Data Loading...
Perspectives Autumn 2014 Flipbook PDF
Perspectives 53 Autumn 2014
Missionary Churches
Thw theme of this issue is missionary church and reflects the belief t
106 Views
67 Downloads
FLIP PDF 1.16MB
PERSPECTIVES No. 53 Autumn 2014
MISSIONARY CHURCHES
Partnership’s burning aim is to encourage real spiritual life, evangelistic zeal, pastoral effectiveness, and growth in local churches and their individual members. We produce several publications to aid local churches in their work: • ‘Perspectives’ is a seventy page magazine published three times a year, aimed particularly at stimulating local church leaders and others active in local church work. It raises awareness of current church issues, and discusses & shares best practice. Individuals and churches receive ‘Perspectives’ free of charge as part of the benefits of membership. Extra copies are available for purchase; please contact [email protected] • ‘Partnership Monthly Emailing’ gives Partnership news, allows sharing of concerns and ideas, advertises church vacancies and opportunities, contains forthcoming events, and shares news of resources and ideas to follow up. It is available FREE on request to any email address - contact [email protected] • ‘Partnership Books’. As relevant texts become available, Partnership also publishes books and booklets aimed specifically at helping leaders and others with their work. These books are circulated free of charge to members, and can be purchased on-line on the Partnership website (www. partnershipuk.org) or from the GLO Bookshop (E:[email protected]). • Visit the Partnership website (www.partnershipuk.org) for much further information. Back issues of Partnership Perspectives are available in electronic form on the website. So they are readily available as a training tool, for reference in preparing essays and preparation and so on. Please contact [email protected] if you would like sample copies of publications.
IN THIS ISSUE Editorial ii Coming shortly
iv
The global mission of the Church—Ian Burness 1 Non-denominational mission today—Alistair Hornal 8 Denominational mission work today: is it needed?—Paul Young 13 Bi-vocational and incidental mission—Stephen McQuoid 16 From everywhere to everywhere—Hubert Keil 20 Mission to the UK—Pete Baker 24 Relief and development and the local church today—Travers Harpur 30 Beth Dickson’s letter from America
35
Update on Australian developments: CCCAust—Stephen McQuoid 39 Book matters, Books matter: Let me introduce … John Goldingay—John Baigent 42 Defending the Christian faith: A review—John Baigent 46 The cruciality of the Cross: A review—John Baigent 48 Book notes—Stephen McQuoid 50 John Baigent’s book briefs 58 Gifts 66 The views expressed in this publication are those of each contributing writer alone and should not be assumed necessarily to express the opinions or doctrinal position of Partnership (UK) Ltd.
EDITORIAL
P A R T N E R S H I P
ii P E R S P E C T I V E S
Some picking up this magazine may be a little surprised by its theme—missionary church. They may be thinking, ‘That is all old hat. What we need to concentrate on is missional church.’ Those who have coined the latter terminology are rightly concerned that local churches in the urban and suburban West should be much more effective in reaching out to the unchurched—‘to find radical new ways of doing evangelism in our postmodern culture’, as Stephen McQuoid puts it in his valuable book notes to be found towards the end of this issue. The church in each generation does need to be challenged about its effectiveness in evangelism, outreach and mission. Radical movements in Christianity, and those who in former generations have experienced revival and renewal, do constantly need to ask themselves whether they are still being true to their heritage; or whether, with the passage of time, their spiritual arteries have hardened, whether they have simply lost the fervour of their forebears, whether they have become institutionalised, whether they have become respectable in social terms—in the eyes of the world as much as their confreres, whether they are more interested in the local church as a cosy club for existing members of like mind and class rather than in seeing new believers disturb the club’s equilibrium, whether they are simply stuck in the past. This may describe well your own local church. It may simply have lost its passion to be used by God for the extension of Christ’s kingdom, in whatever way. Churches in the constituency in which this magazine mainly circulates often need to regain the passion for the gospel that their forebears evinced, and need to remember how radical their forebears often were in the way in which they communicated the gospel and sought to de-institutionalize their Christianity. But a key fault in our times in the West is our neglect of history, our dismissiveness of the past. In every generation, Christianity tends to mirror the culture in which it is embedded. Some of that is harmless, even beneficial; and Christianity is distinctive in living within, adapting to, and at the same time gradually changing the wide variety of cultures which it has inhabited. Scripture does not require a culturally-uniform Christianity. But modernist and post-modernist Christianity’s dismissal of the past is not, to my mind, harmless. Specifically, its tendency to dismiss 250 years of evangelical Christianity is both unwise and unfair. It can be arrogant, in suggesting that things are only at last being done properly in this generation (let us see whether the next generation agrees if they have the opportunity!). Of course, the church’s understanding of the truth of scripture has evolved in the past 2000 years, both for good and bad at different stages: we do constantly need to be asking ourselves what God is really saying
iii P E R S P E C T I V E S
Neil Summerton
P A R T N E R S H I P
in scripture. But to suggest, as sometimes seems to be the case at least in popular versions, that earlier generations of Christians knew nothing about being ‘missional’ to use the current term, preached a shallow gospel of mere conversionism, neglected discipling, did not reach out beyond their own social milieu, and so on, is simply not so as a general proposition about evangelicalism or pentecostalism for that matter. Some of today’s radical theological critique also trenches on biblical truths, for example, those relating to the nature of salvation, atonement and justification. Where it does so, it is far from benign. This is not to say that our forebears got everything right. But they often got their priorities right, particularly their emphasis on proclaiming and living the biblical gospel, and associating it with social action, as the real business of the church. So, the theme of this issue is missionary church and reflects the belief that the church at every level and in every form still needs to be missionary. Each generation of believers in every place is called to be missionary: where we are, in the next town, in our country as a whole, in our region, in the world as a whole. I take the command (or factual statement) of Jesus in Acts 1: 8 to apply to the church throughout human history and to each local church. That granted, the question is, how are we to apply it in our generation? How are we as individuals to be effectively missionary today? How is our local church to be effectively missionary today? How is the church more widely, whether on a inter-church basis or by the co-operation of individuals and bodies more widely, to be effectively missionary today? That is the subject of this issue. As always, your comments and reflections would be very welcome, for publication in a later issue of Perspectives or in the monthly emailing, which we hope you continue to find valuable as Alistair Hornal and Carol Whitton seek to improve it in appearance and content. In this issue, there are also some cross-cultural reflections from Beth Dickson—the Americans and the British make a serious cross-cultural mistake if they assume that because they speak the same language (more or less), they inhabit the same culture! Thanks to John Baigent and Stephen McQuoid, there is a bumper load of comments on books. (When one considers how hard writing is, compared with reading, it is always a mystery that one cannot keep up in one’s reading, as Stephen evidently does. But good reviews and book briefs do make it unnecessary to read some books, and help in prioritising the reading of others! And book-lovers can comfort themselves that there is little evidence that the internet is killing the printed book. A survey among young people, I recently noted, suggests that they too understand that, for the reader, the book is technologically superior to the scroll/computer screen.)
COMING SHORTLY P A R T N E R S H I P
iv P E R S P E C T I V E S
COUNTIES TRAINING DAY ‘Evangelism in a Post-Christian World’ A stimulating day for Counties evangelists, church planters and church leaders Tuesday 27 January 2015, 10.30 am to 4.00 pm Freshbrook Evangelical Church, Worsley Road, Swindon, SN5 8NU (near M4 junction 16 - revised venue) Guest speaker: Adrian Warnock (Jubilee Church, London) To book a free place and snack lunch, contact 01373 823013 or [email protected] PARTNERSHIP (CARDIFF AREA) MASTERCLASS SEMINAR (SEE ADVERT ON PAGE 69) ‘Modelling, Mentoring and Learning from the Master’ Saturday 31 January 2015, 9.15 am - 2.00 pm (location to be confirmed—please refer to Rupert Abbott (rupert@ partnershipuk.org or 07528 387245))
For those involved in church-based training, discipling and developing others’ gifts PARTNERSHIP SW EXETER CLUSTER Monday 2 February 2015, 7.00 for 7.30pm Supper and more (Location to be announced) TILSLEY COLLEGE OPEN DAY Wednesday 4 February 2015 Find out about studying at Tilsley College. Join present students for lectures and see the college. More details from college@glo-europe. org; tel.: 01698 266776 FUTURE AND HOPE NETWORK (COUNTIES & PARTNERSHIP) ‘Unlocking the potential: Discovering and releasing the gifts of individuals in the local church’ Saturday 7 February 2015, 10.00 am - 4.00 pm
Teaching and seminars led by Bob Telford, Ian Furlong and others The House of Bread, Shipston on Stour, Warwickshire Booking essential (£15 per person) via [email protected], tel.: 0121 430 8181
PARTNERSHIP SW REGION-WIDE LEADERS DINNER Thursday 5 March 2015, 7.00 for 7.30 pm Devon Hotel, Matford, Exeter Speaker: David Cole COUNTIES DAY CONFERENCE 2015 Saturday 7 March 2015 Guest speaker: Ian Coffey
EAST OF SCOTLAND LEADERS’ NETWORK ‘Pastoral Ministry’ Saturday 28 March 2015, 9.15 am 2.00 pm (including coffee and lunch) Hillbank Evangelical Church, Cotton Road, Dundee DD3 7BS PARTNERSHIP SOUTH AND EAST MIDLANDS MASTERCLASS SEMINAR (SEE ADVERT ON PAGE 69) ‘Modelling, Mentoring and Learning from the Master’ Saturday 18 April 2015, 9.15 am - 2.00 pm Granville Street Church, Aylesbury, Bucks
v P E R S P E C T I V E S
SCOTLAND CHURCH WORKERS’ DAY Monday 2 March 2015 10.00 am - 1.30 pm (and lunch) GLO Centre, 78 Muir Street, Motherwell, ML1 1BN
PARTNERSHIP (READING AREA) MASTERCLASS SEMINAR (SEE ADVERT ON PAGE 69) ‘Modelling, Mentoring and Learning from the Master’ Saturday 21 March 2015, 9.15 am - 2.00 pm (to be confirmed—please refer to Alistair Hornal (alistair@ partnershipuk.org)) For those involved in church-based training, discipling and developing others’ gifts
P A R T N E R S H I P
‘FIRSTSERVE’ MISSION WEEKEND ‘Exploring more about mission, evangelism and God’s plan for your life’ Friday 13 - Sunday 15 February 2015 Pioneer Activity Centre, Cleobury Mortimer, Shropshire £59 (including activity sports) More info at www.first-serve.org.uk Contact: [email protected]
Winterbourne International Academy, Bristol, BS36 1JL
For those involved in church-based training, discipling and developing others’ gifts CHURCH PLANTING INITIATIVE REGIONAL HUB MEETINGS
P A R T N E R S H I P
vi
West Midlands Thursday 15 January 2015 Northern Scotland Saturday 17 January 2015 North West Wednesday 21 January 2015 South West Wednesday 28 January 2015 North West Wednesday 4 March 2015 West Midlands Thursday 5 March 2015 South West Wednesday 11 March 2015 Northern Scotland Saturday 14 March 2015
P E R S P E C T I V E S
For all with an interest in church planting Details will be posted on www.cpi-britain.org.uk as they become available
SW SCOTLAND LEADERS’ FORUM Saturday 25 April 2015 9.30 am - 1.30 pm (Location to be announced) TILSLEY COLLEGE VALEDICTORY SERVICE 2015 Friday 19 June 2015, 7.30 pm GLO Centre, 78 Muir Street, Motherwell, ML1 1BN LIVING THE PASSION CONFERENCE Friday 23 - Sunday 25 October 2015 Hinckley Island Hotel, Warwickshire Speakers: John Lennox and Adrian Plass
THE GLOBAL MISSION OF THE CHURCH
I
n recent years, some have re-examined the foundations of mission practice, and the titles noted below are worth serious study.1 We believe that Jesus’ promise to be with us ‘until the end of the age’2 as we go to make disciples of the nations, is still primary and foundational. Before He gave his commission to the apostles, Jesus had already outlined the features of the age in which they, and we, are called to bear witness. David Hesselgrave made two significant points about the teaching of Christ in the Olivet discourse3 for the missionary task of the Church. First, the gospel will be preached to all nations before the end comes and, secondly, this proclamation and advance will take place in an environment of increasing global unrest and instability.
1 Christopher Wright, The Mission of God, IVP 2006; Craig Ott & Stephen Strauss, Encountering Theology of Mission, Baker Academic, 2010. 2 Matthew 28: 20. 3 Matthew 24: 1- 28.
1 P E R S P E C T I V E S
A B I B L I C A L F R A ME WO RK .
P A R T N E R S H I P
Ian Burness has for many years been leading the work of Echoes which supports cross-cultural missionary work based in more than 1,000 independent evangelical churches in the United Kingdom. Here he reflects on the continuing need for, and priority of cross-cultural mission, and on the way that it is changing today. Formerly a missionary doctor, he is acknowledged for his missiological insight. This article provides a brief overview of a large topic, which means that generalisations are made and specifics of different contexts cannot be explored. The references contain some books or articles for further reading on some of the subjects covered.
He wrote, ‘The missionary task will be carried out against the backdrop of a world condition that is anything but utopian—that will, in fact, become progressively worse as we approach the end of the age.’ We therefore live in a time where ‘the painful disasters of our age and the progress of the gospel are inextricably linked together.’4 Although written three decades ago, few would question the validity of these points, for the evident gospel growth in that period has taken place in an environment of increasing risk and instability, apparent in many different areas of the world.
P A R T N E R S H I P
2 P E R S P E C T I V E S
WHAT IS THE STATE OF THE CHURCH? The evidence of global growth, particularly in the past 50 years, is well documented. Successive editions of Operation World5 have recorded this growth, while others, such as Phillip Jenkins,6 have described how the majority of the world’s Christians are now found in the southern areas of the globe: in Africa, Asia and Latin America. Christianity has swung from an era of northern and western preponderance, to a situation where over two-thirds of the world’s Christians (of every kind) live in the south. The International Bulletin of Missionary Research publishes an annual table of current global statistics. The 2014 figures7 record a total world population of 7.2 billion, of which 2.37 billion (nearly 33%) are classified as ‘Christians’. 1.47 billion (62%) of this Christian population are found in Africa, Asia or Latin America. Of the total 2.37 billion, 940 million are classified as Evangelicals or Pentecostals/ Charismatics, Other figures demonstrate the level of evangelistic activity. Over 80 million Bibles are distributed every year, while over 5 billion gospels or portions of scripture are published. Over 2 billion people listen to Christian broadcasts in some form, whether through radio, TV or via the internet. However, growth in denominations continues rapidly, with 45,000 registered denominations of all shapes and sizes, essentially a phenomenon of the Protestant world. There has been an increase of nearly 11,000 new denominations since the year 2000, evidence of the fissiparous nature of the evangelical/charismatic world. A final figure re-emphasizes the scale of the remaining mission task: 2.16 billion people are still classified as unevangelized, and have had no contact with the gospel in any form. They will only hear the message
4 5 6 7
David Hesselgrave, Today’s Choices for Tomorrow’s Missions, Zondervan, 1988, p.219. Jason Mandryk, Operation World, 7th edition, Biblica, 2010. Philip Jenkins, The Next Christendom, Oxford, 2002. International Bulletin of Missionary Research, January 2014, vol.38, pp. 28, 29.
if someone from the outside enters their culture to tell them. So our rejoicing at what has happened must be tempered by the reality of the job remaining.
nurses and doctors serve God in areas of continuing instability, with the same spirit of commitment that marked the founders of the past. The communist takeover of Ethiopia in 1974 led to the evacuation of missionary personal and the Church had to go underground for a period, as did Bible schools and training facilities. Ethiopian Christians demonstrated great courage and maintained their evangelistic fervour, and a remarkable period of growth has followed.
8 Tony Lambert, The Resurrection of the Chinese Church, Hodder, 1991. China’s Christians Millions, Monarch 1999. 9 Charles Marsh, Too Hard for God, OM Publishing, 2000 edition. 10 On a recent visit to Luanza in Congo (Dan Crawford’s base), we visited a graveyard where 11 missionaries and their children are buried, some of whom served there only for a short time.
