Piper on Church Planting

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John Piper’s short message on church planting is worth reading. He gives four reasons why we should be involved in church planting. Justin Taylor summarises them as follows:

1. We do not have too many churches today. We have too few.
2. Experience has shown, and the Bible would support, that new churches are one of the most effective means of evangelism.
3. New churches awaken and engage much of the under-used leadership potential of the saints in the older, larger churches.
4. Breaking free from the risk-free comfort of long-standing patterns of church life is a good thing. It’s good for your faith to be tested. It is good to take risks.

John Piper is not just looking for greater numbers of churches. The type of church is vitally important. They must be “God-centered, Christ-exalting, Bible-saturated, missions-mobilizing, justice-pursuing churches”. (Perhaps as a charismatic I would want to sneak in “Spirit-filled” as well!)

It is great to see people like Piper lend their support to church planting initiatives. Another interesting article is this one by Tim Keller. Despite increasing numbers of leaders lending their support to the idea of church planting, there still seems to be in many people’s minds the concept that it is only to be done in exceptional circumstances, if absolutely no other way can be found to accomodate growth.

But existing churches should not feel threatened by the idea of church planting, even if it is to be resourced by key members of their own congregations. There are more than enough unsaved people to go round, as Dan points out with this thought-provoking quote from Bryn Jones: “It is tragic to hear Christians self-congratulatingly referring to their church as numbering over 200 or 300 people without mentioning the fact that this is still one thousandth of the population of their city!”.

May God stir many of his people up to be involved in church planting initiatives throughout the world. And may our existing churches fight to ensure that they remain God-centered, Christ-exalting, Spirit-filled, Bible-saturated, missions-mobilizing, and justice-pursuing.

Book Review – Acts (I Howard Marshall)

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The Tyndale Commentary series is written to “help the non-technical reader understand his Bible better”. The introduction presents Acts as a “sacred history” – an account of the fulfilmnent of Scripture – and volume 2 in Luke’s story of Christian beginnings. Some emphases he notes include a concern with the opposition that surrounds the spread of the gospel, and Christianity as the true Judaism.

One of Marshall’s chief interests is to defend the historicity of the book of Acts against what he views as unjustified skepticism, particularly from Haenchen. Hardly an episode goes by where he doesn’t note the criticisms that have been levelled at it, and attempts to provide a response. He resists the temptation to provide overly neat solutions to all problems though, preferring often to simply demonstrate that the events as described are not as unlikely as some have found them.

Despite his concern with historicity, the commentary does not get bogged down in incidental historical and geographical details as some more technical commentaries on Acts can tend to do. Marshall is concerned also to comment on theological matters, but he sticks strictly to what is directly discussed, rather than considering some of the extrapolated doctrines and practises that Christians have found in the book.

Each section is given a brief overview where Marshall retells the story of what happens in his own words, and indicates any particular issues that will be dealt with in the commentary. Then it is examined verse by verse (or couple of verses) with each of these subsections occupying a paragraph or two. His writing style is good, and the issues he chooses to raise are generally ones that are of interest to evangelical readers, so he maintains the reader’s interest throughout.

One theological issue that will be of interest to many readers early on in the book is how he handles the issue of baptism in the Spirit. He unflinchingly sees the baptism as always taking place at conversion, and thus sees extraordinary circumstances where it happens otherwise (e.g. Samaritans in Acts 8 to show solidarity; Ephesians in Acts 15 are not Christians in the first place). He does not interact at all with the view that says these are distinct but normally coincident experiences.

He argues that Acts 11 (rather than 15) and Galatians 2 describe the same incident. As the focus of Acts shifts more to Paul, Marshall notes how Luke demonstrates parallels between the lives of Jesus and Paul, although he is quick to dismiss any claims that Luke fabricated incidents and details to create this similarity. The many speeches in Acts are not to be understood as quotes verbatim, but rather Luke’s faithful retelling of the essence of what was or would have been said in the situation. At the end of the book, Marshall lists all the options for why we are not told what happens next, but prefers not to make a judgement on which is to be preferred.

