Ministers Desk 9 October

Thank you for the feedback we are receiving on the proposed purpose (Growing Disciples who Exalt, Explore, Embody, Engage).  I want to respond to two of the comments that have been made.

At Elders on Monday night we talked about the gift of limits.  Too often we find that we are pushed to do more things than we are called to do.  In the book The Emotionally Healthy Church, Pete Scazzero writes, “Emotionally healthy people understand the limits God has given them.  They joyfully receive the one, two, seven or ten talents God has so graciously distributed.  As a result, they are not frenzied and covetous, trying to live a life God never intended.  They are marked by contentment and joy.  Emotionally healthy churches also embrace their limits with the same joy and contentment, not attempting to be like another church.  They have a confident sense of God’s ‘good hand’ on their church ‘for such a time as this’ (Esther 4:11 – 14).” 

There is so much that we can do, much that we should do, but there is a limit to what God calls us to do.  We believe that the call Jesus makes to his disciples is to continue to grow in our faith in him and deepen our relationship with him.  We will do that through regularly and frequently worshipping God, being part of a small group, having at least one avenue of service where we use our spiritual gifts and rely fully on God and have at least one intentional relationship where we are able to share faith with the belief that God will lead the other to faith in him.  The purpose asks each individual to do four things as a means of growth.  At the same time it provides a clear scope for the activities that our church will and will not pursue.

The challenge in this is to go narrow and deep.  Limiting what we do allows us to commit quality time to significant ministries.  It allows us to reflect on our practices, develop new skills, commit intentional time to pray, reflect theologically on what we are doing and respond obediently to the promptings of the Holy Spirit.  Limiting the things that we do, broadens the scope of how God can change and transform us through what we do.  So rather than being restrictive, the challenge presented by our proposed purpose leads us further into the life of Christ in us.

Some people have commented that they feel inadequate to the tasks that are being asked of them, particularly sharing faith.  Over the coming years we will provide opportunities to learn and develop skills to express our purpose.  These will happen in worship and small groups primarily, but we’ll also find other appropriate means.  At the same time we’ll also concentrate on reducing some of the fears and inhibitions we have.  As we do this we’ll realise the abilities we already possess.

One small group responded that they saw this as a challenge.  The challenge requires each individual to rise to meet it, when this happens the whole congregation will grow and mature. 

Minister's Desk 2nd October

As we discover in our worship services today, our God is a God who seeks us out and desires a close and personal relationship with each and every one of us.  Since the time of creation, through the stories of the Old Testament and to the coming of Jesus Christ and beyond, God has sought to draw all of humanity into a relationship with him.  The bible makes it very clear that God loves us so much that he took the initiative, at great cost to himself, to rescue us and draw us back to himself. 

In the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32) we find the father waiting for the son to return.  When he sees his son in the distance the father runs out to meet him.  Some people have called this the parable of the waiting father, rather than the prodigal son.  Among the many things this parable teaches, it shows us very clearly the forgiving and welcoming heart of God.

Growing disciples are people who meditate on and study the character of God, and who eagerly seek to understand what he is like and how he acts.  They do this so they can be formed and transformed in the way they act in this world.  In worship today we talk about the passion God has for drawing people into a relationship with him, and the call that we have to do the same.  But there is also another dimension to the all inclusive love of God.  This is expressed in our open willingness to welcome and include new people into the fellowship of our church community.  Whether these new people are new Christians or people looking for a new spiritual home, God loves and welcomes them into community and calls us to do the same.

There are many specific passages that speak of the hospitality that we should offer to guests.  These include Leviticus 19:33-34 (“When foreigners reside among you in your land, do not mistreat them. The foreigners residing among you must be treated as your native-born. Love them as yourself, for you were foreigners in Egypt. I am the Lord your God.”), Hebrews 13:2 (“do not forget to show hospitality to strangers....”) Titus 1:6 -9 (“An elder must be .... hospitable”).

As people who have been warmly welcomed by God into his family and into his church, we each have a responsibility to be hospitable to those who come as guests to this church.  Some may come for a period as guests of family and friends, others may be searching for a spiritual home and move on recognising that we do not meet their needs, others may choose to stay and put down long term roots.  Whatever their choice is, it is up to each one of us to act in a hospitable way. 

We cannot leave it only up to those who are on roster nor can we avoid it by saying to ourselves “I’m no good talking to strangers”.  The character of God, into which we are being transformed, is that of welcome and inclusion of the stranger.  In the power of the Holy Spirit, each individual can extend hospitality to our guests.

Ministers Desk 25 September 2011

The fourth aspect of our proposed purpose (Growing Disciples who Exalt, Explore, Embody, Engage) is that of engage.  Here we say that we will have at least one intentional relationship in which we can share faith in the belief that God will lead that person to claim their own personal relationship with him. 

Following Jesus as his disciples means learning from him and doing what he did for us.  Jesus was the one who reached out and drew us into a relationship with God.  It is the very nature of God to desire a close and intimate relationship with us.  In both the Old and New Testament we hear God speaking and acting with a desire and intention that his people no longer be estranged from him.  In the book of Acts we read of the early church as it took the message of Jesus and shared it with many people.  Whilst we may find it uncomfortable we cannot ignore the fact that this same ministry of evangelism is ours today. 

