Ministry and Faithfulness

 Next month it will be two years since we moved to St Margarets Rd and began our adventure of neighbourhood ministry. How has it gone? I would like to say that we’ve seen a number of people make commitments to follow Jesus but that isn’t the case. So have we failed?

Biblical Study Does Not Equal Discipleship

In the West we have a love affair with information. We believe that the more information we have the more power or wisdom we have to make good decisions, become better people and change things. The Western Church’s approach to discipleship reflects the belief in the power of information with it’s emphasis on preaching the word, Bible studies, discipleship and theological courses where the assimilation of information is central, and with our love affair with “How To” books, online videos, bloggs, sermons and articles and so forth. Never has a group of Christians had so much access to so much Biblical information. If Biblical teaching is the key to discipleship, why aren’t Western Christians leading the way in demonstrating what it looks like to follow Jesus? 

Recovering Discipleship: Growing by Living

The church in the West has been in decline for sometime now. There are a number of reasons for this but I think one of the major ones is that discipleship is misunderstood by most of the church. Unfortunately we the church have bought into a rationalistic approach to discipleship. The emphasis is on teaching the word in the belief that it will lead to transformation. For some time that was my own view. 

Compassion Leads to Action

Now when Jesus heard this, he withdrew from there in a boat to a desolate place by himself. but when the crowds heard it, they followed him on foot from the towns. When he went ashore he saw a great crowd, and he had compassion on them and healed their sick. Matthew 14: 13-14

Jesus not only healed their sick but later fed them as well (Matt. 14:15-20). Even though Jesus sought to be alone his compassion compelled him to minister to the people. It is said of Jesus by some that he performed miracles in order to prove that he was the Messiah. If this is the case, then Jesus performed these miracles for his own glory. He only did it to prove a point and his healing and feeding of the crowd would not have been acts of compassion. 

Gospel Telling: Not Just Words but Also a Life Lived

A few days ago I was discussing with a young lady how we understand the gospel. The point I was attempting to make was that our experiences is what gives us the context for understanding the gospel. This is true not only for the gospel but for all beliefs.  It is primarily through participation in our community, be it our family, friends, or whatever social body we belong to, and the resulting experiences we have in that community, that shapes our beliefs. How they live life is for us the telling of what is true.

What Do They Hear?

When I began to talk to students about Christianity it became apparent very quickly that they held a very negative view of Christians and the gospel. I still recall very clearly the answer two students, one an atheist and the other an agnostic, gave to my question, "What do you think of Christians?" Their reply, "They don't have sex and tell you what not to do". To them Christians and by inference, the gospel, was boring and restrictive. It was not 'good news' but bad news.