Despite being written back in 1980, this commentary is still one of the most frequently recommended commentaries on Acts, and deservedly so. Its straightforward approach will help anyone preparing Bible studies or sermons to get clear in their minds what was happening, as well as seeing Luke’s purposes behind the way the story is told. The purpose of the Tyndale series is not to focus on application, and Marshall does not do so. At 430 pages with very few footnotes, it is just about a manageable length to read cover to cover, but any longer would push it into the realm of a reference book. Those who are not interested in hearing Acts defended historically might save themselves some time by reading a commentary with a more devotional outlook, but this remains a valuable tool to all students of the Word who want to understand it better so that they may apply it better.

Book Review – Healthy Christians make a Healthy Church (John Oak)

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This book is essentially a call for pastors to set up discipleship training programs in their churches. But before we consider the message of the book, there are some issues with its format. First, despite the slick graphic design on the front cover of this book, once you open the cover you notice that the type setting is far from professional with unevenly spaced letters. Secondly, despite managing to secure Rick Warren to write the preface, the book appears to be lacking a good editor. John Oak is Korean, and although is quite competent in English, there are a number of awkward sentences and odd turns of phrase. What’s more, at 350 pages, the book becomes quite repetitive after a while, and would probably have been better trimmed down to about 200 or less pages.

John Oak’s credentials are impressive. He has built a church of over 30,000 members in Korea, from just a handful of members. His passion is to see the laity equipped for service and growing to maturity though discipleship training. It is in his view the first and most important task of the pastor, and the key to a church growing, not just numerically, but in quality as well. He cautions that churches that focus only on witness will not be able to grow as fast or produce mature converts as their own laity are ineffective and immature. Similarly, churches that focus on Sunday worship can actually obstruct the creation of true worshippers. He argues that the passion in the New Testament is for creating disciples, and that the task of witness and calling of worship will flow naturally out of this. He sees Jesus as the ultimate example of someone who performed discipleship training.

So what does he mean by discipleship training? It is not Bible studies, or theological college. Nor is it simply small groups. Basically the pastor takes applications from up to 10 people who want to seriously commit themselves for a period of time (about a year). They meet on a weekly basis for prayer, studying the word and being accountable to one another. The regime is quite intense, and calls for great openness, willingness to be corrected and serious commitment to attendance. It is no wonder that he notes that some people drop out of the program and even find it oppressive, although they are in the minority. After completing discipleship training, they become lay leaders, and there are further similar programs for them to attend. No one in his church may serve if they are not willing to humble themselves to take this training, a fact which has kept many “business class” types away. The program is given high profile in the church, with special enrollment and graduation ceremonies as part of the Sunday meetings.

Despite the size of his church, John Oak sees the primary burden of this training as falling upon himself as the pastor. He spends a good deal of time setting out how a program of discipleship training should be introduced, starting with the leaders, and then openning it wider. The church as a whole should realise that this is vital to who they are. In the groups themselves, they use an “inductive” method of study, teaching people to learn for themselves and teach each other, rather than the trainer doing all the teaching. Through a discipleship training program, his church are at the place of having 10 percent as lay leaders. He says that though other churches may have a similar percentage of lay leaders, in most churches, those 10 percent have not all had much training.

He mentions almost in passing that those who are trained are able to step right into ministry opportunities waiting for them. They can do this, because they know how many people will be trained, and find the contexts in which they can serve. This is perhaps lesson worth learning for churches. I myself have been on a number of training programs lasting many months that culminated merely in a certificate of attendance, with no opportunity whatsoever to put the training into action.

If you have a bit of time to spare and are interested in how we can effectively bring more members of the church to maturity, this is a book worth a read. It is a little quirky in places, such as the candidates for training solemnly swearing not to get ill or die during their training! In many ways, churches that have embraced a “cell” model are already experiencing some of the benefits of his program. But reading it did make me ask whether there should be more avenues for a more intensive program of discipleship, where those who desire to become more spiritually mature devote themselves over a period of time to seeing real growth and progress. I dare say that if churches were to offer such a discipleship training program, they would find a good number of people wanting to do it.

