An Ancient And Healthy Tension

reposted from http://www.wcablog.com

Tastes great, less filling
One of the longest running and most successful advertising campaigns of all time was produced by the Miller Brewing Company celebrating their famous Miller Lite beer.  The tag line was “tastes great, less filling.”  They would feature all sorts of celebrities engaged in arguments over which claim was greater.  Did Miller Lite taste great or was it less filling?  (Those of us of an older vintage will remember a similar advertising campaign about Certs.  Was it a breath mint or a candy mint?)  Now the obvious point behind this advertising campaign is that both claims can be wonderfully true (unless you’re a beer snob).  A beverage can both taste great and yet not fill you up.  There is no need to have an argument over it.

Living with the tension
But we like arguing over such things.  We are often not so comfortable with the tension of competing values.  Many people enjoy living in a more tidy world where everything is either black or white, right or wrong, this way or that way, democrat or republican, right or left, tastes great or less filling.  Yet, when we reflect carefully on our lives, we realize that it is hard to ever capture a situation, or a truth, or an experience, or almost anything with such hard-edged and air-tight categories.  Life is more nuanced than that.  There are many facets to the diamonds of these lives we live.  One of the more important life skills we can develop is a deep appreciation of the tensions in this world.  We can learn to carry competing values with a curious and discerning mind.

Missional versus Formational
Which brings us to a current tension in the religious world today: the competing values of being missional while at the same time attending to the spiritual formation of our lives with God.  The missional people are those who argue that the driving focus of the church must be directed towards the needs of this world and the people of this world.  We are to give our lives away for the sake of the world.  On the other hand, the formational people are those who emphasize that in order to give our lives away, we must first have a life that is worth giving away.  In order to effectively bear witness to the goodness and grace and transforming power of God, these truths must first be a living, authentic reality in us.

And so the argument goes.  Missional people will call the formational people self-absorbed navel-gazers who are content to let the world go to hell in a hand-basket while they light candles and chant the psalms.  Formational people will call the missional people shallow activity-junkies who jump on every popular cause that comes along as a way to ignore their own disordered and fragmented lives.

An ancient tension:  The contemplative and the active life
Fascinatingly enough, there is nothing new with this tension.  It is the ancient tension between the contemplative life and the active life.  This tension has always been a creative dynamic of the Church.  From the desert fathers and mothers of the fourth and fifth centuries to the missionary movement of the nineteenth century, contemplatives and activists have called the Church either to a deeper, more transformative life with God or to a more courageous, vigorous engagement in mission and evangelism.  The truth is obvious.  We need both.  And from time to time the Holy Spirit will call the people of God to a needed corrective of either contemplation or activity, being or doing.

We will find this tension in our own lives as well.  We will discover seasons where we are called to pull away from all the activity and doing and learn how to sink our lives deeper into God.  At other seasons we will be called to get up off our knees and roll up our sleeves and engage fully in service to this world.  To go do something.  To make a difference.

The crucial role of the church
The most beautiful and ideal place where this ancient tension can be creatively and wonderfully lived out is the local church.  In every church there will be those who are primarily called to formation and others to mission.  In other words, some of us will primarily be contemplatives while others will be activists.  And here is the crucial truth: we need each other.  It is possible to live well with this tension.  It will take maturity and historical grounding to do this well, but it is entirely possible to learn how to do this.  We can argue vigorously for the importance of our particular calling, while at the same time celebrating and realizing our desperate need for those whose calling is different than ours.  It appears that this is how God has designed and built his Church, so it would be wise for us to joyfully receive this gift of each other.  There is no need to argue here.  The church can both taste great and be less filling.

Suggestions for further reflection or next steps:

For the Activist:

1. Go hang out with someone who leans towards contemplation and ask them to speak in detail about their life with God.  Listen closely and learn.
2. Go on a day-long private retreat and just be alone with God and see what happens.
3. Read a book that emphasizes contemplation and spiritual formation: “Way of the Heart” by Henri Nouwen; “Renovation of the Heart” by Dallas Willard

For the Contemplative:

1. Go hang out with someone who leans towards activism and ask them to speak in detail about their life of service to others.  Listen closely and learn.
2.  Go serve at a soup kitchen or get involved in some activity where you are working hard to accomplish something.
3. Read a book that emphasizes activism and mission:  “Friendship at the Margins” by Chris Huertz and Christine Pohl;  “Compassion” by Henri Nouwen, Donald McNeill, and Douglas Morrison;  “The Hole in our Gospel” by Richard Sterns

Old Testament vs. New Testament

It’s a common belief these days that the God of the Old Testament and the God of the New Testament are different. The former is seen as violent and aggressive while the latter is loving and kind. This view is not only restricted to non-believing people. My experience from talking to other Christians, and even the witness of my own heart says that at times, we Christians also want to see some level of difference between Yahweh and the Lord Jesus.

