Why Jesus is Better in Every Single way!

Posted: February 23, 2012 by mezmcconnell in Doctrine & Theology, Niddrie Community Church, Random Stuff, Recommended Resources, Video
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This is a great little clip from Tim Keller on how Jesus is the true and better way. Enjoy and celebrate our wonderful Saviour and the amazing grace of God to us.

PROXIMITY: For People Interested In Urban Ministry

Posted: February 22, 2012 by Mike Stark in Church Planting, Discipleship, Leadership/Ministry Training, Missional Living, Niddrie Church Ministries, Niddrie Community Church, Recommended Resources, Youth
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Incarnational Living | Church Planting | Urban Youth Ministry | Missional Community| Urban Church

Proximity 2012 is a conference happening this May (25th-26th) in Salford, hosted by the Eden Network. It aims to bring these five streams above together in one place for two days of vision, conversation, inspiration and celebration. If you’re a leader or practitioner in any of these five overlapping areas of ministry Proximity could be of interest to you. Our tickets are being booked this week.

Proximity will be light-hearted and yet intelligent; fast-paced and yet reflective; boundary-pushing and yet affirming.

For more information, you can download the programme here. Or visit www.eden-network.org/proximity

8 Keys to Housing Scheme Gospel Ministry (6) Church Based Community Development (b)

Posted: February 21, 2012 by mezmcconnell in 8 Keys To Housing Scheme Gospel Ministry, Church Planting, Discipleship, Doctrine & Theology, Evangelism, Leadership/Ministry Training, Missional Living, Niddrie Community Church, Random Stuff, Recommended Resources, Websites
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Mark Dever notes on The Gospel Coalition blog, that:

Since the Fall, the trajectory of unredeemed human history—the City of Man—is always in the Bible to judgment (the Flood, Babel, Canaan, Egypt, Jerusalem, Babylon, Rome & then Rev. 19). (Not quite as universal as gravity, but seemingly as inevitable in its overall tendency.)

For a comprehensive overview of the Pastor and his relation to his community, read his full article here.

Many churches, likewise, believe that the world is going to hell in a handcart and therefore our role is to preach Christ, rescue some and leave the rest to their own devices. Others believe that we have a role to play when God ultimately ushers in the renewal of all things at the end times.  The result for former group is slipping into a separatist approach to evangelism.  For the latter, it is slipping into a cultural accommodationalism.

Now, I can see how certain eschatological positions can lead us down both tracks when it comes to the relationship between the church and its immediate culture. In fact, I see their legacy in housing schemes up and down the country. It shows itself in two main ways.

1. Those who have historically fought for doctrinal and theological purity at the expense of cultural engagement (for fear of watering down the gospel) now find themselves on the fringes of schemes, with aged, dying congregations. They have a gospel with nobody to preach it to. It suits their worldview of “them against the world” and it is leaving generations with no clue about the good news of Jesus. On the other hand, those who have sought to adapt and engage with culture at the expense of biblical truths tend to be very socially aware but have the same aged, dying congregations. They are viewed as little more than a social work agency and people don;t come when evangelism is not practiced. Both sides are losing out with the real losers being the very people they are supposed to be reaching with the good news of Jesus Christ. Whilst the Christian world has been drawing their theological lines, real live souls have been perishing for lack of witness. In the words of some, old, dead dude: ‘A plague on both your houses’.

2. Because of this turn of events, much of the evangelism community development work is being carried out in schemes by a combination of government agencies (which is only right) and para-church organisations. Groups are visiting schools and doing RE classes, running clubs and trying to reach young people for Christ, but largely detached from any local congregation whatsoever, and without any real long-term aims and objectives to combat the ‘congregational crisis’ we now face. On the one hand, how can we blame them when the local church is either (a) dead or (b) not doing its job (either from a lack of heart or because it is just unable to).

The only way to reverse these trends is to plant new churches and/or renew existing ones. Spiritual Community renewal and development will not happen at a root level if the local church is not central to our plans. In Brasil when we founded our street children project, we did it with a church plant at the core. Why so? A number of reasons:

1. A localised congregation gives a solid, consistent thrust for concerted evangelistic efforts.

2. It offers a place for spiritual accountability for those working in the field. Many para-church workers I have met (particularly youth workers) have little or no spiritual accountability and have either been burned out or are in danger of burning out trying to deal with the rigours of a front line ministry such as ours.