12 Biblical Values (Part 3)

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OK, here is very briefly, my thoughts on John Hosier’s choice of 12 biblical values (see part 1 and part 2).

The 12 biblical values list is not meant to be exhaustive, and Dan pointed out that his book does indeed include quite a few more. John Hosier himself acknowledged from the outset that grace was not included in the list, not because it wasn’t an important biblical value, but rather that it permeated all the other values. Another notable missing newfrontiers emphasis was church planting, and as Ger pointed out in the comments, restoration was not there either. Despite including the controversial subjects of baptism in the Holy Spirit, and modern day apostleship, other potentially explosive issues such as women elders or preachers and eschatology were left out. Other pervasive Biblical themes such as holiness, mission, prayer, suffering and healing were not included either.

Despite these omissions, I am pleased to see churches in newfrontiers taking the time to communicate their biblical values in a structured way. We can too easily assume that sharing a common vision is enough. However, two people may have the same vision (e.g. to build a church of 1000 people), but if their values are different, what and how they build will be very different. As newfrontiers seeks God for more churches, and increased growth in existing churches, I pray that we will truly see these 12 biblical values (and more) at the foundation of all that is built, that the church would truly be “Christ’s Radiant Church” bringing glory to God alone.

12 Biblical Values (Part 2)

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Continuing from my previous post on 12 biblical values, here are the second six from John Hosier.

7. The ministries of apostles and prophets
The church has never had an issue with the ongoing ministries of evangelists, pastors and teachers, butapostles and prophets are a different matter. He cautioned against the use of the phrase “Ephesians 4 ministries” and especially labelling someone as an “Ephesians 4 teacher” (I have always felt that sounded like a description of someone who always preaches on the same chapter of the Bible).

The main thrust of the argument is that Eph 4:11 speaks of gifts that the ascended Christ gave. But the 12 were appointed before the ascension, so who does Paul have in mind? Just himself? John Hosier then argues for four categories of apostles:
1) The Apostle – Jesus, sent by the Father
2) The 12 apostles, chosen by Jesus to be with him. They saw the risen Christ and were uniquely placed to be witnesses to the resurrection. Matthias was chosen according to the same criteria – he had been with Christ and witnessed the resurrection.
3) Paul – a unique “transitional” apostle. He could say that he too had seen the risen Christ, but he was appointed by the “ascended Christ”. Placing Paul in a category by himself is I think a diplomatic move to appease those who think it intollerably arrogant to consider anyone as sharing his minsitry. I think his uniqueness came more from his place in church history as the first apostle to the Gentiles and his being used to write Scripture, rather than his role as apostle.
4) All other apostles, appointed by the ascended Christ, including Timothy and Barnabas. There have been many through church history, even if they have not been known as “apostles” – Hosier suggests Wesley, Carey and Booth as examples. The point being, newfrontiers does not consider the gift of apostleship to have died out and only come back recently with Terry Virgo. These apostles may lead churches, but will typically do so only for a short time – their gifting leads them to regions beyond (c.f. Paul in Ephesus).

8. The government of the local church is to be exercised by elders
The church is not to be a democracy, where everyone has a vote. He argues that people who want democracy really just want their own way – they will still complain if they are out-voted. Having said that, a wise eldership will not be a dictatorship – it will seek to keep in touch with the views of the whole church.

9. A comittment to pastoral care
Seeking to bring individual believers to maturity.

10. Training of leadership from within the local church
Leaders may sometimes be “imported”, but the normal pattern should be training them up locally. If the newfrontiers vision of 1000 churches in the UK is to be realised, a significant comittment to training is necessary.

