Matthew 10:24-39

Introduction
There are two opposite reactions I find among Christians to the conflict our faith may cause us in our society. One group looks for ways of witness where they will be respected. The other group seems almost to go looking for persecution.

With those different reactions, we come to today’s Lectionary Gospel reading. It is quite a shock after last week’s passage, where we saw that the mission Jesus calls us to is very much a ‘Mission Possible’. He is quite clear that the Gospel will not always be popular. How should we take account of that? That’s what this week’s sermon is all about. Here is what Jesus tells us:

1. Don’t Be Surprised
Here’s how Jesus opens what he says:

‘A disciple is not above the teacher, nor a slave above the master; it is enough for the disciple to be like the teacher, and the slave like the master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household! (Verses 24-25)

In other words, if Jesus is maligned, the same thing will happen to his followers. The ambition always to be able to witness to Christ and be respected is a futile one. Some will respect us. Others will not. Jesus himself suffered rejection, and so will we. So get used to the possibility that not everybody will like what Christians stand for and say. We may rightly not want to be confrontational unless we have to be, but there is no way of being faithful to Jesus and remaining permanently popular.

So does that mean that the Christians who go around looking for persecution are right? No. This is no reason to be deliberately offensive. The call of the Christian is still to do good to all, even loving our enemies. Jesus does not call us to pick a fight.

Nor is there a case to exaggerate the level of opposition to us and develop a persecution complex, as some Christians do. It is true that the Christian faith is much more marginal in our society today. It is less accepted, and before that, it is less understood. So we are likely to lose more debates in the public arena than before. Legislation that disregards the need of a child to have a father is one example. So is the upset caused by ‘Jerry Springer: The Opera’. But we face much less opposition in this country than in many lands. Talk to Indian Christians, facing organised opposition from Hindu political parties and Muslims. Appreciate the underground Christians who can only meet covertly in other lands. They suffer persecution.

Our problem comes because for centuries we have been used to Christianity being central to our national life. We can probably trace it all back to the fourth century, when the Emperor Constantine apparently converted to Christianity, and made the faith not only respectable, but the official religion of the Roman Empire. We have had centuries since then of an Established Church, and since Henry VIII, the sovereign has been the head of that church. That has left us much less used to the idea that Christians could face general opposition. (We have had Protestant-Catholic wars, of course, and followers of the Radical Reformation such as the Baptists would know more of the sense of alienation. However, the general point remains.)

So we need to hear Jesus say to us, ‘Don’t be surprised if following me brings you into conflict with the world.’ It is normal. Don’t go looking for it, still bless people, but it will happen. You may not expect it, you may consider it unjust, but it is standard treatment in the world for Christians. We are like the minority Jewish community in exile in Babylon. We live with different values in an alien empire. Life will not always be comfortable for us.

2. Don’t Be Afraid
If opposition is going to come, isn’t it natural to be afraid? Yet Jesus’ next words are ‘So have no fear of them’ (verse 26); ‘Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul’ (verse 28); and ‘So do not be afraid’ (verse 31).

The Bible has three hundred and sixty-six occurrences of the words ‘Do not fear’: one for every day of the year. Jesus, then, gives three of them here. There are three reasons not to be afraid of our opponents.

The first is that the enemies of Jesus will be judged. That is what Jesus means when he says that ‘nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known’ (verse 26). This isn’t a warning that God will expose all our inner thoughts. Rather, like a Robert Mugabe today, God’s opponents think they can keep their evil secret, but God will expose it, either in this life or the life to come. Justice will arrive. We are easily consumed with the here and now, but the eternal perspective reassures us not to fear our accusers.

The second ‘do not fear’ also reassures us that no enemy can ultimately destroy us, not even by killing us. There is a story told from the early centuries of the church, about a Christian artisan who was commissioned to make objects for a pagan temple. One of the famous early church leaders, Tertullian, told the man he must not accept the commission, because he would be supporting idolatry. The man, however, needed the income, and said, ‘But I must live.’ ‘Must you?’ replied Tertullian. No one but God can take away eternal life.

The third ‘do not fear’ comes with the assurance that we are worth far more than the sparrows, for whom the Father cares. It’s about not being afraid, because God values us much more highly. A sparrow may fall to the ground, and so may we. But we are made in the image of God. We are loved with an everlasting love. God’s love may not prevent us from suffering, any more than it stopped Jesus going to the Cross, but we are loved and cherished. God will preserve us.

God will judge his enemies. They cannot kill our eternal life. God loves us and he will preserve us. Believing these things, we can own the name of Jesus in the teeth of opposition in the world. So when we are mocked for our faith in Jesus, we can stand firm. When we are smeared for standing for social justice for the poor and the weak, our feet are on solid ground. When our belief in ancient wisdom is ridiculed as outdated nonsense, Jesus is pleased with our courageous stance. Yes, the world will throw words, laws and even violence against those who are faithful to Christ, but we need not fear. In Christ, we have something they don’t have. Something indestructible.

3. Don’t Be Surprised (Part 2)
Why a second part to what I’ve already said in my first point? Because that’s the way Hebrew logic often works. In our culture, we’re used to arguments that proceed along straight lines. So if there are three sections to an argument, we have the first part, the second part builds on it and then the third part builds on the second.

Not the Hebrews, though. Rather than a straight line, they argued more in a series of concentric circles, or a spiral. Either way, the outside stuff led to the centre.

So here, we have the other part of the ‘don’t be surprised’ teaching (verses 34-39). But boy, are we surprised! Jesus hasn’t come to bring peace but a sword (verse 34)? Jesus has come to split up families (verses 34-37)? Jesus calls people to give up their lives (verses 38-39)? What have we here – a cult leader?

I think we have shock language from Jesus. Like many Jewish people, he used extreme language to make a point. I believe he is saying that we shouldn’t be surprised if the opposition to our faith and mission comes from closer quarters than we might expect. We may reasonably anticipate disagreement from atheists and followers of other faiths. But what if those we expect to love us are our fiercest critics?

It was certainly Jesus’ own experience. His own family members thought he was out of his mind. If they had had the power in the first century to have him sectioned under the Mental Health Act, they would have done so.

Not only did his family oppose his mission, so did his spiritual family. Those most passionate to defend the pure Jewish faith had Jesus in their sights. Eventually, they got him.

