Musing in 1 Corinthians – Christ Centred Living

What’s your life about? What makes it tick for you? Go on; be honest with yourself for just a moment. I don’t mean to suggest that you’re intentionally self-deceived. In all probability, you’re not. But functionally we often are. We’re just so busy that we just can’t find the mental space to think self-critically, if at all!

Ask yourself these kinds of questions. Where does your mind go when you daydream? What dominates your ambitions for the future? What dominates your diary in the present? Where do your pour your money and resources? Where’s the focus? And more importantly, where would you like it to go?

I don’t like the answers I get to some of those questions. Are you any different? I know what I should say. I know what I’d like to say. I know what I’m supposed to say. But they’re not the same as the truth! And that’s not great.

In preparing 1 Corinthians 1:1-3, I noticed that the Apostle Paul makes specific mention to Jesus on four separate occasions. And that got me thinking. It’s more than you might expect in three sentences! This is what he says,

Paul, called by the will of God to be an apostle of Christ Jesus, and our brother Sosthenes. To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints together with all those who in every place call upon the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Corinthians 1:1-3 ESV)

In (1) he describes himself as an Apostle of Christ Jesus. In (2) the readers are those sanctified (set apart) in Christ Jesus. Again in (2) the church calls on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ along with all Christians everywhere. And in (3) Paul wants them to experience grace and peace from the Lord Jesus Christ.

It’s clear that right at the outset of the letter, Paul wanted Jesus front and centre. He wanted to direct his readers’ attention and ambition away from themselves and their issues to Jesus and his. The problems at Corinth were essentially caused by their preoccupation with themselves. This was a church that neglected Christ and his gospel. They’d taken their eyes off who he is and why he came. And as I condemn them for their stupidity, I inescapably condemn myself because I’m so easily preoccupied with my own life and my own issues. That’s what the answers to those questions revealed. And yet, when push comes to shove, I want my life to be about him. So the question is, how do I do that? The answer surely is contained with these opening words and what they say about him.

1. I need to recognise that Jesus is the Lord who speaks to me in the scriptures. The words of the Apostles are His authoritative words. I need to listen intently to what he’s saying to me, not simply the messages I preach to myself.
2. I need to recognise that he has sanctified me. He has set me apart to be his special possession. I am his. I am no longer my own. I belong to him. I need to be what I am. Anything else is absurd.
3. I need to recognise that in calling on his name, I am dependent on him for everything. I am not a self-made individual living independently in my own strength and a world of my own making. I need him like I need oxygen. The astounding truth of his grace is that he gives me spiritual life even as I fail to acknowledge that he gives it to me.
4. I need to recognise that the grace and peace that I know in my life come to me through him. We invariably give ourselves to the things that we most love. And so I will give myself to him as he captures my heart. And what is more likely to win my adoration than to have an existence shaped by his grace and his peace?

If life has got out of kilter i’s probably because I’ve forgotten that life is meant to revolve around Christ. If we shift the centre of gravity away from Christ and his gospel we can expect things to go pear shaped.I don’t want that. But those four things at least will surely keep me grounded.

Four Reasons to go to Dallas!

I’m now mid-flight, rammed in economy between two very delightful people. There are a little under two hours to Detroit, where I change for Dallas. I’ve watched two terrific films; Mission Impossible – Ghost Protocol and Moneyball. I’d never get round to watching either at home; they don’t pass the film night criteria for a QNI (Quiet Night In) with Rosslyn.

In my last post I outline some of the reason not to go to Dallas. It’s only fair that I give the other side of the argument. So how do I defend the decision against the imaginary detractors? Here are the four reasons that swayed the argument in my favour!

