Weekly Wrap (02/06)

by Joel Hawting | @jhawting

Rob Bell, Rob Bell... the slippery slope continues... check out this video of Rob Bell and Andrew Wilson discussing the issue of Homosexuality and the Bible. We need to be praying for this man and all the people who follow him... he has made it clear where he stands on his view of scripture.

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Why Every Pastor Should Read About Melissa's Suicide - "Many of us in vocational ministry want to try to fool our churches and the world. We want to act like our home has no problems. We never fight with our spouses. Our children are the embodiment of angelic beings. We are never tempted. We have no sin issues in our lives. And we certainly don’t have family members who are depressed, and perhaps, suicidal." A fantastic article by Thom Rainer - a must read!

Should I Start a Grassroots Movement to Change My Church? - Kevin DeYoung provides 7 keys to consider when you don't agree with where your church is headed.

Legalism or Love? Religious or Radical? - "If you’re struggling with legalism, don’t fight it by quitting your quiet times. That’s the good advice I remember once hearing from a pastor. In other words, there’s a temptation to presumably fight legalism by running away from good things, whether Bible reading or acts of love, because we mistake them to be part of the problem." Another great article from Desiring God.

Quit Calling Your Wife Hot - I completely agree with this article from Barnabas Piper (just not the plate throwing bit!)

We Get The Help, He Gets The Glory - "One of the unique things about God is that he displays his glory by helping rather than demanding help... This changes the way we pray. When we ask him for help, we know that he will give it for his name’s sake, not because we deserve it. His helping us highlights his riches." Yet another fantastic article from John Piper.
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Thought for the day...

"All of history is moving toward one great goal, the white-hot worship of God and His Son among all the peoples of the earth."
— John Piper

Weekly Wrap (28/04)

by Joel Hawting | @jhawting

How can the church respond to the tragic Boston Marathon bombing? Ed Stetzer and Adam Mabry provide some great ideas and shares what the local church did and are continuing to do, to support the people of Boston post the attack.

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Confessions of a Pastor Who Used to be More Reformed Than Jesus - Ed Stetzer writes an interesting article about a pastor who used to be more reformed than Jesus, called Danny Slavich.

We Should Shine Bright In The Darkness - "Churches are not peddlers of Christian goods and services; we are cells of subversion and transformation. We're not just opening our doors and hoping for a good turnout; we're opening our lives to show off the glory of our Savior by the way we live together, by the way we serve together, by the way we reach out in Jesus' name together." Another great article from Ed Stetzer.

Should We Always Expect God to Heal? - "My answer is somewhat simple, but then again, maybe not so. Here’s how I answer the question: We should expect God to do what will bring God the most glory." Aaron Armstrong writes a thoughtful take on the hot topic of God and physical healing.

Autopsy of a Deceased Church - "I worked with the church for three weeks. The problems were obvious; the solutions were difficult." Thom Rainer writes a reflective piece on his time working with a church that was slowly on the decline.

Can a Dying Church Find Life? - A follow-up blog post to Autopsy of a Deceased Church from Thom Rainer. This is well worth checking out!
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Thought for the day...

""How can we expect to live with God in heaven if we love not to live with him on earth?"

— John Mason

Farewell Steve Chalke

by Joel Hawting | @jhawting

Now that I've got your attention with my John Piper-esque title, I'll clarify what I'm talking about. For those of you who are unaware, Steve Chalke is regarded as one of the United Kingdom's most prominent and respected preachers. He is now also very well known throughout the world for coming out in support of committed, faithful, same-sex relationships. You can read his statement here and can read an article by his good friend Tony Campolo (who is opposed to his viewpoint) here.

So what do I think? Firstly I want to start by saying that I want to make it clear that I am all for extending the love of Jesus to all people, regardless of race, ethnicity or sexual orientation. That is a given. That is our biblical mandate as followers of Christ. We are to love all people equally regardless of lifestyle. I think most Christians would agree with my view. What concerns me however, is when we as leaders compromise clear biblical truths in order to be culturally relevant in our times.

This is clearly what Steve Chalke has done in making this announcement. Steve argues that the bible condemns only non-committed same-sex erotic behaviour, and says nothing about 'same-sex Christian couples' living together in committed, exclusive relationships with one another. Unfortunately, Steve has made the choice to attempt to be culturally relevant at the expense of holding to clear biblical teaching. Steve Addison in his article accessible here, argues the point well:

"For thousands of years, God’s people have affirmed this teaching (heterosexual marriage). Steve and others have fallen into line with the current social trends, and walked away from God’s intention for marriage."

