This is a fabulous picture of Boris Johnson in Enfield earlier. One of our church members met him, and gave him the Jubilee Church card that he is holding in his hand. If he (or anyone else for that matter!) wants to see what a big crowd of 40 nationalities gathering together in harmony looks like they are welcome to visit Jubilee Church at Enfield Cineworld this or any Sunday at 10am!

This is the second part of a set of notes on Terry Virgo’s first session at 300 Leaders.  I have previously shared the video and downloads for the whole talk.

3. There was Barnabus. He had been sent. The Apostles were staying in Jerusalem. People have written about whether that was right or wrong. But they heard about another church coming to birth. Barnabas was sent as an apostolic delegate. He was known by the Apostles, and he represented them. It was rather like Timothy later on. Receive him, like you would receive me.

So this church is touched by apostolic ministry. It is in touch with apostolic revelation and gifting. There is a big debate about whether apostles continue today. Some say there were 12. There were several catagories: Hebrews 3 speaks of Jesus the Apostle. He was the one and only. He was sent with authority which is the root of the meaning. In John’s gospel Jesus keeps saying he was sent. Then there are the 12 who Jesus chose. They are unique. A band of apostles that the church is built on. But there are other apostles. Paul, James, Barnabus, (Acts 14:14 doesnt distinguish between Barnabus and Saul). In Acts 13 they were prophets and teachers, now they are apostles. They were sent by God. Some have argued that Paul should have been one of the 12 but Paul doesn’t say that.

Ephesians 4 says Jesus ascended and gave. From heaven. Barnabus gets called. We don’t know for sure that Barnabus ever saw Jesus after the resurrection. Apostles don’t just write epistles so we don’t need them any more. Only a handful of them wrote Scriptures. Some who weren’t apostles wrote Scripture eg Luke. Apostles were not Bible writers only.

There is a job that apostles do. It is to do with foundations. Paul is a wise master builder (architect). He laid a foundation in a local church. It is not just that philosophically we are all built on a foundation. Rather, each local church has a time when that foundation was laid. The universal church was built on the foundation of the initial apostles. The local church is also built on the foundation laid by the apostles. Sometimes a church came to birth like this one in Antioch, getting before the apostles. The apostles then quickly send either an apostle or a delegate of an apostle to make sure the church is being built correctly.

We are looking for a rainbow of ministries as seen in Ephesians 4. Lloyd-Jones believed that only Pastors and Teachers continued and that evangelists had ceased. Some people will allow for evangelists to continue, or perhaps prophets. Some will refer to people who have died as an apostle or a prophet. I believe God has given a blueprint for the church, why should we reinvent another one. We have tried democracy, we have tried ecclesiastical heirachy, why not use the Bible model we see in Ephesians 4?

4. The list of names continues. Barnabaus was a Cypriot, Simeon was a black African, Lucius is also black, Manian was brought up with Herod. He was raised with the kings son. Like he went to school with Harry or William! He mingled with some pretty high people. And Saul who is a Hebrew of Hebrews. A pretty mixed leadership team. What a strange group. What is this? It is the Antioch church getting away from Jerusalem into a gentile world and saying “What kind of house will you build?”

It is a house that is so different than what had come before. There is continuity: we are Abraham’s children. We feel a sense of unity. But we are something fresh and new. God is creating one new man out of Jew and gentile. It is energised by the Holy Sprit. Very different in education, social background. What gives them unity? It is because they are first called Christians there. What do they have in common? It is Jesus. Not just a definition of doctrine, or an agreement of creeds.

When Peter goes to Cornelius and the pagan Roman starts to speak in tongues, the fire had lept across the chasm. It is only that experience of the Spirit that joined them together. The unity of the Spirit is not just a catchphrase. He has got the same as us. The Spirit-filled church is a phenomenon. It is different to what was before. In Christ there is neither Jew nor Greek. We are allowed to eat Pork and still get to heaven! The restrictions are lifted. There is liberty. We are in Israel’s messiah. We are one. Jesus let women listen to his teaching which was outrageous. Neither male nor female, neither Jew nor Greek, neither slave nor free. The early church would have had many slaves in it. Paul tells his friend to receive his runaway slave back as his brother. The twelve were all Jews, but he had a zealot who’s goal was to kill Romans, and a tax collector who collaborated with them to raise money. They sold their souls and were hated. What did they have in common? Only that they loved Jesus. He is the cornerstone where we find one another. The church is a phenomenal manifestation to the world of the way to break through racial hatred, sexual discrimination, social class war.

