it shouldn't come as a big surprise to readers of this blog that I regularly take challenge from Phil Whittall's blog, called The Simple Pastor.
One of our practical responses to this whole area, probably best summarised in this post here, is the question of how we approach Christmas.
Last Christmas we made an undertaking, to do everything we could to ensure that our Christmas gifts were either charitable giving, fair trade, or charitable shop purchases. NB - Not "Charity shop" as in second hand, but "Charitable" as in - profits go to a charitable cause.
It was quite an adventure really, and we got close, so close, before time, energy and wanting a couple of specific things meant we did not manage 100%, but were somewhere in the nineties.
The Leprosy Mission Shop was an absolute goldmine and allowed us to get a birdbox and 7 different books for family members, with the profit going towards the work of the Leprosy Mission.
The "Alternative Gifts" of cash donations to charities on behalf of those receiving the gifts took a bit of finding, but we settled on World Vision, Barnabas Fund (which has an excellent menu system on its donations page to choose the recipients and finally Tearfund's excellent Living Gifts site which allows the recipient to choose their own recipient of the gift.
And so "Sanitising a well", "disaster relief kits" "irrigation kits", "School books" and donations to persecuted believers in Pakistan, West Africa and Sudan, as examples, were all given. We gift aided the presents to ensure the maximum went to the charity.
Our local fair trade shop provided a vase, scarf and candle.
Two worship CDs from our local Christian bookshop were also added to the present pile.
We then moved away from the basic theme and used a website to buy a couple of funky personalised calendars, and got a few miscellaneous boxes of chocolates.
The whole process really did make us think - and these are the questions it posed.
1) Who benefits from our expenditure?
2) Worse still, who is oppressed by our consumption? Does our happy Christmas contribute towards making someone else's unhappy?
3) What is real generosity? Is it giving people who have what they need things that they don't need? Isn't that just waste?
4) Will our friends and family think we are weird? Or even worse, cheapskates? I was really nervous - but most were thrilled.
5) How can we approach the expense of Christmas and use it to actually bless, share, and model our values about the kingdom of God?
It was a very humbling experience, going out on a limb socially, doing something a bit different and trying to find a way to make our Christmas really matter.
We tried to do it so everyone got something to keep and something to share - a small gift for them and a small gift for the charity.
I have never felt more content at Christmas, knowing a couple of hundred pounds was winging its way directly to charitable causes across the world, while still being a blessing to my friends and family.
As you start to think about Christmas, and think about saving up for presents, have a think about this post and let it spark some ideas for you.
Let's make Christmas 2008 a "Happy Christmas" for as many people as possible.
Sunday, 31 August 2008
Friday, 29 August 2008
Top of the League?
I don't want to sound like I am lacking in faith, but I also wanted to record this moment for posterity should results not go our way tomorrow.
Shrewsbury Town are top of the league!
I wonder how it would work if Churches had league tables? How would we score points? It seems odd that we still use bums on seats as the key indicator of "success".
That means Churches take short cuts to attract more Christians and the Church loses it's focus on the long term mission - to bring new people into relationship with Jesus. Then it becomes about the programme not the mission. Then our people become consumers not witnesses.
The discipleship and teaching of the great commission comes in the context of being witnesses to Jesus, not in how many Christians we can gather on Sundays.
By 5pm tomorrow Notts County could have put a dent in our promotion push. Let's never view other Churches with that sort of competitiveness.
Shrewsbury Town are top of the league!
I wonder how it would work if Churches had league tables? How would we score points? It seems odd that we still use bums on seats as the key indicator of "success".
That means Churches take short cuts to attract more Christians and the Church loses it's focus on the long term mission - to bring new people into relationship with Jesus. Then it becomes about the programme not the mission. Then our people become consumers not witnesses.
The discipleship and teaching of the great commission comes in the context of being witnesses to Jesus, not in how many Christians we can gather on Sundays.
By 5pm tomorrow Notts County could have put a dent in our promotion push. Let's never view other Churches with that sort of competitiveness.
Thursday, 28 August 2008
Don't take yourself too seriously...
This is the moment, where Martin Charlesworth, lead elder of Barnabas Community Church in Shrewsbury, who leads the Borderlands region of newfrontiers in the UK, gets cold baked beans poured over his head by Terry Hotchkiss, one of his eldership team, at the Together@Borderlands event in Wrexham.
This took place at the youth venue, with many teenagers gathered, after his talk just half an hour before in the main venue regarding our hopes to plant many new churches in our region.
From this I have learned three things:
1) Don't take yourself too seriously
2) Always "dress down" for youth events - you may end up covered in something nasty
3) For safety, when working with teenagers, develop a bean allergy and make it public knowledge
This took place at the youth venue, with many teenagers gathered, after his talk just half an hour before in the main venue regarding our hopes to plant many new churches in our region.
From this I have learned three things:
1) Don't take yourself too seriously
2) Always "dress down" for youth events - you may end up covered in something nasty
3) For safety, when working with teenagers, develop a bean allergy and make it public knowledge
Following the herd...
Does this remind you of any situations within the wider Church recently?
Thanks to this website for a moment of amusement.
Thanks to this website for a moment of amusement.
Tuesday, 26 August 2008
Newfrontiers Borderlands
Well then, a weekend away with our newfrontiers region has come and gone.
I'm tired - really tired.
