It is impossible to love the church.

Hmmm, so it seems I haven't posted in a while... Almost 3 years in fact... Hmm what to say, what to say...

There's much that's happened in our lives in the last 3 years.

In summary I cannot summarize it.

It was and is unsummarizable.

One day I shall write a book about it. 

For many many many reasons though, I am now back to blogging. 

Today's topic? "It is impossible to love the church" 

First a pop quiz.

Hands up all of you who love the church? 

Ok. Hands up all of you who like the church?

Hmmm.  Hands up those of you who kind of like it but aren't 100% sure about the church?

Hands up those of you who have been hurt by the church? 

Now we're getting somewhere.

I think I have a small (like microscopic) revelation on why many Christians are unsure of the church, much less love it. 

First of all, define love for me. 

So I am NOT talking mushy "gross" (as Jocelyn would call it) kissy-kissy "you're perfect for me and you complete me and I can't live without you" love.

But I am talking about searing Love.

Love that hangs bleeding, dirty, on a cross and shouts, no screams, "I LOVE YOU"

across all time, 

and all space, 

until the end of days. 

That kind of Love.

You see the first problem is that churches don't talk about love enough.

Not that we don't mention love, but that we don't explain what we mean by it.

Because the truth is we are ALL broken and we all have a broken perception of love.

So when we, rightly, describe the church as being a "loving community" we can miss the point by misunderstanding love. 

Love is giving. Love is sacrifice. Love means preferring other people. 

A loving community is where other people's needs are met. 

And where I will absolutely need to sacrifice something of me:

• My money
• My time
• My preferences
• My comfort 

So that someone else's needs might be met. 

And I might never be thanked for it by them. 

And I might never be publicly acknowledged for my generosity. 

And I might never get to see the fruit of my generosity. 

But a loving community is one that gives with no thought of return.

It gives and gives and gives again, and goes on giving. Even when it seems like nothing is happening. 

And all this loving, all this giving, all this sacrifice is impossible. 

Absolutely 100% completely uncompletable. 

Loving the church is a task that you cannot complete. But many die - or get hurt - trying. 

So if you're feeling bad because you feel you "should love the church" but you actually don't. Then I  want to encourage you today. 

Please, don't try to love the church, for it is perfectly unlovable. 

Church is full of brokenness, full of mess, full of people who have different tastes to you, different thoughts to you and heaven forbid different worship music preferences. 

Church should come with a hazard warning. 

It is impossible to love the church. 

Unless. 

Unless you know the key to loving the church. 

 You see people can come to church expecting to receive perfect love from the people, and then they get disappointed / hurt / angry when inevitably a human being lets them down. 

And so they quit loving the church, quit going to church, find another church that just-might-be-more-perfect-for-them because they haven't found what they are looking for. Or worse they hang around, miserable, making everything worse for everyone. 

My encouragement to you today, if you are one of the many who have been let down by the church, is to quit trying in your own strength. 

FIRST: Forgive those who've hurt you, whether intentionally or not. 

And love the church once again.

Not band-aid-fake-smile-strong-coffee love it. 

But truly love it.

I actually believe you can love the church exactly how Jesus loves the church. 

The truth is though -  you can only give love if you have received love for yourself, from the source, the fountain, the author of all love - God himself. 

And I'm not talking about head knowledge "Jesus loves me this I know for the bible tells me so."

I'm talking overflowing abundant joy and perfect peace at the experience of being completely filled with the very love of God.

"the in-dwelling regenerating, perfecting, cleansing, fire-burning, white hot love of the Almighty creator of all things." 

Then and only then will you find... 

Wait for it... 

Loving the church is not something you have to work at. It is something you receive as a gift. 

When you are filled with the love of God you are naturally tuned into loving the things that He loves and loving the way that He loves. 

The things that he loves?

He loves his flock, the sheep of His pasture: lost ones, stray ones, found ones, penned-in ones, crazy ones, 'gay' ones, straight ones, male ones, female ones, young ones, ones that disagree with you on theological matters, ones that like-a-different-worship-style, the weird ones, the googly-eyed ones, the ones that limp .. Yes even the grumpy old ones. He loves all of His sheep. 