5. They were worshipping the Lord. Leaders together. Elders come together with a long agenda. Here is a leadership that said “lets worship.” God does stuff. They are ministering to the Lord. Bathed in worship. Not a business meeting. We are besotted with God. Lets raise churches that are besotted with God. We must model prayer and worship as leadership teams to our churches.

6. The Spirit said set apart. A house which is pre-occupied with world mission. A house that doesn’t think it strange that two of its key leaders go off to do something else. It is a global commission. Jesus said go and make disciples. The disciples went and planted churches. That is how people are discipled. A church is a group of disciples. We are called to world mission. Sometimes leaders will go and start again. Church is not a static thing. We are joined in mission. It is not that someone in our ranks goes to a mission society. The Bible doesn’t say they went and set up mission centres. They went to plant churches. Roland Allen urged us to found churches. His book was a radical call that came out more than a hundred years ago. We need churches that are in partnership with each other. Churches that extend God’s mission together. Fellowship is not a religious word, it is partnership in a shared purpose and action.

What kind of house will you build for him? The church at Antioch is a wonderful model. Came away from the Jerusalem base to start over again. Prophets were there, but tested by the Word, Apostolic involvement, great diversity. God’s church is a breathtaking phenomenon. They were worshippers, they fasted and prayed. They were involved in world mission. They saw the church as God’s agent in making Jesus famous throughout the world.

We do not want to just talk about the Spirit-filled church, we cry to God to multiply many of them.

Last Friday, I posted about a recent court case that really centered on the perceived conflict between modern society’s requirements and the beliefs of two private individuals. Today, I want to move away from the specifics of that case and outline some general principles that should help us as people of faith to consider similar issues.

1. We must beware of generalizing. It is easy and intellectually lazy to assume that all Christians, or all evangelicals, or even all Muslims think in a certain way and will therefore act in a certain way. This is patently not true.
2. Each individual of faith has their own conscience. This will of course be influenced by the interpretations of their leaders and other church members, but ultimately we all stand or fall before our own Master (Romans 14:4). We must understand and accept that people of genuine faith may arrive at very different conclusions to us on certain issues.
3. We must never compel others to act against their consciences—whatever is not of faith is sin. (Romans 14:23)
4. One critical thing that Christians must work out is the distinction between being supportive of others and participating in another’s sin. This is not always as clear as you might initially think.
5. To use a couple of examples, if you are convinced that sprinkling children is wrong, are you sinning by attending a family member’s christening? Most would probably feel not. But, most would agree that if you did not believe in adult baptism for someone who had been christened it would be wrong to get baptized yourself just so you could fit into a church.
6. We must learn how to be winsome and how to speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15) when we disagree with other Christians or with unbelievers.
7. It is not reasonable for us to expect those who do not know Jesus to follow biblical moral codes.
8. We must not become known more for what we are against than for what we stand for and for being a loving people.
9. Jesus was known as a friend of sinners and had no problem eating with tax collectors.
10. We must learn how to be in the world but not of it.
11. If we are going to be a society that truly values diversity, one of the diverse sets of opinions we must learn to value as a society is that of those who take their Scriptures seriously. I say that carefully, because Christians are not the only ones facing such a problem in the 21st century.
12. We must carefully understand what the state commands and demands of us and in almost all cases obey it. We are to render to Caesar what belongs to Caesar (Mark 12:17).
13. There will be times when something the state asks us to do is in direct conflict with something that God commands and demands of us. In those circumstances, we must obey God and not man (Acts 4:19). We are to render to God what belongs to God (Mark 12:17).
14. There are times when we must learn to be an Esther, God’s secret agent in a world that hates us, building up a deposit of trust and honor, but (as commanded by Mordecai) not saying who we really are. (Esther 2:10)
15. There are times when we have to speak up. One of those times is when we are asked directly about something. We are not to lie. We are not to deny him. We must be bold, but gentle, when called upon to take a stand for our God and his glorious gospel. (1 Peter 3:15-16)

I am sometimes just a little embarrassed these days about the so-called “Warnie Awards.” They are something of a reminder of the good old days of Christian blogging, when almost all of us knew each other, especially the ones that were not political bloggers. Sometimes back then the online blogging community felt more connected. There were certainly a lot more links and interactions with each others posts flying around. It was of course much smaller, and basically much friendlier. With my tongue-in-cheek I started something called “The Warnies.” Basically the idea was to recognize blogging excellence in others and to continue my mission to point out great resources to my readers. Sometimes we really rose to the fun behind the idea and people even posted mock acceptance speeches. These days the Warnies largely live on as a gadget in my sidebar that automatically promotes links to individual posts on the sites of previous winners. It is very rare for me to award a new Warnie, not least because I don’t want to swamp you. I find that I look at it myself most days to check up on what my favorite bloggers are saying. But from today a new blog has the award and will be appearing in the side bar: GlocalNet.