This has been true throughout church history. The Church of England opposed John Wesley. The Methodists opposed General Booth. If we get passionate about the mission of Jesus today, we should not be surprised if the first wave of opposition comes from within the ranks of the church. The late American saint A W Tozer said that the average spiritual temperature in most churches is so cold that when a normal Christian comes in, everyone assumes that person has a fever. So people will gently try to tell us to cool down or calm down. If we don’t, then the next step will be a certain amount of emotional arm-twisting: ‘Please don’t be divisive.’ If that doesn’t stop us, then things will happen behind our backs, gloves will slowly be removed, and the unpleasantries will begin. No, do not be surprised if those who like an arctic spiritual temperature start to fight to keep it that way, and all in the name of faithfulness.

Conclusion
So do not be surprised. There will be opposition to living for the mission of Jesus, the Mission Possible. And it will start in the unlikeliest of places, with the people you might naturally consider your allies. This is the outward concentric circle of Jesus’ teaching here.

But that means it is there to focus us towards the centre. What’s in the centre? We’ve already looked at it. That was my second point, ‘Don’t be afraid.’ Jesus has given us reason after reason not to be afraid when we encounter resistance to his mission when we are faithful to him.

Opposition will come: it’s no good pretending otherwise, or trying to devise strategies that keep us sweet with everyone. If we manage that, then at some point we are likely to have been unfaithful to Jesus. But neither are we to be unnecessarily provocative. Our provocation is with the weapon of love.

When the opposition comes, it will come not initially from our natural enemies, but from those closest to us, especially at first from the family of God. It’s nothing unusual for religious people to employ heavies. But God will judge those who are merely religious without loving Jesus. They cannot take away our eternal life. They cannot replicate the fatherly love and astonishing grace that God has for his children.

So do not be surprised if faithful witness means a drop in your popularity rankings. Do not be surprised if trouble comes from surprising sources. But do not be afraid, either. Jesus keeps saying, ‘Do not fear’. And he has good reason.

Technorati Tags: JerrySpringerTheOpera, persecution, Constantine, HenryVIII, RobertMugabe, Tertullian, JohnWesley, WilliamBooth, AWTozer

Matthew 10:24-39

Introduction
There are two opposite reactions I find among Christians to the conflict our faith may cause us in our society. One group looks for ways of witness where they will be respected. The other group seems almost to go looking for persecution.

With those different reactions, we come to today’s Lectionary Gospel reading. It is quite a shock after last week’s passage, where we saw that the mission Jesus calls us to is very much a ‘Mission Possible’. He is quite clear that the Gospel will not always be popular. How should we take account of that? That’s what this week’s sermon is all about. Here is what Jesus tells us:

1. Don’t Be Surprised
Here’s how Jesus opens what he says:

‘A disciple is not above the teacher, nor a slave above the master; it is enough for the disciple to be like the teacher, and the slave like the master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household! (Verses 24-25)

In other words, if Jesus is maligned, the same thing will happen to his followers. The ambition always to be able to witness to Christ and be respected is a futile one. Some will respect us. Others will not. Jesus himself suffered rejection, and so will we. So get used to the possibility that not everybody will like what Christians stand for and say. We may rightly not want to be confrontational unless we have to be, but there is no way of being faithful to Jesus and remaining permanently popular.

So does that mean that the Christians who go around looking for persecution are right? No. This is no reason to be deliberately offensive. The call of the Christian is still to do good to all, even loving our enemies. Jesus does not call us to pick a fight.

Nor is there a case to exaggerate the level of opposition to us and develop a persecution complex, as some Christians do. It is true that the Christian faith is much more marginal in our society today. It is less accepted, and before that, it is less understood. So we are likely to lose more debates in the public arena than before. Legislation that disregards the need of a child to have a father is one example. So is the upset caused by ‘Jerry Springer: The Opera’. But we face much less opposition in this country than in many lands. Talk to Indian Christians, facing organised opposition from Hindu political parties and Muslims. Appreciate the underground Christians who can only meet covertly in other lands. They suffer persecution.

Our problem comes because for centuries we have been used to Christianity being central to our national life. We can probably trace it all back to the fourth century, when the Emperor Constantine apparently converted to Christianity, and made the faith not only respectable, but the official religion of the Roman Empire. We have had centuries since then of an Established Church, and since Henry VIII, the sovereign has been the head of that church. That has left us much less used to the idea that Christians could face general opposition. (We have had Protestant-Catholic wars, of course, and followers of the Radical Reformation such as the Baptists would know more of the sense of alienation. However, the general point remains.)

So we need to hear Jesus say to us, ‘Don’t be surprised if following me brings you into conflict with the world.’ It is normal. Don’t go looking for it, still bless people, but it will happen. You may not expect it, you may consider it unjust, but it is standard treatment in the world for Christians. We are like the minority Jewish community in exile in Babylon. We live with different values in an alien empire. Life will not always be comfortable for us.

2. Don’t Be Afraid
If opposition is going to come, isn’t it natural to be afraid? Yet Jesus’ next words are ‘So have no fear of them’ (verse 26); ‘Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul’ (verse 28); and ‘So do not be afraid’ (verse 31).

The Bible has three hundred and sixty-six occurrences of the words ‘Do not fear’: one for every day of the year. Jesus, then, gives three of them here. There are three reasons not to be afraid of our opponents.

The first is that the enemies of Jesus will be judged. That is what Jesus means when he says that ‘nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known’ (verse 26). This isn’t a warning that God will expose all our inner thoughts. Rather, like a Robert Mugabe today, God’s opponents think they can keep their evil secret, but God will expose it, either in this life or the life to come. Justice will arrive. We are easily consumed with the here and now, but the eternal perspective reassures us not to fear our accusers.

The second ‘do not fear’ also reassures us that no enemy can ultimately destroy us, not even by killing us. There is a story told from the early centuries of the church, about a Christian artisan who was commissioned to make objects for a pagan temple. One of the famous early church leaders, Tertullian, told the man he must not accept the commission, because he would be supporting idolatry. The man, however, needed the income, and said, ‘But I must live.’ ‘Must you?’ replied Tertullian. No one but God can take away eternal life.

The third ‘do not fear’ comes with the assurance that we are worth far more than the sparrows, for whom the Father cares. It’s about not being afraid, because God values us much more highly. A sparrow may fall to the ground, and so may we. But we are made in the image of God. We are loved with an everlasting love. God’s love may not prevent us from suffering, any more than it stopped Jesus going to the Cross, but we are loved and cherished. God will preserve us.

God will judge his enemies. They cannot kill our eternal life. God loves us and he will preserve us. Believing these things, we can own the name of Jesus in the teeth of opposition in the world. So when we are mocked for our faith in Jesus, we can stand firm. When we are smeared for standing for social justice for the poor and the weak, our feet are on solid ground. When our belief in ancient wisdom is ridiculed as outdated nonsense, Jesus is pleased with our courageous stance. Yes, the world will throw words, laws and even violence against those who are faithful to Christ, but we need not fear. In Christ, we have something they don’t have. Something indestructible.

