Recommending the ESV Study Bible....just don't ever bring it to church!

I've never been a great fan of study Bibles. Mainly because when people bring them to church or Bible study they inevitably recite the comments made in the notes at the bottom half of every page rather than focusing upon the actual Word of God in the top half of the page. Back in the 90's the NIV study Bible was the one many lugged around with them and I always wished they'd leave it at home for their private study.

My opinion hasn't changed much but having just picked up the new ESV Study Bible I'd like to encourage people to consider purchasing a copy.... but to still leave it at home.

Hear are 5 reasons for why I think it's worth getting.

1. This is a cross reference Bible. This is probably about the most wonderful tool you could ever have in your Bible reading as you can easily trace key words and themes and discover how a particular verse is linked to other parts of the Bible.

2. This is a scholarly study Bible with many very useful articles included.  A pretty amazing list of evangelical scholars, writers and preachers have contributed not just to the individual books but a whole heap of other issues are written about as well.

3. This is a Bible! That is for all the extra features, notes, articles etc...all yield to the ultimate authority of the Word and the aim is to encourage your personal engagement with the 'top half' of the page.

4. You are given access to everything online. From what I can see all the articles and cross references are all there to use and it allows you to make and save your notes, thoughts, reflections as well. Oh, but you have to buy a copy to be given the online code.

5. This is a big book...so unless you a looking for physical punishment you'll not be hiring a truck and getting it to church or your Gospel group anytime soon.

And here are 4 reasons why I think you should leave it at home and not bring your ESV study Bible to church or Gospel Group.

1. You'll not be tempted to 'fake your own wisdom' by pretending that amazing insight into the passage is actually yours.

2. You'll not give yourself a spinal injury.

3. You'll be spending money on something that will most likely encourage you to read and love the Bible at home even more.

4. You'll prolong the life of your 'travel' Bible.

So if you score any Christmas money, or if someone is stuck on getting you a belated Christmas gift, this would be a good way to spend $50.

Head to the ESV website for more info and endless video's and endorsements.

Challenge to memorize the Scriptures in 2009

One of the things that struck me at the recent SPRTE conference was a challenge to be memorizing Bible passages. 

Check out this recent post by Justin Taylor and see if you're up to the challenge. Includes an awesome printout.

I'm going to try and give it a go for 2009 with my family.

CitC moved to Copland this week

Watch for directions on how to get to the Copland lecture theatre for this week.
Many thanks to Michael who's always this enthusiastic to get to church.

SPRTE this Sunday night

Friends just another reminder that Sunday (Nov.30) will be a very special and wonderful time as we join the booked out SPRTE conference this Sunday night. Get to the School of Music, ANU around 7pm to ensure a good seat. Parking from either Childers St or Marcus Clark St in Civic.

Better than Obama?

Ken Mansell wrote the following and sent it to a few people. I thought it worth letting some others read it as well.


I watched the acceptance speech of Senator Obama last week and was struck, not be the words of this gifted speaker, but by the look on the faces of those listening. Their child-like joy reminded me of that indescribable look my son has when he sees his mother after slowly waking in the morning. Since then I have seen and read countless reviews of this speech, all delirious with a new hope…

But I have found it very hard to get as excited. I wanted to. I really did. But I just couldn’t. At first I thought this was because I have worked in a Minister’s office so I am a bit skeptical about the spin of politicians, but I have finally worked out why I find it hard to get excited by this, or any, political change.

I can’t get excited by “Yes we can!” when I have something of magnitudes better in “Yes he did!”.

I can’t be delirious in a new hope when I already have the ultimate hope.

And especially I can’t take more pride in my citizenry than I already have – I am of God’s chosen people.

I hope and will pray that the presidency of Senator Obama will be blessed by God. I know that God will use this presidency in his good plans.

However, just imagine if the passion that I saw on that day was the passion you and I had in what God has already done for us in Jesus. Just imagine if when we thought of the certain hope we have thanks to Jesus we where filled with the awe I saw on that day. Just imagine if we had the same pride those faces showed as we completely understood what being citizens of heaven actually means.

Let’s stop imagining... join with me in saying “Yes we can!”

Ken Mansell

Is God's judgement an unreasonable belief?

One of the challenges of the book of Revelation is it confronts us with the reality of God's judgement. This issue is one of several 'problems' people have with Christianity but unfortunately the issue is often not given the chance to be dealt with in an informed and helpful way...from both Christians and non-Christians. 

To think through this and other 'problem' issues more carefully I'd highly recommend Tim Keller's Reason for God. This really is a very helpful and liberating book which both sympathizes with those who doubt and shows the plausibility of faith in Christ.

Anyway, rather than me tell you about it, watch the author himself (below), or head to http://thereasonforgod.com

Please call or email the Crossroads office if you wish to order a copy. It will be about the best way you'll use $20 all year.

The Divine bail-out: What Jesus would say to Wall St

Given the unchartered global economic waters we now seem to be in, and given everyone seems to have an opinion about what the problem is, I've been thinking about what Jesus might have to say if Wall St was prepared to listen for a few minutes. Surely a crisis of ‘Biblical proportions (as some have said), deserves some thought as to what the Divine might actually be thinking. So here’s a few thoughts about what Jesus would say.

Jesus would say, "Greed is dangerous"
    “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” (Luke 12:15)
    Now we all know that materialism is limited and empty, we know there are more things to live for than how many cars you can fit in your garage, but we are still so easily driven by senseless greed.