3. It offers a context in which young converts and believers can grow in discipleship, in community, together. So, it avoids the hit and miss problem of people parachuting in, trying to reach out and then leaving people in the wind until the outsiders return again.

The local church has the responsibility to evangelise, disciple, nurture and prepare people to worship and serve the Living God in their respective communities. Surely, loving our neighbours shouldn’t be handed to those outside of our doors? Are we loving our communities? Are we serving our communities? If we love a community and seek to know it then ideas for outreach, evangelism, mission and development will naturally flow out of this. I think many churches struggle to make an impact on schemes because they do not love their communities enough to really know them at a deep and intimate level. We cannot love the Lord and the gospel if we do not love people. The gospel needs a conduit for it to do its powerful, transforming work. Too many churches are burying their treasure in a field and hanging on for the master to come again.

We recently received news from our church plant in Brasil – The Good News Church – which is an indigenous community that operates in the poorest neighbourhood in the poorest state in Brasil. It’s poor! The church is small (50ish people) and yet recently they clubbed together and built 6 new homes in the community for displaced families! That is gospel driven community development in action. Despite fears in some quarters, it does not water down the Word but rather offers a living example of the reality of the message that congregation is trying to bring to its community.

I appreciate the nuances of this debate, I really do. Christ above all, gospel before all, but when discipleship becomes indistinguishable from helping people deal with some of their life issues, then we have a duty of care. Let’s not protect the gospel to death. That would be a crime.

I am sure we’ll revisit this at some point.

8 Keys to Housing Scheme Gospel Ministry (6) Church Based Community Development

Posted: February 19, 2012 by mezmcconnell in Websites, Niddrie Community Church, Church Planting, Recommended Resources, Evangelism, Missional Living, Doctrine & Theology, Random Stuff, Discipleship, Youth, 8 Keys To Housing Scheme Gospel Ministry
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Part A: Church Based Community Development

In his book, Generous Justice, Tim Keller states:

“All I know is, if I don’t care about the poor, if my church doesn’t care about the poor, that’s evil.”

Jesse Johnson, writing an article for The Cripplegate Blog, has a somewhat different perspective. He writes:

…the fact of the matter is that nowhere does the Bible command the church to care for the poor of the world, to lower the poverty rates in society, or to care for the homeless in our community. There are zero verses that command this, and several that even argue against it.

The question of the role of the church in culture, particularly as it relates to matters of social justice, is popping up in all sorts of forums across the Christian spectrum and has been addressed in various blogs, articles and books from men like Mark Dever, John Piper, Tim Keller and Kevin DeYoung et al. I have no wish to further comment on issues I have already blogged about on this site and may do so again in the future (check out the topics section the left hand side of the home page).

My concern in this post is to ask the question of the role of the church as it relates within a poor community. That, to my mind, is a somewhat different concern than a ministry to the poor and oppressed. Reaching out to the poor and planting a church among them are two entirely different propositions. In spite of the reams being written and said, when I have visited many church’s in the UK and overseas, I haven’t exactly been trampled to death by the stampede of poor people attending their services!

I am not, unlike many, trying to build a church with a heart for the poor, I am seeking to build a church of God worshippers in the heart of a deprived scheme. That is a somewhat more complex task! Now, I am with Jesse (and others) when it comes to understanding that the commands to love the poor and care for the widow etc are there for the benefit of the Christian Community primarily (although by no means exclusively). He, I think correctly, gives voice to the concern of over emphasising the needs of the poor:

I am making the observation that when money is going to soup kitchens, it is not going to missions. To guard against that, the church is never commanded to show compassion to the poor as a means for expanding the kingdom. Simply put, you owe the poor the gospel; Jesus died to purchase for them the privilege of hearing the testimony of his death and resurrection (1 Tim 2:6).

Mark Dever is even more direct on this topic.

We, as a congregation, are not required to take responsibility for the physical needs in the unbelieving community around us. We do have a responsibility to care for the needs of those within our congregation (Matt. 25:34-40; Acts 6:1-6; Gal. 6:2, 10; James 2:15-16; I John 3:17-19) though even within the church, there were further qualifications (e.g., II Thess. 3:10; I Tim. 5:3-16). Paul’s counsel to Timothy (in I Tim. 5:3-16) about which widows to care for seems to indicate that the list was intended for Christian widows. One qualification seemed to be lack of alternative sources of support. Thus the instruction that family members should care for the needy first, if at all possible, shows the kind of prioritization of allowing for families—even of unbelievers—to provide support so that the church wouldn’t have to do it (I Tim. 5:16). We can extrapolate from this to conclude that support that could be provided from outside the church (for instance, from the state) should be preferred over using church funds, thus freeing church funds to be used elsewhere.

