Saturday 29 November 2014

let the prophets speak (3)

The final talk in the series, 'Let the Prophets Speak' was given by Martin Allen who was minister of Chryston Parish Church, Glasgow for over 30 years. He chose to speak on the subject of revival in the church. He has studied this phenomenon for many years and packed a great deal into a relatively short message.

Martin based his talk around the asking of four questions.
1. Why study revival?
He believes there is a contemporary reason for looking at it. We have witnessed a massive decline in church attendance over the last five decades. We need God to move through his church in order to reverse this trend.

2. What is revival?
(a) It is, firstly, a biblical happening. It is well illustrated in the unfolding story of the Acts of the Apostles. There are times or periods of Holy Spirit inspired refreshment for the people of God (Acts 3:19).

(b) There is a specific focus as far as the meaning of revival is concerned. Martin quoted Iain Murray who said, 'Revival is the experiencing of larger measures of the Spirit of God.'

(c) There are also consistent characteristics that can be identified in revival.
To explain this he drew on the teaching of J.I. Packer who identified four family traits that can be found in genuine revival.

In revival:
(i) God comes down
God is always present with his people but there are times when his revealed or ‘felt’ presence envelopes a people. To quote Duncan Campbell in his description of the Lewis Revival of the 1950s, it was 'a community saturated with God.'
(ii) God's Word comes home
In particular, it appears that preachers are gripped by the character of Jesus and the irresistible attractiveness of his grace. Hearers are overwhelmed by the love of Jesus.
(iii) God's purity comes through
There is an awareness of our sinfulness and the need of forgiveness.
(iv) God's people come alive
There is a new energy for worship and service in the Church.

(d) There are, lastly, invariable consequences of revival. There is a great increase of numbers in the church and there is a decline in general crime within the community.

3. When does revival occur?
Heartfelt prayer often precedes revival. However, we must submit to the sovereignty of God.

4. How can we respond?
At a personal level Martin urged us not to seek revival but rather to seek God.
The church response should be the honouring of the Holy Spirit. By this he means that the church gives itself absolutely to prayer and preaching, ongoing pastoral care and creative outreach.

Monday 17 November 2014

let the prophets speak (2)


The second of our talks in the 'Let the prophets speak' series plunged us into the turbulent cauldron that is the Middle East today. Mike Parker, international director of Middle East Christian Outreach, spoke with incredible insight and drew on extensive experience of working in this troubled region.

The aim of Mike's talk was to speak on behalf of the Christian community who live in the Middle East, believing they have much to teach Christians in the West about what it takes to live in a very challenging situation. He focused on what to ask God for when you are under pressure.

He chose to base his talk on Acts chapter 4 because this is among a number of passages Middle Eastern Christians use to understand what God is doing in their context. In this chapter Peter and John are threatened by the authorities and warned against any form of outreach. The response of these leaders is one of courageous defiance and when the church community is informed of their arrest and subsequent release their reaction is to unite in believing prayer.

Mike cited the example of the church in Egypt to illustrate a similar kind of faith today. Following the uprising in 2013, 10,000 Christians met in the 'Cave Church' in the 'Garbage City' region of Cairo to pray. He calls this the instinctive prayer movement of an instinctive church. Believers pray, with the church, facing reality together.

The early church prayed for boldness to keep speaking. By the end of their prayer there was a mini earthquake. Mike understood this to mean that God was delighted to hear a prayer like this in this context. They were all filled with the Holy Spirit and became courageous witnesses to the risen Jesus.

Likewise, one Christian leader from the region has asked the West to pray in a similar way for the Middle East, Please dont pray for us. Please pray with us. If you pray for us, you will pray for the wrong things. You will pray for safety. You will pray that persecution will cease. But if you pray with us, you will ask God to bring millions to faith in Christ. You will pray that when the inevitable backlash comes because of our witness, we will be faithful, even if it costs us our lives" (Brother Andrew).

