Disciple-making leaders

John Risbridger talks to Marcus Honeysett of Living Leadership

 

JR: You speak around the country about the need to grow and disciple leaders within local churches. Briefly, how do you understand biblical leadership?

MH: Paul speaks in Philippians 1 and 2 Corinthians 1 about working with people for their progress and joy in God, so that they grow firm in their faith and have abundant joy in Christ. That’s a great, simple definition of spiritual leadership. You don’t have to think very hard to see why a church that is standing firm in their faith and full of godly joy is going to be a beacon for the gospel.

JR: That is quite a different understanding to running meetings or managing the organisation of the church.

MH: It’s possible for churches to drift into a wrong understanding of why they exist. What started off as a group that wanted to impact its area with the gospel can, after a period, mutate into one that merely meets for believers to get their own spiritual needs met. The kind of leaders the church looks for depends on their understanding of their DNA. The first will look for leaders who equip and release all the disciples to be a community of witnesses; the second will look for someone who serves the organisation and ministers to the perceived needs of the Christians.

JR: So a major priority for leaders in local churches is to be equippers and facilitators?

MH: I find it hard to read Ephesians 4 any other way. I recently asked a group of leaders to read this chapter of the Bible and complete the following sentence: ‘According to Ephesians 4 the goal of biblical leadership is…’ Someone instantly replied: ‘To equip and release disciples who make disciples’. That’s it in a nutshell. The work of leaders is not to do all the gospel work while everyone else supports and pays for them. It’s to enable the gospel ministry of every Christian and help the church grow a sense of being a team of disciples working together.

JR: That will be a significant mindset shift for some churches. Can you recommend any books to help a church think about it?

MH: There is some really good material being written at the moment to help churches think about this critical shift in their thinking. Neil Hudson from LICC (Imagine Church — Releasing Whole Life Disciples, IVP) has written helpfully on how the contract (actual or implicit) between congregation and leaders needs to shift from one of ‘pastoral care’ to ‘pastoral equipping’. Colin Marshall and Tony Payne address the same idea powerfully in their book, The Trellis and the Vine (The Good Book Company). You could do much worse than take one of these as your church book of the term.

JR: I’ve heard that Fruitful Leaders by Marcus Honeysett isn’t bad either! Why is it important, in your view, for leaders to train disciples to disciple others?

MH: I recently read somewhere that there are three fads that tend to come and go in churches: discipleship, mission and leadership training. I believe that we should combine all three and understand that we need to train leaders to make disciples who are actively participating in mission: disciples who know how to disciple other people. I agree with Steve Timmis when he says that, if we aren’t involved in some way in making disciples, then we aren’t disciples ourselves, because disciples make disciples.

That is the fundamental principle behind 2 Timothy 2.2, in which Paul tells Timothy to take what he has learned from him and pass it on to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others. That’s four generations’ worth of believers and a vision for multiplication all in one verse!

JR: Don’t all church leaders train their churches to be involved in disciple-making?

MH: You would hope so. In reality, I think the number of churches which actually train every member to be involved in disciple-making is vanishingly small. The same is true for many leader-development programmes, which train people in theology and ministry skills but often don’t do much on how to make and multiply disciples.

And yet the fundamental call of God on every church is to go into the world and make disciples of Jesus: active followers, actively participating in Jesus’s mission, responding to his call to join his great cause. I’m constantly amazed at the number of people in local churches who haven’t grasped this core principle.

JR: How should the principle of making disciples shape the development of new leaders?

MH: It needs to shape leader-training programmes at all levels in churches and Bible colleges. Every element of training should aim to fulfil this goal. We need to train leaders to handle the Bible well, not just as an end in itself, but to make disciples who take the gospel to their neighbourhood and to the nations. We need to train people to pastor well, not as an end in itself, but so that those we pastor in turn counsel and nurture others. We need to train leaders who are certain that the local church is not just a chaplaincy for meeting the needs of Christians, but a mission team for impacting the world with the gospel. And we need to train leaders of churches, which haven’t got the disciple-making vision yet, to effect the difficult changes in church culture that will be needed and to handle the resistance they will encounter along the way.

JR: One new initiative you are involved in is the School of Missional Disciple-Making. Tell us a bit about it.

MH: The School is a joint initiative between Living Leadership and Above Bar Church in Southampton. Students and trainers come from a wide range of churches across Southampton and teaching input comes from people from several local churches, as well as the Navigators and Damaris. The curriculum is fully centred on the need to grow disciple-making leaders. It combines four tracks: (1) Bible handling, (2) spiritual formation of leaders, (3) principles of mission-focussed church and biblical leadership, and (4) how to disciple others and equip them, in turn, to disciple others. The School is both strongly biblical and deeply practical, encouraging the students to engage with non-Christians, one-to-one discipling and small group huddles with junior leaders, as well as identifying mission-focussed needs and opportunities in the city. It is great to see Above Bar and other churches establishing disciple-making as the core DNA of new leaders.

JR: So who is it for and is it really just a cheaper alternative to Bible College?