11. Recognising we are only part of the body of Christ
“We recognise we are only part of the body of Christ and seek real fellowship with all true believers”. Here John Hosier sought to address criticism of an aloof or separatist attitude within newfrontiers. He pointed out that the speakers and newfrontiers conferences have always included a number from other groups. He also mentioned small steps at the local level towards a greater working unity with other churches.

12. Avoid inflexible church structures and traditions
Newfrontiers has reacted against some of the legalism that was developing in traditional evangelical churches. However, he warned that there is a danger of “reverse legalism”, where (for example) those who are teetotal or dress smartly for church are treated as second class citizens. There may also need to be greater flexibility in the future with regards to issues such as
meeting times.

I’ll add a few thoughts of my own in a third post soon, about what has been left out of this list.

12 Biblical Values (Part 1)

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Thanks to a recent post by Dan, I stumbled across some MP3s on the Bridge Community Church Bristol website. Their sermons page features two talks by John Hosier (the unofficial newfrontiers theologian), from Church of Christ the King (the unofficial newfrontiers HQ). They are entitled “12 biblical values held by newfrontiers”.

I was eager to listen to these, as I have not yet had the chance to read John Hosier’s latest book, “Christ’s Radiant Church”. I don’t think the 12 points exactly follows the book, as the book has about 20 chapters, but it was clear that there was a fair amount of overlap. It seems as though these were training seminars rather than Sunday morning sermons.

As I downloaded them, I thought to myself that he dare not miss out “Grace” as one of the points. But actually, he starts by saying that it wasn’t one of his points, because it was so fundamental and ran right through the others.

There are no real surprises here for those who know the newfrontiers group of churches, but I’ll list the points he made and perhaps make a few comments of my own. He offered one Bible reference for each point, though making it clear that more could be offered for each one. I’ve broken this post into two parts, as it was getting a bit long.

1. The place of the word of God
There is a strong commitment to preaching the word in gatherings, and teaching it in small group and discipleship settings. The Bible is God’s revealed truth and preachers especially must remember the importance of soaking themselves in the word of God.

2. Baptism in water is for all believers
He didn’t really use this point to talk about credo baptism versus paedo baptism, but spoke of the symbolism of death and resurrection. He also cautioned about overemphasising the evangelistic opportunity at the expense of realising it is a special occasion for the candidate themselves.

3. Baptism in the Spirit
Which “brings a definite sense of assurance and a real experience of the power of God in the life of a believer”. This is the subject of the longest chapter in his book, and he believes it needs to be defended theologically. He laments the fact tat charismatic theologians such as Grudem do not appear to have understood their position. I can agree that most arguments I have read seem to be arguing against something quite different from the position laid out so well by David Pawson in his book Jesus baptises in one Holy Spirit. He reiterated the basic position that “it may take place at conversion, but it is a distinct experience of the power of God”

4. Church membership involves taking an active serving role in the church
“We’re not trying to gather a crowd, we’re trying to build a church”. He underlined also that nobody should feel they don’t belong because everyone has something to contribute.

5. Participation of believers in meetings is encouraged and expected
There is of course a problem if you have a moderately large church, that not all can contribute in a single meeting, but all should have a desire to contribute. He also briefly mentioned that the interpretation of a tongue should be Godward, and noted that the charismatic contributions included a “teaching” as well as prophecy and tongues, and that these could be brought by men or women. This form of “teaching” is understood as a short spontaneous biblical exhortation rather than being in the form of a fully prepared sermon, and is therefore not seen as contradictory to restricting the preaching ministry to men only.

6. All the spiritual gifts listed in the New Testament are available today
… and these gifts should be eagerly expected and eagerly sought. Interestingly he made the same excellent point here that Don Carson raises in Showing the Spirit – the command to eagerly desire that you prophesy is in the plural, indicating that churches should seek to manifest all the gifts rather than individuals trying to collect the full set. The “what’s my gift?” mentality can be unhelpful as it is individualistic in outlook.

Part 2 to follow soon…

At last … number three arrives

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For some reason, our babies just don’t seem to want to come out of their own accord. But today at 12:30, Steph gave birth to Joel by caesarean section. He weighed 8lb 7. Apologies to friends reading this who we have not managed to contact by other means yet.

