You've got to sell your heart

I just discovered 'Letters of note' with the help of a friend.







I like it.
REALLY like it.
I mean, really, really LIKE it. 

Here's a taste of the best gear.... You've got to sell your heart
"This is the experience of all writers. It was necessary for Dickens to put into Oliver Twist the child's passionate resentment at being abused and starved that had haunted his whole childhood. Ernest Hemingway's first stories "In Our Time" went right down to the bottom of all that he had ever felt and known. In "This Side of Paradise" I wrote about a love affair that was still bleeding as fresh as the skin wound on a haemophile..."

He's talking about the cost of being a decent author.
But I wonder if the same can be asked of the really effective preacher.
For the sort of preaching that connects in a culture craving authenticity.

Danny Boyle and that opening ceremony

I'm yet to watch the opening ceremony.
Too much going on this weekend.
But Sarah recorded it and we hope to watch it with the boys tomorrow morning.
Here is an article about the creative director behind it, Danny Boyle.
What I found interesting was the final quote at the bottom.... Which carries more freight when read off the back of the article.

I also saw this statement below, about Boyle's creative intent.
Haven't been able to verify it.
If it's genuine, it certainly is an example of clear, ambitious and bold thinking.

All on 1 page.

Spotifying it up to relax

Discovered the Classify app on Spotify just now.
Yes, I'm slow!

Enjoying muchly (Mozart - The Marriage of Figaro, London Philharmonic Orchestra)

Yesterday I went to Hillsong and heard about Jesus

Yesterday morning a mate and I went to Hillsong's main service at Mt Gravatt. To shamelessly pinch ideas. We wanted to 'plunder the Egyptians' by seeing what good ideas they have to connect newcomers to church.

It wasn't what I expected.

We went in expecting to hear prosperity gospel. We heard nothing of it. Instead, we found ourselves listening to the great news about Jesus. The service went for 90 minutes exactly. 47 minutes of that was the sermon. Dodgy 'health and wealth' talk was totally absent. Giving wasn't mentioned once by the preacher.

We expected a classic 'You need more money' sermon. We heard nothing of it. Instead, the preacher spoke from the story of John the Baptist in John 1. He taught from the Bible!  It was engaging. Interesting. Applicable. Exciting. Not boring. Not too long. Not heresy. We listened to every word. Words. Lots of them. Meandering structurally, theologically a little blunt, but never boring. The only visuals he used were different bible verses he was opening up for us.

He used all these concepts without losing the audience: Trinity, predestination, creation, sin, the incarnation, forgiveness of sin, regeneration and adoption. The only terms avoided were incarnation and regeneration - but he was workmanlike in connecting these complex ideas to the 1500-odd adults there. Trinity was where he began and ended. It was all quite orthodox (although I would definitely want to and have to be much more nuanced on the Trinity). He went from John 1 to Genesis 1 to Ephesians 1.

We expected poor application. Given the main idea of his sermon was that the Godhead is relational in his very identity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit in relational unity), his application seemed appropriate: we shouldn't be surprised that God invites us to be part of his story of saving others from the deadly consequences of sin, by inviting them to church, to hear about the death and resurrection of Jesus. Instead, he said, we should be AMAZED that the Triune God chooses, of his own will, to use frail and sinful human beings, adopted as his children, to bring other people to know him. I was encouraged and fed reasonably well from God's Word.

We expected way too much repetitive singing of generally poorly written songs with inane lyrics. Fluffy stuff. Hit and giggle. But although most were theologically shallow, some actually spoke of the Lordship of Jesus, the cross of Jesus and the forgiveness of sins that comes by trusting in Jesus. Parts were gospel gold. There weren't too many. Instead, there were only 2 brackets of songs - one set at the beginning (20 minutes) and a single song at the end, to close off the sermon and service. We were stunned.

We expected to be uncomfortable. We weren't (not much, anyway). Perhaps the most uncomfortable thing was his story about some guru English preacher prophesying his whole life in a car on the way to Manchester. That makes me uncomfortable, and left me glad to have heard Hebrews 1 last week (Jesus is the ultimate, complete and final revelation, so don't get distracted by any other stuff). There were no nutters working themselves into a lather. No crazy rolling around on the floor. No tongues. No stupid dancer wannabes invading your personal space. No shameless emotional manipulation. Even the altar call was reasonably respectful of the audience.

Of course, we learnt a lot about connecting newcomers. We pinched heaps of good ideas. At the welcome lounge we made good to look like we had no idea what we were doing (surprisingly easy). A lady came and welcomed us really well. I told her directly who we were and why we were there, gauging her response. Looking for any hint of defensivess. But she was entirely gracious. No question was too intrusive. Not a whiff of pride. She went the extra mile. She told us stuff we hadn't even asked about. All she wanted to do was help her fellow followers of Jesus.