MH: No. Our focus is not on training a small number of people to be pastors (although for some we hope this may be a first step in that direction), but on training a large number of people at all levels to be disciple-making disciples!

JR: So how many students are involved and what are your plans for the future?

MH: During this pilot year we have 14 students. We are currently starting to recruit for next year’s intake, which we hope will be larger and draw people from a wider range of churches. Our vision for the coming years is to work with local churches to help develop training initiatives with the same ethos and content in other locations across the country.

John Risbridger is pastor of Above Bar Church, Southampton, and Marcus Honeysettis director of the organisation Living Leadership. If you would like to know more about the School of Missional Disciple-Making or Living Leadership, seehttp://www.missionaldisciplemaking.org.uk and http://www.livingleadership.org

 

(This article was first published in the February 2013 issue of Evangelicals Now. For more news, artciles or reviews, subscribe to EN or contact us for more information.
http://www.e-n.org.uk 0845 225 0057)

Dear Jack: a letter to an abusive husband

Dear Jack,

I pray this letter finds you in good health, sound mind, and quiet heart.

I’m writing on behalf of your wife Jill, the elders, and all your brothers and sisters in the church family. We are all greatly concerned about your abuse and mistreatment of Jill. And I would like to take this opportunity to address you as a pastor, a man, and a father.

Zero tolerance

As a pastor, I want to lovingly communicate to you two messages. First, stop abusing Jill. As you know, our church family takes a ‘zero tolerance’ approach to marital abuse. Your hands were not made for battering your wife, but for beautifying her. It’s never permissible, under any circumstance, for you to raise your hand toward your wife in anger or abuse or in any way other than to caress her in love or help her in strength. Never. Under any circumstance. You must commit to no longer battering Jill, who is made in God’s image, who was purchased by Christ’s blood, and who is your sister in Christ. Continuing to sin against your wife in this way will result in further police involvement (I have already counselled Jill to file a police report) and the church pursuing corrective love. A better result would be a clear and tangible commitment on your part to stop abusing Jill.

Learning to love

Second, get help in learning to love Jill. As a church, we are committed to fighting for every marriage in our congregation. We are prepared to do whatever it takes to help the two of you enjoy a reconciled and fully loving marriage, as Christ intends. We’re prepared to do that over the long haul. With Jill, we have taken steps to make a safe place available for her to live. Her safety is our first priority, but it’s not our only priority. We hope also to support you both in experiencing the healing and wholeness Christ provides.

So, I’d like to offer you the opportunity to meet with me, any elder, or any one of the trained counsellors in the church who have from time to time helped others through this pattern of sin, anger, and control. If we need additional resources beyond the local church, we’re prepared to locate and provide them. We’ll put everything the church has behind you and Jill, if you’ll commit to getting some help. If you’re abusing your wife, brother, you’re not well. You need to locate the root of the difficulty in your own heart and learn to live in the grace and power that God provides. We want to help you do that. Will you allow us?

A father’s anger

Can I also say just a couple words as a father of two beautiful daughters? If Jill were my daughter, I’m afraid I’d be writing this letter from my prison to your hospital room. I know: pastors aren’t supposed to say stuff like that. But I can’t think of a better way to communicate how horrible and dark your treatment of Jill has been, and how sudden and violent God’s judgment would be as he looks on Jill, his daughter, and considers your abuse of her. I know my anger would be a pale and sinful picture of God’s. But that’s what’s most frightening: God’s anger would be perfect, just and omnipotent. I fear that for you, just as I fear for the welfare of someone who would harm my girls. My girls are 14 and 12. They’re bright, energetic, funny, quick to serve, curious and outgoing. I imagine those are some of the things you’ve admired in Jill.

As a father, I want my girls to be with a man who multiplies and nourishes those qualities in them. To do otherwise would be to slowly tread these beautiful creatures under foot, it would be to kill them slowly. The husband who does that is a gardener who tramples his rose bed with heavy work boots. I wouldn’t want such a husband for my daughters, and God doesn’t want that for his.

Finally, I also want to speak to you as a fellow man, a brother in the Lord and fellow traveller in this journey called ‘manhood’. I find being a man just about the most difficult and high-pressured thing in life. I feel like I’m often one step behind or one wrong decision from completely ruining everything. It seems to me that a lot of us live with a seething undercurrent of fear and anger. I don’t know if you feel the same way, but no temptation has befallen you that isn’t common to others of us. You’re not a monster, and you’re not alone.

But feelings of anger, control, and frustration express themselves in a number of ways: from abdicating responsibility to fleeing the relationship to abusing others. People often take out their frustrations and fears on those closest at hand — for husbands that can be the wife. We have to find a way to be sober, self-controlled, temperate and respectable. That’s really at the heart of what it means for us to be men.

