Church

The Church in the 21st Century

Posted on January 28, 2012 by Pieter Stok

In this post I want to reflect on two books that I read over the summer holiday break – one from the UK and one from Australia. They both tackle the same issue: the relevance and mission of the church today.

Everyday Church by Tim Chester and Steve Timmis (IVP, 2011) continues on from an earlier book Total Church . The Trellis and the Vine by Colin Marshall and  Tony Payne (Matthais Media 2009) looks at how churches are often busy maitaining the trellis upon which the vine should live but forget about nurturing the very plant that should grow upon it. The metaphor suggests that we are so involved in institution and organisation, we lose sight of the mission of the church.

I am not going to summarise the books, rather, if you are interested in the health of the church I encourage you to read these challenging and practical books for yourself.

Everyday church is a study of 1 Peter and applies these lessons to us today. It asks, what should characterise church, how should it appear to the world in which we live and how do we the live the gospel in that world? It urges followers of Christ to be an active leaven in the environment in which God has placed us. Whereas the Everyday Church comes from more of a “home church” background, The Trellis and the Vine confronts the church as most of us would know it. It suggests a paradigm shift for those in pastoral and leadership roles which emphasises “equipping the saints” rather  being the “service providing” clergyman.

The reason that I don’t want to précis these books is because both are valuable and have many practical lessons. They need to be read, studied and digested, if not by every church member, certainly by every church leader and person interested in the health of the church.

My challenge: read these books and ask, how the health, vision and impact of your part of the body of Christ can be invigorated?

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Three Glimpses of England’s Christian Past

Posted on January 20, 2012 by Pieter Stok

Gwennap Pit

Gwennap Pit is an open air  “church” where John Wesley preached in Cornwall during the late 1700s. Many thousands would flock here to listen to him preach. The depression was caused by mining subsidence and was shaped into an amphitheatre.

Plaque in the Parish Church - Olney

John Newton, the writer of “Amazing Grace,” was a curate in Olney in 1779 when he wrote his famous hymn. He had grown up listening to Charles Wesley.

Bunyan Meeting House in Bedford

The Bunyan Meeting and Museum (next door) celebrates the life and work of the writer of Pilgrim’s Progress and many other works – John Bunyan. Bunyan lived in the 1600s and established this congregation , but this building dates from 1849.

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“Everyone Who Loves and Practices Falsehood”

Posted on December 16, 2011 by Pieter Stok

Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.  Rev 22:14 & 15

Every now and then as I am reading the Bible a phrase or word jumps out at me. It may be something that I hadn’t noticed or reflected on before. In our staff devotions at school Revelation 22 was read and I closed my eyes and listened. I have read or heard this passage on many occasions and reflected on it. However, this time, the phrase “everyone who loves and practices falsehood” made me sit up and take notice.

We live in a world of “spin”. Politicians, companies and celebrities hire “spin’ experts – people to put the “right” perspective on an issue or dilemma. “Spin” is the key to advertising and promotion. I think we could rightly say that “spin” is part of everyday life.

I remember, years ago, attending regular meetings of church leaders and we were called to report on our individual churches. Looking back in hindsight, there was a lot of “spin” happening. Despite issues in the churches, in this public forum we put ourselves in the best light. We do it as individuals as we try to make ourselves look good, knowing all the while, that in reality we are hiding the truth.

A friend once reflected, after a visit to Holland, where one can look into the front rooms of nearly every immaculately presented house, that it reflected his family. The front room, in this case the way his family appeared, was tidy and well kept, but in the back rooms there was chaos anger, lies and pain.

As a culture and society we have become very able practitioners of falsehood. As individuals and churches, we too have been, unthinkingly, drawn into these practices. Why does Jesus include falsehood with idolaters, murderers and sexual morality?

The child of God is the representative of truth. We are called to stand in direct opposition to the enemy, “the father of lies” (John 8:44). John writes “We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood. (1 John4:6)

The Church and the Christian can have no place for “spin” or subterfuge. The world needs to see what truthful lives look like. That also includes honesty when we have mucked things up. Seeking forgiveness is far more constructive (and painful) than spin. The media, quite rightly in my opinion, has highlighted the falsehood of the church. It can only do that when we have not been true to our God of Truth. Rather than blaming the media we should look carefully at ourselves.

