A word on the daughters of Zelophehad

Now faith is the assurance of what we hope for and the certainty of what we do not see' (Hebrews 11:1)

The book of Numbers is given that name because in contains are two censuses.  One at the beginning and one at end of the book. 

Both censuses are of fighting men aged twenty years are older.  The Levites are not counted because they did not fight.

The censuses are forty years apart.  By the second census all those recorded in the first census have died, except for Caleb and Joshua (Moses is not yet dead, but he will not enter the Promised Land).

The second census records a slight decrease of the first.  God had intended for his people to multiply, but this had been a stagnant period of time.

The second census is bookended by mention of the daughters of Zelophehad.  They give us hope that the new generation will be more faithful than the last.

These women care about justice, for their father.  He had died with five daughters but no sons.  Without sons his name--and any allotment of land in his name--would vanish.  The sisters mention that Zelophehad had not taken part in the rebellion of Korah.  He was a normal sinner who died a normal death.  God makes provision for the daughters to inherit and for the land to remain in the tribe, the tribe of Manasseh.

The reason that these women are to be admired so much is that they are exercising great faith. They weren't questioning God's ability to give them the land.  they are already planning what to do when they get there.

Now faith is the assurance of what we hope for and the certainty of what we do not see' (Hebrews 11:1)

 

Jesus finds the lost

Robert Robinson was an English clergyman who lived in the 18th century. Not only was he a gifted pastor and preacher he was also a highly gifted poet and hymn writer. However, after many years in the pastorate his faith began to drift. He left the ministry and finished up in France, indulging himself in sin. One night he was riding in a carriage with a Parisian socialite who had recently been converted to Christ. She was interested in his opinion on some poetry she was reading. She read it to him: ?Come thou Fount of every blessing, Tune my heart to sing thy grace, Streams of mercy never failing, Call for hymns of loudest praise.? When she looked up from her reading the woman noticed Robinson was crying. "What do I think of it?" he asked in a broken voice. "Well, I wrote it. But now I've drifted away from him and can't find my way back." "But don't you see," the woman said gently, "The way back is written right here in the third line of your poem: Streams of mercy never ceasing. Those streams are flowing even here in Paris tonight." And suddenly it all became clear. Robinson knew it was true and he knew he had to act. So that night Robinson recommitted his life to Christ. Because he knew that only in Jesus is found the one who came to seek and to save what was lost.

from Matt Bell, Hull.

The power of words in the 'name it and claim it' movement

 

The tongue has the power of life and death' (Proverbs 18:21).

I am at a friends house and I joke saying something like, 'that would give me a heart attack.'  They warn me, 'don't say that.'  I realise that they fear that because I have mentioned the words heart attack I might bring it into being.  To me that sounds more like the modern superstition of manifesting than anything Christian.

It seems that the text that underlines such superstitious thinking is where Proverbs says, 'the tongue has the power of life and death.'  But is that a correct understanding of Proverbs?

Proverbs has a lot to say about how our words can bring encouragement or stir up strife.  It contains lots of practical advice on how we should speak.  But it does not encourage a superstitious attitude to words.  Their is life and death in words because they can do great harm and great good.

Apparently the 'name it and claim it' attitude to words goes back the the New Thought Movement of the late 1800s and was incorporated into Christianity by a Baptist pastor named E. W. Kenyon.  The slogan of the time was, 'what I confess, I possess'.  

What does this attitude say about God?  Is says that we are sovereign not God.  Our words force his hand.  It also suggests that he is far from being a good father.  What sort of God gives their child everything they ask for or allows sickness to a child because they happen to utter the name of an illness?  

At the end of the day the sad thing about the word of faith movement is how it encourages selfishness and greed and undermines the sovereignty and goodness of God.

An Cailin Ciuin and how we view people

Last night myself and the family went to see An Cailin Ciuin ('The Quiet Girl').  It is a beautiful film.  

I was struck by one piece of dialogue.  A man says to the quiet girl, concerning his wife, 'she hopes for the best in people.  Hoping not to be let down.  She often is.'

So, how should we view people?

We are not to be gullible.  As Christians we know about the sinful nature.  We know about it because we see it in ourselves.  We have often let people down.

We are not be cynical.  We also know that in His kindness God restrains evil in people, and enables even those who do not love Him love others.  One tragedy about hell is that this gracious restraint will be removed and human hostility will prevail.  But in this world God enables people to show great kindness, and so we should hope for the best in people.

