I just ran into a fascinating quote on the importance of people. If there was one man I remember who embodied this, it was Henry Tyler, who was my mentor. He made you feel like you were the most important person in the whole world when you were speaking to him. I had the privilege of meeting John Piper at New Word Alive, and he had a similar effect on me. Go read what he has to say about this quote from C. S. Lewis:

It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would strongly be tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree, helping each other to one or other of these destinations. It is in the light of these overwhelming possibilities, it is with the awe and the circumspection proper to them, that we should conduct all our dealings with one another, all friendships, all loves, all play, all politics. There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal.

— C. S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory, HarperOne, pp. 14-15.

Thankfully, many people today seem to have moved on from the ideas of the "homogenous church growth principle." I never could see how that whole idea wasn't just a thinly veiled form of racism, or at the very least, an accommodation with the racism of others. I think I would prefer to be a part of a church aiming to be multicultural, even if that means it might not grow as quickly as one where people's eager desire to flock together with others like themselves is not challenged.

Having said that, it's not easy to build that kind of church. For a start, one has to live in a multicultural area, which is simply not true of every town—certainly not in the UK anyway. Even if you are in such an area, there are many hurdles to overcome.

The desire does seem to be growing for multicultural churches to be formed. There are even a few such churches springing up. It was great today, therefore, to attend a day conference at King's Church Catford aimed at stirring churches to rise to this challenge.

For once I decided not to live-blog the event, but I am told mp3s will be available online. It was great to greet one or two of my readers at the event also. Thanks for coming up and saying "Hi." It always means a lot to know that there are real people reading.

It's vital to remember when blogging that behind every page impression lies a human person with real emotions. It's because so many bloggers forget that, not only am I glad I banned comments here, but for now at least, I'm keeping away from the comment boxes elsewhere, too. Somehow forcing people to send me an e-mail if they want to contact me seems to have driven away the negative comments that I used to have to wade through.

I guess that little outburst was probably prompted by an illustration used earlier today:

From a distance I thought you were a monster. Then, when you got closer, I thought you were an animal. When you got closer still, I realized you were a human. Closer still, I realized I liked you. When you were right next to me, I recognized you were my brother.

A quick shout-out about a couple of books on the subject, neither of which I have had time to read completely, but I like what I have seen. First, Gracism by David Anderson (one of the speakers) and secondly, Dynamic Diversity by Bruce Milne.

Today I can finally reveal that No. 1 on the list of most-read posts on this blog appeared on April 2, 2006, and was my interview with Mark Driscoll, the pastor of Mars Hill Church in Seattle, Washington.

Thanks to my friends at Crossway, a free copy of Mark Driscoll's new book, Vintage Jesus, will be winging its way to Vince, who e-mailed the correct answer, Hugh, who blogged it, Terry B, who guessed wrong, and Craig who deserves a prize for persistence.

Back in April 2006, I had only recently heard of Mark Driscoll. When we conducted this interview, he was already prompting quite a significant response online, and as the months progressed, he would become probably the most talked-about preacher on the Internet. Other recent and popular posts on my blog about Mark Driscoll include:

• Mark Driscoll, Terry Virgo, and Shepherding God's People
  
  
• Driscoll on the Defeat of Shame and the Scotland MP3s
  
  
• Mark Driscoll Preaches On the Atonement in Edinburgh, Scotland
  
  
• Mark Driscoll at Menmakers in Scotland
  
  
• Mark Driscoll Apologizes for Not Being Humble
  
  
• Mark Driscoll Firm, But Kind, About Joel Osteen on Prosperity Teaching
  
  
• Mark Driscoll in Christianity Today

I have also listed ways of obtaining Mark Driscoll's sermons online at "Audio Sermons: Mark Driscoll—The Charismatic With a Seat Belt."

It is an absolute pleasure to welcome to my blog, Mark Driscoll. Mark is known for having a prominent role in the early days of the Emergent movement, and for his rapidly growing Mars Hill Church. More recently, via his new venture, Resurgence, he has made an explosive entry into the Christian blog-world, which some have likened to none other than The Pyromaniac himself. More posts about Mark Driscoll are linked at the end of this article. You can also visit my interview with Wendy Alsup, a deacon at Mark Driscoll's church.

Adrian
So, Mark, tell us a bit about yourself and your ministry . . .

Mark
I was born in 1970 to a hard-working blue-collar construction worker dad. I was raised Irish Catholic, but did not know Jesus until God saved me while reading Romans in college at the age of 19. Shortly thereafter, God spoke to me, telling me to plant a church, train men, preach the Bible, and marry my girlfriend, who was a Christian I dearly loved. I married Grace at the age of 21, graduated with a degree in Speech at 22, moved back to my hometown of Seattle, and launched Mars Hill Church at the age of 25. Today I am the father of five children and remain one of the elders at Mars Hill Church.

Adrian
In my first post about you I said, "Mars Hill is one of those unique churches that is probably too emerging for some evangelicals to cope with, much too traditional for the emerging folks, too charismatic for the reformed folks, and too reformed for the average charismatic. It's a wonder anyone likes the church! Actually, the more I read of Mark the more he sounds like he is making his home in the same kind of center ground that my own church tries to occupy." Do you recognize that description of yourself—do you sometimes feel like something of a theological misfit?

