Preaching at home

It was a great privilege to be preaching at Siloam Baptist Church, Llanrumney, last night. This was ‘my’ church for the first 22 years of my life. I have much to thank God for concerning them.

• They prayed for me by name as I grew up. Who can tell the difference that has made?
• They let me get involved, have a go; they let me lead. I preached my first sermon when I was 13 and regularly led the worship on my keyboard.
• They showed me that God was real, taught me to expect answers to pray and to see people healed.
• They shared their lives with me. They were my oikos (my extended family)
• They affirmed my call into Ministry and some pray for me still
• They loved me

Millennials well placed for mission

Last Saturday night as the temperatures plummeted way below zero, a group of millennials (born after 1980) gathered at Providence, Bucharest to pray, celebrate, learn and grow together. Mexican food, prepared by American missionaries Ralph & Tammy Stocks, and roasted marshmallows was all part of the mix.

I spoke on Luke 5 & 6 drawing out themes for missional church and reminding this great group of how well placed they are to become more missional. As Millennials I reminded them they are good at connecting. They are the most connected generation. They are good at community and collaboration. More so that my generation and they are the generation most willing and wanting to make sacrifices for a cause great than themselves. They are ideally placed to be key players in a missional movement.

It challenged me that we need to encourage millennials wherever they are, Bucharest, Ipswich or around the world, to really go for it. They get it more intuitively than the rest of us. I see that with my own children and the young people at Burlington. Let’s not hold them back. May they know our applause as they reach out to their own generation.

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A great Sunday evening at Providence Baptist Church, Bucharest

Preaching at Providence Baptist Church, Bucharest (2009)

It was so good to be at Providence last Sunday night. A bit like coming home in Romania! See here and here from when I was there last.  Again, I was really encouraged by all the young people, the heartfelt prayers and the numbers of people leading and sharing through the Service. What I also loved was the sense of community and belonging. This was so evident before, during and after the Service. People knew they belonged. This was family. It expressed what church is all about.

It was exciting to talk with the team about missional communities and to hear their desire to gather AND scatter.

Here’s an outline of my Sunday message.

Jesus said “Come, follow me!” This means we are to be like him. To do what he does. That’s what following a rabbi means.

Matthew 4:19 (NIV)
19 “Come, follow me,” Jesus said, “and I will make you fishers of men.”

Then I shared three verses that help us think about different aspects of what it means to be like Jesus.

Are we seeking the lost? Jesus did.

Luke 19:10 (NIV)
10 For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost.”

Are we serving the lost? Jesus served those who were far from God.

Mark 10:45 (NIV)
45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Are we relating to the lost? Jesus put huge emphasis on building relationships

Matthew 11:19 (NIV)
19 The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and “sinners.”‘ But wisdom is proved right by her actions.”

We need God’s help for all this. And he provides it: the Holy Spirit.

John 20:21-22 (NIV)
21 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.”
22 And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.

First Baptist Church, Bucharest

I preached yesterday (Sunday) at First Baptist Church, Bucharest (Golgota) at the invitation of their Senior Pastor, Daniel Maris. Daniel is also the President of the Baptist Seminary.

Despite the sub zero temperatures and the unprecedented  amount of snow, the 700 seater church was far from empty. As I walked in with the three resident ministers, the congregation all stood – not something I am used to! We stood to sing the opening hymn: Holy, holy, whorl, Lord God Almighty. The service consisted of two or three items from the large choir and a couple more congregational hymns, the sermon and then communion.

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Here are a number of observations in no particular order:

• They had worked hard with their building. The church was very warm, despite the outside temperature. Judging by the resident air conditioning, I guess it would be suitably cool in the summer when temperatures soar to over 40C. The lights were about 5 times brighter than Burlington, the seats luxurious (not good for the preacher!) and the carpet pile thick. The church was loved and cared for.
• Technology was on the ball, or at least the operators were. As I preached and introduced new Bible verses they would appear within seconds on the screens for people to follow. This was with no prior arrangement.
• There were two offerings. The usual one and then a second additional one ‘for the poor.’ This seemed to me to be a very good visual reminder of our “tithes & offerings.” Each of the three pastors placed their offering visibly into the bag. That was good too. I don’t do that, although for the record I do give by standing order! The offering this week was for a lady that needed money for urgent medical surgery. This seemed a very good expression of ‘the Body of Christ.”
• The prayer times always included praying by members of the congregation. I can remember blogging about this the last time I was in Romania. The prayer was heartfelt from everybody and with members taking part, even in such a large group, we were reminded of the “priesthood of all believers.”
• Communion was very familiar. Small diced white bread and wine, more disgusting than ours (!) in tiny-weeny cups too. There was one subtle difference: they held on to the bread to stand and eat it all together (like we do with the wine). I didn’t know until it was too late but I had eaten mine “as soon as I had received it.” The words rolling through my mind! So when the time came to stand, I stood facing a packed church without any bread to eat! I think I was forgiven but only as an uneducated pagan!
• The children and young people were upstairs, even so the average age of the congregation was very high. A young organist, who delighted in a semi-tone transposition for each last verse, was one of the exceptions.  The future will be hard but I was encouraged by the pastors’ determination to seize the opportunity of their 100th anniversary later this year to spur the community on to new things. When Daniel arrived (1990′s) he quickly led a church plant into the North of the city which has since planted out twice. Since then the demands of leading a large city church have probably kept him preoccupied. I admire his willingness to start thinking afresh.
• At the close of the service people departed very rapidly, despite the cold outside. There seemed little conversation and not as much community as I would have expected. Maybe this is done elsewhere. Like us, the ‘event’ will become less important on its own.

Burlington’s Young People did us proud in Romania

Many of our young people from Burlington visited Project Ruth last October for a week of mission with the school. They had a tremendous time. During my visit this weekend to Bucharest many took the time to tell me how wonderful our group of young people had been: their adaptability with a changing programme, the hands-on way they got on with each task, the way they related well to each other and their hosts and the love and care they showed to the children.

Before a Romanian Project Ruth board meeting, at which I was a guest (I am on the UK board), we had lunch in the Project Ruth School dinning area. It’s immediately below the medical centre. On the wall was this display celebrating the visit of the team from Burlington. Well done guys you did us proud.  More importantly you did yourselves proud and made a real mature and positive contribution.

Pastors’ Conference, Bucharest

It was such a privilege to share with experienced church leaders in Bucharest some of the lessons I have been learning on missional church. They face the same challenges as we do. They, like us, scored much higher on their UP and IN.  Their OUT, personally and corporately, was much lower (see more on UP-IN-OUT here). That said, the attractional model was still proving more fruitful for them. Several of the churches talked of 8-10 people coming to faith in Christ for the first time in 2011. Praise God.

Their cultural challenge however is different to ours with a huge nominal Christian Orthodox population. Thinking this through reminded me of the continual need for the church to adapt itself to its cultural context. They need missional communities for sure. But they will look different ours. And so they should.

1 Corinthians 9:19-23 (NIV)
19 Though I am free and belong to no man, I make myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible.
20 To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law.
21 To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law.
22 To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all men so that by all possible means I might save some.
23 I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.

And the best bit, Dominos Pizza for lunch!

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Baptist Seminary Bucharest

I had a great time a few days ago teaching on Missional Church at the Baptist Seminary, Bucharest.  I was there at the invitation of Oti Bunaciu, the president of the Romanian Baptist Union.

I was impressed with the students engagement and eagerness to embrace new ideas for the sake of the gospel. There were great questions and discussion as they sought to apply key principles to their own cultural context.

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Pray for your preacher this Sunday

At Burlington this Sunday Julie Kite, our Head of Evangelism, will be preaching as part of our series Following Jesus. Don’t miss it! And don’t forget to pray for her.

In fact wherever you are in the world this Sunday make sure, before then, that you stop to pray for the person who will bring God’s Word.

As an encouragement, please read this Word for Today post from a few weeks ago.