Misrepresenting Jesus

Let me say something to you that you may fear hearing: as a fellow man, while I can identify with some of the pressure, anger, and frustration you may be feeling, I do not respect your abuse of your wife. The abuse misrepresents Jesus, misrepresents husbands, and misrepresents marriage. In saying I don’t respect your abuse as a man, I’m not trying to discourage you further. I’m trying to bring to light what you must surely be feeling about yourself. How can you respect yourself as a man if you’re resorting to beating the woman who loves you? Surely you can’t. And it’s pretending that you do respect yourself or demanding that others should respect you that will keep you locked in the entangling sins of anger and abuse. The pretending is a heavy blanket of self-deception. So, as a fellow man, I’m offering you a way to admit your struggles to one who shares some of them and to be free from the pretending that keeps us trapped. There’s nothing worse than pretending to be a man that has it all together while feeling inside everything is coming apart. One man to another: here’s a way out. Take it.

Hope in God

Know, Jack, that we stand ready to help you and Jill. We will stand with Jill to keep her safe, connected to the church family, and full of hope for her future with you. We will stand with you to live as the man of God he calls you to be, to repair your marriage, and to be free of the things that have led to this painful time. We serve a God for whom nothing is too hard. Let us walk by faith, obeying his word, and expecting his grace. Please do be in touch right away.

With hope and with Christ, Pastor T

‘Dear Jack: A Letter to an Abusive Husband’ is a post from Thabiti Anyabwile’s blog, Pure Church (http://www.thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/thabitianyabwile/), and is used with permission.

 

(This article was first published in the March 2013 issue of Evangelicals Now. For more news, artciles or reviews, subscribe to EN or contact us for more information.
http://www.e-n.org.uk 0845 225 0057)

St. Helen’s Bishopsgate Preaching Matters: Andrew Sach ‘Persecution in 1 Peter’

Here is the newest instalment of the video series from St. Helen’s Bishopsgate designed specifically to ‘equip, encourage and inspire those who teach God’s word.’

‘In this month’s Preaching Matters Andrew Sach shares his thoughts on the kind of persecution facing Christians in 1 Peter.

How has this helped you as you teach God’s word?

Who are all these people?

As Britain’s population is changing, what are the implications for the ministry of our churches?

According to the 2011 census, published in December, the population of England and Wales was 56.1 million, the UK total being around 63 million.

Other sources expect that roughly two million will be added to the population of England each five years up to 2031. But who are these people? Who will make up our congregations in coming years? Who will be the people we are to evangelise for Christ?

Elderly people

The number of people aged 65 and over in the population has increased by 14.4% since 2001. One in six people are of retirement age. Numbers of elderly people are set to grow even more because the post-war baby boomers are about to enter retirement age. Other sources say, the numbers aged 85 plus will grow as well, almost entirely due to reductions in mortality.

This provides us with a number of pastoral challenges. We will need to grow ministry to older people. With more families caring for elderly relatives, we will need to care for the carers. With the breakdown of family life in society generally, will churches be involved in providing care to the elderly in the neighbourhood? Churches may need to look to have ‘age workers’ as well as ‘youth workers’.

Alongside this, we may well see an increase in the numbers of active, healthy and able people in the church who have retired. Yes, many will be involved in looking after grandchildren and aging parents, but others may wish to be useful to the church. How can we train and release these folk into some kind of ministry (Titus 2.14; 3.8)?

Immigrant people

International migration has been much higher in the last ten years than in the previous decade. The 2011 census found that seven and a half million people living in England and Wales were born outside Britain, an increase from 4.6 million a decade earlier. White British people are now a minority in London. Migrant inflow is dominated, currently, by those coming to study. Some migrants have a Christian background. Many other migrants are from other faiths. Often people from overseas seem far more open to the gospel than indigenous Anglo-Saxons. Pastorally, this means that there are increased opportunities for friendship and evangelism towards internationals.

Three million people live in households where no adult speaks English as their first language. We need to recognise and use the folk in our congregations who are able to speak foreign languages — often Spanish, French, Arabic or Polish are very helpful. Migrants can be helped by the church running an ‘English conversation’ group which aids their knowledge of English and perhaps can help them more generally with filling in forms and being alongside them in the ups and downs of immigrant life — dealing with landlords, employers, etc. Can we use Christianity Explored in its simpler English format?

Young people

The birth rate increased in 2008, but by 2011 had fallen back slightly. It seems that much of that increased birth rate is among people from overseas. Many migrants have tended to keep to the traditional structure of the family with husband working and wives at home with the children. They tend towards larger families. Of the population more generally, one in three children lives with a single parent or step-parent.

The white indigenous population has shied away from marriage and, if they are married, often both husband and wife work and have smaller numbers of children. How this will affect our traditional ‘youth works’ is yet to be seen. If, for example, the bulk of young people in future are from a Muslim background, how accessible will they be to the churches? The facts are that child populations are expected to grow fastest in cities (in particular, Nottingham, Leicester, Manchester and London).

Single people

In 2011, a quarter of people living in England and Wales were single (in some way — never married, divorced, widowed). This amounts to 11 million people and reflects the growing number choosing not to marry. In church the estimate is that there are three single women to every one single male.

This is a time bomb for the churches, because, whatever your take is on single folk, most single people feel at best awkward and at worst unwanted in church. Singles believe church is aimed at families and they don’t fit. Many leave the church due to this. But, if trends continue, the future is much more single than married.