1.       It’s a break from the normal

Isn’t a change supposed to be as good as a rest? I can’t afford to take a rest. There’s too much to do at CCB at the moment. And so a change is a welcome intervention! I’m not bored of ministry at CCB. God has been very good to us and there have been lots of encouragements amidst the turbulence of the last six months. Moving into the office and sharing a ministry life with the apprentices has been a real joy. Seeing the numbers of people who’ve professed faith for the first time has been the highlight. But I’ve been doing it non-stop for ten years now. And this definitely changes the routine.  It’s an opportunity to do something different. I preach to our crowd almost every week. And I love it. I’ve especially loved preaching my way through Exodus with the morning crowd. And the week has a typical shape to it. It can feel a little ‘samey’ (if that’s a word). Monday is recovery day. Tuesday is staff meeting and the administration and ministry contact that falls out of that. Wednesday is Apprenticeship Workshop day over in Wimbledon and Co-Mission meetings. Thursday involves reading the Bible with one or two lads and specific church planting training for our Brixton bound apprentice. Hopefully I get to the text in some meaningful way before the close of play. Friday is finish sermon day but is wonderfully interrupted by a trip up to town to read with one of the lads who’s been converted. Saturday is a welcome day off. Sunday starts early and finishes late, which is why Monday is unproductive! This is a break from that well-worn routine. And I’m really looking forward to it! But it also gets me out of my comfort zone. This kind of disruption to the normal forces me to depend on the Lord. It prompts me pray in unexpected places and times. and that’s no bad thing.

2.       It’s a chance to see another ministry

It exposes me to something different. I’ve never been to Dallas before. I haven’t got to know a whole heap of American Christians. They can’t all be like the nut jobs they’re depicted as in mainstream American media. I used to work with one of them and he was brilliant. I’d like to meet a whole load more like him and find out what Christian discipleship looks like in the States. I’m really looking forward to sitting down with the Minister, Bill Lovell and chewing the fat. We may compare notes about the experience of church planting. And it’ll be fascinating to hear his testimony of how God helped him and his family deal with the theological and political wrangling in ECUSA. But mainly I’m looking forward to talking to a guy who’s been in ministry for a whole heap longer than I have but who thought enough of my preaching to fly me half way across the world to talk to his congregation. He’s worked with some really good guys (Tom Oates and David Short) as well as pastoring the main Episcopal Church in Dallas before planting Christ Church Carrollton. I’ll be taken notes in our conversations! One of the great joys of going to Madagascar back in November was the questions I had to ask myself about my own Christian life. I’d operated with a level of sacrificial service that I thought was acceptable and sustainable. Seeing the guys in Madritsara and what they had to cope with forced me to reconsider what cost looked like in our own context of comfortable middle class Balham. I could also do with some new stories. And I’m confident that the clash of cultures is going to give me more than enough stories for the next five years in ministry!

3.       It’s a treat

Let’s call a spade a spade. There is something enjoyably indulgent about this trip. That doesn’t mean it’s bad but it does mean there needs to be good reasons to justify it! I wouldn’t be doing this if I hadn’t been asked to and paid for. It feels like a timely gift from God to get away and I’m very grateful for it. Apart from a couple of trips in the last 20 years to New York, I’ve not been to America. And I’m pretty sure that the rest of the States isn’t like Manhattan. And so I’m really looking forward to what Carrollton and Frisco (where I’m staying with a family) looks like. The kids are looking forward to the presents I’ll bring back. CCB are waiting with baited breath to see whether I can resist the cowboy boots and stetson. Rosslyn just wants me back! I’m looking forward to uninterrupted sun for five days!

4.       It’s an opportunity for ministry

Though Rufus and Flora discovered via Google Earth that the house I’m staying at has a swimming pool, I am going there to work. Honest. I’ve worked hard on 1 Corinthians over the last ten years. I was introduced to it at Theological College with Dr Paul Woodbridge. I’ve preached my way through it twice at CCB. It’s been the book in Knowing God this year. And I’ve given seven talks on the opening chapters in another context. I’m beginning to get to grips with it! And I think it’s got some really important things to say to young church plants who are finding their way in a secular culture. I’ll never write a book out of this because Vaughan Roberts cornered the market with his. But it’s a chance to help a group of Christian brothers and sisters think through the implications of these passages for their own church planting endeavours in another corner of God’s kingdom. And if there’s any way that I can help with that, then that’s terrific.