Joel

We are extremely grateful to God for a safe delivery, and for his protection on Joel and Steph. Joel is a Hebrew name, meaning “Yahweh is God”.

Family

I’m off to bed to get some rest now…

The Restorationist Theology of Acts?

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I am reading I H Marshall’s Tyndale commentary on Acts at the moment, and under the heading of the “Theology of Acts” he discusses the theme of “the continuation of God’s purpose in history”. Underneath that, he makes the fascinating four points (on p24). Interestingly, I feel they reflect an understanding of the church that is very similar to the “Retorationist” outlook.

“First, the events recorded in Acts are seen as being brought about by the will and purpose of God”

This included not just the death and resurrection of Jesus, but even the opposition that the church faced. A robust belief in the sovereignty of God will give a church faith to boldly do what he has called them to, knowing that they need not fear consequences that God will not enable them to handle. We are not just trying to survive, we are actively fulfilling God’s purposes in our day and generation.

“… secondly, … the life of the church was regarded as taking place in fulfillment of Scripture.”

In other words, the second coming is not the only Biblical prophecy yet to be fulfilled, but the very spread of the gospel is to be understood as fulfilling Scripture. How long has it been since you heard prayers pleading for fulfilment of prophecies of a worldwide spread of the gospel? Have hermenutical doubts made us afraid of to ask (“that promise isn’t for us”). And maybe a drift to premillenial or a pessimistic amillenial eschatology has lowered our expectations.

Hab 2:14 “For the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.”
Jer 31:34 “And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest”
Num 14:21 “But truly, as I live, all the earth will be filled with the glory of the Lord.”
Isa 9:7 “Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end”

“Thirdly, the life of the church was directed by God at crucial stages.

By this Marshall refers to the direction of the Spirit though angels, prophecies and visions. To be sure, the Bible does give every church its mission and values. However, every church must choose between a million possible good works, and potential ventures of faith, and here is where the charismatic element comes in. Supernatural guidance gives us faith that will cause us to attempt things that seem humanly impossible or foolish. Churches that are open to the present-day prophetic leading of God are in a position to be used to accomplish his kingdom purposes in ways that we would not dare to believe otherwise.

“Fourthly, the power of God was seen in signs and wonders …”

Marshall’s point here is that “the work of the Christian mission can be said to be carried out by God”. The signs and wonders thus served as reminders that the growth of the church was not down to human gifting or good strategy, but the favour of God himself. We are God’s co-workers (1 Cor 3:9). What we achieve is done by the working of his mighty power within us. This realisation causes us to value prayer more, as we realise our total dependence on him, calling on him to work in us and through us. Some charismatics have exaggerated the number of miracles in Acts, as though every Christian performed at least one miracle a day. But correcting that should not result in an anti-supernatural attitude, where we our expectation of God working in power drops to zero.

Book Review – John For Everyone (Tom Wright)

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The gospel of John is covered in two volumes of Tom Wright’s “For Everyone” series. The basically format is that he provides his own translation of the text (say 10-20 verses) followed by a page or two of expositional and devotional thoughts. These usually begin with a brief anecdote or illustration, and go on to expound the meaning of the passage in question. The format lends itself particularly to being used in daily devotions.

Wright is well known in theological circles for his work on both the gospels, and on Paul, bringing his own unique perspective to many passages, while remaining in the evangelical tradition. As I mentioned recently, many in reformed circles are unsure whether to take him as a friend or a foe. However, at the very least his historical expertise is able to shed much light onto many passages, even if not all his theological conclusions are agreed with.

The gospel of John actually provides less opportunity for controversy, as Wright’s preterist approach to many of the parables and eschatological teaching of the Synoptics does not occur, and the “exile” theme is not so prominent. In fact, I was reading this at the same time as reading Don Carson’s commentary on John, and noticed many places where the two are in close agreement with their interpretation and application of key passages.

