It’s a Bit Quiet Around Here…

I’ve been planning my version of 2011, and noticed a happy conjunction of dates.

Easter occupies the last Sunday in April. Not particularly good for those looking for a holiday after term 1, but there you are.

Mothers Day, as usual, is the second Sunday in May. I’m going to persevere with making this work for inviting mums.

That leaves us with the first Sunday in May sitting at something of a loose end. How fortunate, then, that Sunday 1st of May is the day before the 400th anniversary of the publication of the KJV. I’m planning to do a sermon on something to do with the doctrine of scripture – likely its perspicuity and our wealth of opportunity to read it! ‘The Ploughman’s Son’ is the title, referencing Mr Tyndale above.

(And it makes for some kind of link to ‘The Noble Wife’ the following week, where I think Marguerite of Navarre will be my worked example of Proverbs 31. Hopefully that will save me from cliché!)

 

There was lots of noise for Calvin last year – but I’m not hearing so much about 2011…

Defining Evangelicalism

It was asked, and a cut and paste was fairly easy.

My final year project at college examined the evangelical movement in post-WW2 English Anglicanism. I was attempting to assess whether things ‘went wrong’ and if so, how far; hence, a necessary step was to have a go at defining evangelicalism. I’ve never had a problem with self-confidence, and so after surveying all and sundry’s efforts, decided to come up with my own answer. I’m still quite happy with it, and it was really the only thing the marker liked in the whole project, so…

 

‘From the survey above, it is apparent that a blended approach is best, one that recognises that a definition of evangelicalism must incorporate both methodology and history in its essential features. Even given this, however, it is worth considering what controls the selection of components. The temptation to give this role to the priority of Scripture is strong, but at the very place where Stott might convince one of this, he goes deeper: ‘The hallmark of evangelicals is […] a submissive spirit, namely their a priori resolve to believe and obey whatever the Scripture may be shown to teach. They are committed to Scripture in advance, whatever it may be later found to say. […] They see this humble and obedient stance as an essential implication of Christ’s lordship over them.’[1] Beyond the commitment to Scripture is a recognition of divine sovereignty. Peter Jensen has described this as the key to a sharp definition of evangelicalism.[2] What is common to most of the attempts at definition already mentioned is their foundation in the sovereignty of God. This is literally the quintessence of Bebbington’s quadrilateral. To be even more precise, it is the sovereignty of God in the gospel: biblicism reflects God’s sovereignty in the revelation of the gospel, crucicentrism his sovereignty in its focus, and conversionism and activism in humanity’s response to the gospel. Similarly, Stott’s commitment to Bible and gospel – both tied to divine sovereignty – leads him to the Nottingham theme of obedience to Christ.[3]

Thus, if we accept that being evangelical means holding a Christian faith that responds to God’s sovereignty in the gospel, one more advantage is apparent. As the antithesis of sin, it is clear that nobody can hope to be perfectly evangelical; there must be a grey area that gives ‘room to move […] without resorting to disenfranchising one another.’[4] Evangelicals of different generations can be recognised as such, despite their different emphases, because these emphases consistently arose from their recognition of God’s authority. Different lists of evangelical essentials can be drawn up, as long as they emanate from this central point. Treating God’s sovereignty as it particularly relates to the gospel generates the evangelical method of the primacy of Scripture. And finally, the value of evangelical tradition can be weighed from this same perspective. Accordingly, the standing of the evangelical movement in the Church of England can be measured in terms of its faithfulness to this fundamental conviction.’

[The reference to Nottingham is to a gathering of evangelical Anglicans that’s usually thought to mark the point at which they strayed. I’d argue that they continued down a path already begun.]

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[1] Stott, Essentials, 104.

[2] Peter F. Jensen, unpublished address, given at the 75^th Anniversary Celebration of the Sydney University Evangelical Union, 8/10/05.

[3] Stott, What is an Evangelical?, 14.

[4] Thompson, ‘Saving the Heart’, The Briefing 151: 4.