It’s probably worth saying that Rosslyn and I didn’t linger long over the decision to go. Though she’d prefer to be on the plane, she’s happy that I am. We both felt that the benefits far outweighed the costs. I’ll let you know. But I’m pretty confident I’ll be proved right!

Three Reasons not to go to Dallas!

As I write this, I’m at Heathrow’s terminal four. The flight to the States is a couple of hours away. I’m checked in and I’m good to go. I’ve even bought a couple of great gifts for the kids of the family that I’m staying with. But I didn’t sleep brilliantly last night. Rosslyn and I stayed up late chatting about some of the issues that are preoccupying us at the moment. And I had to get up early to finish off providing feedback on one of the sermons to be preached in my absence this Sunday. The journey out of SW12 was chaotic and the route the taxi driver took was anarchic. But I’m here now. And in a little over an hour I’ll be off to Detriot and then on to Dallas. But why? Why am I going?

Interestingly that’s not been a question that’s been asked in the Perkins household. Rosslyn knows what difference these sorts of trips make to my mental and spiritual well-being. She just wishes that she could find a way of getting some for herself! But it may be a question others ask. After all, they’re paying my wage and they’d be entitled to seek some sort of justification. They’re expecting me to pray for them, prepare sermons, organise church and equip them for the work of ministry. They don’t pay me to swan off half way round the world on a personal whim. And they have a point.

There are lots of reasons not to go. Here are the three that spring to mind.

First it’s a hassle. It would be easier not to go. It’s always a headache going away.  I’ve had to be really organised to fit stuff in and stuff around the time away. I’ve been preoccupied at home as I think  through what I’ve needed to do in preparation. I’m useless at making the kinds of decisions required to pack easily and quickly. I get strangely discomforted by travel arrangements and the uncertainty they induce. I absolutely hate leaving the family behind. The kids get fed up with how tightly I squeeze them in the days running up to departure! I don’t have to go. It would be easier not to. But I was asked which was nice. And it’s all being paid for, which is even nicer! But I didn’t have to go. I choose not to do things all the time. So, why not this time? Was the allure of Dallas just too tempting? There’s something in that.

Secondly, it’s a distraction. It’s not as though there isn’t stuff to do at home! Church is pretty busy at the moment. We’ve just completed a week of mission events. We have a new Christianity Explored course starting in a week. There are a few personal care issues flying around. We’re about to talk to the church about our financial plans and hopes for the year ahead. And I’m heading the organisation of Revive, our annual Co-Mission Bible Festival. There’s loads of ministry to be done in the church that pays my wage. So isn’t this trip merely diverting my attention away from the sheep that God has given me to care for? That’s a possibility. But I take holidays and leave the church in the competent hands of others all the time. This isn’t that much different.

Thirdly, it’s an inconvenience. It impacts others and they have to fill in the gaps left by my absence. The Apprentices are preaching at the weekend. And I don’t doubt that they’ll do a great job. Rosie, our Co-Mission Administrator won’t be able to get hold of me if she wants decisions about Revive. Rosslyn has some fairly key discussions and decisions pending at the moment. We have to sort out alternative arrangements to ensure that the kids are cared for. That usually means others stepping up to the plate and collecting them, feeding them and amusing them till Rosslyn gets back from work. It’s not ideal, though it is rare. And to top it all, it’s the Diamond Jubilee weekend. I’m missing our street party, and I’ve wanted one of those for years. Rosslyn and the kids are going to watch the River Pageant and then go to some thing in Hyde Park (I wasn’t paying much attention).

Just three of the reason that came to mind when, sat eating my porridge this morning, I wondered why on earth I’d agreed to go. The people of Christ Church Carrollton may be pleased to learn that I didn’t struggle to think of better reasons to join them!