Why is this the case?

I think deep down we’re actually scared of the God we meet in the Old Testament. This holy God, who will not tolerate sin in human beings and brings upon us, even those he calls his most treasured possession, the most severe punishments for their unholiness. (Deut 7:6) And if this is the true character of God, even a short stocktake of our lives makes us fearful of what will happen when God comes to examine us. So to alleviate our fears, we say that this Old Testament God is not really God. Rather we look to the loving and kind Lord Jesus who forgives and accepts as the true revelation of God.

But Jesus won’t let us draw this distinction. Far from separating himself from the Old Testament, Jesus in fact aligns himself with it, fulfilling all its prophecies. (Mt 5:17; Lk 24:44) Jesus will even go as far as to adopt for himself himself the title “I am”, using the very words that Yahweh used in his revelation to Moses. (Jn 8:58)

Where does this leave us? Should we fear the Lord Jesus too? Wonderfully the answer is ‘no’. We need not fear the Lord Jesus or even Yahweh. Yes God has a hatred of sin. Yes he is holy and therefore punishes sin without favouritism. But it is because God hates sin so much, and is so committed to bringing justice to the world for our sin that God willingly took upon himself the punishment for our sin. Driven by love for humanity, God became human so that he might pay the price for humanity’s sin, so that we might have life in place of death.

In the end we don’t actually win by saying the God of the Old and New Testaments are different. Rather it is in embracing their consistency through the lens of the death and resurrection of Jesus, that we are freed from our fear of meeting God because as the Psalmist testifies “as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.”  (Psa 103:12)

Mike Begbie

Theology Student

Camps Are The New Mountains

There is a noticeable trend throughout the life of Jesus when it comes to mountains. Whenever he goes up one, something very significant happens. Something that changed his life and ours. Here are a just a few:

Matthew 4 - Testing by Satan.

Satan takes Jesus up a mountain to tempt Him. Jesus withstands the temptation and confirms his allegiance to God.

Matthew 5 - Sermon on the Mount.

Jesus saw the crowds and went up a mountain to teach. Arguably the most influential Sermon in history.

Matthew 17 - Transfiguration.

Peter, James and John go up a mountain with Jesus where he is transfigured to have a face shining like the Sun. Experiencing God's affirmation on his life.

Matthew 27 - Crucifixion.

Jesus goes up Calvary to be crucified for all mankind. He pays the cosmic debt that only he could pay and becomes the Saviour of the world. 

While there are still mountains today, most of us don't experience them like Jesus did. That's because, in our culture, Camps are the New Mountains. Camps have become the places where God seems to do significant and life changing work in our lives. While Jesus calls us to follow Him daily as he transforms us, camps create an intentional and conducive environment for the Spirit of God to really move within people. 

I believe God loves it when leaders take a group of people go away with the united purpose of experiencing God's love and grace in a way that will not only transform them individually but also as a community. I continually hear stories of leaders who set aside a week or a weekend for God to move, and He turns up in mighty ways. I have experienced this and I am sure that you have too. Whether it's been 20 years or 2 months since you last went on a camp, a lot of us can recall defining moments in our faith that occurred on Camps. 

In 2000, when I was in Grade 9, I went on a youth camp, the whole week the preacher was boring and I actually fell asleep sometimes. On the last night however, God gave me a shove and I realised just how broken I was and how much I needed God’s grace to change my life. In 2008, I was on another youth camp only this time as the preacher, and again I experienced God's grace like never before as he showed me that he was changing lives through me.

I am convinced that camps (as old as the concept is) are very powerful and practical tools for leaders to use as they develop people into passionate Jesus followers who actually want to change the world.  

Luke Williams

Youth & Young Adults Pastor

Wollongong Church of Christ

Going Deeper to Go Further

There is an emerging trend taking place as a new generation of Christian leaders come to the fore. We have tended to promote people into leadership on the basis of their performance, what they have done and achieved.  As important as this is, and it certainly is important, we are seeing an equal or greater importance being placed on the character of leaders.  

I recently engaged in the LIFT course, "Leading for Results", taught by Dr Henry Cloud. The title of this course may lead you to think it was about what we do to get results.  The focus of this course however was not on what we do, but who we are as leaders, our character.  The effective leader, according to Dr Cloud is the one who can go deeper in order to go further.  We need to be growth orientated, growth meaning Getting Real - Owning Wholeness.  Dr Cloud teaches us to live integrated lives as leaders, bringing the sum of our parts into a healthy wholeness. To become whole we need to go deep, own our current reality, invite others to speak truth in our lives and connect intentionally, often and intimately with God.