    Jesus again says in Luke 9:25 

      "For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?"   That is, there is something soul destroying about the storing up and pursuit of more stuff. What purpose does it serve? How does it actually help you? How can you go on accumulating more while others struggle to survive? What has happened to your soul if you keep pursuing this?

Jesus would say, "Money can’t bring security"
    This is key to greed. Why do we want more and more and ever increasing returns? Because we want certitude, we want a grounding, we want security. And this is linked very closely to status, acceptance, social kudos, self-affirmation and importance.
    For many, the key to success and enjoyment in life is, they hope, economic prosperity. But surely the very fact that people worry about money, is evidence that it is not secure.
So Jesus warns in the sermon on the mount 

        “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal." (Matt. 6:19-20)
     Imagine what Wall St would do with that advice? So many would be out of a job!

Jesus would say, "Give to bless and prosper others"
    The Bible’s picture is to see people freed up from their love of money, because they are to love God and others more, and they use what they have for the blessing and prosperity of others. A radical generosity is what is urged.
    What’s the point of having 100 cars in your garage? You can only drive one at a time. So get rid of the excess, and bless others. What good is being payed 2 million a year if you just buy yet another property that you might visit someday? How does that help anyone? How does it help you?

Problem: You can’t legislate generosity
    Now that’s part of what Jesus would say, but it doesn’t actually do much good because you can’t legislate generosity. You can’t make people live this way, even if they know it’s right.

Problem: We can’t change the human condition
    Jesus ultimately didn’t come to change economic policy, no he came to change something harder than that: the human condition. So what Jesus would say to Wall St is that the way you’re devoted to and worried about money is grounded in a deeper problem.

Jesus would say, "Greed is idolatry"
     Ultimately what people have done is that they’ve put their confidence and hope in something that isn’t worth it and can’t actually help...it's idolatry, and it's diabolical! Idolatry is to build your self-image, your hopes, your future on something that is a God substitute.
We keep thinking money will bring that for us, it calls out to us, it looks so attractive. 

But Jesus says, 

       “No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or   he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.(Matthew 6:24)
What a warning this is. You can’t ultimately trust both, one will rule over the other.

So if the condition of the human heart is to forsake God and create idols, and especially money in the west. And if you can’t legislate generosity so people will do what they should with their money what can be done?

The Jesus bail out: Jesus would say, "Get really rich!"
    The only way I can change and see the world as I should is to realise that God offers me something better, richer, deeper and more lasting than Wall St. So the Jesus bail out is to get really rich, by grabbing a hold of what is far more valuable.

Don’t you love this picture we get in Matthew 13:44
     “The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and covered up. Then in his joy he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.
    Jesus speaks about finding something so valuable, its’ worth is incomparable to all you have and you’d easily trade everything to have it. To know Jesus, to know you have his blessing and favour, to be in his family…well that is of far more value and importance than to know Wall St and to have it’s blessing and favour. 

    For Jesus brings and offers all the riches of heaven for eternity for free to us, but at the highest price to him. For he though God, became human and laid his life down, giving up his riches, to forgive our poor, idolatrous hearts. And if this be true, then to be connected to, to be part of the divine bail out is actually the best investment, the most beautiful and safest place to be.

Jesus would say, "What a difference I bring"
    So what is the 'cash' value of all this? Well you can start treating money like money, rather than serving it as your God. It can now be used to bless and love others, it can be used to invest in things of eternal value. Indeed if I understand and am grabbed by the gospel, I want to put my money into the things that matter to Jesus, because nothing now matters more to me. And it means I've truly found happiness, joy, security, certitiude...all the things we long for.

    Money, Wall St. is a brutal master. It will let us down and when you fail it offers no hope. Jesus, will never abuse you like this, cannot let you down, and when you fail will forgive and restore you.

Now there's a bail out plan we need.

Over to you: Your questions about Satan

I'm wondering what questions you have about Satan and evil and the like. We all have a few tucked away there somewhere.

Given the back half of Revelation must be the most thorough treatment on the subject in Bible, I'm keen to know what you want to know. 

So what worries and uncertainties do you have? 

What gaps are there in your understanding that intrigue or frustrate you? 

What have you heard said before that you're not sure about?

You ask, and we'll seek to give an answer both in the blog, but also in the talks in the weeks ahead.

Spring review: Discussion groups summary

     The following is a summary of the discussion group notes taken during our September review. Many thanks to Trish Collins for working through the hundreds of ideas, thoughts and comments that were shared. If you wish to see the notes in full just leave a comment and we can get them to you. We're not hiding anything...

My thoughts on what we discover.

     It's important to read these comments alongside the survey (see post below). Also it needs to be said how well people were wanting to engage with these issues not to create the perfect 'me-church' but so we can be a more effective community growing followers of Jesus.

     Probably the most common feature or critique is our ability to genuinely love, connect, care for and encourage each other and those we hope will become part of God's Kingdom. People want to connect more and see our congregation do a better, deeper job...and that's a great thing! 

     There are a number of good suggestions about how we can be making the most of our Sunday nights and a genuine desire for people to be engaged and serving more in the mission of the church.

     It is clear that we need to work harder at loving and laying our lives down for each other. Many people are doing a great job seeking to already implement a number of these suggestions, but there is also a humble confession that more personal engagement needs to be encouraged in these matters.