Mark
I am a theological misfit and have learned to be okay with that. We are missional, which offends fundamentalists. We hold to the fundamentals, which offends the liberals. We are theologically charismatic, but not shake and bake holy rollers, which puts us in the middle of a big debate to be shot by both sides. We are reformed, but not old school, and don't baptize babies, don't hold to the regulative principle, and won't die on the hill of Limited Atonement, but hold a more unlimited/limited position, which upsets both sides of the debate. In the end, I hold to a high view of inerrant Scripture and am trying to be biblical, even when it makes a mess of my systematics.

Adrian
What other groups or individuals can you look at and say, "Yeah, they seem to have got it—I can follow them"? Who would you say have been your main influences?

Mark
I learn a lot from John Piper, D. A. Carson, Wayne Grudem, and Tim Keller. The dead guys I like tend to be Puritans and early church fathers. I also am a huge Spurgeon fan, and read every biography I can get on him. I love biographies and learn from the lives of Calvin, Luther, Aquinas, Augustine, Patrick, etc. . . .

Read more . . . Interview With Mark Driscoll

We have now arrived at the countdown of the top ten most popular posts of all time with readers of this blog. No. 10 appeared on July 19, 2007, and of all the posts I have written, this one is probably my own personal favorite. It is a rallying call to a kind of Christianity that is not ashamed to embrace the best from many different backgrounds.

The last four words of the above title are not new to me, but they are certainly resonating with me at the moment — "I Want It All!" Why should I have to choose, for example, between being enthusiastic about theology and being charismatic?

I know what some of you are thinking as you've been reading my posts on the Together On a Mission conference. You're wondering why it is that someone who is so enthusiastic about what was obviously a very charismatic conference can also be deeply committed to defending and understanding biblical doctrine. I know it's hard for some of you to believe, but it really is the same me who wrote all those posts on the atonement who also was so deeply touched by this latest conference. For those of you who have never met one, I am indeed that rare breed — a Reformed Charismatic.

Too often, however, the temptation for me is to downplay one side of that equation or the other in order to appear "balanced." When I am with the charismatics, my reformed doctrine often appears alien to them, although in the UK, Newfrontiers offers a major exception to that with over 200 churches that are broadly reformed and charismatic. When I'm with the reformed, I'm tempted to soften my charismatic viewpoint and not speak too much of the things I have seen and experienced. Why is it that on this issue, as on so many others, the Church seems to be split in half? Why can't we be both radically reformed and radically charismatic? Why do we see a conflict and therefore try to play down both in order to be "balanced?" I don't want to be balanced, I want it all!

On the one hand there are those who care about theology enough to study God's Word in detail, weigh scripture against scripture, study great theological minds, and preach intellectually stimulating messages that would stretch even a PhD in Theology — which, incidentally, I am certainly not! Why is it that for the majority of us, if we want such a feast for our minds, we must sacrifice certain other things? Why are some leaders in the Church committed to theology almost exclusively? Is even great theology so captivating that it is the only need of the Church? I don't believe it can be, or God would have given us a Bible that was a systematic theology and not the one we have, which is essentially a collection of lots of stories with a few doctrinal portions.

Read more . . . I Don't Want Balance! I Want It All!

Just as it is not possible to really understand a car without knowing about its engine, you cannot understand Newfrontiers without knowing about the engine which lies under its hood. That engine is in very large part what happens several times a year when church leaders gather for a time of prayer and fasting. This past week it was truly awesome to gather with 750 others to devote ourselves to seeking God. In the context of prayer, prophetic words are shared and evaluated. We catch the heart of God for our next thrust forward. Family news is shared. And what news! We have now seen God work in such a way that there are over 200 churches in the UK. We also heard about fresh drives to plant churches in Paris, Rome, Berlin, Dublin, Porta, Amsterdam, and Valentia, among others. There are even some more churches looking at joining our growing family in the USA. In every continent of the world, Newfrontiers churches are growing and multiplying. With the work God is also doing in other groups, it is increasingly possible to believe that reformed, charismatic, grace-filled, relational churches will be planted all over the world.

To join a resounding chorus of praise to God and prayer for the success of all these endeavors was deeply moving. We also heard about how the churches of Zimbabwe with whom we are in touch are full of joy and faith despite the difficult circumstances they face. Who could not have been stirred by Terry Virgo's fresh challenge to us to rediscover the vital place of shepherding God's flock and focusing our best efforts on caring for churches even as they go out on a mission? Meeting with some of you my readers was also great fun.

The worship was very rousing. In particular, I felt my heart swell as we sang Jesus My Only Hope. I found myself thinking—if he is our only hope, what of those who have no hope? How can we not share him with them? As you can imagine, I was all the more thrilled therefore to witness baptisms this morning at our own church. He really is our only hope!

Words and music by Mark Altrogge
As recorded on Songs for the Cross-Centered Life

Lyrics

I come into Your presence
With nothing in my hands
I only bring thanksgiving
For Jesus, God and Man
I cast myself on mercy
I cast myself on love
I trust Your gracious promise
To wash me with Your blood.

I will not fear Your judgment
For me, no wrath I dread
For it was spent on Jesus
Poured out upon His head
When Satan’s accusations
Make my poor heart afraid
I hear my King declaring
“Father, that debt is paid.”

Jesus my only hope, my only plea
My righteousness, my Great High Priest
Who intercedes for me before the throne
Jesus, I trust in You alone.

© 2002 Sovereign Grace Praise (BMI).

