Silvia Park Christianity

I live down the road from Silvia Park Mall. Quite a good place to be. 3 minutes walk from anything I need to get. A choice of 2 Supermarkets, the Warehouse extra, loads of retail stores for clothing, computer stores, and many others. Beside that a section of the mall that has a choice of fast food places in a food court, an entertainment area that houses restaurants, cafes, a book store and a huge cinema. Anything that I could want or need I can get in just a simple walk. If I had to, I think it would be possible to live there.

I personally enjoy mag nation the best. I get good coffee, free wi-fi, and can read from one of the many mag titles they have without buying one. How good is that? All I have to do is walk in, order what I want, read what I want and look at what I want.

I got thinking about this and the same attitude that I have to malls sometimes creeps into my thinking about church. If I can get a coffee, turn up when I want, and get all that I want then I'll keep coming back. It is sad to see that churches have brought into this idea. We now program for peoples wants, provide things that keep people coming back, and ask nothing in return except maybe buy a coffee. All we are missing is free wi-fi.

But lets take a look at this. I believe that churches should be attractive. People that are not tied in should want to come back without committing. But what should they be attracted to? The programs we offer, the entertainment they get? I believe that we should be living in such a way that people come back because of the authentic relationships we have with each other. The challenge is to have this as the main focus rather than having a good face. Yes we do need to reach out to the community and having things that people will come to will draw people in. The key is to have relationships that keep people coming back. This can only come from the same Spirit that we have in Christ. If people are only there because of the coffee or the children's program then what is to stop them from going somewhere else when better coffee or programs are offered?

It is a challenge that we face. To be relevant, attractional, and still strong in relationship building. If we are not deep in our relationships then people only stay until it suits them. We need to be willing for our churches to be different to malls and offer something that people can commit to and are linked into. A challenge for all of us.

Snow Boarding

I Learned to snowboard...at least I tried.

Went down this week with the youth and young adults with the church and fell over quite a few times and bailed hard even more.

I got the hang of it in the end and learned a few things along the way. I am taking a step outside my own culture(I'm more of a snow-baller than a boarder) here but the few things that I figured out in boarding have helped me process a few things.

1. If at first you fall flat on the icy ground and bruise your but...you are not alone. Everyone has done not matter how much they paid for their jacket.

2. If you are scared of falling over good...take a risk and maybe you will enjoy it.

3. If the path is slippery it's OK to take it easy and feel your way...you don't have to plunge head first every time.

4. By following the path that others have traveled you can see where to go and hopefully not fall off the cliff. The trouble is that staying in the same path can cause you to follow someone else off the cliff.

6. God makes it snow. Enjoying his creation for us is great.

5. Snowboarding or Skiing?????? Can't we just all get along.

The biggest thing that I took away from the weekend is this. Be prepared with good waterproof gear(ice down butt is not the most comfortable feeling), learn the basic things you need to know(how to stop, so you don't bail and take out anyone on the slopes), then try it out.(falling is part of learning too)
Anyway if you haven't done it before it is a lot of fun...just like life.

Two days on the snow and I'm already giving advice...who is this guy?
I'll hopefully get back into the mall soon and talk about culture I understand.

Are you "in"? - Think Incubus

Upon reading my last entry a wise person asked a question that needed answering.(this implies that some questions do not need answering) Reading about the work of the Church, proclaiming the gospel, this person asked if it was not enough for the church to exist for the glorifying of God?(Eph 1:12) Valid question. Is the church a place where things happen or a place where God is glorified in His people coming together?

To answer this we will look at the greeting that Paul give the church in this first chapter of Ephesians. 10 times in these first 14 verses is the phrase “In Christ”, “In him” or “through Christ” is used. It is this understanding of Paul's theology that brings to light the idea of God's people being “in” or not “in”. Some might conclude that this is an elitist stance on Christianity but we need to see it in the light of Paul's other main theological vein “freedom”. Paul's open address to this group of Christians is stained with a loving God who includes all that come to him. It is not a diagnostic tool for people to say if someone is in or out of the inner circle but rather an invitation to join life “in Christ”. This is what brings glory to God. When those not “in”, join “in”. Not in some crazy cultist practice but realizing that the freedom that is offered gives hope. It is the option to join in with the work of God on this earth, the Missio Dei. This is for the Glory of God.

