A new creation

All Saints Methven has just launched it's newly created website. Our good friends at safi made it for us, and were excellent and doing everything we were after. It's got all the usual guff of a church website, but one thing I'm keen to do, given the number of tourists and travellers we get through here, is to have a very strong links page. That is, I'd love to be able to recommend churches all around the world, so no matter where people go after Methven they are able to find a solid church where they'll be welcomed and hear the Scriptures faithfully proclaimed. To that end, if you know of any such churches, particularly in traveller-heavy places, or places off the beaten track, I'd love to get their details from you. Also, if you have a church, or are part of a church, please consider popping us on your links page, so that when your people come here to ski or just visit this beautiful part of the world, they know where they can find family.

A questionable day?

Amanda and I have been away on holiday for the past week, hence the dearth of posts. We got back a couple of days ago, and have been straight back into it all.

Particularly today, when I feel that I have made it as a small town minister. For today I judged the local Catholic school's speech competition. 5 year olds through to 13 year olds. 'Speeches' (and I use that word loosely) ranging in topic from the evils of animal testing to why league is better than union (that kid won - he was brilliant). Mums and Dads popping in to see their kids speak, and the kids themselves urging each other on. it was beautiful - just like you imagine a small town school to be.

Now some of you may mock. Some of you may have questions about this. Some of you may question my use of time in doing this. Some of you may say 'that wasn't gospel ministry'. 'That wasn't the ministry of prayer and the word.' Some of you may question why I, a good, some would say uberconservative evangelical, was going into the Roman Catholic School at all. Wasn't this taking time away from the minister's 'core business'? Couldn't I have been spending time on sermon preparation, visiting, evangelism? Fair questions.

But at the end of the competition I was asked by the principal to give the kids a few pointers on how to speak in public. I asked her if there was anything that she particularly wanted me to get across, and she said 'not particularly, why don't you tell them that while we tell the good news about Jesus in lots of different ways, being able to speak it clearly in public is very important, and this speech competition gives them practice in that.' So I stood up and said some nice things about public speaking, and reminded these 30 or so kids, and the 8 or so parents, and the 6 or so staff about the gospel. That Jesus died for us and offers us forgiveness when we put our trust in him.

A questionable use of time? I don't think so.

Hope

The latest offering in the All Saint's Methven parish magazine.

There’s not a lot good on TV these days. And by that I don’t just mean that there’s no sport on pauper-view, nor that it’s all reality shows and so on. But there just isn’t a lot of good around. There’s not a lot of good news, not a lot of hope. Everything is rising – violent crime, petrol prices, living costs, floodwaters in the US, the number of atrocities in Zimbabwe. Everything is rising. Well, everything except wages!

There is very little hope. Last week as we worked our way through the book of Genesis in our Sunday sermons, we came to Genesis 3 – what is known as the Fall. And there we learnt why the world is the way it is – humanity has disobeyed God – and as a result the world is disordered. We call that sin. Things are not as they should be – they’re not as they were made to be. But knowing that doesn’t really help us a lot. Knowing the name of the disease you have doesn’t take the sickness away.

So where is hope? Or is the world without hope, and we should try and just minimise the hopelessness we feel in any way that we can? The message of Christianity is fundamentally one of hope. It is a message that God has stepped into the mess of the world, and has dealt with the cause of it. In the person of Jesus, and most perfectly in his death, God has conquered sin and reordered the world. The resurrection is tangible and permanent proof of that hope – that sin has been conquered, death has been defeated, and that those who commit themselves to Jesus are guaranteed rightly ordered life. The hope is that because God has done that in the cross, he will bring it to full completion when Jesus returns.

Brilliant, I hear you say. More pie in the sky when you die. Yes it is. But before the pie in the sky when you die there is steak on your plate while you wait. Belief in Jesus doesn’t take away rising fuel prices. It doesn’t take away the stress and difficulty that financial hardship brings to a family. It doesn’t mean an immediate end to pain, suffering, stress, sickness and feelings of despair. But it does offer an entirely new perspective on those things. Hardships are not to destroy us but test us. God uses tough times to draw us closer to him – to refine and strengthen our faith. We can look on these things as opportunities, for we know that they are only temporary compared to the hope we have in Jesus.

