We're just in the process of coming up with a title for the newest of our Good Book Guide series on Jonah.
It needs to be short. It needs to be catchy, so people notice and are intrigued. It needs to be easily understandable both in the UK, the US and in Australia.
And I'm a bit stuck.
So, how would you sum up the message of the book of Jonah in a short and catchy sentence? Comments below please!
This is a great spoof video, imagining that a Starbucks branch decided to model itself on a church. It's hilarious, but it's also slightly uncomfortable as it makes us see our church with a newcomer's eyes. I have to admit, there's a chance that I might sometimes sound or act just a little bit like some of these people, without really realising it.
Of course the "tragedy" is that that couple just wanted some coffee. And the coffee branch stopped them getting it, and put them off trying again. If you substitute "to know Christ" for "some coffee", it raises the stakes a bit…
I've been trying to help the children at church understand that Jesus is King, and what it means for him to be King of our hearts, time, friendships and even our pocket money, what it looks like to "seek first his kingdom and his righteousness" (Matthew 6 v 33).
It seems they have been listening.
Last Sunday, when it got to that point in the service when the collection bag came round, I put in my usual smattering of coins. I have a standing order to the church bank account, so my weekly cash offering is just a bit on top.
But moments later, two small hands dove into my purse. Two little girls removed a fistful of cash and put it into the velvet pouch we use to collect money for “Jesus’ work”.
“Do you think that’s enough now?” I whispered, hoping to avoid alerting the rest of the congregation to my emerging fiscal crisis. But no, yet more of my money was removed and given to Jesus. Why? Because he is King over all we have.
My stomach knotted. I wanted to chastise them for taking my cash. I needed it to buy cake and to hop on and off buses so I could avoid walking short distances in the cold.
But as the pound coins tumbled, the penny started to drop. I had fallen into the trap of thinking that because I give regularly to the church, I’ve done my bit. I had subconsciously assumed that the rest of my cash could be spent on whatever I liked without any reference to God. Despite teaching on it, I hadn’t really grasped that Jesus is King over everything in my purse.
I did the maths when I got home. The remaining money is more than adequate for my needs. But the missing cash, the stuff that would have gone on meaningless trivia, is now going to gospel-work. And on reflection, that’s pretty exciting (even more exciting than cake!)
Quick quiz - who is this about - fewer points the further down the list you have to go:
Give up? OK maybe the headline gave it away in connection with the leek and the date. It's St David's day today, so our greetings to all you wonderful people of Wales who may be reading this on St David's day.
As with many "saints" what we know of his life is difficult to weed out from the inflated claims that biographers make about their holiness, miracles and influence. But certainly the deathbed saying: "Do the little things", which has entered Welsh folklore as a popular proverb - 'Do the little things in life' ('Gwnewch y pethau bychain mewn bywyd') - is something we can take to heart.
Do we place too much emphasis on the big things we attempt for God - and neglect the power of the small things? A gentle piece of encouragment, a small act of kindness, a text reminding someone you are praying for them, a Bible verse shared, a smile or a greeting to a stranger or a shop assistant. Life is made up for the most part of these little things. And St Dave reminds us that Christ can inhabit each of them.
Books have a great, and often deep and lasting, impact on people who read them. Good Christian books excite, encourage and equip Christians, and help to bring the gospel clearly and engagingly to "not-yet-Christians."
But equally, a “Christian” book which contains mistakes (theological, not spelling!) can divert, damage or even destroy Christians, and leave non-Christians not knowing what the Bible actually teaches.
Which is why a new book by a popular author looks like it needs a large health warning attached.
Rob Bell, the American pastor who produced the extremely popular Nooma videos, and who is a great communicator and writer, has a new book out this spring, called “Love wins”. Great title, but judging by the publicity, its central message is that hell is empty, because ultimately God will save everyone, whether or not they’ve accepted Jesus as their Lord and Saviour.
It’s important to say this is only the publicity: some people have helpfully pointed out it could just be a brilliant marketing strategy (if it is, then it seems unfortunate to use heaven, hell and salvation as sales-boosting tools).
The publicity video is here: and after watching it, do go here for some Bible-based, honest answers to the questions Bell asks.
For what it’s worth, I find that a helpful place to focus is Jesus’ first words in Mark’s gospel (1 v 15), a summary of His central message. However popular or plausible Rob Bell is, it’s Jesus’ words which must provide the benchmark for whether or not we welcome Bell’s book.
“The kingdom of God is near”.
What’s remarkable is not that those who choose to live without God while misusing his gifts endure life beyond death without God and without any gifts (hell).
What’s remarkable is that for people like that (us) the kingdom of God is still near, reachable, open. In reality, this is what it means to say that Love wins.
“Repent and believe the good news”. What’s wonderful is that anyone who simply:
has a guaranteed, unlose-able eternal place in it. Anyone can be won over by Love, and ask Love to win kingdom life for them.
But the Bible teaches clearly that no one is forced to ask God’s Son (Love in human form) to be their Lord and Saviour. No one is forced to go to a heaven they don’t believe in, ruled by a God they don’t like, loved by a Love they don’t want. That wouldn’t be very loving.
Wiser bloggers than me have commented on the publicity for this book: if you want to know more, check out Justin Taylor and Kevin DeYoung.
One of the perks of working at TGBC is getting a sneak preview of The Briefing before it comes out.
