Lent

This Sunday is the first Sunday in Lent. 

Lent is a season of preparation and  (an unpopular word in today's culture) self-disciple.  It begins on Ash Wednesday (Feb 13th) and concludes at sun-down on Holy Saturday (Mar 30th, the day before Easter Sunday).

During the forty weekdays and six Sundays in Lent, Christians traditionally remember the sacrificial life and ministry of Jesus leading to his death on the cross.  Lent is a time for renewing our commitment to following Jesus as his disciples or apprentices. 

The forty weekdays also remind us of the forty days Jesus spent fasting in the desert before the beginning of his public ministry.  Because of this, some Christians choose to fast from something during Lent.  I've heard of people giving up chocolate or a favourite TV programme.  This might sound silly and even unnecessary, but it has the benefit of reminding ourselves that our wants and desires don't need to rule our life.

Sometimes Christians do extra kind and generous things during Lent to share Jesus' love with others.

This Lent my wife Sue and I have decided to be more disciplined in our prayer together.   We have much to pray about in life and ministry and yet sometimes it can be difficult to synchronise time together to pray.  Hence our resolve.  We have also downloaded some Reflections for Lent (one Bible reading and reflection each week for seven weeks.)  If you would like to do these readings and reflections at home, you can download the resource from the Presbyterian Church website.

 

When we spend time reading the Bible and seeking God in prayer, we catch the heartbeat of God and hear his call to care for those who are poor, vulnerable, lost and lonely.  Other spiritual disciplines help us train to be more like Jesus, allowing the Holy Spirit to work in us and through us to others.

 

May you know God's blessing this Lent,

 

Buildings in the Post Canterbury Earthquake Era

Attitudes to historic, unreinforced buildings have changed enormously since the Canterbury earthquakes.  As pastor of a church I have noticed this in several ways:

• Insurance premiums have risen significantly. 
• Perceptions of the risk of old buildings have changed.  One woman who had left Christchurch after the February quake and moved to Dunedin told me she didn't like going into old brick buildings anymore. 
• Government and local council building standards have changed.

At East Taieri Church we have sought to navigate our way through this in a reasonable and responsible way.  Not over-reacting, nor pretending nothing has changed.  We have also sought to avoid any sense of worry, panic, or preoccupation with buildings. The key question we seek to keep before us is:

"What is God saying to us about the facilities we need for God's mission here?"

 

The elders and other leaders at ET pray about the future of God's mission here and seek to discern God's leading.  Some of the vision we have expressed in the council of elders for facilities to foster God's mission include:

• A vision for a large, vibrant, contemporary worship setting.  We see value in a multipurpose worship space which could accommodate up to 500 people.  This would also be of value to the wider Mosgiel community.
• A vision for continuing to run large events well.  We see this as part of our calling – our Christmas Eve services, Ministry Conference, large combined services, etc.
• East Taieri is family friendly.  Families identify with ET as a place where their children, young people, and their whole family can grow in Christ together.
• Part of being family friendly and hospitable is the need for settings where we have good facilities for children, and we can serve food and good coffee, engaging people in interactive, alternative worship.  (FUEL and Church @6 are good examples of this) This highlights the need for catering facilities.

Over a year ago, the elders established a Future Property Development Group (FPDG) to prepare a development plan for the East Taieri site.  They have consulted widely about the future needs of ministries of the church.

 

Over this same period the Dunedin City Council, like all councils, established a plan to assess and identify those public buildings that are earthquake prone. The Synod of Otago and Southland (who are the trustees for Presbyterian churches south of the Waitaki River) followed up on this by establishing a well researched and informed policy for Presbyterian buildings in the south. This policy includes the engagement of an engineering firm to carry out a seismic assessment of buildings.  They will inspect and do what is called an enhanced Initial Evaluation Procedure (IEP Plus).  That will tell us what percentage of the National Building Standard (NBS) each of our buildings meets, and other helpful information.
 