In the past week I have had the privilege of meeting Bob Roberts who is an extraordinary man. He is the pastor of a Texas mega-church which has several daughter churches. But that is not the most remarkable thing about him. Through a series of God-ordained co-incidences and the guiding of the Spirit, Bob has found himself moving in worlds he never imagined he would. He has some incredible friends, and has made a remarkable impact as he has laid aside ingrained fears and prejudices to work to demonstrate the love of God to people that Texans are really not “meant” to get along with! But more remarkable even than that is Bob the person. I have not spent very long with him, but I instantly recognized him as a brother. He is humble, passionate, and clearly loves the Lord, loves Christians of different backgrounds, and loves the varied people of this world who do not yet know Jesus. Bob is now a new friend of mine, and I am very sure that you will find his blog posts edifying and at times challenging to you. I have already started reading one of his books, and I am sure that they are going to also prove very helpful.

The above video comes from the recent 300 leaders Conference. It is on a subject close to my heart: diversity. Many argue that churches will only grow if they focus on attracting one demographic of person. We at Jubilee have given our lives to trying, by God’s grace, to prove that statement wrong. It hasn’t all been easy, and this video shares some of the lessons we have learned over the years.

This past Sunday it was a joy to have John Piper with us at Jubilee Church in London. He seemed to be very much at home with us, and was clearly enjoying preaching one of the very few sermons he will preach this year. We benefitted greatly from this talk as Jubilee continues to aim to break the rule some church growth experts lay down, which argues that a church will always tend towards being largely monocultural. I thank God for the racial harmony and multicolored growth that we have experienced. But I do not take it for granted, which is why it was so helpful to hear from our friend, John Piper, on the subject. My brief notes will follow the video:

Watch on Vimeo. Downloads: LowDef , DVD or audio

Piper began with a great introductory illustration based on why, as an American Christian, he had divided loyalties watching the recent USA World Cup game. He then took five biblical teachings that are loved by churches like Jubilee, the so-called “doctrines of grace,” and showed how they each have a profound impact on how we should view ethnic diversity.

1. We are all sinners. We are all fallen. No one is righteous. It is so bad no one can save themselves. Romans 8:7-8. We are morally unable to please God. Ephesians 2:1-10. You were dead. If you are a Christian, you have been raised from the dead. You didn’t do that. London is filled with millions of people who are dead. When it comes to racial harmony, a major implication of this doctrine is that no matter what your race, you are equally dead without Christ. Hell will be racially diverse. Romans 2:9. Evey color will be there. We are all depraved. We are all lost. We are all dying of the same disease. This should humble us for our own sin. If I am as dead as the most evil person, I should be less proud and more gracious to others. You cannot be more dead than dead. No ethnic group has any edge at all.
2. God almighty before the foundation of the world chose to save you. Acts 13:48. “Those who were ordained to eternal life believed.” God’s decision was why they believed. It’s totally unconditional. Faith comes about because of this choice of God. Huge implications. He doesn’t choose anybody because of skin color, education, or any other reason. Watch out then for pride or despair. Nothing in you caused him to choose you. Nothing could have stopped him from choosing you. This is stunningly powerful in evangelism. Nothing you have done has anything to do with whether he has chosen you. The only way you know if you are chosen is right now whether you will you accept Jesus. If you will, then you are chosen. Therefore no black person, or white person can have any idea that their ethnic identity has anything to do with God setting his favor on them.
3. Christ loved the Church and gave himself up for her Ephesians 5:25. Jesus laid down his life for the sheep. There is a wide door for the world. If anyone wants he can come. But Jesus is also taking for himself a bride. He knew whom he was after Revelation 5:9: slain so that a body of people could be purchased from every nation. Not every tribe, but people FROM every tribe. He will lay claim to those people he has bought. God intends to have this multicolored people. People, tribe, nation, language: God is interested in all these groupings. His intent is for them to be in harmony with each other. We are a kingdom. We are more related to Christians from other nations than to others of our own nation. Interracial marriage reflects God’s glory. Free to marry in the Lord. Don’t be unequally yoked with unbelievers. It is infinitely costly for God to purchase this people. The racial issue is not a social issue, it’s a blood issue. It cost Jesus everything in order to pull off diversity in his kingdom. If it was costly for Jesus, it will be for you.
4. Not only are we helpless and dead, he chose us, he paid for us, he also comes to us and overcomes all our rebellion and saves us. Ephesians 2:8. Faith is a gift. God grants repentance. Triumphant grace. Your ethnic distinctives contributed nothing to the rise of faith in your heart. Even racist scoundrels cannot stop God from saving them, if he chooses to. God can kill racism.
5. We are comrades in the fall, in God’s choice, in the infinite cost, in God’s triumphant grace, and in God keeping his own. Romans 8. If you are justified you are glorified. It’s as good as done that you will be in heaven. He preserves his saints. No one can pluck you out of Gods hand. He will finish the job. He will go on helping us with the racial issue. Keep trying. Don’t retreat and say “these people are impossible to please.” Be committed to keep working at this issue, expecting to fail, but persevering and hoping to see some success. One day we will all gather round the throne together.