In a recent survey on the dating site Christian Connection, 80% said that their church did not put on anything for single people, or did not recognise them or affirm them. 46% said that their church leaders’ advice was unhelpful, unrealistic, impersonal or simply lacking.

A friend who runs a singles group says candidly that singles are very sensitive and often over-react, as they feel marginalised. About two-thirds of single people would prefer to be in a relationship.

Let me lift the lid a little on the singles’ world. Those who have never been married tend to grieve or be angry that God has not answered their prayers and provided a spouse and children. This is not recognised in most churches. Many singles feel worthless because they are not in a relationship or have a family. They are rarely in church leadership. Singles may have personal issues, problems, which make them awkward and not ready for a relationship. Divorcees frequently carry guilt over the break-up of marriage. Single parents shoulder huge burdens of raising a family alone. Widowed people often idolise their deceased partner and find it hard to accept anyone else. Most singles feel isolated and lonely. Singleness is on the increase and is not something churches can afford to leave on the sidelines any more.

Poorer people

In future, we are likely to be less well off. The current recession and accompanying austerity will be very difficult to climb out of and is expected to continue until 2018. We are likely to see many more redundant people in our congregations who need our help. Without work people tend to feel worthless and can fall into depressive or dependent life styles.

With the economic uncertainties, there will be more couples where both work to fund housing and family life. The 2011 census indicated that the number of people in private, rented accommodation has almost doubled, while homeowners with mortgages fell significantly. This may also go along with greater mobility, as people move more frequently to get work. Will this mean it will be harder to retain younger and middle-aged people in a local church and give stability to the work? During the recession of the 1980s, one pastor said it was like preaching to a procession rather than a congregation.

Religious people

Between 2001 and 2011, the number of people identifying themselves as Christian fell from 71.7% to 59.3%. Meanwhile, those who say they have no religion increased from 14.8% to 25.1%. The number of Muslims increased from 3% to 4.8%.

Tweeters, bloggers, etc.

Our times have seen the dawn of the Information Technology age. With websites and emails and Twitter and podcasts and Facebook, there is lots more information available and the people of a church are and seemingly will be exposed to many more ‘voices’ and opinions than ever before.

One result is that our people have access to a lot more ‘Christian’ resources. To put it bluntly, they might listen to their pastor perhaps twice a week. But they may well be listening to five or six of John Piper’s sermons on podcast each week. Well, praise the Lord for that. But who is their pastor? If their pastor is not up to JP’s standard, how well do they listen to him?

And what happens when it’s not John Piper they are listening to, but some cowboy on ‘the God Channel’? How do church leaderships get to grips with this? There’s a lot of good teaching out there, but also a lot of false teaching. How do leaderships guard their people?

Many things remain the same in church life, but here are some changes to consider as we face the future at the beginning of a new year.

John Benton
Chertsey Street Baptist Church, Guildford, Surrey

 

(This article was first published in the January 2013 issue of Evangelicals Now. For more news, artciles or reviews, subscribe to EN or contact us for more information.
http://www.e-n.org.uk 0845 225 0057)

Churches and charitable status

Much ink has been spilled recently over the decision by the Charity Commission to deny the Plymouth Brethren charitable status in respect of one of its gospel halls in Devon (the Preston Down Trust).

The church trust, a member of the Exclusive Brethren, was refused charitable status on the basis that it failed to demonstrate that it provided a genuine public benefit.

A storm of opposition has swelled in some quarters in response to the decision reached by the Charity Commission. On November 13, a heated debate took place in Westminster, leading some MPs to call for an inquiry into the Charity Commission’s interpretation of the law and its handling of the much debated public benefit test.

Some Christians have also commented that the Commission’s decision to deny charitable status to a long established church organisation is a sign of the increasing secularisation of society and reflects how far the country has drifted from its Christian moorings.

But what are the ramifications of the Charity Commission’s recent decision for the wider church?

The law

From 1891, and even from as far back at 1601, particular types of charities, such as ones that advanced religion and education or relieved poverty, were presumed as being of public benefit.

The Charities Act 2006 brought about a paradigm shift in how public benefit is assessed. The presumption that certain charities satisfy the test by their very nature has now gone. The Charity Commission asserts that the new Act imposes a duty on all charities to demonstrate, explicitly, that their aims are for the public benefit. Churches, including the Exclusive Brethren, are no exception to this rule.

The public benefit test

The 2006 Act has led to greater scrutiny by the Charity Commission of charities seeking charitable status. In so doing it has been argued that the Commission is going beyond its role as a regulator by imposing an unnecessarily high public benefit threshold on charities seeking registration. Of even greater concern has been the dispute as to whether the Commission is, in fact, wrongly interpreting the law in relation to the new public benefit test.

The issue at the heart of the Commission’s decision in the Preston Down application was the extent to which organisations and, in particular, churches like the Preston Down Trust should be accessible to the public so that they meet the public benefit test. The Commission’s decision in this case was that the church’s restrictions on who could attend worship and the limited extent to which the church was open to the public meant that they were not providing a public benefit.

