"Living Stones"

As we read about the details of the construction of the temple by Solomon in 1 Kings 5 & 6, we're told that he had 80,000 stonecutters working in the hills in rotation where they quarried large blocks of high quality stone which was then 'dressed' for the temple. All the stonework was done at the quarry so that there was no sound of hammer or chisel at the actual temple site. It was deemed to be too holy for that.

Josephus, a Jewish historian from the first century, wrote the following about this work;
"Now the whole structure of the temple was made with great skill of polished stones, and those laid together so very harmoniously and smoothly, that there appeared to the spectators no sign of any hammer, or other instrument of architecture; but as if, without any use of them, the entire materials had naturally united themselves together, that the agreement of one part with another seemed rather to have been natural, than to have arisen from the force of tools upon them." [ The antiquities of the Jews, Book VIII, Chapter III]

The temple was to be the place where God would put his Name, his Presence, the place of encounter, but it was only ever a type or shadow of the real thing that was to come. The real thing was to be Jesus, and his body. We see this from Jesus' words in John 2:19-21, "Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days ... the temple he had spoken of was his body." Peter uses this imagery of the temple as he paints a picture of the nature and calling of those who are in Christ, the Church, His body when he says, "As you come to him, the living Stone--rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to him-- you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. " [1 Peter 2:4-5]

The new temple is a spiritual edifice made up of real living people who are spiritually alive due to their connection to Jesus Christ, the living, chosen and precious cornerstone. But equally important as our connection to Jesus, is the fact that we are being built together. This can be a painful process as we come in all 'shapes and sizes' and don't always naturally fit together. That is why God has to take his hammer and chisel out at times to hone and shape us until it looks like we were designed to rest against one another. This can be a painful process at times, one we would rather run away from or just keep searching until we find another 'stone' that seems a good enough fit. We don't like change, especially when we are the ones who need to change, to humble ourselves, to surrender, to prefer one another, to sacrifice and go without, to confess our selfish ways, to repent because we realize that we had it wrong, to be faithful when seem to have gone past our limit. Yet these are all characteristics that our Father looks upon with great joy and delight and for which he graciously gives us power through his abiding presence.

The quarry where the work is done represents the earth, and in part, the fellowship of believers, those whom God has wisely put us amongst for his greater glory. It is in part a time of preparation before our 'transportation' to the temple site, namely heaven. It was said of the stones used by Solomon that they were so smooth, so natural as if never touched by human hands (or chisel) that they fitted together flush. There was no need for cement to hold them together or to fill in any gaps.

I sense that one of our greatest needs is for deep and profound connection with at least a few other people in our lives. This is what brings us healing, joy, a sense of fulfillment in life and also an empowering to be all that God desires of us. We can find ourselves yearning for this yet also fearful of it at the same time. Fearful of rejection or what we may need to give up. My prayer is that we would continue to realize and be thankful for the tremendous grace that God has towards us, his unfailing love and compassion. That we would seek to appropriate this grace in our lives as we continually 'come to him' and ask of him. That we would persevere in our relationships whilst we ask for his grace to help us go the extra mile.

"Psalm 127:1
A song of ascents. Of Solomon.

Unless the Lord builds the house,
its builders labor in vain."

You can all prophesy in turn

I have been reflecting this weekend upon an unusual incident in the life of King Saul that we find in 1 Samuel 10. After Samuel anoints Saul with oil in anticipation of his becoming leader of Israel, he sends him off to Gibeah and warns him as he goes he will meet a group of prophets coming from their place of worship, carrying musical instruments and prophesying. When he encounters them, Samuel says the Spirit of the LORD will come upon him and he too will prophesy and be changed into a different person. He then goes on to make an interesting statement ... "Once these signs are fulfilled, do whatever your hands find to do, for God is with you." [v7]. Sure enough, when he gets to Gibeah he meets the group of prophets and things transpire just as Samuel had said they would. Such was the impact that those who formerly knew Saul were amazed and said to one another, "What is this that has happened to the son of Kish? Is Saul also among the prophets?"

Some thoughts ....

