The encouragement of slow church growth

Don't you love it when you read something in a book that agrees with what you already think?! I've been going on recently about how we've got the worst of both worlds in telling people about Jesus:

• Culturally, people are miles from the gospel. When we read about John Paton preaching to cannibals, we realised society around is quite a lot like them!
• But they don't want to hear the good news of Jesus, because they think they already know what it is.

I've been reading a book by Steve Timmis, called 'Multiplying Churches'. He puts it much better:

"... church planting is a long-term initiative, and that ought to be written into the contract. On a human level, this is particularly so when trying to plant amongst those who have no interest whatsoever in organised religion. In my experience, it can take anything up to three years of building a relationship with such people before there is a willingness to even listen to an explanation of the gospel. From then it can take up to two years before there is a readiness to respond, primarily because they are so ignorant of what the Bible teaches, and therefore of what the gospel actually us.

"While this ignorance may seem to echo to situation the early church found itself in as it expanded into Gentile territory, it is in fact rather different. Today the ignorance is compounded by prejudice. Then Christianity was something new. Today it is 'old hat'. People think they know what it is, and have already decided they want nothing to do with it. It's almost as though having been raised in a country with a Christian heritage they have been inoculated against the 'disease'..." (p.123)

How is this encouraging to us? Well, it's someone else saying it: slowness in normal, and to be expected. Don't panic: out of love for people and trust in God, keep doing what we're doing - with patience.

The ‘Second Generation’ Syndrome

The book of Joshua is a high point in the bible - the people loved God and did what they were told, so God gave them victory. The next book, Judges, spirals into lowest points of depravity - and all by God’s people. It screws up everything.

What makes the change? The opening chapters of Judges explain:

“After that whole [Joshua] generation had been gathered to their fathers [ie died], another generation grew up, who knew neither the Lord nor what he had done for Israel.” (Judges 2:10)

In spite of all the victory and wonders, somehow, somehow, that wonderful relationship the people had with God failed to be passed on to the second generation. You wonder what went wrong. Who was at fault? Did the Joshua generation not tell them clearly enough? Were the second generation just so stubborn? Whatever the case, there’s a very sober warning for us as a church: avoid the second generation syndrome.

It could take various forms. Here are three possibilities:

[1] We could be that second generation. Christians who have gone before us, possibly even those who told us about the life-giving message of Jesus, lived wholeheartedly for him. We must avoid the tragedy of being complacent where they were not, being casual about what they took seriously, being lazy where they worked hard, being cold-hearted towards Jesus where their hearts were on fire.
[2] Our children could be that second generation. It’s so easy for those who have grown up in Christian families to not appreciate the wonder of God’s salvation. If our children take it for granted, it would spell disaster. We’re to keep reminding them of how wonderful Jesus is so they would never forget it.
[3] We could create that second generation. Not just with our children, but with all who we pass on the gospel to - or fail to. We would be at fault if we settled for a casual telling people about Jesus. Jesus himself told us to ‘make disciples’ - that is, followers. In other words, we need to teach people to truly love Jesus, and rigorously follow him. Otherwise, we’ve sold them short of the true wonder of knowing God.

How to read Judges

(See 'What's going on' page for larger image and intro to Judges)

Next Sunday we're starting our series on Judges, which will take us through until early December. Some of us might be familiar with some of the stories in the book - perhaps Gideon, or Samson. But what does it all mean?

I recommended yesterday that we start reading it ahead of each Sunday's reading. Some of the stories are quite long, and it will help if we've already got our heads in them. To save us getting completely lost, though, here's a few tips:

[1] Remember where this is in history.
As chapter 1 explains, this is the period immediately following the time of Joshua, when God's people took control of the land. All the talk of battles, war and enemies is in that context - not immediately ours! We have to remember that they were told to be God's instruments of judgement on the thoroughly evil people already living in the land of Canaan. (Bear in mind God's promise to Abraham back in Genesis 15:16: "... your descendants will come back here, for the sin of the Amorites has not yet reached its full measure.") Joshua's job was to clear them out. Therefore, it can be a mistake to be sentimental when reading Judges, and forget the brutal job they had to do, and why.

[2] Be aware of the structure.
Chapters 2-3 introduce us (as we'll see on Sunday) to the repeated pattern of the book. Over and over, it goes like this: the people forsook God; God punished them; they cried out to God; God sent a rescuer (a 'Judge' - not the wig-and-gown type). After a time of peace, the people rebel again and the cycle starts all over. Spotting this helps to identify where we are in a story. The variations each time round make us ask, 'What's specific for us to learn this time?'

There are 12 judges. In spite of amazing high points, the cycle pattern turns out to be a downward spiral. The book ends in sick depravity.

[3] Look to Jesus.
The judges are often the most unlikely heroes. The failures - and death - of each one makes us look forward to the ultimate Saviour. Each week, guaranteed, we'll be saying, 'Thank God for Jesus!'