It was a good weekend though, these being some of my highlights:
1) David Fellingham, author of many songs, and pioneer of early newfrontiers worship, coming and joining our worship team, playing the trumpet in the band. It is that kind of humility that makes me love these people. This is a guy with his own albums, with songs that are used in thousands of churches, people like Stuart Townend and Paul Oakley view him in such high esteem, being willing to stand at the back and serve. The seminars he and Rosie led on the family were very well received.
2) Angela Kemm - a female, a social activist and a prophet. Those who like to throw stones at newfrontiers imply the first two don't really exist! Her work amongst the townships in Cape Town was revolutionary at the time and her passion to see God's people be good news to those around through serving the poor in the power of the Spirit is just infectious. She is a prophet not just in her words, but in her actions as well. She is the real deal.
3) Hanging out with guys from Church - I was on site-watch from midnight until 2am the first night and had a wonderful chat with a friend about life. That kind of fellowship is difficult to have when life gets busy - so to just be away, in the quiet of the night, to talk, encourage, think. It was wonderful.
4) Doing the stuff - I shared a prophetic word in one of the main meetings which several people were encouraged by. Then I was asked to join the ministry team on the Sunday evening and prayed for a couple of guys. It is so humbling when the Lord gives you an encouragement or challenge for someone you have never met before and you're so out of your comfort zone sharing it. Then they open their eyes, smile and say "That is absolutely spot on. God has been speaking to me about this for years". To think God can use an "average Joe" like you or I to speak to His people - it still moves me to tears. Angela Kemm kept saying that in the gifts of the Spirit, on the foundation of the word of God, God has given us the "toolkit" for the part of His mission he is calling us too. It is so true, and yet so often we leave the tools in the box and crack on in our own strength.
5) On a Mission - I have known Martin Charlesworth since I was five years old and have seen his ministry develop and grow and to now see how God is shaping a whole region of Churches in a common mission together is really exciting. I can see his apostolic gifting grow as more and more churches seem to look to Martin to take the lead and help them develop. But the whole beauty of it is that it is so voluntary - people want this - they ask for it. There is no pressure, no outside "authority", no meddling - these are freestanding, independent, local churches desiring to partner together and receive encouragement from each other, and looking to Martin to help shape it.
6) The Future - We have only just begun. It is like being at the birth of something. We have a heart for North Wales, parts of Mid Wales and people have started to lift the lid on the Black Country as a possible future Church plant, as well as the smaller towns of Staffordshire and Shropshire. None of our Churches are all that big - only one gathers more the 100 regularly on Sundays, but together we are taking responsibility for our region and wanting to see active mission through the planting of churches based on new testament principles. It is not the "size" or "success" that makes my heart burn - it is the potential. We are a bunch of nobodies from places no-one has heard of, in Churches no-one has heard of, and we are going to work together to make Jesus known to those who as yet do not know Him.
I'm tired - really tired.
It was a good weekend though, these being some of my highlights:
1) David Fellingham, author of many songs, and pioneer of early newfrontiers worship, coming and joining our worship team, playing the trumpet in the band. It is that kind of humility that makes me love these people. This is a guy with his own albums, with songs that are used in thousands of churches, people like Stuart Townend and Paul Oakley view him in such high esteem, being willing to stand at the back and serve. The seminars he and Rosie led on the family were very well received.
2) Angela Kemm - a female, a social activist and a prophet. Those who like to throw stones at newfrontiers imply the first two don't really exist! Her work amongst the townships in Cape Town was revolutionary at the time and her passion to see God's people be good news to those around through serving the poor in the power of the Spirit is just infectious. She is a prophet not just in her words, but in her actions as well. She is the real deal.
3) Hanging out with guys from Church - I was on site-watch from midnight until 2am the first night and had a wonderful chat with a friend about life. That kind of fellowship is difficult to have when life gets busy - so to just be away, in the quiet of the night, to talk, encourage, think. It was wonderful.
4) Doing the stuff - I shared a prophetic word in one of the main meetings which several people were encouraged by. Then I was asked to join the ministry team on the Sunday evening and prayed for a couple of guys. It is so humbling when the Lord gives you an encouragement or challenge for someone you have never met before and you're so out of your comfort zone sharing it. Then they open their eyes, smile and say "That is absolutely spot on. God has been speaking to me about this for years". To think God can use an "average Joe" like you or I to speak to His people - it still moves me to tears. Angela Kemm kept saying that in the gifts of the Spirit, on the foundation of the word of God, God has given us the "toolkit" for the part of His mission he is calling us too. It is so true, and yet so often we leave the tools in the box and crack on in our own strength.
5) On a Mission - I have known Martin Charlesworth since I was five years old and have seen his ministry develop and grow and to now see how God is shaping a whole region of Churches in a common mission together is really exciting. I can see his apostolic gifting grow as more and more churches seem to look to Martin to take the lead and help them develop. But the whole beauty of it is that it is so voluntary - people want this - they ask for it. There is no pressure, no outside "authority", no meddling - these are freestanding, independent, local churches desiring to partner together and receive encouragement from each other, and looking to Martin to help shape it.
6) The Future - We have only just begun. It is like being at the birth of something. We have a heart for North Wales, parts of Mid Wales and people have started to lift the lid on the Black Country as a possible future Church plant, as well as the smaller towns of Staffordshire and Shropshire. None of our Churches are all that big - only one gathers more the 100 regularly on Sundays, but together we are taking responsibility for our region and wanting to see active mission through the planting of churches based on new testament principles. It is not the "size" or "success" that makes my heart burn - it is the potential. We are a bunch of nobodies from places no-one has heard of, in Churches no-one has heard of, and we are going to work together to make Jesus known to those who as yet do not know Him.
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