     You may not agree with some of the comments that are made. Or you may feel that your comments are not represented well. With 200 people discussing things in groups it's not always easy to get the perfect weighting. But hey, this is what our wonderful scribes heard and took note of on the night.

     

What will be done with all this feedback?

     Next week the Gospel group leaders and the CitC task force will be meeting and going through the results. Given all the info we have got, we are in a position to not only assess how we are going as a group of people, but also to ensure we work on the key areas so we can see the gospel go forward in 2009. I will report back to the congregation what is discussed.

     Please read through the following and keep praying for our church...well actually, Jesus' church. We want to ensure we do what we do for him first and foremost.

     Comments, thoughts and further input is welcome.

___________________________

Q1) What is something that you really appreciate about CitC?
     There were a variety of responses to what people most appreciate at CiTC. A majority of groups mentioned the bible teaching. The faithful, biblical foundation to all the sermons was a highly appreciated factor. Also, the relevance, approachability and challenging nature of the teaching were noted. Two other areas that are also highly appreciated are the friendly, welcoming people and the songs/music program. The format of the service (the informal nature, the singing, supper after etc) and the atmosphere of the service (again informal, relaxed & friendly) were commented on a few times, and other areas such as the room we meet in, gospel groups & social events were included.
     The stand out factor of what people most appreciate about CiTC is the bible based preaching.

Q2) Do you think we are good at welcoming and connecting new people into our church?
     A ‘yes’ or ‘no’ category was used to collate answers to this question. Most groups filled out more responses in the ‘No’ column indicating a possible dissatisfaction with the welcoming and connecting at Crossroads.
Groups identified many reasons as to why CiTC is not good at welcoming and connecting people. Most of these comments fell into two categories – one was the difficulty of identifying newcomers the other was the difficulty in making friends. Within the newcomers section the size of the congregation seemed to be a major factor, which was the basis for comments like ‘hard it know if people are new or not’ and ‘some people spotted as new while others aren’t.’ Also mentioned was how people were left standing or sitting by themselves often and how everyone seems to leave it up to someone else to do the welcoming.
     Building meaningful friendships also seems to be a frustration, a highly noted cause for this is due to cliques within the congregation making it hard to break into groups or conversations and making it difficult to connect and engage with others. Some groups made mention of the segregated nature or our congregation, whether students and workers, or Australians and internationals that leads to these cliques.
     The ‘daunting’ foyer of Manning Clark is also seen as a hindrance to welcoming and connecting people.
     There were some very positive comments however that mentioned how everyone does mingle and there aren’t many cliques! And some that referred to the 5 minute breaks in service, and the pre-service coffee as useful times for connecting. The welcoming team were noted as doing a good job at targeting people however needing to do some more work on the follow up.

Q2a) How can we be doing welcoming and connecting of new people better?
     There were many helpful ideas and suggestions for how CiTC could improve on our welcoming and connecting. Most suggestions focussed on things that could be changed or improved on the night. This involved placing key welcoming people at strategic places (near doors, at back of room, first at supper etc), mentioning gospel groups each week and the opportunity to join them, mentioning the welcoming / info table, making everyone wear nametags and reminding everyone in the congregation to be mindful of people who are new and sitting or standing alone.
     There were other comments that also indicated that it is the responsibility of each individual to be connecting and welcoming. More encouragement and emphasis on the responsibility of each congregation member to be taking the initiative in this area is desired. And support for each other as we befriend new people was suggested.
Creating opportunities for smaller groups to interact and discuss the sermon on Sunday nights was a popular suggestion that would allow more connection and it was noted that the review discussion groups were already an example of how it could work and how good it was.
     There were some helpful comments for connecting with people beyond Sunday night. These included an increase in social events (lunches & coffees mid week, monthly or fortnightly events) and more encouragement to attend them, building a bridge between CIF & CitC, connecting people of similar age groups and having activities targeted at these groups, inviting people to events face to face (not on facebook), linking people with similar interests, having a regular ‘newcomers’ dinner before church and involving more people in organising events. It was also noted that gospel groups could be the initial group to be inviting new people to, so that when they come to church they already know some people.
     All these suggestions give possible ways to create a genuine culture of welcoming and connecting but also indicate that we are aware it is up to each of us individually to be looking out for new people and approaching them.

Q3) Do you think we are being faithful at making the gospel clear and relevant?
     Many of the responses to this question were contradictory – even just within singular groups. However there was definitely more of a positive response to the clarity and relevance of the gospel at CiTC.
Many groups noted the verse by verse approach to studying the bible and mentioned the concise, in-depth, contextual nature of the sermons as helpful in this area. Groups expressed other positive opinions including the consistent theme of the gospel at every service, the time to discuss during the sermon, the clear applications with practical examples, the outline/handouts, question time, use of powerpoint and technology, the courses offered to learn the basics, the connection between gospel groups and sermons and the openness of the pastors to discuss disagreements.
     Some comments indicated an uncertainty about the faithfulness of the gospel preached mentioning that without much existing bible knowledge the sermons are sometimes hard to understand, that the preaching can be very long and heavy and doesn’t always answer the questions we have.
Some groups thought that CiTC has not achieved clear and relevant gospel teaching mentioning that there is a very academic approach to our preaching which assumes a high educational standard and caters to a particular learning style that some people find difficult to connect with, along with the difficulty for non/new Christians to engage without the base understandings. Contradicting to this there was a comment that the sermons were too basic, and could be a bit more challenging.
     Most of the concern for this gospel teaching centres on less educated people or non-Christians.