Off to the States

I’m off to America tomorrow. Not for ever, you understand. I couldn’t survive without the important things available only in England like tea, cricket and drizzle.

I’m off for a conference. It’s not the first time I’ve been to a Bible Conference in the States. I’m always keen to access their expertise. But it is the first time I’ve gone as a speaker. And it can’t be because they want to access mine! I wasn’t their first choice, as you might expect. But I am their last! They wanted Gavin McGrath. I mean, who wouldn’t?! But Gavin told them that they didn’t want him; they wanted me. They listened to some talks and saw no reason to disagree, which is encouraging.

Christ Church Carrollton, Dallas is the church hosting the conference. You can find out more about them here. They’re a recent church plant established initially as a result of the fallout from the rampant doctrinal revisionism of the Episcopal Church of which they were a part. They’re now a mission of the Presbyterian Church of America. You can find out a bit more about that here. They describe themselves as Christ centered, Bible focused, mission minded and reformed. Amen to that!

I’m so looking forward to going. Of course I’ll miss the family. And I’ll miss the Diamond Jubilee Celebrations, which I think Rosslyn is more put out about! It’s a big weekend in the United Kingdom. We’re celebrating sixty years of the rule of Queen Elizabeth the Second. You can find out more about that here! But it’s going to be a treat meeting Christian brothers and sisters in the States, enjoying what we have together in Christ, sharing what he’s called us to do in his service and encouraging one another to persevere in his strength. I’m hoping to sit down with Bill Lovell, their principle pastor and compare church planting notes.

You can find details of the conference here. That’s some speaker list. But given that I’m preaching on 1 Corinthians I’ve taken great comfort from 1 Cor 4:3, ‘But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged by you or by any human court’. It’s the Lord who judges the quality and motives for our ministry. And so I’m trying to focus on the only audience that ultimately matters. It may be daunting to know that God is watching and listening. But it’s also liberating.

I’ll keep you posted on my experiences. I have some worries not least whether my, some might say, unique style of humour will translate. I’ll tell you what I make of the home of JR, the Cowboys and George W. Bush. But I think I’m in for a treat. You might pray that Christ Church Carrollton is as well!

Ten Top Tips for Going to Church

Christine Jensen, the wife of Peter Jensen (the Archbishop of Sydney) has written her ten top tips for going to church. You’ll find them here.

She’s raised a young and large family so she knows what she’s talking about and she’s done the hard yards of putting it into practice. And she’s been married to the Minister so she knows what a difference each of these things makes to him.

Being on time is a real bugbear of mine. It’s so frustrating to get up at the start of church to a half empty building and then watch people arrive during the hymn, confession or kids’ slot! And there’s just so much to be done before church actually ‘starts’. There are people to see, conversations to be had, newcomers to be welcomed, stuff to be arranged and so on. If we breeze in on time or 10 minutes after the start of the meeting (as one of our families got into the habit of doing), it’s pretty poor form. The Perkins are hopeless at being places on time owing to the different way Rosslyn and I approach time (let the reader understand). We’ve worked out that if we aim to be at church at a certain time, that doesn’t work. We aim to leave the house at a certain time. And that does. If we leave at 10am we may well get there at 10.10am and that means that we get 20 minutes to be helpful and do ministry. If we have a last minute disaster (I spill toothpaste on my shirt, have forgotten to download the power point onto the computer or one of the kids is completely inappropriately dressed) we can still get there before the start, which is always helpful for the Minister!

Christine’s article isn’t long. It’s well worth a read. And it’s well worth having a discussion and a pray with your spouse. If every family had this attitude then a church would be transformed.

Unwanted Friendships?