During a brief trip to the USA this past week, I had a layover in the Chicago area. I had an amazing few hours. I ate lunch with two great friends who I had never met in the flesh before. It struck me that the impression I had of them when finally meeting face-to-face was almost identical to the one I already had through our electronic communications. I thank God for the people I have been privileged to meet through this blog.

What I want to focus on in this post is what happened next. I hadn't even realized that there was a connection between Billy Graham and the town I was visiting. At my friends' suggestion, I headed to the Billy Graham Center at Wheaton College.

I am well aware that there are at least two different perceptions of Billy Graham among evangelicals. You can read about both perspectives in a 2006 MSNBC interview and the Wikipedia page about Billy Graham. There are many evangelicals who, although they might have some concerns, greatly rejoice in what God has accomplished through his preaching of the Gospel. In Philippians 1, Paul rejoices that Christ was preached even by those who had bad motives. Surely all Christians can rejoice at the preaching career of a man who has been in the media spotlight for five decades and yet has never been accused of a lack of integrity.

Wikipedia believes that 2 billion people have heard Billy Graham preach the Gospel and that 2.5 million of them made a public declaration of faith in response. There is no doubt that Billy has preached to more people than any other Christian minister in the last 2000 years. If there have been some weaknesses about Billy over the years (and certainly Billy himself believes that there are) then surely the fact that God chose to use someone weak in such a dramatic way only underlines the glory of his grace.

The Billy Graham Center moved me profoundly. An overview of evangelical history in America led into a more detailed report of the life of the man often called "America's pastor." The focus was not on his role as personal counselor to every president since Harry Truman. Rather it was his preaching and crusades that were reported in most detail. Walking past photographs of massive crowds while listening to clips of his preaching brought tears to my eyes. It seemed that in every era the extracts of the messages they had playing said almost the same thing, which I have paraphrased as follows:

Christ died, took the guilt for you, became sin for you, and rose again. He's a living Christ. He's here right now. He wants you to repent, trust him, and ask him to be Lord of your life, to come into your life so you can then follow him as Lord and Saviour.

The focus was not just on the death, but also on the resurrection. It was not just on sin and wrath, but also forgiveness and love. He was not content to speak only of God in heaven, but also of Jesus living in our hearts. I stood behind Billy's traveling pulpit and listened to his voice and wept that God would raise up more preachers of Christ in our day who can fill stadiums with the Gospel.

As the exhibition closes, if visitors are in any doubt about who the organizers really want to glorify, you are led through a passageway to the foot of an enormous cross. Then you are taken into a dark passageway clearly intended to be the grave. As you round the corner, a simple inscription is written on the wall "He is not here, but risen!" The passageway then opens into a light room clearly intended to reflect glory. I was quite simply undone by this and had tears welling in my eyes.

I was left with a strong impression of the need for us to preach the simple Gospel of Jesus' death AND resurrection. I also remember reading these words of Billy Graham there (which sadly I did not write down in a notebook, so they may not be 100 per cent accurate, although the sense is definitely there):

I find that when I preach the simple Gospel with authority, quoting the very words of the Bible, the Holy Spirit drives it home into the hearts of people.

The Holy Spirit was a major focus of the exhibition in several quotes. Oh, for a return to such an emphasis on the living Jesus sending his Spirit to convict the world and bring them salvation. Deliver us from an overly intellectual Christianity, oh God. Remind us that the Gospel is indeed simple enough that a farm boy with no theological degrees can become its most prolific ambassador!

The impression left on me was striking indeed. So much so that, somewhat surprisingly for such a fan as I am, seeing the writing desks of C. S. Lewis and J. R. Tolkein, not to mention the wardrobe which inspired The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, was frankly an anticlimax!

On Saturday, September 22nd I attended the Theology For All Conference in central London at which Mark Dever spoke. To be honest, I was a bit apprehensive about attending as I wondered if I would be the only charismatic in attendance. Since the concept of Together for the Gospel hasn't really crossed the Atlantic, I almost felt like an interloper.

It was great then to arrive and to feel so welcomed by a good number of my readers who were also attending. It still surprises and pleases me when I meet readers in real life—somehow thinking of them as eyes gazing at a screen is totally different from meeting them in real life. I was also greatly encouraged to discover that apparently my blog is widely read in such circles as the students of Oak Hill or the Cornhill training program. I was just disappointed not to have exchanged contact details with some of the people who I met that day. If you were there, or indeed if you are a lurking reader, feel free to make contact with me via e-mail, or still better, by asking me to be a friend on Facebook.

Listening to Mark Dever was a great blessing, and over the next few days I will share my notes. At the end of the conference I was able to sit with Mark over dinner and we recorded an informal interview. We discussed his latest book, The Gospel and Personal Evangelism, among other subjects. The book is a useful introduction to personal evangelism, what it is, and how we should go about evangelizing. I believe the book is a great introduction to the subject, and certainly reading it challenged me to seek God for more opportunities to share the Gospel with others on a one-to-one basis.

The interview was a lot of fun, and at times it felt more like I was being interviewed by Mark! You can download it or listen to it right here:

Some Christians do not appreciate the value of doctrine. They do not understand why we need to learn so much about God. I fear that the reason for this is that we do not always explain the effects that doctrine can have on our lives. The Doctor was not so foolish. Indeed, he is one of the masters of spiritual diagnostics, and of applying spiritual medicine to us. This example from his work on the book of Ephesians stood out to me. He is speaking about the message of Ephesians 1 and 2, and applies it to our cold hearts and our lack of missional thinking.