And so will you, because His love is in you. 

You can love the things He loves. 

You can also love the way that he loves. 

And how does he love us? Oh how he loves us!

This is how God loves us:

He gives and gives and gives and gives and gives and gives again.  

Grace upon grace. 

Mercy upon mercy.  

Forgiveness upon forgiveness. 

Blessing upon blessing. 

New day upon new day. 

Provision upon provision. 

I could go on. 

He lavishes Love upon undeserving people like you and me. (Guess where you find undeserving people... hmmm...) 

And as you dwell in the overflow of the love the Father has for you, you can share this same love with others. 

No you can't do everything God can do. But by being filled with the Holy Spirit you can share his love. 

So friends if you are trying to love the church please quit right now.

You cannot do it. It is impossible to love the church without first receiving the love of God for yourself. Be healed from your hurts by His love and then be filled to overflow with His love. That's his promise for you. 

Be encouraged today. 

Find a church community that preaches and lives this Love:

Love from the source, 

Love that is freely given time and again by imperfect people who are being perfected by a loving Father. 

Love that is costly. 

Love that is joyful. 

Love that is impossible. 

Love that's just like Jesus. 

"As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love..." John 15:9

Why God?

Does anyone know why God does some things, but then doesn't do others?

Why do some people survive, and others don't?

Why do some buildings catastrophically collapse while the one next to end it stays standing?

Why do some people have abortions, while others, desperate for a family cannot seemingly conceive?

Why, if God is Love, is there so much injustice, suffering, pain and death in the world? How can He bear it? Why does He stand idly by while children are murdered, parents are killed, people are abused.

Why God? Why don't You DO something?

I know of two different people, in recent times who have either had a "lucky" escape, or who have been tragically bereaved, even while doing something God has asked them to do.

There seems to me to be no logic in either outcome.

Needless to say I'm thankful for the escape, and from a distance share the pain of grieving loss.

Does God have a Plan?

I believe with all of my heart that He does. But that doesn't necessarily make it any easier.

For me, I am fully aware that my life is not under my control. Sure, I get up eat breakfast, brush my teeth etc. And if I really didn't want to, I could skip brushing my teeth. That part of my life is certainly under my control. It's called 'free-will'. (Don't worry I do brush my teeth at least twice per day, unlike other people I could mention).

But the big things - like when will I die - I honestly have no 'control' over.

In reality, today is all I have.

God knows when I will die, for I will one day. As will you. I personally don't intend on living forever, I'm quite tired already! In 100 years from now it's likely that the world will still be here but highly likely that you will not.

As humans we have to get our heads around this. Because it matters.

I don't mean to be morbid, but I do mean to be intentional.

I overheard someone last night (at the table next to ours) having a conversation about Faith.

He said "I don't need faith. I'm self-actualized"

He went on to say was that he had got his morals from the Bible, but didn't need any of the rest of it because he "knew now how to live his life and was perfectly happy, thank you very much."

I didn't interject into their conversation (it was our anniversary, 9 years, thanks for asking). But I think it illuminates something of the modern "post-Christian" condition.

The church has failed in its mission if it has successfully injected the 'moral message' of Christianity into society, but has equally failed to communicate the saving power of the Gospel.

In New Zealand, and lots of other places in the world 'good people' - Christians even - die every day. In sometimes random and unexplained "unjust" ways.

And this leads me back to my starting question "why doesn't God do something about it then?"

The answer is both easy and complex, personal yet offensive.

The answer is "He will." and "He has"

He knows that man does bad things to ourselves and one another. It's been that way since the first rebellion with Adam and Eve. And because He is a perfect, just God he cannot allow us to get away with our actions.

Motivated by Love for what he had made, he entered time and history as Jesus Christ and died on the cross taking all the sin of the world away, so that when we die we can enter into His Kingdom where there is no more pain, sickness or suffering of any sort.

This is history, we have it in the Bible.

This is the personal and offensive part. It's personal because you have to do something about it (say yes or no) and offensive because it offends our self-centredness to think that we need rescuing at all. I say get over it, you're not that perfect.

That's the "He has" answer.