Q3a) How can we be doing this better?
     There were lots of useful ideas for how the gospel could be taught with more clarity and relevance at CiTC. The comments were roughly divided into four main categories; how to do this for non Christians, ideas for Sunday night services, the intellectual nature of the sermons and the application area.
     Non Christians: A desire for more notification when it will be a sermon aimed at non christians was expressed. The suggestion that topical themed nights might be helpful or even dedicating one service each week to a simple evangelistic talk rather than the complex teaching. Engaging non Christians better through courses, discussion groups or question times are other ideas.
     On the night: Question times, testimonies, use of powerpoint and multimedia, explanation of why we do things (eg read bible, pray etc), shorter sermons, follow up questions and reviews of the basics were all ideas of how to improve this gospel clarity and relevance on the night. A particular, practical comment was giving time for people to find the place in their bibles before starting reading.
     Intellectual nature: Explanations of words, maybe even a glossary and awareness of complex language and concepts are suggested ways to balance the sermons a bit more.
     Application: A desire to have more in-depth, practical application from the sermons was a noted suggestion. This could be achieved by examples, discussion questions for after church, a better understanding of demographic (ie: not just students and workers), an encouragement to have and write questions to the pastors and running more courses for different stages.
     Letting people know about the blog and using it was also thought of was a way to engage better with the gospel.

Q4) Do you think we are good at loving and serving one another?
     A majority of groups discussed comments to this question that indicated an uncertainty about whether or not we are good at loving and serving one another. Some groups thought that the combining of congregations has created many opportunities to serve, that coffee and supper after church are helpful, small groups were highly noted as places where this love and service happen, and the fact that many non Christians keep coming regularly to church is a testament to the love and service present at CitC.
     However, the size, transitory nature, time constraints and lack of mingling at church are noted as reasons as to why we are dissatisfied with the love and service at CitC. A major factor seems to be that we don’t know how or where to love and serve and we don’t know who needs to be loved and served. Groups indicated that there are a few people who do lots of loving and serving and don’t give others the opportunity. Also that there are people who should be better cared for during the week (eg, the sick, the sad etc), that the noisy, public foyer makes it hard to have meaningful conversations, and that there aren’t any specific individuals asking for help.

Q4a) How can we be doing this better?
     The main way groups thought we could love and serve each other better is by knowing each other better and knowing needs. A desire for more information, opportunity, knowledge and understanding of how to serve each other was a definite theme. Along with more encouragement to be bold in this area and clearer teaching on how to reach out to others.
     Having forums for people with common interests to interact, knowing where people work, knowing who needs prayer, who is sick etc were ideas to improve on this. The practical implementation of these ideas involved creating smaller gospel groups, having a key contact person to go to for assistance or help, having a process to convey needs to the congregation and sharing prayer points somehow. More women’s and men’s events or prayer networks was also a common theme along with linking gospel groups together.
     Other ideas were encouraging the older/mature members to “adopt” newer/younger members for connection and growth together, encouraging more spontaneous hospitality and designated welcoming responsibilities (at supper, during service).

Q5) What is something that you think is an area of weakness as we seek to be "growing followers of Jesus" at CitC?
     There was diverse range of responses for areas of weakness at CiTC. Only a few were commented on more than once, they included connecting and linking people into church, the lack of community due to cliques and the intimidating size of the congregation. Many comments were reiterated from other sections of the review. 

     Some new comments about areas of weakness included a lack in the community awareness and reaching out from CiTC, a lack of awareness about the other congregations of Crossroads, not enough prayer and that it’s not a very emotional and expressive church.
     Overall the main area that seemed to be of concern was the connection of people into the congregation. 

Q6) What sort of things would you like to see more of at CitC?
     Again, the varied range of responses to this question were extensive. Clearly there are lots more things people would like to see at CiTC! Specifically, a desire for a more external focus was evident (evangelism, outreach events, local missions, hospital visiting groups). 

     However, most comments related to things within CiTC that there could be more of. Super suppers featured, as did more songs / time allocated for music and more practical applications from the sermons. Regular men’s and women’s events that are targeted at specific needs, prayer breakfasts, workers interacting with each other more during week, more prayer, more communication with other churches, more question time, more training were all noted. But the most commonly expressed desire was for more social events outside of church. Groups wanted more opportunities to meet random people, more random dinners, more mixing between churchgoers, more activities, more social contact etc.

Q7) What sort of things are you personally being challenged to do in regards to serving God's kingdom At CitC?
     Many groups noted lots of different ways they were being challenged at CiTC. A lot of comments related to serving (knowing where and who and how), interacting with non Christian friends and sharing the gospel with them and most of all people are challenged to prioritise God and put Jesus at the centre.
     People are challenged to meet someone new at church each week, or welcome a newcomer, they are encouraged into various practical ministries (kids / youth, welcoming, church set up, CIF, in the workplace etc) and groups mentioned the challenge to be fostering deeper relationships and loving each other to build community.

Book review - 666 and all that

This really is a very helpful book that guides us through some of the scary and confusing issues that come up when we start thinking about the future and God's plans. John & Greg do a fair bit of 'mythbusting' especially regarding some of those vexed and much argued areas of the rapture, the tribulation, the millenium, the anti-Christ, the end of the world,...and of course that particular number. There's some great stuff on how to be reading apocalyptic literature properly without having to do some theological degree.

