What gospel ministry should look like

There are many books on what ministry is all about. If you are looking for one of the great books on ministry, Colin Marshall & Tony Pane's new book The Trellis and the Vine is a must read. Check out Tim Chester's blog for a review, including a video clip from Mark Dever recommending the book on (see http://timchester.wordpress.com/2009/12/03/thursday-review-the-trellis-and-the-vine/)

Ordinary work, extraordinary work

Gospel proclamation is ordinary work. It's not difficult to understand or to do. It is the plain work of spreading the good news of Jesus Christ to people you meet and get to know. It can be done anywhere and at any convenient time; at home, over lunch, after sport, or at a party. The resources for gospel proclamation are always available. It is simple ordinary work. Any idiot can do it!

Yet at the same time, it is extraordinary work. It is supernatural work. It is powerfully effective, transformational work. The gospel changes everything, because God is at work. As the simple message is spoken and heard, the Spirit of God works in the heart of a person impressing on it two great truths, "I am more wicked than I realised, and more loved than I ever dared hope for." By God's mighty, supernatural power those two truths draw the heart to Christ in repentance and faith.

This combination of our ordinary work and God's extraordinary work should give us greater confidence than many Christians seen to have. May God forgive us. It should lead us to:

(0) Thank God daily for his saving grace to us in Christ

(1) Make sure we are clear on the gospel and how to present it

(2) Make time & create opportunities for telling people the gospel

(3) See the image of God in every human being & love them

(4) Pray constantly for God to work through our witness

(5) Make the most of every opportunity (most other thing are less important!)

(6) Expect conversions

(7) Work together with other Christians for support in our witness

(8) Realise that nothing we do for Christ is wasted

(9) Thank God for the privilege of serving Christ in this way

It's that easy. So let's go reach Tasmania for Christ!

Great Sinner, Great Saviour

The gospel tells us, as John Newton, the writer of the hymn Amazing Grace, once put it, I am a great sinner, and Christ is a great Saviour.

How do you react to that statement? What feelings does that evoke in you?

Does it encourage you? Does it make you feel assured and loved? Does it make you want to sing for joy? Or does it make you feel uncomfortable, offended, or angry?

The Apostle Paul tells us that the gospel is the fragrance of life among those being saved, and the smell of death to those who are perishing.

Christians do not want to take the gospel for granted. They do not want to assume the gospel. They wanted it to be at the very centre of their lives and the life of the church. Why? Because they believe it is the power of God to save people.

The Presbyterian & Reformed Partnership

I thank God for the practical, biblical partnership we as Reformed Christians have with the Presbyterians in Southern Tasmania. It is a partnership that has been blessed by God, and we have seen God's Kingdom come through the work of both churches as churches are planted and new ministry workers raised up for gospel work.

Our connection with them goes back to the early 1950s when the Dutch migrants first came to Kingston, Tasmania. Seeking a church home they attending the St. Johns Presbyterian Church in Hobart and were welcomed with great enthusiasm by Rev C. Read. In those early years as the number of Dutch migrants grew in numbers services in Dutch were held in Kingston (sermons by Rev C. Read & Basil Cox were translated into Dutch and read by Eric vanderLaan.) There was talk of establishing a Presbyterian Church in Kingston. But doubts arose about the Presbyterian Church. The Dutch migrants were concerned about Free Masonary and liberalism in the church. The issues came to sharp focus when a visiting Moderator of Victoria and Tasmania preached a liberal and moralistic sermon at St John's one Sunday, in which there was no mention of Christ. As a result the decision was made to establish the Reformed Church of Kingston. Rev C. Read, who had worked so hard to include the Dutch migrants, was saddened and also somewhat hurt by this decision, as he was a gospel-hearted man.

Little did Rev C. Read know of the partnership that would develop between these two churches some fifty years later.