Comment

But is the Charity Commission correct in interpreting the public benefit test in this way and, if so, is this a problem for the wider church?

Many practitioners and commentators in the charity sector consider that the Commission has set the bar far too high when considering whether charities meet the public benefit test. The Commission appears to be seeking more evidence to satisfy the public benefit test than is required by the law.

However, it is important to note that the Commission has not just adopted this approach to applications by Christian groups and churches. Applications by non-religious charities, such as community centres and art galleries, are also finding their applications questioned for failing to meet the public benefit test.

While noting that the bar is currently being set too high, it is important that all charities, secular and Christian, applying for registration are subject to proper scrutiny. Charitable status carries the benefit of tax breaks and Gift Aid. If a charity is to receive such benefits from the public purse to aid its public service, it can only be right that the charity uses such privileges to give back to society.

One can understand the Commission’s stance that, to receive public benefits, a charity must provide a public benefit. The public benefit test (properly applied) should serve to screen applications from charities whose aims may not be for the good of society.

The current approach of the Commission and its demands that applicants demonstrate a high level of public benefit raise important questions for evangelical Christians.

The Charity Commission’s approach is a reminder of how important it is for the church to fulfil its mission in accordance with the principles of 1 Peter 2.12. The publicity sparked by the Preston Down case gives all churches and Christian organisations the opportunity to reflect on how they are practically living out their faith in worship and service.

Like many public bodies, the Charity Commission has not been immune to the government’s austerity programme. Figures suggest the Commission has had its annual budget slashed by up to a third. In years gone by the Commission registered charities with less scrutiny and then continued to monitor new charities to ensure they met the public benefit. While such an approach was beneficial, it was expensive and heavy in staff labour. A shift towards greater regulation at the time a charity applies for registration rather than providing continued input later on may simply be the only way the Commission can operate within its budget.

Practical solutions

What can a Christian group or church do to ensure it meets the raised public benefit hurdle in an application for charitable status?

1. Do not assume necessarily that the Charity Commission understands what a church or Christian group does. In my experience of helping Christian organisations apply for charitable status, it has been necessary to spell out what happens at services and activities which go on each week. This process demonstrates to the Commission how the church is meeting the public benefit test by acting in accordance with its objects.

2. Conduct an ‘audit’ of the church’s activities. Churches and Christian groups, like all charitable bodies, should be accountable. To be good stewards of the benefits received by obtaining charitable status, an ‘audit’ of what the church does in engaging the public can be useful. Considering the church’s activities enables it to assess how it is welcoming its visitors to its services and identifies where it can be serving them.

3. However, it is important that Christian groups avoid the danger of simply listing their practical activities to obtain the approval of the Charity Commission. I would advise Christian organisations to make clear in their application that the public genuinely benefits from Christian worship and teaching. While this is something that has always been recognised as a public benefit in law, it is now often met with misunderstanding or confusion by the Commission. In my experience, the approach of the Charity Commission can, sadly, reflect the secular view that the Christian faith is not inherently for the public benefit. This is all the more reason for Christians to stand firm and maintain the principle that the heart of the Christian faith is above all else for the lasting good of the public.

Ben Bourne helps Christian groups and churches obtain charitable status and is a charity and employment solicitor at Ellis-Fermor & Negus Solicitors (http://www.ellis-fermor.co.uk).

(This article was first published in the January 2013 issue of Evangelicals Now. For more news, artciles or reviews, subscribe to EN or contact us for more information.
http://www.e-n.org.uk 0845 225 0057)

Mission – no new crisis

Ray Porter & Keith Walker respond to Thorsten Prill

Where is mission going? This is the question that Thorsten Prill asked in his three articles in the August, September and October 2012 issues of EN.

And it’s a vital question. The big trends in global mission are exciting and challenging. Global South churches are fast becoming key players in mission sending. Western Europe is once more being seen as a vital mission field. Numbers of churches in the UK are engaging directly in mission, sometimes by-passing the traditional mission agency route.

Defecting from the gospel?

Thorsten Prill’s articles were not primarily about any of these trends. He is concerned about the potential for older, traditional and larger mission agencies to defect from the gospel under the influence of wider trends within the evangelical church scene, to become driven by the demands of managing complex organisations rather than by gospel imperatives, to be ruled by pragmatism and nepotism rather than by Scripture.

Several of these issues do need to be addressed by mission agencies. However, we do not believe that there is a crisis in mission that is fundamentally new or that there is anything happening in such agencies that should cause evangelical churches to disengage with them.

In this response we don’t want to answer Thorsten’s points one by one (and haven’t the space for all we might say), but to make some general comments that may help EN readers to understand how consistent evangelical agencies approach these challenges and to help them play a part in assisting agencies to strengthen what is right and to correct what is wrong on a case by case basis.