The "He will" part is the complicated bit, but bear with me.

Right now, today, Jesus lived and died and rose from the dead 2,000 years ago. And we're living in a time when this message of salvation is still being preached to the ends of the world. Once everyone (and God is patient, so He's giving you time too) has had the opportunity to respond to the Gospel, then the end will come. This earth will get destroyed and a new heavens and a new earth will be made. Where there will be no more pain, suffering or injustice.

The Bible tells us that before the throne of God we'll be judged according to what we've done in our lives and Justice will be done.

The Bible also tells us that those who put their trust in Jesus will, on that day, not have their sins (bad stuff) counted against them, but will instead be saved from Judgement because our sins were dealt with through faith in Jesus Christ.

I believe that when we die is not dictated by whether we are "a good person" or "a bad person". In fact you could argue that that is irrelevant to the timing of our death.

But actually what happens after we die is the more important question.

I guess if you don't believe in an after-life then none of this matters.

But then why would we think it unjust for good people who we don't even know to die?
Why would we have this sense of right and wrong?

If it's all just molecules bumping against each other, then surely none of this is of any consequence to anyone. 

I can't decide for you whether there is an after-life or not. I believe there is. And we'll all get to experience it some day.

We don't get a choice of when that day will be. But we do get to choose whether we go there confident of our destination. Or not.

God makes us an offer we can't refuse in Jesus.

I know I'm going to heaven not "self-actualized" but actually trusting in Someone else. And that gives me remarkable peace and confidence in living life to the full. (Even if I do have man-flu right now).

I pray you know that peace and confidence too. It's life-changing stuff.

Thank you God for intervening in my life. Why don't you let Him intervene in yours?

Is the church a guilt-cash dispenser?

"You should read your Bible..."

...said the obviously homeless person to me yesterday morning, just before I was about to preach. 

He'd showed up at the Community Centre were we meet as a Newfrontiers church plant in Kitchener-Waterloo. 

The team had been warned that, because the centre is based in a low-income area, the staff there quite often get homeless people coming in looking for help. 

I'd been sitting in the reception area, doing one last read through of my notes when this guy walked in and asked the receptionist if "the minister was available" - we have a sign that's on the side of the street outside to catch any passers-by. The lady at the desk said she didn't know, so they guy wandered in. 

As I was sitting exactly in front of him reading my Bible, I knew I was in line for something. 

The guy comes up, asks me my name and sits down next to me. I tell him my name, and he starts telling me how his life is real bad, and that he has no work and whether I could give him some money. 

Immediately I feel guilty because, unless he takes Interac or Visa, I've got no cash to give him. So, thinking on my feet (or my bum, I was sitting down) I say, "I haven't got any money myself, but I can pray for you."

"Oh that's no good. I need the cash you see. You sure you haven't got any?"

I literally do not have 2 cents to rub together, so I say "No, I really haven't, what's your name friend"

The now departing man says:

"It doesn't matter. For someone with no cash there are plenty of $20,000 cars in the parking lot. Don't you know what your Bible says?"

With that he walks off to the main hall where the rest of Lamplight are getting ready for the service to begin.

Janet, on welcoming duty, does a great job of explaining that no we don't have any money, but that the anonymous gentleman is welcome to stay for the service. 

The man refuses and walks away, shouting. "You people with $20,000 cars should read your Bibles"

And I'm left thinking: is it Biblical to give money to someone who's obviously poor and in need, but refuses to appear interested in anything else but the cash he can get from us? 

Should we as a church arrange a special collection to have funds to give away so that people can turn up, take some cash and be on their way? 

Should we feel guilty for not handing over cash to the poor?

I haven't had the time yet to do a major Bible study on this. But I do know that God's heart is for the poor and the oppressed. I do know that Jesus spent a lot of his time with outcasts and rejects, shaming the wisdom of the religious. I do know that, in the early acts of the church, everyone shared together so that "none were in need" and that this was a powerful witness to the world of the transforming power of the Gospel. 

But I don't see anywhere where the church is to be used and abused (as this fellow's attitude seemed to want it) as a guilt-cash dispenser from the relatively rich to the poor. 