At the time of the formation of the Reformed Church of Kingston, the leaders signed the 'Kingston Protocol' which states:

Protocol of the founding of the Reformed Church of Kingston

on Sunday the 24th of February 1952 at Kingston, Tasmania

We the undersigned before our migration communicant members of a Protestant Church in The Netherlands and of positive Reformed persuasion regret that we do not feel free to be able to join anyone of the existing Australian churches, partly because in some of them liberalism can develop unhindered, partly because the churches which are faithful to the Holy Scriptures with their prescribed way of worship makes it difficult for us to feel at home in their midst.

We regret the impossibility of joining especially regarding the Presbyterian Church of Hobart, which church has been very accommodating from the beginning of our arrival in Tasmania, especially the Rev. C.Y. Reid is still remembered, who did his utmost to help us in many ways.

Because of the above mentioned reasons, to the honour of God’s name and the spiritual well-being of ourselves and our children we see ourselves called to the founding of the Reformed Church of Kingston within the denomination of the Reformed Churches of Tasmania, on the basis of God’s Word according to the interpretation of the Westminster Confession, the Belgic Confession, the Heidelberg Catechism and the Canons of Dordt. We will maintain this basis by Christian Discipline about teaching and life in accordance with Holy Scripture, Confessions and the Dordt Church order.

We will strive after Christian fellowship with all those who love our Lord and Saviour and who are willing to accept the basis of His Word according to the Creeds of the Reformation, by giving ever more importance to the English [language] in our worship services we will strive to become a real Australian church as soon as possible.

We will persevere in prayer for the Australian Churches that there may be a real return to His Word and Service. If that would happen in the Presbyterian Churches of Australia we would do our utmost to work for union of our churches with these churches.

We undertake this step to found the Reformed Churches with fervent prayer to God for His blessing also for the churches of Australia, that He will keep us and our children and generations to follow from straying from the faith that once was delivered unto the saints. Through His grace He makes us faithful to His Word and the Confessions based on that Word.

Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made heaven and earth.

Signed by 17 Communicant members and 6 Baptized members.

What does this statement mean for us today? How should we respond to it? Things have changed so much in fifty years for both churches. We now share the same Reformed theology, values and vision for our work in Tasmania.

Surely the first thing to do is to thank God for each other and our partnership especially through Vision 100. Secondly, we ought to pray often for each other, asking God to continue to strengthen our partnership, so that his Kingdom may come to His glory alone.

Dangerous waters

Where ever liberal theology has gained an ascendancy the church itself has gone into decline. This is self-evident for any student of church history. Yet, over the last five to ten years, I have detected a slight but growing drift towards liberalism in our Reformed churches. These are dangerous waters for us to enter. This has occurred because of a combination of a poor biblical knowledge, and denial of Scripture's clear teaching. Here are the evidences I see for saying this:

(1) An increasingly biblical illiteracy

Very few members have a clear grasp of the gospel or a good knowledge of the doctrines of grace. Very few can explain the gospel in simple clear terms, or defend it when it is attacked. Even fewer people in our churches understand biblical theology and the principles of interpreting Scriptures.

(2) A lack of confidence in the gospel as the only power in the world that will build the church

We have not been taught to recognize that the gospel is the 'beating heart' of the church. It is often assumed, and it's implications for Christian living are not well understood. This has led to leaders elevating other issues and programs to try to build the church.

(3) A tendency to reject or downplay the key doctrine of original sin and the depravity of man

The belief of our culture, that man is inherently 'good', is undermining a central teaching of the gospel, that while we are made in the image of God and have great potential, we are inherently sinful from birth and therefore need saving. Any denial of this truth denies the necessity of Christ's death on a cross.

(4) An increasing acceptance that woman can serve in the function of elder and minister.

If we were to survey our church leaders, I believe a remarkable number would subscribe to this position, undermining the clear teaching of Scripture on this. We have been infected by our culture, by the influence of Reformed Christians from overseas, and by the many churches in Australia who now hold this position.

(5) The almost non-existent practice of discipline

Although we are committed to this as a mark of the true church, the practice of discipline is pretty much neglected. This will only result in increasingly weak Christian communities that, in their practice, deny the very gospel they purport to believe.