Wright uses his historical knowledge to bring many passages to life, and he emphasises Jesus as the alternative to the Temple early on. In the first book, he encourages us to see that John is listing seven signs that point to who Jesus is. In some places, he notes where the authenticity of some of Jesus’ sayings have been doubted, but encourages us to believe, giving brief reasons why they should not be doubted on historical terms. He particularly sees echoes of the Old Testament exodus and passover stories in much of John’s material. There was also a very interesting link with the story of David’s three warriors getting water for him in the “drinking blood” part of John 6.

The second volume on John covers chapters 11-21 and does not presuppose that you have read the first volume. In the discussion on the true vine in chapter 15, Wright emphasises Jesus as the true Israel. The chapter also includes criticism of historical wars in the name of Christianity.

As well as the exodus theme, Wright sees links with the Genesis creation story in more than just the prologue, such as seeing Gethsemane the new garden of Eden where the true Adam is sent to his death by the false ones.

In the trial scene, Wright does not attempt to provide a harmonisation of the order of events with the synoptics, but does seek to defend the gospel’s portrayal of Pilate. Pilate’s two motivations of avoiding trouble and snubbing the Jews reveal his actions as historically plausible. Unlike many schemes, Wright sees the cross itself as the seventh sign in John (walking on the water is not counted).

As he deals with Jesus’ death and resurrection Wright’s focus is more devotional. We are encouraged to stand in awe and wonder at the event, and called to appreciate Easter rather than Christmas as the high point of the Christian calendar. He sees chapter 21 as a later addition but still talks as though he accepts Johannine authorship of it.

Despite his interest in historical matters, these certainly do not dominate the discussion, and Wright consistently looks for ways to apply the text. Sometimes this is in the form of a challenging question intended for further reflection, while in other places he spells out some of the practical implications. As with so many others in the “For Everyone” series, I can recommend these two volumes on John as a very helpful study guide. They will broaden your understanding of the theology, historical background, and ongoing challenge of the gospel of John.

New Newfrontiers Magazine

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Another Newfrontiers magazine (Jan – Mar 2006) is out, although it is not yet available to read online. The last magazine is up now though, which includes two helpful articles on Israel – All Israel will be saved by John Hosier, and Justice, the Gospel and the Land of Israel by David Devenish.

This months magazine includes an interview with Terry Virgo which included two questions that caught my attention.

Q: Is it more important to be known as an evangelical than a charismatic?
Terry: Labels can be unhelpful. However, I believe the good news as reported in the Bible, and therefore, I’m fundamentally evangelical. But it’s out of my commitment to Biblical truth that I became persuaded about charismatic experience.

I thought this was an excellent answer, and is exactly the way I like to think about the “evangelical” and “charismatic” labels. I am charismatic because of my evangelical commitment to Scripture.

Q: Do you think that one of the keys to Newfrontiers’ success is consistency of message, from the highest level of leadership down to local churches?
Terry: Paul says in Acts 20:32, “I commend you to God and to the Word of His grace, which is able to build you up and give you the inheritance.” The Bible is clear that there is a body of doctrine that builds the church up. So we would urge all the pastors that we work with to be very Biblical and to give plenty of time to teaching the Word. We cling to the more traditional perspective of seeing the Word as fundamental and central, as in Acts 2:42, “They devoted themselves to the apostle’s teaching.” When churches begin to lose confidence in the Bible they become vulnerable. If Biblical truth is taught systematically with life and vitality, people are built up, set free and equipped.

Again, a reponse I was very impressed with and although in one sense it doesn’t directly address the question, in another, it is the best possible answer. The “consistency of message” should come from consistency of commitment to Scripture, not from lower “levels” of leadership simply regurgitating what they heard from the “higher” levels. This is not just a commitment to believing the Bible, or even a shared understanding of the Bible, but a belief in the value of systematically teaching it. The commitment to Scripture is what attracted me to Newfrontiers in the first place. I pray that it will remain a core value as the family of churches continues to grow.