3 P E R S P E C T I V E S
Chinese believers kept the faith and continued to share the gospel. The Church did not die but began to grow to the remarkable extent seen today. Generations of workers in the Muslim lands of north Africa, particularly among the Kabyle people, saw very little result in their lifetime as they sowed on very hard ground.9 Today, the fruit of this seed is seen in the growth of a vibrant community of Kabyle believers numbering many thousands. Sub-Saharan Africa has also seen dramatic Christian growth. The Democratic Republic of Congo has been a turbulent, war-torn state for many decades. During the last decades of the 19th century, progress was slow and mortality high among the missionary community. The graveyards of Africa tell a story of the sacrifices made by early workers.10 Now, growing churches, indigenous evangelists, pastors, teachers,
P A R T N E R S H I P
WHAT IS DRIVING THE GROWTH? Is this growth spontaneous? Does it represent a fresh movement of the Holy Spirit or are there links to what has gone before? The answer is that both are true: God’s Spirit is at work in new and surprising ways, while in some areas there is a clear link to the preceding missionary era when good foundations were laid. It can be argued that the most dramatic Christian growth has taken place in China. The rise of the communist state led to the expulsion of all foreign missionaries, with increasing pressure on indigenous Chinese Christians, until by the late 1960s many thought any form of the Chinese church was dead.8 In the hour of their trial,
P A R T N E R S H I P
4
The growth being seen is no longer led by expatriate missionaries or agencies, but by a local network of evangelists and missionaries
The growth being seen is no longer led by expatriate missionaries or agencies, but by a local network of evangelists and missionaries, who are taking the gospel to their own communities and beyond. The era of Western dominance has passed and it is now well recognised that mission is no longer from ‘here to there’ but ‘from everywhere to everywhere’.11 New mission agencies have sprung
up in the Majority World which are making a valuable contribution, but much of the work is being done at grass-roots level by networks of indigenous evangelists and church planters, serving in their own culture and context. Their names or reports of their work will rarely reach the West, but this is how God is working. A recent publication tells moving stories of a selection of these evangelists from Ethiopia.12
P E R S P E C T I V E S
WEAKNESSES IN THE GROWTH The parable of the sower13 reminds us that not all those who receive the gospel seed are fruitful, and the message that echoes from all quarters is the need to deepen growth and train new converts in discipleship. A lack of understanding of basic Christian beliefs, the activity of Satan, or the possibility of growth being choked off by many other things, are still major risks. The observations of experienced mission leaders, familiar with the superficial nature of belief in many parts, is that there is ‘the need to deepen discipleship everywhere.’14 This critical need for leadership training and disciple-making was affirmed by key African leaders and others at the 4th Lausanne Conference in Cape Town,15 and, as Peter Maiden also said, ‘The church is in danger of undermining the gospel.’16 Many factors are at play in the majority world that cause this weakness: a lack of biblically-trained leaders and teachers; a frequent shortage of teaching resources and
11 M. Pocock, G. Van Rheenen & D McConnell, The Changing Face of World Missions, Baker: 2005 12 Dick McLellan, Warriors of Ethiopia, Lost Coin, 2013 13 Matthew 13: 1-23 14 Peter Maiden, Echoes Annual Seminar, 2014 15 The writer heard a succession of African leaders at this conference in 2010 state that the major need of the African church was discipleship training and leadership development. 16 Ibid.
materials; illiteracy and poverty and aberrant teaching and false gospels (the growth of the prosperity gospel is an example). On these questions, expatriate workers can make a significant contribution, through teaching and training and through the provision of good affordable resources that are accessible to the local churches. GLOBAL PRIORITIES FOR MISSION The present picture is encouraging despite the insecurity in many parts of the world, but what are the major challenges to be faced in our times?
available on this topic, that are useful in understanding evangelistic approaches to Muslims, for that above all is what needs to be developed. Lest we descend into too much pessimism, it is important to remember that breakthroughs are occurring and Muslims are coming to faith in Christ. In some parts, there seems to be only a trickle, while in other areas significant numbers have come to faith, and God is doing some remarkable things in the Islamic world. 2. The challenge of Europe The heartlands of former Christendom are now largely a spiritual desert, especially Western Europe. Growing secularism, declining numbers of even nominal Christians, collapsing church attendance and the marginalisation of Christian influence 17 Ibid. 18 Phil Parshall, The Cross and the Crescent, Gabriel, 2002 & Evelyne Reisacher:, Towards Respectful Understanding & Witness among Muslims, Wm Carey Library, 2012.
5 P E R S P E C T I V E S
block in the world today, and in areas such as the Middle East and the Sahel in Africa escalating tension between communities is evident. The political leaders of the West have not yet worked out how best to respond to the increasing threat, whether through adopting multiculturalism or legislating against certain Muslim practices. Even the mission world is divided in its approach, and there have been significant tensions between those who would confront Islam, and others who feel the need to adopt a softer approach and seek to try and find common ground for dialogue. Inevitably, there is a spectrum of opinion, and sometimes the rhetoric has become quite heated. All that can be done here is to refer to two volumes18, among the many
P A R T N E R S H I P
1. The Islamic world Few would argue with the assertion that Islam is the greatest challenge being faced by the church today. The 1.66 billion Muslims17 form the second-largest religious
are widely seen. Europe’s aging population is marked by increasing unbelief, and commenting on the changing continent Philip Jenkins wrote: ‘The Europe that is declining in population is a Europe more rational than Europe has ever been, more scientific, less religious, less pious, more mundane, wealthier, more consumerist, more universally close to living as if God did not exist.’19
P A R T N E R S H I P
6
Alongside this Christian decline lies the threat of growing Islamic populations, with churches ill-equipped to reach out to these new communities. Many would see the ‘reevangelisation of Europe’ as one of the major mission challenges of our times, and perhaps, as some have stated, this may be the greatest gospel challenge yet: the re-evangelising of a culture that used to be Christian. Many people have been inoculated against the gospel by the negative encounters they have had with Christian churches or people, while media attacks and gender issues have affected the ability of many Christians to engage effectively in evangelism. The challenge is there and for all who live in Europe it is great.
P E R S P E C T I V E S
3. Unreached and hidden peoples There are still a large number of people-groups in the world today yet to be reached by the gospel. For this to happen, missionaries will have to enter these communities from the outside, for as yet there are no indigenous Christians among them. The Joshua Project, which has run since 1995, is a valuable resource which lists all the people groups in the world. There are a total of 9,755 people-groups in the world, of whom 4082 (42.3%) remain unreached.20 These comprise over 2 billion unreached people. Alongside unreached people, there is another group now called ‘hidden peoples’, groups who live in areas where there are significant numbers of Christians, yet they have been ignored or overlooked and consequently are not being reached. One example is the deaf, one of the largest groups of hidden people. They are found in every country, among every people, but due to lack of resources, training or desire are bypassed and ignored. 4. Discipleship and leadership This has been mentioned already as a global priority, but it is worth re-emphasizing, as a critical need everywhere. Over-enthusiasm produced by reports of growing numbers has deflected attention from the weakness of much of that growth. This is now being balanced by a greater emphasis on discipleship and leadership training as a priority 19 Philip Jenkins, God’s Continent, Oxford, 2007, p. 9. 20 http://joshuaproject.net/
in every part of the world, accompanied by the development of programmes to provide this.
The global mission of the church remains the proclamation of the saving grace of God
which enable them to defend their faith and present Christ more effectively. In the pluralistic world of the first century, the early Church faced a cultural environment not dissimilar our own. These first-Century disciples were known for their boldness, for they experienced the power of the gospel at work in their own lives. A recovery of confidence will only begin when Christian people know the power of that message transforming their daily living. 21 Tim Chester, Good News for the Poor,IVP, 2004, p. 67. 22 Ravi Zacharias, Beyond Opinion, Thomas Nelson, 2010 edition.
7 P E R S P E C T I V E S
6. A recovery of confidence in the gospel The global mission of the church remains the proclamation of the saving grace of God mediated through Jesus Christ our Lord, and the demonstration of that grace through acts of service to the world in Christ’s name. However, Western Christians living in cultures where pluralism is accepted, absolutes denied, and beliefs and values personalised, need courage to hold to and proclaim the absolute uniqueness and particularity of God’s self-revelation in Jesus Christ, through whom alone comes salvation. This is a problem, especially in Western environments, and has driven in recent years an increase in those helping to resource Christians with apologetic tools22
P A R T N E R S H I P
5. True holistic mission There has been a clear recognition in recent decades of the validity of programmes for health care, relief, development, education, social justice and advocacy. Many Christians are engaged in these areas and are serving needy communities for the sake of Christ. There is less tension in the tug of war between spiritual work and social work than there was in the past. However, any pendulum can swing too much in one direction and concerns have been raised that the gospel is being forgotten in many programmes. When this is the case, holistic mission is no longer holistic. Tim Chester wrote, ‘Social action and evangelism should neither be identified with one another, nor separated. Evangelism and social action should be viewed as distinct, but inseparable activities in our mission to the poor in which proclamation is central.”21
NON-DENOMINATIONAL MISSION TODAY P A R T N E R S H I P
Alistair Hornal, Partnership’s Development Co-ordinator, has helped lead churches of various connectional ‘flavours’ and for many years has been involved in nondenominational mission through Serving in Mission (SIM), including recently as chairman. Here, he considers the merits of non-denominational mission compared with the denominational variety.
8 P E R S P E C T I V E S
T
his article is unashamedly personal. Without imposing my views on others as though they were ‘right’ or even ‘superior’, I want to share from my own limited experience the huge excitement I have about co-working in global mission today. However, I also write from a faith conviction that I believe to be biblical, inviting readers to add their views (e.g. through the Partnership monthly e-mail) so that together we can go on developing our thinking as we dismantle man-made barriers and work with renewed passion in obedience to the Great Commission. Let me start then with what are, to me, some relevant core convictions. I believe in the church—local and universal. Denominations seem to have little biblical warrant, other than perhaps as a testimony to our tendency both to division and tribalism. I believe in partnerships. Partnership-UK is one such, and I am glad to be part of it. For along with our shared commitment to, e.g., ‘The centrality of Christ and the cross’, ‘Scripture’ and ‘Evangelism at home and abroad’, we are all equally committed to ‘Open-hearted co-operation with all committed Christians and local churches’.1
1
From Partnership’s Ethos Statement: http://www.partnershipuk.org/Vision.htm
(I could not bear to be part of anything that was ‘exclusive’, even if claiming to be ‘open’, for all whom Christ accepts we too must welcome gladly, whatever our views on secondary issues.2)
I believe in mission— God’s Mission to bring the whole universe under the headship of Christ
9 P E R S P E C T I V E S
2 Reading perhaps Romans 15: 7 as a climax to the argument running from 14: 1. 3 See Ephesians 1: 9-10. 4 See Ephesians 2: 14-22; also Galatians 3: 26-29. 5 See my Post-Brethrenism and Apostolic Teams in last edition of Perspectives (no. 52, Spring 2014, pp. 28-32).
P A R T N E R S H I P
I believe in mission—God’s Mission to bring the whole universe under the headship of Christ,3 resulting in the evident removal of all man-made barriers4 as the hugely varied church of Jesus Christ together bears witness to the multi-faceted grace of God who sent his Son into the world to save sinners. Furthermore, I believe that no local church is intended to function in isolation. Indeed, if local churches are to flourish, they need to be missional—both sending and receiving those God sends to help them,5 benefiting from those who have an outlook similar to their own, for sure; but growing towards maturity through actively embracing believers from different cultural (and Christian sub-cultural) backgrounds, celebrating every possible diversity within covenant faithfulness to the Lord Jesus Christ, joyfully welcoming newcomers and letting them help us in the transformation that God wants to bring about in and through us—and not merely assimilating them into ‘our’ church and our way of doing things! If we are to be such churches and see such churches planted and strengthened globally, it is not surprising that some of us will want to work with others from a similar church background, with the benefit of certain shared presuppositions about our aims and outcomes. We will want to use the connections we have among our churches both to provide a stable sending base for missionaries and to enable likeminded church planters to team up (and, indeed, to provide culturally appropriate training and support ministries for such church-planting initiatives). Furthermore, a range of support structures have been developed to serve and promote mission enterprise among our churches, providing trusted means of channeling funds.
P A R T N E R S H I P
10 P E R S P E C T I V E S
There is great value in what might perhaps be termed ‘connectional’ (rather than denominational) mission.6 Equally, however, God will call people from churches such as those connected through Partnership to engage in mission with people from different church backgrounds. ‘General missions’ (providing agricultural, business, health and education ministries, for example as well as evangelism, church planting and theological training) enable co-working among people with a great variety of gifts and ministries which together adorn the proclamation of God’s kingdom and his Christ. There is perhaps a particularly powerful testimony as people from different cultural—and church—backgrounds work together in mission, demonstrating that whatever our varied origins, our goal is united in Christ. Since 1998, when Africa Evangelical Fellowship merged with SIM (originally the Sudan Interior Mission—known in the UK today as Serving In Mission), I have served on its UK board, and for the last eight years have served also on the mission’s international board. During that short time, we have seen a significant shift in the centre of gravity of mission sending, as former ‘mission fields’ become mission forces, as increasing numbers from the global south are sent in cross-cultural mission—and as traditional missionary sending countries (like the UK) have the humility to recognize that we too need the help of missionaries if we are to reach our multi-national neighbours—as well as perhaps the many unreached people of our ‘host nations’. In the last few years, SIM has restructured its governance, so that we are no longer ‘owned’ by the traditional (mainly Western) sending countries; rather, people from anywhere are being enabled to go anywhere in partnership with others. Other well-established mission agencies are similarly changing. But the changes run even deeper than that. There is a real sense of co-operation rather than of competition. Of course, each mission agency values its own distinctives,7 but increasingly agencies are
There is a real sense of co-operation rather than of competition
6 Partnership not only seeks to help independent churches to connect with one another, but gladly promotes the activities of connectional mission service groups like Echoes, GLO and Interlink. I also look forward to learning more about what God is doing globally through churches like ours at the International Brethren Conference on Mission in Rome in June 2015 (see www.ibcm.net for more details). 7 As does each church—and quite rightly!
mobilizing for mission (and not just recruiting people for our mission). Inter-agency movement of personnel is not uncommon, and rather than carving up mission fields into sectors where one mission seemed to have a monopoly within its ‘parish boundaries’, people from different agencies often now work co-operatively. Indeed, I believe we need to do so more and more if we are to function with economic efficiency—and if together we are to play our part in making disciples of all nations.8
11 P E R S P E C T I V E S
8 Matthew 28: 18-20. 9 It would seem a strange irony that those who so vehemently deny that they are part of a denomination would consider engaging in anything like denominational mission. We are not immune to the ‘tribal’ tentacles of denominationalism that will infiltrate our connections, however. The best antidote I know is to maintain strong and transparent relationships with people of different churchmanship. 10 I would prefer that we were intentionally non-denominational; but as denominations are part of the current reality, we need to live with it! 11 From SIM core value ‘Strengthened Through Diversity’, www.sim.org/index.php/content/core-values
P A R T N E R S H I P
While this sense of global partnership can (and does!) embrace denominational and connectional missions, my own passion for the cause of Christ would tend towards encouraging people from our sort of church background to become part of missions where denominations are an irrelevance. Apart from the apparent strangeness of perpetuating denominational divisions as we export them in mission, I believe that non-denominational missions are enriched through the participation of people in whose very DNA is the quest to go back to the Scriptures to discover wisdom from God in mission situations, rather than to rely on their received way of doing things. And, of course, if we don’t simply want to be guilty of exporting our own traditional ways of doing church, we too will need the help of sisters and brothers from others backgrounds to help us see past our own ‘denominational’ blinkers.9 I delight to be part of a mission that is ‘intentionally interdenominational,10 international, and multiethnic.’11 Furthermore, from the very beginning, SIM missionaries sought to sow the seeds of mission sending into every church they planted. My heart resonates with people who want to help every church become a sending church—so that those who live and die without hearing the Good News that is embodied in Jesus may be reached. I am thrilled to be part of a movement that is taking the message of Jesus where he is not yet known—and doing it in partnership with others who share the same goal of God’s global glory in the church and in Christ Jesus. For none of us can do the work of world mission alone. No local church is adequate on its own—neither is any group of churches. Nor should any one mission agency think it is the answer to the world’s needs. But ‘together with all the
P A R T N E R S H I P
12 P E R S P E C T I V E S
saints’, I (and the congregation I am part of and the mission agency in which I invest my energies) get to be part of the whole mission of God through the (universal) church. For missions are not ‘para-church’ but ‘part of church’. They are a practical expression of inter-congregational co-operation that transcends passive ecumenism by partnering in the progress of the gospel and the extension of Christ’s kingdom to the ends of the earth till the end of the age. To work effectively, however, we do need to work in partnership with people who carry a similar vision and are inspired by a shared passion. Not surprisingly for Christians, the way we ‘do church’ may be one of those shared passions; indeed, for some it will amount to a core conviction, so convinced are they that their way of functioning is most biblical. Naturally, I too have my preferences (even convictions—though some may say, prejudices!) about how to operate as a community of God’s people. But I have stated my core convictions about the church in the opening paragraphs above. Given my spiritual background, it comes as no surprise to find myself ‘at home’ in Partnership churches. But I find myself equally at home among believers from a whole host of backgrounds who refuse to ‘major on the minors’ and who realize that ‘the main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing’.12 For me, the main thing is
the main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing
to line up with Jesus as the cornerstone,13 taking my place alongside all who come to him to follow ‘the builders’ Reject’—and make disciples who will make Christ-like disciples of all nations. Wherever I go among God’s people, I find potential partners in mission with these same passions. I certainly wouldn’t want to let denominations get in the way of partnership in mission, when there is a world to be won together!