(6) A poor understanding of what biblical leadership is and isn't

There are so many models of leadership being used in the church from managerial through to the old 'dominee' (one man controls all) model, none of which are particularly biblical. Leaders are to serve Christ and his people, by focussing on the Word of God and prayer and laying down their lives. Christ has given various gifts (evangelist, pastor, apostle (small 'a') etc) to the church that are to find their expression under the key attitude of service and servanthood. The neglect of the biblical pattern of leadership again subtly undermines the gospel, which is all about Christ who came, not to be served, but to serve.

Denominations

The the apostles and elders with the whole church decided .... 

Acts 15: 22

Denominations seem to me to be a necessary evil. Too often they create separation between believers where there should be unity. Too often they quench the Spirit by resisting the bold vision of Christ, rather than holding high the cause of Christ for all to see and follow. Too often their decisions are about control rather than empowerment of people and churches. 

That is why para-church organizations can be so useful. Free from the controls and restrictions of church orders and administrative controls, they can empower people to boldly pursue Christ's mission. 

Yet, we stand on very shaky ground when we take a solely negative stance towards the denomination, because the problems we see there are the very same problems found in every church, and the very same problems found in every human heart. Our denominations will only be more godly than they are, when we are more godly then we are.

The challenge is that I might have a clearer view of Christ's vision, and be so taken by this, that I will be prepared to take positive steps to obey my Lord.

The perils of pride in leadership

What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you can to believe - as the Lord has assigned to each his task.

1 Corinthians 3:5

The greatest temptation of a minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ is to rob our Lord of his glory. We do that in many and subtle ways. Our thirst for applause, recognition and status are powerful motivations that we never fully over come this side of heaven.  Our foolish pride is greatest limiting factor to the success of our work for the Lord, and needs to be repented of daily. 

Who are we as ministers? Firstly and fundamentally, we are redeemed sinners, no better than any one else, and just as desperately needing God's grace as our fellow human. As Dr. Timothy Keller often says, the cross of Christ tells us we are more sinful than we imagine, but more loved than we ever dared to dream. That in itself should check our pride. 

Secondly, as Paul says in the above text, we are only servants. The work we do is God's work, as he has assigned it to us. He is the author of faith, and therefore of any success we might see in our ministry. How can we boast in it? How can we look at other ministers with envy when they have greater success ? How can we focus so much on the numbers in our churches? How is it that we take pride in our status as ministers? How is it that we desperately need to be noticed? God forgive us for our stupid, stubborn and sinful pride!

It is enough that we belong to Christ. And it is a great privilege and joy to be his servant in ministry. May the Holy Spirit work in us and help us to fight pride in our lives, so that we may rather be servants of humble child-like trust, who live for God's glory alone.

The Power of Christian Hope

We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. 

It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain, 

where Jesus, who went before us, has entered on our behalf.

Hebrews 6:19-20

C.S. Lewis writes in his book Mere Christianity that we all long for something better than what we have in this life. He says:

Most people, if they really learned to look into their own hearts, would know that they do want, and want acuetly, something that cannot be had in this world. There are all sorts of things in this world that offer to give it to you, but they never quite keep their promise. The longings which arise in us when we first fall in love, or first think of some foreign country, or first take up some subject that excites us, are longings which no marriage, no travel, no learning, can really satisfy. I am not now speaking of what would normally be called unsuccessful marriages, or holidays, or learned careers. I am speaking of the best possible ones. There was something to be grasped at, in that first moment of longing, which just fades away in the reality. The wife may be a good wife, and the hotels and scenery may have been excellent, and chemistry may be a very interesting job: but something has evaded us.

Christians have the hope of a new heavans and new earth, in which we will share God’s glory and joy with new bodies in a new world and a new age. 

What difference does that make to us now? A very great difference. The hope we have gives us great pleasure and great rest. We love our work and work hard to do our best, because we do it all for our Lord. Yet we are not stressed by it because we don’t need to perform or achieve to feel good about ourselves. This hope also gives us courage and strength, because we serve the Majesty of heaven & earth who is in control of all things. The hope we have also enables us to relax, laugh, sing and celebrate together. Our God reigns and nothing can separate us from his love now and forever.

That’s the power of Christian hope.