3. Don’t Be Surprised (Part 2)
Why a second part to what I’ve already said in my first point? Because that’s the way Hebrew logic often works. In our culture, we’re used to arguments that proceed along straight lines. So if there are three sections to an argument, we have the first part, the second part builds on it and then the third part builds on the second.

Not the Hebrews, though. Rather than a straight line, they argued more in a series of concentric circles, or a spiral. Either way, the outside stuff led to the centre.

So here, we have the other part of the ‘don’t be surprised’ teaching (verses 34-39). But boy, are we surprised! Jesus hasn’t come to bring peace but a sword (verse 34)? Jesus has come to split up families (verses 34-37)? Jesus calls people to give up their lives (verses 38-39)? What have we here – a cult leader?

I think we have shock language from Jesus. Like many Jewish people, he used extreme language to make a point. I believe he is saying that we shouldn’t be surprised if the opposition to our faith and mission comes from closer quarters than we might expect. We may reasonably anticipate disagreement from atheists and followers of other faiths. But what if those we expect to love us are our fiercest critics?

It was certainly Jesus’ own experience. His own family members thought he was out of his mind. If they had had the power in the first century to have him sectioned under the Mental Health Act, they would have done so.

Not only did his family oppose his mission, so did his spiritual family. Those most passionate to defend the pure Jewish faith had Jesus in their sights. Eventually, they got him.

This has been true throughout church history. The Church of England opposed John Wesley. The Methodists opposed General Booth. If we get passionate about the mission of Jesus today, we should not be surprised if the first wave of opposition comes from within the ranks of the church. The late American saint A W Tozer said that the average spiritual temperature in most churches is so cold that when a normal Christian comes in, everyone assumes that person has a fever. So people will gently try to tell us to cool down or calm down. If we don’t, then the next step will be a certain amount of emotional arm-twisting: ‘Please don’t be divisive.’ If that doesn’t stop us, then things will happen behind our backs, gloves will slowly be removed, and the unpleasantries will begin. No, do not be surprised if those who like an arctic spiritual temperature start to fight to keep it that way, and all in the name of faithfulness.

Conclusion
So do not be surprised. There will be opposition to living for the mission of Jesus, the Mission Possible. And it will start in the unlikeliest of places, with the people you might naturally consider your allies. This is the outward concentric circle of Jesus’ teaching here.

But that means it is there to focus us towards the centre. What’s in the centre? We’ve already looked at it. That was my second point, ‘Don’t be afraid.’ Jesus has given us reason after reason not to be afraid when we encounter resistance to his mission when we are faithful to him.

Opposition will come: it’s no good pretending otherwise, or trying to devise strategies that keep us sweet with everyone. If we manage that, then at some point we are likely to have been unfaithful to Jesus. But neither are we to be unnecessarily provocative. Our provocation is with the weapon of love.

When the opposition comes, it will come not initially from our natural enemies, but from those closest to us, especially at first from the family of God. It’s nothing unusual for religious people to employ heavies. But God will judge those who are merely religious without loving Jesus. They cannot take away our eternal life. They cannot replicate the fatherly love and astonishing grace that God has for his children.

So do not be surprised if faithful witness means a drop in your popularity rankings. Do not be surprised if trouble comes from surprising sources. But do not be afraid, either. Jesus keeps saying, ‘Do not fear’. And he has good reason.

Technorati Tags: JerrySpringerTheOpera, persecution, Constantine, HenryVIII, RobertMugabe, Tertullian, JohnWesley, WilliamBooth, AWTozer

Matthew 10:24-39

Introduction
There are two opposite reactions I find among Christians to the conflict our faith may cause us in our society. One group looks for ways of witness where they will be respected. The other group seems almost to go looking for persecution.

With those different reactions, we come to today’s Lectionary Gospel reading. It is quite a shock after last week’s passage, where we saw that the mission Jesus calls us to is very much a ‘Mission Possible’. He is quite clear that the Gospel will not always be popular. How should we take account of that? That’s what this week’s sermon is all about. Here is what Jesus tells us:

1. Don’t Be Surprised
Here’s how Jesus opens what he says:

‘A disciple is not above the teacher, nor a slave above the master; it is enough for the disciple to be like the teacher, and the slave like the master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household! (Verses 24-25)

In other words, if Jesus is maligned, the same thing will happen to his followers. The ambition always to be able to witness to Christ and be respected is a futile one. Some will respect us. Others will not. Jesus himself suffered rejection, and so will we. So get used to the possibility that not everybody will like what Christians stand for and say. We may rightly not want to be confrontational unless we have to be, but there is no way of being faithful to Jesus and remaining permanently popular.

So does that mean that the Christians who go around looking for persecution are right? No. This is no reason to be deliberately offensive. The call of the Christian is still to do good to all, even loving our enemies. Jesus does not call us to pick a fight.

Nor is there a case to exaggerate the level of opposition to us and develop a persecution complex, as some Christians do. It is true that the Christian faith is much more marginal in our society today. It is less accepted, and before that, it is less understood. So we are likely to lose more debates in the public arena than before. Legislation that disregards the need of a child to have a father is one example. So is the upset caused by ‘Jerry Springer: The Opera’. But we face much less opposition in this country than in many lands. Talk to Indian Christians, facing organised opposition from Hindu political parties and Muslims. Appreciate the underground Christians who can only meet covertly in other lands. They suffer persecution.

Our problem comes because for centuries we have been used to Christianity being central to our national life. We can probably trace it all back to the fourth century, when the Emperor Constantine apparently converted to Christianity, and made the faith not only respectable, but the official religion of the Roman Empire. We have had centuries since then of an Established Church, and since Henry VIII, the sovereign has been the head of that church. That has left us much less used to the idea that Christians could face general opposition. (We have had Protestant-Catholic wars, of course, and followers of the Radical Reformation such as the Baptists would know more of the sense of alienation. However, the general point remains.)

So we need to hear Jesus say to us, ‘Don’t be surprised if following me brings you into conflict with the world.’ It is normal. Don’t go looking for it, still bless people, but it will happen. You may not expect it, you may consider it unjust, but it is standard treatment in the world for Christians. We are like the minority Jewish community in exile in Babylon. We live with different values in an alien empire. Life will not always be comfortable for us.

2. Don’t Be Afraid
If opposition is going to come, isn’t it natural to be afraid? Yet Jesus’ next words are ‘So have no fear of them’ (verse 26); ‘Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul’ (verse 28); and ‘So do not be afraid’ (verse 31).