12 Experience with Youth for Christ and then UCCF (as a student and staff-worker) opened my eyes to the wider world of Bible-believing followers of Jesus. Inter-church local mission and inter-mission fellowship have simply strengthened the vision. To be part of the world missions community is perhaps one of the most exhilarating expressions on earth of what it is to be ‘Church’. 13 See 1 Peter 2:4-10.
DENOMINATIONAL MISSION WORK TODAY—IS IT NEEDED?
13 P E R S P E C T I V E S
I
t is too easy to be dominated by a pessimistic outlook as we consider the work of Brethren mission today. In Britain, the movement seems to be in decline; local churches are closing; others are very small; some now live under another banner; and large parts of the UK do not have an explicitly Brethren congregation. The momentum seems to have faded and in many instances the need to maintain the cause locally obscures any thinking about overseas or cross-cultural mission work. The question therefore naturally arises as to whether we should pursue mission work as a Brethren movement or should we simply accept that denominations are a thing of the past and throw in our lot with interdenominational organisations. The argument runs that co-operation is much more helpful than competition. We, all as evangelical Christians, serve the same cause and so the day of denominational activity is over. Also, we live in a post-denominational world and certainly new generations do not have the same loyalty or commitment to a particular ‘brand’ of evangelicalism. Yet there are still nearly a thousand Brethren-background congregations in the UK and hundreds of individuals associated with them are working abroad in crosscultural mission. Some 250 such people are listed with Echoes, while a number work with no listing or with other mission agencies. In the UK, we still have active and
P A R T N E R S H I P
Paul Young is chairman of Echoes, the main organisation in the United Kingdom which stimulates and supports cross-cultural mission from the broad base of the Brethren movement. Across six generations, that movement achieved outstanding things in cross-cultural mission. Here, Paul gives reasons why it should go on doing so.
even vibrant mission service groups such as Echoes, Interlink, GLO, Brass Tacks and Medical Missionary News. These continue to be reasonably well funded and personnel still serve under their umbrella of support. Elsewhere, there are long established similar organisations in North America, Australia, New Zealand, and Germany, while other countries are developing their own service groups. So should this be encouraged or is the day of denominational activity over? Just in passing we can say that other denominations maintain their mission structure and there is little sign that they have any intention of entering into some pan-evangelical mission organisation. There are sound reasons for on-going mission work rooted in this movement as well. P A R T N E R S H I P
14 P E R S P E C T I V E S
1. CONTINUITY Historically, the assemblies have been at the forefront of pioneer mission work and most parts of the world have been evangelised by assembly missionaries. Traditionally Brethren assemblies have given more to world mission per head than almost any other denomination—this was in part because there were no local pastors or denominational headquarters to maintain. Also a high percentage of members have been involved in overseas mission work. This heritage is one of the great aspects of the assembly movement and should not be forgotten. There have been outstanding pioneers whose life stories are utterly inspiring: Dan Crawford and Frederick Stanley Arnot in Africa, Reginald Sturt in Mongolia, Anthony Norris Groves in Baghdad and India, Charles Marsh in Algeria and Chad, to give but a few examples. This gives a great connection with the past and that is still important for many people who support the work of the Gospel through longstanding mission service groups. 2. CONFIDENCE Generally speaking there is greater confidence that money will be properly spent, with real accountability when it is channelled through known agencies. It gives assurance when funds to mission work and project ministry are given to personnel from similar backgrounds with a similar outlook as the donor. There can be serious concern when money is channelled into organisations whose ethos and theological outlook could be different. Also assembly agencies set up for the support of mission, including the channelling of funds, have long-standing reputation for transparent honesty which encourages regular giving and also such giving is done with confidence that all will be used responsibly and for the glory of God.
3. CONNECTION Assembly mission work gives a sense of linking with like-minded people. These are workers from other countries who have a similar outlook and it brings realisation that we are part of a larger family who have a common heritage and desire. The IBCM and other more regionalised gatherings of recent years have helped deepen the network and strengthen the ties between Brethren movements across the globe. There may be no formal headquarters, no centralised administrative body but the richness of connection across political borders simply encourages a deeper bond to help forward the Gospel in our generation.
15 P E R S P E C T I V E S
5. CONCLUSION Historically the Brethren have made an outstanding contribution to worldwide mission. In our contemporary world, they still have a great deal to contribute and, though this might not be so evident from the Anglo-Saxon countries, the emerging mission movement from other nations makes it very encouraging. We can face the future with confidence and anticipate a move of God’s Spirit and pray that it will bring revival to assemblies in the UK.
P A R T N E R S H I P
4. CO - OPERATION All this does not and never has precluded working closely with other denominational workers. For example, even in the nineteenth century, there was constructive co-operation with other groups in Africa and post Second World War there was fellowship in Malaysia across denominational lines. However, such convictions as the local church being important in mission, with multiple elders who lead the congregation in love, with no separation of laity and clergy, with the Lord’s Supper as a wonderful focus and Bible teaching as paramount, are important. They may not be found only in Brethren assemblies but they are at the heart of a local assembly and mission reflects this ethos and it is hard to have the same confidence with those who emphasises are different. Also the concept of ‘living by faith’ was formulated and acted upon in Brethren assemblies. This was the notion that God can be utterly trusted. Therefore the mission need was met through being called by the Lord, commended by the local assembly and welcomed on the field of service, with the thought that the Lord will provide. This model might take various forms, but it is one which Brethren workers have lived by and through which great blessing has flowed.
BI-VOCATIONAL AND INCIDENTAL MISSION P A R T N E R S H I P
16 P E R S P E C T I V E S
Cross-cultural mission has always taken place in the wide variety of ways. We should beware of thinking that the salaried missionary of a denominational or other missionary society is the norm, or even that the worker with a faith mission is the norm. Missionaries have often supported themselves by tent-making, to use the time-honoured biblical term. And, in many places, the growth of the church has come about because people went to particular places as settlers or on business (for example) and thought it natural at the same time to evangelize and form the converts into churches so that they could be discipled. Stephen McQuoid explores these options. He is General Director of GLO-Europe.
I
n recent years, there have been huge changes taking place in the way that mission is done. The well-used model of someone being entrusted by their local church to a mission organisation and then going out to a different part of the world with the gospel is still with us, but this is not the only model in operation. What is more, it is no longer the case that most missionaries come from churches in the West as happened for many centuries. Most of us will be aware that there has been staggering growth in the majority world church over the past 250 years. It was always going to be only a matter of time before these vibrant, fast-growing church movements would begin to send their own missionaries. By the 1980s, the number of missionaries coming from the majority world overtook their counterparts in the West. This trend is continuing and by 2050 it is estimated that nearly 70% of the world’s mission force will come from the majority world. This is dramatic change indeed and very welcome. However,
we need to look more closely at this phenomenon, as well as other related mission issues, to get a truer picture of what God is doing in our world today.
• Many countries do not allow missionary activity to take place and so having a genuine job can literally be a passport into a country. • Missionaries who obtain employment in their chosen country of service often integrate more easily into the host country. This integration not only includes their own personal sense of belonging, but often employment breaks down barriers with nationals as a job gives an obvious reason for their being there. • Sometimes it is an inappropriate use of resources to have missionaries who rely only on traditional means of support. For example, in sparsely-populated rural areas where any churches planted will be small, it is an expensive option to support a missionary fully to work with a church that might only ever number a handful. If, however, the missionary is at least partially self-supported, it makes much more sense.
17 P E R S P E C T I V E S
• If missionaries are to at least part-fund themselves, then churches that send missionaries need not feel inhibited in doing so solely on the basis of affordability.
P A R T N E R S H I P
BI-VOCATIONAL MISSION The rise of mission from the majority world has raised significant questions about the financial sustainability of mission. Putting it bluntly, missionaries who come from poor countries often find that it impossible to rely totally on their sending church or organisation for their financial support. This is not exclusively a majority world issue; western missionaries have also found themselves in similar situations and many of them have spent their entire missionary career bi-vocationally, that is, supporting themselves through remunerated work while carrying on the work of mission at the same time. However, the problems are particularly acute in the majority world. This has meant that many such missionaries have had to hold down a part-time or even full-time job in order to finance their mission activities. Of course, tent making is not a new concept, but it is a way of doing mission, that has become ever more popular and this is likely to continue. There are some big advantages to bi-vocational mission a few of which are listed below:
• Having a job also puts a missionary in contact with everyday people. This is a particular advantage if the missionary is an evangelist and also if the culture he or she is working in is a high-pressure, business-orientated culture. One of the most difficult things for a missionary evangelist is creating relationships so the gospel can be shared. Many of the people they aim to reach live busy lives and are at work during the day and with their families at night. Having a job enables the missionary to have contact with non-Christians in a natural environment.
P A R T N E R S H I P
18
Clearly bi-vocational mission is a very valuable asset and should not be considered an inferior or second choice in mission. Indeed, because of the advantages which it presents, many missionaries will choose to serve in this way, even if they do have the option of being so called ‘full-time’ missionaries. This pathway will not just be taken by missionaries coming from the majority world. One couple I know left their large church in the UK and went to a more remote part of the UK where there were relatively few evangelical churches. There they planted two small churches while working in regular jobs. Not only did they do church planting, but as they were earners they were also able to give financial support to other missionaries who were in more conventional ministries.
P E R S P E C T I V E S
INCIDENTAL MISSION Another aspect of self-supported mission that is worth thinking about is what has been termed incidental mission. This is when Christians move to other locations for employment or other reasons and are used by God when they get there (because, of course, as committed believers they have the intention so to be used). Historically, the effects of incidental mission have been significant, through, for example, the relocation of Huguenots and Anabaptists/Mennonites as a result of persecution in the 16th and 17th centuries. In some countries, the Brethren movement owes its origin to incidental mission, for example, in Singapore and some Pacific islands. It is difficult to quantify the extent of incidental mission today, but it is certainly huge. Transmigration is an established feature in modern life. People throughout the UK have become acutely aware of growing numbers of Eastern Europeans, Asians and Latin Americans moving into their communities. The open borders of the EU and the porous borders of most trading nations means that a great many countries now have a very mixed population.
50% of all Africans who make their way into Europe are already church members
These problems notwithstanding, incidental mission should still be seen as a great blessing. God has greatly used today’s migrating Christians, just as he did in the book of Acts; and even those Christians whose churches operate in a different language to that of their host country might find that their children and grandchildren will become thoroughly indigenised and begin to reach the local population. Despite the complications, we should thank God for bi-vocational and incidental mission and also think about how we can encourage it, as well and support and train those who are doing it. 1
Three are Brethren churches by background.
19 P E R S P E C T I V E S
incomers, while long-established churches in Ukraine are enlivened by an influx of African Pentecostals. There are also large numbers of people in hubs like London who come from countries closed to the gospel and missionary activity but who can now be reached safely because they now live in a country where there is freedom of religion. These are results that no one planned for and for which there was no strategy, just the sovereign work of God allowing for the flourishing of his kingdom. There are, of course, some complications associated with these developments. For example, in many major European cities there are churches that function using a language different from their host country. These churches become spiritual enclaves that offer little relevance to the general populace. What is more, migration can also be transitory. Many churches in Spain, for example, have become too dependent on members and even leaders from Romania and Latin America, some of whom are returning home due to Spain’s economic woes and are thus causing vulnerability in the churches that briefly adopted them.
P A R T N E R S H I P
The spiritual impact of this is evident. Today, Europe plays host to some 45 million Muslims as well as many other religious groupings. But Christianity has also benefitted significantly by this movement of people. Operation World suggests that perhaps as many as 50% of all Africans who make their way into Europe are already church members. Many of these will be vibrant Christians who will bring the gospel with them wherever they go. Migration from Eastern Europe to the West, or from Africa, Latin America and the Middle East into Europe, has resulted in some exciting blessings. We now have Nigerian churches in Glasgow, Dublin and Manchester, while Romanian churches appear in Rome and Madrid (and London1). Decaying churches in inner London have been bolstered by multilingual
FROM EVERYWHERE TO EVERYWHERE P A R T N E R S H I P
Until comparatively recently, at least in the evangelical world, cross-cultural mission was a matter of one-way traffic—from a limited number of countries in the West to what was then thought of as the undeveloped or under-developed world. Very rapidly, that has been completely overturned, in practice if not in the perceptions of the average Christian in the West. Hubert Keil, who works in the Missions Department of Forum Wiedenest in Germany as Referent für Jugend und Mission, analyses what is now happening.
20 P E R S P E C T I V E S
F
or more than three centuries world mission was dominated by western countries. But ‘from the West to the Rest’ is history. At the beginning of the new millenium, mission is ‘from everywhere to everywhere’. Globalization, international migration and the age of information have changed the world as a whole and also the world of missions. Countries which were the mission field of western missionaries a hundred years ago have now become sending nations. South Korea is sending out more new missionaries every year than the whole of Europe. A black African is pastoring the largest church in Europe (in Kiev, Ukraine). Nigerians are reaching out to Polish immigrants in London. Workers from South America bring the gospel to Muslim immigrants in Germany and Spain. More and more non-western mission agencies participate in world mission by partnering with existing global Christian networks and organisations established by western Christians. But a far larger, and ever growing, impact on world missions is being made through the global diaspora. Diaspora networks play a vital and rapidly growing role in enabling the gospel to flow from everywhere to everywhere. We are living in the age of migration: now more than 220 million people live outside
their countries of birth. They are migrant labourers from impoverished countries who look for work in the Middle East, South East Asia, Central Europe and North America. Millions of well-educated young people study abroad. Multinational companies send large numbers of expatriates across the globe. And there is the ever growing number of refugees who have had to flee civil war, political unrest or environmental disaster. Last year, the number of refugees exceeded 51 million, the highest figure since the end of the Second World War.
21 P E R S P E C T I V E S
MISSIONS AT THE EXIT RAMPS OF THE REFUGEE HIGHWAY Despite strong efforts by the European Union to stop the skyrocketing numbers of asylum seekers, hundreds of thousands of refugees make it every year into Europe.
P A R T N E R S H I P
DIASPORA : THE HIDDEN MISSION FORCE Many of those migrants are dedicated Christians, who bring their evangelistic passion and their vision for the expansion for the kingdom with them. Despite poverty, lack of experience and training, this new force is playing a growing role in bringing the gospel from everywhere to everywhere. The Jewish diaspora and the large number of persecuted and scattered Christians played a vital role in the rapid spread of the gospel in the first century. It seems that the Holy Spirit today is again working through the diaspora to bring the gospel of Jesus Christ to those who still do not know him. Much of the mission force of the West reflected wealth and western superiority. Today’s migrant Christians very often do their kingdom work in an environment of weakness, suffering, lack of resources and poverty. These migrants establish migrant churches, reach out to migrants of different ethnic origin, and eventually bring the gospel to their host nations. Some missiologists see this diaspora church and mission force as a hope for the shrinking churches in Europe. Recent figures show that the number of migrant believers attending worship services in Berlin on a Sunday morning is higher than the number of Germans attending any church in Germany’s capital city. In a large West German city a West African Pastor started a church some years ago which now holds services in English, Spanish, French, German and Farsi. Iranians and Afghans who became Christians in that church distribute blankets, hot coffee and sandwiches to German homeless people and share the gospel with them. Philippino Christian migrant workers are being used by God in an unprecedented way to bring the gospel into many of the ‘closed’ Arabic speaking countries in the Gulf region.