1. There seems to be an important connection between singing/worship (including the use of different instruments) and the manifestation of the Spirit. We see this also in the New Testament as Paul urges the Ephesians to be filled with the Spirit ... speaking to one another with Psalms, hymns and spiritual songs.
2. The Spirit comes with power ... sufficient to change us into a different person (in New Testament parlance, a 'new creation', indwelt by the presence of God.
3. The experience of God's Spirit/prophecy/God's presence brings a measure of guidance into our lives (I sense this is especially important for us as a community)

Under the new covenant, our expectation (and hopefully desire) for such a manifestation of the Spirit as we gather together, should be even greater. I sense that some of this is behind Paul's injunction to us in 1 Cor 14 to eagerly desire the gift of prophecy. He also says that should an unbeliever come into a gathering where God is being revealed through prophecy, it will bring conviction upon his heart and he will be convinced that God is among them [v25] (oh, that we would see more of this). Now that the Spirit has been poured out upon all those who are in Christ, so Paul says that we can all therefore prophesy - so that all are taught and encouraged.

Carol and I feel compelled to set time aside during the summer months to get before the Lord, to enter into his presence and worship - making music in our hearts, to pray and to seek a greater manifestation of the gifts of the Spirit - especially that we might (all) prophesy. To this end, we want to open our home to any who would like to come on Thursday evenings from 7pm (when we are in town). So please come when you can, bring an instrument ... or at least your voice, come with expectation and hunger, come with the sick (for healing), come with a friend if you wish. I believe that this is a God-thing, so not just necessarily just a 'BridgePoint' thing. We want to promote the unity of the Body, and hence our connection with all believers.

I truly believe that the Lord wants to 'light a fire' so to speak in our lives and our missional communities/simple churches that will never go out. Just like the lamp that was to burn continually in the temple. A light that will touch the lives of many with whom we live and work. We need his presence, his guidance, his power as much as those first disciples needed it and were told by Jesus to wait together for it. So we want to gather and wait until the Lord pours out his glory and lights a revival fire for his glory in our city.

Thoughts?

Permission Granted!

This fall my wife Carol has been looking after two young daughters of a friend, when they get out of school. Once a week she takes them for a particular appointment and the other week she decided to take her knitting with her. Another woman, also waiting for her child commented upon this and lo and behold the next week she also brought her knitting. It was as if Carol's actions had given her permission to do something she wasn't sure was appropriate.

Reflecting upon this, my thoughts (as they often do) turned to the kingdom of God and the nature of discipleship and ministry. For too long of its history, the institution of church has restricted the work of ministry to the few, specifically the clergy. As if it was too dangerous a thing to equip and release so-called uneducated or untrained people (also known as the laity). Even the Reformation did not lead to significant change in this mindset and/or practice, in spite of a re-appreciation of the priesthood of all believers. However, God cannot be contained and his purposes will always prevail.

One of our values at BridgePoint is that everyone baptized into Christ is a minister. Our authority to do so comes not from human structures (such as bishops), but from our relationship with our heavenly Father. This was also the source of Jesus' authority. The power and ability to serve comes from the presence of the Holy Spirit within us, the very life of God that enables us to do all things (to which God has called us). The place where we do ministry (service) is wherever we find ourselves ... as John Wesley said, 'the world is my parish'. He was seeking to break free from rules of men in the tradition parish system, where a bishop decided who could minister where. But Jesus sends us all out into all the world ... (see Matt 28:18-20).

However, there appears to be a hurdle that is sometimes too high or too imposing for people, and I think it is in the area of permission giving. Because we have lived with man-made restrictions for so long, they have become ingrained in our thinking - a stronghold. This needs to be broken down by truth and prayer, the real weapons of our warfare. But I also believe that a key to this is the role of spiritual fathers and mothers, or perhaps 'mentors'. A younger generation (and not a few older folks also) are looking for spiritual parents - people who will release in them the permission that God has already granted but which needs to be encouraged through loving, committed relationship.

I believe that Jesus' invitation to a mixed group of people into such a relationship, one in which they became his friends (more in the manner of David and Jonathan than Ross and Rachel!) Today, people need more than just theology expounded, they also need loving mentors who will model a way of life, but more importantly impart that lifestyle through their teaching, example and encouragement. But the basis of this is loving commitment (covenant friendship), just as the family was instituted by God on the same basis as a means of raising godly, kingdom-centered children.