Our preferred method of evangelism is through intentional relationships, where we share faith with our friends and family.  After all, if these are the people that we love and care for the most, don’t we want them to have the very best in life, including a relationship with Jesus Christ?  Relationship evangelism involves deepening relationships with others for the sake of the relationship, not to see them as a project.  In effect we say that we will befriend and love the other, even if they were to say, “no I don’t want and never will want to be a follower of Jesus.”  This is the way Jesus loves us, this is the way of grace.  This way honours and respects the other person. 

Along with having at least one intentional relationship we also need to be cultivating a wide range of acquaintances and practicing a lifestyle of goodness toward others.  This includes being willing to chat with complete strangers, being pleasant and warm to people who serve us, being interested in the lives and sharing conversations with people that we come across infrequently.  We cultivate these encounters, because through them we may find the one intentional relationship that God has for us.

The impact of the purpose on our congregation will be to raise the value of evangelism within our congregation.  We will provide resources and training to help people share their faith, such as the Just walk across the room study we did last year.  We will create groups to which people can invite their pre-Christian friends.  We will pray for each other as we share faith and we will pray for those to whom we are reaching out. 

Yet for us to do these, we need to first have a faith that is growing and of which we are passionate.  When we are being ever more excited by our faith, we will be more willing to share our faith.  Evangelism starts with the work of the Spirit in us, and then flows through us as we participate with God in his work of drawing people into him.

Ministers Desk 18th September 2011

After a break to talk about stewardship I want to return to talking about our proposed purpose of Growing Disciples who Exalt, Explore, Embody, Engage.  Please continue to pray and reflect on this, as we seek God’s plan for our future.

The third aspect of the purpose is that we are led by the Holy Spirit to live out (embody) our faith through service that stretches us and challenges us to use our spiritual gifts.  This aspect of our purpose reminds us that service is a key component of being a disciple.  In John 13 Jesus washes his disciples’ feet on the night before his crucifixion.  There is much more involved in this than a simple one off action.  It points forward to the self giving sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.  At the end of this time Jesus says to his disciples, “now that I, you Lord and Teacher have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.”  It is an invitation for us to enter into similar sacrificial acts of self giving service to God for others. 

Our proposed purpose envisages us each experiencing growth in our faith by having at least one area of service that stretches us and beyond ourselves and allows us to participate in the saving work of Jesus Christ as we make his kingdom known.

I am aware that many people in this congregation have found for themselves many areas of service in which they embody their faith.  They serve in leadership positions of the church and of groups in the church, in worship, through caring for others, being involved in outreach activities, and meeting the needs of people through Community Helping Hand.  We also embody our faith through serving where God calls away from the church.  Many people find that their service is given through their children’s school, in community groups and in giving themselves in other ways for the sake of others.  The key here is not what we do for the church, but the obedience we show to God’s call to serve.

We grow as disciples of Christ through service as we respond to God’s call to do that which we are incapable of doing on our own.  These can be known as God only experiences, where we only fulfil God’s plans through the power of God’s Spirit within us.  I think that it is a great loss to the church and for ourselves when we only do that which we think we are capable of.  It is a loss because when we only do that which we can do, we miss out on experiencing the power of the Holy Spirit at work in and through us.  On the contrary I have known, and I know others who have grow significantly in faith as they have done what is impossible for them, and seen the Holy Spirit make in possible. 

Embodying our faith in service does not mean that we all give the same time and energy.  I have previously said that we serve where God calls us, no more and no less.  This recognises that differences including age, health, work and family responsibilities will affect what we are able to do.  Jesus calls all of us to service, yet what that looks like is different for each one of us.

Minister's Desk 11 September 2011

Today is the last day of the season where we focus specifically on stewardship.  However, if we were to think we stop considering our financial response to God until next year, then I will have failed to do my job.  Stewardship is not about me convincing you to give more of your money to the church.  As I’ve sought to encourage us, stewardship is about our growing relationship with God, and considering what it is that has a greater hold on us than God. 

“Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:32)

“So if the son sets you free, you will be free indeed” (John 8:36)

In these passages Jesus promises his followers freedom.  The type of freedom that he is talking about is freedom that is both spiritual and tangible.  Jesus brings us freedom from sin and its effects.  When we fail to trust God completely, we sin, when we put more faith in anything other than God, we sin, when we live lives that are not worshipful and honouring of God, we sin.  Jesus brings us transformation by the Holy Spirit where we are led to ways of living that are in keeping with the life that Jesus calls from us.  It is a freedom that moves us away from anxiety and doubt and allows us to experience peace and confidence in Christ.

The grace of our God is that he makes heavy demands on us, but at the same time graces us with his strength, his presence, his love and his constant assurance that we will never face anything more than he is capable of supporting us in.  It is also the graciousness of God that warns us of ways of living that are not honouring of him, and which draws us back to faithful obedience.  Grace is much more than just forgiveness of sin, it is the invitation and the ability to live the life of freedom that Jesus offers to us.