 

So, that’s what I meant by a high view of God’s sovereignty. I think it’s what shapes who we are.

New Horizons in Local Church Theology

Sounds like an impressive book title. But no, I’m just working on next year’s preaching plans.

 

 

However, the new horizon bit is true. Our church has, in the space of the last couple of years, suddenly achieved a whole bunch of major goals that they’ve been working on for years. We now have a ‘rectory-standard dwelling’ next to the church (for us to live in, and it’s lovely), and come November, we’ll be made a ‘provisional parish’ (no longer a branch church of our neighbours up the road at Gerringong). 

In other words, in the living memory of some of our members, St Peter’s has grown from a half-dozen old ladies sitting up the back to a decent-sized church with a couple of congregations, and enough resources (people, time, money, property etc) to stand on our own two feet, metaphorically speaking.

It’s been a long time coming…and so now there’s a bit of ‘now what?’ floating around. All ambitions have been achieved. The last thing we want to do is sit back and cruise – this town is enough of a retirement village already!

 

So…it’s time to start looking for a new horizon – new things to aim at, under God. And I’m thinking that a decent chunk of a preaching program would be a good thing to get that ball rolling.

Here’s what I’ve come up with, thus far, in a very very draft sense. Comments welcome.

Being

9 weeks, 3 lots of 3

Weeks 1-3: Church

1. Who is the church? Where is the church?

2. What is the church for? Why is the church?

3. When is the church? How is the church?

(OK, so the grammar is a bit stilted, but you can get some sense of it)

Weeks 4-6: Our Church

4. An evangelical church (not just as a theological persuasion – but saying, who we are is based on the first three weeks and how the gospel shapes a church). But I’ll use the Douglas-Bebbington quintilateral to describe things: activism, biblicism, crucicentrism, conversionism, all held together by a high view of God’s sovereignty

5. A church for the Heads – ie all of our local community. We’re the only mainline church in town, so I figure I can claim it without controversy. Church should work for people of all ages/stages etc.

6. A church for all – not just our own patch, but also seeking to be for the Shoalhaven region/mission area, to be part of our diocese/local evangelical scene, and to be part of our world (ie ‘mission’)

Weeks 7-9: Us

Less developed, but basically growing out of the D-BQ (TM) – activism implies serving each other/others; crucicentrism a willingness/expectation to suffer rather than look after our futures; conversionism a personal commitment to God and his people; biblicism a love of the Word and obedience of it; sovereignty a dependence on grace expressed in prayer and more.

The Heisenberg Unpleasantness Principle

I'm doomemed. It’s Simone’s fault. Or mine, for talking too much. Somebody with so much to say is an easy victim.

So now I have to find ten things that make me happy, and in the process feel less happy about it. Frankly, I’m surprised. This is a form where you fill in your own numbers. She should have known better!

1. That God consistently deflates my ego. And doesn’t mind spending an eternity doing it.

2. Those times, once every few years, when the kids sleep through the night, and I wake up before them, having slept late. Small miracles are still miracles.

3. Thinking. I’m obsessive about it. I’m not claiming anything profound here – just that I can be having a conversation while the analytical corner of my brain is performing some kind of combinatorics exercise. Without distracting me too much.

4. Genuine time off – no chores to do, just completely discretionary time. Particularly if it’s enough to…

5. See  a movie. It needn’t be fantastic, but it’s nice to inhabit a different world for a couple of hours. But the best kind are by…

6. Alfred Hitchcock. Because he’s never boring.

7. Competing. Board games, trivia, anything that requires no genuine ability below the neck.

8. The totally novel, as in never-before-in-my-life, idea that it might be possible to increase my general fitness and wellbeing while exercising, and enjoy it. Courtesy of the new bike that I bought for Father’s/birth/Christmas/anniversary Day last week. It goes really fast. Even with me on it. And not just due to the effects of gravity when falling over.

9. Cheesy pop music. Not all of it, thankfully. But a strong keyboard, or a ballad, or Bono…and I’m a goner.

10. Reading the Bible, and finding once again something new, thereby demonstrating that God is not just cool but also eternally satisfying. And far better than Hitchcock!