Following that incredible statement Mike closed his talk by encouraging us to pray as follows:
Pray for
  • Christians to know the Lord is king, in charge, whatever is going on
  • The truth to be revealed
  • Bold and fearless witness to Jesus
  • The Word of God going into homes & hearts
  • Peace to be brokered in Syria & Iraq
  • Displaced people & churches reaching out to them
  • New Christians to grow and integrate into churches
  • People able and available to serve in the region


Sunday 9 November 2014

let the prophets speak (1)


We have just completed a series of three Sunday evening services at my home church under the title, 'Let the prophets speak.' Our idea was to invite individuals who we believed would have a message to communicate to the church in Scotland today. I would like to capture the essence of these talks over the next few blogs.

David Robertson, minister of St Peter's Free Church, Dundee (picture above) and director of Solas, spoke under the title, ‘Secular Scotland – is Christianity past its sell-buy date?’

I was struck by the two contrasting pictures he painted of Scottish church and society. On the one hand, he highlighted the rapid secularisation that has taken place in Scotland. By this he means the effort to privatise religion and argue that it should not play any part in public or civic life. It is his belief, speaking as a historian, that Scotland has secularised quicker than any other nation in history, especially over the past decade.

Alongside this there has been a significant decline in church membership. For example, he stated that in the 1950s 1.2 million people were members of the Church of Scotland. Today this has dipped below 400, 000 and the church is losing around 20, 000 members a year. This story of decline is replicated across many streams of the church. Indeed, David said that he has been a minister for 27 years and reckons if we were to plant 7000 churches of 100 members we would only be back to position the church was in at start of his ministry. A loss of 700, 000 members in 27 years!

He argued that this rapid decline in church membership is the result of three things - concession, compromise and confusion. In contrast to the dynamism of the early church it is David's contention that we are far too easily influenced by the culture around us. He also believes that there has been a rise in biblical illiteracy that is the result of an experienced-based approach to faith.

On the other hand, David spoke with great optimism. Right at the beginning of his sermon he made the bold statement that God is clearly at work in Scotland. He believes that people are more open to the gospel than at any time in the past in the past 25 years. He also senses a spiritual hunger in the nation.

So how should the church respond? According to David Robertson we firstly need, conviction (about the truth of the Bible and the gospel), secondly, compassion (learning to care), and thirdly, Christ (discovering his supreme character).

David finished his sermon, having reviewed the spiritual and cultural landscape of the nation with the following challenge - ask God to give you his burden for the people of Scotland. He maintains it is only when we start to pray that things will begin to happen...   

Friday 7 November 2014

read all about it (pt. 2)

Sheep and Goats by Lewis Gordon
Vagabond Press

Sheep and Goats speaks about adolescent life in its raw form but does so with an authentic voice. Lewis captures the nonchalance of youth culture (with a shrug of the shoulders or a ‘mibbe), the challenge of social conformity, the competing tribes and the transitory nature of this stage between childhood and adult life. There is also a good mix of humour and one liners in contrast to some bleaker aspects of the storyline. For example, one of the characters starts to play ‘White Rioton his Walkman and attempts to walk at the pace of the drums but quickly ends up exhausted. This conjures up a great mental picture!

I am particularly drawn to Nicky, a young church goer, who tries to balance this side of life with the counter-culture offered by his circle of friends. He is endlessly teased about his faith, is nicknamed ‘The Messiah,and tries meekly to deflect their attempts to get him to drink alcohol, take drugs or sleep with his girlfriend, Ruth. It is clear that Nicky wants to go to church and the youth group associated with it. However, the steady drip of insults (and his own sexual awakenings) leads in a direction away from this community. Mack, his youth leader, offers counsel and support but his voice is drowned by the competing chatter from the mixed bag of characters that Nicky associates with most of the time.

This is a decent novel (Lewis’s first); the narrative drew me in and I found resonance with its central character. I have since reflected (because I am a Christian and Youth Pastor) about why I strive to be a disciple of Jesus Christ and subsequently choose to swim against the tide of the prevailing culture.
Some early ideas…
  • Jesus Christ offers, I believe, the most compelling vision of how life should be lived.
  • This life is centred on his character (vividly illustrated in the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 6 - "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control").
  • His life, death and resurrection give it an enduring framework.
  • The community of the church provides the support, encouragement and engagement needed for the journey.
  • His call to ‘love God & neighbour’ lifts life out of selfishness into service.