I couldn’t agree more in terms of the financial aspect of social action and/or community development (however you want to define it). At Niddrie we are not concerned with financial handouts (though we do have an interest free loan initiative in extreme emergencies for both members and non members). As I’ve said before, people here generally aren’t lacking financially, and the state, if anything, is a hindrance in many ways to community development, rather than an aid to it. Indeed, our concern has even less to do with changing the social structures around us and more to do with (1) evangelistic opportunities and (2) discipleship issues. Let me take our Bike project as an example of what I mean.

Niddrie has a huge criminal problem with stolen mountain bikes. Combine this with a huge interest in the sport on the scheme. In a more middle class area with an established youth work, and a solid Christian base, Bible studies may be an option. Here, they are not. So, we have an opportunity to contact people who would never darken the door of a Sunday meeting, go to an evangelistic event or meet a Christian of any shape or form. Our project then serves the purpose as a vehicle (it’s ultimate objective) for evangelism. A young person may then be saved and so can spend further time in the workshop fixing a bike whilst being discipled by one of our youth team. Getting into the Bible then ensues. It just so happens that this vehicle of our comes with a few added extras. Crime goes down (not massively, but it has an effect). Less bikes are being stolen in and around the church. The local police send us their stolen bikes to use as we report any stolen bikes to them. The local school uses our project to motivate struggling children educationally. And so on. There are other off spins. They are all secondary to the gospel’s primacy, but they are not insignificant in terms of community development and justice. Most of our outreach, projects and ideas have the same types of spin off in different areas and across different demographics within the scheme. So, what do we call this?

Again, returning to Dever’s assertion that helping the needy is primarily an in house job for the church. But what about the many community people who we see daily on the scheme? They may not become members, but they certainly become an intimate part of our lives. Surely, we have a biblical responsibility to them? Let’s remember that Galatians 6:10 says, So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith. Many reformed pastors will emphasis the last three words as a proof text for Dever’s position, but the text appears to indicate helping all regardless of affiliation.

I agree, the answer to our community sin problem (its greatest need) is salvation though Christ. But, sooner or later, discipleship kicks in. So, yes, we can strengthen their Christology and biblical doctrine, but we still have to walk them through abusive relationships, sexual dysfunction, threats from drug dealers, mental health problems etc. That becomes about loving them and practically seeking, where possible, to help them relieve some of their (often) self-imposed troubles. Fighting the macro causes of their issues doesn’t even get put on the table. We just haven’t got the time here even if we had the inclination!

Reformed Churches in the UK have generally operated out of a separatist mindset in housing schemes (if they have ever really operated at all). Many have gone down the ‘Word only’ route. This has left us with some serious problems which my generation of pastors has now been handed. I want to continue this article tomorrow and look at some key issues and why I think the local church must be the centre for change in housing schemes.

Forget Jesus: I Just Want to be Famous!

Posted: February 19, 2012 by mezmcconnell in Church Planting, Leadership/Ministry Training, Niddrie Community Church, Random Stuff, Recommended Resources, Websites
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We may not be as crass to say it like that and we may not even think of it as directly as that, but I bet for many pastors trying to establish ministries, this muddled motivation has crossed our minds. With even limited success come a proliferation of invites to conferences, speaking engagements, books, reviews and articles. Trust me, it is easy to tell yourself the lie that when we do some of these things, we are doing it ‘for the kingdom’. When I read this article by Bob Hyatt on ‘The Dangerous Pursuit of Pastoral Fame’ I was immensely challenged. We must guard our hearts and ensure we have friends and mentors who are not afraid to hold us to account if we begin to get too big for our boots.

Girl Talk!

Posted: February 18, 2012 by mezmcconnell in Random Stuff, Recommended Resources, Websites, Women and Wives
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Here’s a little blog I found on biblical womanhood and other ‘stuff’. She recommends some good reading material.

Does God really Predestine People to Hell?