We are to look in grace.  In grace, God does not treat us as our sins deserve but according to His loving-kindness.  Not only does God restrain the sinful nature in those who love Him, He has also given us the person of the Holy Spirit.  We still sin, but we are being changed.  I am not good at stopping hurts from getting under my skin, but I find that if I find someone difficult it helps to look for where God might be at work in their lives.  Look graciously!  

One day, after this life, the Christian will not be able to sin any more.  Heaven is a place of perfect love.  The church can only mirror heaven as it seeks to demonstrate some of that love now.

So, the Christian is not to be gullible about people, but neither are we to be cynical.  We are to hope for the best in people and especially to look for evidence of of the Holy Spirit's work in those who love Jesus.

  

God may be bigger than you realise

 

This morning I walked through our estate and felt sorrow at the fact that I am not aware of many people here living in relationship with Jesus.  But it later struck me that maybe God is more at work behind the scenes than I realise.  Don’t assume that God is only at work in your small circle.  There are people that we have given up on that will yet come to faith.  We don’t know who is crying out to Him behind closed doors, and He is listening.  Even in churches where the gospel is no longer being preached, people may be to drawn to Him through the simple reading of His Word. 

A few years ago, I was out having coffee with Caroline.  I overheard these women talking about ‘the Lord’.  I went over and got talking to them.  It turns out that they were members of a charismatic prayer meeting associated with a local church.  They really loved Jesus.  Jesus is at work in this city.

When it comes to God working on this island, it is worth reading Saint Patrick’s autobiography.  His love for the people of this island reflects God’s love for this land.  As you may know, Patrick was brought here as a slave when he was still a teenager.  His parents were Christians, but like many teenagers, he does not seem to have embraced their faith.  Yet in his slavery he found freedom in Christ.  

Joseph Duffy points out that his faith gave him a deep inner peace and a sense of God’s love.  ‘His sense of God’s love for him was much more than the vivid imagination for his lost parents; it was a positive gift which reached mysteriously reached into his heart, a gift that he felt he in no way deserved.  He came to love God because he realised more and more how God first loved him.  The very thought of what God had done for him moves him to spontaneous and lyrical prayer.  More than once he remarks that he received this gift in the pain and loneliness of captivity in a foreign land’ (Duffy, 50).

It was a number of years after his return to Britain that God gave Patrick a vision.  In that vision a man called Victoricus was coming to him with countless letters.  Victoricus gave him a letter which began, ‘The Voice of the Irish’.  At the same time his mind was brought to the west coast, and the people were crying out, ‘we ask thee, boy, come and walk amongst us once more.’  That vision led Patrick to becoming one of the most famous missionaries in history.

The God who gave Patrick this vision to share the good news of Jesus with the people of this island, is a God who still cares for this land today.  Our media may treat Christianity as if it has died a fatal death, but Jesus will continue to build His church (Matthew 16:18).  Our God is not reluctant to save (Isaiah 59:1).  In fact, He privileges His people to be part of that work!

Some musings

It's been a while since I have posted anything.  So a few thoughts:

1.  My apologies that I post so many sermons.  A blog is not the best format for sermons.   Blog posts need to be shorter.  It's just that I want to have somewhere where I can access them.

2.  I have realised that if I want people to read a post then it is best to link it to my Facebook page.  But you can't do that all the time.  For example, this musing will not be linked.

3.  It is interesting to see what posts gets most hits.  'Romance in Nigeria' far outstrips the rest.  However, I suspect that those who are landing on this post are actually looking for romance in Nigeria, rather than hearing about how my parents met.

4.  Like so much in our culture, blogs are an offshoot of thinking to much of ourselves and our opinions.  This blog is not immune from such vanity.

One job only Christians can do!

Please don't get me wrong, I do believe in social action. I believe that God, in his mercy, sends the rain on the righteous and the unrighteous, and the Bible says we are to be good to all. I believe that social action is a form of holiness. So the question 'should we do social action or evangelism?' is not a legitimate question, for we would never ask 'should we be holy or evangelise?' We should be compelled to do both!
   

However, I have a concern! I don't think we put enough emphasis on evangelism. You see when we talk about mission these days we often think in terms of social action and not of evangelism. We will cut your grass and paint your walls but we may not speak to you about the gospel. Yes, our actions may speak loudly but we still need to speak verbally. We are a people who have a message, good news to share. We are commanded to teach and preach, to speak and tell. I would hate to think that we would show people our love in many ways but forget to tell them the message of love. I would hate to think that we would tidy people's villages but fail to tell the community about what they need to do to be saved.