17 Jan 2012

Pray for Your Pastor

Pray…that…words may be given me… Ephesians 6:19

Paul wrote to the believers in Ephesus: ‘Pray…that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me…that I will fearlessly make known…the gospel.’ Do you pray for your pastor? You should! After Wilbur Chapman’s first sermon at Bethany Presbyterian Church in Philadelphia, a man said, ‘You’re pretty young to be pastor of this great church. We’ve always had older men. I’m afraid you won’t succeed, but since you preach the gospel I’m going to help you all I can.’ Chapman thought, ‘What a crank.’ But the man continued, ‘I’m going to pray for you, and a few others have covenanted to join me.’ Later, Chapman wrote, ‘I didn’t feel so bad when I learned that they were going to pray for me. Soon the three became fifty, and the fifty became two hundred who met before every service to pray for me. In another room eighteen elders knelt so closely around me that I could put out my hand and touch them. I always went into my pulpit confident that I would have God’s anointing in answer to the prayers of those people. It was easy to preach, a real joy. And what was the result? Eleven hundred people were saved and joined the church in the next three years, and six hundred of them were men. It was the fruit of the Holy Spirit in answer to prayer. Church members have much more to do than go to church as curious, idle spectators to be amused and entertained. It is their business to pray mightily that the Holy Spirit will clothe the preacher with power and make his words like dynamite.’

Reflecting on a new season of prayer as our next 24/7 prayer space gets underway

This weekend of prayer at Burlington is so important.

In various places, including our main celebration, I have been sharing the season that I believe God has been calling me into. I believe it to be a season for Burlington too. The best way I can describe it is this: do less, achieve more.

I have found myself captivated by Jesus afresh. His work seemed so effortless: a quick touch here, a timely word there, the odd humorous story and single-word prayers seemed to comprise the average day. He had time for people, impromptu meals and never missed a social occasion. The result? People were healed, saved and transformed and a global movement began that to this day remains unstoppable. Impressive.

On the other hand, ministry (paid or otherwise) or church work or Christian living (call it what you like) is too often stressful and burdensome and takes its toll on the emotional wellbeing of ourselves and our families. And the result? Perilously few are finding Christ, stories of transformation are infrequent and we feel isolated and marginalized in the world. We appear to be doing more (the average church is not short on activities), and be achieving way way less.

A few verses come to mind that illuminate the contrast between the life of Jesus and our own lives, and that of our churches too. I invite you to reflect upon them:

John 14:10 (NIV) Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work.

Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV) ”Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Mark 1:35 (NIV) Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.

My own response to this is to find the Holy Spirit dragging me kicking and screaming to do less and to pray more. Like an untamed ox, I need my rhythm to be broken that I might wear Christ’s yoke. I need to learn from Him. It’s not comfortable. Doing less is not comfortable, and praying more is a real struggle. With the slightest distraction, or a hint of discouragement, I can so easily scurry back to my old ways of over filling my day with good deeds, essential tasks and urgent matters. To be honest that work, for all its demands, is easier. Sometimes much easier. I am discovering more than ever that prayer is not just to help the work, prayer is the work. And by the grace of God I have had little glimpses of the resulting effortless work of Jesus: the chance encounter that proved so fruitful, the timely word that was prophetic and the ability to see things that the daily rush would have kept me blind to.

Please ask me about this new season. I need you to. I need your encouragement to stick with it. I need your challenge not to settle for a lesser task.

So, as I was saying, this is a really important weekend of prayer. We need it, really need it.

It was a thrill to stand with the Ministry Team yesterday and to pray through the prayer room space – claiming the time, preparing the ground and asking God for everyone who will come to seek Him over these next few days. His response to us was a picture of a gushing river flowing through the prayers that will be offered and going out into the world. The river of life thundering through your prayers and mine.

Will you come?

John 7:37-38 (NIV)  … Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.”

Please sign up for your time in the prayer room  here. If there isn’t a slot that works for you then please contact Claire Earl as we might be able to extend our times.

Matthew 26:40 (NIV) Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Could you men not keep watch with me for one hour?”

We’ve launched a lifeboat

It was fantastic this morning to launch our first lifeboat (more here).

The Sidegate Family Community, led by Matt & Jo Holmes, was formally commissioned today as part our main celebration. Their vision is

to share with friends and neighbours, in the Sidegate area, how Jesus makes a difference in family life.

Please remember to pray for them. Here are a few specific things they have asked us to join with them in prayer about:

• That our 3 families continue to grow together and form strong bonds.
• God’s Holy Spirit will soften the hearts of people we are in contact with.
• That we can truly become vessels poured out, so our friends and neighbours will want to know more about Jesus.

On October 2nd we had a special church conference entitled: Launch the Lifeboats. You can find more information at www.burlingtonbaptist.org.uk/launchthelifeboats. More of my blogs associated with this can also be found here