Ed lays out well the missional challenge that London represents. Could God be calling YOU to come over and help us? The world lives in this great city of mine. If you want to reach people from all over the world with the gospel of Jesus you can come here to to do it!

Watch on vimeo

This Sunday will be one of the highlights of our year at Jubilee. It is our international day and annual giving day. We are expecting large crowds as we dress in clothes from more than 36 nations, worship together, and then eat food from around the world.

If you live near London and would like to visit a growing multicultural church, this Sunday would be a great day to do it. Come early if you want a seat in the main auditorium rather than the overflow.

Jubilee church meets in Enfield Cineworld which is on the A10 between the M25 and A406. You can’t miss it!

Following on just a couple of weeks from his sermon on sex, Tope preached on another controversial matter. This is a subject where many Christians take very different views from each other.   I think that whether you agree with Tope or not you will, find the sermon of great  interest. If nothing else it is very funny as he describes the difference between African and English Christians on this issue.

This is the third part in my short series on multiculturalism. The first two in the series can be found here:

1. Multiculturalism—You Are What You Eat?

2. Does Multiculturalism Mean I Have To Eat Blood?

When you mix with a number of different nationalities, you begin to realize that cultural differences are more complicated than you appreciated. They can also extend to quite surprising areas of life. One such area is that of whether or not it’s a good idea to circumcise baby boys.

In the UK this practice is definitely on the decline. Articles in the Guardian and Times have sought to further discourage it, although, even by 1975, fewer than 6 per cent of boys born in the UK were circumcised, whereas in the USA this figure was more like 60 per cent, even today. Christianity Today has an article about the decision-making process on whether to chop or not that stays neutral and lists additional links that provide helpful information.

I was raised within a tradition that was not in any way convinced by the arguments of some that circumcision is good for “hygienic reasons.” It was not all that uncommon during sermons to hear throw away comments about how glad we men were that circumcision was no longer required under the New Covenant. In fact, some would have gone further still and argued that circumcision was not permissible for Christians at all. They would have pointed to verses like the following to state that no Christian should allow themselves or their sons to be circumcised.

“Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh” (Philippians 3:2-3, emphasis mine).

“For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace . . .

You were running well. Who hindered you from obeying the truth? This persuasion is not from him who calls you. A little leaven leavens the whole lump. I have confidence in the Lord that you will take no other view than mine, and the one who is troubling you will bear the penalty, whoever he is. But if I, brothers, still preach circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been removed. I wish those who unsettle you would emasculate themselves! (Galatians 5:7-12).

At first glance these verses would indeed seem pretty conclusive. A bit like the eating blood question, I would, in many ways, love to find biblical support to buttress my prejudices. But not so fast! There are, however, two cardinal rules of biblical interpretation that I must not break. The first is to always consider the context of the passage. The second is to consider the difference between the situation that the words are spoken into and our own situation today, and the implications of this, if any, for our understanding of what the Bible means for us.