Are you worried about the coldness of your heart? I am sure you are, as we all ought to be. Is it not appalling that we can come and eat the bread and drink the wine at the communion table and be so unmoved, that our hearts are not overflowing with love to God? Why are they not overflowing with love? It is because we do not realise the greatness of His love. If you want to love God do not try to work up something inside yourself: realise His love, and pray that the eyes of your understanding may be enlightened, that you may realise the pit out of which you have been hauled up, the depths to which you had sunk, your former terrible, precarious, perilous position, and what God has done for you, by His grace, in Christ. That is the way to realise it. ‘We love him because he first loved us’, says John, and it is the same argument. The understanding of these things is essential to a sense of wonder, love and praise.

But come to something still more practical. It is because we do not realise these things as we ought that we do not feel the burden of the souls of others as we ought. Christian people are but a handful in the world today. The masses are outside Christ, outside the Church, in godlessness and irreligion, and in a terrible state of sin. Are we concerned about them? Does their condition burden us? Have we a missionary sense with regard to our fellow citizens in this country? Does the condition of the benighted masses in other lands weigh upon us at all? Are we concerned about the missionary enterprise? Do we think about these things, do they burden us, do we pray to God about them? Are we asking, ‘What can I do, how can I help, what contribution can I make?’ If we are not, there is only one explanation—we have never realised the truth about people who are in a state of sin. We are just irritated by them, we are just annoyed. But that is not enough; we must be concerned about souls, we must be concerned about sin. We must see them as they are, the children of wrath, hell-bound, in this degradation, in this pollution that the apostle here describes. If we only saw it, our hearts would go out to them; we would see them as our Lord saw them, and He had a great heart of compassion for them. The poorness of our missionary and evangelistic zeal is entirely due to this. We have not seen the position of those outside truly—what they are, what they might be, and what Christ has done.

The third thing that it brings home to us is that if we but saw these things truly it would also control our evangelism. The trouble with all false evangelism is that it does not start with doctrine, it does not start by realising man’s condition. All fleshly, carnal, man-made evangelism is the result of inadequate understanding of what the apostle teaches us in the first ten verses of this second chapter of the Epistle to the Ephesians. If you and I but realised that every man who is yet a sinner is absolutely dominated by ‘the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience,’ if we only understood that he is really a child of wrath and dead in trespasses and sins, we would realise that only one power can deal with such an individual, and that is the power of God, the power of the Holy Ghost. And so we would put our confidence, not in man-made organisations, but in the power of God, in the prayer that holds on to God and asks for revival and a descent of the Spirit. We would realise that nothing else can do it. We can change men superficially, we can win men to our side and to our party, we can persuade them to join a church, but we can never raise the spiritually dead; God alone can do that. The realisation of these truths would of necessity determine and control all our evangelism.

Lloyd-Jones, D. M. (1972). God's Way of Reconciliation (Studies in Ephesians, chapter 2) (10). Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.

UPDATE
In January 2008, the following post was identified as the 10th all-time most popular post with readers of this blog. The 11th most-read post was The Atonement—Wright Attacks Both Sides of the Debate.

Of all the posts I have written, this one is probably my own personal favorite. It is a rallying call to a kind of Christianity that is not ashamed to embrace the best from many different backgrounds.

***************

The last four words of the above title are not new to me, but they are certainly resonating with me at the moment — "I Want It All!" Why should I have to choose, for example, between being enthusiastic about theology and being charismatic?

I know what some of you are thinking as you've been reading my posts on the Together On a Mission conference. You're wondering why it is that someone who is so enthusiastic about what was obviously a very charismatic conference can also be deeply committed to defending and understanding biblical doctrine. I know it's hard for some of you to believe, but it really is the same me who wrote all those posts on the atonement who also was so deeply touched by this latest conference. For those of you who have never met one, I am indeed that rare breed — a Reformed Charismatic.

Too often, however, the temptation for me is to downplay one side of that equation or the other in order to appear "balanced." When I am with the charismatics, my reformed doctrine often appears alien to them, although in the UK, Newfrontiers offers a major exception to that with over 200 churches that are broadly reformed and charismatic. When I'm with the reformed, I'm tempted to soften my charismatic viewpoint and not speak too much of the things I have seen and experienced. Why is it that on this issue, as on so many others, the Church seems to be split in half? Why can't we be both radically reformed and radically charismatic? Why do we see a conflict and therefore try to play down both in order to be "balanced?" I don't want to be balanced, I want it all!

On the one hand there are those who care about theology enough to study God's Word in detail, weigh scripture against scripture, study great theological minds, and preach intellectually stimulating messages that would stretch even a PhD in Theology — which, incidentally, I am certainly not! Why is it that for the majority of us, if we want such a feast for our minds, we must sacrifice certain other things? Why are some leaders in the Church committed to theology almost exclusively? Is even great theology so captivating that it is the only need of the Church? I don't believe it can be, or God would have given us a Bible that was a systematic theology and not the one we have, which is essentially a collection of lots of stories with a few doctrinal portions.

Also, why is it that those who are most committed to following the Bible in everything also seem most committed to relegating a book like Acts to mere descriptive stories to tell our children? It's not even just the book of Acts; there are swathes of the New Testament that in some theologies become almost entirely irrelevant to us. That was for then, we are told. When I read passages like those found in the book of Acts, I find myself yearning for something more than I am experiencing currently, yearning for a dynamic sense of the supernatural presence of God, longing for God himself to surprise and astonish me by his dynamic actions. Why is it that so often I am left with the impression that we are being encouraged to merely learn about God rather than get to know him? Would I be satisfied if I had read hundreds of e-mails from my wife, but had never actually met her or seen her do anything?

