Some "churches" are just beyond the pale.
We're scandalised by their false teaching, outraged by the way immorality and sin is tolerated and even applauded, and incensed at the way preachers make themselves the centre of attention.
Sadly the wreckage of apostate Christianity is all around us. From crumbling denominations to wild money-grabbing showmen who know how to turn on our attention and empty our pockets at the same time. And of course, like self-respecting Bible-believing evangelicals, we turn away in sadness, dismissal or rage. We distance ourselves from them as a disgrace to the gospel and as a poor advertisement for what faith in Jesus as Lord should look like.
Or should weâŚ... continue reading
Jesus said to them, âI tell you the truth, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on his glorious throne, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and many who are last will be first.
(Matthew 19 v 28-30)
Being a Christian is costly. Sometimes we'll lose friends because we love Jesus. We also have to turn away from things that used to be more important to us than Jesus. But one day, when Jesus returns, we'll be rewarded far more than we could ever imagine! The Christian life isn't easy, but it's definitely worth it.
The Atheist and Christian world was rocked after it emerged this morning that Richard Dawkins is to be appointed Archbishop of Canterbury after a back-room deal brokered by the outgoing Primate.
In a shock news announcement from Lambeth Palace this morning (April 1st) it was stated that the outspoken atheist had radically changed his views in the last few months.
"I have always said that I am a 'cultural Anglican' said the Oxford professor, "but after years of resisting belief and arguing against it, I finally gave in to the whisperings of my heart earlier this year. I am now a believer."
Rowan Williams commented: "After our debate at the Oxford Union, Richard and I started to meet, and talk over the objections to belief. One by one, I explained patiently how his objections were not sound - even by his own strict scientific criteria."
Professor Dawkins said: "I mocked the idea of his existence for years, but like C S Lewis before me, after weeks of wrestling, I knelt down in my study and prayed for the first time to the Invisible Pink Unicorn that I had long rejected."
Dawkins confirmed that since his conversion, he had received several job offers."I was approached to be John Piper's eventual successor at Desiring God," he said. "But I felt that the microphones they use would make me look like I worked at a Burger King drive-thru."
Williams, who steps down as Archbishop in December is enthusiastic about the new appointment to the See of Canterbury. "Richard will bring his outstanding mind to bear on a whole range of difficult issues the Anglican communion faces in the future. His refreshing new theological perspective may shock some, but his remarkable conversion from convinced atheist to true believer will be enough to convince many in itself."
They are also hopeful that this new Orthodoxy will do much to set right the church's financial difficulties. "Posters, T shirts and effigies of the Invisible Pink Unicorn are already being designed and manufactured for sale in cathedrals and churches throughout the Anglican Communion," said Dawkins. "With the ear of faith, I can already hear the tills ringing."
Long-term adversaries of God Delusion author were both delighted at the news, but cautious about the newfound faith of the Oxford academic, some thinking that it might be unhelpful to expose a new believer to the pressures that such a new office would bring, others questioning of the details of his conversion. But many are enthusiastic.
Said one un-named source: "The Invisible Pink Unicorn has long been a hidden theme in Christian theology. Archbishop Richard will be continuing the fine tradition of theological development that has marked the Anglican church in recent times."
Richard Dawkins is 71.
The Bible is an awesome true story. And Jesus the ultimate story-teller. So it's no surprise that telling Bible stories is a fantastic way for God's people to teach others about his greatness. But it's not always easy to engage a room full of small people in a complex biblical narrative in ways that are both faithful and relevant.
In this seminar, first given at the Bible-centred Youthworker conference earlier this year, Sarah Bradley shares her top tips for storytelling with under 11s.
The DVD makes Discipleship Explored so easy to run that often lots of different groups want to run the course at the same time. Brilliant! We've heard many churches running it with Mums & Tots groups, in peoples homes with friends and neighbours, as a whole church and in small groups to name a few.
However what if the only copy of the church DVD gets lost? Nightmare situation! So for the next 7 days we're offering an amazing 50% off the price of the DVD so you can get a few copies and not have that panic of wondering where the DVD is. You can now run multiple courses and not worry about the talks.
Simply use the code de50 at checkout on both the UK and US websites and it will automatically be discounted.
You may have read it. You might have given it away. We hope youâve heard of it: One Life â Whatâs it all about, the great paperback by Rico Tice and Barry Cooper. Itâs been used to help many people understand the gospel better in English-speaking countries for years. Now itâs at work in India, the Hindi translation of the original Christianity Explored paperback having just been launched in Delhi.
But itâs not only the book thatâs been translated into Hindi. The second edition of the main course has as well. Recently 142 Christianity Explored leaders were trained in Uttarakhand. In Delhi, 183 people attended a course held at the Bible Bhavan Christian Fellowship. Itâs an exciting privilege to be a small part of gospel growth in India!
The Hindi version of the course is also available in the UK. The paperback will be available in the next few months. Please do pray with us that the material will be used to Godâs glory among Hindi speakers across the globe.
A few snippets of faith in the news this week...