These engineers will be visiting East Taieri Church in March 2013 to carry out this seismic assessment process with the report due a couple of weeks later. Synod now require that buildings like ours meet 67% of NBS. It is unlikely that the Kinmont Hall and the East Taieri Church will meet these standards.  We will then be faced with deciding the future of these buildings.  What can be preserved and what cannot?  Synod has set a timeframe of 8 years for either the strengthening, sale or demolition of buildings that don’t meet these building standards.
 

Where does all this leave us? We have a wonderful heritage at East Taieri. For example, the gospel stories contained in the stained glass windows have spoken to generations of worshippers.  One of the challenges we face is how to best honour and preserve our heritage as we move into the future.  In the long term, the existing East Taieri church building doesn’t meet the mission needs of the congregation, and we expect it would need major strengthening work in order to meet earthquake national building standards.  No final decision on the future of the buildings has yet been made, but future investigations will include replacing the East Taieri Church with a new worship centre connected to the existing fellowship centre.  Elders and the Resourcing4Mission board will report to the congregation again in late March 2013 after the engineering assessment report is available.  There will be careful consultative, evaluation, design and planning processes put in place. 





General Assembly 2012

I appreciated attending the 2012 General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church of Aotearoa New Zealand (PCANZ) last week in Rotorua.  There were some great times of worshipping God together with elders and ministers from all around the country.  Ray Coster has made a great start as our new moderator, which is a kind of national leader.  His theme for the next two years is "Reviving the Flame: Living in the Power of God's Presence and the Presence of God's Power."  For the Sunday morning worship service, assembly met outdoors in the centre of Rotorua's streets - a fitting place for a church in mission to meet.  I thought Ray led with much warmth and grace, and preached with much passion, biblical insight, humility and real life application.  I valued the way Malcolm Gordon led us in song and prayer, and it was a delight having my daughter Sophie in the music team.  One key highlight for me was catching up with many people I knew and sharing stories of what God is doing.

I had a real sense of God at work through much of the assembly - I'm sure he was at work throughout - so thank you for praying!

I thought Assembly showed that the PCANZ is seeking to move from being a settled, somewhat inward focused church, to a mission church on the move and looking to join in with what God is doing in the world (here in NZ and around the globe).  There are some encouraging signs.  The Presbyterian Youth Ministry presentation was inspiring (and I saw many people from East Taieri in their photos).  The titles of their national programmes communicate that they are on mission: Going Further, Going Deeper, Going Global...

Assembly is sending out discussion papers to parishes and presbyteries about various efforts to focus more on mission.  There is a proposal for a four year, full-time term for the moderator who would become more of a missional leader.  I don't aspire to ever being moderator, but I'll know East Taieri have had enough of me if they nominate me for moderator as this four year term would necessitate ministers leaving their current parish.  Assembly affirmed that the purpose of the Church's property is to serve God's mission, and that the accumulation of significant wealth in church property and investments raises important biblical, ethical and financial issues.  It is proposed that in the future, a percentage of church property sales will go into a mission enterprise fund, that will make grants toward mission projects around NZ.  I thought this could have been approved there and then, but assembly was more cautious and decided to consult with parishes and presbyteries.  I do think we have to be prepared to trust people enough to get a move on with this.

Levels of trust are not increased by the difficult debates we encounter at assembly.  Every Assembly some liberal parishes bring proposals to fall from the 2006 ruling prohibiting those in sexual relationships outside of faithful marriage between a man and a woman from being ministers or elders.  This time there were three and each one was defeated.  These debates are emotional and often torrid, leaving everyone feeling bruised.  It is important to understand that those in favour of people living in gay and lesbian relationships being ministers and elders see this as an issue of justice, liberty of opinion, keeping up with the times, and avoiding discrimination.  The majority of assembly seemed to believe that the Bible teaches us that God calls us to his standard for sexual relationships as within heterosexual marriage.  As I voted with that majority, I reflected that being in the majority can easily lead to a harsh judgementalism of those who are different.  Christians are called to both grace and truth (John 1).  We must demonstrate love while standing for biblical values.  Is it possible to welcome gay and lesbian people into churches while saying we believe a homosexual lifestyle falls short of God's standards?  Gay and lesbian people would say that isn't possible.  I would argue that we welcome all people, and all are challenged to repentance in some area or other.  But the "love the sinner, hate the sin" argument isn't easy to live out in practice.  My challenge to myself and to all who believe that a homosexual lifestyle is sinful is: How many gay and lesbian people are you showing the love of God to?