On the other hand, I could find many so-called men of faith who have stories to tell of miraculous healings or of prophecies that have had a life-changing impact. Listening to them, especially if I suspend my natural British cynicism and reserve, I hear tales of powerful encounters with God. Sadly, however, theological truths don't seem to be emphasized at all by most of those committed to experiencing the supernatural presence of God. It is often even implied that it is all right for people to make glaring errors in their teaching or show little interest in what the Bible actually says.

Why is it that so many men who seem on first appearances to have such intimacy with God, such access to his power, such supernatural giftings, and such powerful prophecies, also have much less interest in the words that the Person they often describe as their best friend, the Holy Spirit, wrote 2000 years ago? Why is it that when listening to some of these men, the greatest miracle is no longer what happens in someone's life when they are saved, but rather the latest supernatural healing or encounter with God? Why do we put up with so much flakiness and even blatant deception from figures claiming to have an anointing of the Spirit? How has it got to the point that even hearing the word "faith" seems to raise antibodies in me and make me feel uncomfortable? Why, though, do I feel in honest moments that some of those people with whose theology I most disagree seem to have something that I haven't got, and that I want? Is it so wrong to want to learn more about faith and experience the supernatural acts of God without becoming flaky or doctrinally suspect? Is it not possible for me to both want and get it all?

This desire to "want it all" and have it all in extreme form rather than just a little of everything so as to become "balanced" is not confined to the issue of the truth of God's Word and the experience of the supernatural. There are so many other stalls in the modern marketplace that is the global Church of Jesus. I can see them all before me selling their wares, each of them sure they have the answer to the ills of the Church. How do I choose which one to follow? Can't I have it all? Can't I learn from each of them? Must I choose only one? Where is the person who will overturn all these market stalls and say, “You need a bit of everything — no, change that — you need A LOT of everything — you need it all!”

Let's consider those in the Church who understand the reason we are here on earth. They understand that we are here to enjoy God and bring glory to him by evangelizing the world and producing more worshippers. These guys have such enthusiasm that it is inspiring. Many are also so creative. They split into different tribes, however, sitting as it were at different stalls in the marketplace. There are those who believe in old-style tent crusades, those who want to fill stadiums again, those who knock on doors, those who tell strangers they are sinners, those who befriend sinners in order to evangelize them, those who run seeker sensitive services, those who speak of being missional and incarnating the Gospel, those who run Alpha, and those who preach a certain kind of evangelical "gospel" message every Sunday morning that has to include penal substitution. The different brands may disagree about the methods, but yet they all thrill me with their determination and commitment to see more people becoming Christians. Isn't there room for us to use some methods from almost all of these brands of evangelism?

What troubles me most about so many of these devoted evangelists and missionaries is that so few of them are also deeply devoted to and thrilled with the Church. Why does there seem to be a dichotomy between being "out there" reaching the world and building the community of God such that we love each other so much the world knows we are Jesus' disciples? Also, why does the message of the evangelist sometimes ring hollow in my ears and fail to inspire me like it should? Is there something wrong with me? Dare I even admit that there have been times in the past when I have felt I don't want to hear another "simple Gospel presentation" ever again? Why do the sermons I read in Acts sound so different to the vast majority of evangelistic messages I have ever heard? For that matter, if the Gospel is a handful of reductionistic propositions that we must preach on every occasion, and those few ideas are all that matters, why does so much of the Bible even exist? Much as I believe in penal substitution, it is not to be found in every verse of the Bible. Why are some evangelicals frightened to preach the whole counsel of God? Is it wrong to want to preach the message of the whole Bible?

Why is it, for that matter, that so many of us feel we lack practical wisdom of how to live our lives? I know I have felt like this many times in my life. How can it be that I can work through the Gospel from A to Z, listen to theologically-sound sermons, read the Bible, pray even, and do all the "right" things they tell me to, but somehow not know how to live? Why is it that the breed of practical living teachers are so rare in the Church that many feel they have to learn by watching programs like Nanny 911 because no Christian leader ever taught them how to raise their children? Why are there so few places in the Church to send someone who is struggling with a breaking marriage or with mounting debt? Why, when we find someone in the Church who is valiantly teaching us practical living tips that we should have learned from our parents do they so often sound no different to someone in the world? Where is the teaching that is biblically rooted, yet shows me how to run my life in the 21st century? Isn't the Bible supposed to teach me how to have a good marriage, hold down a job, be a parent, have friends? It's easy to condemn those preaching "self help" in the name of Jesus, but where are those teaching me how God wants to help me live wisely?

Again, why is it that as churches we are not all stirred to activism to help the poor? Adopting a village in Africa, helping HIV victims, befriending single mothers, housing drug addicts — the list goes on and on. Christians who really care, frankly, put me to shame. Why do I so shamefully neglect this? I know that I do give some money that is channeled to such projects by my church, but why do I feel I should be doing much more? Surely we should be demonstrating God's kingdom on earth for the world to see. And yet, why do some of the people who give themselves to this kind of work which is meant to demonstrate God's kingdom seem more like social workers than Christ's ambassadors? Why do we seem to allow the Gospel to be squeezed out of our attempts to help the poor?