The Bible has three hundred and sixty-six occurrences of the words ‘Do not fear’: one for every day of the year. Jesus, then, gives three of them here. There are three reasons not to be afraid of our opponents.

The first is that the enemies of Jesus will be judged. That is what Jesus means when he says that ‘nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known’ (verse 26). This isn’t a warning that God will expose all our inner thoughts. Rather, like a Robert Mugabe today, God’s opponents think they can keep their evil secret, but God will expose it, either in this life or the life to come. Justice will arrive. We are easily consumed with the here and now, but the eternal perspective reassures us not to fear our accusers.

The second ‘do not fear’ also reassures us that no enemy can ultimately destroy us, not even by killing us. There is a story told from the early centuries of the church, about a Christian artisan who was commissioned to make objects for a pagan temple. One of the famous early church leaders, Tertullian, told the man he must not accept the commission, because he would be supporting idolatry. The man, however, needed the income, and said, ‘But I must live.’ ‘Must you?’ replied Tertullian. No one but God can take away eternal life.

The third ‘do not fear’ comes with the assurance that we are worth far more than the sparrows, for whom the Father cares. It’s about not being afraid, because God values us much more highly. A sparrow may fall to the ground, and so may we. But we are made in the image of God. We are loved with an everlasting love. God’s love may not prevent us from suffering, any more than it stopped Jesus going to the Cross, but we are loved and cherished. God will preserve us.

God will judge his enemies. They cannot kill our eternal life. God loves us and he will preserve us. Believing these things, we can own the name of Jesus in the teeth of opposition in the world. So when we are mocked for our faith in Jesus, we can stand firm. When we are smeared for standing for social justice for the poor and the weak, our feet are on solid ground. When our belief in ancient wisdom is ridiculed as outdated nonsense, Jesus is pleased with our courageous stance. Yes, the world will throw words, laws and even violence against those who are faithful to Christ, but we need not fear. In Christ, we have something they don’t have. Something indestructible.

3. Don’t Be Surprised (Part 2)
Why a second part to what I’ve already said in my first point? Because that’s the way Hebrew logic often works. In our culture, we’re used to arguments that proceed along straight lines. So if there are three sections to an argument, we have the first part, the second part builds on it and then the third part builds on the second.

Not the Hebrews, though. Rather than a straight line, they argued more in a series of concentric circles, or a spiral. Either way, the outside stuff led to the centre.

So here, we have the other part of the ‘don’t be surprised’ teaching (verses 34-39). But boy, are we surprised! Jesus hasn’t come to bring peace but a sword (verse 34)? Jesus has come to split up families (verses 34-37)? Jesus calls people to give up their lives (verses 38-39)? What have we here – a cult leader?

I think we have shock language from Jesus. Like many Jewish people, he used extreme language to make a point. I believe he is saying that we shouldn’t be surprised if the opposition to our faith and mission comes from closer quarters than we might expect. We may reasonably anticipate disagreement from atheists and followers of other faiths. But what if those we expect to love us are our fiercest critics?

It was certainly Jesus’ own experience. His own family members thought he was out of his mind. If they had had the power in the first century to have him sectioned under the Mental Health Act, they would have done so.

Not only did his family oppose his mission, so did his spiritual family. Those most passionate to defend the pure Jewish faith had Jesus in their sights. Eventually, they got him.

This has been true throughout church history. The Church of England opposed John Wesley. The Methodists opposed General Booth. If we get passionate about the mission of Jesus today, we should not be surprised if the first wave of opposition comes from within the ranks of the church. The late American saint A W Tozer said that the average spiritual temperature in most churches is so cold that when a normal Christian comes in, everyone assumes that person has a fever. So people will gently try to tell us to cool down or calm down. If we don’t, then the next step will be a certain amount of emotional arm-twisting: ‘Please don’t be divisive.’ If that doesn’t stop us, then things will happen behind our backs, gloves will slowly be removed, and the unpleasantries will begin. No, do not be surprised if those who like an arctic spiritual temperature start to fight to keep it that way, and all in the name of faithfulness.

Conclusion
So do not be surprised. There will be opposition to living for the mission of Jesus, the Mission Possible. And it will start in the unlikeliest of places, with the people you might naturally consider your allies. This is the outward concentric circle of Jesus’ teaching here.

But that means it is there to focus us towards the centre. What’s in the centre? We’ve already looked at it. That was my second point, ‘Don’t be afraid.’ Jesus has given us reason after reason not to be afraid when we encounter resistance to his mission when we are faithful to him.

Opposition will come: it’s no good pretending otherwise, or trying to devise strategies that keep us sweet with everyone. If we manage that, then at some point we are likely to have been unfaithful to Jesus. But neither are we to be unnecessarily provocative. Our provocation is with the weapon of love.

When the opposition comes, it will come not initially from our natural enemies, but from those closest to us, especially at first from the family of God. It’s nothing unusual for religious people to employ heavies. But God will judge those who are merely religious without loving Jesus. They cannot take away our eternal life. They cannot replicate the fatherly love and astonishing grace that God has for his children.

So do not be surprised if faithful witness means a drop in your popularity rankings. Do not be surprised if trouble comes from surprising sources. But do not be afraid, either. Jesus keeps saying, ‘Do not fear’. And he has good reason.

Technorati Tags: JerrySpringerTheOpera, persecution, Constantine, HenryVIII, RobertMugabe, Tertullian, JohnWesley, WilliamBooth, AWTozer

I started writing my posts about Todd Bentley and the ‘Florida Outpouring’, because I had been invited to a meeting locally to discuss whether we should do something in Chelmsford about it. That meeting took place yesterday afternoon. Much of it was fine, but today I am kicking myself about parts of it.

What was good? Quite a bit, actually. There was a clear distinction between the problematic aspects of Bentley and the sense that God was nevertheless doing something. Maybe not all that it was always claimed to be – there was an acknowledgment that in the excitement, too much might be being claimed at times. The two or three people present who had actually been to Lakeland recognised that some things should be rejected or put aside. They carefully linked the work of God to the concentration on worship there. They recognised that Bentley behaves in certain ways, because he is a particular personality type, and others would behave differently. They affirmed that the Florida style should not be transplanted or copied, but that the genuine struggle to find a local expression should be undertaken. We all accepted that conversion is the greatest miracle. Everyone expressed pastoral concern for people with different views or attitudes. We raised questions about ‘Why go to a particular location to receive?’ and kept talking about discernment.