P A R T N E R S H I P
22
Churches who start to change from mono-cultural communities to multicultural ones have huge potential for growth
P E R S P E C T I V E S
Many of them are from Muslim countries like Afghanistan, Iraq, Syria and Iran. Mission work is very much restricted and limited in these countries. Many missionaries have lost their lives in bringing the gospel to unreached places, especially in the Muslim world. But, on the other hand, oppression by Islamic governments, sectarian violence, terror and cruelties committed by radical Islamic groups, and increasing conflict between Shiites and Sunnites, have disillusioned many Muslims who have had to leave their homes. Here in Europe, many of them, for the first time in their lives, have the opportunity to ask questions and to find answers which are different from what they learned at home in their restrictive religious societies. At the same time, God is using dreams and other supernatural interventions to prepare the hearts and minds of Muslims for the gospel. Through these developments, the church in Europe is being given the opportunity to play a vital role in God´s mission from everywhere to everywhere. There are just not enough full-time missionaries to care for these thousands of refugees. The local church is needed to bring in a ripe harvest from fields which God has provided. These refugees often live in our neighbourhoods. Their children are in the same pre-school or the same primary school than our kids. We meet them in our parks or on public squares. Churches who open their doors and create an atmosphere of welcome, families who invite into their homes those who have lost their homes suddenly find themselves heavily involved in God´s mission from everywhere to everywhere. Churches start to grow in numbers, because Iranians and Afghans get baptized. As Christians, we should start to see the large numbers of refugees who leave the refugee highway at the different exit ramps in Europe (UK, Germany, France, Austria, Belgium, or the Scandinavian countries) not so much as a political, economical or religious threat, but as part of God’s mission from everywhere to everywhere. Churches who start to change from mono-cultural communities to multicultural ones have huge potential for growth, as our societies are turning more and more into mosaics and blends of people from different nations and ethnic and religious groups.
23 P E R S P E C T I V E S
“My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one—I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.” John 17: 20-23 NIV.
P A R T N E R S H I P
T HE LOCAL CHURCH AS GOD´S CATALYST IN HIS MISSION The new paradigm of mission from everywehere to everywhere is a challenge especially for the local church. To work together with brothers and sisters from different nations, different ecclesiologies, different spiritual traditions in a local church is not easy. Different styles of leadership, communication patterns, and lifestyles, especially when combined with innate ethnocentrism, create many challenges in day-to-day life and are very difficult to handle. Church life becomes very complex. But if a local church chooses to become God´s partner and catalyst in his mission from everywhere to everywhere, it will be very rewarding. God will be able to show the power of the gospel in a special way. The local church will reflect the unique power of Jesus Christ to bring together what has fallen apart through Adam´s and Eve´s sin in the garden of Eden. Christ will unite people of different race, colour, religious and social background, culture and language. People will love and serve one another by the love they have received through Jesus and they will worship the living God together. The church in Antioch (Acts 11 and 13) was a church like that. The church members were multinational and multicultural. The church leaders came from different geographical, racial, social and religious backgrounds. They managed by the power of the Holy Spirit and prayer to keep unity and vision. God used them in a powerful way to become a catalyst for the spread of the gospel in a large part of the Roman empire. We need churches like Antioch which get started by God´s people from everywhere, churches where people from everywhere are welcomed and learn to live together in unity, churches which send people from everywhere to everywhere, whether on their doorsteps or beyond.
MISSION TO THE UK P A R T N E R S H I P
24
Pete Baker is director of the Pais Project, which, as he describes, aims to encourage people to advance the kingdom of God in their own world, particularly through mission, discipleship and study in action. In the UK, they facilitate cross-cultural mission by younger people from overseas, and one Partnership church is benefitting greatly from the ministry of a Brazilian couple brought to them through Pais, as Pete describes here.
P E R S P E C T I V E S
I
became a Christian because of influence of my youth leader. His passion for Jesus and his passion for mission had a great impact on me as a 15 year old. At that point my main concern was football and Liverpool Football Club in particular. Suddenly I’d found salvation and hope and meaning and purpose in a relationship with Jesus. I was a very shy, unassuming, quiet 15 year old, lacking confidence in public speaking and only noticed because of my height or my long hair! But suddenly I was captured by a passion to reach out to lost people and tell people about Jesus. I spent the next few years reaching out to my friends at college and serving any way I could in my local Church in Heywood, Manchester. Serving the local Church and reaching out to the world around me became defining factors in my walk with Christ. When I was 18, I served as part of a short-term mission in Manchester called ‘Message 2000.’ It was an amazing experience to serve alongside 10,000 other young people to impact the great city of Manchester in word and action! That experience was defining for me and I made a decision to be involved in the mission of God for the rest of my life. That year, I heard a man called Paul Gibbs preach. As part of his message, he shared about the Pais Project and the opportunities that they offered to young people to serve young people in schools and serve local Churches. It sounded
Answer to prayer number one came in the unusual form of baked beans!
• God, send us someone to represent us in schools. Answer to prayer number two came as Paul was invited to the ministers meeting and shared his heart, passion and calling to reach young people in Manchester. Answer to prayer number one came in the unusual form of baked beans! A group of young people were meeting weekly to hold a baked-bean-eating competition which would culminate in one of them sharing their faith. A group of 60-70 students were now gathering weekly and the leaders of the Christian Union were concerned whether the group would continue as they were all graduating for 6th form. They invited Paul in as a local Church youth worker and his eyes were opened to the possibility of sharing the gospel in a schools context. From this one school in North
25 P E R S P E C T I V E S
• God, open up the doors of the schools! A local witch had been successful in closing down the connection between the local churches and the local schools through a media campaign accusing churches of tricking young people into becoming Christians.
P A R T N E R S H I P
like exactly the opportunity I was looking for and I signed up. Paul started the Pais Project in 1992 as an extension of his own schools ministry in Manchester in the 1980s. Paul had become a Christian through the influence of one his teachers. Then in his early 20’s, he went to YWAM to be trained as a missionary. At the end of the training the big question was ‘where next?’ Where was God calling him as a missionary? Where could he make the biggest impact for the Kingdom? During a prayer meeting with the other YWAM students someone prophesied over Paul that God was calling him to Manchester! Paul assumed being a missionary meant travelling to Asia or Africa as all the great missionaries he’d read about had; suddenly his eyes and heart were fixed on Manchester. Paul returned to the city after his time with YWAM and married his fiancé Lynn and began to serve at Sharon Pentecostal Church in Moston, Manchester. At the time, a group of ministers were getting together regularly to pray and their two main prayer requests were:
Pais is the biblical Greek word for ‘childservant’ P A R T N E R S H I P
26 P E R S P E C T I V E S
Manchester, Paul began serving 17 schools across north Manchester, reaching about 10,000 young people. After doing this on his own for around 6 years, Paul came to a time of reflection. He had seen many young people come to faith, but had not seen many young people integrated into local churches. Paul then had an idea, what if he could recruit a team of people to work alongside him? If local churches would accommodate these workers, they could also serve in the local church. Paul would create a team based on the gapyear model, but his gap year would be free, meaning there was no barrier for people joining from different backgrounds. Thus, the Pais Project was born. Pais is the biblical Greek word for ‘child-servant.’ Pais would be a team of young adults serving God, the local church and young people in schools. The first team in 1992 was a success and led to a second team in East Manchester. Over the next few years, Pais in the UK grew rapidly from one team in Manchester to 90 full-time volunteers all over the UK in the year 2000. That was the year I joined and was placed in Burnley. I served a church in Brierfield for three years as their youth and community worker and worked in many schools across Burnley and Pendle. In 2003, I moved to Failsworth in Manchester which had become the national mission centre for PaisUK. The Pais Mission Centre also hosted Eden Failsworth and the faithworks church which was led by Paul Gibbs. Pais now had teams across the UK, were running a local church and involved in community transformation locally through Eden. I came to Manchester to be trained as the new national director of Pais, as Paul was now beginning to launch Pais in multiple nations. In the summer of 2003, I was on a family holiday, slightly overwhelmed with the new task appointed to me of leading a missionary movement in the UK. I spent the day in prayer. The word that I felt God gave me was to ‘lead a wave after wave movement of missionaries.’ For the past 11 years that has been my aim, to spark a wave after wave movement of missionaries. In 2009 we moved the national base of Pais to Life Church in Burnley. From August 2014 we have 13 Pais schools teams across the UK, from County Durham in the North all the way to Dorset in the south. From the UK we have had the privilege of training up and sending out missionaries to start Pais in Ghana, India and Brazil. Paul is now based in the USA where he oversees the work of Pais globally, with other teams in Germany, Ireland, across the States, Kenya and work in Pakistan.
27 P E R S P E C T I V E S
I was incredibly moved by their passion for our country, and their commitment and dedication to seeing Jesus made known to the people of the UK
P A R T N E R S H I P
Many of the volunteers we recruit into the UK come from overseas. Many are from nations that were once reached by people from the UK or Europe. Over the past few years, we have seen a number of young passionate Brazilians becoming Pais apprentices in the UK. Two of those people are Lelmer & Renata Campos. Lelmer and Renata are extraordinary people. They met at the missionary Bible College which they attended back in Brazil. Members of the Bible College would pray regularly for the nations of the world and Lelmer and Renata felt constantly drawn to the UK in prayer, so much so that they moved to the UK to learn English and find an opportunity to serve. After reading about Pais in a youth bible study guide, Lelmer and Renata contacted Pais, to see if there was an opportunity with us. We agreed to meet them during a short term mission which we were running in Weymouth & Portland during the Queen’s Jubilee celebrations of 2012. Immediately Lelmer and Renata felt like family. I was incredibly moved by their passion for our country, and their commitment and dedication to seeing Jesus made known to the people of the UK. Alongside our conversation with Lelmer and Renata we were also speaking with Ebenezer Evangelical Church in Weymouth about how we could help serve them as a local church, to develop their youth and children’s work and connect them with schools in their community. Lelmer and Renata joined our Pais Weymouth & Portland team in September 2012, working with 4 other full-time volunteers serving churches and schools across Weymouth & Portland. They continued to lead the team and work with Ebenezer Evangelical Church in 201314. In September 2014, the Campos family (now with a son, Joshua) returned to the UK but as full time workers with Ebenezer, still having a relationship with Pais but now formally with Latin Link, so as to be able to commit more time to building the local church and reaching out to the community. Our passion in Pais is to spark a global movement where the primary concern of every Christian is to advance the Kingdom of God in their own world. To do this, we train youth workers, schools workers, church
we challenge leaders to give opportunities to those they lead to apply their faith P A R T N E R S H I P
28 P E R S P E C T I V E S
leaders and people involved in the world of business in our three distinctives: mission, discipleship and study. In our mission distinctive, we teach people to go beyond just attracting people to a building; we aim to help people to apply their faith in their world. The research tells us that the drop-off rate of young people attending Church when they got to college or university is devastating—a whole generation voting with their feet and leaving the Church. One of our conclusions is that when young people are in church, they don’t have the opportunity to own their faith, to prove their faith, to apply their faith. As David faces the giant Goliath, Saul comes to him and tries to put his armour on him. David tries it on but then says, ‘no, I cannot, I haven’t proven it.’ Could this be true for too many people too; they haven’t been able to prove the faith; they were just entertained or babysat through church. So we challenge leaders to give opportunities to those they lead to apply their faith. Secondly, we talk about discipleship, going beyond education to experience. We believe in education, and we value the importance of education, but we also see in the gospels how little time Jesus spent in a didactic, educational setting and how often he was taking his disciples on ‘field trips’, experiencing the Kingdom of God not just in theory but in reality. We train leaders to think about how they can model this kind of discipleship methodology, not just by doing more teaching but by creating more opportunities for people to experience the Kingdom of God. Lastly, we talk about study, how we need to go beyond curriculum to culture. Again we believe and value people going through a curriculum-style learning to understand the Bible, but the real goal surely must be to teach people how to study, learn and apply the Bible in the lives. Our method for doing this is called PaisHDTM and is based on two ancient Rabbinic practices: one that gives four different ways of understanding scripture and one that frames Biblical study in community study called ‘Haverim.’ FIND OUT MORE A passion for mission, a passion for discipleship, to study and apply the word of God, to serve young people, to serve the local church to reach our nation. That’s our heart, to find out more visit www.paisproject.com
To find out more about the story of Pais watch our film www.thespiritofapioneer.com Or purchase Paul’s book The Line and the Dot: alternative thoughts on pioneering or Haverim from Amazon.co.uk or www.paismovement.com/resources/books For people to join Pais, they can visit www.paisproject.com/apply To receive our prayer newsletter, financially support our mission to young people or to find out how you can receive a Pais team in your Church email [email protected] or ring 01282 454149.
NEXT STEPS • Give the people you lead an opportunity to serve; an opportunity to experience the Kingdom of God.
• The opportunities are all around us! What can your Church community do to impact your community?
29 P E R S P E C T I V E S
• Mission means word and action. What is your message for your community? How are you articulating, demonstrating that message?
P A R T N E R S H I P
To follow us on social media visit ‘PaisGB’ or ‘Pais Project’ on Facebook or follow me ‘@paisbaker’, ‘@PaisProject’ or ‘@paulcgibbs’ on Twitter.
RELIEF AND DEVELOPMENT AND THE LOCAL CHURCH TODAY P A R T N E R S H I P
30
In the Christian Church, evangelism, mission and care for others have always been hand in hand in varying ways, and that has been true in all the phases of evangelicalism. Travers Harpur, a lawyer and chairman of the trustees of Medical Missionary News, reflects on his experience with the charity.
P E R S P E C T I V E S
W
ho am I? A retired solicitor married to a retired GP. I am chair of Medical Missionary News (MMN), a charity concerned with ‘Medical Mission’ with Brethren roots and current links. I have discussed with colleagues at MMN when writing this article, but the views expressed are mine. My area of particular interest and visits over 50 years (from Bosnia in 1964 to Ukraine this last May) is the Former Soviet Union and what was called Eastern Europe (particularly the Balkans). I have therefore used that area for examples, but recognise there are great needs in other parts of the world, including within the United Kingdom. As a lawyer, I believe that I need to define terms—the title refers to ‘relief and development’ and to ‘the local church’. The readers of this publication will know as well as I do the meaning of ‘the local church’. I have taken ‘relief ’ to mean the relief of suffering and ‘development’ the providing of help to improve the future and thus prevent or reduce future suffering. This embraces most general concepts of aid and development programmes (medical, food, clean water etc) though we will see that boundaries are not always clear and some government aid, e.g., funds for the purchase of the donor country’s armament exports, fall outside them (whatever the economic or political arguments).
The meeting of such needs is based on scripture and a healthy theology.
1 John Wolffe (ed.), Evangelical Faith and Public Zeal: Evangelicals and Society in Britain 1780 - 1980, SPCK 1995, paticularly p. 175. 2 Inter-Varsity Press, first edition 1964 (2nd edition 1966; 3rd edition, 1980).