     
In a conversation with Helen Roseveare, in the 1980's, Richard Halverson explained, 'When there is an international disaster, all the isms (not just Christianity, but also the communists and the atheists, the secularists and the philanthropists) rush to help. But there is one job that only Christians can do, and that is point people to the Saviour they need. That is our unique privilege, to show people the way to Calvary, to repentance and forgiveness of sin, and the deep inner joy and peace of knowing salvation from the hands of a crucified Saviour.'

The Grace of giving

(The following is a word I am giving to the church on Sunday).

I have to be honest, the reason I am mentioning giving this Sunday is that the finances of our church are not in a good place and I don't want us to run a deficit this year.  But I also want to talk about giving so that you may be blessed.

You will get no shortage of preachers who will tell you that giving leads to blessing but I want to say that giving is a blessing in itself.  The apostle Paul reminds us that it is more blessed to give than receive (Acts 20:35).  But how is giving a blessing to the giver?

Giving is a blessing to the giver because the right sort of giving pleases God and the Christian delights to please God.  But what sort of giving pleases God?

Cheerful giving pleases God.  God loves a cheerful giver (2 Corinthians 9:8).  The Pharisees were scrupulous givers but they didn't impress Jesus.  Jesus looks to the heart of the giver.  He looks for a generous heart.

Not only does he look at the heart of the individual giver, he also looks at the heart of the church.  Because we have a practical need to balance the books we could value the wealthy person who can give more, more than the poor person who can only afford to give a little.  Such an attitude flies in the face of the book of James which forbids showing favouritism to the rich.  Remember that the person who we see impressing Jesus most with their giving was a poor widow who gave only a mite.

So please give so that we can balance the books.  But much more importantly give with a cheerful heart so that you can know the blessing of delighting your Father in heaven.

The intolerance of a tolerant society

I am blessed with some great friends.  In particular I am blessed with the friendships I share with other parents at my children's school.  I love the fact that they have shown such openness to a Baptist pastor.

One of the topics we have discussed is the whole issue of gay marriage.  I have pointed out that I believe that the Bible teaches that sex is for marriage and that marriage is for a man and woman.  Surprisingly they haven't burnt me at the stake for saying this.  Some of them may strongly disagree with me, but I hope they realise that my beliefs are not the result of some personal prejudice.  In fact one of these friends, whose position on gay marriage I don't know, pointed to the intolerance of our culture towards those who don't support 'marriage equality.'

While I believe in the separation of church and state, I don't believe that this means that Christian moral teaching has no place in public debate.  But I will have to post on this another time.  The thoughts I have here are for those who claim that Jesus is Lorcof their lives.

1.  The debate doesn't centre around a few ambiguous texts in Leviticus.  The debate begins with the Bible's teaching on the creation of humankind and the complimentarity of the sexes in Genesis 1-2.

2.  It is not really true to say that Jesus said nothing about gay sex.  When Jesus talked about sexual immorality he was speaking to a people who would have been clear that this included sex between people of the same gender.

3.  Before thinking that it is clever to point out that Leviticus also prohibited eating prawns read some Biblical theology.  The key to understanding Leviticus's relevance for today is in understanding how Jesus 'fulfils' the Old Testament laws in various and differing ways (see Matthew 5:17-18).

4.  I don't think Christians can simply claim that this is not a gospel issue.  The apostle Paul states that a lifestyle involving homosexual sex is incompatible with being in Christ's kingdom (1 Corinthians 6:9-11).

5.  Intolerance is not simply the preserve of those who oppose gay marriage.  Some of the things that friends of mine have posted on Facebook, in favour of gay marriage, are grossly unfair towards those who do not agree with them.

6.  Courage is not the preserve of either side in the Christian community.  It undoubtedly takes courage for a church leader who believes in gay marriage to publicly say so, and thereby receive the scorn of other people in the Christian community.  But it also takes courage for those who hold to the traditional understanding of what the Bible teaches on this issue to speak about their convictions, and receive scorn from people both within the church and in general society.

Love for the wandering

I came across this quote from the Puritan Richard Baxter

Let us then hear the words of Christ, whenever we feel the tendency growing in us to become dull and careless. "Did I die for them and you will not look after them? Were they worthy of my blood and yet they are not worthy of your labour? Did I come down from heaven to seek and save that which was lost, and you will not go next door or to the next street to seek after them? Compared with mine, how small is your labour and condescension. I debased myself to do this, but it is your honour to be so employed. Have I done and suffered so much for their salvation, and was I willing to make you a co-worker with me, and yet you refuse that little which lies within your hands."

Love is all we need? (Glenstal abbot on Saturday Night Show)

The abbot of Glenstal Abbey was being interviewed on last week's Saturday night show.  Brendan O'Connor asked him, 'Do you think there is heaven ... And will we be going there if we are good people?'