Slow and subtle shifts

Thorsten mentions the case of an ‘Open Theist’ advancing to leadership in a mission agency. The theological views of Christians change over periods of years rather than months. Sometimes such slow and subtle theological shifts do not become apparent until too late. The best agencies (like the best churches) will respond pastorally to the appearance of error. Initial phases of response will invite discussion but will make clear the agency’s doctrinal commitments. Most likely the missionary will be asked to step back from ministry and return home to give time for reflection. Where the change of view is carrying the missionary away from historic evangelicalism, and especially where it is inconsistent with the agency’s statement of faith, the conclusion of the discussion will be a parting of ways. If this is the same case that we are aware of (and hopefully there aren’t many), this happened in the case Thorsten outlined.

Sending churches and individual supporters should help agencies to monitor the theology of their missionaries and question them if they depart from Biblical standards.

Theological training

We concur with Thorsten that many missionaries have little formal theological training. Some will have had their theological views formed through the teaching of good churches and their own study. They may even be better equipped from this informal learning pattern than some who have theological degrees.

A theological degree is not a guarantee of spiritual discernment or of theological orthodoxy. 20th-century church history is relevant. Would we rather have Lloyd-Jones, Douglas Johnson and Oliver Barclay, without a formal theological qualification between them, in Christian leadership than the well qualified theologians David Jenkins, Dennis Nineham and Maurice Wiles? The former three led an evangelical resurgence through their own ministries and in the remarkable home mission of IVF/UCCF.

Good agencies ensure that mission workers have the level of theological understanding that is appropriate for the ministry into which they are going. The variety of training mechanisms available today is of enormous benefit to mission work. As well as formal college settings, such as Oak Hill and WEST, and intensive training courses such as that offered by Cornhill, churches preparing workers for overseas and home mission may use gospel partnership training courses, Porterbrook, ‘Prepared for Service’ and other options. For not all those sent out overseas will be church planters and theological educators. Many of those going out today are spiritually alert church members and lay leaders with a desire to witness to the gospel. They fulfil a similar ministry to that which they have previously had in a home church. They are not going to be pastors of national churches or instructors of pastors, but work-place and neighbourhood witnesses to the gospel. If they find themselves in a position where they are expected to play a leading role in church life, they should seek to develop their theological training and qualification. Their sending churches should insist on that and assist financially.

Held accountable

So, whether they are involved directly in church ministries or in student work or medical work, missionaries need to be gospel people and church people. A test of whether they are is in their willingness to allow their home church to hold them accountable. Tempting though it may be, wise churches won’t send the awkward rebellious ones, but the best, the most submissive and loyal.

There is no new crisis in mission, just the old challenges of holding firm to the gospel and working graciously in partnership with gospel people in gospel churches.

Ray Porter (OMF International and Oak Hill) and Keith Walker (Serving in Mission) have lengthy experience in leadership roles in evangelical mission. This includes experience of UK and overseas mission agencies. Both serve on the Board of Global Connections and teach in confessionally-committed evangelical theological colleges training people for service at home and overseas.

(This article was first published in the February 2013 issue of Evangelicals Now. For more news, artciles or reviews, subscribe to EN or contact us for more information
http://www.e-n.org.uk 0845 225 0057)

St. Helen’s Bishopsgate Preaching Matters: William Taylor – Who are the Pharisees in Luke?

Here is the newest instalment of the video series from St. Helen’s Bishopsgate designed specifically to ‘equip, encourage and inspire those who teach God’s word.’

‘In this month’s Preaching Matters William Taylor shares his thoughts on the Pharisees in Luke’s Gospel. He helps us think about how we apply the Pharisees today, how we use scripture to build up rather than cut down our listeners and the concept of Three ways to live.’

How has this helped you as you teach God’s word?

This happy breed

Some reflections on why many full-time workers are moaners in minstry

When I was around 13 years old, our church inducted a new minister. Our choir was asked to sing at the service. I can remember the serious misgivings I had as I was learning the words of the song:

So send I you to labour unrewarded, to serve unpaid, unloved, unsought unknown;
To bear rebuke, to suffer scorn and scoffing, so send I you to toil for Me alone.

So send I you to hearts made hard by hatred, to eyes made blind because they will not see;
To spend though it be blood to spend, and spare not, so send I you to taste of Calvary.

So send I you to leave your life’s ambition, to die to dear desire, self will resign;
To labour long and love where men revile you, so send I you to lose your life in Mine.

As the Father hath sent me, so send I you.

I wondered if the new pastor would listen to this and then run a mile without completing his induction!

Miserable ministers?

The song also jarred a bit because I could remember our previous pastor. He was a charismatic, fun-loving man. He had ‘died to dear desire’ by giving up an exciting career to enter the ministry, but you would never think so to look at him. His life was filled with laughter and making others laugh. There was no way that I had a picture of a miserable drudge who found every day almost impossible to bear because of the personal sacrifice and unbearable opposition and loneliness. Quite the opposite, in fact.

Similarly I remember another couple’s regular visits back to our church after they had left to be lifetime missionaries. They told us exciting stories of houses on stilts, rainy seasons and taught us songs in a strange language. These childhood impressions of a people full of joy in service have made a lasting impression. Of course, they did ‘spend though it be blood to spend’ and did not spare themselves. On one journey their boat capsized and their daughter lost her life. When many would have given up in grief, they continued in their missionary calling.