So as we wrap up our stewardship season for this year, please remember that this is an all of life issue that we need to constantly keep under review.  In the busyness and complexity of our lives, we can overlook something as essential to our lives as this.  We need to be continually asking and assessing the claim that our money and possessions have on us, and through prayer, study and reflection seeking from God if there is anything that is holding us from completely surrendering to him. 

As we do this we will grow as disciples and will find the joy and pleasure of being part of God’s plan for our lives.  We can experience the threefold blessing of God in our lives, as we grow closer to God; in the church, as it is equipped to do the mission of God; and God himself is blessed as we exalt him with the praise of our money and self.

Please continue to see stewardship as a whole of life matter that is much more than our money.

Ministers Desk 4th September

Last week in the service I said that stewardship was primarily about our relationship with God.  Growing disciples of Jesus seek to ensure that there is nothing that has a greater hold on their lives than God, including their money and possessions.  Stewardship is therefore about our growth in richness toward God, where we place greater trust and confidence in him, than in our money and possessions.  At the same time, stewardship is unashamedly about the money that we give.  The gospel does call us to be generous in our giving toward the work of God through this congregation.

We can never forget that to run a congregation such as ours requires money, in fact to maintain the ministry team and activities that we now have requires a large increase in income for 2012.  In 2011 we have adopted a balanced budget.  This was only possible because we have planned to rely on $15 000 of savings from previous years to fund our general ministry and $31 200 of reserves to fund planned maintenance works.  These savings are limited and we cannot rely on them for many more years.

On top of this planned use of savings we have also noticed a decrease in our offerings already this year.  We are currently receiving an average of $225 per week less than was budgeted.  Most significantly, this figure is also less than our actual offerings for 2010.  Should we continue with our current level of giving, we can expect an additional shortfall of $12 000 for the year, on top of the planned use of reserves.

The local congregation is God’s gift to bring salvation and discipleship to the world (Acts 2:42-47 & Acts 4:32-37).  I’m sure that we can each think of ways that we and our families have been blessed by God through this congregation.  This congregation has an eternal impact on those that we connect with through our groups for children, youth and adults, Community Helping Hand, ministry to schools, Tiny Town and our mission support locally, nationally and internationally.   God's chosen means of providing financially for his church is through our tithes and offerings (2 Corinthians 9:11).  Whilst God does not need us, the church or our money, God has chosen to use us.  The privilege that it is to be part of the salvation that God is bringing to this world should make us more, not less, eager to give.

So I encourage you in the coming week, prayerfully consider the value of your thanksgiving offering and your pledge for the coming year.  Give generously and joyfully and as you do remember that you are not giving to an organisation, you are participating with Jesus Christ in his mission.  I give you my thanks for your generosity and your participation in the life of this church.  However, ultimately our reward for giving doesn’t come from me; it comes from God as we are blessed in this life and the next with his pleasure and presence as he says to us, “well done, good and faithful servant” (Matt 25:21).

Ministers Desk 28 August 2011

Today we commence our annual season of stewardship.  This season in our life together is a time when we consider the biblical mandate of financial giving and our financial response to God’s generosity.  During this season we will unashamedly talk about money.  But this season is not about money.

In the first place stewardship is about our relationship with God.  During the past five weeks we have talked in worship about growing as disciples of Jesus.  Reflecting on our money and the claim it has on our lives is a further way that we grow as disciples.  If we live with a jealous, ungenerous, selfish attitude toward our money, it restricts our capacity to grow in faith and life.  I heard recently that if you place a young shark into a small aquarium it will continue to grow older, but it will remain the same size.  It restricts its growth to its environment.  A possessive attitude toward money can do the same thing to our faith life, restricting growth because we hinder it with barriers.  Stewardship challenges our attitudes toward money and causes us to think whether it is God or our money and possessions that have first claim on our lives.

Secondly, stewardship is about the ministry of God’s church.  Stewardship is about how we minister within our congregation and how we minister to those who are not yet part of our congregation.  The Church exists so that people can more easily respond to God’s gifts, God’s goodness, and God’s amazing creativity. Our congregation exists for people, and it is the people that make our church.

A congregation is people.  So our offerings are used to build ourselves up in faith and love, to equip us to do the work of ministry and to facilitate our outreach to our neighbours nearby and far.  Some of the ministry of the church takes place in our buildings, using equipment.  Our giving maintains these assets and allows us have the resources that enable ministry.

At the beginning of this season I want to thank each one of you for the generous way that you contribute financially to the ministry of Emmanuel Uniting.  85% of our income comes through our tithes and offerings.  The rest is from contributions from church groups (including a very large contribution from Tiny Town), donations, bank interest and rent on the house.

Over the coming weeks please give prayerful consideration to your growth in Christ and your participation in the ministry of this congregation.  We do this by giving an extra Thanksgiving Offering on Sunday 11 September.  This offering reflects our gratitude to God to his faithfulness and goodness in all circumstances.  Also, consider your pledge for the ongoing work of God for the coming year, and whether you will use direct debit or envelopes to facilitate your regular giving.  In the foyer there is a letter that explains in greater detail our stewardship process for this year, please make sure you receive your letter.