In a related debate, Assembly voted by a large majority to affirm the historic Christian understanding of marriage as the union of a man and a woman, and urged Parliament not to proceed with the "same-sex marriage" bill.  A submission from the PCANZ will be made to the select committee.  Assembly was one vote short of passing a resolution to restrict ministers to conducting marriage services to only a man and woman.  Was such a resolution necessary?  Can we rely on all ministers of the church to abide by the stated position of the General Assembly on marriage?  The answer will become obvious if Parliament passes the "same-sex marriage" bill.  I do encourage people to have their say by writing a positive, respectful, constructive letter to the select committee and also to their MP.  The East Taieri elders are also making a submission.

Some people claim that we must find a third way through such debates.  But neither side has been able to do so in over 20 years of study, dialogue and debate.  I think the issue is whether or not God has given definite boundaries for sexual relationships.  It is hard to find a third way of answering that.  Having said that, I believe we must not hate or fear people who believe different things to us.  Jesus even calls us to love our enemies! 

I have allocated too much of this post to the debate on marriage and sexuality.  Sadly it also took too much of the assembly time.  It is important because it reflects basic understandings of the nature of the Bible and of human beings created in the image of God.  However, I look forward to the day when I don't come home from an assembly feeling battered and drained from such issues.

Assembly made other decisions.  The Pacific Islands Synod gained the status of a presbytery which is a hugely encouraging decision for the large PI section of the church.  The new contemporary confession of faith, the Kupu Whakapono, was formally adopted.  We have used the Kupu Whakapono in worship at East Taieri on several occassions.  Assembly also agreed to work for the interests of vulnerable children; endorsed the concept of a living wage; and agreed to advocate for climate change refugees in the Pacific.  The moderator-designate who will take over from Ray Coster in two years was elected.  He is Andrew Norton, minister of St Columba (Botany, East Auckland).  I think Andrew will make a fine moderator.

My Sister Karen

In the run up to Christmas my little sister died.  Karen was 44 and her brave battle with cancer was over.  I want to pay tribute to Karen's love of life and family.  She expressed her emotions openly and told us she loved us.  She had a smiling determination, a love of sport, animals and the outdoors.  Her lasting friendships were obvious at her funeral when we heard from three friends from three particular stages of her life.  I particularly appreciated hearing about her high school years, which were largely unknown to me having left home for University by then.  I also want to pay tribute to Karen's husband Dallas who cared for Karen so faithfully and well right through her many health struggles. 


My family and I have so appreciated the support of friends, family and our church family at East Taieri.  It has drawn us closer to people here.  As I said one Sunday morning, in a church the size of ET, some people won't have known that a sister, let alone that she had cancer.  That is completely understandable.  The wonderful thing is that some people knew, and those who were close to us have been incredibly thoughtful and supportive, especially elders and the ministry team, and those I work most closely with.  Thank you everyone.

I have taken many, many funerals in my 20 years as a pastor, and sat with many grieving people.  I'm reminded again how true it is that comfort came from people who managed to say a few halting words of sympathy or write a simple card.  It wasn't their profound words, but their love and care that counted.

It isn't easy for me to speak about the trials we face.  It makes me vulnerable.  In this case, the vulnerability led to people being able to care for us.  Keeping a "stiff upper lip" and not saying anything would have shut people out and kept the relationships shallow.  Have you had an experience of being vulnerable leading to deeper relationships?

This time has also reminded me that the message of the resurrection is amazing and full of hope.  I know this in my head, and preach it from the scriptures, but I've been reminded of the importance of the resurrection by seeing Karen's body waste away.

