prepare worship. I think this is a valuable tool for the worship leaders to reflect on as we can often get stuck in our own single model.

It is a very worthwhile tool for the preacher too J

Click here to go to the post on Graeme's blog

Dallas Willard

I mentioned Dallas Willard in the sermon on Sunday and he is well worth taking the time to read.

Dallas Willard has a website with some articles and can get more information here

Or you can look at the selection of books that Kalahari.net has by him.

Archaeological discoveries

 A great story of an important archaeological discovery made in Israel in 1979 by Gabriel Barkay and a small team of children who helped him excavate outside the city walls of Jerusalem.

What do you have to believe in order to be saved?

I deeply respect John Piper for his faithful devotion to Jesus and his excellent preaching of God's word here he answers the question of what one must believe in order to be saved

If you can, I'd highly recommend going to see him when he is in Cape Town for the Lausanne conference

Participation and also some news from the elders

Hi Team,

Thanks again for all the work that you do in leading our groups, this is one of our key ministries and I want to encourage you to keep discipling those under your care towards Christian maturity. Please can you read this mail to your members when you meet this week as there are a couple of things worth discussing and a couple of things I'd like your feedback on.

Participation:

I have been thinking about some of the things that I have most enjoyed about being part of a homegroup. And yes even as the pastor of the church I have found enormous personal value in being part of a group over the years. The thing that I have gained most is hearing other people's views, opinions and interpretations – it's forced me to think outside the box and I have learned much from those with whom who I have shared time with in the five or six groups Marisa and I have been part of.

But participation does not always come easily to all, some are shy and others are withdrawn and it takes time and some deliberate strategy to achieve this important facet of the group. Here are some ideas that have helped the groups I have been part of:

1.       Prayer: One of the ways that everyone in the group can and should participate is in public prayer. When you open the evening have an opportunity to give praise to God for who He is or to give thanks for what He has done and expect and encourage everyone to pray some short prayer even if it is just a few words.

At the end of group you should have some time of prayer for each other's needs and other issues that you need to pray for. Encourage everyone to pray.

I'll be straight: I don't buy the "I am shy" thing. If we are regularly spending time with Jesus on our own even with shyness we should be able to speak to him publically, even shy people speak to their spouse in public after all – should it be different with Jesus...pretty certainly not, I think J

2.       Spiritual Gifts: It is easier to get people to participate when you know what they are good at doing. Getting someone with no teaching/leadership giftedness to lead the group bible study will probably not work well, but they can serve the group in other ways. Please ensure that your group have ALL done the spiritual gifts profile (attached to this mail) and then use their giftedness in the group. Please ensure that Gillian gets a copy of the gifts

3.       Give each person a task: Prepare the meal if your group eats together or bring some snacks. Get them to read a bible passage or ask them for comment on something someone else has said. Help them to be a participant and not just an observer

4.       The Lords supper: Jesus says that whenever we break bread as a community we remember him and his death and resurrection. The Lords supper should form part of every groups ministry on a regular basis. Wine or grape juice and a slice of bread is all you need and you should read the passage in 1 Corinthians 11:23-26. This meal is one of the ways that we participate together and are reminded that we are the church for whom Jesus died. Please speak to me if you have any questions about this

I believe that participation is of central importance because otherwise we easily become passive consumers of 'Christianity' instead of growing participators in Jesus community...and there is a big difference. We're not creating social dinner clubs. We're creating Spirit filled families of people who are becoming fully devoted followers of Jesus!

Session: Some updates on what the elders have been debating through over the last weeks:

We've had some questions asked about the new building and the expense of it. Much of this was triggered by the 9 Million Rand budget mentioned briefly of at the congregational meeting. It is a lot of money but there are no options for other facilities in the area. We've made sure we've worked to the most cost effective model we can whilst still retaining functionality and some aesthetic beauty. The elders debated this again and are unanimously convinced that we are following God's plan and that this building will bless the church in this valley for generations to come. We will be working as cost effectively as possible and will use every possible means to reduce the building costs.

The elders are also busy working together to define for PVFC what the closed handed issues of the faith are that we expect leaders of the church to believe in. Much debate has been passed to and fro about the work of the Holy Spirit, the nature of God, human sin and the importance of the cross. As leaders oversee and train those under their care, they need to be certain of what they believe and we want a statement of what the core beliefs are. Please talk to your group about this and give us some feedback as to what you believe are the non-negotiables of our faith for leaders to adhere to?

The elders have also been talking about some of the pastoral issues we face and one of the most serious is the financial situation some of our members and their families find themselves in. We have at least 4 different individuals who are currently unemployed and most of them are the breadwinners for those homes. It is a tough nut to crack and we are providing meals for a number of people to at least ease their basic physical requirements. But there are deeper issues as to how we long give term help these families. Financially it is impossible with our current resources to sustain a family who have suddenly lost a couple of hundred thousand Rands worth of annual income, and we are not sure how we can practically make a difference. We're asking you to please keep these people in your prayers and we'd love feedback as to what you think we as a church should corporately do about this. Please give this some serious thought and prayer.

Keep the faith. Love the lost. Care for the poor. Train the faithful. Proclaim Christ crucified, dead, buried and raised to life!

Blessings,

B

Leadership comm 12

Hi Team

 

Spending time with one of the worship leaders this week and a gain in a similar conversation with a colleague yesterday I was again reminded myself of the immense privilege and responsibility of leading and teaching people about Jesus love for them. I am constantly challenged myself by what to say and what not to say, and what is important to know and what is less so. Here are a couple of points that I've found helpful:

 

1.       Don't be apologetic about your faith – Jesus died to save us from sin, that is not a cause for embarrassment but a cause for celebration!

2.       Don't be tempted to water down the truth about Jesus to appease people who think differently – Jesus is the way the truth and the life (John 14:6) and there is no other name given under heaven by which we might be saved (Acts 4:12), that is what the bible teaches us, and it's what we believe

3.       Be gracious in your speech (Col 4:6) so that those who interact with you find you easy to be with and will find Jesus accessible because of who you are. Remember it is as if God is making his appeal through us (2 Cor 5:20)

4.       Lead confidently, God has put you in this position to lead, guide, bless and encourage his sheep – lead with diligence and zeal (Rom 12:8)

5.       Care for those whom you lead and learn by grace and the Spirit's transformation of your heart to be a person of compassion and mercy, grace and truth (Eph 5)

 

Blessings,

Brent