31 P E R S P E C T I V E S
(especially the section by David Bebbington). Is the role of the local church and the believer to redeem individuals or society (or both)? At MMN, the trust deed and its implementation mean its work is when and where the two run together i.e. Medical care and church- or mission-based outreach, but recognising that some individuals are called to a specific service that may involve only (at least superficially) medicine, e.g., a doctor in a country where mission is prohibited, while another may be called to be an evangelist in a village where there is also a mission hospital. Frederick Catherwood’s The Christian in industrial society2 and the founding of TEAR fund were two recognitions in the 1960s in evangelical circles of the revival
P A R T N E R S H I P
Relief and development—at MMN we are particularly concerned with health-related problems, though ‘health’ is wider than just hospitals, doctors and nurses etc. Most aid is intended to relieve current suffering and prevent future suffering—the development of a good foundation for the future is better than just ‘elastoplasts’ now. Teaching to fish and providing nets does more than supplying a fish supper, though perhaps I need to reflect further on the feeding of the 5,000 and what it achieved! The meeting of such needs is based on scripture and a healthy theology. Consider the prophets (e.g., Amos), Joseph in managing the famine in Egypt, the synagogue reading at Nazareth at the start of Jesus’ ministry (‘The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free’ Luke 4: 18, citing Isaiah 61: 1, 2), the collections by St Paul for the brothers and sisters in Judea, James’ epistle... I rest my point. This leads us into the first tension, as there is also a clear command to preach, teach, baptise and disciple. Tensions—social justice or preaching the gospel—I answer, both not either ... or. There has historically been felt to be a tension in Brethren circles (and in Evangelical Anglican) between ‘Social Gospel’ and ‘the Great Commission’ to preach etc. The book, Evangelical Faith and Public Zeal1, sets out the relationship
of the wider perspective that both society and the individual needed redeeming and we were called to promote such. The roles of Government aid, and taxation funding a welfare state, impinge on the interpretation of this in practice. There was (and is) concern that many bodies, secular as well as church, were and are involved in relief and development, but only sections of the church are left to promote traditional evangelism. There are other tensions—there is the whole debate about the effectiveness of aid generally3. I would argue that the criticisms are mainly based on projects that
P A R T N E R S H I P
32 P E R S P E C T I V E S
are larger than the recipients can handle without the risks of political policy and corruption. Vast sums of money act as a honey-pot to corruption. At MMN and in many other Christian and church-based charities, the projects are small and manageable and are in the hands of known locals with experience of the recipients’ needs. This does not mean we always get it right. There are historical patterns that have fostered dependency, but we are all on a learning curve. Should we concentrate on local or international needs? How do we handle corruption (especially in the light of UK and other legislation)? How do we handle bureaucracy (an increasing number of countries limit forms of relief and aid, e.g., Rwanda)? The needs of countries are increasingly specialised and their authorities litigious—the requirements for importing medicines have become a minefield. There are also more specifically ‘Brethren’ issues, e.g., the tradition (or is it more?) that each worker is independent and follows his or her leading; this leads to a lack of central authority when dealing with governments, health authorities and Non Governmental Organisations (NGO). This in turn can lead to duplication of work or missed opportunities. This problem has led us at MMN and our colleagues at Echoes to speak to each other more regularly and encourage contact between supported projects. Relief and development organisations, and local churches supporting projects, need to see the difficulties of conflicting programmes, e.g., sending sewing machines to facilitate local production and simultaneously sending western clothes (for benevolent reasons) that actually undermine that local production. No wonder local churches sometimes despair of helping; but needs still exist. As part of ‘development’ (and laying future foundations), MMN has seen the importance of support and investment in people as well as projects, e.g., church support for individuals (in the case of MMN, medics) through training courses, sponsorship, bursaries, etc.. 3 Jonathan Glennie,The trouble with aid, Zed Books, 2008 & Dambisa Moyo, Dead Aid, Penguin Books 2010 are two of the better-known books on the question.
P A R T N E R S H I P
33 P E R S P E C T I V E S
PRIORITIES AND PRACTICALITIES Local churches are often confronted with local needs as well as those of distant places. Which should take priority? Are the state and local authority responsible for local welfare and aid for the world or are we part of ‘the Big Society’ or part of an even Bigger Society!? How do we evaluate needs when even experienced bodies have found it difficult? Do we work together with other churches and organisations as in food banks? I have personally been involved with needs in what was called Eastern Europe, particularly the Balkans and in the former Soviet Union (FSU), but MMN normally majors in sub-Saharan Africa. At MMN, we recognise that parts of the Balkans and FSU have medical problems and care issues that are as worrying as those in central Africa. I hasten to add that some parts of the old Eastern Europe, e.g., Poland, Slovakia, and the Baltic states have achieved much, but a stay in rural Moldova (FSU) showed me needs beyond those I had seen in poorer parts of the Middle East and Caucasus. Generalisations are dangerous and over-influenced by our viewpoint. When I last visited Romania, I flew from Germany and arrived from Bucharest airport at the Gara de Norda station, a well known spot with many negative aspects noted on TripAdvisor! Romania then seemed stuck in problems (though, even then, the local well-stocked Carrefour supermarket acted as a reminder that much was changing). But when I returned later on that same trip, from rural Moldova, Romania seemed, by comparison, a reasonably safe functioning European country! Which assessment was the misjudgement? On my return to the UK from that trip, I was challenged by a church member as to the priority of the local (Mid Essex) needs and my response was coloured by my latest images of Moldova! Two of the church-based ‘relief and development’ projects that I have visited, and MMN has been related to, have provided me with models for biblical and practical integration of the work of a local church with ‘relief and development’, models in which there was active church evangelism and medical/relief work, care for immediate needs and laying of foundations for the future. One in rural Moldova (a distinct country from the region of Romania of the same name) was providing for the social and spiritual needs of two poor but adjoining villages. The state and local medical facilities had failed to provide for their medical or social needs. The church, while active in evangelism, introduced barns (so the local small-scale farmers were no longer at the mercy of visiting merchants) and a cheese-making facility (to provide added value), as well as organising a mobile medical clinic staffed
P A R T N E R S H I P
34 P E R S P E C T I V E S
by Christian doctors from the capital. Another congregation, in Bulgaria, set aside a room in the church and provided a clinic and staff for those who could not afford or trust the provisions of the local and medical authorities. MMN has been pleased to be involved in these and other similar projects. Parts of the Balkans and FSU lack a culture of care and suffer from a corruption that provides the local church with an opportunity to shine. How can we emulate this positive involvement in the UK context? We, fortunately, have far less corruption, but we have faced in the UK (Mid Staffs et al) serious problems with the concept and provision of care. There has been debate about the role and value of short-term work and ‘mission tourism’ in relief and development. While recognising the extra work placed on host churches, and the limited help that non-specialist assistance can give, I have seen that these trips are frequently life-changing events for those engaged in them. They influence the future vocation of the visitor and their support for ‘relief and development’ (and for preaching the gospel). Young people whose career path has changed and older people who see a new role for their retirement. Who has visited a war-torn land or a famine struck area or a district that has lost all social cohesion and not been transformed by the visit? How do we hold together the Great Commission and the needs of a fallen world? How do we provide a meaningful ‘Relief and development’ when resources (human and financial) are limited and there is a building programme or a new youth minister needed! What can we as a local Christian community do on our doorstep and for the remotest parts of the world? Fortunately we are all different—some of us are gifted at the handling of local needs and others of us have a nomadic tendency. What roles have you and your congregation? I will end this article with a point I made in a report in MMN after a trip to FSU. I had seen people with medical conditions untreated, mistreated and fleeced of their savings (remember the woman in the Gospel?). On my return, my son needed urgent surgery in the UK and received reasonably promptly, with great medical care, the correct surgery at no cost to him as end-user. On my trip, I had heard of many born with severe defects through mistreatment and toxic pollution. My grandson was later born safely, and then treated, without delay or cost at the same hospital as my son had had his surgery. Why are we so fortunate and how can I ignore the ‘Relief and development’ to help bring this to other parts? Our Lord healed many and saw this as part of His ministry.
BETH DICKSON’S LETTER FROM AMERICA Beth Dickson is a Senior Lecturer in the University of Glasgow School of Education. P A R T N E R S H I P
35 P E R S P E C T I V E S
I’m on Study Leave at the University of Georgia, Athens, Georgia. It’s a very pretty place and the weather, though boiling hot when I arrived, is now cooler. Like an early summer day in Scotland. Except warmer with the sweet fragrance of magnolia carried on the breeze. Like the weather, the religious climate is also warmer. The USA is a much more religious place than Britain. On Sundays the numerous churches are full and some of them have more than one service and fill their vast buildings twice over. Church going is much more common and widespread than it is in Britain. Do these full American churches have lessons for British churches? I’m not sure. Sociologists are always counselling me against ‘naive policy borrowing’ when I’m looking at other countries in order to ‘borrow’ some of their best educational practice. Context is all important in church as in education. And the contexts are very different. Society over here is more small ‘c’ conservative than in Britain. US churches which espouse a definite moral code fit in with a key aspect of culture whereas in GB some aspects of Christian morality are seen in some places as positively harmful. In church here I saw a teenage boy, who was taking up the offering, wearing exactly the same sorts of clothes as his father—fawn-coloured slacks, navy blazer, blue-checked shirt and tie. I can’t think this is widespread but that it happens at all is remarkable. In Britain I can’t remember seeing a teenage boys in a shirt and tie at church since childhood. So you can see the contexts are dissimilar. Getting teenage boys to church by suggesting they dress like their fathers, is unlikely to lead to mass revival in the UK.
the work of God in Christ can be quite unsettling and alienating
P A R T N E R S H I P
36 P E R S P E C T I V E S
Rather than wishing for a return to a period where church and culture went hand in hand, however, (for there are dangers there too) we have to keep in mind that the church, wherever and whenever it is situated, always has to keep a balance between being a place where people feel at home, yet pointing towards the implications of the work of God in Christ which can be quite unsettling and alienating. So there has to be some similarity with culture or people won’t understand what’s happening but there also has to be the distinctive message of Jesus Christ. That’s why churches which are more informal and play music which sounds more contemporary, can make connections with ordinary people in our informal society. There are a number of provisos about informality, though. It doesn’t equal disorganisation which, even though disguised as piety, will bore anyone whose faith isn’t rock solid; and we shouldn’t be taking anyone’s faith for granted these days in Britain. Keeping the ones we’ve got should be a priority. It is so easy not to go to church (in the USA the opposite is true). Losing Christians because they have been bored or neglected or huffed or any of the multitudinous reasons or non-reasons that human beings give for leaving church is just not on. We’ve got to love the ones we’ve got. We’ve got to love them—we’ve to love God, ourselves, our neighbours and our enemies. However we categorise our fellow-Christians, there is only one way of relating to them. That love may have to be tough love at times, but for the most part it should be the active kindness, seeking the good of others, the costly love that Jesus had for his disciples. Nor does informality equate with platitudinous preaching which is a complete weariness to the flesh. The only message which can make any difference to people is one which describes God, tells the stories of his works, explains how much he wants to connect with people. Anything less than that just won’t cut it. Last Sunday a Christian, a retired doctor, who volunteers for a Christian charity which cares for teenagers from very troubled backgrounds, said that the only reason he was in it was because he believed
we shouldn’t be taking anyone’s faith for granted these days in Britain
37 P E R S P E C T I V E S
that the love of Jesus could make a difference to these teenagers. Yes, all sorts of medical, psychological and physical therapies were in place, but still the hub of it all was the foundational belief that Jesus could make a difference. The charity is not successful with every young person, but there are enough observable differences that the charity even receives some public funds, although most of its resources come from Christians who support it financially, spiritually and practically. Although he wasn’t a particularly dynamic speaker when he said that only the love of Jesus could make a difference to these children, his testimony was as clear as a bell. The Spirit moved as the words resonated deeply in the hearts of those listening. While taking into consideration the methods we use to communicate, we have to be quite clear in our own minds and warm in our spirits that God showed his saving love for humankind in Jesus. Preaching has to be real about God, not whistling to keep our spirits up. The second difference is that aspects of Christianity can be found across American popular culture. Listening to the exceptionally good quality country music which characterises Athens, Georgia, you’re as likely to hear ‘Let the circle be unbroken’ as you are to hear the ballads of love affairs which take a dramatic turn for the worse. This sort of folksy knowledge of Christianity doesn’t exist in Britain. So there people
P A R T N E R S H I P
First Baptist Church, Madison GA
P A R T N E R S H I P
38 P E R S P E C T I V E S
need a chance to understand about the main elements of the faith before being able to see how the knowledge challenges them personally. That’s why Alpha and other courses are effective because they lead people through the main tenets of the faith and at some stage on that journey many people find Jesus. The other element of Alpha, of course, is the meal. That’s another area which we need to take seriously in terms of mission as UK society has a crazed relationship with food: some of us have plenty to eat and some of us don’t; we admire thinness while over-eating at a frightening rate. It would be great if someone got a hold of the agenda around gratitude, sustainability and stewardship and focussed it on mission to women and children. Scotland has the worst childhood obesity statistics outside the US. There is a space for outreach in terms of ideas on healthy eating, sensible exercise and body image for women (and children given that women are still likely to prepare meals). The Bible has much to say about all of these areas and Christian lifestyle groups could construct a series of experiences leading up to some serious structured engagement with key gospel themes and events. It’s quite important that some of these ideas, which seem to be associated with visionaries, should be espoused by more conservative individuals. The power of the ideas won’t become effective until they’re espoused by people who will reliably make them happen within structures that seem normal rather than zany. So while I’m enjoying the warmth of American fellowships, I don’t think there are too many obvious ‘take-aways’ from the churches here (what the Americans have started calling the main points of an address or seminar or conference that stick in your mind, that you ‘take away’ with you). It is really hard work to preach the Gospel effectively in the contemporary UK when people are indifferent or hostile. Those of you who work faithfully to make Christ known need to know how greatly the Lord values your unremitting service. Those of you who are specially gifted in evangelism need to know how important you are to the people you serve by bringing them to Christ as well as how much the rest of us want to hear about the results of your ministry to keep our faith buoyant. Don’t be weary in well-doing for you will reap at harvest time (Galatians.6: 10). Keep doing it.
UPDATE ON AUSTRALIAN DEVELOPMENTS: CCCAUST P A R T N E R S H I P
This past summer Stephen McQuoid had the privilege of speaking at the Christian Community Churches of Australia (CCCAust) national conference. It was the second time that the Board of CCCAust had invited him to speak at one of their events and it gave him the opportunity to reflect further on what this group of churches is doing.
39
CCAust is the new acronym for churches within the Brethren tradition in Australia. The change of name was prompted by the toxification of the term ‘Brethren’, due to the prominent activities of the Taylorite Exclusive Brethren in Australia. More importantly, CCCAust as an organisation came into being to promote and enable networking between churches. Australia has complications that we in the UK struggle to grasp. It is a vast country and the majority of the population live in a few large cities and the rest in small towns and villages across the expanse of the outback. To give an example of the scale, mid-way through my visit I took a road trip from the coastal town of Ballina down through the sheep-market town of Dubbo and eventually to the town of Orange. In each of these towns, I preached in a CCCAust church before moving on to the next town. While the drive each day was about 12 hours, it was all within the state
P E R S P E C T I V E S
C
P A R T N E R S H I P
40 P E R S P E C T I V E S
of New South Wales. As a network, CCCAust have the difficult job of supporting and helping churches spread across this huge country, many of which are in remote locations. A quick glance at the CCCAust website reveals just how widespread its ministry is. As an umbrella organisation, CCCAust helps to network churches, but also para-church organisations such as camp ministries, bible colleges, retirement homes and Christian finance companies. The umbrella gives cohesion to these disparate interest groups and ensures that there is good communication between them all. Perhaps what impressed me most about the operations of CCCAust was the very central role that the local church plays in it all. Every church in the network is autonomous and no attempt is made to undermine this. The different para-church organisations have their own particular ministries, but they are encouraged to keep the needs of the local church firmly in their focus. I spoke to one senior executive of a para-church organisation who told me he was trying to make a profit through the work of his organisation so that he could put the money into mechanisms that support and build local churches. The national conference itself was a good example of the cohesion of this movement in action. The conference was held in a large, state of the art, high school in Sydney and was chosen because one of the CCCAust churches meets in that school. Church leaders and members came from all over the country to enjoy teaching, seminars and to learn more about what the national committee of CCCAust are doing. The distances involved in travel mean that the state where the conference takes place will be the best represented and so the conference is held in a different state each time to increase the sense of inclusion. The conference was well run, with enthusiastic participants and the atmosphere was both warm and optimistic. Most striking of all was that the three key ‘front men’ at the conference who organised, led the worship and chaired the sessions, were three young pastors (all under 35) in different but vibrant CCCAust churches. This gave an energetic and youthful feel to the whole event.
Perhaps what impressed me most about the operations of CCCAust was the very central role that the local church plays in it all
P A R T N E R S H I P
41 P E R S P E C T I V E S
My final two days of the trip were spent visiting church plants in Sydney. There is a great deal of creativity on display and church leaders and church planters are finding new ways of doing church. One of these plants, a Samoan church, meets in an industrial warehouse which has been kitted out to form a meeting room that look like a theatre complete with stadium seating and brilliant stage lights. Another was a Philippino church plant that meets in a busy shopping centre in the full gaze of passers-by. As I boarded my flight back to the UK, I was left with a sense of excitement about what is happening in Australia. I am deeply impressed by the courageous and tenacious leaders of CCCAust who have made this whole project a reality. I am encouraged by some of the developing ministries that function under the CCCAust banner such as Lutanda, a camp work that provides excellent facilities for Christian groups, or Emmaus, a bible college that is providing quality theological education from a pristine campus in down-town Sydney. Most of all, I am encouraged by the growing sense of unity and togetherness that is being displayed by CCCAust churches. Not everyone is on board, there are plenty of detractors, but there is enough cohesion and unity among churches there to make me wish that the UK could follow suit. I also like the name Christian Community Churches of Australia— could we ever have CCCUK?
BOOK MATTERS, BOOKS MATTER P A R T N E R S H I P
42
John Baigent provides an overview of the writings of a prominent evangelical Old Testament scholar. It is one of a series of occasional articles which aim to brief readers on material which they may not have access to or the time to delve into themselves.