One of our kids has been invited to a party by someone they don’t really regard as a friend. There’s no hostility between them, or indeed anything remotely untoward. It’s just that they don’t really play together. And the enthusiasm for friendship is a little one sided. And so the invitation to come to a party involving only a handful of others wasn’t welcomed with the enthusiasm that you might expect. Our child decided that they didn’t want to go. We could have taken the path of least resistance (which is often the most attractive route in parenting … but is usually the most disastrous). But we didn’t. Not this time. I felt uncomfortable for the individual who’d sent the invitation. They’d only invited a few people to the party. And one of our kids was one of them. That’s not nothing. They clearly regarded our kid as someone whose company they enjoyed and whose friendship they coveted, even if it wasn’t reciprocated. And so we braced ourselves for a confrontation. But it went surprisingly well, largely because of the example I gave.

I talked about our friendship with God, or rather, God’s friendship with us. Think about it for a moment. What has God got to gain from offering us His friendship? How does He benefit? As far as He’s concerned, we’re a bunch of losers (until He makes something of us). We’re really different. We don’t have a whole lot in common and what we do we’ve trashed (His image). We’re the geeky nerds that no one really likes. It’s not convenient for Him to seek us out and befriend us. And yet, that’s what He’s done. He’s shown us compassionate love. He’s approached us and offered us friendship. He’s taken us into the inner circle of his friendship group. We get to share His life. And it makes Him happy (as well as us) to do it. What an undeserved privilege!

Is that not a model for offering friendship to those we wouldn’t naturally choose as our friends? Are we, who’ve experienced the kindness of God, to show similar kindness to others. Our child thought so.

And it got me thinking about my own friendship patterns, and especially those at church. In fact, it got me thinking about how we treat the newcomers that God brings to us at CCB. I think that this has got something to teach us about the ministry of ‘welcoming’ at church.

One of the joys in an inner London suburb is that though people leave when they get to a certain stage of life, they also keep arriving in similar numbers. And everyone who joins our church needs to be integrated into the church family for them to flourish. They need to find Christian friendships in order to grow and mature. Of course not everyone who arrives needs to be, can expect to be and perhaps most importantly wants to be my new best friend. But the danger is that once we’re settled with our own group of friends we lose the impetus to provide friendship to others. We’re sorted and we’re not looking to extend our inner circle of friendships. But if all newcomers meet is an apparent wall of closed cliques, why would they stay? There’s sometimes little appetite to offer genuine friendship to newcomers where the volume of arrivals is high. But what a privilege to be those who can treat others the way that God in Christ has treated us.

I think I got more from the conversation with my kid. They’re now keen to go, which is good. But I’ve benefited from thinking about our own life in ministry at CCB.  It’s a win win!

Unrest in Southwark – A Kuhrt Response?!

The proposed ‘Southwark Ministry Trust’ has (not unexpectedly) caught the eye of those interested in Church Politics. But it’s also caused some consternation amongst those that agree that the situation in the Church of England, and perhaps especially the Diocese of Southwark, is lamentable.

Stephen Kuhrt, the Vicar of Christ Church New Malden in the Southwark Diocese, has written a response to the proposed trust fund on the Fulcrum website.

Let me begin by saying that there are many things that I liked about the article.

First, I think he’s made a shrewd and insightful observation in his first paragraph when he writes,

It is often much easier for evangelicals to agree upon problems within the church than their solutions. This is because our understanding of such problems is usually based upon the relative consensus that evangelicals broadly possess over doctrine and ethics. Proposed solutions to these problems, on the other hand, often reveal the diversity amongst evangelicals when it comes to one particular area of doctrine: our ecclesiology or theology of the church.

I agree with that. But it remains incumbent upon those of us that agree with the issue to do all that we can not to fall out over the tactics we employ to try to effect the change for which we all hope, pray for and work towards.

Secondly, I respect him for the recent stand he’s taken within the Diocese in opposing the cause of biblical revisionism evident in the recent appointment of so many Liberal-Catholics to senior posts. Stephen writes, ‘It is for these reasons that I have been among those who have criticised the imbalance within the Southwark appointments and strongly communicated this upset and dissatisfaction to our Bishop, Christopher Chessun’. It’s not easy to contend for the truth. You get shot at. And good for Stephen if he’s willing to take the hits on this one.