I especially appreciated chapter 9 'The fate of those who have never heard the Gospel', which is no doubt an issue we've all struggled with. Also there is some wonderful stuff on the hope we have in Christ, the reality and expectation of heaven and what happens when we die.

This book is a great companion to our current series on Revelation and it covers the breadth of the Bibles teaching on some key issues we perhaps don't always talk about really succinctly...the book is only 200 pages. It will give you great confidence in the future....and probably clear up a whole heap of areas you often 'muse' over, but don't quite know what to do about. Get yourself a copy!

Letting Jesus reign...now!

In Revelation 11:17-18 the 24 elders worship God and say:

  “We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty, who is and who was,
for you have taken your great power and begun to reign.
The nations raged, but your wrath came,
and the time for the dead to be judged,
and for rewarding your servants, the prophets and saints,
and those who fear your name, both small and great,
and for destroying the destroyers of the earth.”

     I wonder, how often do we really give some time to thinking through how good it is that Jesus reigns on the heavenly throne? 

     How often do we really look forward to fully experiencing the new creation according to Jesus? 

     Can you imagine a world where things work, where true authority is expressed and followed as it should be, where whatever the King says, everybody willingly follows?

     There are so many aspects of heaven in view in Revelation but the good, powerful and just rule of Jesus is one that we really need to come to terms with. In heaven no-one can or would ever want to argue with the perfect will of Jesus. There is no heavenly suggestion box as to how things could be run better. Heaven is relentlessly and joyously good because the forever king rules both for and over his precious people.

     But here’s my thought: if the heavenly reign of the King is enjoyed forever, what are we doing to ensure he reigns right now in our earthly experience? Yeah I know we are not in heaven yet, but do we perhaps fail to appreciate how the reign of the King is to reign in our lives today?
     When Jesus speaks through his word to us today, should we not be as quick to respond in joy and thanks as those in heaven? How so many problems and struggles we face would be avoided if we simply trusted what our King said in the first place.

    So here’s the challenge: are you prepared to really let him reign, to let the gospel set the direction and agenda for your life? Would set your sights and your heart on the glorious end point in heaven, and make decisions in your life that affirm and point to what will be happening for your eternal life?

Have a read of Rev.7:9-17 again, and then read chapter 21 and 22. Be excited by John’s heavenly vision….and let Jesus reign in your life…he’s very good at it.

Full survey results

Well here are the results from our CitC survey conducted on September 21. A total of 191 people took part. I wonder what particularly stands out? What is worrying? What things do we need to be praying and acting upon?

Q1) How long have you been coming along to Crossroads?
1 month    12%
3 months   4%
6 months   9%
9 months   12%
12 months  7%
18 months  9%
2 years      9%
3 years      10%

4 years      10%
5+ years    11%
10+ years   6%

Q2) How did you find out about CitC?
Friend            76%
Website          4%
Yellow Pages <1%

Advertising      3%

Referred         16%

Q3) Have you found CitC to be a friendly and welcoming congregation to be part of?
Strong yes    37%
Yes              54%
No               7%
Strong No     2%

Music
Q4) Do you find the music and singing at CitC encouraging and enjoyable?
Strong yes      53%
Yes                41%
No                 4%
Strong No       2%

Q5) Do you think the style of music at CitC connects and works with most people you know?
Strong Yes      36%
Yes                52%
No                 9%
Strong No       3%

Q6) How much singing should we be doing at CitC?
Much more       3%
Little More       27%
It’s about right 67%
A little Less      3%
Much less         0%

Our service
Q7) Do you think our Sunday night gatherings succeed in helping people genuinely engage with God?
Strong Yes      47%
Yes                48%
No                 3%
Strong No       2%

Q8) Do you think our Sunday night gatherings succeed in helping people genuinely engage with each other?
Strong Yes      15%
Yes                60%
No                 20%
Strong No       5%

Preaching
Q9) Overall the preaching at CitC is encouraging and challenging.
Strong Yes      72%
Yes                25%
No                 2%
Strong No       1%

Q10) Overall the preaching at CitC is easy to follow.
Strong Yes     55%
Yes               40%
No                3%
Strong No      2%

Q11) Overall the preaching at CitC is faithful to the Bible.
Strong Yes    82%
Yes 1           6%
No             <1%

Strong No    1%

Q12) Overall the preaching at CitC connects well with me.
Strong Yes    56%
Yes              37%
No               6%
Strong No     1%

Q13) Would the preaching ‘style’ and content connect well with your friends & family?
Strong Yes    24%
Yes              56%
No               17%
Strong No     3%

Feeling connected and cared for
Q14) CitC is a place where I feel I am connected well with people?
Strong Yes    24%
Yes              47%
No               25%
Strong No     4%

Q15) At CitC I don’t really know how to connect with others and/or I know very few people.
Strong Yes    8%
Yes              31%
No               42%
Strong No     19%

Q16) I consider CitC to be a place where people genuinely care for each other.
Strong Yes    28%
Yes              60%
No               11%
Strong No     1%

Q17) I find it easy to find out what is happening at CitC and that information is communicated well about what is going on.
Strong Yes    49%
Yes              40%
No               9%
Strong No     2%