LE T ME IN T R O DUCE … JO H N GO LD IN GAY
P E R S P E C T I V E S
I recently visited my local Christian bookshop. I do that regularly, placing orders for books I wish to read—despite the allurements and temptations of Amazon’s prices—because I believe it is important to have a Christian presence on our High Street. On that occasion, I went in to pick up the latest volume in the series, The Old Testament for Everyone, published by SPCK (Westminster John Knox Press in the US) and written by John Goldingay. This series of commentaries for the general reader parallels The New Testament for Everyone (SPCK), which Tom Wright completed some time ago. I was not totally surprised when the bookshop manager told me that, whilst the books on the New Testament were quite popular and selling well, the ones on the Old Testament were remaining on the shelf. I considered why that was. Perhaps it is simply that most Christians prefer the New Testament to the Old Testament, finding the former easier to understand and to apply to their own lives; but perhaps it is also because Tom Wright is better known than John Goldingay. For that reason, if for no other, I thought that the readers of this journal might like to be introduced to John Goldingay. THE WRITER Since 1997 John Goldingay has been the David Allan Hubbard Professor of Old Testament at Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena, California. Before that he
(i) Academic One of his earliest books, intended primarily for students, was Approaches to Old Testament Interpretation (IVP, 1981) in which he helpfully described and evaluated a wide range of modern ways of understanding the Old Testament. This was followed by Theological Diversity and the Authority of the Old Testament (Eerdmans, 1987), which was a rewriting of his doctoral thesis at Nottingham and demonstrated his grasp of Old Testament theology. As Walter Brueggemann commented: ‘A book that is bold, daring, and compelling in its argument … a serious and formidable theological statement that is neither insensitive to critical problems nor immobilized by them … Goldingay not only talks about biblical theology, but does it—and with power!’ Two very significant and learned discussions of the whole Bible appeared in the 1990s: Models for Scripture (Eerdmans/Paternoster, 1994) and Models for
43 P E R S P E C T I V E S
THE WRITINGS I am going to divide Goldingay’s writings into two main groups: (i) the more academic, scholarly ones; and (ii) the more popular, non-specialist ones aimed at the general reader. I am not, however, attempting to mention all his publications.
P A R T N E R S H I P
was Principal and Professor of Old Testament and Hebrew at St. John’s College, Nottingham, UK. He had previously studied theology at Oxford, undergone training for the ministry in Bristol, and been ordained and worked in an Anglican church in North Finchley, London. For 43 years, John was married to Ann, a medical doctor, who had developed multiple sclerosis while she was still a student and was wheelchair bound for the last 12 years until she died in 2009. They had two sons. John’s non-specialist writings are full of references to his experience of living with and loving a disabled partner. The full story is told in his Remembering Ann (Piquant, 2011). In the first half of this very moving account, he addresses Ann and reminisces about their life together from the first time he met her at a student conference at Swanwick until she finally died of pneumonia. In the second half of the book, John describes his reactions to his tragic loss and how he progressed through the grieving process ‘without her’. The account is laced with testimonies of those who knew Ann and found her example of patient suffering so inspiring and encouraging. Subsequently, John has remarried.
P A R T N E R S H I P
44 P E R S P E C T I V E S
Interpretation of Scripture (Eerdmans/Paternoster, 1995). Goldingay’s approach in these two books was too radical for some evangelical reviewers, but others found it a breath of fresh air. As Richard Bauckham commented on the first one: ‘This is a book that will make all who think they know what they are reading when they read the Bible think again.’ Goldingay has written commentaries on a number of Old Testament books: Psalms, Isaiah, Daniel, and the minor prophets—some more technical than others (for details, see Goldingay on Amazon)—all valuable additions to the various series in which they occur. The titles of two fairly recent books, however, could be misleading: Key Questions about Christian Faith: Old Testament Answers (Baker Academic, 2010) and Key Questions about Biblical Interpretation: Old Testament Answers (Baker Academic, 2011) are in fact collections of articles from journals and chapters from books, reworked to different degrees, and covering a wide range of topics, each one posed as a question. Well worth dipping into, but quite demanding! Perhaps Goldingay’s most outstanding achievement to date is his three volume Old Testament Theology (IVP [US], 2003, 2006, 2009). Volume One is subtitled Israel’s Gospel and focuses on the biblical narrative from creation to the coming of Jesus, telling the story as a series of divine acts. Volume Two is subtitled Israel’s Faith and takes its starting-point in the Prophets, Psalms and Wisdom literature, setting out the beliefs of Israel under major topics. Volume Three is subtitled Israel’s Life and describes the Old Testament’s perspective on worship, prayer and spirituality, as well as religious practices, attitudes and ethics. Chris Wright’s comment on this last volume may be applied to all of them: ‘Section after section makes you stop and think—challenged, enlightened, astonished, disturbed, sometimes provoked to disagreement, but thereby forced to go back to the text.’ Whether you read them straight through or simply look up a particular topic or passage, you always find something fresh, stimulating and helpful; I wouldn’t want to be without them! (ii) Popular One of Goldingay’s earlier, more accessible works was God’s Prophet, God’s Servant: A Study in Jeremiah and Isaiah 40-55 (Paternoster, 1984). This was biblical exposition at its best: based on scholarly exegesis of the text and imaginatively applied to the modern situation. As the author wrote: ‘If we want to understand what serving God involves, then these are chapters we cannot ignore.’ How to Read the Bible (Oliphants, 1977; Triangle, 1997) was a very helpful introduction to the Scriptures
P A R T N E R S H I P
45 P E R S P E C T I V E S
and to the variety of literature within the Bible, set against the historical background. In two further paperbacks, Goldingay used Old Testament stories to throw light on our present-day lives with God: After Eating the Apricot (Paternoster, 1996) begins with Adam and Eve and ends with Hannah and her sister; Men Behaving Badly (Paternoster, 2000) covers stories in 1 and 2 Samuel. The writing is lively and contemporary, the humour is gentle but telling, the spiritual challenge is unavoidable. To the Usual Suspects (Paternoster, 1998) had the subtitle One Word Questions. It represents Goldingay’s reflections on a number of topics in the light of his shared life with his wife, Ann, in the period before they went to America. In the 19 short chapters he looks at some basic questions about being Christian and being human, relating present experience to various biblical passages. Like the later Remembering Ann (mentioned above), it is an intensely personal and moving book. Finally, I come back to the series The Old Testament for Everyone, which Goldingay began publishing in 2010. Of the seventeen projected paperbacks, twelve have so far been published (Genesis – Psalms). The format is very similar to the New Testament series by Tom Wright: the biblical text (in the author’s own translation) is split into manageable sections (sometimes omitting repetitive parts), each followed by an introductory personal anecdote and expository comments, making the books very suitable for daily reading, as well as being a God-send to preachers and teachers. Goldingay writes in a witty and lively style, at the same time forcing us to reconsider our understanding of the God whom we encounter as we read through the biblical narratives and on into the Psalms and the Wisdom literature, ending with the books of the Prophets. This series, like the New Testament one, is highly recommended for all kinds of readers, but especially for those to whom the Old Testament is virtually a closed book. (To be absolutely fair to my readers, I ought to point out that Goldingay does not always adopt traditional, conservative positions on questions of authorship, genre and dating of Old Testament books, but this need not prevent anyone from benefiting from his writings. Out of print works can still be found through Amazon, Abe Books, etc.)
DE F E N D I N G T HE CH RIST IAN FAIT H A review by John Baigent PARADOXOLOGY: Why Christianity Was Never Meant To Be Simple By Krish Kandiah (Hodder & Stoughton, 2014) Large paperback ISBN 9781444745344 308 pages. RRP. £13.99. Kindle B00FRKPG8Y £7.99.
P A R T N E R S H I P
46 P E R S P E C T I V E S
This is one of the best books I have read for quite a while: enjoyable, helpful and challenging. Challenging—because it forces you to face up to real difficulties involved in the Bible and in the Christian faith. Helpful—because it lays out biblical, reasonable and (largely) persuasive arguments and answers. Enjoyable—because it is written in a witty, contemporary style, with plenty of anecdotes and verbal illustrations (many of them references to recent or classic films, which unfortunately will not be familiar to all readers!). Krish, who was Executive Director for Churches in Mission at the Evangelical Alliance and is now President of London School of Theology, has had plenty of experience in answering both friendly and hostile questions when conducting student missions. Here he has written things which force the reader (Christian or non-Christian) to face up to difficult questions about God, which they may or may not be asking. As he says, ‘it is a book of troubling questions that many people never ask, because we have become convinced that it is unhealthy to discuss them.’ However, Krish makes the bold claim that ‘the paradoxes that seem to undermine belief are actually the heart of our vibrant faith, and that it is only by continually wrestling with them—rather than trying to pin them down or push them away— that we can really worship God, individually and together.’ The premise of the book is ‘that the Bible has more room for doubt, uncertainty and struggle than we have ever allowed ourselves to believe. God is fully able to handle our inquiries and our inconsistencies. We don’t need to protect God or the faith he has given us from difficult questions.’ The book presents thirteen paradoxes. ‘The Abraham Paradox’ considers ‘The God who needs nothing but asks for everything’ and examines the nature of true faith. ‘The Moses Paradox’ looks at both the transcendence and the immanence of
P A R T N E R S H I P
47 P E R S P E C T I V E S
‘The God who is far away, [and yet] so close.’ In ‘The Joshua paradox’ Krish faces up to the problem of ‘The God who is terribly compassionate’ and yet orders the systematic extermination of cities and tribes. This is a brave effort, to some extent following Chris Wright’s treatment in The God I Don’t Understand: Reflections on Tough Questions of Faith (Zondervan, 2008), but unlikely to satisfy everyone. What he doesn’t do is to discuss the nature of the biblical record. Did God actually issue these commands, or did Joshua (and others) imagine he did? (The reliability of the Bible is assumed throughout the book. Of course, to discuss that topic would require another book, but the issue could have been raised.) ‘The Job Paradox’ traces the hero’s experience of ‘The God who is actively inactive’; ‘The Hosea Paradox’ presents ‘The God who is faithful to the unfaithful’; ‘The Habakkuk Paradox’ discusses ‘The God who is consistently unpredictable’; ‘The Jonah Paradox’ points to ‘The God who is indiscriminatingly selective’; and the ‘The Esther Paradox’ discloses ‘The God who speaks silently.’ Each of these chapters provides a helpful introduction to the particular Old Testament book and focuses on a major aspect of its theology. When he comes to the New Testament, Krish has a short, but effective chapter on ‘The Jesus Paradox’—‘The God who is divinely human.’ Again, however, the argument depends on the reliability of the Bible, particularly John’s Gospel, and is likely to convince only those who already believe. As Alistair McGrath has recently pointed out (in C. S. Lewis—A Life [Hodder, 2013], page 226f.), the passage from C. S. Lewis’ Mere Christianity which Krish quotes here and which presents three possibilities—Jesus was either a lunatic, a diabolical figure or the Son of God—is a weak argument and does not work apologetically; in fact, in its original form as part of a broadcast talk Lewis discussed other possible options. ‘The Judas Paradox’ points to ‘The God who determines our freewill.’ Krish takes the position adopted by J. I Packer in his Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God (IVP, 1961), which still leaves a few unanswered (unanswerable?) questions. ‘The Cross Paradox’ is inevitably too short to cover all aspects of the death of Jesus, but it does try to answer the objection that it was a form of ‘cosmic child abuse’ and reveals ‘The God who wins as he loses.’ The last two chapters look briefly at ‘The Roman Paradox’—‘The God who is effectively ineffective’ in enabling us to overcome sin and be like him—and at ‘The Corinthian Paradox’—‘The God who fails to disappoint’, even when his Church lets him down.
There are a few blemishes and inaccuracies (which I will communicate to the author separately); but this is a brave book, tackling the really big, important and awkward problems involved in our faith in the God of the Bible. As Krish concludes: ‘Christianity was never meant to be simple—after all, it is about relationship, and what true relationship is ever simple?’ Very highly recommended!
THE C R U C I A L IT Y O F T H E CRO SS A review by John Baigent
P A R T N E R S H I P
48
CHRIST CRUCIFIED: Understanding the Atonement By Donald Macleod (IVP, 2014) Large paperback ISBN 9781783591015 272 pages. RRP. £16.99.
P E R S P E C T I V E S
The traditional, evangelical understanding of the doctrine of the atonement has been under attack from various quarters in recent years. Although this volume does not set out specifically to answer the latest objections, it certainly provides a powerful restatement of the concept of penal substitution. At the same time it is a much wider, fuller and richer exposition of the significance of the crucifixion of Jesus. As such, it is a valuable supplement to John Stott’s earlier The Cross of Christ (IVP, 1986) and Derek Tidball’s The Message of the Cross (IVP, 2001). The writer, who served as Professor of Systematic Theology at Free Church College, Edinburgh, from 1978 to 2011, is eminently fitted for this task. He has a sure grasp of both the biblical and historical aspects of the subject, combined with the ability to express his thoughts not only clearly but often memorably. As one reviewer (Carl Trueman) comments: ‘If you are familiar with Donald’s work, you know what to expect and know that you will be challenged and edified. If you have never read him before, you are in for a treat.’ Part 1 of the book is called ‘The way of the cross’ and traces the pathway of Jesus to his death as depicted in the Gospels. As Macleod points out: ‘… the proportions of the Gospel narratives underline the centrality of the cross in the evangelists’ understanding of Jesus’ mission; and that understanding was derived from Jesus himself.’ Each aspect of the final earthly days of Jesus’ life—the last supper, Gethsemane, the arrest and trial, the crucifixion, the words from the cross,
49 P E R S P E C T I V E S
of names and scriptures, there is no subject index. Nevertheless, a ‘must read’ for anyone who wants to go beyond a superficial understanding of the death of Jesus.
P A R T N E R S H I P
the accompanying events, as well as the resurrection—is dealt with briefly but with many considerable insights. This section closes with a chapter entitled ‘The divine paradox: the crucified son’. This is the point at which the author responds to those who have portrayed the cross as ‘a form of cosmic child abuse’. He doesn’t simply dismiss such criticisms as outrageous but says that they ‘perform one invaluable service: they remind us that there is a real problem at the heart of the story of the cross… Why is the Son of God hanging on that tree? Does God know? And if he does, why does he permit it? And why does he even leave himself open to the suspicion of being responsible for it?’ The chapter continues with a thoughtful, biblical and (for me, at least) satisfying answer to these questions. Part 2, ‘The word of the cross’, forms the bulk of the book. The chapter headings give a good idea of the scope: ‘Substitution: the man for others’, ‘Expiation: covering our sin’, ‘Propitiation: averting the divine anger’, ‘Reconciliation: God’s way of peace’, ‘Satisfaction: enough to justify forgiveness’, ‘No other way?’, ‘Redemption: setting the prisoners free’, ‘Victory: disarming the powers.’ (Notice that justification—to which John Stott devoted a section—is not discussed as a separate issue, presumably because it relates more to the application of the work of Christ to the believer rather than to what was objectively achieved at the cross.) Along the way, Macleod answers a range of questions that have been raised over the centuries: Are these words only metaphors? Must every human being answer for their own sin? Was atonement made for the whole world? On whose side is the enmity? Does the cross glorify suffering? Did Jesus engage in vicarious repentance? To whom was the ransom paid? These and other objections are given sympathetic consideration but answered firmly and persuasively from the standpoint of a convinced Calvinist. Even if, like me, you are not totally persuaded by every argument or conclusion (‘Almost thou persuadest me to be a Calvinist!’), it is good to be challenged by such a clear and winsome presentation. My criticisms are minor. There is good interaction with past authors and with some present day ones, such as J. B. Torrance, T. F. Torrance, J. B. Green and M. D. Baker, but not with writers like Colin Gunton, Tom Wright and Howard Marshall. The bibliography is a little light on 21st century works; and, whilst there are indexes
B O O K N OT E S Stephen McQuoid’s voracious appetite for reading means that he gets through books a good deal quicker than most of us. Here he offers us notes on recent reading and guides us on what we should be taking an interest in. All these books are obtainable from the GLO Bookshop in Motherwell, [email protected].
