Zimbabwe and Family On A Mission

Zimbabwe's journey over the past few weeks has been fascinating to watch, albeit at a distance. Whilst we still await the final result of the recent presidential and parliamentary elections, today The Times had a fascinating article about their Africa Correspondent's incarceration by the Zimbabwean authorities.

In October Terry Virgo reported back from a trip he made involving a visit to a conference in Zimbabwe. He said:

"Over 1,000 believers gathered and against the backdrop of severe economic crisis, hardship and political chaos, they shone like stars!"

The church of Jesus Christ was in stark contrast to everything going on around in the country - making a real difference to that nation. And today in The Times there was an echo of that in Jonathan Clayton's report. He said this:

"[The other inmates] were mostly policemen and soldiers who had deserted and, despite my initial fears, were wonderfully friendly and warm. They gave me what little food they had left from the day - half an orange, a banana and some dry bread. "This is the only country in the world where the inmates are policemen," Ryan, a 30-year-old traffic cop, laughed. During my eight days in custody most of the only food and drink I had came from donations from local churches. Without them Zimbabwean prisoners would have nothing to eat or drink."

At a time when the secular press is increasingly intent on reasserting the myth that the church is dying, it is so exciting to see the good work done by local churches around the world being presented in a national newspaper. Yes, it was only a snippet of a much longer article, but when the local churches are the difference between prisoners eating and starving, doesn't their presence and work seem all the more important?

The article ended: "Before I left a sympathetic policeman took me to one side. "Zimbabwe is a good country," he said. "One day things will change and you will be back.""

I do hope things change in Zimbabwe - when they do the nation's local churches will surely have a huge part to play - a part they appear to already be playing.

How Does The Credit Crunch Affect Christians?

Today I am posting the first in a series of three posts about how the credit crunch in the UK affects 'family on a mission'. We start with how the credit crunch affects the individual Christian.

Christians are taught to give to God in a way which goes beyond the Old Covenant (where a tithe/tenth was required of God's people), to be the most hospitable and generous people on earth. Because Jesus demolished every requirement of the law over us when he died as our perfect substitute on the cross and magnificently rose again, we are free from the constraints of the law. Jesus encourages us not to worry about provision, but instead to trust God for everything we need.

We are not consumers of God, the church or His servants, but rather co-investors in a fast-growing kingdom all over the earth. Perhaps one of the biggest monthly challenges for Christians is trying to maintain the Biblical mentality that investing in the Kingdom is not simply paying for your pastor's time but storing up treasure for yourself in heaven, investing into something eternal, unseen. There is a grace to giving which we cannot understand, but by some mystery God enables His people to hilariously give vast sums of money into His work all over the world. It's not only a grace to the church, but a grace to the individual Christian too.

And as I have thought about what the credit crunch means for individual Christians, it is this precious truth which I believe will come most under fire. With the cost of living increasing, people will be tightening their belts in an attempt to reduce their expenditure. And if individual Christians are to continue to experience the grace of giving, there will be a challenge. Either we can see giving as a grace and continue to give hilariously or we will simply see our giving as a line on our list of monthly expenses and apply a legalistic mindset.

The credit crunch gives Christians the opportunity to test themselves in that which God invites us to test Him. If we see giving as a line of expenditure in our monthly outgoings and simply extend our consumer mindset to our giving we risk missing out. But if we see our giving as an adventure of faith and grace with God, investing in something unseen, I believe God will open the floodgates of heaven to us and we will encounter again and again what it truly means to be a people of grace.

How Does The Credit Crunch Affect 'Family On A Mission'?

Since last autumn the UK economy has experienced a concerning level of turbulence. There are a variety of reasons for this, including bad American debts, faulty economic policies by the UK government and millions of individuals borrowing irresponsibly. But how does the credit crunch affect the church in the UK? In a series of three posts starting tomorrow I want to think about some of the decisions Christians, churches and whole movements face in the light of the credit crunch.

It is interesting to me that, alongside my posts on parachurch, my post about tithing and student loans in February 2007 continues to be the most popular entry point to this website. Almost every day someone asks Google whether they should tithe out of a loan and ends up right here. I think this is fascinating and it has got me thinking about how the the Christian and financial worlds interface. The church is called to a thoroughgoing commitment to engagement with the culture in which it finds itself, and that includes the world of personal and corporate finances.

We'll start tomorrow with how the credit crunch might affect individual Christians.

Confessions Of A Reformission Rev by Mark Driscoll

Over the last week I have been on holiday, and have enjoyed reading Mark Driscoll's account of the growth of his church in Seattle. I would say it has profoundly affected my thinking as to what a 21st century church with a desire to reach the culture should be, and it would be good preparation for anyone attending this year's Brighton conference to read this book. I have already given it away for a friend to read, so do not have the book to hand as I write this, but seeing as I haven't posted here for a while I thought that writing down some thoughts on this famous book could be a good way of getting back into things.

The book traces the growth of Mars Hill Church as it started in Driscoll's front room, right through to their current plans for future growth as they approach 5,000 people. It struck me as a bold step to end the book with their plans for the future, as it leaves Mars Hill a little exposed if their plans don't come off! But the book's ending is a clue to the spirit in which it has been written. It is an extremely honest account. Hilarious at times, enfuriating at others, and occasionally heart-wrenching, I'm not sure it would be possible to find a hidden motive for being so honest. Here is a real account of a real church, and a real man's struggles and triumphs in it all.

Its honestly reminds me of another favourite of mine, No Well Worn Paths by Terry Virgo. Both books, though written by men with very different histories and characters, are strikingly honest in the way they portray the success of the church/churches they have led. I can see why Terry has invited a man with such honesty to speak at Brighton this year.

I first heard about Mark Driscoll a few years ago - I think it was on some blog site whose url escapes me who had got hold of a copy of Confessions Of A Reformission Rev and was laying into Driscoll big time. I wasn't sure what to think, so I just waited.

Having now read the book, I can appreciate the sentiments of whoever that blogger was. But I appreciate Mark Driscoll's journey more. He hasn't gotten into gimmicks or fad-church, but is simply proclaiming Jesus as best he knows how to the culture he is called to reach.

As a member of a church plant hovering around the 100-mark, it was tremendously faith-building to read how God has continually raised Mars Hill's game, bringing them bigger and bigger vision for the future. The parallels between Life Church Southampton and Mars Hill Church were sometimes non-existent, and at other points unbelievable.

If you don't have endless hours to research who Mark Driscoll is and read everything he's ever produced, can I suggest that if you do nothing else, read this book. It will not only prepare you to 'meet' him at the conference this summer if you're going, but will paint for you a picture of what a city-changing church can look like. You will find his honesty refreshing, and, if you've a heart to see the church of God flourish, you will identify with his passion to see lost people saved.