1. WHAT IT’S GOING TO TAKE - REDEEMING POLITICS

1. WHAT IT’S GOING TO TAKE: 
BABIES & POLITICAL PATH-TREADERS

The eighteenth century Irish writer, philosopher and British politician, Edmund Burke, once famously said, “The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” Perhaps his words touched a young boy by the name of William who would grow up with a desire to enter politics and do something about the evils of English society some twenty years after Burke uttered these words. If Burke was alive today, and he had heard what happened in New York recently – or what is being proposed in South Australia – he might say, “I told you so.” I’m guessing, many years ago in New York, some young people, influenced by an ideology, committed their lives to changing society’s attitudes. This may have led to them embarking on a ‘political pathway’. They probably joined the Democratic Party quite young. They probably joined neighbourhood committees, sporting clubs, charity boards, and even municipal councils. I guess they would have been frequent participants at rallies and protests and maybe even helped organise them. I can imagine that they were quite active on their college campus joining fraternities and clubs to expand their social contacts. And eventually, the day came, when they had the numbers in the New York Legislature to pass a bill strangely called, New York’s Reproductive Health Act. The new law allows for an baby’s life to be terminated at any point in its mother’s pregnancy. South Australia is now proposing similar legislation.

¶ God-devotion makes a country strong;
God-avoidance leaves people weak.
Proverbs 14:34 [THE MESSAGE]

I speculate about the political pathway of New York’s Governor, Andrew Cuomo, and his political colleagues, because I believe that there are some hard lessons to be learned from it which I will soon point out and put out a call for young men and women to consider whether God is calling them on a political pathway to be ‘Esthers’ and ‘Daniels’ in an emerging generation of new political leaders of our State and nation.

New York Governor, Andrew Cuomo and Hillary Clinton

THROUGH HIM AND FOR HIM

For by Him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through Him and for Him.
Colossians 1:16

I anticipate that there will be many people who will object to what I am about to propose. They will cry, “Separation of Church and State!” and assert that the Church should ‘stay out of politics’. But I’m not arguing for the Church to get into politics. I’m appealing for those followers of Christ whom God is calling to make a difference for good in our society to accept their call and get on a pathway toward it. (I might also point out that it is usually repressive regimes which have the purist forms of ‘Separation of Church and State’ and that human rights generally don’t fair well in those regimes). Australia has never adopted a ‘Separation of Church and State’ approach to societal well-being. Rather, Australia has always had a ‘Cooperation between Church and State’ approach. This is seen in many facets of our society such as education, health, and welfare. There are some problems in society that the Church is just simply better resourced than the State to deal with. (Money alone doesn’t solve every problem.)

Our goal is not to ‘Christianise’ society. Our goal is to spread the fragrance of Christ into every arena of society so that women are not viewed as objects; children are respected and protected; leaders serve; politics guards; and sex is never unhinged from commitment. We strive for the vulnerable to be cared for. We seek for the enterprising to be ethically innovative, and development to be appropriate and sustainable. We want to inspire artists and artisans and imagineers to produce beauty. We want our environment to reflect its True Creator and for those called to subdue it to improve it. Thus, our mission is far bigger, far broader, far grander than just a ‘nice weekly worship service’. As Colossians 1:16 states, every realm of society – its governments, its institutions, its authorities – have been ordained by Christ to serve Christ for the glory of Christ.

There is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry, Mine!
Abraham Kuyper

GOD’S SOLUTIONS TO TOMORROW’S PROBLEMS

The fruit of the righteous is like a tree producing life, and the one who wins souls is wise.
Proverbs 11:30

F.W. Boreham once famously wrote, then illustrated how, God’s answer to every problem the world has ever faced has been a baby. He showed how the people who God clearly used to bring about justice, needed reform, and great good, came to necessary maturity just as the world faced its darkest hours. And while many Christians have put their hats in the ring of politics to make a much needed difference, all too often they have virtually attempted to ‘jump the queue’ in the process. It’s time we got a bit more intentional (and savvy) about how we encourage and support the divinely called into a life of political ministry. Simply seeing the need, or being well-intentioned, is not enough to qualify someone as an electable candidate. Despite what some think, winning a political election is not just a matter of ‘luck’!

Sometimes the ‘queue’ looks like saying hello to more people than most; running for SRC at Primary School (and if unsuccessful, trying again); joining a High School sporting team; joining Rotary; getting involved in community groups (such as Neighbourhood Watch); volunteering for a local charity; serving on the board of a not-for-profit organisation; attending more functions (including friend’s parties and more formal events); joining a political party; volunteering to help an already elected member get re-elected; getting involved in a Trade Union or University fraternity or club; standing for local council (and if you fail, running again); and then once you have personally connected with a few thousand people, run for State or Federal Parliament. Of course, in the meantime, get a trade or profession and diligently apply yourself in it in order to achieve two important things: (i) a strong work ethic; and, (ii) a strong reputation as a person of upstanding character. While many people have been taught that Proverbs 11:30 is about evangelism, its context is a actually a reflection of all that I have just proposed for someone who is a potential political candidate because what King Solomon is saying is that a wise person is someone who takes the time to get to know a lot of people and wins them over.