P A R T N E R S H I P
50 P E R S P E C T I V E S
Reformation by Harry Reid1 is brilliant. An award-winning Scottish journalist, he entered the religious book field some years ago with a critique of the Church of Scotland called Outside Verdict2. His history of the Reformation is both detailed and absorbing. It is easily the best book that I have read on this important period of church history. Reid does not just give the facts, he tells the story as a good journalist would. He writes with a great deal of emotion as well as humour. For example, he chastises the excesses of Henry VIII, not least because of his appalling treatment of the Scots. He gives a touching defence of Calvin and a generous portrayal of the Anabaptists (generous for a traditional Presbyterian). My one contention is that he portrays Anabaptism as more anarchic than is warranted, and there is no mention of the two giants of the movement, Menno Simons and Balthasar Hubmaier. This quibble aside, this is as enjoyable a book on the Reformation as you are likely to find. Strange Fire by John Macarthur3 is his critique of the Pentecostal and Charismatic movements. Macarthur is a committed cessationist, who tries to convince the reader of his position. The tone is fairly hawkish, as was his Charismatic Chaos4 written some 20 years ago. He can also be dogmatic, though it is hard not to be when commenting on people like Benny Hinn and Kenneth Copland. He makes some good points and has ample examples that illustrate the concerns he has about these movements. The main problem is his lack of nuancing. For example, Macarthur does not seem to appreciate fully how different ‘Third Wave’ evangelical Charismatics are from some of the extremists within the movement. He also fails to do justice to Wayne Grudem’s position on issues such as prophecy and certainly does not interact properly with the arguments that Grudem has presented on the subject. This lack of nuancing is most
1 2 3 4
Saint Andrew Press (4 May 2010), ISBN-13: 978-0715209370, 400 pages, RRP £9.99. St Andrew Press (1 December 2001) ISBN-13 978-0715207994 284 pages RRP £6.99. Thomas Nelson Publishers (12 Nov 2013), ISBN-13: 978-1400206414, 352 pages, RRP £9.99. Zondervan; New edition (1 July 1993), ISBN-13: 978-0310575726, 416 pages, RRP £4.99.
clearly displayed in his chapter entitled ‘An open letter to my continuationist friends’. That said, this is a good critique from a cessationist perspective. There are helpful warnings and it is written in humility. I recently made a return visit to God’s Lesser Glory by Bruce Ware5. It is his response
The pocket-sized History of Evangelical Theology by the highly reputed Roger E Olson7 traces the story of evangelicalism from its early roots to the present day. 5 6 7
Crossway Books USA (7 Nov 2000), ISBN-13: 978-1581342291, 240 pages, RRP £12.31. SPCK Publishing (21 Aug 2013), ISBN-13: 978-0281069859, 240 pages, RRP £12.99. IVP Academic (26 Jan 2007), ISBN-13: 978-0830827060, 151 pages, Currently Reprinting.
51 P E R S P E C T I V E S
Tom Wright’s offering is Surprised by Scripture6. He tries to capture the reader’s attention by asking controversial questions like, Can you love the Bible and affirm evolution? Does belief in heaven mean we don’t need to worry about climate change? and Do we need to believe in a historical Adam? However, the book is not written in a deliberately controversial tone, even though Wright likes to dig at American evangelicals and dispensationalists. What Wright is really trying to do is look at many of the contemporary challenges that Christians do face today and then see how to use scripture to respond to those challenges. The book was born out of lectures and talks given on both sides of the Atlantic. Many conservative evangelicals will disagree with Wright’s conclusions, but they are all worth reading and thinking about. For me the most thought provoking section was chapter 4, ‘The Biblical case for Ordaining Women’. Whatever your view on the subject, Wright’s handling of the text of scripture is intriguing. I also had the smile at the title of chapter 5, so typical of Wright’s humour, it states: ‘Jesus is Coming—Plant a Tree!’. Love him or loathe him, Wright is always worth reading.
P A R T N E R S H I P
to Open Theism, the belief championed by such luminaries as Clark Pinnock and Gregory Boyd, that the future is partly comprised of possibilities and so therefore God cannot absolutely know the future. Supporters argue that this view takes seriously human free will as opposed to divine determinism. Ware challenges this notion arguing that open theism goes too far. After explaining why we should all be concerned with it, he then goes on to argue that it demeans the person of God and also denigrates his guidance in our lives. Whether or not you agree with Ware, this is a helpful critique and one that deserves careful reading.
Unfortunately, it is from a North American perspective and so presents a limited picture. Nevertheless, it helps European readers understand key American figures such as Carl Henry, Bernard Ramm and Donald Bloesch. The final chapter is also very useful as it describes tensions in evangelicalism which can be seen in the UK as well as in North America. The Atheist’s Fatal Flaw is a new book by the veteran apologists, Norman Geisler and Daniel McCoy8. It deals with the issues of God, evil and human autonomy, but does
P A R T N E R S H I P
52
so from the perspective of atheists themselves. Geisler and McCoy attempt to show that atheism has no answers when it comes to these big issues and that atheist logic is hopelessly flawed. On the whole, the book works well and makes some important points. If you have an interest in philosophy as well as apologetics, it will appeal. Its main contribution is not so much that it responds to atheism with a theistic critique, but rather that is shows atheism to be an unsatisfactory worldview when it comes to the big questions in life.
P E R S P E C T I V E S
Taking God at His Word by Kevin DeYoung9 is essentially a popular-level theology of scripture in which Deyoung looks at how the Bible describes itself. He argues that the Bible is necessary, clear, sufficient, reliable and vitally important for every Christian. It is the kind of book you could give to a young Christian, or even to a non-Christian, so that they understand the significance of scripture. The best chapter in chapter 5 in which he deals with the issue of Authority. Overall, it is well written and accessible. My only real quibble is that I am unconvinced by DeYoung’s definition of inerrancy. Michael Frost and Alan Hirsch are at the vanguard of so-called ‘missional church’ thinking. Hirsch has founded the Forge Mission Training Network and Frost the Tinsley Institute in Sydney. They are to missional thinking worldwide what Martin Robinson is to missional thinking in the UK. Subtitled ‘Innovation and mission for the 21st century church’, The Shaping of Things to come10 seeks to encourage all of us to find radical new ways of doing evangelism in our post-modern culture. Frost and Hirsch believe the church needs to experience radical change and have a paradigm 8 Baker Books (17 Jun 2014), ISBN-13: 978-0801016462, 192 pages, RRP £9.99. 9 Inter-Varsity Press; First edition (18 April 2014), ISBN-13: 978-1783591220, 144 pages, RRP £8.99. 10 Baker Books; Revised edition edition (1 Mar 2013), ISBN-13: 978-0801014918, 288 pages, RRP £14.99.
Gempf but it is also slightly annoying. It is not quite a book about hermeneutics, not quite an apologetic defending Paul, and not quite a description of Paul’s theology. If feels like a lecture and actually it began as just that at Deeside Christian Fellowship
11 Authentic Publishing (1 May 2013), ISBN-13: 978-1780780610, 128 pages, RRP £7.99.
53 P E R S P E C T I V E S
Much shorter is the recently published How to Like Paul Again by Conrad Gempf of London School of Theology11. This is an enjoyable book to read which is typical of
P A R T N E R S H I P
shift in mission thinking. There is much to commend in this book. Both men have travelled extensively to find examples of missional church practice in many different settings. They provide some practical advice on keeping church simple and helpfully deconstruct the ‘established’ church. They show how much it has been shaped by history and tradition rather than scripture. There is also a good resource section at the end, as well as useful insights into the world of the unchurched. That said, there are limitations to this book and interestingly these same limitations seem to manifest themselves throughout much of the missional church movement. First, Frost and Hirsch overestimate the role that post-modernism plays in people’s lives. Yes, we do live in a post-modern world, but their appraisal of it sounds more like a theoretical textbook definition of postmodernity rather than the postmodernism that impacts everyday people. What D.A. Carson describes as hard postmodernism is relatively rare and this book is too skewed towards that perspective. Secondly, they are far too disparaging of the attractional model of church and are equally guilty of overstating the merits of their own version of missional church. It is simply not true that attractional church models are ineffective, as a glance at Willow Creek, Saddleback or HTB, and many other smaller and less prominent examples, will quickly reveal. What is more, the biblical conservatism and robust leadership forms which they seem to recoil from are frequently evidenced in Pentecostalism which is the most successful form of Christianity on the planet. This book does make an attempt at building an ecclesiology, but it is not a very robust attempt and there seems to be no consensus on what the marks of a gathered church are. I am also a little disquieted by the apparent aversion to orderliness in church life. I like creativity and also think spontaneity and flexibility are important. But I think this book allows for too much at the expense of a disciplined and well-run Christian community, emphases that are found in the New Testament as well as creativity, spontaneity and flexibility. That said, it is well worth reading and will broaden your horizons.
in Aberdeen. That said, it does help the reader to understand why Paul wrote what he did to the churches in Galatia and Corinth and it is good background reading for those epistles. I read this book at 37,000 feet after a long day and found it absorbing and easy to get into so I have nothing to complain about! For commentaries on the book of Acts, I have long depended on those by the late John Stott and Darrel Bock. Two very credible alternatives are the brilliant commentary by Eckhard Schnabel in the Zondervan Exegetical Commentary of the New Testament series12 and the commentary by Moore College’s David Peterson in the Pillar New
P A R T N E R S H I P
54
Testament Commentary series13. Schnabel teaches at Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary in Massachusetts and one would have thought that anyone who speaks fluent English as well as his native German, as well as understanding six ancient languages, would write a commentary that was a little heavy. On the contrary, while this is a brilliant and detailed work of scholarship, it is also very accessible and excellent for preaching from. David Peterson’s commentary is almost as good.
P E R S P E C T I V E S
A Call to Resurgence14 by the controversial pastor of Mars Hill church in Seattle, Mark Driscoll, is essentially a challenge to the church (especially in America) to wake up to the challenges of our postmodern culture and reclaim what is really important. This is typical Driscoll, brash and direct. Note for example his critique of Rob Bell (p.192). His thesis also suggests that the church is asleep to the crisis it is in. There are interesting and helpful sections. Mission and church leaders will find it helpful to reflect on the financial challenges that will come their way when the burden of giving rests on the shoulders of a new generation for whom giving is not natural. Driscoll compares his grandparents’ generation of generous self-sacrifice with his own generation which he says expects entitlement without obligation (p.76). There is also an interesting chapter on some of the fault-lines in evangelicalism such as the Reformed/Arminian debate, the Complementarrian/Egalitarian debate, and the Continuationist/Cessationist debate. Driscoll identifies some of the main players in each camp. He then outlines where evangelicals must stand on the fundamentals in a chapter subtitled ‘understanding our borders’, before calling on the church to learn repentance, to seek the power of the Spirit and to recommit to mission. The 12 Zondervan; (15 Mar 2013), ISBN-13: 978-0310243670, 1168 pages, RRP £38.99. 13 IVP (19 Jun 2009), ISBN-13: 978-1844743865, 848 pages, RRP £44.99. 14 Tyndale House (1 Nov 2013), ISBN-13: 978-1414389486, 320 pages, RRP £10.49.
book finishes with a potted history of Protestantism, focusing on its tribalism; and with a helpful reading list. If, like me, you like Driscoll, you will certainly like this book; if you struggle with his style, you could still appreciate his useful insights.
who is president of King’s College in New York and formerly a policy analyst in the Regan administration. He attempts to find answers for why suffering exists and to demonstrate that belief in God is not incompatible with a world of suffering. He argues his case by looking at evidence within nature rather than giving a theological response to suffering. The motivation for the book is probably his desire to respond to the scepticism of Bart Ehrman with whom he debated on a couple of occasions. D’Souza interacts with philosophers and scientists alike as he looks at the different causes of suffering, both suffering that comes as a result of natural disasters and the suffering that comes as a result of human activity. He attempts to show that the world is as the Bible predicts and also that blame for such a world cannot simply 15 Myrtlefield House; 1 edition (1 Mar 2013), ISBN-13: 978-1874584216, 458 pages, RRP £16.99. 16 Tyndale House (20 September 2013), ISBN-13: 978-1414324852, RRP £16.99.
55 P E R S P E C T I V E S
Another book worth a look is God Forsaken16 by Dinesh D’Souza, an Indian writer
P A R T N E R S H I P
A completely different kind of book is The Riches of Divine Wisdom15 from the mature pen of Prof. Emeritus David Gooding. I was delighted to get a copy of this book recently because about 10 years ago I asked David what he was working on and he told me about his research for this book. So I have been waiting for some time. It has been well worth the wait. Essentially, Gooding looks at how the New Testament views the Old Testament and suggests that this must guide us as to how we read the Old Testament today. He looks at five categories: Prophetic insights, Legal concepts, Literary devices, Implied features and Typological shadows and demonstrates how the New Testament makes sense of Old Testament passages and applies them in a new context. This is the work of someone who has spent a lifetime reflecting deeply on the text of scripture. Its scope is impressive, but so too is its simplicity and accessibility. My favourite section of the book is towards the end where Gooding deals with the issue of how we interpret the famous narrative stories of the Old Testament, such as the sacrifice of Isaac or David and Goliath. Also useful are the questions which he sets for each chapter which help the reader think about key passages. All in all a brilliant book for preachers and anyone who wants to grapple with the Old Testament.
be laid at the feet of God. It does not entail that God is either powerless or vindictive. His arguments are often novel and helpful, though I did not find all of them to be totally satisfying. He observes that atheists have very little response in the face of suffering. He also notes that many atheists hold to their position, not because they have evidence for it, but because they are disappointed in God. This book is worth reading and will certainly stimulate thought as well as give good ammunition in our debates with atheists. Some chapters, such as those on the limits of theodicy, the fine tuning of the universe and the crimes of the Old Testament, are particularly helpful. D’Souza writes is an accessible way, interacts with a wide range of scholarship, and works carefully and logically through his arguments. P A R T N E R S H I P
56
Another apologetic work I enjoyed reading is Apologetics for a New Generation by Sean McDowell (son of Josh McDowell)17. Sean, like his father, is a compiler of
P E R S P E C T I V E S
information rather than a research scholar, but also like his father he knows where to turn to to find good material. The book is a compilation of essays by various writers providing apologetics for a post-modern generation. The question could be asked whether post-modern apologetics is a distinctive form of apologetics. Reading this book suggests that the content of postmodern apologetics is not different, but the tone is. Apologetics for post-moderns does deal with logic and evidence, but it is apologetics in the context of a relationship and also an apologetic method that listens and questions rather than just giving dogmatic answers. It is nicely written but, if you have read widely in the field of apologetics, it will add little to what is already there. However, if you are starting off as an apologist, or if you want an apologetic book that will bring a freshness and a different slant to well-known themes, then this is worth reading. One of the contributors, Dan Kimball, helpfully points out that the key apologetic issues for post-moderns are the trustworthiness of scripture, the personhood of Christ, human sexuality, and world religions (pp.38,39). There is also an interesting chapter on storytelling and persuasion by Brian Godawa, who is a Hollywood screen writer. He compares Paul’s apologetic content in Athens (Acts 17) to the writings of stoic philosophers such as Sophocles, Pausanias and Zeno. I also appreciated Stephen Wagner’s chapter on ‘Abortion and common ground’, in which he calls for Christians to engage
17 Harvest House Publishers (20 September 2013) ISBN-13: 978-0736925204 256 pages RRP £8.99.
meaningfully and compassionately in the abortion debate and communicate a Christian worldview. Finally, a course rather than a book; The Prodigal God by Tim Keller18. This is a video with study guide based on Keller’s book of the same title. The video is a 45-minute talk by Keller on the parable of the prodigal son which is to be viewed in session 1 and then the following sessions utilise short clips from the same talk and give questions for discussion. This is an excellent resource for a home study group. Keller is a masterly communicator who brings the parable to life and demonstrates its relevance. Even if you don’t use the whole course, the video is worth watching. P A R T N E R S H I P
57 P E R S P E C T I V E S
18 Zondervan Publishing House (28 July 2009) ISBN-13 9780310325352 DVD format 6 sessions £18.99 .
BOOK BRIEFS BY JOHN BAIGENT TAKING GOD AT HIS WORD: Why the Bible is worth knowing, trusting and loving By Kevin DeYoung (IVP, 2014) Paperback ISBN 9781783591220 138 pages. RRP. £8.99.