Doctor claims he was dismissed for emailing prayer to colleagues
Gay marriage: Anglican vicar resigns over 'homophobia'
If you live east of the Atlantic, you may not have heard of Tim Tebow. He was last season's quarterback for the Denver Broncos (American football, if this sentence is losing you), leading them to the NFL play-offs. He has more than a million Twitter followers and landed an endorsement deal with Nike. Last week, he was traded (transferred, in UK English) to the New York Jets.
Oh, and he's a Christian, who prays before games and uses media interviews to share the gospel.
But you'd hardly have known that from the UK coverage. See if you can (eventually) spot the word "religious" in this article, which focuses on Tebow-the-celebrity. You get a tiny bit on his pre-match praying from the Guardian, but they happily follow that up with this sneery, snide Tebow-the-idiot-Christian piece.On the other hand, in the US Tebow's faith is more than just cannon-fodder for journalists who want to look clever. And his beliefs are mentioned, and commented on, in a pretty respectful wayâsee here in the New York Times, not exactly a bastion of Biblical viewpoints.
I don't want to make too much of it. But it does point up a difference between the UK and US media. In the US, Christian faith is more mainstream, more respected, more understood. If a Christian pastor writes a book, he's far more likely to have it picked up and discussed in the secular media. Talkshows are far more likely to give a hearing to a proper, biblical Christian voice.
In the UK, the secular media doesn't really understand Christianity; doesn't bother to get to grips with it and discuss it in the same way as the Budget is, or the Champions League is. Public displays of faith are usually quickly watered down (my favourite was at the 2003 World Cup, when the commentator said of the South African and Samoan teams praying together after they'd played one another: "Ah, the unifying power of sport").
This isn't to say "it's better in the US" (though in many ways their church scene has much to teach us). It is to say "it's different in the US". The great things that are happening in UK churchesâthe gospel transforming deprived areas one person at a time, the Bible being gently brought to bear on people facing agonising, life-changing decisions, and so onâgo unreported, or are only spoken of to be undermined. The pastors who preach with conviction, faithfulness and passion go unnoticed. The growing churches remain unmentioned.
That doesn't mean they're not happening. It just means that we'll have to look harder. And that we won't hear about them in our secular media.
Barry Cooper explains who Discipleship Explored is for: âItâs intended for Christians, whether theyâve just started the Christian life, or have been on the road for a number of years.â And how has the series been received? âWeâve been thrilled to see the way Godâs been using it. It was nominated for media product of the year at the CBC awards, which made our friends in the marketing department very happy! But for me, the real joy comes from the personal emails with stories of how lives have been changed. I remember hearing from Tim Chester in Sheffield and he said: âWe should watch that ten-minute episode [âRighteous in Christâ] at least once a year because it encapsulates the truth of justification so well and applies it so powerfully.â Our aim with Discipleship Explored is to get out of the way and just let Godâs Word speak for itself, so it was lovely to hear that.â
The irony for Barry was that the opportunity to present an eight-part DVD series on the so-called âNew Testament letter of joyâ came at a time when he was struggling with profound grief. âThere were some personal issues at that point in my life which left me feeling isolated and extremely lonely, and so to be in front of camera every day was a huge challenge for me. At the same time, I was immensely grateful for the things that God was teaching me as I wrote the series. I needed those lessons about contentment. Still do! And I think the fact that I was suffering probably helped me to get under the skin of Philippians a bit better than I would have done otherwise.â
And for Barry, there couldnât be a better time to rediscover the truths taught in Discipleship Explored: âD. A. Carson says at the start of How Long, O Lord that itâs not much use trying to sort out our theology of suffering when weâre right in the middle of it. You canât put up storm defences as the waves are crashing against you. So for me, Philippians is a pre-emptive strike. Itâs a defence against the storm that is coming.â
Discipleship Explored is supported by a DVD written and presented by Barry Cooper. Each episode is beautifully shot on location around the UK, with settings as diverse as Highgateâs gothic cemetery, an East End boxing ring, a huge athletics stadium, a decommissioned observatory, an eerily empty underground station, and a scrapyard, filled with towering stacks of long abandoned cars.
Itâs a visual treat, with a gorgeous soundtrack and a rumbling voiceover from James Cosmo, the Scottish actor perhaps best known for his work on Braveheart. The director is Steve Hughes, Cooperâs long-time friend and collaborator, who has just recently finished work on the BBCâs Dr Who. But the star of the series is the script, based firmly in Godâs Word.
Barry explains his thinking behind the scripts: âI think one biblical idea clearly understood is better than three dimly grasped. With something as theologically rich as Philippians, itâs tempting to try and say everythingâand end up saying nothing. So I wanted to make each episode as lean as possible, to hit one point and keep hitting that point as clearly as I could. Each episode has a single pulse that runs all the way through it, and hopefully thereâs real power and clarity that comes from that.â
See the Discipleship Explored trailer here to get a feel for this DVD.
And please note: The DVD has been redesigned as part of developing the 2nd Edition of Discipleship Explored. However, the contents are unchanged from the previous version of the DVD, so you do not need to buy a new DVD if you already have an existing one.
