ESV Translating

Quiet Times, Together

Just got off the phone with a minister in a small village in the north-west of England. He wanted to know what's coming up in future issues of Explore—so he can take it into account in deciding his preaching series for next year.

Why? Because when he was an overseas missionary, he realised that the best way to encourage daily quiet times was for a church to do them together. By which he meant, fit the sermon series in with them. Encourage people to talk about them. Start eldership meetings with them. Get church workers to talk about what they found encouraging and challenging in them.

In other words: do quiet times, together.

I'd not thought of this before. It seems a great idea to me. Has anyone tried it in their church, or something similar? Can anyone think of drawbacks that I've not thought of? Why don't churches do it?

And if any church would like to know what's coming up in Explore, just let us know!

Growing Young Disciples 2011

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Christianity exploding in China: Even the BBC has noticed!

God's Spirit continues to do amazing things in China (and the rest of Asia, and Africa)—though it's only rarely reported by this country's media.

But the Radio 4's going to have a documentary tonight at 8pm: "God in China, Christianity and Catholicism". There's an article about the Chinese churches here.

The thrust of the piece is to suggest tentatively that it's not poverty that is driving Chinese people into church buildings (or houses, since most Chinese Christians meet underground and illegally in a house), but economic growth. Could it be that as China sees more and more of the idol of wealth, more and more Chinese realise that it won't deliver… and are turning to the only God who will?

Some highlights:

• "There are already more Chinese at church on a Sunday than in the whole of Europe" (60 million is a conservative estimate).
• "The new converts can be found from peasants in the remote rural village to sophisticated young middle class in the booming cities"
• "I heard people talking again and again of a spiritual crisis in China … in the stampede to get rich, trust in institutions, between individuals, between the generations, is breaking down"
• The state fears the influence of zealous American evangelism … but in many respects [the house church movement] seems to be an indigenous Chinese movement - chrarismatic, energetic and young" (spot the subtle implicit criticism of whatever "zealous American evangelism" is)

All this matters for us as Christians in the UK. Firstly because the gospel is still doing its work in the 21st century, despite those who think Christianity is on the way out.

But second, because one of the underlying assumptions of aggressive atheists and secularists is that religion is for backward-looking, unthinking, poverty-stricken people: not for developed, sensible societies. Which is, of course, why the USA has proportionately far more wealth and far more Christians than the UK, and why it turns out that China, the fastest-growing economy in the world, is also the fastest-growing church in the world…

"I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no-one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb" (Revelation 7 v 9). Looks like a lot of members of that heavenly church service will be Chinese!

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On the road with Proverbs

Just got back from a wonderful holiday with the family, which we have been planning for the last two years. It was a long road trip punctuated by several "mini-holidays" of a few days each - on a beach, in a city, by a lake.

We pondered how we might read the Bible together as a family, and came up with a cunning plan. Some older Christians I know are in the habit of reading a chapter of Proverbs every day - there are 31 chapters - one for each day of the month. So we took up this approach for our daily dose of God's Word.

We passed the Bible around the car (actually - the ESV on my iPhone) and looked at the chapter corresponding to the day of the month. Then each of us - me, my wife, my three daughters - chose the verse that particularly struck us. We encouraged each other to say why it was interesting, to illustrate it, and to apply it.

Result?

A refreshing change of approach to family Bible reading. Sometimes they chose a verse because the picture it painted was just funny:

"An excellent wife is the crown of her husband, but she who brings shame is like rottenness in his bones." (12 v 4). (Prompting much hilarity and discussion about Mum and Dad's marriage - but also some insights for them about what to look for in a marriage partner).

Sometimes they chose a verse because it reflected a real situation they faced:

"Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall." (16 v 18). Much talk of teachers at school that they thought fitted this category.

One thing I did need to keep doing, was to bring us back to the source of true wisdom from 1v7 - "the fear of the Lord is the beginning (or source) of true wisdom." Sometimes it is easy to read the proverbs out of this, the central context of the book as a whole. It is not just worldly wisdom, but describes how we should live under the loving rule of a sovereign God.

Benefits?

Sometimes it was a bust - particularly, when one of us got distracted into inventing an increasingly preposterous story to illustrate the verse. But mostly it was enjoyable, and turned into a good conversation. And it marked a change. Before, our Bible times had mostly been about Mum or Dad teaching and explaining - or answering questions that were posed. Now we were loving the fact that our girls were cutting their teeth on preaching God's word to us - explaining, illustrating, applying - rolling the words of God around in our minds as the miles of tarmac rolled under us.

Praying at the start of a new school year

It’s that time of year again. Many children are about to start a new term, a new class, maybe even a new school. And Christian parents and friends up and down the land are praying hard.

Many are praying for good friendships to be formed. Others for academic or sporting success. A few are pleading for the end of bullying or a greater ability to cope with the many pressures of school life.

But over all these personal hopes and fears, it’s great to take a moment to pray through these verses.

The LORD … established the law in Israel, which he commanded our forefathers to teach their children, so that the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be born, and they in turn would tell their children. Then they would put their trust in God and would not forget his deeds but would keep his commands. [Psalm 78:5-7]

They are fantastic verses that remind us of God’s priorities. So why not take the opportunity right now to think about your own children or the children in your congregation:

• Thank God for his word and for the people who have been faithfully teaching the Bible to the young people you care about.
• Ask God to help the children remember what they have been taught so that they can be confident in his sovereignty, love, faithfulness and power.
• And pray that the children will be steadfast followers of Christ – obedient to his will (and, of course, conscious of his grace when they fail) throughout the coming academic year.