P A R T N E R S H I P
58
Evangelicals are well served with all sorts of contemporary books about the Bible: from Amy Orr-Ewing’s Why Trust the Bible? Answers to 10 Tough Questions (IVP, 2005) to John M. Frame’s massive volume, The Doctrine of the Word of God (P&R Publishing, 2010). What is distinctive about this latest one? It does not attempt an apologetic defence of Scripture, nor does it try to cover all aspects of the topic in a systematic or academic way. Rather, its aim is to unpack what the Bible says about itself on the basis, as J. I. Packer wrote many years ago, that ‘Scripture itself is alone competent to judge our doctrine of Scripture’ (‘Fundamentalism’ and the Word of God [IVF 1958], p. 76). The author, who is a church pastor in the US, seeks to achieve his purpose in eight short chapters, each based on a selected passage of Scripture. The result is similar to a series of
P E R S P E C T I V E S
sermons on the Bible. The teaching is clearly and simply expressed and would benefit any Christian who is finding it hard to trust the Bible. It will no doubt, however, raise other questions that it does not try to answer (or to answer fully) and the perceptive reader will need to progress to something a bit more demanding. It has an annotated bibliography (of recommended books) and two indexes (general and scriptural).
READY STEADY GROW: Equipping Today’s Gospel Churches By Ray Evans (IVP, 2014) Paperback ISBN 9781783591138 235 pages. RRP. £10.99. Some of us are in churches that are growing (slowly); others are part of dwindling congregations. We could all learn a lot from this latest book on church growth. The author, who is pastor of Grace Community Church, Bedford, sets out ‘to show what can happen in ordinary towns, when normal gospel churches, using everyday leaders whom the Lord Jesus has provided, and in dependence on the Holy Spirit, do what God commands.’ He is convinced that ‘too many churches stagnate in their growth, or even derail in their gospel proclamation, because of problems that could be overcome if they just knew how.’
The book is both practical and biblical. It begins with a discussion on the pros and cons of different size churches (‘Recognize that size matters’). It proceeds to consider the importance of strong leaders who know how to manage change; shows how to overcome practical limits such as attendance, buildings and cash; explains how to handle multiple responsibilities, to disciple new Christians and bring them to maturity, to organize church members into teams, and to reach out in mission and touch the community. In some ways there is nothing new here (other writers are quoted extensively), but it is all presented in a very positive, enthusiastic, experience-based manner. Highly recommended.
PREACHING? Simple Teaching on Simply Preaching By Alec Motyer (Christian Focus, 2013) Paperback ISBN 9781781911303 188 pages. RRP. £8.99. Imagine you had the opportunity of spending a couple of hours with a highly respected Bible expositor. How would you tap into his considerable experience in the study and in the pulpit? What would you ask him? In this unpretentious book, Alec Motyer shares his mature thoughts about preaching in a chatty and witty style. Throughout he is both humble and honest. He says, ‘Looking back, it took me a surprisingly long time to learn that sermons are not spontaneous or extended intuitions but things to be worked at, and it took even longer to discover how to go about it.’ He compares preparing a sermon to baking a cake (‘the period in the oven is you in your study, sweating over the huge responsibility that is yours!’) or dressing a shop window
59 P E R S P E C T I V E S
By now we know that anything written by Tim Chester, a church leader in Sheffield and Associate Director of Porterbrook Seminary which is based there, is always worth reading. Here he provides a basic book that seeks to answer the kind of questions that Christians are asking about prayer. Part 1 is titled ‘Why prayer is easy (How we pray)’; Part 2 is headed ‘Why prayer is difficult (Why we pray)’ and Part 3 covers ‘What we pray.’ Although there are many books on prayer available today, it would be hard to find a better introduction to the topic than this—not just for young Christians, but for all of us who find praying a struggle.
P A R T N E R S H I P
YOU CAN PRAY By Tim Chester (IVP, 2014) Paperback ISBN 9781783590841 175 pages. RRP. 9.99.
(‘What are we intending to sell? Bible in hand, we have a stockroom full of the most amazing collection of goods to offer—real bargains too!’). I like the way he recognises that preachers are not all the same and will not necessarily operate exactly as he does. Nevertheless, every piece of advice that he offers is worth considering and comes from a lifetime’s experience of preaching. The book is full of examples of how various passages of the Bible might be expounded and ends with a set of ten appendices of daily readings and brief explanations. Those just beginning to preach will find this book most helpful and stimulating; and, although it is far from a comprehensive treatment of the subject, those who are more seasoned preachers will find much that will challenge.
P A R T N E R S H I P
60
THE CHRIST-CENTRED PREACHING OF MARTIN LLOYD-JONES: Classic Sermons for the Church Today Edited by Elizabeth Catherwood and Christopher Catherwood (IVP, 2014) Large paperback. ISBN 9781783591022 277 pages. RRP. £12.99.
P E R S P E C T I V E S
I suppose that I cannot now assume that all my readers will know who the person that preached these sermons was. Dr D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was the minister of Westminster Chapel, London, for thirty years and became one of the leading evangelicals in the twentieth century. This anthology contains sixteen of his sermons, beginning in 1935 when he was still in Aberavon, South Wales, and finishing with his last sermon as minister at Westminster Chapel in 1968. All Scripture quotes are from the AV/KJV. These particular sermons have been chosen by his daughter and grandson on the grounds of their continuing relevance. After an extract from his book Preaching and Preachers (Hodder & Stoughton, 1971), the sermons are presented, dated (by the year), each preceded by an introduction explaining when it was preached, what Lloyd-Jones was doing at the time, its historical context, and its contemporary message. So, for example, there is a sermon from 1939 (at the start the Second World War) and one from the 24th of November, 1963 (two days after the assassination of President Kennedy). This is not, however, a book just for historians; we can all enjoy and learn from such a powerful preacher presenting biblical truths.
FINISHING OUR COURSE WITH JOY: Ageing with Hope By J. I. Packer (IVP, 2014) Paperback ISBN 9781783590896 106 pages. RRP. £6.99. This short book with large print (for the elderly?) is dedicated to Jim Houston, who was Founding Chancellor of Regent College, Vancouver. The revered author, who is now in his eighties, offers us pastoral words and personal example to encourage us to run the Christian race right through to the end. As Sam Storms writes in his blurb: ‘Don’t wait until you’re sixty or seventy to read this book. Start now and finish well.’ Highly recommended.
P A R T N E R S H I P
61 P E R S P E C T I V E S
Some ‘Partnership’ books….
Fresh Shoots in Stony Ground PB Neil Summerton & Stephen McQuoid (editors)
Building Biblical Churches PB John Baigent
The Challenges of Church Planting - an outstanding book on the subject, with chapters by practitioners on the theory and practice of church planting today and 10 case studies of recent success and failure in church planting.
A detailed consideration of the Partnership ethos statement heading by heading, together with study questions for church leaders and congregations. Ideal for study in home groups, to strengthen church members understanding of the requirements of church life.
ISBN 9780957017719 286 pages Price: £9.99 including UK postage and packing. Multiple copies £7.00 each plus post & packing at cost
ISBN 9780957017702 93 pages Price: £6.99 including UK postage and packing. Multiple copies £5.00 each plus post & packing at cost
Speaking the Truth in Love: Studies for Home Groups Neil Summerton
DOWNLOAD
This brings together a large range of bible studies for church home groups, printed in a way to permit easy photocopying for group use. These are available to download free by going to the Partnership UK website, clicking on the ‘Publications’ tab and then navigating through the ‘Online Publications’ tab on the left.
Books Partnership aims to publish one book a year. We commission materials which we believe will be useful for those who are active in the work of local churches.
www.partnershipuk.org
A range of titles is available, and these can be viewed on the ‘Publications’ page of our website. They can be ordered via the Partnership UK website, by email [email protected] or via The GLO Bookshop (01698 263483). Overseas post & packing will be charged at cost
Modelling, Mentoring and Learning from the Master MASTERclass is designed for anyone in a local church who has responsibility for discipling others and developing their gifts – or who can see the need for more effective, church-based training. As Jesus has commissioned us to ‘make disciples’, we all benefit from continually learning from the Master as we improve our own service while encouraging others to follow him. MASTERclass helps us examine what we are modelling as leaders, how we can mentor new and potential leaders – and how we can all learn from the Master, Jesus himself. For information about a MASTERclass near you - or if your church might like to host a MASTERclass - please contact your Partnership regional co-ordinator.
FREE book offer The Love of God—is anyone there? is written for those who used to go to church, who used to have a strong evangelical faith, who believe in God and admire Jesus but can stomach organized religion, who are stressed, lonely, unwanted, or experiencing relationship breakdown or work problems. It is available in print, on Kindle from Amazon, and as a recording. To obtain the book, MP3 or audio CD, free of charge for use in outreach, please contact Rob Dann at [email protected]
LEADERSHIP T R A INING MATER IA L S A Noble Task: Eldership and Ministry in the Local Church can now be accessed on the web, either from the link on the ‘Online Publications’ page on the Partnership website (www.partnershipuk.org) or directly at http://theologicalstudies.org.uk/book_noble-task.php Rob Bradshaw, the mastermind of theologicalstudies.org and biblicalstudies.org, has also now digitized all the publications which appeared since 1963 in the CBRF Journal and Christian Brethren Review up to 1989, including articles by such as F.F. Bruce, Peter Lowman, Tony Lane, John Allan, James Houston, H.L. Ellison, Roy Coad and many others. There is much that remains valuable for training and study purposes in this material. It can be accessed at http://www.biblicalstudies.org.uk/articles_christian-brethren-review.php#v40 There is much additional training and study material on these two websites, from a wide range of evangelical sources.
Do you have a sense of God’s calling on your life, and want to take time out to seriously prepare for serving God – to get to grips with the Bible, theology and the application of God’s word to 21st Century life, and get hands-on experience of ministry? Tilsley College may be the place for you. For more information, see www.tilsleycollege.com
COLLEGE OPEN DAY Wednesday 4 February 2015
CONTACT [email protected] or Tel: 01698 266776
Recently Published by Daniel J. Danielsen and the Congo: Missionary Campaigns and Atrocity Photographs ’ PB Oli Jacobsen Jacobsen’s biography has done a fascinating job of restoring a previously forgotten man to his rightful place in the 20th century’s first great humanitarian crusade. The book also paints a fascinating portrait of a man and his times, and how this ‘fearless soldier of the Lord’ campaigned tirelessly to change them. ISBN: 9780957017740 200 pages + 60 illustrations Paperback - £15.00 Plus UK Post & packing £2.80 ‘Culture, Spirituality & the Brethren’ PB Edited by Neil T. R. Dickson & T. J. Marinello The Brethren movement has often been associated with a hostile attitude to culture, but the chapters in this book also show that the statements about the relationship of the movement of the movement to culture must be more finely nuanced. The second part of the book takes up the theme of spirituality, and offers pioneering studies of hymns and hymn books, individuals such as George Muller and Robert Rendall and how the tensions of the mid-twentieth century affected spirituality. ISBN: 9780957017733 344 pages + 14 illustrations Paperback - £20.00 Plus UK Post & packing £2.80
Also available ‘Gathering to His Name’ PB Gathering to His Name by Dr. Tim Grass is the definitive history of the Open Brethren in Britain and Ireland, and it has been widely acclaimed. The overall aim is to provide a readable narrative of the movement’s development and distinctive ethos.
ISBN 9780957017726 Paperback - £25.00 Plus UK Post & packing £5.60
Following a period out of print, it is now available again from BAHN Publishing (Brethren Archivists and Historians Network).
ISBN: 9780957017733 Paperback - £20.00 Plus UK Post & packing £1.90
‘Witness in Many Lands’ PB Witness in Many Lands, edited by Dr. Tim Grass, comprises nineteen wide-ranging papers on aspects of Brethren history in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. It includes biographical essays on George Müller, F.W. Baedeker, E.H. Broadbent, E.W. Vine, G.H. Lang and Erich Sauer, and a number of articles on the history of the Brethren in Germany. It is the second in a new series of Studies in Brethren History published by the Brethren Archivists and Historians Network.
Please order by contacting Neil SummertonT- 01398 332129 E- [email protected] or by post to: Abbey Court, Cove, Tiverton EX16 7RT, UK or via The GLO Bookshop T- 01698 263483 E- [email protected] Overseas post & packing will be charged at cost
GIFTS Financial support towards the vital work of Partnership in supporting and encouraging its member churches and other churches is always welcome. We are grateful to those churches and individuals who support us in this way. If you want to make a bank transfer for this purpose, the details are as follows:
FROM UK Bank name: Barclays Bank plc, 93-97 Queensway, London W2 4QG Account name: Partnership (UK) Limited P A R T N E R S H I P
Account number: 80118028 Sort Code: 20-03-53
FROM OVERSEAS Bank name: Barclays Bank plc, 93-97 Queensway, London W2 4QG Account name: Partnership (UK) Limited
66
IBAN GB32 BARC 2003 5380 1180 28 SWIFT BARCGB22
P E R S P E C T I V E S
If you would like Partnership to benefit from a legacy in your will, it should be stated as being in favour of ‘Partnership (UK) Limited’ (registered charity number 02442321). At the time the legacy becomes operative, the executors will be able to obtain Partnership’s official contact details from the register of charities on the Charity Commission’s website. Legacies to charities are, of course, paid out of the gross estate of the deceased before inheritance tax is applied.
PARTNERSHIP PERSPECTIVES ONLINE We normally post Partnership Perspectives on the ‘Publications’ page of the Partnership website (www.partnershipuk.org) about three months after publication. Extracts from the latest issue are available on the page immediately on publication of the issue concerned.
Chairman Clive Hughes Belmont Chapel, Exeter EX1 2DB T: 01342 258029 E: [email protected] Secretary & Co-ordinating Editor Neil Summerton Abbey Court, Cove, Tiverton, Devon EX16 7RT T: 01398 332129 E: [email protected] Partnership Development Co-ordinator Alistair Hornal 4 Marlborough Close, Chichester PO19 7XW T: 07986 236633 E: [email protected] Regional Co-ordinator (West) Rupert Abbott 15 The Scarr, Newent, Gloucestershire GL18 1DQ E: [email protected] Regional Co-ordinator (East) Jim Winning 31 Norman Road, Northampton, NN3 25G E: [email protected] Regional Co-ordinator (London) John Jenkins 9 Courtenay Gardens, Harrow Weald, Middlesex HA3 5LY T: 020 8421 6516 E: [email protected]
Partnership Co-ordinator (Scotland) Alistair Simmons 45 St Phillans Avenue, Ayr, KA7 3DD T: 01292 265834 E: [email protected] Partnership Development Administrator Carol Whitton E: [email protected] Treasurer Philip Miles Ash Tree House, Fen Lane, Rickinghall, Diss, Norfolk IP22 1DR T: 01379 898454 E: [email protected] Assistant Editor, Partnership Perspectives Andrew Lacey GLO, 78 Muir Street, Motherwell ML1 1BN T: 01698 263483 E: [email protected] Ministers-at-large Derek Burnside 9 Gordon Road, Exeter EX1 2DH T: 01392 274163 E: [email protected] Alistair Noble 4 Lynn Drive, Eaglesham, by Glasgow G76 0JJ T: 01355 302119 E: [email protected] Graham Poland 90 Lower Cross Road, Bickington, Barnstaple, EX31 2PJ T: 01271 376710 E: [email protected]
The officers, co-ordinators, ministers-at-large are available to minister in churches and provide information about Partnership. Council: Rupert Abbott; John Baigent; Jill Bain*; Keith Barnard; Stephen Bedford*; Mark Davies; Beth Dickson; Ian Furlong*; Andy Gibson; Alistair Hornal; Clive Hughes*; John Jenkins; Andrew Lacey; Stephen McQuoid; Philip Miles*; Stephen le Page; Michael Soper*; Neil Summerton*; Bob Tripney; Neil Walker*; Jim Winning; Julie Woods. *Director-Trustees and Board Members
Partnership is a network of individuals, bodies, and independent churches which are strongly committed to: • • • • • • • • •
The centrality of Christ and the cross Scripture Spiritual vitality in congregations and individual members Conversion Evangelism at home and abroad Community outreach, action and development Believer’s baptism and regular communion Plural leadership Wide use of the spiritual gifts of every member of the congregation
We work closely and support a number of other bodies with similar commitments. To become a subscriber, please be in touch with [email protected]. The present annual membership fee is £27 a year. It can be paid by bank transfer, cheque or credit card. You can join online on the Partnership website (www.partnershipuk.org/join.htm). Please consider making an additional donation to meet Partnership’s costs (this can be done via the website if you wish), or making an additional donation to enable individuals in the developing world to receive Partnership literature or books. A gift of £10 a year will enable someone in Africa or the Indian subcontinent to receive Partnership Perspectives. Copies of some back issues of Partnership Perspectives can be obtained by contacting [email protected] Have you changed your address recently? If you are a member, please inform the Development Administrator ([email protected]). If undeliverable, please return to: 42 Countess Wear Road Exeter EX2 6LR