For me, this is a tough call. I don’t like being found out. More important though, is my desire to be more like Jesus. The Word tells me that when I know Jesus I “… will know the truth, and the truth will set (me) free.” John 8:32

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A Shielded Inheritance

Posted on December 12, 2011 by Pieter Stok

Storm Approaching

 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,  and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time. 1 Peter 1:3-5

I’m prone to ‘spiritual panic.” I see the condition of the world, especially in the West, and I think to myself, “We’ll all be doomed!”

The promise found in 1 Peter is very comforting. Put simply: through faith we have an inheritance. This inheritance is preserved for us in heaven and as we wait, God’s power shields us. For the Christians in Peter’s day, this wasn’t theory. As they were under intense persecution, this promise had to be lived and acted upon.

If we did an honest audit, where do would we find our security? In the largeness of our church? In our church’s worship team? In our doctrinal basis? Or is it, as Peter suggests, as it should be, in the person of Christ who is the guarantor of our salvation. We KNOW what it should be, but is it?

God often reveals himself through weakness – Christ epitomising that. We could learn a lesson. Our strength lies in our vulnerability and our dependence on Christ, and not on the structures and programmes we build.

Our inheritance will not spoil or fade but anything we build, even in our church communities which is not on Christ our foundation, will certainly rot to nothing.

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Comfortable Church Part 2

Posted on December 6, 2011 by Pieter Stok

… though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds

The Colosseum. A Place Where Christians Were Not Called Hypocrites

of trials. These have come so that the proven genuineness of your faith—of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire—may result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.1 Peter 1:6 & 7

In the West, on the whole, our faith has not been tested by fire. Christians and Churches are not scattered in fear of their lives. “Suffering grief of all kinds” has not been the norm. With the continuous decline of Christianity from a mainstream movement to a peripheral group, maybe that time is not that far away. Social and moral values in our cultures are diverging from Biblical values everyday. Understandably, from within the church there are many cries of alarm. People even try to hijack political parties and candidates. But is this the answer?

Could there be a silver lining to this dark cloud? Is it possible that the church, scattered and strangers in the world (1Peter 1:1) could be a far more effective witness for Christ as it was in the early church. Could it be that a Church unencumbered by 1700 years of peripherals (i.e from the time of the Edict of Milan under Constantine) such as buildings, constitutions, robes, habits, customs and the rest, could be far more effective and genuine than it is today? Imagine, the only thing to grab hold on were the promises of God – nothing else. Imagine – your only protection was our invisible God ( 1peter 1:8)! Imagine, that our joy at being a child of God’s was so infectious it transformed a sceptical world.

It seems to me, the people of God are most effective when under the pressure of refining fire; whether Daniel in Babylon, Christians in the Roman world or Christians suffering persecution today. In the West we are often called hypocrites. I am sure this charge was never made against those who were, and are, prepared to die for their faith.

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The Visit

Posted on December 5, 2011 by Pieter Stok
The doors were tall and dark,
The handle ominous.
A suited gent
extended a hand
with a made up smile
that tweeked his lips.
“Bulletin”
Thank you.
Cautiously we wandered in.
Hushed mirmurs.
Which seat?
There is a cushion there,
and a book.
Lets take a chance.
The space dribbled full.
well, fullish.
Pipe organ rumbled the building
Men filed in.
One man ascended.
Songs, and words, 
alternated.
A long word.
Songs and words
alternated again.
Then
Hands lifted.
(One set. At the front)
Amen declared.
And people made
for the doors.
Eyes averted,
Shoes inspected.
Ah, fresh air again.
The service is over.
Time for Coffee.
Want one?
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Comfortable Church

Posted on December 5, 2011 by Pieter Stok

 To God’s elect, exiles scattered throughout the provinces of Pontus …                 1 Peter 1:1

Currently I am reading 1 Peter. The book begins with 3 conditions: the church are “elect”, “strangers” and “scattered”. The first speaks of the Christian’s relationship with God but the other two indicate that the church was living on the edge. The church in Asia Minor were living a tough life of persecution. They were on the fringes of society and certainly not   part of the Roman mainstream

They didn’t have big buildings or budgets, large music teams, large staff and the budget to match. Yet the church at this time was effective.

There are many themes woven through Peter’s epistle, but the one thought I want to reflect on at this time is: Is the Western Church today too dependent on structures and programmes rather than living the nitty, gritty coal face Christianity that is reflected in 1 Peter?  Then, if it was more like the early church, would it be more effective?

I would love to have your thoughts.

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Why Don’t My Kids Believe?

Posted on November 20, 2011 by Pieter Stok

“Why don’t my kids believe?” was an anguished cry that I heard too many times in my years as a pastor. The pain that parents suffer when they see their adult children leave faith and church can be unbearable. This is heightened when believing grandparents see their grandchildren grow up in this faith-less environment.