The joy of the LORD

These were a ‘happy breed of men’. Life was not ‘all beer and skittles’ as mum used to say, but they knew what it was to have ‘streams of living water flowing out of their innermost being’. They experienced that ‘the joy of the LORD is our strength’, and they demonstrated the victorious Christian life to us so that we knew it was possible — and should be imitated.

Endangered species?

In my more pessimistic moments I wonder whether this ‘happy breed of men’ is dying out? In recent years I seem to hear more and more about: speakers who refuse to accept engagements because the audience isn’t expected to be large enough or because they are not to be put up in a four-star hotel (rather than staying with a Christian family); many who engage with missionary work in order to have a ‘fun year out’ before going on to do what they really feel is their life’s mission (usually a lucrative career); those who choose to do ‘fun’ Christian activities like beach parties rather than serving God in a more ordinary way (like putting chairs out and washing up) in places where they are more needed; pastors who regard themselves as ‘visionaries and leaders’, determined to tell others how to serve, rather than demonstrating servant-hood for others to follow; musicians who design so-called ‘worship times’ in order to feed egos and titillate emotions rather than ‘offering a sacrifice of praise’; and those who complain bitterly about the sacrifice incurred as a result of their ministry calling.

Life through death to self

Is this symptomatic of our materialistic and hedonistic age — where a longing for fun, satisfaction, success, respect, comfort and a general ‘need’ to have all personal dear desires met has crept into the church? Maybe we need to turn back to the sentiments of ‘So Send I You’? Perhaps a previous generation to mine did have it right after all? They found that it was through crucifixion that we have life. Until we ‘take up our cross and follow’ we shall never know true joy.

To avoid sounding like the proverbial ‘grumpy old woman’, I think my rhetorical question ‘Is this happy breed of men dying out?’ has to be answered with a resounding ‘No!’ Our church is littered with many who tirelessly and lovingly sacrifice time, money and energy as they obey the command to take up the cross and follow, and I am sure yours is too. However, the challenge to be a ‘living sacrifice’ remains for all of us. We constantly need to question our motivation and attitudes about everything we do. We can all have a ‘cup’ half empty or half full: focus on what we have lost rather than what we have gained and live a parched life of resentment. We can all become full of our selfish desires and seek after earthly treasure, even under the guise of ‘serving the Lord’. Maybe this is not a symptom of our materialistic age, but simply part of our sinful condition? I pray that as a church we shall find true joy and satisfaction as we ‘taste of Calvary’.

The pastor didn’t run out of the induction service after we sang. He ministered to us for nearly 20 years: another one of the ‘happy breed of men’.

(This article was first published in the September 2012 issue of Evangelicals Now. For more news, artciles or reviews, subscribe to EN or contact us for more information.

http://www.e-n.org.uk 0845 225 0057)

St. Helen’s Bishopsgate Preaching Matters: William Taylor & Greg Gilbert

Here is the newest instalment of the video series from St. Helen’s Bishopsgate designed specifically to ‘equip, encourage and inspire those who teach God’s word.’

‘William Taylor showing us the emphasis on church building in the book of Acts and Greg Gilbert from Third Avenue Baptist church on ‘What is expository preaching?’’

How has this helped you as you teach God’s word?

Crosslinks: 90 years and counting

Andy Lines surveys the history of a great missionary organisation

October 27, 2012 marked the 90th anniversary of the launch of the Bible Churchmen’s Missionary Society (BCMS), now called Crosslinks.

This is a landmark shared with the FIEC. As we look back with thanks to God, it is also salutary to ponder the continuing need for such a society.

Actually 1922 was not the year that the story of the society began — for that we have to go back to the closing years of the 18th century and the founding of what is now known as the Church Mission Society (CMS). The story begins in a London coffee house on April 12 1799. Gathered together on the 12th, in a room on the first floor of the Castle and Falcon in Aldersgate Street, are a group of 16 Church of England clergymen and nine laymen united in their shared commitment to the cause of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

They had come together, under the chairmanship of John Venn, Rector of Clapham (others present included Charles Simeon of Holy Trinity, Cambridge), after four years of deliberation, to form a society dedicated to proclaiming the gospel beyond England to the ends of the earth: the first resolution they adopted was: ‘It is incumbent upon every Christian to endeavour to propagate the knowledge of the gospel among the heathen’, and they set about sending ‘missionaries to the continent of Africa and other parts of the heathen world’. Under God, the gospel did indeed go out to the farthest corners of the earth and it is moving to hear Christians around the world acknowledge their debt to these men and women.

Responding to liberalism

In the early years of the 20th century, the church in Britain found itself subjected to a wave of theological liberalism that threatened to overwhelm it. Evangelicals and the CMS were not immune from this.