Permission has been granted, go and do likewise. If you're looking for a mentor in your life, I encourage you to pray about this and then ask someone you look up to and respect. Take the risk.

I would love to hear your thoughts ....

More Lord ... more!

A good friend of mine from theological college in Bristol, UK eventually got around to publishing his first book a couple of years ago. I only recently got my hands on a copy when friends from England visited us back in August. The book is entitled "More .. How you can have more of the Spirit when you already have everything in Christ". It touched a deep longing within me for more of God in my life and in our community. It also challenged me to consider afresh what the Lord is looking for in my heart and life.

Recently I have spoken with one or two people within BridgePoint and it has excited to hear of a growing desire in them for a deeper experience of God in their lives. I sense this is something that the Lord is working in us and wonder if the testimony of others is a similar hunger. This real desire has led at least a couple of us to commit to look for opportunity to get together each week to encourage one another and to pray specifically that the Lord would pour out his blessings but that also the reality of the Spirit within 'me', would be a greater force, a wider, deeper river, whatever the metaphor we prefer.

This coming weekend I will be teaching and preaching at a Church of Christ church in Grand Prairie, near Dallas. They have invited me to speak at their Alpha away-day on the subject of "How can I be filled with the Spirit" and then to preach at their Sunday gathering and teach in Sunday School - so a busy weekend. I would appreciate your prayers for the Lord's anointing upon our time together.

It is interesting to me that these things are all happening together - perhaps a mere coincidence, but I sense that the Lord is also speaking to us through these events. In particular, that he continues to scour the earth, looking for worshippers who will worship in Spirit and in truth. What will he find when he visits your home?

In his book, my friend Simon Ponsonby speaks of different ways we can both hinder the work of the Holy Spirit by 'putting on the brakes' but also ways we can 'clear the path'. I wanted to include them here for your own meditation and prayer.

Putting on the brakes

1. An unexpectant heart
2. An unyielded life
3. An unconfessed sin
4. An undiscerned enemy
5. An unclaimed inheritance
6. Unwanted gifts
7. Unbelief because of unworthiness

Clearing the path

1. Repentance
2. Obedience
3. Unity
4. Prayerfulness

I close with a quote from John Piper;

What we should seek (and this applies to all Christians) is that God pour His Spirit out upon us so completely that we are filled with joy, victorious over sin, and bold to witness. And the ways He brings us to that fullness are probably as varied as people are. It may come in a tumultuous experience of ecstasy and tongues. It may come through a tumultuous experience of ecstasy and no tongues. It may come through a crisis of suffering when you abandon yourself totally to God. Or it may come gradually through a steady diet of God's word and prayer and fellowship and worship and service. However it comes, our first experience of the fullness of the Spirit is only the beginning of a life-long battle to stay filled with the Spirit. (sermon on Eph 5:18 - "Be filled with the Spirit")

So, let us wait upon Him for the promise, for His glory alone.

Praying for righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit,
Mike.

"Do you Care?"

An oft-quoted refrain in our household, "do you care?" may just be a somewhat random, unrelated response to the particular topic of discussion. But sometimes it may well be a serious question about our willingness to lay aside our preoccupation with our own world, and respond to someone else's need. It is a question that the Lord seems to be placing on my heart often as I reflect about my life, BridgePoint, the people in my own Simple Church community, not to mention those around me who I see but don't truly know.

My thinking has also no doubt been impacted by my work with the Center for Relational Leadership and subsequent involvement, at an intimate level, with people I may have just met for the first time that day. The 'tag line' for our network that I wrote on some recent vision documentation invited us to be a "Knowing ... Caring ... Serving" kind of community, understanding that the first step in the process, "Knowing" (or "Befriending") is essential if we are truly care for people. It is hard to care for someone unless we make an effort to really know them. Such 'knowing' is at the heart of the Christian faith. It is a relational knowing, supremely of God - Father, Son and Holy Spirit - an intimate union that is designed to produce life-giving fruit as described by the Apostle Paul in Galatians 5.

Just today in our Scripture reading together, Carol and I read from Paul's letter to the Philippians, "Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others." (2:4) We went on to read that such an attitude would most closely resemble that of Jesus himself, one that comes only with humility and often with personal sacrifice. But such an attitude is most pleasing to our Father in heaven who promises to so graciously exalt us when that is our preoccupation.