Having said that, why am I today uncomfortable? I felt there was a rush to get something done. People said that unless we acted quickly, the moment might pass. Instead of having a harvest, we might have just the rotten fruit at the end of the harvest. Is that a tacit acceptance that this is something passing? Does God have no room for the cautious, who genuinely take time to weigh something up? Who puts us under pressure to rush: is it God or the enemy? I think that needs debating. Of course, salvation is urgent, but as someone who makes his best decisions slowly, I’m a little nervous.

Then – let’s suppose we’re right that Bentley behaves in a certain way as a consequence of being a particular personality type. He probably differs from me in three, if not all four sections of Myers Briggs. Is that a reason for checking in our brains at the door? I still think not. This is where the Body of Christ comes into play, with differing gifts all contributing to the whole. Those of us who feel called to use our brains as an act of worship have something important to offer here. Yes, the ‘experiential’ type people can help ensure we don’t become dry and dusty academics, but we bring important gifts to the Body, too.

My other discomfort was over something slipped in near the end that – to my shame – I didn’t challenge. I had made it clear in the meeting that I felt the ‘violent’ approach of Bentley was wrong. One man who had been to Lakeland spoke of how God had told him to punch someone who needed healing on the arm. Later, this person told the man that he was much better. Does that prove he was right, or am I still right to be queasy about this approach? I think the latter. Why do we accept such claims so easily? Is it because we are so desperate for something to happen that we drop our critical faculties? ‘The Lord said’ trumps everything. It needs weighing.

The meeting concurred that we needed to meet for further prayer (although there was also general consensus about ‘doing something together’). I am awaiting an email with a suggested date for a day of prayer. I shall have to raise my concern at that point and not feel inhibited or pressured to stay silent.Technorati Tags: ToddBentley, Chelmsford, MyersBriggs

I started writing my posts about Todd Bentley and the ‘Florida Outpouring’, because I had been invited to a meeting locally to discuss whether we should do something in Chelmsford about it. That meeting took place yesterday afternoon. Much of it was fine, but today I am kicking myself about parts of it.

What was good? Quite a bit, actually. There was a clear distinction between the problematic aspects of Bentley and the sense that God was nevertheless doing something. Maybe not all that it was always claimed to be – there was an acknowledgment that in the excitement, too much might be being claimed at times. The two or three people present who had actually been to Lakeland recognised that some things should be rejected or put aside. They carefully linked the work of God to the concentration on worship there. They recognised that Bentley behaves in certain ways, because he is a particular personality type, and others would behave differently. They affirmed that the Florida style should not be transplanted or copied, but that the genuine struggle to find a local expression should be undertaken. We all accepted that conversion is the greatest miracle. Everyone expressed pastoral concern for people with different views or attitudes. We raised questions about ‘Why go to a particular location to receive?’ and kept talking about discernment.

Having said that, why am I today uncomfortable? I felt there was a rush to get something done. People said that unless we acted quickly, the moment might pass. Instead of having a harvest, we might have just the rotten fruit at the end of the harvest. Is that a tacit acceptance that this is something passing? Does God have no room for the cautious, who genuinely take time to weigh something up? Who puts us under pressure to rush: is it God or the enemy? I think that needs debating. Of course, salvation is urgent, but as someone who makes his best decisions slowly, I’m a little nervous.

Then – let’s suppose we’re right that Bentley behaves in a certain way as a consequence of being a particular personality type. He probably differs from me in three, if not all four sections of Myers Briggs. Is that a reason for checking in our brains at the door? I still think not. This is where the Body of Christ comes into play, with differing gifts all contributing to the whole. Those of us who feel called to use our brains as an act of worship have something important to offer here. Yes, the ‘experiential’ type people can help ensure we don’t become dry and dusty academics, but we bring important gifts to the Body, too.

My other discomfort was over something slipped in near the end that – to my shame – I didn’t challenge. I had made it clear in the meeting that I felt the ‘violent’ approach of Bentley was wrong. One man who had been to Lakeland spoke of how God had told him to punch someone who needed healing on the arm. Later, this person told the man that he was much better. Does that prove he was right, or am I still right to be queasy about this approach? I think the latter. Why do we accept such claims so easily? Is it because we are so desperate for something to happen that we drop our critical faculties? ‘The Lord said’ trumps everything. It needs weighing.

The meeting concurred that we needed to meet for further prayer (although there was also general consensus about ‘doing something together’). I am awaiting an email with a suggested date for a day of prayer. I shall have to raise my concern at that point and not feel inhibited or pressured to stay silent.Technorati Tags: ToddBentley, Chelmsford, MyersBriggs

I started writing my posts about Todd Bentley and the ‘Florida Outpouring’, because I had been invited to a meeting locally to discuss whether we should do something in Chelmsford about it. That meeting took place yesterday afternoon. Much of it was fine, but today I am kicking myself about parts of it.

What was good? Quite a bit, actually. There was a clear distinction between the problematic aspects of Bentley and the sense that God was nevertheless doing something. Maybe not all that it was always claimed to be – there was an acknowledgment that in the excitement, too much might be being claimed at times. The two or three people present who had actually been to Lakeland recognised that some things should be rejected or put aside. They carefully linked the work of God to the concentration on worship there. They recognised that Bentley behaves in certain ways, because he is a particular personality type, and others would behave differently. They affirmed that the Florida style should not be transplanted or copied, but that the genuine struggle to find a local expression should be undertaken. We all accepted that conversion is the greatest miracle. Everyone expressed pastoral concern for people with different views or attitudes. We raised questions about ‘Why go to a particular location to receive?’ and kept talking about discernment.

Having said that, why am I today uncomfortable? I felt there was a rush to get something done. People said that unless we acted quickly, the moment might pass. Instead of having a harvest, we might have just the rotten fruit at the end of the harvest. Is that a tacit acceptance that this is something passing? Does God have no room for the cautious, who genuinely take time to weigh something up? Who puts us under pressure to rush: is it God or the enemy? I think that needs debating. Of course, salvation is urgent, but as someone who makes his best decisions slowly, I’m a little nervous.

Then – let’s suppose we’re right that Bentley behaves in a certain way as a consequence of being a particular personality type. He probably differs from me in three, if not all four sections of Myers Briggs. Is that a reason for checking in our brains at the door? I still think not. This is where the Body of Christ comes into play, with differing gifts all contributing to the whole. Those of us who feel called to use our brains as an act of worship have something important to offer here. Yes, the ‘experiential’ type people can help ensure we don’t become dry and dusty academics, but we bring important gifts to the Body, too.