"Therefore we do not lose heart.  Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.  For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.  So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.  For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.  Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands... Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come."  2 Cor 4:16ff

I have preached from these verses in the last week at a dear saints funeral.  I think I'm more motivated to share the good news of Jesus than I have ever been!

God bless you,
Martin.

How is Your Heart?

Last week I wrote in our Sunday Bulletin about checking inside on the condition of our heart.  I copy it below:
How are you inside? In some famous words from the Bible, “people look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart.” (1 Sam 16:7) It doesn’t mean the internal organ that pumps blood, but the governing centre of our lives – our character, personality, will, motives, and mind.


Taking part in God’s mission adventure means we will do things, but we need to be careful that we aren’t so preoccupied with what we are doing for God (as if he is relying on our help), that we miss what God is doing in us. Every day God will be working to shape us to be more like Christ, if we pay attention.

Want to take a quick heart check up? Here are some things to look for:
• Do I feel mad, sad, glad or scared? Grateful or demanding?
• Am I taking responsibility for how I feel or blaming it on others?
• Do I have a few safe relationships where I seek feedback about my behaviour?
• Do I have time for people, including those who don’t yet know Jesus?
• Am I growing in love for others, or impatience with others?
• Do I think everyone else is wrong?
• Am I falling into all-or-nothing, black-and-white thinking? E.g. if my performance falls short of perfect, I’m a failure.
• Am I picking out a single negative detail and dwelling on it exclusively, so that my vision or all reality becomes darkened, like a drop of ink that discolours a whole glass of water?
• Am I jumping to conclusions without the facts, or making assumptions about others without bothering to ask?

Let’s not ignore the health of our heart,
________________________________

Some readers might have recognised some of the above reflection which Jim Herrington, Robert Creech and Trisah Taylor offered as some practices for "calming" ourselves amidst the anxiety that can arise in congregations.  They are using the insights of Edwin Friedman and Bowen Family Systems Theory to consider how interactions and relationships can work better in church settings.  Their book is The Leader's Journey: Accepting the Call to Personal and Congregational Transformation (San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2003).
I am finding the insights of this systems theory and in particular the concept of the leader being an "less-anxious presence" very helpful.
 
Will chat more about this,
Martin.

One Service - Touch Pause Engage

Last Sunday all 6 East Taieri congregations gathered in one service at the Hislop Hall, in Taieri College.

It was a wonderful opportunity to worship God together and to seek God for the year ahead.  We also appreciated the music ministry of David Lyle Morris, who joined us for the occassion.

I paste below a summary of my sermon notes for that service from Luke 10:1-9

Introduction

Members of a rugby team are all different, but together they make up the team – each member playing their part.

Together, we make up the East Taieri Church team. We are all different. There are six different services represented here. But together we make up the ET team, each member playing their part.
The mission of the All Blacks is clear – to get the ball across the try line, and stop the opposition doing the same, so they win the game.
What is our mission as a church?

 

One people in mission for God’s glory

Growing in Christ and making him known in love

through word, sign and deed

Because all people matter to God.

What does that look like? What’s our vision for that in the future?

 

1) The people were in touch with Jesus (Luke 10:1)

 

The 72 people Jesus chose and sent out were some of his followers. He knew them, and they knew him. Jesus was sending them out as his ambassadors to proclaim that the Kingdom of God is near. God’s powerful rule as King was being demonstrated in Jesus ministry, and now they were going to do the same kinds of things. Healing people, driving out demons, and telling people about turning back to God. They had seen Jesus do it, now they were to go out and do it themselves. But it came from their relationship with Jesus. Being in touch with Jesus.

Our mission is an overflow of our relationship with Jesus. At East Taieri Church our vision is that we are all close to Jesus. Knowing Jesus, so our lives are changed and we can be a part of Him changing other’s lives too.

How do we stay in touch with Jesus? God took the initiative in sending Jesus, but we also need to respond. There was a woman who had been subject to bleeding for 12 years. She had spent all her money on doctors and none of them could make her well. She thought, “Jesus is my only hope.” She thought “If I only reach out and touch his cloak, I will be healed.” And she was.