Being involved in CitC
Q18) I understand the purpose of our Sunday gatherings.
Strong Yes    61%
Yes              34%
No               4%
Strong No    <1%

Q19) I feel I am involved in building Christ’s kingdom at CitC.
Strong Yes    27%
Yes              46%
No               22%
Strong No     4%

Q20) I regularly feel encouraged to get involved in serving at church.
Strong Yes    29%
Yes              44%
No               23%
Strong No     5%

Q21) There are things that I would like to be doing more of at CitC but I’m not sure how to go about it.
Strong Yes    15%
Yes              21%
No               46%
Strong No     18%

This year
Q22) I have grown in my love and understanding of Jesus through my involvement with CitC.
Strong Yes    48%
Yes              36%
No              14%
Strong No    2%

Q23) I have been shown clearly how the gospel applies to my life.
Strong Yes    54%
Yes              35%
No               7%
Strong No     3%

Q24) I financially support Crossroads.
Regularly         31%
Sometimes       18%
Irregularly        22%
Not at all         11%
Yet to organise18%

Thinking of others
Q25) Do you think we generally conduct our meetings and events in such a way so as to make the gospel attractive and compelling for those who don’t yet know Christ?
Strong Yes    30%
Yes              57%
No               11%
Strong No     3%

Q26) Would you be happy to invite your friends or family along to CitC?
Strong Yes    41%
Yes              44%
No               11%
Strong No     3%

Q27) Have you asked any of your friends or family what are not Christian to come along to church with you this year?
Yes    58%
No     42%

Generally
Q28) Do you think CitC is a place where a hunger and love for God is experienced, encouraged and modelled?
Strong Yes    49%
Yes              43%
No               5%
Strong No     3%

Q29) Do you think CitC is a place where a love for others is experienced, encouraged and modelled?
Strong Yes    26%
Yes              61%
No               11%
Strong No     2%

Q30) Do you think the facilities that we use for CitC are suitable?
Strong Yes   44%
Yes             49%
No              6%
Strong No    1%

Q31) Do you find the 6:30-8pm Sunday night timeslot is one that works well for you?
Agree                  71%
Prefer earlier      19%
Prefer later         9%
Earlier & later     1%

Q32) Do you come to pre-church coffee?
Regularly      15%
Sometimes    32%
Hardly ever   24%
Never been   30%

Q33) Do you hang around and talk to people after church?
Regularly     61%
Sometimes   31%
Hardly ever  6%
Never been  2%

Q34) Do you plan to be involved and committed to CitC in 2009?
Yes            73%
No             7%
Unsure       21%

So, what do you think?

A couple of survey thoughts...and results.

I’ve got to admit I’m generally not too crazy about surveys. They’re inevitably restrictive in that my answer never seems to be listed as one of the options. Also they are impersonal…I don’t like becoming a statistic. So trying do an anonymous ‘personal’ survey at church made me rather nervous. And yes the survey was deliberately restrictive. We didn’t want to fall into the ‘me-church’ problem (see previous video post) where we find out what people do or don’t like and then seek to accommodate everyone’s wish list. This would have been a disastrous mistake. Can you image Jesus handing out ‘felt need’ surveys? Can you imagine the apostles running little focus groups to work out how to make their ministry more fun and happy for everyone?

Truth and love and the glory of God are the things that should be driving all that we do in Church and all that we do as Christians. So we wanted to survey how we think we are going as a community in view of the Biblical picture of how church should be. And also survey how ‘you’ think you are going as an individual in our congregation. Now this is hard to do and kind of sets us up for a fall. But I think what we did on Sunday night, combined with our discussion groups was a very helpful exercise.

We are still distilling all the info but let me share with you a couple of the results.

We asked two questions relating to our Sunday night gatherings and genuine engagement.

Do you think our Sunday night gatherings succeed in helping people genuinely engage with God?
Strong Yes 47%
Yes 48%
No 3%
Strong No 2%

Do you think our Sunday night gatherings succeed in helping people genuinely engage with each other?
Strong Yes 15%
Yes 60%
No 20%
Strong No 5%

Now in some ways you could sum up what church is all about under these themes. If we are genuinely engaging with God and each other then we’re likely to be ‘growing followers of Jesus’. So what do these results show?
Well clearly most people think we do a good job of the first, and significantly less feel we succeed in the second, and perhaps succeed as well.
It shows us there is difference of opinion amongst us about these issues. One in twenty don’t think people are being helped to genuinely engaging with God at church. One in four don’t think we are good at helping people engage well with each other.

Now of course what these results don’t show us is why people think like this…and there’s the problem with surveys.
Further info will follow as we go through all the results. But overall people seemed very pleased we spent some time doing our Spring review. 

Thanks guys for putting your thoughts into all this. 

Feel free to add your comments about how you found the whole process.

Me Church

Here's the video we played at church last Sunday night...for your enjoyment, and perhaps a little more.

Augustine's confession

For those of you interested, here's the full prayer from Augustine I mentioned last Sunday night. It may be 1600 years old, but how powerful still?   

“Too late have I loved you, O Beauty of ancient days, yet ever new! Too late I loved you! And behold, you were within, and I abroad, and there I searched for you; I was deformed, plunging amid those fair forms, which you had made. You were with me, but I was not with you. Things held me far from you—things which, if they were not in you, were not at all. You called, and shouted, and burst my deafness. You flashed and shone, and scattered my blindness. You breathed odors and I drew in breath—and I pant for you. I tasted, and I hunger and thirst. You touched me, and I burned for your peace” (St. Augustine, Confessions).