Faith in Jesus – the Christian hope – also validates the feelings of hopelessness we can have. It’s not wrong that we look at the world and are filled with despair, for things are not right – they are not the way they should be. We don’t just see pain and suffering in the world and ignore it – we grieve as well. Not just for the specific situation, but also for the travesty of sin which has marred God’s good world.

Lastly, we find the steak on our place while we wait at church. For the church is Jesus’ body – we are his people – his family. And Jesus works through his church by his Holy Spirit for the good of his people. In church (and by that I mean not only what happens on a Sunday morning, but more properly the people who have committed themselves to Jesus and therefore to each other) you will find help, if you need it. You will find a listening ear if you just need to vent. You’ll find financial help if this month things are just stretched too thin. You’ll find someone who can take your kids for an afternoon just so you can get a rest. You will hear encouragement to keep on trusting in Jesus even in the midst of the hardships you are going through. You will find other people who are like you – people who are struggling to live faithful lives in this world as they wait. And together we can help each other.

Hope. There isn’t a lot of it around these days. But there is in Jesus. Come to him. Come to his people. And hear and see and experience the hope that he offers. (image: vagabondish.com)

Fun in the snow

Church went ahead this morning, and, aptly, we preached on the majesty of God in creation and the power of his creative word. Then we went out and executed snowpeople.

The future of our church...

... is looking pretty bleak. Well, for tomorrow at least, as I'm not sure many will be able to get there. Because of this:




6 centimetres and still falling. But GREAT for the mountain!

The horns of a dilemma

Here's the problem. Tomorrow is Trinity Sunday. And the Book of Common Prayer requires us to say the Athanasian Creed. But the Athanasian Creed is very long, and has the phrase 'touching his manhood', which the four teenage boys who sit in the front row are not going to be able to say without cracking up. And yet it is a brilliant creed, and given that I am preaching on the Trinity it would be helpful. So we're going to say it, but I fear it may put people off the great truths of the Trinity more than help them discover them. We'll wait and see. Oh, and I also can't be shown up by a Baptist. See here.

Yesterday in Methven

Thanks for your prayers. The sermon wasn't as bad as it could have been, although one of the key ladies in the church brought her (non, or at best extremely nominal) husband and two grown daughters along - they shot through straight away afterwards, so it will be interesting to find out what sunday lunch conversation in their house was like! One of the key guys in the church said he thought I handled it well, but wondered if I was a bit soft at points. I think he's probably right. And let me tell you that is the worst comment I have ever received in any form of ministry.

The AGM was fine - no surprises, no dramas, and a new year ahead. Let's get on with it.

Today in Methven...

I'd value your prayers today. I'm off to church to preach on Ephesians 5:21ff - the 'submit' bit. Not only is it a difficult passage in terms of the culture's approach to issues of equality, I also think it is just a plain terrible sermon! I just don't like it, and despite have quite a few cracks at different approaches nothing seemed right, and what I've got really feels like the best of a bad bunch. Nevertheless, it is still God's word, they are God's people who hear it, and if God could speak through a donkey once he can do it again.

We've also got the annual general meeting afterwards. I have to present a report, as well as there being elections for vestry (essentially parish council - similar in some respects to a group of elders). I don't think that there is going to be anything contentious (apart from the murmuring about my sermon), but I would still value your prayers for good government in the church and unity in the plans for the year ahead. Thanks

ANZAC Day

I've been asked to lead and speak (for three minutes!) at the Methven ANZAC day service. ANZAC day is not as big a thing here as it is in Australia, although it is swiftly growing in recognition and significance. I thought I'd post what I'm planning on saying (after readings from John 14:27f and Rev 21:1-5). I want to point to Jesus death, show what it means, and leave people thinking, without being so overt that they turn off (remember, this is a very public service, and the vast majority of people who come aren't church members). Any thoughts, suggestions, etc. are welcome (well, the positive ones are, the negative ones I'll just have to listen to and live with). Let me know what you think. (photo: abc.net.au)

We meet together this morning to remember those who have served and given their lives in the protection of our country.

For many of us this is a very personal time, as we remember fathers, uncles, grandfathers who have given their lives. I remember my grandfather who served and was injured at Gallipoli. We remember their courage, their service, and their commitment to offer even their lives to secure peace and freedom.

And yet as we remember we can’t help but also question. For we remember the countless men and women who served, who fought and bled and died for peace, and yet that peace was so fleeting. Only 20 years after the great war, the so called “war to end all wars”, the world was again ravaged by global conflict. And since then a decade has not gone by where brave men and women, brave New Zealanders have given their lives in the service of their country – given their lives in the pursuit of peace.