You can reach out and touch Jesus in worship. Those of us leading worship are praying, digging deep in the Scriptures, practicing music, preparing creative stuff, getting ready. But all of us need to get ready for worship. We need to come expecting to meet with God in all His love and power. We want to grow in our worship services in the year ahead.

You can be in touch with Jesus in your own of course. Growing in your relationship with Jesus in those quiet moments at home. In the year ahead, I will be teaching about spiritual gifts and spiritual practices that are part of living as Jesus lived.

 

Or when you meet with a mentor or in a small group. In the past year we had 4 new small groups start, 2 at FUEL, and 2 from the rest of ET, giving us over 25 groups now. People encouraging each other in their life with Jesus. God has good things for us as we draw close to Jesus

2) Pause – Prayer, Reflection, Learning, Growth (Luke 10:2)
Notice what happened before they actually went out.
Before going out, they were to pray. Prayer reminds us that we are dependent on God’s grace and power. We humble ourselves, and ask God to do what we cannot.

 

So we are making October a month of prayer. We will give you a prayer diary for the month, inviting you to seek God daily. There will be suggestions for prayer and space for you to write down what you sense God saying to you. We will finish the month with a major prayer gathering to worship God together and hear what the Lord has been saying. We will be praying for our whole mission as a church, including that God would draw us all close to Jesus.

Then they were to go according to some specific instructions from Jesus. (Lk 10:3-9) We will see in a moment that the basic idea of our mission is simple. Sometimes we over complicate things. But here Jesus did give them some mission instructions. They were to travel light: no money, no bag, or sandals. They weren’t to dilly dally along the way making small talk to the people they met. There was a sense of urgency to find those people that were open to the good news about Jesus, discovering where God was already at work in a town or village and joining in. (Jesus altered these in Lk 22:35-36).

The second part of our vision at ET is everyone growing in Christ, understanding that the Christian life isn’t just about going to heaven when we die, but living in the kingdom of God now – ambassadors for the King.
(Luke 10:9) Seeing God’s power at work putting things to rights, healing sickness and injustice, bringing forgiveness and reconciliation, changing lives, caring for God’s creation around us... A big view of what it means to follow Jesus as an ambassador of the King of Kings.

There are specific ways you can pause, reflect, learn and grow:

• There are opportunities for intentional discipleship.
• This ET brochure, “How can I grow spiritually?” has a menu for spiritual growth: starters, entrees, mains, desserts...
• This year we put together a ministry opportunities board, which highlights opportunities for you to step out into a new serving experience with God.
• We will be running the updated Network Course in the new year to help us be clear about our spiritual gifts, personal style and passion, so we understand more of where God is calling each of us to step out in mission.
• In March next year we are having a church camp which will be a fantastic opportunity to build relationships and grow as a disciple of Jesus.

 3) Engage in God’s Mission: In touch, pause, then go! You and I “go into mission” every day. When we get out of bed – our home is a mission. When we go out our gate, enter school, workplace, or join in with something through ET church or in the community, we are in mission. Our vision is that we all might be in a vital relationship with Jesus, growing in him, and overflowing to others in mission.

  

And while I’ve acknowledged that we need to be prayerful and reflective, learning & growing, the basic pattern in Lk 10:9 was fairly simple:

 1. Minister to real needs with God’s power,

 2. And tell people where it came from.

 

 Let me give you a few examples of our strategies for engaging:

 (a) Today, someone from FUEL gave you a brochure that explains the mission and vision of FUEL – a mission work of ET. FUEL is a breakfast cafe church that meets on Sunday morning in Fairfield. Their particular focus is reaching and discipling people not currently involved in church. FUEL has grown to around 30 adults and 20 children every week. We need to pray that God will raise up new leaders, so FUEL can go on and grow.

  

(b) We want to be a part of God changing lives and transforming communities. Our community facilitator Joy is doing a great job of research, networking, and seeing people join in opportunities that God raises. We want to engage our community.