This is how the abbot answered, '... The only question we will be asked when we get to the other side is "did you love? How much did you love?" And that is the examination, and that is all there is to it.'

Brendan seemed glad with this reply.  Presumably he believes that he is loving enough to meet God's standard of love!

In one sense the abbot has a point.  We will be judged by the fruit of our salvation, and love is a key element of that fruit.  However, in a whole load of ways the abbot has missed the point.

Firstly, the abbot seems to think that we can make it to heaven without Jesus.  Yes, Jesus showed us the way of love, but Jesus came to rescue us from the fact that we have failed to love.  Jesus died that we may be forgiven.  I am confident that I am going to heaven, not because I am loving, but because Jesus died for my sin (including my lack of love).

Secondly, think of Jesus' standard of love.  He reaffirms the commands to love God with all our heart, soul, mind and strength; and to love our neighbour as ourselves (Mark 12:30-31).  God's standard of love exposes my guilt.  If all you need to do is love, then I am doomed.  I have failed.  In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught that any one who says, 'you fool', is on danger of the fires of hell (Matthew 5:22).

Please don't tell people all they need is love in order that they might earn their way into heaven.  That is to leave us hopeless.  Don't get me wrong!  Love matters.  The love that caused the Father to send his one and only Son to die that whoever believes in him would not perish but have eternal life(John 3:16).  Love matters.  The love that comes as a grateful response, to being loved ('we love because he first loved us', 1 John 4:19).  Love matters.  When we put our trust in Jesus, he gives us the person of the Holy Spirit, and enables us to love like we have never loved before (the fruit of the Spirit is love, Galatians 5:22)..  

Michael Horton writes,

Those who think that they can wrap themselves in the fig leaves of their loving intentions and actions toward God and neighbour are in for a big surprise.  "Just love God and people" is not the gospel; it is precisely that holy demand of the law that we have grievously failed to keep ... Our love toward God is the essence of the law; God's love toward us in Jesus Christ is the essence of the gospel.  "In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins" (1 John 4:10).

Three books

A few weeks ago I was frustrated, none of the books I was reading were grabbing me.  I feel a little lost, and bored, if I am not in the middle of a book that has caught my attention.  Now I am engrossed in two, and have a third I want to mention.

The first is by Michael Horton, and is called 'Christless Christianity'. It an a fascinating insight into the American evangelical scene.  He points to the lose of any sense of the majesty of God and centrality of the gospel.  I find America fascinating, and am aware that many of he trends that start there come here in various forms.  This book is really encouraging me to seek to present the gospel in all its purity.  

The second book is a second-hand copy of 'The Secret History of the IRA' that I picked up last summer.  It would be convenient to simply portray the IRA in a negative light, to see the world in simple black and white.  But it is not that easy.  There were injustices committed against the nationalist community that contributed to the rise of the troubles.  That is not to deny the horror and the barbarism of the violence that was committed in the name of republicanism.

The third book that I am enjoying, although it is not a gripping a read, is a book called 'The Momentous Event' by the grandfather of my friend Peter Grier.  This book sets out the case for amillenialism (the belief that the millennial reign of Christ, in Revelation 20, is a symbolic description of the current age).  I am drawn to this understanding of end times because I am sickened by some of the speculations associated with certain pre-millennial preachers, who sell books and attract audiences with their claims that we are about to be micro-chipped etc.  I find that the highly speculative guessing of these preachers becomes a distraction from preaching the cross and being ready for Christ's return through living a Spirit-empowered life.

Personal opinions

The following are some random thoughts.

1.  The importance of tone

The child of a friend of mine was at a mission.  It was a fairly old style affair.  When he went home he asked his parents, 'why was the speaker so angry with us?'  It was all to do with the speaker's tone.  

2.  The particular to the general

I think that one of the causes of theological error is that we reason from the particular to the general.  So someone has an spiritual experience.  It is brilliant for them.  Then they develop a theology that says that every Christian should experience what they did.  However, God is personal and he brings each of us along different paths.

3.  Make people want to believe

Some people make a reasonable argument but their attitude makes you want to prove them wrong.  Evangelists should present the truth in a winsome way that invites people to further study the evidence.

4.  Beware of enthusiasm

Enthusiasm is a good thing.  But it is not an entirely reliable indicator of spiritual life.  After all the shallow soil produced enthusiasm, but it did not last.  Often churches are most impressed by those who have most energy.  But look instead for character.  After all Jesus said that love is measured by obedience, not just keenness.