So, to the context. Those three dots should be a clue. Let’s have a look at what I deliberately excised from the second passage: “For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision counts for anything, but only faith working through love.” Paul here seems to be stating that circumcision itself is not the issue. It would seem that, to Paul, being intact or otherwise is not what’s at stake here. In fact, in Acts we learn that Paul actually circumcised one of his helpers—Timothy (Acts 16:3), and yet on another occasion he strongly resisted doing so for another of his helpers—Titus Galatians 2:3. Can you imagine the locker-room conversations between those two?!

Therefore, it does seem to Paul that whether to agree to a circumcision or not is a circumstantial decision that would perhaps hinge around what meaning is going to be given to it. Modern Christians who do circumcise their children are doing so, not for religious grounds, but for what they believe to be health benefits, or just because, unlike me, they have grown up in an environment where the tradition is that you are expected to do it.

I have yet to meet a modern Christian who believes that to carry out an operation on their son will make him more acceptable to God and in any way contribute to justification. Therefore, it would seem wrong to apply these strong warnings against circumcision to the many thousands who do this as a cultural practice. I should be gracious and accepting of such people, and ensure that if the conversation ever comes up, I don’t appear incredulous that people still carry out this ancient practice. But, equally, I hope that those who do this will not consider those of us on the other side of the fence to be somehow “unclean.”

Of course, this can all seem very irrelevant, and by now some of you may be wondering why I have even taken the time to bring this up. I do so because, if we are building churches together, and even marrying across clear cultural divides, these issues can cause division if we are not careful. The truth is, being circumcised or not can certainly be very important in forging your sense of belonging to a group—your “identity.” Even without a conscious rejection of others who are different, there can easily be a feeling of dislocation and disconnection. For example, a careless joke made by someone from “the other side” about remaining intact (or not!) might go flat and leave people feeling unwelcome.

When two people from groups with different perspectives on this issue marry, they may find that it is best to have the conversation about which way their new family decides to go on this issue before any sons are born.

Should Christians circumcise their sons? If you’re looking for a legalistic answer, I’m not at all sorry that I have to disappoint. Like so many of these issues, while there are some biblical guidelines, the answer is—at least on this occasion—it all depends on why you want to do it.

Much of the world is rejoicing today. Even with the profound differences Christians have with Obama over abortion, surely we can still rejoice that in a nation where slavery and segregation are not too distant memories, a non-Caucasian will be in the White House.

We can and we should be glad that this change may well lead to a reduction in the racial tensions experienced in that great nation. Who can really claim that there is still an absolute and unchanging glass ceiling when Obama just smashed through it? How many black people will be lifted out of a victim mentality that hinders their success by considering Obama’s example? How many white people will find their prejudices swept away? Of course, there are risks that the opposite effects may occur, but we can surely hope for God to use this event in his purposes.

It is even possible that the iconic nature of a black leader of the free world will be a force for peace in the world. But even Obama himself must realize that the level of expectation among his supporters guarantees that they will be disappointed. He is not a messiah. He is just a man. A deeply flawed man at that, like all of us.

Josh Harris, Justin Taylor, and John Piper have all rightly reminded us—it is time for us to pray for this man who will become president of the USA. We should pray for wisdom for him. Pray for his advisors. Pray for God to restrain his plans where they are ungodly, and give him success where he plans for good. We should pray for peace. We should pray for Obama’s professed faith to become a true source of strength for him, and for him to seek God’s will. We should ask that God grant that he be truly born again if he is not already. We should pray that God will change him where he needs changing. We should pray for his protection. I fear that any successful murder of this man would have far-reaching consequences. We should acknowledge that it is, in fact, God who has raised this man up, however much we might disagree with some of his policies.

God is sovereign. He rules the world. He exalts and deposes. Let’s pray that Obama will be a force for peace and a tool in the hands of God.

In the first of my series on multiculturalism, I spoke about eating whatever is set before us. Today I want to talk about one thing that, so far in my life, I have never managed to bring myself to eat. It is a good example perhaps of how some cultural values are so deeply entrenched it is impossible to shed them. I am speaking about a deep-seated revulsion I have to the concept of eating blood.

Your reaction to the news that I will not eat blood will reveal a lot about your own cultural background. Ironically enough, there is a cultural bridge that I have just not been able to cross to another tribe in my own country. I am, of course, speaking about that curious bunch of people called “Northerners.” Incidentally, my favorite line in the first episode of the revived Doctor Who series was when Rose becomes aware of the fact that the Doctor (not to be confused with Martyn Lloyd-Jones) is an alien. He looks just like an English human, and speaks with a Northern accent, so how could he be from another planet? The Doctor just says “Lots of planets have a North!”

