Community Transformation

Community Transformation was a phrase I heard often yesterday at the Cinnamon Network Forum in London. (They are doing an amazing job)

No matter what the latest label or buzz word we attach, It was inspiring to be in a room with so many people who are all passionate to reach out to the communities God has placed them in. Here are some of my thoughts that I took away from the day.

• Keep Jesus and his Good News (The Gospel) the main thing.

Without transformed hearts we will never have a truly transformed community. The bad news is mankind is sick with a deadly disease. Its called Sin. No matter what environment we create it in this world our sin will tarnish it. The Good News is that God sent a cure. His name was Jesus and through faith in Him we are part of His Kingdom.

Once in that Kingdom we have many responsibility's but the preeminent one that dwarfs all others is to "GO into all the world and make disciples."

Creating a better life and alleviating suffering (which we should do ) in this life without telling someone about eternal salvation is down right crazy.

• Seek the favour of God before we seek the favour of politicians

In our current economic situation it would seem that the church, although being marginalised and ignored by many politicians, at the same time has the opportunity to step up.

The church and other faith groups are stepping into the gap that the government and local councils are leaving because of the need for spending cuts. Mobilising volunteers to deliver services.

That takes many of us into the political arena looking to gain favour and finance to expand our good works. We must always remember that MP's, Councillors & Party's come and go but Jesus remains forever on the throne. Courting the favour of God is much more valuable than the favour of a political party.

• Release the treasure that God has put in our church

In every local church God has place treasure. They are called people. He has shaped every one of them in a unique way. Each has particular gifts, passion, abilities, personality and God given experiences on purpose to reach into this broken world and reach people for Jesus.

We must help people in our churches to discover this shape and then inspire and release them to radically pursue it with every fibre of their being.

• Radical devotion to Jesus will bring the resource we need.

The Bible clearly states that in the very early church, NO ONE WAS IN NEED. Why? Because the believers in that early church were radical in the extreme. They sold possessions and land to meet needs.

It would seem often our dreams can be held back because of lack of finance. It would seem that at this present time there may be an opportunity for the church to receive finances from the Government. A god given opportunity? YES. But I also believe that God is always calling his people to a life of radical devotion.

You may not believe in tithing but some how I have this belief that if EVERYONE in the church just gave 10% of their income to Jesus we would be well on our way to financing most projects let alone if the whole church adopted the radical lifestyle of the infant church.

God continue to transform me!

Please yourself

Whatever the Lord pleases, he does, in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all deeps. - Psalm 135:6

Please Yourself... A phrase I heard my mum say quite often when I was growing up. It usually said with a little exasperation because yet again I wasn't listening, intent to embrace her words even if she hadn't said it. I was, no matter the consequences, going to ignore her advice and do it my own way.

The above verse drives me to my knees because it reminds me that God, who could always do whatever he pleased, chose to do something that seems impossible.

He sent his Son to die in my place. It wasn't if he had no choice. As John Piper puts it:

God never becomes the victim of circumstance. He is never forced into a situation where he must do something in which he cannot rejoice. He is not mocked. He is not trapped or cornered or coerced.

In fact the prophet Isaiah says:

Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief - Isaiah 53:10

The hardest act of God is said to be pleasing to Him. And Jesus on his way to the cross says: "For the JOY set before him".

Pleasure and joy sit uncomfortably with me when associated with hurt and death. Set by it's self there can be no pleasure no joy. But set in the context of God redemptive plan for all mankind the landscape changes.

Only then can the beauty and "the a fragrant offering" (Eph 5:2) of the sacrifice of God be seen its true context.

The barbaric becomes the beautiful because God was free to please himself.

Cheap Grace.....anything but

Article from Anne Marie Miller that is just too good not to repost.

Cheap grace is the deadly enemy of our Church. We are fighting today for costly grace.

Cheap grace means grace sold on the market like cheapjack’s wares. The sacraments, the forgiveness of sin, and the consolations of religion are thrown away at cut prices…

Cheap grace means the justification of sin without the justification of the sinner…

Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline, communion without confession, absolution without personal confession. 

Cheap grace is grace without discipleship…

Costly grace is the treasure hidden in the field; for the sake of it, a man will gladly go and sell all that he has…it is the kingly rule of Christ, for whose sake a man will pluck out the eye which causes him to stumble.

Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again, the gift that must be asked for, the door at which one must knock.

These are words that could have been written today. But they weren’t. Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote them in the 1930′s – when he was in his late twenties.

This is a timeless truth that we should contemplate maybe more now in our commercialized, diagrammed culture.

This Culture of Honour: Is Reflecting Jesus

Many things challenged and impressed me at the HTB Leadership Conference this past week.

• All the speakers came for FREE. Including Patrick Lencioni, Bill Hybels & Steven Furtick from the states. Each one of them have diaries that are busting with opportunities that pay big bucks I am sure. But also the host of other speakers who gave their time for free to invest into 1000's of lives.
• The incredible stories of people who had faced unbelievable challenges and also presented challenges to society. But Jesus had found them through Alpha.
• A new insight to the depth of spirituality and passion for Jesus in the established church through an Archbishop and a Cardinal.
• The lack of "slickness" in the event. I don't mean a lack of hard work or professionalism. But for example ordinary people just stood up and shared their story in their own words. Raw, uncomplicated, unpolished and unscripted. The authenticity roared through more than any fancy lit music backed video could. (Not that I don;t like video but its NOT the only way!)

But for me the moment that gave me the biggest insight into the ethos behind the conference was shared by Nicky Gumbel on the last night.

The Albert Hall has a few hundred seat which are owned by debenture holders. For any event these seats must be released by or bought back from the holders before any event can use them.

A number of seats of these type are in the Royal Box. So HTB wrote to her Majesty asking if she would release the box for use at the conference. The reply came back that the palace would be happy to release the seats for "our most distinguished guests".

Now call me cynical but my experience in church life that many denominations and well known churches would "honour" speakers, friends and family with this seat of honour.

HTB said they had placed their most distinguished guests in the box. Ex offenders & homeless!

Tony Morgan recently wrote an article about how the culture of honour that seems to be a little twisted in the church of today is hurting us. I believe the HTB team's view of honour reflected a little bit of Jesus!