 

Not too painful, then. That means I can tag people with a clear conscience. Well, the only active readers here that I’m aware of are Byron and Rach. Though I doubt Rach will be adding to that particular blog… And I’ll tag Andrew too, seeing as Simone didn’t!

An Affair to Remember

A couple of years ago, Moore College did their School of Theology on the book of Exodus. The book version is a cracker, with some wonderful and original work. This series arises from Richard Gibson’s ideas about preaching Exodus.

 

July 18 • Exodus 1-2

God Looked On

Even before Israel was a nation, they faced a crisis of faith: if God was watching, why was he waiting? Should a God who’s on the sidelines be sidelined?

July 25 • Exodus 3-4

Is It Not I?

Prophecy has in inauspicious birth—but there are other ominous signs of oncoming disaster. ‘For love is as strong as death…’

August 1 • Exodus 5-11

The Ruler of Egypt

‘…Many waters cannot quench love; rivers cannot wash it away…’ There can be only one ruler of Egypt, and he will rule through his minions. But what sacrifice will he demand?

August 8 • Exodus 12-13

Total Recall

God remembered his covenant with Abraham; his people were to remember this day. ‘In days to come, when your son asks you, “What does this mean?” say to him’ … what?

August 15 • Exodus 13-18

Road Trip

‘Come away, my lover…’ We follow Israel as they travel between a hard place and a rock, with God drawing them to the place where they will meet.

August 22 • Exodus 19-24

The Pre-Nup

‘Who is this coming up from the desert leaning on her lover?’ It has happened: God has brought his people to himself. The question now is whose people they will be?

August 29 • Exodus 25-40

Home Beautiful

‘…If one were to give all the wealth of his house for love, it would be utterly scorned…’ The interior decorations in this place are simply divine!

September 5 • Exodus 32-34

The Green-Eyed Master

‘…Its jealousy unyielding as the grave…’ We know that God told Moses his name—but do we know what it means?

 

Yep, Father’s Day for the last one. And we’re reading 1 Peter with Exodus, reaching chapter 3 just in time…

The ♥ of the Gospel

I’ve preached this series before (well, planned it and shared it with a few others), and this time around I’m even less convinced of the sermon titles. But, for what it’s worth…

June 13 • Ephesians 1:1-14

Bank On It

The gospel finds its origin in the extraordinary generosity of God, and in this generosity lies a security that goes beyond the financial realm…

June 20 • Ephesians 1:15-23

Seeing Some Interest

…but God’s investment in us is ongoing; we are a term deposit that continues to grow until we reach maturity…

June 27 • Ephesians 2:1-10

From Out of Bankruptcy

…for God has paid out our debt, and we are his…

July 4 • Ephesians 2:11-22

The Merger

…and not us alone, for God is at work all over the world, building a company of richly diverse yet complementary assets…

July 11 • Ephesians 3

Whose Profit?

…until finally, the glory of God’s grand design is revealed, and we fall at his feet in praise and thanksgiving!

Well, Yes, It Was Quite Tasty

Zeal for your house will consume me.

Heard it before? John 2:17, or Psalm 69:9. John takes the psalmist into a future tense though…

I think in the past I’ve been too metaphorical in how I’ve read this. Consume doesn’t actually mean ‘keep me interested’ or ‘be a priority’ or ‘occupy quite a large percentage of my attention’. It means ‘eat’.

It actually fits the context better to take it literally – in the psalm, and in John. Jesus’ concern for God’s house, for a meeting place between God and humanity, led him to the cross. On trumped up charges, of course, but they were based on what he said a mere two verses later.

He was consumed. And so the one who tabernacled amongst us became the one who was the temple, permanently.

 

Now, the really odd thing was how I was led to this thought by myself. Well, sort of. It was an accident. But something I wrote ten years ago (on this passage, without having understood this element properly) sent me off down the path less travelled, and it brought me out into a better place.

I can be a little slow sometimes.