My other discomfort was over something slipped in near the end that – to my shame – I didn’t challenge. I had made it clear in the meeting that I felt the ‘violent’ approach of Bentley was wrong. One man who had been to Lakeland spoke of how God had told him to punch someone who needed healing on the arm. Later, this person told the man that he was much better. Does that prove he was right, or am I still right to be queasy about this approach? I think the latter. Why do we accept such claims so easily? Is it because we are so desperate for something to happen that we drop our critical faculties? ‘The Lord said’ trumps everything. It needs weighing.

The meeting concurred that we needed to meet for further prayer (although there was also general consensus about ‘doing something together’). I am awaiting an email with a suggested date for a day of prayer. I shall have to raise my concern at that point and not feel inhibited or pressured to stay silent.Technorati Tags: ToddBentley, Chelmsford, MyersBriggs

Matthew
9:35-10:23

Introduction
Jesus could not be a leader in our church.

There, I’ve said it.

If Jesus offered for the ministry, we would turn him down.

Why? Because we structure for pastoral care, but Jesus
planned for mission. If you want to be a minister, you are offering to be in ‘pastoral
charge’ of a congregation, administer the sacraments to the faithful and preach
the Gospel to them. If you were to be an apostle, a prophet or an evangelist,
you wouldn’t fit the job description. Jesus was all those things.

Oh, he showed pastoral care and taught the disciples, too –
he uniquely was the master of all the leadership gifts. But here, as so often
in the Gospels, Jesus is a man on a mission. His Father’s mission.

So, rather than taking our cue from church – which may be ‘life,
Jim, but not as we know it’ – I want us to listen to the subversive Jesus, the
missionary Jesus, to understand how he calls us to share in his Father’s
mission.

1. Compassion
Mission starts with compassion. It does for Jesus, here. He heals the sick
(verse 35), but also observes that the crowds are ‘harassed and helpless, like
sheep without a shepherd’ (verse 36). In other words, they are lost, without
true direction and purpose in life. This moves Jesus at the very depth of his
being. How can people be like rudderless ships, blown everywhere and without
the destiny of his Father’s kingdom? He is on the point of weeping.

This needs to motivate our concern for mission, too. Our reason
for reaching out to people has to be their need of Christ. Some jog along happily
without him, not realising their folly. Others sink into addictions (from
shopping to narcotic drugs) as a means of covering their emotional pain, or
because they cannot cope with stress. Some live for the moment, regardless of
the harm they do to themselves and others. Others have an emptiness they don’t
want to face. These are reasons for mission.

How that contrasts with some approaches in the church. Sadly,
sometimes our motivation for mission is not compassion for those missing from
Christ; it is to save our own skins. If we don’t do something, our church will
close. We need more people in order to do the jobs. These speak more about the maintenance
of a religious club than compassion for the lost. Which do we suppose Jesus
would support? Our passage tells us the answer. He has compassion for the
missing.

2. Prayer
Does compassion drive Jesus straight into action? No. It drives him to prayer,
and he calls his disciples to pray, too:

Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but
the labourers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out
labourers into his harvest.’ (Verses 37-38)

Here’s the point: mission is a spiritual exercise. You can
have all the strategies, tactics, feasibility studies and risk assessments you
like: ultimately, mission is a spiritual cause and requires a spiritual foundation.
The vehicle is spiritual, and the fuel must be spiritual. Prayer is the fuel of
mission.

So mission is not in the first instance about finding the
right methods, programmes or mechanisms: it must be a subject for prayer. ‘Lord,
you have moved our hearts with compassion, so we pray to you. You see the need,
Lord, raise up those who will help.’ Prayerless mission is hopeless mission. Prayerful
mission is hopeful mission.

But there is a catch. Just because mission depends on prayer
doesn’t mean we leave it all in God’s hands and do nothing ourselves. This is
where it’s great that the Lectionary reading straddles chapters nine and ten of
Matthew. Chapter 9 ends with this call to prayer. Chapter 10 begins with Jesus
calling the apostles, and commissioning them to heal people and cast out evil
spirits (verses 1-4). There is no separation of these two things in Matthew’s
thought.

What do I mean? I mean that we need to pray, but we also
need to be willing to be part of God’s answer to our prayers. The twelve
apostles were among those Jesus called to pray. Next thing we know, Jesus is
saying, you go out on mission.

So here is an important lesson for us from Jesus. Never
forget that mission is spiritual, and can only be accomplished with the
spiritual fuel of prayer. But be willing to be part of the answer. So – let us
pray for those where God fires us with compassion. But let us also be willing
to be those who share God’s love with the same people.

3. Start Where You
Are
Doesn’t it seem strange that Jesus tells the apostles not to go to the Gentiles
or the Samaritans, but to ‘the lost sheep of the house of Israel’ (verses 5-6)?
Wouldn’t you think he’d send them to those furthest away from God’s kingdom, to
those most likely depraved and evil, in the sight of a good Jew? No. The lost
sheep of the house of Israel.

I’ve met quite a few Christians who have a secret fear of
asking God what he wants them to do with their lives, and so they don’t ask
him, because they expect it will be something they dread. One common fear has
been the thought that the moment you open yourself up to God’s will for your
life, he will send you far away across the sea to do the thing you fear the
most.

Now I don’t want to knock the idea that God calls us to
tremendous challenges, but I do want to question the idea that God is some kind
of sadist who only calls us to the things we hate. And it may be that in the
case of mission, he often calls us to start where we are. It’s what happens in
the Acts of the Apostles: they start in Jerusalem, they expand into Judea, then
they get into Samaria and eventually into the Gentile world proper.

It may be similar with us. God calls us to start our missionary
witness with those closest to us. Local people. Friends. Neighbours. Family members.
Even church people. Some people in our churches are quite practised at putting
on a good Christian mask when they have never committed themselves to Christ. I’m
not suggesting we go all judgmental, but I am saying that the place to start
talking about Christ and to demonstrating his love in word and deed is with our
nearest and dearest. That itself can be challenge enough for the time being!

4. Unconditional Love

Whenever parents approach me about a baptism or a thanksgiving service for
their children, the question usually comes up about a fee. How much does a
christening cost in your church, they ask. When I reply that it costs nothing,
they are often surprised.

Here, Jesus tells the apostles to preach the kingdom of God,
cure the sick and cast out demons, all without making a charge (verses 7-8). What’s
that about? Didn’t they need money, food, clothing and somewhere to live? Why
refuse to take payment?

I think it’s a sign that everything we offer in mission is
done so with unconditional love. We offer God’s love with no strings attached. We
do not make people jump through hoops to receive blessings, we simply offer the
Gospel proclaimed and demonstrated. Some churches offer social programmes to
the elderly or to children, but only after an evangelistic talk. You may be
hungry, but you can’t eat unless you listen to what we say. That isn’t
unconditional love. Offering God’s love without any conditions is a sign of the
Gospel. People may say there’s no such thing as a free lunch, but in Gospel terms,
there is, and that’s what we’re called to do in offering Christ to the world.