And so we question when that peace will come. When will wars cease? When will there be peace that lasts longer than the time it takes for ink to dry on a treaty, or a tear to dry on a cheek. When? When will we know such peace?

But as we question, we find hope in remembering. Remembering not the countless men and women who have died, but one man who told us that we could have peace. We remember one man who gave his life not for a passing, fleeting peace, but for a perfect, eternal peace. A peace between us and God. We remember a man who died not on a battle field, or in a hospital, or in the arms of his mate, but alone, condemned on a cross. A man who willingly gave his life in the service of others, to secure for them a peace which will never end. A peace which reconciles them to God. A peace which forgives them for their rebellion against God. A peace which is available to anyone who commits themselves to their divine commanding officer.

Has this peace which Jesus offers stopped bloodshed? Not yet. Has this peace which Jesus offers meant an end to the hatred in our cities? Not yet. Is this peace which he offers certain. It is. It’s certain because the one who raised Jesus from the dead has promised that there will be a day of peace. A day when those who have committed themselves to Jesus find themselves face to face with their commander. A day when war will be unknown, when there will be no more death, or mourning or crying or pain. There will be peace – a greater peace than the world has ever known.

So today we remember. We remember those who gave their lives for the peace we now enjoy. And we remember him who offers us an eternal peace which we can enjoy forever.

Somewhat depressing.

We continued today at church working our way through Ephesians - the text this morning being Eph 4:1-16. For me this is one of the most programmatic texts for evangelical ministry, and I preached it with all I had in me. God's word equips God's people for God's work. Catchy, I thought.

As usual, I came down from the pulpit absolutely exhausted, but pushed on with prayers, and communion, and greeting new people and so on (no staff teams here!). And observed afterwards the most enthusiasm that I have seen since we arrived here. Enthusiasm for the sermon? No. Enthusiasm for the unity that we have in Christ (another major theme of Ephesians that we've been pushing over the past weeks)? No. Enthusiasm for the new coffee plungers that I bought this week that were producing (for the first time, I might add), real coffee at church. Somewhat depressing? What do you think.

But then I get home, and see that a group of guys in the UK who pray for the work here in Methven have sent through this (arriving at exactly the moment I stepped out the pulpit, if you're into that kind of thing):

...Rico [Tice, at the London Men's Convention] spoke of 2 Cor 4:1-6 as his job description today. I pray we all, especially those somewhat isolated physically in small NZ towns, will not lose heart but boldly proclaim the message we've been given...

Somewhat depressing? Hardly. In God's grace he uses his people just when we need it. And so in light of God's word, we'll keep at it. Month in, month out. In season and out of season. Setting forth the truth plainly and trusting that God will feed his people not only with good coffee (now), but also with his timeless and perfect word which will equip them for their service of each other and him.

Things you don't find in Newtown

Doing a bit of gardening on a Saturday afternoon, and in the space of 9 minutes collected a large bowlfull of potatoes. Boiled them up with a bit of mint, served them with salt and pepper and a dash of butter - never tasted better (sorry Mum). In all seriousness, there is something wonderful about being about to take food from your garden and twenty minutes later have it on your plate. God certainly did make this world well.

Forgetting Easter

Another tasty morsel from the parish magazine...

Easter has been and gone. For many of us the signs are strewn around the house – Easter egg wrappers, other signs of a long weekend, or maybe hyperactive children still coming down off their sugar highs. But over time Easter will pass away and we’ll look forward to what is coming up this week, this month, for the rest of the year. This isn’t a bad thing – we can’t live lives that refuse to deal with the present and only focus on the past. But as Christians, we live present lives that are permanently affected by the past.

We have just celebrated Easter, and will do again next year, but in the days in between out lives will be affected by Easter. The Bible says that if Christ has not been raised, our faith is futile – we are still in our sins (1 Corinthians 15:17). The fact that Jesus died and rose again affects us because by believing in Jesus we are united with him – united in his death where our sins are dealt with. And united in his resurrection, where we are given new life. And it is that new life which we now live. It’s that new life which we lived on Easter Sunday, the same new life we live today, and the same new life which we’ll live sometime in October (and all the days in-between). Because we are united by faith to Jesus who has risen from the dead, our lives are now different.