I pray that this guy comes back again. And that we can sit down and have a proper conversation with him. 

It probably seems to him that cash is the answer to his problems. Maybe he has a drug dependency. Maybe he owes money to other people. I really don't know. But for me, I won't give cash until I know he's part of our community. Not because I'm mean. But because I'm fairly sure that cash alone isn't the answer to his problems. 

I'm praying for wisdom for how best to serve the people in our community, particularly those in need. 

Life After Moving.

"How's life in Canada?"

Everyone asks us this. I suppose the correct answer would be the boring one "Pretty much the same as it was before, except all the people, surroundings and circumstances are 100% different"

People have said that moving countries must be a "life-changing" experience that they wish they had the guts to do. 

Well that might be true for some people - but maybe there wasn't that much about my life that I wanted to change?

Maybe we took a bit of a leap of faith in coming here, but the leap didn't come from our own desire to move. 

In fact, I'd have been quite happy to stay in Swindon. 

So what's the point in moving? I have to honestly say that we don't yet know the full answer to that question. Maybe we never will. But that's the risk you take when taking a leap of faith. 

We're certainly enjoying the adventure. 

But I've realized (sorry, realised) this. God doesn't care for our comfort. 

Don't get me wrong, he cares for us. But he doesn't care for us (you, me, everyone else) having comfortable, same-old same-old lives. 

God cares about the Gospel reaching the ends of the earth. So that everyone has the opportunity to hear, consider and respond to the whole Gospel of Jesus Christ. 

Everyone.

And each of us have a part to play in that. For those who haven't responded to the Gospel yet, it means saying "yes" or "no" to Jesus; and being fully aware of the consequences of either answer. 

For those of us who have said yes to Jesus. It means being concerned with what he is concerned about - as many people as possible hearing the message that God loves them, cares deeply for them, that Jesus died for their sins, and was raised to life so that they may have Life in all its fullness. 

And that will mean different things for different people. But Jesus is clear when he tells us to love our neighbour (sorry, neighbor) as we would love ourselves. That's a great starting point for the Gospel to go out from. 

And it's this same Gospel that we are seeking to serve here in Canada. 

So for us, right now, 'Life After Moving' is the same as 'Life Before Moving' - seeking to serve the Gospel of Jesus Christ in whatever way we can. 

Heaven knows we're not perfect at it. But God, in his infinite wisdom, chose ordinary people like you and me to advance his Kingdom. And God has given us his grace and power to accomplish the tasks he gives us to do. 

So I'm going to go all out for it. I'm not great at it. But I'm going to try. 

How about you?

PEACE.

The Joy of the Season

I realize I’m a little late in wishing everyone the Joy of the Season.  But life’s been a little hectic!

I’ve had many reasons to be joyful in the last two months (for it is about 2 months since I blogged about anything).

The big trip home...

So, my memory is a little hazy now – note to self: must blog more frequently – my itinerary was as follows:

Leave Canada Thursday evening.

Land at Gatwick Friday morning. Be re-united with gorgeous Gamble girls after 5 long weeks away. They were running towards the big Christmas tree in the arrivals hall, and nearly passed me by.

Drive to Swindon – final clear up of old house, phone all utility and financial companies advising them of new address (it takes longer than you think)

Final tea (dinner) with Howarths.

Sleep Friday night at the Firths.

Saturday morning – English Cooked Breakfast at the Hodges, with the Pollocks in attendance. Many treasured photos taken, on Facebook for all to see.

Saturday lunch / evening with Durrants, Martins and Clarks at Pizza Hut followed by bowling.

Saturday evening drive to London to stay with Durrants in New Malden.

Sunday morning fly back to Canada.

Sunday evening all arrive at our new house in Canada – all together at last. Phew! No wonder we’re all so tired!

Since then, it’s been a lot of adjustment, A LOT of shopping. A lot of generosity received from other people. A lot of getting to know people. A lot of late nights and early mornings. A lot of snow! A lot of getting used to new and different things. A lot of talking on Skype. A lot of tantrums. A lot of ‘it’s too early to be up, Jocelyn’ mornings. A lot of cartoons.

A lot of normal life actually.