I heard recently of someone encouraging us towards 'Covenantal Relevance' rather than a focus upon 'Cultural Relevance'. He was suggesting that our lives and ministry should focus upon helping to strengthen our ability to live into the great commandment to love God and love our neighbor. The primary human expression of God's covenant relationship with us as the people of God, is that of marriage and the family. A few days ago we were reading Ephesians 5, where Paul urges us to be filled with the Spirit in order to 'live a life of love' (5:1) and then immediately goes on to describe how this spiritual life needs to be 'earthed' (or we might say 'incarnated') in our marriages, families and workplaces.

In Acts 1:8 Jesus tells his followers that they are to be empowered through the Holy Spirit to become witnesses (a translation from the Greek word from which we get the word 'martyr'), in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and the ends of the earth. These are like extending circles of impact for which we might think about our own relational impact extending outwards in the following sequence;

1. At HOME with spouse/children/parents ... our Jerusalem (where I live)
   
2. With FRIENDS ... our Judea (those most like me)
3. Among WORK COLLEAGUES ... our Samaria (similar but different!)
4. WHEREVER God sends us ... the Ends of the Earth (people 'foreign' to us)
   

It has been on my heart for some time, to gather together with any who wish, to explore how to deepen our relationships with spouses, friends, parents, children and work colleagues. There is a growing need for this within our culture and I dare say within our faith community, and therefore within each of our hearts if our lives are to be increasingly characterized as focused upon knowing ... caring ... serving in a selfless and sacrificial manner.

So, here's the plan. Carol and I want to invite any who can come to our home on Sunday October 14th at 7pm for some refreshment and cake .... or pie! Just to have an evening together where we can share more of our heart on this as well as interact together. Out of that time, we would want to invite any who wish, into a process of personal growth to help develop more authentic, intimate relationships with family and friends. The Sunday evening is a one-off event, so you can just come to that if you wish to hear more and hopefully enjoy some fellowship (and pie!) together.

Mixing the Generations

During our Little Rock Network Gathering (for AMiA) last week, we had a day with Reggie McNeil who spoke on the subject of becoming a missional church. He spoke under three main topics;

(i) Shifting form Internal to External focus

(ii) Shifting from Program-Driven to People Development

(iii) Shifting from Church-based Leadership to Apostolic Leadership (unfortunately he only had a brief amount of time on this topic which, for the clergy present, is the most pressing issue).

In speaking about People Development, Reggie took a brief look at the 6 different generations currently co-existing in our culture (for the first time), and gave some reflections on each one. It was interesting to hear this (albeit not for the first time for me), and consider what this might mean for our life together as the bod of Christ. The years represented are only a general guideline and in reality there is probably some degree of overlap. Neither would I say that everybody would neatly fall into their respective category. Having said that, there is a good deal of truth (from my experience) in these distinctions.

1. SENIORS (born before 1925)
- not much to say about these other than that they are old

2. BUILDERS (born 1926-45) ... 60% have specific church 'affiliation'
- this is the generation that typically has the most trouble with change
- diversity (of church expression) is not particularly valued by this generation
- many are dealing with grief over loss of culture
- need to help builders change conversation from 'loss' to 'legacy'

3. BOOMERS (born 1946-64) ... 42% have specific church 'affiliation'
- experience and economy significant to this group
- have not been mentored by older generation, did not really desire or seek this
- needs to be fun and work

4. GEN-XERS (born 1965-83) ... 18-22% have specific church 'affiliation'
- value authenticity and relationships
- not career-minded people
- created and shaped their lives to revolve around friends (hence the TV show)
- some are beginning to simplify their lives
- start asking for mentors
- life coaching is real appealing to this group (life skills)

5. MILLENIALS (born 1984-01) ... less than 10% have specific church 'affiliation'
- this is the first digital generation
- non-institutional orientation
- high sense of self-esteem
- believe they can change the world - one person at a time
- sincere sense of responsibility for the world/environment
- high level (paradoxically) of drug-dependence and depression

6. NEXTERS (born 2002-)
- bit too young to know yet!

One of the thoughts that occurred to me, or really reinforced something that I have been aware of for some time as it relates to what the Lord is doing among us here at BridgePoint, is the importance and desire for mentors among our young people. We must see a greater inter-mingling of the generations than we have been used to in the church. Some people already see this and are involving themselves in the lives of younger people. Others are finding that harder and wondering sometimes what their role is. I would encourage all who have that extra life experience and story to tell, to seek for ways to get involved with some of our younger people. This is the biblical model, but this is also the cry of a younger generation also. I would say that you are never too old to be involved, it just takes a heart for the people. If anyone wants some more guidance on this, please let me know.