That means that we don’t just ignore Easter – ticking it off as another event on the church calendar which we’ll come back to next year. We look forward to this week, this month, this year because we live each day united with Jesus in his resurrection. There is a confidence in all we do, because we know that we have been made spiritually alive. There is a purpose to our lives, because as we work on the farm, mind the children, visit the grandchildren, we do so as people who are playing a part in God’s universal plan. We do so as people who have been joined to God’s Son, the king and ruler of all we see. We do so as people who are on their way to heaven, and who are urging others to join us. For, as God says, if only for this life we have hope in Christ, then we are to be pitied more than all people (1 Corinthians 15:19).

Degrees of Change

Come and live in Methven.
On Wednesday it was 34 degrees.
Today the forecast maximum is 13.

Following the Leader

This month's comment in All Saint's parish magazine.

Many of you will no doubt have seen and heard the media reports regarding the nomination of our new bishop. The process is meant to be confidential until the wider church in New Zealand has had a chance to confirm the nomination and the person is formally invited to accept the position. This has meant that some of the reports are a bit loose with the facts, and as a result some folk have expressed their concern about what the future holds. Change always brings worries – we like the status quo, we’re happy where we are, etc. But my purpose is not to dispel those worries by telling you about our new bishop (I’m not allowed to!). Rather, let me remind you as we move forward that the church is not run by a minister, by a bishop, or even by the vestry! Our church is, always has been, and always will be run by her Lord, Jesus Christ.

The Church is made up of people – normal people like us – who have been called by God and saved by his Son. And it is because Jesus has made us Christians, because he has made us his church, that we, and therefore the church, belong to him. The bible uses great language of us being bought by Jesus, being redeemed by Jesus, being married to Christ, being the body of Christ. This means a number of things.

Firstly, Jesus will care for his church. Speaking to his apostles, Jesus declares that the gates of hell will not prevail against his church. The history of the church shows us that this is true. Even in parts of the world where the church is physically attacked, Christ cares for his church – nurturing and growing it by his Spirit through his word. This makes sense, of course, when we remember that the church is spoken of as Jesus’ own body. To quote Paul – ‘no one ever hated his own body, but he (or she) feeds and cares for it, just as Christ does the church’ (Ephesians 5:29). Jesus cares for us, his body. He will always care for us, and we entrust ourselves to his care.

Second, Jesus will get his church home. As Christians we have been made for a relationship with Jesus, and God is bringing us to heaven where that relationship will be made perfect. We have confidence that God is working towards that purpose, and confidence that we will reach that goal. We believe God when he says that he works everything for the good (that is, the accomplishment of God’s big plans) of those who love him. No matter what happens to us – in our personal lives or in the wider denomination, we trust that God has got things under control and is working towards that big goal – getting his church home.

Lastly, because the church is Jesus’ church, his body, we are loyal to Jesus. Only he has bought us, only he truly cares for us, only he is bringing us home to be with him. No person, no structure, no institution commands the same loyalty from us as Jesus does. He is king of king and lord of lords, and our first allegiance must always be to him and his ways. If we stick to him, we’ll be right.

A new bishop will bring change – I’m hopeful that much of it will be good for us. But a new bishop also changes nothing – as those with faith in Christ we have always been his people, always been loved by him, always been cared for by him, and will always be loyal to him.

Ordination IV

Another of the questions asked of me was:

Will you so live the gospel that you challenge us with the demands of love?

Sure, I thought. What's the problem with this one - just live the Christian life. No difference here between me and anyone else who trusts in Jesus.

Now that's true, of course, but I've come to realise that in a small town, 'the vicar' (although I'm not!) is always on view. At the shops, as people walk past our front yard and see me playing with the kids, and especially on the golf course, I'm on view. I'm a walking billboard for our Saviour and for the church here in Methven. And therefore what I do and say, even on my day off, even when I'm having a bad day (or a bad round) is seen as a representation of the gospel. And while that is, to be honest, pretty scary, it is also incrediblypowerful. I have an opportunity to declare grace, love, compassion, honesty to a town who will immediately associate what I do with what Christianity is - with what the gospel does in people's lives.

Will I do it?

I will. God give me strength and humility

Ordination III

Part of my ordination required me to agree to a number of statements. Some of my more ‘independently’ orientated friends had me on about these afterwards! One point of contention was me agreeing to this statement:

Do you hold to the doctrines of the faith as this Church understands them?