5. Simplicity
A dear friend of mine works for an evangelistic organisation called Through Faith Missions. This group
is best known for a series of missions called ‘The Walk of a Thousand Men’. With
a particular concern for reaching men with the Gospel, they recruit hundreds of
men to walk throughout a county or a region, sharing the Good News. They sleep
on church floors and move from place to place with their rucksacks. They are
only allowed to bring a very limited amount of cash with them on the missions,
and at one stage (I’m not sure if this is still the case) didn’t allow the men
to bring a mobile phone or credit card with them. It’s their interpretation of
what Jesus says in this passage:

Take no gold, or silver, or copper in your belts, no bag for
your journey, or two tunics, or sandals, or a staff; for labourers deserve
their food. (Verses 9-10)

The point is one of simplicity, of simple faith in Christ to
meet all needs. And Christ does. In fact, despite the rigorous amount of
physical exercise on these missions and the dependence on others (especially local
Christians) to feed them, several men have reported putting on weight during
the missions!

Jesus is reminding his apostles and us that mission is a
simple thing. It doesn’t require a huge budget in the normal run of things
(although I am involved in one such project, re:fresh08,
right now). Sometimes we see the big churches with lots of money, staff and
ideas, or we look at the big missions or the well-known Christians and feel
discouraged. We think, that’s all way beyond us, we don’t have a hope. Jesus says
otherwise. He kick-started his apostles into mission without money, food or
clothing. It just requires a willingness to go in the name of Jesus, to love people
in his name, and to love them enough to talk about him. Any disciple of Jesus
can do that. At heart, the mission of Jesus is simple.

6. God Prepares the
Way
Mike Breen, an Anglican vicar now working in the States, used to tell a story
about when he was a vicar in Brixton. The parish had a worship band leading the
music on Sundays, and one day Breen was in his back garden one Saturday when
the oik of a teenager next door called out to him, ‘Oi vicar! I hear you’ve got
a band at your church. I play guitar. Can I join?’

This posed a problem. The parish had a strict policy that
only committed Christians could play in the band, because they had the holy
task of leading worship. But what could Mike Breen say? He said, ‘Bring your
guitar tomorrow morning.’

He took him along, introduced him to the band and said, ‘Here’s
your new guitarist.’ He made him stand at the back, where no one in the
congregation could see him. The lad became a regular in the band.

Breen left that parish, but returned a few years later to
take some special services. Guess who was leading the band, having become a
Christian? He was about to go to university to study music.

Jesus says,

Whatever town or village you enter, find out who in it is
worthy, and stay there until you leave. As you enter the house, greet it. If
the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it; but if it is not worthy, let
your peace return to you. If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your
words, shake off the dust from your feet as you leave that house or town.
(Verses 11-14)

The point is a simple one: God goes ahead of us, working in
people’s hearts. We discover that when we find who is responsive to our message
of peace. Our job is not to initiate: it is to join in with what God is already
doing. If there is resistance, it may be legitimate to move on to someone or
somewhere else. For God always makes the first move in salvation, we don’t. So
when we find there is a positive reception, that shows us where to concentrate
our efforts.

Conclusion
I could go on, ploughing through Jesus’ teaching and example on mission. But I’ve
given you half a dozen bullet points to ponder, and I think there is much here
to encourage us that while mission seems daunting in the way the church has
often presented it, with Jesus mission is Mission Possible.

Matthew
9:35-10:23

Introduction
Jesus could not be a leader in our church.

There, I’ve said it.

If Jesus offered for the ministry, we would turn him down.

Why? Because we structure for pastoral care, but Jesus
planned for mission. If you want to be a minister, you are offering to be in ‘pastoral
charge’ of a congregation, administer the sacraments to the faithful and preach
the Gospel to them. If you were to be an apostle, a prophet or an evangelist,
you wouldn’t fit the job description. Jesus was all those things.

Oh, he showed pastoral care and taught the disciples, too –
he uniquely was the master of all the leadership gifts. But here, as so often
in the Gospels, Jesus is a man on a mission. His Father’s mission.

So, rather than taking our cue from church – which may be ‘life,
Jim, but not as we know it’ – I want us to listen to the subversive Jesus, the
missionary Jesus, to understand how he calls us to share in his Father’s
mission.

1. Compassion
Mission starts with compassion. It does for Jesus, here. He heals the sick
(verse 35), but also observes that the crowds are ‘harassed and helpless, like
sheep without a shepherd’ (verse 36). In other words, they are lost, without
true direction and purpose in life. This moves Jesus at the very depth of his
being. How can people be like rudderless ships, blown everywhere and without
the destiny of his Father’s kingdom? He is on the point of weeping.

This needs to motivate our concern for mission, too. Our reason
for reaching out to people has to be their need of Christ. Some jog along happily
without him, not realising their folly. Others sink into addictions (from
shopping to narcotic drugs) as a means of covering their emotional pain, or
because they cannot cope with stress. Some live for the moment, regardless of
the harm they do to themselves and others. Others have an emptiness they don’t
want to face. These are reasons for mission.

How that contrasts with some approaches in the church. Sadly,
sometimes our motivation for mission is not compassion for those missing from
Christ; it is to save our own skins. If we don’t do something, our church will
close. We need more people in order to do the jobs. These speak more about the maintenance
of a religious club than compassion for the lost. Which do we suppose Jesus
would support? Our passage tells us the answer. He has compassion for the
missing.

2. Prayer
Does compassion drive Jesus straight into action? No. It drives him to prayer,
and he calls his disciples to pray, too:

Then he said to his disciples, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but
the labourers are few; therefore ask the Lord of the harvest to send out
labourers into his harvest.’ (Verses 37-38)

Here’s the point: mission is a spiritual exercise. You can
have all the strategies, tactics, feasibility studies and risk assessments you
like: ultimately, mission is a spiritual cause and requires a spiritual foundation.
The vehicle is spiritual, and the fuel must be spiritual. Prayer is the fuel of
mission.

So mission is not in the first instance about finding the
right methods, programmes or mechanisms: it must be a subject for prayer. ‘Lord,
you have moved our hearts with compassion, so we pray to you. You see the need,
Lord, raise up those who will help.’ Prayerless mission is hopeless mission. Prayerful
mission is hopeful mission.