The Prayer of Jabez

You might remember the prayer of Jabez, which was made famous by Bruce Wilkinson.  It became one of those fades that our Christian sub-culture is so prone to; there were prayer of Jabez journals, fridge magnets and the like.  However, Wilkinson's take on this prayer was much criticised for learning towards the prosperity gospel.  So I was interested to see that Spurgeon also taught on these verses.

The prayer reads as follows:

Jabez was more honourable than his brothers. His mother had named him Jabez, saying, “I gave birth to him in pain.”  Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, “Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory!  Let your hand be with me, and keep me from harm so that I will be free from pain.”  And God granted his request (1 Chron. 4:9-10).

A friend of mine works in Zimbabwe and was telling us about some of the unusual names that he had come across.  Some people there name their children with English words that they like; he heard of one person who was called 'Crossbar.'  Jabez wasn't held back by his name; his mother chose a name that sounds like the Hebrew word for pain because she gave birth to him in pain.  But her tears were turned to joy for Jabez was an honourable man, more honourable than his brothers.  'To a great extent we find that we must sow in tears before we can reap in joy.'

Spurgeon's sermon on the prayer of Jabez only focuses on the first petition of Jabez: 'Lord bless me indeed'.  I would have liked to know how Spurgeon understood Jabez's request for increased territory, but alas he does not deal with this.  Certainly, Spurgeon cannot be accused of preaching a 'health and wealth' gospel as he spends his time pointing to the limitations of temporal blessings.

Do we feel comfortable asking God to bless us?  What blessings should we seek from his hands?  Why would it be foolish for a Christian to focus their prayers on becoming financially wealthy (see Proverbs 30:7-9 and 1 Tim. 6:10)?  Why is it important to pray with an attitude of 'if it is your will'?  Spurgeon suffered many bouts of ill-health but he could say, 'I am certain that I never did grow in grace one half so much anywhere as I have upon the bed of pain.'  In what ways can family and friends be both a blessing and a snare?  What are the dangers of reputation and fame?  What sort of blessings might we not want (see John 15:1-2 and Hebrews 12: 3-11)?  How does the approval of people compare with the approval of God?  

Spurgeon writes, 'I commend [the prayer of Jabez] as a prayer for yourselves, dear brethren and sisters; one which will be available at all seasons; a prayer to begin Christian life with, a prayer to end it with, a prayer which would never be unreasonable in your joys and sorrows.'  He sees great blessing in receiving God's commendation; how good it will be to hear the words 'well done good and faithful servant' (Matthew 25:21).  'Commend thou the feeble service that through grace my heart has rendered.  That will be to bless me indeed.'  'Other blessings may bring us some cheer, but in Thy favour is life.'

Spurgeon also explains that:

'... anything which helps me to glorify God is a blessing indeed.  If I be sick, and that helps me to praise him, it is a blessing indeed.  If I be poor, and I can serve him better in poverty than in wealth, it is a blessing indeed.  If I be in contempt, I will rejoice in that day and leap for joy, if it be for Christ's sake - it is a blessing indeed. 

Praying with Spurgeon:

'My God ... let me never make a god of silver and gold ... I beseech thee, bless me indeed.  As for these worldly possessions, they will be my bane unless I have thy grace with them ... My Father ... enrich me with thy love, give me the gold of thy favour ... do thou bless me indeed, and I will be content ... My God, bless thou me indeed, for what profit were it, if my name were in a thousand mouths, if thou shouldest spue [sic] it out of thy mouth? ... My God, bless me indeed.  Give me a healthy soul.  Heal me of my spiritual diseases ...'

Christ, above all!

Some people are noted for particular virtues.  For example, we might look at the mother of a lively child and admire her patience; we might be told of a brave voice speaking out against a corrupt regime—like Aung San Suu Kyi in Burma or Morgan Tsvangirai in Zimbabwe—and be moved by their courage; or, we might witness a life poured out for the world’s most vulnerable—like mother Theresa of Calcutta—and be inspired by their compassion.  But what single virtue stands out when we think of the person of Jesus?  The answer is that no one virtue stands out.  No one virtue stands out because he is perfect in all that is good.  No one virtue stands above all the others because in him all virtues reach to heaven.  His love does not stand above his courage; his courage does not stand above his sense of justice; and his sense of justice does not stand above his compassion.  The world has never seen another person quite like Jesus, for all good things are perfected in him alone.

Don't call me father

My grandfather was a Methodist minister in Tralee many years ago.  One day he was walking, in his clerical collar, in the town with my dad and his two brothers.  Two women approached them and one greeted my grandfather saying, 'hello father.'  He overheard the second woman reprimand the woman who had greeted my grandfather; 'that's no father; sure doesn't he have three children of his own!'