The suggestion was that I was agreeing to believe the doctrines of the church solely because they were the doctrines of the church. If this were the case then it might be problematic. Exegesis, of course, comes to our rescue.

First, exegesis of the liturgy. The statement quoted above was the second I agreed to. The first was this:

Do you believe that the Bible contains all that is essential for our salvation, and reveals God’s living word in Jesus Christ?

The doctrines of the Church are grounded in the Bible. The ‘the faith’ of the second statement refers to that which is found in the Scriptures upheld in the first statement. ‘The faith’ could be epexegetically translated as ‘the faith revealed in the Scriptures’.

Second, exegesis of the Scriptures themselves. In 2 Timothy Paul urges Timothy to identify and equip men to carry on the work of gospel proclamation. In 2 Timothy 2:2 Timothy is urged to entrust ‘the things you have heard me say’ to reliable men. There is meant to be a progression of teaching throughout time in the church (for part of what these 'reliable men' is to do is pass on to other reliable men that which was passed on to them). And this teaching is described a few verses earlier as conforming to the pattern of u`giaino,ntwn lo,gwn – sound words, or correct, or well grounded words. u`giai,nw is used 8 times in the pastorals and every time it refers to sound teaching, sound faith, or sound words – that is, sound doctrine. Sound doctrine, grounded in scripture, is to be held, believed, and passed on by the church (those reliable men). I think that the 39 Articles are a good articulation of u`giaino,ntwn lo,gwn – maybe not as good as the 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith, but then, on this side of glory, we live in an imperfect world!

Ordination II

One of the first things to happen in my ordination service was that I was ‘presented’ to the bishop and the church by a minister and a lay-person. I was fortunate enough to have Wally Behan, my minister from St John’s Latimer Square and a very fine expository preacher present me, and also Cam Gracey, a friend of mine who runs Christianity Explored at the same church. However, as a preface to this, the bishop said these words:

People of God, we have come to ordain a deacon in Christ’s holy church. Christ is the head of the church; he alone is the source of all Christian ministry.

He alone is the source of all Christian ministry. What the Bishop says goes on to allude to Ephesians 4 and Christ giving gifts to his church. But it was vital to remember at the very beginning of both the service and my ministry here at Methven that Christ is the source (and therefore the content) of all ministry. This church is his church, the people are his people, he ministers to us by his Spirit and Word, and builds us up into his likeness. He alone is the source of all Christian ministry, and may our ministry be spent proclaiming him alone.

Being ordained

On Sunday I was ordained as a deacon in the Anglican Church of Aotearoa New Zealand. There were a number of aspects of the service which people raised with me afterwards (having heard what I said), thinking that they might have been problematic for me to agree with. There were also a number of fantastic things which I promised and which were said. Over the next few days I’m going to raise a number of those things, outline my thinking, and hopefully explain why evangelicals should not be afraid of committing themselves to work within traditional denominations (although my co-blogger might disagree).

Moving to Methven

I am excited to announce that next year Amanda and I (and the boys) are going to be going to All Saint’s Anglican church in Methven, in mid-Canterbury.

Methven is located here...

... and
the church looks
(at times!) like this.

Methven is a town of about 1400 people in summer, but doubles in size in winter because of Mt Hutt and other local ski fields.

Unlike a normal curacy (a curacy is similar to an assistant minister), I am going to be on my own in Methven – there is no vicar there. The church is about 40 people, which meets on a Sunday morning, with a small Sunday school. From what I understand (which, to be honest, isn’t a huge amount at this time!) the church is broadly evangelical and keen to have a presence in the community – certainly the people I have met already want to reach out with the good news that the church is entrusted with.

As well as being at Methven, I am also going to be involved in two surrounding parishes which have adopted a form of ministry call ‘local shared ministry’. This means that they don’t have a full time vicar, but rather have a team of parishioners who are ordained to specific roles within each church. My role will be to get involved with these teams, to listen to them, to help them think about their strengths and weaknesses, and to offer them support and training as they need. The split is 60% at Methven, and then 40% with these two other parishes.

We’re very excited about going there, as are a number of friends who are excited about having somewhere to stay so close to the snow! In God's kindness the church comes with a large house, so if you are planning on coming through mid-Canterbury, we’d love to have you stop by.

Please thank God with us for his kind provision, and pray that we would be faithful and fearless in serving Him in Methven.

Dave