But one of many ways that Northerners differ from Southerners here in England is in our diets. In particular, there is this strange item called “black pudding” which is very widely eaten “up north,” but broadly despised “down south”! Black pudding is made of a mixture of blood and oatmeal which is then fried. The black color of what looks like clotted blood quite simply turns my stomach. Yet many thousands of people eat it quite happily alongside their bacon and eggs.

Some of you will probably be as horrified as I am about such an abominable practice. But is our revulsion merely a cultural one? Some of you will, no doubt, argue that, in fact, the Bible bans us from eating blood. As much as I might feel gratified to leap to that brilliant excuse to justify my firmly held cultural prejudices, perhaps we should think carefully about this. What does the Bible actually say about this subject?

The Old Testament is, of course, very clear about this. God’s people were not to eat the blood of an animal. But, of course, they were not supposed to eat pork either, and I have absolutely no problem with eating bacon! Ah, say some, the prohibitions against eating blood are repeated in Acts. Certainly, at the council of Jerusalem, the following statement was issued to all Gentile believers at the time.

“For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden than these requirements: that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality.” (Acts 15:28-29)

For many Christians that would settle it. We have a New Testament instruction to not eat blood. Certainly if you have a cultural aversion to eating blood like I do, it would be easy to see this passage as supporting that. In fact, however, to truly obey this command, we would have to eat Kosher or Halal meat as the meat is killed in such a way that the blood is all drained from it.

The only other problem we have is that Paul seems to see this as a temporary agreement by the church, and later sets aside the requirement not to eat meat sacrificed to idols in 1 Corinthians 8. But interestingly he does so in a context of explaining that different people will be allowed to eat different things by their own consciences on such issues.

So, should Northerners stop eating black pudding? Absolutely! Not because of what the Bible says, but rather because I tell them to! No, seriously, I can’t really find justification to tell them to stop from the Bible. But that does not mean I am about to start!

I thought I would do a short series of posts looking at some of the practical implications of thinking in a multicultural way within the context of a Christian worldview. There is probably nothing more firmly embedded in our cultural identities than what we choose to eat. If you are English of a certain age, then the chances are good that next Sunday you will be eating for lunch a roast dinner of meat, roast potatoes, gravy and some vegetables. Even if you are not able to produce such a meal, I would expect that your mouth is salivating at the thought of it just like mine is as I write it!

If you are Asian, then it is far more likely that curry and rice will be on the agenda next Sunday. If you are African, then the rice is likely to be of a different variety and accompanied with chicken coated in a hot pepper sauce. Americans will often eat a “Sunday Brunch,” which seems to be an adaption of our English breakfast with fruit and salad added to make one feel less guilty about pigging oneself.

One of the marks of secular multiculturalism in the UK is that we are, as a nation, possibly one of the best in the world at adopting the cusine of other countries. Our French neighbors, among others, might argue that we do this because our own food is so unpalatable. The truth is, for centuries English culture has been about being the magpies of Europe. Whenever we see something we like, we adopt it as our own! For example, Indian curry is available in more restaurants in the UK than fish and chip shops. Other favorites, such as pizza, pasta, and shepherd’s pie, are also stolen from elsewhere. Often we adapt the recipes, however, and nationals from the countries of origin of our dishes would not recognize our versions as authentic. The truth is that food does give people a sense of identity. We feel more connected to people that eat similar foods to us. Sitting down and eating food is a universal way humans build community together. Agreeing to eat something that another has prepared communicates that we trust the cook!

The challenge to the Christian seeking to be biblically multicultural is to eat whatever is set before them. (see Luke 10:8). We cannot reject people’s food without rejecting them. Food is clearly one of the things Paul has in mind when he said:

“I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings” (1 Corinthians 9:22-23).

Over the years there has never been a stranger example of this than what I experienced one day in Brick Lane, right in the heart of London’s Bangladeshi community. I was with a Pakistani Christian who God used to teach me about being multicultural over a period of several years. I had eaten “English curry” before, but now we were sitting in a restaurant serving more authentic cuisine. He asked me what I wanted to eat. In a moment of cultural sensitivity or naivety, depending on your perspective, I told him that since he knew the food better than I, he could choose for me! O the folly! At that moment, I think my friend decided to have some fun with me and at the same time test my commitment to this multicultural way of life.