And so the build up to this year’s Christmas celebrations has somewhat passed us by. Yes, we got a Christmas tree – but that in itself was its own challenge as we only have a small car now and buying a tree from a store is kinda difficult (unless we left the kids at the shop, which did cross my mind).

Without the usual people being around, and without the usual songs on the radio or in the shops (I don’t think I’ve heard Slade once this year!). It’s actually given me the opportunity to re-evaluate what all the fuss is about.

Jesus possibly wasn’t born on December 25^th. (At least, Wikipedia can’t seem to make its mind up.)

But people were generally partying around the time of the Winter Solstice. So it made sense for the earlier Christians to join in with a little party of their own.

At least, that’s how it all started.

And then, over time, somehow the meaning has all but gone. Some guy called Saint Nick started doing some good work. And then we all started remembering him, rather than remembering why Nicky was giving out gifts.

And so now everyone has to get everyone else a gift at this time of year.

And so a whole industry sprung up to cope with the demand. And  now 70% of retailers profits are made in this one Season, as we all try to satisfy the expectation that we should get something for each other.

How is this Joyful?

Where, or where, is the joy to be found in this supposedly most joyful of seasons?        

What is Joy anyways? A few years ago, everyone was raving about the Wii and how it’s great for kids. How much joy it brought them. Today, the Wii is gathering dust as the new joy is found in the Kinect – you don’t need a controller with this one…

I’m not saying video games are bad. Or that it’s bad to buy video games as gifts. But is there really any lasting joy to be found in the pursuit of things that ultimately are destined for some back street in an Indian slum, where children are paid $1 / day to strip them of their rare earth metals?

To wish someone 'the Joy of the Season' seems a little strange. Surely it’s better to say ‘hope they like what you’ve bought them’ or ‘hope the credit card bill’s not too high this year!’ ?

Doesn’t that better sum up what we’re all doing?

The thing I love about Jesus, perhaps more than anything else, is that in a world where even a D-list celebrity on Big Brother pulls up in a Limousine. Jesus, the King of the Universe, chooses to arrive in a stable. Not to the sound of flash guns popping and people clammering for Him to stop at their camera and give a comment.  But to the sound of waters breaking and mother screaming (probably).

That Jesus chose to arrive this way shows just how highly God rates what culture and society perceive to be important. Rank and standing are entirely defused by such self-denial from someone of crucial importance to human history.

Jesus’ birth is God’s most significant act since creation. It’s the pinnacle of his interaction with his wayward creation. The fulfillment stage of his great rescue plan.

Everyone would agree that joy is found in knowing you’ve been rescued.  In seeing your rescuer come.              

But for us in the West the challenge is actually to become aware of our own need for rescue.

I believe we are the most pampered society in all of human history.  We have built for ourselves an empire of selfishness that sees us wrapped up warm and cozy while infants starve to death.

Our ability to deny even this harsh reality demonstrates our ability to deny the facts of our own slow descent into Spiritual, and yet very real, oblivion.

Oblivion. Not a joyful thought! But we will all face it one day…

And yet. God supremely intervenes in our headlong rush towards it.

It all got underway, 2,000 (or so) years ago in a filthy barn in the Middle East. Your rescuer has come. Jesus is born.

Now that doesn’t mean that life will be a bowl of roses. In fact, often it more resembles the brown stuff doubtless on the floor of the stable.

Jesus himself said that in this life we will face trouble (wise guy!).

And even then, he’s given us the Holy Spirit to comfort us and remind us of His closeness.

So the Joy of the Season for me is found in knowing that my rescuer has come.  And that this life, with all its ups and downs - and yes, death with all its unknowns and uncertainties - are merely passing trials in comparison to the rescue God has afforded me, and all those who put their life in Jesus’ hands.

I pray that more of you will know this Rescuer. And will have the lasting Joy in knowing that he did come to rescue you.

May the Joy of the Season be yours, now and forever. Amen.

Love you guys!

Bruce.

Canadian Rookies

>> In Canada, no matter what the balance of your current account, there’s a limit for how much you can buy on your debit card in any one day, even if your available funds easily exceed that daily limit. And when you are new to Canada, your limit is set low. This is especially important to remember when visiting Ikea. A $400 daily limit will not secure the purchase of 3 shopping trolleys full of stuff.