Posted: February 17, 2012 by mezmcconnell in Apologetics, Doctrine & Theology, Niddrie Community Church, Random Stuff, Recommended Resources, Websites
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An interesting little clip here concerning this very emotive issue. Stick with it and try to ignore the terrible background music.

8 Keys to Housing Scheme Gospel Ministry (5)

Posted: February 16, 2012 by mezmcconnell in 8 Keys To Housing Scheme Gospel Ministry, Church Planting, Evangelism, Missional Living, Niddrie Community Church, Random Stuff
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Listening to Your Community

It is noticeable in Niddrie that there are many housing association groups and various other social agencies, largely staffed by outsiders, who impose their ideas and ideals on to the community without much prior discussion. It is taken for granted that the ‘professionals’ know what we need. Often, many church plants can be guilty of the same attitudes. A team can move in to a scheme with a cunning plan and yet their strategy have very little impact on the ground due to lack of research and cultural understanding. In fact, a great danger of only researching the facts and figures about an area  from government websites is that it skews our understanding of what a community needs in order to change.  A good church planter must not only research and observe, he must also listen. There are questions to be asked. For instance, who are the main players in the community? What community groups are there? Which are staffed by local people and which by outsiders? What do local people think that some of the biggest needs of the community are? As I’ve stated, it is easy to think ‘scheme’ and then come with a whole set of presuppositions which can often bare little relation to life on the inside. What do people dream about? What are their ambitions (those that have them)? What do they think that the community needs in order for it to improve? Where would they start? Here’s one of the most important ones. What could they contribute to all of these things? Robert Lupton, notes:

This is often referred to as the felt needs concept. Listening is most important, as the people of the community are the vested treasures of the future. It is important not to focus on the weaknesses or needs of a community.

That last line is interesting. Why does he emphasise this? Well, he advocates an approach to community development that helps us to try to focus on the desires of community residents, what gift sets they have, and then to think of these individuals as ‘community assets’ upon which we can focus our energies. Of course, his context is in reference to community development, but I think we can use the principle in planting.

As a planter the question becomes how we harness some of the talents of local people in tandem with the great commission. Again, it is easy to look at a scheme like Niddrie and point to 10 things that need fixing. But what we think may need fixing from the outside may not even be on the agenda of an insider. What do they think? Certainly the church can help in alleviating some of the great needs of the community but we do it a disservice if we take the burdens solely upon ourselves. In fact, we can be as guilty of weakening the community if we try to solve every problem for them. Many times in my pastoral ministry over the last decade I have had to deal with people disgruntled with ‘institutional church‘. People wanting to leave and move somewhere else, somewhere ‘better’. My answer to these individuals has always been consistent.

“You cannot change a thing by moving on from it. You can only effect real and lasting change from within. Now, what do you think needs to happen and how are you going to help me make it happen?”

I know it is not the most powerful argument ever, but if we’re going to be staying in a community and listening to it then we need to be prepared to hear a lot of talk defeatist about ‘things never changing’. We need to be helping local people see that they, under the Lordship of Christ, are the answer to their community’s problems, not solely outside agencies, and not even the church.

Of course, spiritual regeneration is the ultimate aim, but we need to be developing our listening skills in order to inform our evangelism, alongside discipleship methods that enable people not only to take responsibility for themselves and their community but empower them to get involved. We must constantly assess what we are doing and questioning whether we are moving people toward or away from dependency on anything other than Jesus Christ.

 

If we are going to bring about lasting change on housing schemes then everything we do must be sustainable. That’s why, as we listen, we ought to be developing ministries that will harness people in their gifting and encourage them to stay put for the benefit of all. This is hugely difficult stuff in our individualistic society. That’s why it must start within the body of Christ. If we are moving in, using our gifts, serving one another for the benefit of the whole and all the while, listening, then this is a great, living model for local people.

Listening to people. Not as easy as it sounds is it?

Self Esteem: Fact or Fiction?

Posted: February 15, 2012 by mezmcconnell in Biblical/Pastoral Counselling, Discipleship, Niddrie Community Church, Random Stuff, Recommended Resources, Websites, Women and Wives
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Good post here on the Biblical Counselling for Women blog

If You Don’t Read Then You Shouldn’t Lead! (Did you see what I did there?)