The plate of food before me looked a bit unusual. I decided not to ask what it was. I loaded my fork (fortunately I wasn’t expected to eat with my fingers in a truly authentic manner on this occasion). As the fork began what was going to be a slightly slower than normal visit to my mouth, my friend simply said, “You do realize that’s brain curry you are about to eat, don’t you?” In that instant my mind was full of revulsion. I have never been very keen on eating offal, or rather at least, not keen on knowing I was eating offal. We don’t like to think about what goes into our sausages, but at that moment I was about to eat brain! My friend was particularly mean as he waited to the optimum moment of embarassment before telling me what I was about to eat. If it had beeen a few seconds earlier, I might never have loaded my fork. A few seconds later and I would have been eating it in blissful ignorance already!

I had a choice. Would I let my food prejudices rule, or would I become an Asian for that moment. With a gulp, I chose the latter. The taste was actually quite nice, but the texture was very strange. It was like eating a sponge. My friend never offered brain curry to me again, but I am sure that moment helped to strengthen our relationship. Are you prepared to eat anything for the sake of the gospel?

In this segment of my conversation with John KpiKpi, I asked him about his experiences doing church planting in Africa:

John KpiKpi and I continue our discussion of multiculturalism.

In this second part of my interview with John KpiKpi, I asked him about multiculturalism.

Today I conclude my interview with Mark Driscoll. You can download the audio of the whole interview and watch the final segment below. The three previous segments can be viewed at the following pages:

• Video Interview – Mark Driscoll, Part 1 – Prophecy and Newfrontiers

• Video Interview – Mark Driscoll, Part 2 – A Prophecy for Newfrontiers and Worship
• Video Interview – Mark Driscoll, Part 3 – Impressions of the UK

During the course of this interview, Driscoll is very warm about Newfrontiers. If you are interested in finding out more about Newfrontiers, why not attend one of the Newfrontiers events in the USA, the UK, or other countries or visit the Newfrontiers website, or Terry Virgo’s Blog.

Mark Driscoll also has a blog, hosted at The Resurgence, where you can find out more, as well as the Acts 29 Network and Mars Hill Church.

I continue my interview talking about Driscoll’s impressions of the UK.

Today is one of the highlights in our church calendar. Once every year we celebrate our diversity by dressing up in national costumes of the many countries we represent as a congregation. There were 25 countries represented in a feature when each of them came up to the front in typical dress, to the sound of a typical piece of their music. After telling us a little about their nation, and praying, they read Psalm 86:9-10 in their own languages.

God has been abundantly gracious to us year after year. We give out of gratitude. But as a result, it seems more grace keeps coming, and hence we are more grateful. Once again today we experienced a truly amazing provision by God of a significant sum of money for his work here. The strangest thing was that earlier in the week a calm descended on the church and, in fact, at our prayer meeting yesterday morning we thanked God for what we knew he would do today, and also for some wonderful testimonies of what he has been doing for our individual members. We seemed to have been given a supernatural gift of faith, such that when the offering figure was announced today we were thrilled, but not particularly surprised!

All-in-all, we had a great day, and I’m very glad to now be resting with my family. I thought I’d share the photos above, which were taken today. I am with my wife, two of our African ladies who helped cater for the day, and with the church’s lead elder, Tope Koleoso.

I have just been listening to a message by my pastor, Tope Koleoso, who was recorded at a recent conference on building a multicultural church. I have become so used to what God has been doing these past couple of years at Jubilee that I sometimes need to remind myself that genuinely racially integrated churches are actually far from common. We truly have a lot to be grateful for. I really think you may well enjoy listening to Tope on this subject. The message can be downloaded or you can listen to it right here:

Tope is a dynamic speaker, and most of the time does not focus on racial issues, preferring to simply get on with preaching the Bible to a church which happens to have different nationalities attending. If you want to hear more of him, you can visit the website of the church I attend where you will also find sermons by others, including myself. Tope has also preached at a number of other churches, and some of them have put his messages online:

• Tope Koleoso at City Hope Church, Bermondsey—”Celebrating Diversity: Move on From Integrating Multiculture to Love and Acceptance,” 10th February 2008.

• Tope Koleoso at Christ Church, London—”Regaining Refreshing (Acts 3),” 15th April 2007.
• Tope Koleoso at Church of Christ the King, Brighton—”Godliness is Profitable For All Time” and “Pursuing the Wonderful God,” December 2006.