  

Four years ago I was taking part in a wedding at Ballinahinch Methodist.  During the week we had a rehearsal where David Turtle and I decided that we would not wear robes.  On the day of the wedding Harold Good (the minister who had overseen the IRA's decommissioning) arrived into the vestry, with his little case for his robes.  Harold was disappointed with our decision and tried to persuade us of the merits of clerical garb.  David tried to lighten the atmosphere by suggesting that robes should be 'decommisioned'.  I surely annoyed Harold by offering him a deal: 'if you tell us where the guns are we will wear our robes.'

I was never a fan of the title and dress associated with being a Methodist minister.  However, it is not only those in the 'four main denominations' that are guilt of clericalism.  Friends go to a pentecostal church where the pastors insist on being called 'Pastor'.

Writing in the Baptist magazine John Samuel gives some thoughts before leaving Dublin to take a job in London.  He warns against clericalism:

We must respect one another (Rom. 13:7) and pastors deserve respect.  But Jesus was against using titles within his kingdom.  'Do not call anyone on earth "Father" ... nor are you to be called "Teacher" ... (Matthew 23:9,10).  I am a pastor, and honoured to be so.  But it seems to me that to accept 'Pastor' as a title rather than a job description is sliding down the slippery slope towards clericalism, with pastors a class apart, somehow closer to God than the rest of us.  Let us follow the command of our Lord Jesus and avoid clericalism and clerical titles.  Don't call me Pastor John Samuel.  I am John Samuel, pastor of ...   

   

Methodism and the Baptists

When you are ordained as a Methodist minister you promise that if for any reason you should leave that ministry you will do so quietly.  The idea is that you don't stir up trouble.  As it turns out the Methodist Church has been a very good church to leave.  Generally, people did not put me under pressure for the decision I was making and sincerely wished me well.  Two kind gestures were the fact that the Methodist minister's meeting (Fellowship of the Kingdom/Spectrum) in my area invited me to join them and the superintendent of the district called in to see how I am getting on with the Baptists.

In this post I want to reflect on some of the advantages of being a Methodist and some of the advantages of being a Baptist.  Please don't read this as a comparison or try to read between the lines.  I am deliberately only thinking of the positive aspects of each.

Four benefits of Methodism

1.  The history.  I am not an out-and-out John Wesley man.  I am aware that he had his faults.  But there is something very heart-warming about the eighteenth-century Wesleyan revival.  It made me realise that the denomination was rooted in real evangelical faith.  It is a history to inspire on a number of levels: there is evangelistic zeal, innovation and social concern.

2.  The broadness.  It will surprise some that a conservative evangelical like me could see a benefit in being a part of a broad church.  But there was an aspect of it which I liked.  I came into the ministry with many unformed opinions and it gave me the freedom to reach my own conclusions with the assurance that difference of opinion was accepted.  Of course I am still forming opinions and an hopefully open to being persuaded by biblical argument.

3.  The letters page of the Methodist Newletter.  This is a guilty pleasure.  But I find the letters page of the Methodist Newletter fascinating.  It is due to the diversity of opinion that is expressed.  There is real back and forth debate, even if sometimes there is more heat than light.

4.  The friendships.  I think one of the greatest strengths of Irish Methodism is the friendships.  There is a genuine sense of family.  Even though I am not a Conference person I looked forward to going and meeting so many friends.  I especially loved the years I did at Junior Ministers' Convention.

Four benefits of the Baptists

1.  The narrowness.  Having just said I enjoyed Methodism's broadness I may sound like I am contradicting myself in saying that I love the Baptist's narrowness.  Now I am not talking about a narrow-mindedness or people who think that you have to have a settled opinion on every issue.  But I love the fact that we share a general agreement on the big issues.  For example, when I talk of 'the gospel' or 'the cross' with my Baptist friends I know that they share my understanding about what is central to the good news and have the same understanding of the atonement.

2.  Low-churchmanship.  Ironically, I dress a little bit less casually at LBC than I did at RMC.  But generally the style of Baptists (south of the border) is contemporary music and casual attire.  That suits my desire to think of the church as being family and the pastor as simply being one of the people.

3.  The friendships.  I came into the Baptist church with 'previous'.  Some of my friends were already here.  There are also the meetings, in Abbeyleix, of pastors and other workers based in south.  I have really enjoyed these.

4.  Open-ended tenure.  This was the reason I moved to the Baptists.  I wanted to have the possibility of a long term tenure.  There is great relief in not thinking about whether you are going to be moved in the next year, although the member's meeting could get rid of me if they wanted (but then would you want to stay in a church that wanted rid of you?)