As the leader of the WCA in Australia, I recently invited Mindy Caliguire, Director of Transformstion Ministry at WCA to join myself and Dr Keith Farmer a retired seminary principal, psychologist and pastor to lead a series of seminars with church leaders.  Our theme was "Stop Well to Go Well." When leaders hear the call to rest and nurture their inner lives, to build their character, so they can grow and thrive, they innately know this to be true.  Can I encourage you from my vantage point as a leader within the worldwide WCA movement who engages with many leaders who are deeply tired from over activity, to consider the need to re-orientate yourself towards growth, Get Real - Own Wholeness.

Andrew McCafferty

CEO Willow Creek Australia

The Main Game

Recently during a Seminar I was leading which emphasised the pivotal role of God's love as the most powerful agent for changing our lives for good, a lady shared that her personal security level, and therefore personal well being, had risen significantly through 40 years of God's unconditional love from her husband.

The good news from God to us is significantly about the possibility of us being changed from the inside by God's Spirit of love both directly from His Spirit and indirectly through His Spirit in others.

Formation of God's character in us by His Spirit is an 'essence' of our faith rather than just an 'aspect'.  From early in the gospels e.g. Matt 3: 11-12, till the conclusion of the New Testament writings, this is a central theme. Jesus emphasised it in Matt 5:8 “You're blessed when you get your inside world – your heart and mind - put right. Then you can see God in the outside world.”  (The Message) 

Paul almost invariably has a significant section in his letters which nails down that the Spirit's work in us produces fruit e.g. Galatians 5:22, 23 and Colossians 3: 12-14. Personal qualities and relationship capacities such as compassion, kindness, humility, quiet strength, discipline, are vital to effective living and are probably universally desired and valued above any other personal qualities and relationship capacities. 

This biblical theme has a similar pivotal place in my Christian walk and belief to the way Paul regarded teaching about the resurrection “If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins” (1 Cor 15:17 The Message).    If God can't and/or doesn't change us from the inside by His spirit to be maturing into His fullness (Ephesians 4:13) then we best give Christianity away.

It is my fervent belief through a lifetime of close and sometimes almost desperate observation that these 'formation' teachings are true. 

Often it is frustrating that the changes do take place at about the same pace as fruit grows and ripens… quite slowly. But it is still real and absolutely vital, especially to the effectiveness of our witness and evangelism. When Jesus sent his disciples out he told them “you are the equipment” (Luke 9:1-5 The Message).  We are the message.

Who we are through God's Spirit in us is crucial to us getting an opportunity to speak the gospel.  The New Testament tells us that we can 'hinder the growth of God's character in us by quenching or grieving the Spirit' (1 Thes 5:19 and Eph 4:30).  We have a stewardship opportunity and responsibility to relate 'intimately and organically’ to God (John 15:5-6) so that the character of God grows in us.

“Formation” is the main game. It is not an optional extra.

Keith Farmer

Keith Farmer Mentoring

Slowing Down

I was struck recently by these words of Scripture in Isaiah:

“In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength … The Lord longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion.  For the Lord is a God of justice.  Blessed are all who wait for him.”

(Is 30:15,18)

The whole feel of what God is saying here to Isaiah is about slowing down, resting and being quiet before God. We read that those who wait for God will be blessed. 

How different this is to our culture where we are pumped with the message that we need to have it all now. I’ve been in a number of conversations with people (a bit older than myself) who reflect on their adult children needing to have all the creature comforts now. Somewhere in the conversation is usually the statement that “in my day” we made do, we saved and we were happy. How far has this culture of “we need it now” infiltrated the church? 

We want to see growth – by next Sunday; we want to see God act – now; we need to do the church extension - this year. Of course God can and does act quickly, but more often our experience would tell us, as He told Isaiah, that we need to “wait, rest and trust.”  

In May we will be hosting a number of Spiritual Transformatin Seminars with Mindy Caliguire from the Willow Creek Association in the US, complimented by our own Rev Dr Keith Farmer leader of the Mentoring Network, who will help us explore the health of our souls and how we can engage with God and others in ways that nurture a “peace filled” spirit. We would love you to be part of these days.

Andrew McCafferty

CEO

FOCUS: What People Need from their Church

Two Reviews by Pastor Mark Conner from Melbourne's CityLife Church about the resource 
FOCUS (Reveal): The Top Ten Things People Want and Need from You and Your Church:

FOCUS: What People Need from their Church
What people want and what they need may be the same thing or they may be different. Sorting out wants and needs is an important task for any church leader. Understanding what people really want from their church is an important starting place. We need to understand why motivated people show up every week. What do they want from their church experience? Knowing this helps you determine whether there is an “expectation gap” or not. 