I have to start by saying that there is a mystery to faith and this issue cannot be solved with a formula. Also, every individual has a personal responsibility to come to the Lord. Having said that, there are things parents can do to make Prov 22:6 (Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.) come aliive in the Christian home.

The big danger of our age is inoculating our kids against faith through small doses. Our pluralist, post modern age ridicules the absolutism of Christianity. So there is a temptation to water down the Christian faith to make it more appealing to the world. Sadly, as our children grow up, this watered down faith seems irrelevant and tokenistic. Why? Because it is. Our watering down has indeed made the message irrelevant and empty.

Some possible solutions:

1. Parents must begin by living the word – not just mouthing it. Children can spot hypocrisy. Faith has to mean everything to you. No, you do not have to be perfect. If you stumble you also have a perfect opportunity to practise confession, forgiveness and grace in front of, and if it involves them, with, your children.

2. Faith teaching needs to be regular and solid. From the youngest age, regular devotional readings, Bible stories and later, Bible study should be part of the family culture. (Again a culture that is lived out and acted upon). The caveat is that this should not be done in a legalistic fashion, in a cold ritual, but as a living core value that is as normal as eating meals. Link the lessons and prayers with events, crises and the journey of the family. In other words, show that God is part of the family journey – ever present. The key thing I learned from observing my my dad when I was a child, was that in all his struggles with the lessons of Scripture, he was in a conversation with God. God was always real. He never doubted God even though he struggled with understanding all that God was saying to him. This observation taught me that God was real and present and someone I could talk to.

3. I must repeat myself. The faith practice of the family should not be conducted out of custom and superstition. Rather, it should relate to the activities, beliefs and and values of the family. God’s Word must shape the values and identity of the family from day one.

This does not take away from the child the need to make a commitment to the Lord. In fact, it lays a foundation upon which the child can make a faith filled, intelligent commitment. Will every child come to the Lord? Experience tells us that even in the most Godly families some children may chose to rebel. The truth that Proverbs 22:6 tells us is the wayward child is the exception. Fail to build the foundation, and the exception will be the child who does come to the Lord.

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Yahweh’s Fifth Word

Posted on November 16, 2011 by Pieter Stok

Honor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God has commanded you, so that you may live long and that it may go well with you in the land the LORD your GHonor your father and your mother, as the LORD your God has commanded you, so that you may live long and that it may go well with you in the land the LORD your God is giving you.od is giving you. Deut 5:16

Half a lifetime ago I wrote a thesis on the Fifth Commandment. It was entitled, Yahweh’s Fifth Word. Its contention was that the Fifth Commandment is the foundational commandment for all human authority. In its unique position in the commandments it connects God’s vertical relationship with us, with our horizontal relationships with each other here on earth.

This pivotal word starts with parents. The family is the heart of God’s plan for authority. It must be taught, shown and practised in this setting. In God’s plan, the family then becomes the nursery for the exercise, including responsibility and submission, of Godly authority.

The challenge for the church in this rebellious age, is to reveal, declare and show what the healthy exercise of authority looks like. Our parents, teachers, employers and employees, and especially our  politicians need to see it in practice. Your family, your church is called to be a living representation of the way God exercises and wants us to exercise healthy authority. I believe, from a social perspective, that is a key challenge of our age.

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Is Anybody Listening?

Posted on November 15, 2011 by Pieter Stok

“… so that no one will malign the word of God.” Titus 2:5

When Paul encourages Titus, a friend and helper, he urges him to instruct the people of Crete to live in a way that honours the word of God that they profess. In the midst of the heathen culture of the day it was important that the representatives of Christ were seen to be different; following different values and living according to a different world view.

If we cast our eyes around and observe the people who call themselves representatives of Christ, today, what strikes us is that, often, too often, the world is shaping the values of the Christian and the Church. The world’s music, the world’s entertainment, even the world’s priorities (entertainment, pleasure, self importance et al.) too often form the shape of the church, rather than the opposite. Sadly we see it in some leaders of mega churches, T.V. evangelists, Christian media stars and … ourselves.

For the church to be an effective witness to, and alternative from, the world, it needs to reveal a radically alternate way of living, loving, marrying, raising families, working and doing business. In other words, what is required is a people who do not malign the word of God but live it intentionally and intently. We need to be an alternative, not more of the same. I find that Paul’s challenge to Titus resonates today. It is a word for 2011. But is anybody listening?

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