Five soft sayings of the Old Testament

Normally I am hoping that Leo would come to church, but not that week.  You see we were looking at the story of Achan's sin.  It's difficult, the man is stoned to death with his family.  It is a terrible reminder of how seriously God takes sin.

The service started and Leo wasn't there.  I was sitting at the front.  Then I saw Sam, one of Leo's sons.  I turned and Leo was behind me to my right.  I felt helpless as the sermon began.  I wasn't preaching so I couldn't try to soften the blow.  In truth I should not be ashamed of any story in the Bible.  After all God  is not embarrassed by this passage.  He has chosen to include it in his word.

Sometimes people give the Old Testament a hard time.  They see the violence and write it off.  We might talk of the 'Hard Sayings' of the Old Testament.  But we shouldn't forget two related points: that there are equally 'Hard Sayings' in the New Testament (e.g. Jesus' teaching on Hell) and that there are many 'Soft Sayings' in the Old Testament.  

This post focuses on five of these 'Soft Sayings'.  By 'Soft Sayings' I am referring to those teachings that remind us of God's incredible mercy and kindness. 

1.  The tithes in the Laws of Moses had a feast for the poor.  'At the end of every three years, bring all the tithes of that year's produce and store it in the towns, so that the Levites ... and the aliens, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns may come and eat and be satisfied ...' (Deut. 14:27-29).  

2.  In the rules of harvesting there was provision for the needy.  'When you reap the harvest of your land, do not reap to the very edges of your field or gather the gleanings of your harvest.  Do not go over your vineyard a second time or pick up the grapes that have fallen.  Leave them for the poor and the alien ...' (Lev. 19:9-10).

3.  Immigrants were welcomed.  'When an alien lives with you in your land, do not ill-treat him.  The alien living with you must be treated as one of your native-born.  Love him as yourself, for you were aliens in Egypt ...' 

4.  The Old Testament teaches people to love our personal enemies.  'If you come across your enemy's ox or donkey wandering off, be sure to take it back to him.  If you see the donkey of someone who hates you fallen down under the load, do not leave it there; be sure you help him with it' (Exod. 23:4-5).

5.  In the Old Testament God expresses his love for the vulnerable.  God, 'defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing' (Deut. 10:18).

In some ways I might have been more comfortable for Leo to hear a sermon on the soft sayings of the Old Testament rather than the hard story of Achan.  However, we need the full picture of God.  We need to hear of both his anger and his mercy, his holiness and his grace.

Another thing.  There is a sense that these soft sayings are actually hard sayings for they make big demands of us.  It isn't easy to love our enemies or to be generous.

Take the attitudes to 'aliens'.  I realise that the Promised Land was a unique place.  The land was allotted only to the tribes of Israel.  On one level it would have been impractical to let all newcomers to have a share.  Just as it would be impractical for all countries to have entirely open boarders.  However, new residents were to be welcomed as friends and provided for.

I believe that populations originate from a central source.  Therefore all people on this island come from immigrant stock.  I don't place a huge value on the fact that some tribes have been here much longer than others, it is all relative.  So, in light of the above soft sayings, what do I say to the Facebook friend of mine who regularly expresses his dislike of new residents?  I want to say, 'Remember that God loves the alien in the land, that we are to provide for them, that your people were once immigrants too.'  That will be a hard saying for him to hear!

Pre-conflict

A number of weeks ago we discussed conflict in our Tuesday theology discussion group.  Douglas suggested that there are four stages to conflict.  The first stage is pre-conflict.

1. Pre-conflict.  The idea here is to inoculate the church against conflict.  A part of this will involve regular teaching on themes such as forgiveness and unity.  Douglas highlighted that insecurities in the pastor can be a trigger for conflict.  There is a need to be slow to take offence.  There is a need to foster a positive attitudes rather than negative attitudes.  If someone is obsessed with trivia it may reveal a problem with their heart.  Create a culture of authentic affirmation. 
   
Douglas points a study that about 85% of the people in churches are steady types (S on a DISC test, can be referred to as 'golden-retriever' types).  Steady types are very loyal.  But that means they don't like change.  We have to figure out how to convince them of the need to change. 
 
A while back I gave some quotes from Keller on marriage.

'One of the most basic skills in marriage is the ability to tell the straight, unvarnished truth about what your spouse has done - and then, completely, unself-righteously, and joyously express forgiveness without a shred of superiority, without making the person feel small. This does not mean you cannot express anger. In fact, if you never express anger, your truth-telling probably won't sink in. But forgiving grace must always be present, and if it is, it will, like salt in meat, keep your anger from going bad ...' 

 

We need to foster such maturity and openness in our congregations.
  