Some reflections:

1. Once again I've been rebuked for my incipient judgementalism.
2. We are powered by grace. Grace really is the fuel of the gospel that should stoke our lives as Christians every day. And grace must especially be the driving force in the ministry of pastors like me.
3. People can change for the better; so it makes sense that churches can too. I am left wondering who has graciously and winsomely helped Hillsong to recapture a focus on teaching the Bible. Maybe my sample size is too small?
4. Kids dropped off to a separate 'kids church' from the get go makes me uncomfortable. I don't think it reflects a healthy idea of church being a gathering across all age groups. Having said that, the service leader explained that over 90 different ethnicities were present in the church, and looking around this rang true.
5. Not a single mention of the brand 'Hillsong' during the service; yet the visual branding was exceptionally clear and unambigious.
6. I didn't expect a small choir of 12 people on stage for the first bracket of songs. It worked well.
7. No one else was singing when the band were performing. It wasn't so much an issue of volume, but the visually communicated expectations (culture?). It was strange and heart warming to be back at Creek Road at night church to hear the whole congregation (much smaller) singing with the band, and even for our band to go silent for a verse or two once we were pumping it out.
8. They have a massive focus on services as THE main event. Their connect/ushering team would have been at least 60 people.
9. Starting the service with an instrumental version of 'Simply the Best' was just weird.
10. 'Next steps' language was everywhere; sometimes clear and sometimes confusing. Too many were mentioned; but this reflected their 'opt-in' philosophy of ministry rather than the pathway thinking I am used to.
11. The preacher was a pommie. But he seemed like an OK bloke.
12. He began with an underpants story which had nothing to do with the talk and everything to do with humanising the preacher by connecting with his audience (getting us 'on the train').
13. They really believe God is at work. They actually expect people will come to church, hear about Jesus and be saved.
14. They have an energy and enthusiasm which on one level puts me to shame. On another though, it was inspiring. They reminded me just how good the gospel is, and how much we pastors need to keep being reminded of that ourselves, particularly if we're supposed to be sharing it with others.
15. Lengthy talks doesn't equal boredom. The guy preached for 47 minutes. Even my fidgety mate with the short attention span listened to the lot. Whether people are engaged depends on whether the speaker is engaging. If people are bored, it's not because the sermon's too long. It's because we're boring.
16. They were unashamedly generous. Why aren't I? Don't we serve the same Lord?
17. The preacher bled enthusiasm for the Bible. He modelled love for God's word. I think this is one thing we do have sorted - we just need to let it show more.
18. Simplicity, excellence and organisation are not the enemies of love, sincerity and care.
19. Doing ministry on a big scale in a big team in a big church does seem to be connecting somehow with our culture in a way that our small-church-planting obsessions don't. (Westfields vs corner stores?)
20. It may be that we are moving to become more like them, but it seems they may be moving to become more like us. What is it that God is doing here in Brisbane? I'm excited.

Are you going tomorrow night?

I've got 3 tickets to this.
At Lang Park.
Tomorrow night.
Going with 2 of my 3 sons.
The only reason the third isn't coming has something to do with breastfeeding.
Apparently.

We can't wait.

Being old and useless in a secular culture

What might Australia be like in the coming years?
Especially as we age and our society becomes more secular?

Here are some provocative thoughts from respected historian, Dr John Dickson, in the Sydney Morning Herald.
'It's out with the old as Christian values fall away'

Time Lapse vid of setup, service and take down at Creek Road Live

Here is a time lapse vid of the set up, service and take down for Selahphonic's gig at Creek Road Live on the 8/7/2012. It kicks off at the end of our 10:30 service and goes through to the end of the concert that night.
In 3 minutes.
See if you can spot Chris Pine's impersonation of Peter Garrett.
Enjoy.

Music: The Lonely Ones by Selahphonic

Places of Inspiration

Where and when do you get inspired with new ideas?

I read some dead American guy who said that nothing good ever came about without someone first sitting quietly in a room all by himself. Or words to that effect.

I find there are really only a couple of places when I'm inspired with new ideas, thoughts or phrases.

1) The morning shower. 

Sarah reckons I lose time in the shower. I do. It's because I'm thinking in a way which rarely happens during the busyness of the day. If I'm late to a morning meeting, this is usually why.

2) The afternoon run. 

The adrenalin and stress burnoff of the late arvo run often mean I get bursts of creative thinking. It's not uncommon to come home with an acronym in my head to try to remember some of the thoughts I want to jot down. I forget most of them. But some of the goodstuff gets through.

What about you?

Where and when do you get inspired with new ideas?

Joshua Bailey's Blog

Many of you have requested a link to Joshua's Blog. He's far more interesting!
Please leave him a comment or two. He'd love to hear from you.

It's here: What the Nuke? Joshua Bailey

PS I'm still trying to work out how to add another author so he can put up his own 'About Me' section to replace his old man.