But I must confess that the title of the March issue’s main article, “The lost art of public Bible reading”, didn’t exactly grab me.
The piece itself, though, did. There’ll be more blogs on it soon (or you can just get a copy of The Briefing here): but here’s what jumped out at me as I scanned the first page.
The Bible says to churches “Devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture” (1 Timothy 4 v 13).
And the word “devote” can also be translated “addiction”. So you could translate the verse:
“Be addicted to the reading-out-loud of the Bible”.
Wouldn’t it be great if “addicted” accurately described our attitude to God’s word? Hooked. Can’t get enough. Keep going back. Feel the lack of it if we go too long without.
I’d love to be addicted to Scripture. Unfortunately, too often I’m happy going cold turkey. Sometimes I kick the habit altogether.
But tomorrow, as I hear “the public reading of Scripture”, I’ll be praying that I get addicted, hooked on the amazing experience of hearing the God of heaven, the One who flung stars into space, speak to a bunch of his fallen, flawed creatures.
Can’t wait.
Being a home group leader is really not easy. For the three years I led a home group, I only rarely felt I'd "got it right", and I found it far harder than preaching or leading or one-to-oneing. How you teach the Bible, how you encourage and guide the discussion, how you phrase questions… these are all things learned mainly through experience/mistakes/stumbling across what works.
Now there's a bit of a short cut: at this new blog for home group leaders, you can find some "potted proverbs". Well worth going to if you're a home group leader, obviously, but also if you're a home group member, so you can see what home groups can and should be, and how you can be a really encouraging part of it.
Just a quick flavour of the latest couple of posts:
Here’s a helpful explanation for why the resurrection isn’t automatically ridiculous, from Paul Perkin, once a theoretical physicist and now vicar of St Mark’s Battersea.
Of course, just because Jesus could have risen doesn’t mean he did. Which brings us onto the wealth of historical evidence for his rising from the dead…
That strikes me as an answer which begins where most people are at, and helps people to see that you don’t have to rule resurrection out as an sensible explanation.
You’ll be able to watch Paul’s full answer, as well as many other great answers to common objections to Christianity, on the new evangelistic Christianity Explored website, which is set to be launched in April along with the new CE DVD and books.
If you’re anything like me, there’s an instinctive tendency to see some roles in the local church as “spiritual” and others as merely “practical”.
The “spiritual stuff” is the preaching, the prayer meetings and the latest evangelistic initiative. The “practical stuff” is writing the minutes, printing the newsletter and emailing the rotas round… obvious.
And then God goes and says that administration is a spiritual gift (1 Corinthians 12 v 28). It’s right there in the list with teaching and healing and helping.
Why? Because God knows that if the body of Christ is to proclaim the gospel faithfully, then good administration is essential.
As far as I can see, church administration isn’t designed to be about bureaucracy. At its heart it’s all about helping the people of God to communicate, and ensuring the wonderful resources God gives us are co-ordinated, so that we can all play our part in the extension of God’s kingdom.
It’s “spiritual stuff”.
At its best, good administration:
It’s exciting, essential gospel work that helps bring people to Christ and grow in Christ.
As someone who’s done a lot of admin this really encourages me, particularly this week as I prepare a workshop on administration for the CRE exhibition in Peterborough next week.
And hopefully if you’re someone who does some admin work for your church, it’ll encourage you. Your work isn’t just “practical stuff”; it’s spiritual, and you’re using a spiritual gift to serve God. If you’re someone who has a different role in the church, why not make a point of “encouraging an administrator” every week this year?
After all, church admin is “spiritual stuff”—part of the way God’s people continue the biggest point on any church’s to-do list: to go and make disciples of all nations.
Been working on a seminar I'm running for home group leaders at CRE Peterborough next week, and keep coming back to a fundamental question: What exactly is a home group for?
When you ask a random selection of small group leaders, you get a huge range of responses:
But when you quiz people to find out how they actually spend their time in the small group, you often discover that many groups are given over to what we might call the human needs of the group, rather than on listening to God's word together. They eat, they talk, they laugh (a lot!), they share needs, they enjoy each other's company, they feel supported, loved, affirmed, prayed for.
I think I want to say (as gently as I'm able) that this surely has to be the tail wagging the dog.
In Acts 2 v 42, we read a familiar description of what the first Christian community did when they met together:
"And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers." (ESV)
They did a whole lot of stuff—but the first thing they did was devote themselves to the apostles' teaching. All the other stuff they did sprang out of this fundamental activity—they listened to the authoritative word of God, delivered to them through His chosen representatives.
And this is a pattern that persisted: In Colossians 3 v 16 we read:
"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God."
The first Christians did many things when they met together, but the thing that was at the heart of each of them was that the word of Christ was there, giving shape to their songs, their prayers, even the way they told each other off!
People come to home groups for many reasons. They may be lonely and need company; they may be hungry and need feeding; they may be discouraged or struggling in their lives, and need support.
But what I think my main point at this seminar will be is: if you are the leader of a home group, you need to have firmly fixed in your mind that the way you will meet their real needs is to let the word of Christ from the Bible take centre stage in your time together.
Bacon sandwiches help with the physical hunger, but the hunger in our hearts will only be fed by allowing the words of Jesus, and the Bible's witness to Jesus, to be the menu for the evening.