I can go on — what of the worshippers? There are many people who love God, feel his presence, and "waste time" with him. Why do I find it so hard to squeeze contemplation into my busy life? Why should worship become an option that excludes other options? Why is meditation considered to be something for Buddhists when the Bible invented it? What about prayer — shouldn't it be more than merely reciting a shopping list of requests to some heavenly slot machine? Shouldn't it be something other than worrying out loud?

And what about a sense of belonging? Of a Church that loves each other and builds a community in this loveless world? Why are there some small churches that really are a family, and yet find it hard to grow? How can large churches retain the feeling that people are there for me and know me? How can we avoid merely having hundreds of superficial acquaintances and yet still feeling totally alone? How can we learn how to do things well for God without becoming just a commercial entity led only by the world's management techniques?

I guess this all leads to a feeling that there is something wrong with the Church. I suspect many of us feel that way as Christians. But what is it that is wrong? Is it, as some would say, "Well, the danger is an overemphasis on feelings, so here we preach the truth of the Bible — that is what we need most." That sounds so good until you hear someone else say something like, "What the Church really needs to do is to learn to care more — we have to love each other and then learn to love the world — that's the problem with the Church," or someone else says, "Your problem is that you know the Bible, but you don't know God — you people just have a form of godliness, but deny its power."

I don't just want balance, however, and certainly not if it means we end up missing EVERYTHING. I thank God that there are those who are attempting to be balanced and have a bit of all of these things. Yet, I am concerned that in an anxiety to be balanced, we end up being mediocre at all of these things. I suppose as individuals we will always be better at some of them than others, but as a healthy local church can't we have it all?

Social action needn't be the enemy of building a nice community, nor should singing be a chore to get through until the preaching starts. Do we really have to wince every time someone begins to prophesy for fear of what our visitors may think? We shouldn't have to be anxious, when preaching, that our people are being bored or that we are offending visitors. These things are not enemies of each other.

Why shouldn't we have churches that are every bit as concerned about doctrinal accuracy and knowledge as John MacArthur, that love relational intimacy with Jesus as much as John Arnott, see miraculous healings that are every bit as dynamic as the ones the tele-evangelists claim to have seen, are as full of vision and purpose as Rick Warren, as skilled in leadership as Bill Hybels, as humble and committed to spiritual maturity as C. J. Mahaney, as relevant to practical life as the author of any self-help book you can think of, that impact social needs in the model of Shaftsbury, tackle political issues like Wilberforce, preach with both the passion for souls of Spurgeon and the passion for God's glory of John Piper, that hear from God as clearly as any modern prophet, are as aggressively missional as Mark Driscoll, have the apostolic drive of Terry Virgo, and yet somehow still feel as comforting as my wife's homemade apple crumble with custard?

Am I being greedy to say "I want it all, and I wish I could become an extremist for all of these things at once?"

If you were there and are getting withdrawals, or you couldn't make it and want to see or hear for yourself what Newfrontiers is all about, help is at hand! There are already two of the main sessions available on audio to download for FREE from the Newfrontiers site.

Also I found this fantasitic video introduction to the work of Newfrontiers over on YouTube. The video was only designed to be shown in Newfrontiers churches, so it begins with mentioning the forthcoming offering — please don't be put off by that as no one at Newfrontiers is wanting your money. The rest of the video gives a fantastic overview of the worldwide reach of Newfrontiers and its mission.

In case any of you think that Together On A Mission is just a UK conference, I decided to interview John Lanferman, who is the leader of Newfrontiers USA. There are, in fact, many here from a multitude of different nations.

This interview with John Lanferman was a lot of fun, and if you want to know what Newfrontiers is doing in the USA, then this interview is a great place to start. We also discussed the broader American church scene, and his understanding of just what a missional church is.

You can listen to that message right here or download it to your computer:

David Stroud
David Stroud leads ChristChurch, London, and the Newfrontiers UK team. He has been involved in leading churches for over fifteen years, and ChristChurch is the third church that he has planted. He is married to Philippa, who works as an adviser on issues of social justice in Westminster, and they have three children.

See also Andrew Fountain's notes from this talk: Being Sure of Who We Are as a People.

Dave Stroud spoke to us today about the identity markers of Newfrontiers.

We must be very clear on who God is and who he has made us to be. If we forget who we are, then we will not be able to handle the things that happen. Dave wanted to spend his session reminding us what holds us together as a movement. What underlines our confidence? What enables to respond with boldness? Dave took us to the first few verses of Acts 13 and the church of Antioch. At its height, one in three people of Antioch were believers. It was a church that sent people out for a century after these events.

FIVE THINGS THAT TIE US TOGETHER

1. We are a people of the Spirit.
   
   There were prophets in the church at Antioch. This happens when the Spirit is poured out. They know something of the closeness of God. When Paul and Barnabas went, if asked, they would have said, “God said to us!” We have experienced something of the presence of God that has drawn us together. We don't make decisions on the basis of strategic planning as in businesses. Big decisions in the NT church, and in our churches, are made because God spoke. For example, “The Spirit of Jesus wouldn't let them” go somewhere. We as Newfrontiers have always sought to be led by the Spirit of God. For example, a couple were considering moving to Dublin to start a Newfrontiers church. They believed that God was speaking to them and prayed that God would speak to their kids. The next morning their daughter came down and said, “Are we moving?” Their ten-year old daughter had a dream of a sundial in the garden, a porthole, and windows that were not windows in the roof. The parents said nothing, but took their children on a weekend trip to Dublin. They were walking and looked in the window of one estate agent, whereupon their daughter suddenly said, “Thats the house I saw in my dream!” Sure enough, they ended up buying that house, and it was exactly as their daughter described. John Wimber felt God say when he arrived in London, “Give me back MY church!” It doesn't belong to us. When the Spirit speaks, people go and become those they never thought they could be.
   