 

It will mean building partnerships where we can be an influence for Jesus amidst something that may not be labelled “a ministry of ET church”. This already happens through our chaplaincy in schools... Through the way Christians from ET are involved in victims support, caring for the elderly, night patrols, sports clubs... The Father and Son’s breakfast Ben McK is helping organise. Our vision is that we would all be thinking “God’s Mission” as we go about these activities.

  

(c) We are going to consciously celebrate the way existing ET ministries are engaging people outside the church family. Sue Todd’s testimony: English for Speakers of Other Languages – Coffee & Conversation Group.

  

(d) We are going to introduce more people to Jesus.

Two key strategies:

(i) We attract and invite people to fantastic events (such as Christmas Eve – this year lets break the 1000 mark – and perhaps more importantly) and we attract and invite people to quality ministries (such as Mainly Music and the Marriage course).

(ii) We build relationships with people, and speak about Jesus.

 

Our attractional stuff is going well. But we aren’t great at actually saying something. I’m not saying this to heap guilt on us. But in the year ahead we are going to help you get better at speaking about Jesus in a relaxed, helpful way, using one simple, fun, training course. I’m sure we all have someone we know that we want to introduce to Jesus.

 

(e) Our vision is to grow our global mission too: Short term mission experiences; Supporting long term missionaries; Building the relationship that has begun with the San Pathong Church in Thailand...

 

Conclusion

Rubgy is just a game, but our mission is not a game. It’s life instead of death. Grace and truth instead of striving and lies...

 

My prayer is that these words, “Touch”, “Pause”, “Engage” will echo in our minds and will think of our vision of being in Touch with Jesus, Pausing to pray, reflect, learn and grow, and Engaging with God’s mission to a hurting world.

Mission Visit to Thailand

In June/July, my wife Sue and I had the privilege of travelling to Thailand to visit missionary families associated with East Taieri Church.  One family are members of our church so this was a particular focus.  A long way to go for a pastoral visit, but it was fantastic!  The other two families are also top people and it was inspiring to spend time with them.  All three are doing great work in quite different settings.

Some reflections on our time.  There is a saying "to be Thai is to be Buddhist", and while there is real openness and response to the gospel among hill tribe people in northern Thailand, Thai Buddhists are much less open.  Significant resistance and opposition occurs.  We were aware of principalities and powers also.  Sue & I found ourselves praying a lot.

I am sure we can learn much from the challenge of sharing the gospel in this culture.  One Thai church leader I spoke with said that the issue of Karma and the culture of shame (rather than guilt), required a foundation of loving acts of service before the words of the gospel could be shared.  That has some echos of NZ (though we don't have a culture of shame).  The church in which he is an elder has a significant community development programme underway - even though their church has and average attendance of only around 30 people!

The respect for Buddhism was evident in the people who scored priority seating at the airport! (The first icon is a monk).  I heard on the radio today the way our market economy ranks people in order of importance according to their contribution to
GDP.  This would give more value to the most lowly paid job, than to any volunteer role, or what I would regard as crucial roles of raising children, or caring for aged parents.

Perhaps Thailand has more insight than NZ on some of these priorities.  Certainly older parents or grandparents are well respected.  One Thai couple told us how much they appreciated the sacrifice our missionary family was making in coming to Thailand and leaving their parents back in NZ!

Meeting procedure in Thailand can be very slow (even to this Presbyterian), but it has the advantage of being highly relational.  Again we could learn something here.  One little personal reminder this somewhat task oriented pastor needs occasionally is "people before task Martin".  I sometimes say that to myself.

The importance and also difficulty of language learning was obvious. 

The different culture of missionaries from the US was apparent.  They had more resources behind them, and a different approach to engaging Thai nationals.  As in any church ministry team, missionary teams must work hard at their working relationships.  The health of the team is key.

We were able to begin a relationship with a Thai church near Chiang Mai.  I am excited about the mutual learning and support that will come from this as our relationship grows.  At this stage we are simply praying for each other, but that first step is a good step.  It's importance cannot be overlooked.

Looking forward to visiting again!

Martin.