The mention of the church being “in Christ” means that we are to be doing what ever Christ did.(Head/Hands/Heart) It is not enough to sit in groups on a Sunday as Christians and worship(although this is hugely important). We need to be involved in proclaiming the gospel. It is when we, and others put our hope “in Christ” that we praise God and give him Glory.(Eph 1:12) It is about God anyway.(Another 10 times Ephesians 1 we see God being the focus; His will, his plan, his possession.) When the focus as a church turns from God to us we are not glorifying God. We glorify God when we participate in the mission of God. When we show others the life that we have “in Christ”, and point them to a personal and cooperate life “in Christ”.

We are God's possessions, doing his work, for his glory.(Eph 1:14)

Lynx 3

I was in the toilet at Pakuranga Plaza, as you do when the coffee threshold is reached, and the new Lynx 3 add was thrust into view as I looked on the wall ahead of me. The basic idea is to add two distinct smells together(lynx 1&2) and you create Lynx 3.

As my random thought processing started to kick in I started to think of the church and the calling that we have in the world. The reasons for the church to be in existence are to proclaim the gospel(Mark 13:10) and to build strong disciples(Eph 4:12) and this discipleship to be acted out. Many think that these two are on different levels. Where proclaiming is more important than acting and therefore everyone should be on the streets preaching as people shop. On the other hand in our individualistic society church can sometimes become all about me and the things that I get out of church.(maybe we have a wrong attitude about worship if this is our focus) The bible is full of ideas that seem to be in tension with each other and this is one of those. Evangelism vs Discipleship. Do we get out to the world and preach the words of the Gospel or preach through actions?

I suggest that there is more that one or the other. Just like Lynx 1&2 combine to make a unique and 'pleasing'? smell so to does the 1) gospel spoken & 2) gospel lived make a unique and pleasing 3) gospel in full. It is not enough as the body of Christ to tell about the life, death, resurrection unless it is lived out in the life of those who believe. Nor is is enough to live privately isolated as 'perfect' Christians. The 3) gospel is shown when those who live the gospel use words to tell others about it and when those who tell others about it live it as well. This happens in relationships(John 13:35) and in tasks we undertake(Luke 3:10-13).

Looking at 1 Thessalonians 1 I see that the gospel was not only spoken but was lived out. In the recent past I think that the Church has focused too much on the words of the gospel instead of the living the gospel. In reaction to this there is a noticeable shift in the perception of Christians that living out the gospel is more important. Almost to the point that having a sponsor child or riding a bike makes you a real Christian.(Tracey and I do have bikes and a sponsor child) What I can see happening is that the telling of the gospel(Christ's life,death and resurrection) will be lost in the gospel lived. The motivations are good (if you didn't realize that God is big on Justice and social issues) but holding the living and spoken word in tension needs to happen.

On their own I am sure that Lynx 1&2 are fine smelling fragrances...if I used it, ever...and like the spoken and lived Gospel they can be argued to be better smelling than each other. The point is that the gospel is not a cheap gimmick to sell something, and illustrations can only be taken so far before they get ridiculous. The gospel is a way of life shown to us by Christ. Living the gospel and proclaiming the gospel are not two separate things, they are part of the whole. If my convictions are so strong that I want to tell everyone about the healing that this world can have through Christ then why will I not want to live it out by giving power to the powerless? And again if my convictions are so string that I want to live out the life that I have in Christ by being a father to the fatherless and help to the helpless then why would I not want to tell people about Christ?

I suppose that I have come to the understanding that the Gospel is more than 1) words and more than 2) social action. It is both combined that creates the 3) Gospel of Christ.