   
2. We are deeply dependent on Scripture.
   
   It wasn't just prophets, but teachers also. We bow to God's Word. We give ourselves to it and develop a habit. The world tells us to set ourselves free by deciding what is right. In some cultures people treat their neighbours with respect; in others they eat them, and it's all done on the basis of feelings. We cannot just take the Holy Spirit bit. We must let the Word get to us. We must submit to the Word. Teachers lift the Word for us corporately. We can't just make it up. We must keep coming back to being shaped by Scripture. We shape ourselves individually and corporately by The Book. Prophets and teachers work together. Two sides of the same coin. Word and Spirit together.
   
   
3. We believe that these Word and Spirit churches are to be multiplied all over the world.
   
   In Antioch they were living for an outbreak of the Spirit, globally not just locally. We need to take salvation to the ends of the earth. We cannot simply be focused on the nation where we live. We need a heart for the nations. Paul and Barnabas knew that at some point they had to go — there was a timing with God. They built a strong sending base where they were, and then they went and started churches. That is the biblical model for going to the nations. Churches are something that can reach people in decades. It's Spirit people founded on the Word going to the nations with clear annointed leadership.
   
   
4. We believe in the Ephesians 4 ministries.
   
   The terms of Ephesians 4 are not just useful terms; rather they are uniquely fitted to get the mission done. The Church functions well with this leadership. Imagine if a general replaced your head teacher at a primary school and ran it like an army! Imagine the army going into battle and the general is replaced with a conductor. In the same way, it is ridiculous to try and fulfil the biblical vision without apostles and prophets. That is the sort of leadership God has given. What Paul did is needed today. Apostles give to churches a sense of identity. Apostles will aggressively see the big picture and want to see nations filled with churches.
   
   
5. We are full of confidence.
   
   Why were Paul and Barnabus ready to take such a big step? It was because they knew that God would succeed. God will give us all we need so we can go. God will have a bride for himself. Even though that doesn't mean that everything we touch will succeed, knowing the eventual triumph of God's Word will strengthen our resolve, even when things are tough. As someone said, “Expect great things from God. Attempt great things for God.” We have the privilege of cooperating with God.

HOW DO WE RESPOND TO THIS?

• Don't get stuck in one place
  
  The world is too big! Sometimes a promotion from God requires us to physically move. For example, Elijah passed on the call of God to anoint a king to Elisha who himself handed it on. We have to hand on the promises we have for an area and pass them on. The vision is bigger than what we can accomplish. We must be open to the Lord. We must trust him to help those who are left behind.
  
  
• Stay connected to Apostles and Prophets
  
  Following anointed leadership gives benefits to ourselves. Leaders shape us and give us impetus. Apostles and prophets are given by God and have anointing given by him. Apostles create spheres and an anointing goes with it. Word and Spirit churches are not built by one leader. We are a family of Word and Spirit churches going to the nations under anointed leadership and full of confidence that God will fulfil his mission.

There was a slightly longer break between the last session and this one. I took advantage of the opportunity to doze. I didn't think I was heavily asleep, but a friend of mine said he knocked loudly on my door and called my name without getting any response! As a result of my sleep, I do feel a lot fresher and am now even more eager to hear from Dave Devenish, who will be preaching to us this evening.

David Devenish
Dave Devenish of Woodside Church Bedford UK now leads teams working with churches in the Ukraine, and other eastern European nations.

See also Andrew Fountain's notes from this talk: The Ephesus Mission - A Pattern for World Evangelism.

David is a unique gift of God to our family of churches. His voice and delivery are unique and his passionate love of the global work of God in and through His Church are impossible to miss. Dave took us to Acts 19. He gave his talk the title, “The Ephesus Mission — A Pattern For World Evangelization.”

We in Newfrontiers are all being mobilized to go on a mission together to the ends of the earth. The earth will be filled with the knowledge of the glory of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. This promise of God is repeated in several places in the Scriptures. Devenish explained that this verse keeps him going through all the challenges of building churches around the world, and in some of the most challenging nations in which he works. The mission of God is that he will be glorified in all the earth. We are witnesses from God. What is my inheritance in your mission to this world?

Ephesus was a church with influence. God wants to build large churches that will make a difference. In Bedford we have around 1% of the population in a Newfrontiers church. In Ephesus God was made known in contrast to the false Gods — “These man-made gods are no gods at all!” The city and the province were filled, and there was also opposition.

We need to follow the same strategy we see in Ephesus, even if it takes a lot longer than three years. So what was Paul's strategy?

1. He established a base church that would become an Apostolic base. Paul planted key churches in cities and let them fill in around them. The Lord's message rang out from individual churches. Amazingly, back in Acts 16, Paul was kept from going to Asia. There was a need to act in line with God's prophetic timing. God's timing is critical. Paul did go briefly, and sent a pioneer couple who he left there in faith.
   
   
2. He insured that key values were established in the core group. When Paul arrived, he met some disciples, and realized something was wrong. An area of weakness in establishing a church is not making sure that the key people understand the core values. An example might be not setting some of the first converts free from fear. Suddenly the whole church can be full of fear. Paul was firm in his desire to plant a community of the Spirit. We need people to have the power of God to deal with everything they are going to face. The core group needs to know and understand what we are going to build.
   
