The slow nature of Christian ministry
As we head towards the close of 2010, we are ever conscious of the meaning of Jesus' parable: his kingdom looks like a mustard seed. Nothing. Yet we hold on to the truth that it will be seen to be biggest thing of all.
Like our snow-covered garden, our church's progress may seem so slow and quiet. Illnesses, setbacks, people drifting (as well as those coming, and growing), frustrations, disappointments... The world around us carries on in its wreckless complacency towards Almighty God. Jesus is now forgotton from Christmas. The people we want to reach out to are so ingrained in godless ways it's hard to know where to start.
Yet Jesus says to us, 'Take heart! I have overcome the world.' (John 16:33) Paul says, 'Therefore we do not lose heart.' (2 Corinthians 4:16) We look ahead to 2011 with fresh hope and energy, knowing Christ will build his church. We remain joyful, faithful, delighted by the gospel of Jesus, trusting in his providence over all, pressing on energetically with visible results or not.
Church planting the African way
Check this out: it's James Lagos Alexander, a bishop from Sudan. And here's how they do church planting.
So what do we learn from this? It's right to pray for many people to turn to Christ and be rescued by him. It's right to pray for church growth. But we should never expect that to be glorifying to us! Church growth is something God brings about, and if it happens, it won't make 'Wellfield' look good. It won't be so that we can feel nice about it. With growth comes pain. So if we're going to pray for it, we need to know we're praying for God's glory, not our comfort.
As some of us read in Torrey on Friday morning: "Many pray for revival... but many prayers for revivals are purely selfish. The churches desire revivals in order that the membership may be increased, in order that the church may have a position of more power and influence in the community, in order that the church treasury may be filled, in order that a good report may be made at the presbytery or conference or association. For such low purposes as these, churches and ministers oftentimes are praying for a revival, and oftentimes too God does not answer the prayer. Why should we pray for a revival? For the glory of God..."
We've got a lot to learn from the church in Sudan. True greatness is humility, that thinks not of ourselves but the wonderful kingdom of God.
God loves a nobody
Devoted to... the Fellowship
1 Church, 4 Congregations
St Andrew's has changed its slogan. It was there on St Andrew's literature last Sunday, and people immediately asked, 'Ooh [yes, they did], is Wellfield no longer part of St Andrew's?' Well, the aim is to help clarify things for us. Now that Buckshaw Village Church exists, the idea is that St Andrew's is now '1 Church, 4 Congregations, and 2 Cousin Congregations'... but that's a bit of a mouthful. However, it is an opportunity to answer the question, What exactly is our relationship to St Andrew's?