Posted: February 14, 2012 by mezmcconnell in Discipleship, Fun stuff, Niddrie Community Church, Random Stuff, Recommended Resources, Websites
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Any planter worth his salt will always have a book on the go. We must never stop thinking. We must never stop learning. We must never stop seeking to grow in our understanding of God’s Word and how to apply it to our specific cultural contexts. It’s cheesy but true – “great leaders are great readers”. The problem comes in discerning what books we ought to be reading and what books we ought to give a miss. Like most, I have my own way of sifting the wheat from the chaff.

Should we read books that we know we agree with before we have even opened the cover? I think so, yes. It certainly doesn’t do any harm to read something that we know will be an encouragement to us and a balm to our souls. Does that mean we shouldn’t read books that we know we will have problems with theologically (ie Rob Bell)? No, not at all. On the contrary, reading books we disagree with helps broaden our perspective (in theory at least – for some it could just strengthen their own presuppositions). That leaves the big question. How do we know whether a book will be good or not and if it will intellectually challenge us or not?

1. I always look for the publisher straight away. I usually can tell immediately if a book is going to be theologically acceptable to me this way. It doesn’t always guarantee agreement but it does provide a doctrinal safety net.

2. The author is a bit of a giveaway. Can he/she be trusted? What is his/her previous body of work? If he/she is an unknown then who has been prepared to give a recommendation on the sleeve or the inside cover? All helpful indicators (for me).

3. I like to look at the back cover and read the summary to give me an idea of whether or not the topic is of interest to me. Importantly, is it within an area that I can contextualise for my work in Niddrie?

4. Read the chapter headings to get an idea of the flow of the book.

5. Pick out any ‘controversial’ chapters (if there are any) and quickly skim them to pick up the main points of argument.

6. I like to read the first 2 pages of opening chapter. If the book captures my attention within that period then 99% of the time I am inclined to buy it and read it whether I agree with it or not.

7. I hate diagrams. If a book has diagrams then I will definitely skip over these parts. I find them highly irritating and they do nothing to aid my learning experience.

8. Read then re-read. I commit the cardinal sin of marking my books with yellow highlighter. It enables me to capture the essence of a chapter as I read back over it once I have finished the book.

9. I will try and blog about most books I read unless they were absolute stinkers!

Here are a couple of other sites to help get your juices flowing with regards to this topic. “Becoming Saturated” has some useful hints. “Transformed” also has a useful article entitled, “How to Read a Book’.

But, what about those who are ‘poor’ readers, even ‘illiterate’ in our scheme? If only reader can be leaders then doesn’t that just about rule them out? I think we have to be clear that being a poor reader or even illiterate does not necessarily rule a person out from being effective for the kingdom of God. The NT, after all, was written and read out to a great number of illiterates. Somebody can have great evangelistic gifts without necessarily being a bookworm! However, being a teacher and/or preacher of the Word in a leadership capacity is another matter. We must be ‘apt to teach’ which presupposes a degree of literacy. After all, we cannot teach the whole counsel of God if we are unable to read it and digest it for ourselves.

In Niddrie we gauge very early the level of literacy in those we are speaking to. Very rarely have we come across people who are completely illiterate (although we have). Then, we adjust accordingly by offering either one to one help in the area and/or some personal literacy training as part of our evangelistic and/or discipleship. We should never confuse illiteracy with intelligence. People tend to be very quick learners when they are properly motivated. I have observed (non scientifically) that when poor readers, non readers (can but don’t) and illiterates begin to read, several things happen:

1. It improves concentration levels. There is (basically) a lie that does the rounds that people on schemes can’t concentrate for more than five minutes. That is true at one level but it is equally as true that they are able to cope for far more time when given the opportunity to read a book (in extreme cases we get an audio book whilst we begin the literacy process).

2. People have a remarkable capacity for remembering. Reading aids the brain in this regard.

3. It brings discipline to the mind (and sometimes to the life). I have seen this first hand as people who have led chaotic lives have been transformed in their personal discipline by training their brain to think logically.

4. It improves creativity and interaction. As knowledge grows so does confidence.

5. The vocabulary begins to improve exponentially :)

6. It broadens world view and opens us up to new ideas and other cultural values.

It is a long, hard slog with many of our people here but it is worth it. I don’t know a single person for whom reading has not proved beneficial, even for simple things like filling in forms. God is a God of words and we have a responsibility to find out what he has to say.

Happy Reading!

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