   
3. Paul taught consistent teaching of Apostolic revelation daily. Standing in one hall and teaching led to a whole region hearing the Gospel. What was taught was so clear that everyone heard. Such commitment to teach and such hunger to receive will have such benefits. Dave has a body of doctrine that he teaches almost everywhere he goes; he shares what he believes is an Apostolic foundation for the church. There is a body of foundational truth that we have to teach in every church. There is a need also to grasp the big picture from Genesis to Revelation — the purposes of God revealed, fulfilled in Christ, and the part you play in fulfilling God's work in response to what Christ has done. God has started remaking the world. Christ is the seed of Abraham and through him every nation will be blessed. We have our part in bringing those blessings to the world. God's kingdom is being revealed in the son of David. Christ's reign has begun now. We are part of that kingdom — a new people from every nation who are all one in Christ.
   
   
4. Power Evangelism. Paul did no ordinary miracles! There was a tangible anointing. It is interesting to see that there was a transferable tangible thing that could even be imparted via handkerchiefs that had touched him. The ordinary things of Paul's trade were touched by God's power. God wants us to become more familiar with his anointing. Healings can happen suddenly and sovereignly by God without us doing anything to trigger them. Sometimes healing can happen when we, in faith, cry out to God to heal. Dave also had some stories to share of his own experience in this area.
   
   
5. They confronted the culture and worldview. The strongholds of a culture need to be addressed. There was a very dramatic example of that in this chapter. Ephesus had a large number of gods, so someone tried to adopt Jesus as just another one. The demons knew not only who Jesus was, but who Paul was. Demonic strongholds had to be confronted. Church life in the West panders to consumerism or business management efficiency without really challenging our culture with the Gospel. When the people saw the power of God manifest, they dealt with the manifestations of their magical culture. They repented of the hidden things. Often people can believe on a fragment of truth and a felt need, but there are things that then need to be confronted.
   
   
6. Paul models relational servant leadership. Paul calls on the elders to imitate the way he led them. Paul had a relational style of leadership. He wasn't just on platforms, but house-to-house. There was much weeping when Paul told them he wouldn't see them again.
   
   
7. Paul endured massive opposition and pressure. Paul spoke of the hardships he suffered in the province of Asia in his letter to the Corinthians. It led almost to despair. We can't underestimate what a challenge it is to go into a place where there are no believers.
   
   
8. He prepared for future advance. While revival was happening, he was planning to move on. He knew he had to move on. The savage wolves were the elders' responsibility — he wouldn't stay because he had to move on. Apostles are not the senior managers of a region; they are called by God to train leaders to establish the Church and then move on.

The kingdom of God needs to come to every area of our world and every type of people. God is calling us to be on a mission together. Let's follow this way.

This is from The Resurgence

"I've been wondering why many Christians are such boring people to be around if redemption is true. If Christ's mission was truly accomplished and if the Kingdom of God is alive then Christians ought to be the most celebrative people on the planet throwing the best parties and social events. If the Gospel is true one would think that Christians would be the best at "getting their party on."

. . . So if the kingdom is real, if creation is all good, if life is not suppose to suck, if God is renewing all things to himself through Christ, if you are united to Jesus and standing before God forgiven, then why is your social life so boring? Why are you not either at a party or throwing a party every weekend? Why are you not inviting people into your community of celebration?

Wouldn't it be awesome if Christians were such a celebrative group of people that our non-Christians friends and neighbors would get introduced to Christianity by wanting to come to our parties? Here's a great question for someone to ask you: "why are you Christians always partying so much? Missional living pursues not only shalom but celebration. Jesus followers should party now like they will in heaven."

This from Anthony Bradley over at The Resurgence:

America has nearly 115,000 orphaned kids in foster care waiting to be adopted. Some wonder how this is possible in a country with Christian families. Surely there are 115,000 missional families in America, right? Missional families, for example, embrace the redemptive mission of God and practice "true religion" in their local communities (James 1:27). Missional Christians in America could eliminate the foster care system tomorrow ...

"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world," writes James (1:27). As a matter of fact, the Bible has over 40 verses mandating God's people to look after orphans and the fatherless for various reasons ...

If your church is not cultivating an ethos that practices "true religion" it may not be missional at all. It may be dying or sinking into a consumeristic, entertainment quicksand where people come to have their "felt needs" stroked. Your pastor might wear "cool" clothes, have a "cool" blog, or be in the process of trying to make God and Jesus androgynous, but God seems to care that his people are being led by capable men who lead the rest of God's people in bringing the Kingdom to their local neighborhood in all its forms.

While not all Christians are gifted or equipped for taking in orphans, it's pretty convicting that 65 million American evangelicals can't rescue 115,000 kids from an unstable hell. If the pagans in our neighborhoods aren't struck by how our churches are applying the Word of God to the needy, it's possible that we aren't the real deal yet. May we all pray that our churches are soon as mature as James commends. The revolution continues . . .

When the risen Jesus appeared to His disciples, He had a job for them to do. When someone who has conquered death asks you to do something, you better sit up and take notice. If Jesus was meek and mild during His life, He was strong and victorious in His resurrection. In the following passage, Jesus gave a rallying call that has sounded through the ages. People sometimes ask why some modern Christians are eager to be "mis