Saturday, June 18, 2005

The sun is shining ...

Well, it's Saturday morning again, and the rain has stopped - for now anyway. I love the sunshine. I'm a summer person. Cold, wet, rainy days do nothing for me. I'm a fair weather person - beach sand and surf is the way to spend your relaxing hours. God, why didn't you miraculously give us a house near the beach? :D)

I've spent the last two weeks (since SYG) reading lot's of blogs of people who are all seemingly linked to each other . There seems to be a common theme running through all of them - many of them are youth pastors or workers who are embracing a movement known as the emerging church. As best as I can comprehend the ethos of this movement - it seeks to make church and Christianity relevant to young people - which is a noble concept. I can't help but feel when I read the blog posts and some of the resulting comments that we have somehow adopted the notion that we have to make the Gospel relevant for it to be accepted. We see a move away from traditional worship, and a general trend away from traditional church buildings and processes.

I am literally torn in two directions with my feelings about this situation. Whilst I can agree with the need for change in the way we "do" church, I know that many of these churches are unlikely to attract older people who have grown up in the more traditional church vein of life. Is this their intention? I am the first person to stand up and say that legalism, and tradition for the sake of tradition, needs to be dealt with. I have suffered severely at the hands of church leaders who must keep a grip on power and control at all costs. The result for me by opening up my heart to God in my pain and rejection - was that He took me and my wife Karen through an incredible journey of visiting three charismatic churches over two years - none of which were perfect - but all of which sowed things of the Spirit into our lives, and stretched us in our faith and walk with God.

The reality is that most young people are looking for something of worth and value in their lives, and the lives of others. These things are only to be found in the person and work of our Lord Jesus Christ. I guess the reason why older people and older traditions have trouble relating (so we are told) to the youth of today is because they have changed so much in there lifestyles, social definitions, expectations of life and family, and the general breakdown of families and our social/moral structure. I also believe that much of the generational void in the church has been created by the church itself, and the leaderships that insist that we must have a separate youth ministry at all costs. It could be percieved that our youth don't want to have anything to do with older people and older traditions (such as hymns, etc) and that older people don't want to have anything to do with youth and youth emerging traditions (such as Shaker's worship music, mosh pits, etc). I honestly believe that the division between the two "generations" is people created, and hellishly inspired.

The Bible (God's divine and inspired Word to us) clearly does not speak about us having two types of churches - one for youth and one for old. It calls us to meet in the middle ground. It calls us to lay aside our prejudices and divisive thoughts and behaviour. The youth need the older generation - the experience and counsel that can be drawn upon is valuable for the spiritual growth of a younger and newer Christian life. The older generation need the youth so that we don't forget how to enjoy life and have fun, and to not take things too seriously all of the time.

I am so blessed to have an awesome relationship with my three children. I count them as true friends, and always have since they were born. They are a precious gift from God, and Karen and I have poured our lives into them - determined to make a difference in their lives and to see them grow up as healthy, balanced, Spirit filled, world changing followers and disciples of Jesus Christ. And now they are all impacting in a positive and life changing way into other young peoples lives.

I want to make it clear that I am not anti emergent church movement. If it enables the youth of today to meet with Jesus and be transformed, then I am all for it. I just wonder how it looks to the world - who are always looking to the church for direction, whether we acknowledge it or not - when they see a church that appears to be divided against itself. I have studied church planting in depth, and am actively involved in missions (reaching the lost - both here and overseas). Most church plants are emergent in nature (well, at least some of the concepts are there) in that they often start in a home, or a borrowed or rented place. They are usually informal and don't have a paid pastor. They may meet infrequently, or more than once a week (not just on, or not even Sunday).

It saddens me that the enemy is allowed to use the same tactics over and over again. He's used the gifts of the Spirit to divide churches into fundamental and charismatic, and now he is using worship and music to divide the churches into young and old.

My point in all of this rambling is that it is all about our attitudes. We have to learn to reach out to each other, and to embrace each other, and to encourage each other. We can worship alongside each other if we are prepared to love each other. This love demands that we accept each other even if deep down inside we struggle with each other. Only God can bridge that gap! We shouldn't have to change church to make it acceptable and relevant to others - WE SHOULD CHANGE OURSELVES! And yes, then there is by default an expectation that others will change and accept us.