Thirdly, I agree with him that there remain questions and difficulties that surround the administration and distribution of funds from the Southwark Trust Fund. Some of those questions have been addressed already and others, no doubt, are being worked out as the plan evolves. I’m sure that those responsible will carry on responding to the criticisms that come their way and clearing up any misunderstandings or misrepresentations. But he need not be unduly suspicious of the phraseology that’s been employed by the Trust in their wording of the proposals.

Fourthly, I broadly agree with him about the subsidy culture. Stephen writes, ‘I have major issues with the ‘subsidy culture’ that asks for such a crippling amount and is so discouraging to church growth’. Having said that, I’m pretty sure that Stephen would support the redistribution of income to church ministries that are unlikely ever to be self-sustaining so long as the church is involved in gospel ministry consistent with the theology of the Church of England as contained in the 39 Articles.

But I’m not completely onboard with everything that Stephen says.

I don’t think that the so-called ‘balance’ that has apparently existed in the Diocese of Southwark has been a good thing. I’d be very happy to see it lurch off in one direction, as long as that direction was towards biblical orthodoxy. My issue with the Diocese (in particular) and the Church of England (in general) is that it still offers a place for the theologically unorthodox. Consider this, if a hospital employed Doctors who administered poison rather than medicine I wouldn’t expect people to rejoice in the diversity of the staff team. False teaching is poisonous. It undermines faith. It destroys people. And its proponents are wicked. I’m not interested in a balanced portfolio of Church Ministers from differing theological positions and traditions in Southwark. I know it’s a pipe dream but I want uniformity; theological uniformity (but missional diversity) of the biblical kind. We may never see it in our day but let’s at least be clear about it!

I guess I’m just not committed to what Stephen describes as ‘principled comprehensiveness’. Or at least I’m not committed to it in the way that I’ve seen it exercised in practice. Stephen’s understanding and familiarity with contemporary church history will be better than mine and so I’ll assume that his take on Keele is accurate. But regardless of what was decided just off the M6 at the end of the sixties, I just can’t sign up to an unspecified comprehensiveness. Comprehensiveness needs to have some limits. There’s such a thing as being too comprehensive. If the Church of England is all-encompassing then it stands for nothing and it means nothing. The Jerusalem Declaration put some limits on comprehensiveness. I’d have liked something a little tighter than that but I’m happy to work with it. A friend compared it to the Elizabethan Settlement at the Reformation. I just nodded and pretended that I’d understood the reference. But it seems to me that the proponents of biblical revisionism are having a field day with our inability to apply the first part of the phrase ‘principled comprehensiveness’. And that’s my issue with Stephen’s opposition to the Trust Fund. It’s not principled. It’s probably an unfair caricature but, if I’ve understood him correctly then he’s saying we need to keep paying quota and that gives us the right to voice our complaints. That’s just so politically passive and naive. We’re getting taken to the cleaners. And we’re funding it!

And it’s also true that I disagree with the proposed methodology for change. One that was apparently agreed upon at Keele. I wasn’t there so I didn’t have any input. In fact, I wasn’t born! But where has being ‘fully involved’ actually got us? Since Keele, are we really in a better position because of the approach adopted at Keele? I don’t doubt the integrity or motives behind those who were involved. Neither do I wish to denigrate the activities and efforts of evangelical clergy and layman who got stuck into the administrative and theological structures of the Church of England. But we need to ask ourselves whether, after 40 years of this approach, the cause of evangelicalism in the C of E has been strengthened because we got involved in the Deanery Synod. Is it not the case that evangelicalism has made advances across the country because of things like the growing political influence of sizeable evangelical churches (St Helen’s and HTB in London, and St Ebbe’s and St Aldates in Oxford for example), church planting across parish boundaries (with or without Diocesan sanction), the increasing numbers of young Bible believing and Bible teaching clergy and the increasing belligerency of evangelicals who find what they need for ministry from alternative structures? But perhaps that’s a post for another time.