The Scandal of Repentance

To be called to repent is surely one of the severest and sweetest things to come from Jesus lips. Severe in that it involves a fundamental acknowledgment of our worthlessness and need and sin. Sweet in that the one who repents experiences great joy and confidence because Christ and all his blessings are now freely theirs to enjoy. So repentance it is both scandalously hard, and scandalously good at the same time.
Last Sunday’s talk: Outraged by the Scandal (Luke 13:1-17) was one of the more difficult for me. It is hard to be faithful to the text and to bring out the severity and the sweetness at the same time. But it is even harder knowing there are people in our midst and in our lives who have not yet yielded to the call of Jesus and so God’s judgement hangs over them. To those unwilling to submit to the wonder and authority of Jesus the news from passages like this is not good. Yes it is doom and gloom…forever. But to the one willing to trust the unfailing and merciful gift of Christ for us, there is perfect joy and comfort….forever.
Please pray that more and more people would both feel the gravity of Jesus warnings and the wonder of his work for us. It will mean being brought to our knees in great sorrow. But it will also mean we will stay happily on our knees in awe and praise.

The Parable of the rich fool

Anthony writes the following for this week's blog:

The parable of the rich fool cuts to the heart of the sin of our age, living without a deep reference to God. The rich fool makes no account of the fact that it is God who makes the land produce bountifully, he finds security in wealth rather than knowing God and he operates with a godless perspective limiting time to the here and now rather than eternity. But like the rich fool we are fools if we live without a deep reference to God in all we do and all we have. Jesus will not arbitrate between two fools both of whom are living without deep reference to God, because Jesus' kingdom is not of this world, and it isn't concerned with the things of this world. It is in Jesus' kingdom that we find true security that lasts for eternity. So the scandal of wealth as Jesus portrays it is that wealth can lead a person who treasures it away from God as surely as I can lead a thirsty dog to water. The scandal of wealth is that rich people who trust Jesus can and do enter his kingdom. The scandal of wealth is that in our society and our culture there are countless millions of rich fools. Don't make the rich fool's mistake.

Further thoughts on the disaster of religion

     Luke's Gospel really does have one of the sharpest critiques of religion. The amount of meals, confrontations and explicit teaching from Jesus that undermines our natural approach to God is staggering. Chief tax collectors and criminals find there way into the Kingdom of God - religious experts find themselves excluded. It is a confronting read. 

     In reflecting further on Jesus rather confrontational dinner tactics in Luke 11:37-53, (remember those woes?) I can't help but think ahead into Luke 15 and how Jesus nails the religious yet again. But do we miss it?  This chapter contains the much loved Prodigal Son story, but I think calling it this can lead us into the very religious trap Jesus is seeking to demolish! Really it should be called the "Prodigal God" for the one who is excessive (prodigal means excessive) in the story is not the younger squandering Son, but the gracious forgiving Father. I think this title may help us sit up and take more note of the strong warning about 'older brotherness' that is highly likely to be alive and resident in our "churchy" hearts.

    We easily see the rebellion of the younger son who represents an open defiance to God expressed in immoral excess. However we don't often consider that the older brother is just as sinful. He needs salvation too - from his 'damnable good works' done is self righteousness.

     It means there are two ways you can rebel against God. You can either be really, really bad...or you can be really, really good! How can a legalistic really good religious life be a way of rebelling against God? Well it's a way of effectively shutting who God is out of our lives. The older brother syndrome believes that God owes us something. We force God's hand of favour...and we get cranky when God doesn't pay up. God becomes a means to an end. Indeed what happens is the legalist will end up railing against the God he/she says they serve.

     How the Pharisees and scribes hated Jesus....to death. How Jesus shattered their world. 

The  question Luke would ask us is this: Is the real Jesus shattering ours...for the better? Are we allowing the scandalous Jesus to be  reprogramming our natural religious default setting so we relate to God in humbleness, confidence and joy. This is something religion promises, but can never deliver.

    

Some thoughts on blasphemy against the Holy Spirit

Have I done it?
    I suspect just about every Christian has worried at least a little about Jesus words in Luke.12:10 “…everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but the one who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven.”(see also Matthew 12:32 & Mark 3:29). This is so full-on, so final, so scary. And some people are brought to the point of thinking, “Have I committed this sin and so am I not a real Christian”, “Am I disqualified from heaven”, “Am I not really chosen by God”.
    Of course these questions arise because we’re unsure of what Jesus means and in particular how can Jesus distinguish between blasphemy against the Son of Man (himself), as being forgivable; but blasphemy against the Holy Spirit as being unforgivable?
    Well, as I hinted at on Sunday night, if you worry about this issue, I suspect it’s a clear indication that you haven’t done it. Indeed to blaspheme against the Holy Spirit will lead to you having no authentic interest in Jesus at all.

What’s the context?
    When Jesus mentions this issue it is always closely tied to his dealing with his religious opponents. In Matthew 12 and Mark 3 Jesus is being accused of sourcing his powers from Satan. That is, the religious leaders, in defiance and desperation at Jesus wonderful powers to heal and restore, attribute it to the devil. It is a terrible evil to deliberately call something that is so good to be bad; or to accuse the innocent and pure of being in collusion with the devil.
    In Luke, Jesus warns the religious leaders that they stand condemned for their failure to hear the prophets and for their hypocrisy. They of course retaliate and Jesus once again brings up this issue of blaspheming against the Holy Spirit.