If this personal revival is allowed to take place, the hymns versus youth worship music debate/division/dilema will be stripped of it's power, and we will all learn to worship alongside each other. Informal chats about spirituality and life will go hand in hand with powerful, convicting, preaching of the Word of God. Lifestyle evangelism will complement congregational worship and church life.

Let's not divide the Bride of Christ - let's unit it with one voice, one purpose, and one spirit. This can be done because we listen to one Voice, have one Purpose, and are led and indwelt by one Spirit!

If Jesus was to plant a church here today, what kind would it be?

"Lord God, we pray for the youth of our nation. Would you loose from them the spirit of darkness and lawlessness that is causing them to destroy their lives, and would you bind them - each and every one of them Lord Jesus- to Your will, Your purpose, and Your destiny for their lives."

"Oh, and ditto for us older generation."

Saturday, June 11, 2005

Saturday arvo - looking out my window ...

Well, I've just gotten down from the roof where the gutters needed a small clean out. Nowhere near as much as they used to collect before all the gum trees got chopped down around our house.

Our house is about 20 years old, and was on a semi-rural property before the developers came through and bought up everything around us. We weren't exactly overjoyed at the prospect of having neighbours again because that was the reason why we moved to Southern River in the first place - to get some space between us and people.

The fact is that I didn't want to leave suburbia originally - even though I was born and bred on a farm at Wialki - north of Mukinbudin. But circumstances caused us to move, and God led my precious wife Karen to this house on 1 acre of land just down the road from Thornlie Christian College where our children were attending school. When she first convinced me to come and look at it one Sunday afternoon after we had been for a drive with the kids, there just happened to be a home open!! We walked through the house, and I was quite impressed (I am very critical of things, and quite hard to please sometimes - just ask Karen). Two things - it was way out of our price range, and it was a long way from any shops, etc. Strange how a country boy can become kinda used to suburbia and all of it's comforts - whilst still not really enjoying living in the city.

We needed to move from where we were living though, so we started to pray about the situation. To cut a long story short, there were about 7 other offers on this property, and so we just committed it to God. He did some awesome miracles - one by one all of the offers fell through for one reason or another (divine intervention actually) and eventually - when we had actually handed it back to God and said "Lord if you don't want us to have that house, then please give us the grace to accept it and get on with our lives" - our offer ( for substantially less than what the vendors were asking) was put on the table. And God gave us our beautiful home on 1 acre of land in the bush with horses alongside us, and peace and quiet like you would never believe was possible. Just like being on a farm! This was about 12 years ago.

About 5 years ago - when things were not going too well in our business - the bank tried to take this house and our business away from us. We owed them a lot of money, and they made a demand on us that was impossible to meet. At one PCLC friday night service, I was crying out to God, full of fear and totally devastated by the prospect of my family losing everything and being thrown out on the street. I asked God what was going to happen to us, and our house. I heard God's voice saying "Steve, it was by a miracle that I gave you that house, and it will be by a miracle that I will save it". And He did - and it was an awesome miracle.

Several weeks after that prayer, during another friday night service at PCLC, I cried out to God about our business. His voice spoke back to me and said " Steve, I will build a business that will be beyond your imagination - but I will build it". And He did, and continues to do so. Reminds me a bit of that passage that says "that unless God builds the house, he that labours does so in vain".

So how does that relate to gutters and trees? Simply that there are times when we lament the loss of things in our lives - like all of the beautiful shady gum trees that used to fill our gutters with lots and lots and lots of leaves - but we lose sight of the fact that He always replaces them with something better. We now have lots and lots of neighbours - something that I was never really keen on - but the fact is that most of them have never heard of Jesus and what He did for them upon the Cross. He has not only traded our ashes for beauty - but He has traded our rural sanctuary for neighbours - lost and dying neighbours - a mission field right her on our doorstep, next door, behind us.

"God, I am so sorry for all the times that I've wanted my old life back, or wanted something different than what you want for me. Help me to see past all of the things that I miss, or regret, and show me the true calling of a disciple of Christ - to speak the Word of truth and life into the lives of those around me. Give me a love for my mission field next door."

Wouldn't you want to have a Christian neighbour if you desperately needed to hear about Jesus?