In 1910 in Edinburgh, a world missionary conference had met under the banner ‘the Evangelisation of the world in this generation’, but ‘no resolutions would be allowed involving questions of doctrine or church polity with regard to which the churches or societies taking part … differ among themselves’; now some in the CMS felt that there was less need to be so rigid about beliefs and practices of would-be candidates, provided they had a zeal for serving abroad. The authority of the Scriptures was at stake and so, after failed attempts to agree a way forward, a small group under Dr. Daniel Bartlett (Vicar of St. Luke’s, Hampstead), felt that they had no alternative but to launch a new society that adhered to the original principles of 1799. It was launched as the BCMS in Bedford Street, London, by a group of clergy and laity meeting ‘with bowed heads, and hearts trusting only in God’.

New society

The new society set about gospel initiatives abroad confident that God would provide the resources. Early endeavours were in the Canadian Arctic, India, China and Burma. Later, work was begun in North Africa and Iran. In 1931, shortly after prompting the BCMS to open mission stations in what is now North West Kenya, North East Uganda and South Sudan, the pioneer missionary Alfred Buxton challenged the BCMS about Ethiopia, writing: ‘It would seem sound policy to stimulate and help this ancient church to carry out, as far as possible, her own proper share in the task of evangelisation’ and so was begun the work of bringing biblical reformation to the Orthodox Church of Ethiopia, a work that continues to this day.

BCMS also worked in the United Kingdom and Ireland, opened BCMS theological colleges in Bristol to train men and women in biblical convictions for gospel work, and contended for the doctrines of The Book of Common Prayer (1662) against the proposed theologically revised one.

Challenge today

Today, after changing from BCMS to Crosslinks in the 1990s, the society is defined not by geography, but by gospel need and so supports work in Europe, Africa, Asia and increasingly in Latin America, as well as continuing with camps in Ireland, and church planters in England. While we rejoice in being a recognised society within the worldwide Anglican Communion, we work with Christians and churches of all denominations who share our gospel convictions (our basis is evangelical rather than Anglican in its distinctive).

It has sometimes been suggested that Crosslinks’ time has passed, but the contemporary struggles within the Anglican Communion, a crisis over ethical and moral issues stemming from a loss of confidence in the authority and sufficiency of the same Scriptures for which BCMS had contended, would suggest that our stance is not out-of-date but very relevant.

The same question as to the relevance of Crosslinks, or other missionary societies, is raised because no such organisations existed for the early church — and mission seems to have progressed pretty well without them!

The apostles and others preached the gospel, planted churches and relied on active partnerships with those churches to sustain them and carry the work forward. So why should it be any different with us today? The same could be argued, of course, about theological colleges and denominations, which are also not found in the New Testament, yet we recognise their value. Church history, however, shows us that without the vital stimulus of such men as William Carey and his book An Enquiry into the Obligation to Use Means for the Conversion of the Heathens (1792), the modern Western missionary movement would not have been launched, and, without the persistent activity of mission societies such as CMS and the China Inland Mission (now OMF), the need for millions of people to hear the gospel would otherwise have been overlooked or neglected.

The default position of churches is ever shrinking horizons, and it was only the holding of the Great Commission before the gaze of churches that our forebears began to get their act together to take the gospel to the ends of the earth. Now, as then, with ministry resources under pressure, the temptation is to cut the budget for wider mission activity. Tragically, this almost always proves to be self-defeating, because it is through our engagement with God’s worldwide mission that we keep our focus sharp, and priorities clear, nearer to home.

Long-term missionaries

While churches in Britain and Ireland still have much to do in considering how to be generous with the resources that God has endowed us with, in the support of indigenous mission endeavours where financial resources are much more limited, there is still ample room for the sending out long-term of godly men and women, both within and beyond these islands. The cost of doing this is, however, so significant (especially if married and with a family) that few churches can contemplate doing so independently of others, and that is where a mission society can help in forging the necessary partnerships, alongside providing cross-cultural expertise, financial and other organisational facilities.

Rob Scott, writing as International Co-ordinator of St. Helen’s Bishopsgate, says: ‘It is currently popular in some Christian circles to feel that mission agencies have had their day and that churches can fulfil their role… While it sounds attractive to cut out the middleman of the mission agency, it is easy to underestimate the work involved in doing so.

‘Some churches try acting as mission agencies for their mission partners [but] It is a huge amount of work… we certainly struggled with complex financial issues of secondment, pension, National Insurance and tax, both here and abroad…

‘Another problem can be cultural incompetence and offensiveness. This is a particular danger if a church does not invest time in understanding the local culture their mission partners are joining. This takes the time and experience that mission agencies have built up over a number if years. Without these a mission partner can be a liability to his receiving church and country.

‘So, mission agencies often provide the wisdom and expertise we lack. They give the logistical support, ease the cultural adjustment and set up the placement in ways we could not do. This is not to deny the local church’s responsibility in sending and supporting its mission partners, but to say that mission agencies play a vital role in helping churches fulfil their mission mandate.’

Andy Lines is Mission Director of Crosslinks (http://www.crosslinks.org).

(This article was first published in the October 2012 issue of Evangelicals Now. For more news, artciles or reviews, subscribe to EN or contact us for more information.

http://www.e-n.org.uk 0845 225 0057)