Grace and peace,
Mike.

Forty Trends back to Simplicity

Rethinking the Nature and Function of Church

By Robert Fitts

1. From the sanctuaries to the streets. (Doing the works of Jesus wherever we find a need)

2. From Christianity to Christ. (Not a philosophy or a system, but Christ in you!)

3. From church houses to house churches. (Simplify to multiply)

4. From upward to outward growth. (Plan to have a church split! You’ll be blessed!)

5. From paid pastors to common, ordinary tentmakers. (Rejecting the clergy/laity system)

6. From a special priesthood to a priesthood of all believers (All are ministers & preachers)

7. From hierarchy to servant leaders. (The great ones are those who wash feet)

8. From weekly worship to constant worship. (Worship is more than singing. Rom. 12:1-2)

9. From bringing people to church to bringing church to people. (A life changing prayer) *

10. From symbolism to substance in the Lord's Supper (Take it often. Take it with a meal)

11. From denominations to Spirit-led networks (Identify with the whole Body of Christ)

12. From social respectability to salt and light. (Turn the world upside down. It needs it!)

13. From performance by professionals to I Cor. 14:26 meetings. (Everyone has something to share)

14. From program based to home based church.

15. From the seminary system to the apprentice system.. (Two Timothy Two Two)

16. From tenth to total in our giving. (When generosity is encouraged, reward is promised. Ck. it out!)

17. From selective submission to total submission. (To every authority, everywhere, all the time)

18. From titles to function. Call no man teacher, father, Rabbi. (What about "Paul, an apostle"?)

19. From independence to inter-dependence (Embrace the city-wide church)

20. From paper membership to Body membership (We ARE members one of another, already!)

21. From the wheel to the vine (Releasing teams to plant simple churches in homes all over town)

22. From organizational unity to spiritual unity. (There is only one step to unity - Rom. 14:1, 15:7)

23. From Safeway or Circle K to Safeway and Circle K. (Receive everything that God receives.)

24. From "Us and them" to just "Us" (Refuse to allow an "us and them" spirit in your midst)

25. From planned church to spontaneous church. (Recognize ekklesia when 2 or 3 gather in his name)

26. From bondage to freedom for women. (Acts 2:17-18, Gal. 3:26-28. Freeing God’s ministers )

27. From presbytery without the people to presbytery with the people involved. (Acts 15:22)

28. From arbitrary guidelines to biblical guidelines for appointing elders (I Tim. 3, Titus 1)

29. From "my pastor" to "my pastors." (MR. PASTOR, TEAR DOWN THESE WALLS!)

30. From raising up leaders to appointing servants. (The ground is flat in God’s kingdom)

31. From local vision to world vision. (Jesus last command: (All the world, every person, every nation)

32. From building my kingdom to building His kingdom. ("Come and let us help you fulfill your vision")

33. From wall-wide church to city-wide church. (They filled Jerusalem with their teaching)

34. From fear of stealing sheep to fear of possessing sheep. (Acts 20:28-31. One city-One flock)

35. From building-centered pastors, to people-centered pastors. (Acts 20:28-31. One city-One Body)

36. From using the word "church" to using the phrase "the Body of Christ." (Acts 19:32-41)

37. From restricted to unhindered fellowship. (I’m a member of every church in town.)

38. From overwhelming oversight to restful oversight.

39. From lecture Bible study to interactive Bible study. (The Body of Christ ministering to itself)

40. From dependence on programs to dependence on prayer. (the Acts 4:29-30 kind)

* "Father, give me a divine appointment with someone today who is hungry for God or in need. Give me sensitivity to know when that happens and grace to minister the love of Jesus in the power of the Holy Spirit."