>> Stop means stop (no I haven’t been caught again, but yes it is worth repeating).

>> Minus 7 is not cold.

>> Shoveling snow is good exercise. Shoveling snow is good exercise (& repeat)

>> Kijiji is good (pronounced: ka-gee-gee, look it up online!)

>> “Kitty corner” is not where cats do their business; it’s actually a colloquial phrase that describes “the diagonally opposite corner to where I am standing”. Strange but true.

>> To tell all the funny little coins apart, instead of looking at the shape (as you would in England) look at the picture on the front. Speeds up the time it takes to pay the bus fare. 

>> An hour’s drive really isn’t that far away.

>> The weather here would gladly kill you given the chance. I’m not being too melodramatic here, as a British person the weather is occasionally an inconvenience. Here if you’re not prepared, it will murder you and use your frozen body as a popsicle.

>> Open air ice skating is fun, but it’s really scary without a hand rail around the side! 

Swindonians

A letter to Gateway Church Swindon...

To the church called Gateway, in the town of Swindon. May you know the full extent of the confidence with which you can approach the Father, because of the Son’s great love and self-sacrifice for you.

I’ve been away for long enough now that this whole moving to Canada business no longer feels like just a little break from the norm. As this reality sinks into my soul it does strange things to me! Sometimes I ache in a way that is without easy definition. Although God has, in his grace, transplanted us into a new family -  I long for the sweet, easy familiarity and affection we had when we were with you.

It’s not that I’ve had a change of heart. Or that coming to Canada is wrong for us.

I simply want to see you all again. Not so that I can impress you with tales of our travels, but because I feel that God is doing so much in you that I am jealous to witness for myself your continuing journey as a people marked out by Christ.

So this ‘letter home’ is a dedication to you, the good people of Gateway Church Swindon.

It’s what I remember when I think of you. It’s what I would say to you were I there with you in person. It’s what I feel God would remind you of for this next season that you are entering. (And I’m not talking about the weather).   A prophetic reminder, if you will…

Always welcome “Amazingly” - You gave me and Susie such a great welcome, even when we were not yet part of God’s Kingdom: your unconditional love and acceptance of us so reflected the heart of the Father who abandons his honoured position and runs toward the prodigal son.

God opposes the proud, but shows favour to the humble. And God would raise you up because of your continued, humble, seeking of Him.

Maintain a teachable spirit. Revelation is God’s business. He gives us all we need – The Word and The Spirit. As Isaiah said ‘Here am I. Send me’ and so, in response to Isaiah’s teachableness (is that even a word?) God gave him special revelation for the people of his day. In the same way, God will use you as you remain open to His teaching and join with Isaiah in saying ‘here I am, send me’.  

Uphold each other in the highest regard, as Christ upheld you when he gave his life for you, so you should uphold one another - encourage one another to overcome evil by doing good.

Listen closely to the Holy Spirit. Do not become so enamoured with your own ideas for your life that you miss what God is saying. Confusing your ideas for God’s only leads to disappointment. “Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.” (Romans 12:2) Do not force God’s hand, but instead create opportunities in your life for Him to move. Align your life to the Spirit’s will. Die to your own will.

In God’s kingdom there is no ‘hierarchy’. At the moment you became a Christian your life was hidden in Christ. Therefore there is no ‘higher’ you can go from the moment of Salvation. You are already co-heirs with Christ. What you do after that moment is nothing more than the fulfillment of the truth sealed in that moment, for in that moment your identity was forever secure and your name forever written in the book of life.

God does not use people who think they have it all together. It is in our weakness that God’s power is revealed. Jesus said – ‘You will receive power to be my witnesses’. God’s work is achieved by God’s power, not man’s. 

I say all of these things not because I know any of them any better. Nor because I fear that you are slipping away from any of these points. I say them because it’s what I recall when I think of you all and to encourage you to energetically continue your pursuit of the whole Gospel of Christ. Be bold and very courageous, for the Lord your God is with you Swindon!

Can’t wait to be with you all again some day!

Love and Peace

Bruce.