Questions I asked others in the group:

Do people find that those people who are most sensitive to being offended tend also to be those who are insensitive and offend others?  Yes.

Living in Ulster

Over the weekend a friend gave me a copy of some programs on Ulster.  There were three on Loyalism, by Peter Taylor (BBC); four on the Provos, again by Peter Taylor (BBC); and one entitled 'Blood and Belonging,' by Micheal Ingatiff.  These documentaries got me thinking about my own time living in the North.

From August 1996 I worked as a lay assistant on the Dungannon Methodist Circuit.  These people were warm friends for those two years and I missed them when I left.  They were almost all moderate unionists.  On occasion I spoke at services in Orange halls, which I thought would amuse my more political friends in the south.  While I was no fan of the Orange Order, most of the Orangemen I met seemed to be very decent law-abiding people.  During that time I shared a regular Friday lunch with the local Church of Ireland curate, the Presbyterian assistant and one of the Catholic curates.  I suppose I saw this public friendship as doing something to express friendship across a divided community, although I can't take credit for initiating it.

Among my friends I would have argued for a very mild form of nationalism, but in reality I was very naive and uninformed in my politics.  I was warned by some people not to preach politics from the pulpit, but in hindsight I think those people only had a problem with those who preached politics that didn't represent their views.  Durimg the tension surrounding one of the Drumcree parades I did speak on loving your enemies, simply expounding verses from the Sermon of the Mount.  I did not mention Drumcree, although some people later referred to it as my 'Druncree sermon.'  I shouldn't give the impression that I was particularly brave or idealistic, in truth I was something of a people-pleaser who did not want to upset anyone.

After three years in Belfast, at theological college, I went to the Upper Erne circuit in Fermanagh.  One of the churches was situated in a predominantly Republican town.  A number of the men had been involved with the part-time police force and had terrible stories to tell of their experiences during the years of violence.  One of the men in the congregation had been shot in his farm yard.  The terrorists would have finished him off but their gun jammed.  One fact that sickened him was that it was probably his neighbours who had tipped off the IRA as to what times they could catch him out of the house.

I arrived with my new wife to Richhill in July 2003.  Caroline felt very uncomfortable about all the flags and paraphernalia that were out for the Twelfth celebrations.  I told her to remember that feeling because people would soon tell her that there is nothing provocative about such bunting.  The church in Richhill was very moderate in its political outlook.  In a new Northern Ireland there was a growing number of communities, rather than the traditional two.  It was great that the church began to run English language classes and, although few Eastern Europeans joined the church, the involvement with new residents helped foster a sense of tolerance in people.

Watching the programs about loyalism got me thinking about my own involvement with Orange services.  I had been influenced by some very decent Orangemen right from Dungannon to Richhill.  These were people who believed that the Orange Order had nothing to do with paramilitary violence.  Yet I was never that comfortable taking Orange services for I disagreed with their reading of history (which I felt was too black and white), am not a fan of fraternal organisations (apart from the fraternity of Christian belief), and struggled with the fact that more bitter stripes of Orangism seemed to attach themselves to their Order's marches.  To be fair I have to also say that some of the people I meet articulated a tribalism that made me uncomforatble, for I did not see myself as coming from their tribe.  I always justified doing Orange services on the basis that I would speak about the Christian faith to anyone, however I also didn't want to pick a fight on the issue.

On the occasion when Richhill village was hosting the area's Twelfth celebrations we decided at the leader's meeting not to allow the mission committee to have a fund-raising stall (for an overseas trip) to sell burgers.  The thinking was that being too closely tied to such an event would make us look like a solely unionist organisation and damage our ability to reach out to the new resident and Catholic populations.  This hurt a few of our members who felt that it said it showed a lack of interest in those from a unionist background.  The leader's meeting altered our decision, suggesting that rather than using a stall as a fund-raising effort we would encourage the mission committee to organise an outreach event for the twelfth (where they would give tea and burgers away along with Christian literature).  However, the people who had opposed the original decision had lost heart.  One friend slagged me off about this for a long time.

I want to finish with that friend.  Mucky is my evidence that paramilitary violence has nothing to do with true Christian faith.  He had been involved in the UVF.  He was 'lifted' and brought for questioning.  He asked for a paper to read and was laughed at.  They did, however, give him a Bible to read.  He opened it and saw Paul in jail.  That night he cried out to God and his life was changed.  Christianity led him away from violence. Indeed when he reported to his commanders that he had been born again they accused him of talking the easy way out.  One of my fond memories from those years in Richhill was having him share his testimony every year when I was assigned a church to visit for 'home mission Sunday.'