The following insights were gleaned from surveying 80,000 people in 376 churches who took the REVEAL spiritual life surveys between October 2008 and March 2009. The churches represented a broad range in size, style and theological persuasion (including Pentecostal churches). read more

FOCUS: What People Need from their Pastor

What People Want from their Senior Pastor

REVEAL also included research about what people expect from the Senior Pastor (or Senior Minister – SM). People view the Senior Pastor’s responsibilities as:

1. Serving Advocacy. The SM is expected to be the chief promoter and champion of serving opportunities. They identify and encourage the use of people’s gifts and talents. They attract, develop and motivate ministry teams. They promote and create enthusiasm for serving activities. They create a welcoming and friendly environment for this to occur.

2. Spiritual Challenge. The SM is expected to provide sound doctrine that is biblically accurate, to model and reinforce how to grow spiritually, and to challenge the people to grow and take next steps. read more

Light A Candle And Fly

I often tell people I feel called to stand - to live - as a bridge between the “Candle Lighters” and the “Jet Fuel Drinkers”. What do I mean by that?

·     Candle-lighters are the quiet, steady-paced, somewhat solitary, somewhat mystical, focused-on-the-now, Spirit-aware, Presence of God-sensing Spiritual Formation types.

·     Jet-fuel-drinkers are the loud, fast-paced, somewhat solitary, somewhat fanatical, focused-on-the-future, Spirit-aware, Presence of God-sensing Leadership types.

I love these two groups deeply; they have each formed me in their own way, and I deeply believe the cause of Christ, the Kingdom of God, the blessed community, depends upon them both. In fact, though they often speak very different languages, they need each other.

read the rest of this post

Mindy Caliguire (@mindycaliguire)

Transformation Ministry Team, Willow Creek Association

Founder, SoulCare (a Spiritual Formation Ministry)

Change Your Mind Before Christmas

reposted from http://www.wcablog.com

I confess: left to my own devices, I’m a crammer.

Maybe it started with a few exams in college; maybe it’s the natural tendency of my personality, maybe it is an occasional lack of maturity. Whatever the cause, pushing against those tendencies has become vital to my way of life, and especially to my way of leadership. I know what an out-of-control-busy schedule can do to my soul. Perhaps you can relate.

And at this time of year, the temptation to cram even more into an already full schedule escalates. The Christmas season adds not only ministry opportunities, but also the potential for financial stressors, volunteer and key partner recognition, family expectations, and more… It can fill our minds with distractions and worry.

Slowing down for “a long, ardent gaze at God” will not simply creep into my schedule. But this year, I’m making sure it finds a home there. I know from experience what frequent times of meditation—even small bits here and there—can do to improve the health of my soul. As it reads in the Psalms, “I will consider all your works and meditate on all your mighty deeds.” (Psalm 77:12)

It’s been fascinating to learn that meditation not only helps our spiritual lives, it also actually changes our brains, which, in the end will change our minds. Here’s an excerpt from Huffington Post that discusses these findings:

“Quite literally, sustained meditation leads to something called neuroplasticity, which is defined as the brain’s ability to change, structurally and functionally, on the basis of environmental input.

For much of the last century, scientists believed that the brain essentially stopped changing after adulthood.

But research by University of Wisconsin neuroscientist Richard Davidson has shown that experienced meditators exhibit high levels of gamma wave activity and display an ability — continuing after the meditation session has ended — to not get stuck on a particular stimulus. That is, they’re automatically able to control their thoughts and reactiveness.” – Amanda Chan, Nov. 23, 2011.

Amazingly, this research shows how meditation changes your brain and can also change your mind.

Is it any wonder that scripture strongly commands us to meditate, and also points to the impact this will make on our minds and on our life? Consider the wisdom from Psalm 1:

Blessed is the one
who does not walk in step with the wicked
or stand in the way that sinners take
or sit in the company of mockers,
but whose delight is in the law of the LORD,
and who meditates on his law day and night.
That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—
whatever they do prospers.

And in Isaiah 26:3 we see a connection between our minds and our peace;

You will keep in perfect peace
those whose minds are steadfast,
because they trust in you.

Ultimately, the Spirit of God can govern our mind, which will yield life and peace. (Romans 8:6). So this Christmas, consider what difference opening your mind to God could achieve. What difference might that make in the kinds of decisions you make and relationships you build?

Through a focused effort in meditation on God as described in the definition above, you will open yourself up to exactly those kinds of changes in your brain that will allow God to move powerfully in your life.

If you’re looking for next steps:

- Practice ten to fifteen minutes of silent meditation each day.

- Ignore the tendency to be strategic or intentional—and please please don’t cram anything else in!!

- The only “end” is to still and quiet your soul (like Psalm 131:2), and to consider/meditate/focus on God.

- Learn about A Leader’s Soul, 7 week online learning course.

Mindy Caliguire (@mindycaliguire)

Transformation Ministry Team, Willow Creek Association

Founder, SoulCare (a Spiritual Formation Ministry)