Blaspheming Jesus Vs Blaspheming the Holy Spirit – what’s the go?
    Jesus makes a clear and deliberate distinction between blaspheming against him and blaspheming the Holy Spirit. And I think he does this because instant rejection of Jesus is not as significant as we might first think. Have not we all rejected Jesus in our past? Does not Peter reject Jesus and deny him three times? (Luke 22:65) Did not Paul reject Jesus to the point of killing Christians?
    The more important issue I believe Jesus is pointing to is continued rejection of him in defiance of what the Holy Spirit is revealing. And if we go into Acts we see examples of this very thing where rejection of Christ is solidified and unyielding. Acts 7:51,13:40-49 & 28:23-28 are all examples of hard-hearted Jews who have refused to listen to the Spirit’s teaching and revelation in the Scriptures about Jesus. They just will not soften their hearts to the Spirit’s Word of truth. This ongoing refusal means the door to forgiveness is closed because they have categorically denied the Spirit’s testimony to the one who brings forgiveness.

The vast extent of forgiveness
    What I find remarkable as I think about this issue is that even those who were involved in Jesus murder at the end of Luke’s gospel, are able to receive forgiveness and indeed do! It’s harder to find a more blasphemous event to have been involved in than the crucifixion of God’s own Son. And yet at Pentecost these men are forgiven and blessed with the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:36- 41).
    How amazing that those who killed Jesus are brought to eternal life by Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit? They are moved and respond in trust to Jesus. Which means even the worst of sinners can be forgiven.
However, if you continue to discount any need for forgiveness, or so ridicule what the Scriptures are pointing to when the speak of Christ – what possibility is there of being forgiven? You have ruled out the one you need, and offended the one who reveals him.

The bottom line: Don’t continue to refuse the Spirit’s call for you to trust Jesus. Come and seek life and forgiveness in him…no-matter what you may have done in the past, (even if you have rejected Jesus) God will forgive all who come to Christ.

Are we too afraid to ask?

     Why am I so afraid to ask people to come to church? Why do I simply expect them to say no?  What makes me think they’ll be offended or judged by my asking? What if me asking someone to church results in a ‘religious’ argument that goes so bad the person is even more anti-Christian than before?

      I wonder how many of us have had these fearful thoughts when thinking about asking people to church…?  But then, what of the even more fearful prospect of your friend actually turning up to church? Does that thought put us off as well? So we end up saying to ourselves….

"No they’ll never connect with the way our church works."

"No they’ll find it too weird and uncomfortable."

"No I’ve got a long term friendship strategy in place and coming to church now would be too soon for them."

"No they are too smart and would find intellectual holes that our pastors couldn’t deal with or won’t address."

"No they are not intellectual at all and will find a 30 minute monologue too boring."

"No there are too many people at church and they will find it overwhelming."

"No there are not enough people at church and they will find it too intense."

"No they only sing when drunk at the footy, so being sober in church won’t work."

      I’m sure we can have some fun and you could add any number of creative reasons why not to invite people to come and join you at church. And I’m sure we could all reel off some horror story of how a church experience was really terrible for someone. But I wonder how many of these fears really stack up?

      Perhaps it is more likely that we keep forgetting that God does actually want to save people and bring them into His church. 

      Perhaps we fail to remember that Jesus promises never to leave nor forsake us and will be with us to the end of the age. 

      Perhaps we ‘under-estimate’ people assuming they just wouldn’t really be interested in spiritual things and considering Jesus’ take on the world. 

      Perhaps we fail to remember that God does the miracle work of conversion and it’s through the proclamation of the truth that most people come to know it and love it.

      Looking back at my own experiences it seems very few of my fears have been grounded in reality. Very few of the scenarios I muse over come to pass…indeed even if church hasn’t gone as well as it could on the night my friend or family member shows up, there’s always been helpful discussion as a result anyway.

      I think I’m becoming more convinced that people hearing the truth and wonder of Jesus in the midst of a group of people who love Jesus and love each other is a very powerful and effective witness. What a gospel driven and gospel loving church offers is very compelling and my hope is that every week at church is an opportunity to invite someone else along.

After all, we are asking people to come and hear news that is better than any other. 

      Yes the Gospel is humbling.

      Yes the Gospel may be offensive.

      Yes the Gospel is exclusive. 

But:

      Yes the Gospel is the power of salvation.

      Yes the Gospel is far better than all your Christmases at once.

      Yes the Gospel makes you fully alive! 

I dearly want people to know that and see it and taste it. I long for our church to be a place where that’s exactly the discoveries people make…the very ones you and I have made thanks to the mercy and wonder of Jesus....at church.

      An inviting, opportunistic and gracious people who work together so as many as possible can hear the Gospel....that sounds like the kind of church we should be. I'd be more afraid if we really didn't want to be.  

      Which reminds me of one final truth I’ve been convinced of for a long time. That is, people will and can say "no" to our invitations to join us at church. Sad, but true, it will happen. However they certainly can never say "yes", indeed they don’t ever have the option of saying "yes"….unless we ask.

      Is that a "yes" or a "no" from you?