Steve Addison continues:

"Discipleship means teaching people to obey Christ’s commands. Movements are counter cultural. They follow Christ, not social trends... Disciple making movements always raise the tension with the surrounding culture. They are both radically engaged, and radically different. Fundamentalists are radically different, but radically disconnected. Progressives, like Steve, are connected with the culture, but not radically different."

Quite right. That is the tension that we battle with each day as Christians. Engaging with and living in worldly cultures, but not submitting to and 'becoming like' the worldly culture around us. Jesus was always counter cultural and he did not concede in any way from His message or from the truth of the Word of God. He stood firm in his beliefs whilst extending love, compassion and concern to all people everywhere.

The beauty of the Christian message is that it is different. It is radical. It is counter-cultural. It is salt to season an otherwise bland world. Matthew 5:13 says:

"You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men."

We need to remain salty in our world. Yes, we need to extend love to Same Sex attracted people. But they key is this: the love we extend to them or anyone else for that matter,  needs to be based on the truth of the Word of God. That is true love. We are to remain salty regardless of what culture tells us is right and wrong. Let's be praying that Steve Chalke returns to a biblical view of marriage, becoming salty once again.

I'm Addicted to Coffee

by Joel Hawting | @jhawting

This is the realisation that I've come to recently. I'm addicted to coffee. I can't wake up without it. I can't think without it. I can't socialise without it. I can't work on anything without it. I can't function without coffee regularly passing through my lips.

Now there's a problem with that. There's a big problem. The problem is that my love and enjoyment of coffee (those of you who know me well will know that I am a coffee lover and connoisseur!) has turned into an addiction. Coffee has become all-consuming. Coffee has become the focus. Coffee - at times - has taken me away from what matters most.

The bible is clear in what it teaches in relation to addictions. One scripture that stands out for me is Exodus 20:3. It reads: "You shall have no other gods before me." Whilst this scripture is obviously one of the ten commandments given by God to assist the Israelites in right living, it has application for our lives today.

Basically, God is good. He is amazing. He gives us purpose in life, He calls us by name, He redeemed us from the curse of sin through His death on Calvary's cross. He has given us life, He feeds us, He guides us on His paths of righteousness. The very earth and everything in it was made by Him, for His pleasure. He is magnificent, all-knowing and all-powerful. Nothing can come against Him. He is love.

Therefore, God is to be praised. He is worthy of honour. Our adoration. Our love and devotion. Our time. Nothing should hinder us in coming before God and worshipping Him, adoring Him and putting our faith and trust in Him. He deserves our full-undivided focus. Nothing should come between us and Him. Nothing.

To have a 'God' before God means that you are focussing on, worshipping, or elevating something before God. Something or someone is taking pre-eminence in your life. Something or someone is distracting you from what is important in life; the very one who gives you life, Jesus Christ.

Now I'm not saying that drinking coffee is wrong. Drinking coffee is great! The point is, for me right now, coffee has become an addiction and is taking up too much of my focus. So that is why I'm going on a coffee detox for the remainder of the month. I know that coffee has slowly elevated itself in my life. I know that God doesn't always get my full focus and attention every morning. I know that I need to once again be in control of coffee and not let it control me. So that means no coffee, at home or out. It will be tough but it will be worth it. After all, continuing to cultivate a strong relationship with God is well and truly worth the effort.

Do you struggle to keep seemingly good things from becoming addictions? Do you find it difficult to manage your use of other things such as social media and technology, to ensure that you don't become addicted?

Husbands, Lead Your Wives!

by Joel Hawting | @jhawting

Leading our wives is not something that necessarily always comes naturally to us as men. I mean, sure we can enjoy times with our wives, take them out to dinner, buy them nice presents, but lead them? Spiritually? What on earth am I meant to do there!?!

Well fear not men, it is not all that bad - there are simply, practical things that we can do to spiritually lead our wives well. This is a topic that I have been researching lately myself, and I thought that I would share some good websites that I have come across on my personal quest (they are not listed in any particular order).

I hope they are as helpful for you as they were for me!

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Covenant Keepers - How does a husband lead his wife and family?

One Flesh Marriage - Men's Guide to Spiritually Lead Your Wife & Family

Love Your Wife - Husbands, Love Your Wife, Just as Christ Loved the Church

Family Life - Walking With God in Your Marriage

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What about you? Have you got any advice in providing spiritual leadership for your wife and/or family?