But there is a catch. Just because mission depends on prayer
doesn’t mean we leave it all in God’s hands and do nothing ourselves. This is
where it’s great that the Lectionary reading straddles chapters nine and ten of
Matthew. Chapter 9 ends with this call to prayer. Chapter 10 begins with Jesus
calling the apostles, and commissioning them to heal people and cast out evil
spirits (verses 1-4). There is no separation of these two things in Matthew’s
thought.

What do I mean? I mean that we need to pray, but we also
need to be willing to be part of God’s answer to our prayers. The twelve
apostles were among those Jesus called to pray. Next thing we know, Jesus is
saying, you go out on mission.

So here is an important lesson for us from Jesus. Never
forget that mission is spiritual, and can only be accomplished with the
spiritual fuel of prayer. But be willing to be part of the answer. So – let us
pray for those where God fires us with compassion. But let us also be willing
to be those who share God’s love with the same people.

3. Start Where You
Are
Doesn’t it seem strange that Jesus tells the apostles not to go to the Gentiles
or the Samaritans, but to ‘the lost sheep of the house of Israel’ (verses 5-6)?
Wouldn’t you think he’d send them to those furthest away from God’s kingdom, to
those most likely depraved and evil, in the sight of a good Jew? No. The lost
sheep of the house of Israel.

I’ve met quite a few Christians who have a secret fear of
asking God what he wants them to do with their lives, and so they don’t ask
him, because they expect it will be something they dread. One common fear has
been the thought that the moment you open yourself up to God’s will for your
life, he will send you far away across the sea to do the thing you fear the
most.

Now I don’t want to knock the idea that God calls us to
tremendous challenges, but I do want to question the idea that God is some kind
of sadist who only calls us to the things we hate. And it may be that in the
case of mission, he often calls us to start where we are. It’s what happens in
the Acts of the Apostles: they start in Jerusalem, they expand into Judea, then
they get into Samaria and eventually into the Gentile world proper.

It may be similar with us. God calls us to start our missionary
witness with those closest to us. Local people. Friends. Neighbours. Family members.
Even church people. Some people in our churches are quite practised at putting
on a good Christian mask when they have never committed themselves to Christ. I’m
not suggesting we go all judgmental, but I am saying that the place to start
talking about Christ and to demonstrating his love in word and deed is with our
nearest and dearest. That itself can be challenge enough for the time being!

4. Unconditional Love

Whenever parents approach me about a baptism or a thanksgiving service for
their children, the question usually comes up about a fee. How much does a
christening cost in your church, they ask. When I reply that it costs nothing,
they are often surprised.

Here, Jesus tells the apostles to preach the kingdom of God,
cure the sick and cast out demons, all without making a charge (verses 7-8). What’s
that about? Didn’t they need money, food, clothing and somewhere to live? Why
refuse to take payment?

I think it’s a sign that everything we offer in mission is
done so with unconditional love. We offer God’s love with no strings attached. We
do not make people jump through hoops to receive blessings, we simply offer the
Gospel proclaimed and demonstrated. Some churches offer social programmes to
the elderly or to children, but only after an evangelistic talk. You may be
hungry, but you can’t eat unless you listen to what we say. That isn’t
unconditional love. Offering God’s love without any conditions is a sign of the
Gospel. People may say there’s no such thing as a free lunch, but in Gospel terms,
there is, and that’s what we’re called to do in offering Christ to the world.

5. Simplicity
A dear friend of mine works for an evangelistic organisation called Through Faith Missions. This group
is best known for a series of missions called ‘The Walk of a Thousand Men’. With
a particular concern for reaching men with the Gospel, they recruit hundreds of
men to walk throughout a county or a region, sharing the Good News. They sleep
on church floors and move from place to place with their rucksacks. They are
only allowed to bring a very limited amount of cash with them on the missions,
and at one stage (I’m not sure if this is still the case) didn’t allow the men
to bring a mobile phone or credit card with them. It’s their interpretation of
what Jesus says in this passage:

Take no gold, or silver, or copper in your belts, no bag for
your journey, or two tunics, or sandals, or a staff; for labourers deserve
their food. (Verses 9-10)

The point is one of simplicity, of simple faith in Christ to
meet all needs. And Christ does. In fact, despite the rigorous amount of
physical exercise on these missions and the dependence on others (especially local
Christians) to feed them, several men have reported putting on weight during
the missions!

Jesus is reminding his apostles and us that mission is a
simple thing. It doesn’t require a huge budget in the normal run of things
(although I am involved in one such project, re:fresh08,
right now). Sometimes we see the big churches with lots of money, staff and
ideas, or we look at the big missions or the well-known Christians and feel
discouraged. We think, that’s all way beyond us, we don’t have a hope. Jesus says
otherwise. He kick-started his apostles into mission without money, food or
clothing. It just requires a willingness to go in the name of Jesus, to love people
in his name, and to love them enough to talk about him. Any disciple of Jesus
can do that. At heart, the mission of Jesus is simple.

6. God Prepares the
Way
Mike Breen, an Anglican vicar now working in the States, used to tell a story
about when he was a vicar in Brixton. The parish had a worship band leading the
music on Sundays, and one day Breen was in his back garden one Saturday when
the oik of a teenager next door called out to him, ‘Oi vicar! I hear you’ve got
a band at your church. I play guitar. Can I join?’

This posed a problem. The parish had a strict policy that
only committed Christians could play in the band, because they had the holy
task of leading worship. But what could Mike Breen say? He said, ‘Bring your
guitar tomorrow morning.’

He took him along, introduced him to the band and said, ‘Here’s
your new guitarist.’ He made him stand at the back, where no one in the
congregation could see him. The lad became a regular in the band.

Breen left that parish, but returned a few years later to
take some special services. Guess who was leading the band, having become a
Christian? He was about to go to university to study music.

Jesus says,

Whatever town or village you enter, find out who in it is
worthy, and stay there until you leave. As you enter the house, greet it. If
the house is worthy, let your peace come upon it; but if it is not worthy, let
your peace return to you. If anyone will not welcome you or listen to your
words, shake off the dust from your feet as you leave that house or town.
(Verses 11-14)

The point is a simple one: God goes ahead of us, working in
people’s hearts. We discover that when we find who is responsive to our message
of peace. Our job is not to initiate: it is to join in with what God is already
doing. If there is resistance, it may be legitimate to move on to someone or
somewhere else. For God always makes the first move in salvation, we don’t. So
when we find there is a positive reception, that shows us where to concentrate
our efforts.

Conclusion
I could go on, ploughing through Jesus’ teaching and example on mission. But I’ve
given you half a dozen bullet points to ponder, and I think there is much here
to encourage us that while mission seems daunting in the way the church has
often presented it, with Jesus mission is Mission Possible.