A clever piece of advertising from the employer to which I devoted the best years of my twenties...

An 'Old Testament Man'?

When I was growing up I once heard a strange phrase from my Dad, when he described someone as 'an Old Testament man'. I had no idea what it meant. Now I know Dad was describing a bloke who was a pretty harsh sort of person and very legalistic. For many of us, the Old Testament can seem this way too. Harsh. Legalistic.

One of the biggest challenges for many of us when considering Christianity is understanding the place of the Old Testament (the first 2/3 of the Bible which makes up all the gear before Jesus). How on earth can it be consistent with the teachings of Jesus, so much about grace and love, in the New Testament?

Here's a great article on this issue from a bloke who's really good at explaining stuff. He's American, but he's still a great guy!

Making sense of the Bible's 'Inconsistency'

Kids who can't sit still?

Do you  know any kids who are really intelligent but can't sit still at school?
We may have a child or two like that.

Here is a great vid on such kids, and especially about their education, which is funny but also very provocative.

By Sir Ken Robinson

Enjoy.

Sir Ken Robinson on revolutionising education for active kids

More David Wells

Well, I'm not enjoying it. This book is driving me nuts. It is a rant.
But amidst the flotsam are some thoughtful provocations.
A few samples:

"The sense of disconnectedness (in our culture today) is of course an irony. Never before have the lines of communication between people been more numerous, more efficient or more used; email, texting and mobile phones are ubiquitous in our culture. We are the Wired Generation living in a mostly electronically mediated world. However, have you noticed that while everyone is speaking, no-one is really listening? We are swamped by voices. So many want our time and attention that for our own protection we shut out most of them. And while we are surfing the internet, emailing, watching TV or playing video games, we are doing it all alone. We are wired, but we are also more lonely and have fewer confidants than ever before. The Putnam thesis of the 1960's is correct: we are in touch with everyone potentially, but we know and are known by almost no-one in particular."

"In 1999, for the very first time, the world became urbanised, meaning that more people live in cities than in rural areas."

"Today we inhabit the world, not just our community, our small town or our corner of the countryside. We are knowledgeabe of all the great shaping and shaking events of life almost as they happen, in Indonesia, Brazil, Australia, France, China or Botswana. And this sense of being a citizen of the world is greatly exacerbated by the many forces in life that militate against our belonging to any one place. We are those, for example, who are carried by the economic tides from job to job, from place to place. We are those whose families have been dispersed like confetti in the wind, part blown in this direction, part in that. What is the bottom-line effect of it all? What is the psychological impact? It is loneliness. Loneliness is the modern plague. 

This is the plague of being disconnected, of not being rooted, of not belonging anywhere in particular but to everything in general. It is the affliction of being alone, of being unnoticed, of being carried along by an indifferent universe. Commitment - actual commitment, real bonds, a sense of belonging, not just the idea of commitment - has become a precious stone, rare, much more sought after and, when found, treasured."

Food for thought for Connect Pastors everywhere. (All 3 of us?)

Reviewing David Wells

I'm back. Not sure if anyone will notice, but that's ok. 

I started reading this today - recommended by a mentor a couple of years ago. Not sure I'm enjoying it. 

 

Wells begins by sounding like an old traditionalist church-man. The sort who sits in PCA whinging about 'modernists'. Maybe that's why I'm on the back foot from the start... reminds me of so many criticisms levelled at Creek Road. The more I read on, the more the comments bite. If Wells visited us, would we be in his sights? Should we be? 

Wells is scathing of attempts to be 'relevant'.

"The is always the rub in the experiment: the form greatly modifies the content. The loud music and short services are part of the form, but the form, put together to be pleasing, actually undercuts the seriousness of the faith. The form is in fact the product, and in this market the sale has to be done quickly and as painlessly as possible because the customers all have itchy feet. That greatly militates against the seriousness any church wants to have. And that is why a deep chasm has opened between the church marketers and historic Protestant orthodoxy. It is less that the truths of this orthodoxy are assailed than that they are seen to be irrelevant to the building of the church. They are, it is believed, an impediment to success." 

At Creek Road, we strive to show the relevancy of the Bible in the cultural context God has placed us in. We strive to honour God's Word by communicating it in a way that people in our culture will understand. At least that's what I think we're trying to do. According to Wells, I would think this, but I'm deceiving myself.

Should I be worried? Dunno. I've only finished chapter 1... where at the end he lists off those historic doctrines that true Protestant churches should stick to: the 5 'solas' of the reformation (Salvation by Faith Alone, through Christ Alone, by God's Grace Alone, heard through the authority of Scripture Alone, all to God's Glory Alone.)

We'll see what else Wells has to say. I wonder if he'd approve of the '5 Alones' sermon series we did recently. In short services. With loud music.