Perhaps you were born at just the time to be God’s response to the cries of God’s people (Esther 4:14).  

¶ During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. When the LORD saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.”
Exodus 2:23; 3:4

WHAT IT’S GOING TO TAKE

Of course, I’m not suggesting that Christians in politics is the sole solution to society’s woes. But I am saying that it is a necessary part of it. It is my hope that young men and women in our church who are called by God to enter politics will take advantage of all the leadership development resources we offer and equip themselves to reach their leadership potential. This is one of the reasons we have a Youth Group. It is a seed-bed for youth leadership development. In my next instalment, I want to talk to another group of young people in our church, without whom my appeal for people with a political call on their lives to step-up will be made very difficult, if not impossible.

Andrew

The Unchanging But Always New

 

You Become Like What You Worship 

Although we are all created to bear the image of God, we are also fallen, which means that the image of God in us has been marred. Our fallen nature distorts how some people worship and therefore live. Every day we see the result of those who worship a god whom they believe is a war-mongering, violent, heavenly sultan, when they murderously enforce their religious beliefs. This sad reality highlights the maxim – you become like what you worship. But in stark contrast, everyday we also see the result of those who worship the God who is loving, gracious, merciful, long-suffering, kind, and generous. Thus, theseworshipers care for the infirmed, uphold justice,  give generously to charities, volunteer their time and expertise, and spend their annual leave undertaking aid projects in impoverished regions of the globe. They are worshiping the immutable God is always loving, always good, always just.

¶ “For I the LORD do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed.
Malachi 3:6

God Does Not Change

God has revealed to us that He is immutable. That means, He does not change. The unchanging qualities of God are comforting. He is steadfast. He is trustworthy. He is faithful. When we worship this unchanging God and meditate on these glorious divine attributes, we become like who we worship: steadfast, trustworthy, faithful. These are desirable virtues. They make someone reliable, dependable, consistent. 

Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations,
Deuteronomy 7:9

The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,
Exodus 34:6

There is something about God’s immutability that appeals deeply to us. It’s comforting that we are created in the image of the God who does not change. The Psalmists described this comfort by declaring God to be a “rock”. They painted a picture of God as unchanging because He was immovable. But the thought of God as unchanging is also comforting because it seems that this means His worshipers, therefore, do not have to change either. But there is something significantly incomplete with this vision of our God. Here’s why.

¶ “The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.
Deuteronomy 29:29

Discover God

God is the unchanging but always new God. Not “new” in the sense of He changes, but new in the sense that as we worship and behold Him, we discover new things about Him. We learn from Scripture that His mercies are new every morning (Lam. 3:22-23). He declares new things –

Behold, the former things have come to pass,
and new things I now declare;
before they spring forth
I tell you of them.”
Isaiah 42:9

Those who worship God are told to do so with new songs, new sounds, and a new heart. Everything about the unchanging God invokes new. As we worship the God who has an infinite treasure of new things to reveal about Himself to those who worship Him, we become like the One we worship and embrace new.

Sing to him a new song;
play skillfully on the strings, with loud shouts.
Psalm 33:3

¶ I will sing a new song to you, O God;
upon a ten-stringed harp I will play to you,
Psalm 144:9

Worship of the Unchanging God always produces new. New tends to engage the heart and mind in a way that familiar cannot. Without changing who or what He is, the Unchanging God is always new. Jesus warned that if we cling to the familiar – traditions – we would be in danger of nullifying the Word God and its effectiveness.

“Thus you nullify the word of God by your tradition that you have handed down. And you do many things like this.”
Mark 7:13 NET

If our worship is entirely familiar – and what we have always done – we are in spiritually perilous territory. The unfamiliar is nearly always uncomfortable because we can’t control it or be complacent within it. History is dotted with people who loved God but resisted the change the One they worshiped inspired. Many denominations were founded reluctantly. John Wesley did not want to found the Methodist Denomination. He hoped that he could help facilitate renewal within the Anglican (Episcopal) Denomination. But the change was resisted and the result was that a new Denomination was birthed. Hudson Taylor hoped that the existing denominations would see the need to reach out to the great nation of China. But they resisted and the China Inland Mission was birthed. History also tells us that those who once pioneered these new moves of God and ushered in needed change would later become settled and complacent and refuse to allow God to renew them. Thus, these once mavericks became monuments.

Neither is new wine put into old wineskins. If it is, the skins burst and the wine is spilled and the skins are destroyed. But new wine is put into fresh wineskins, and so both are preserved.”
Matthew 9:17

 

When a worshiper beholds the One they worship, they are transformed. Everything about undergoes transformation. When a church commits to truly worship Christ and behold Him they will be continually transformed and renewed and everything about them, the way they worship, their music, their decor, their fashion, their systems, their art, the manner, their heart for others, will also be transformed. Rather than seeing new as our enemy, let’s smell its fragrance – for it is the aroma of the Christ who declared- Behold I make all things new (Rev. 21:5). Rather than complaining about these new changes look closer and you may just see the fingerprints of the Father.

And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.
Second Corinthians 3:18

Amen.

NOT JUST CHANGED, BUT CHANGING

THE GOOD NEWS IS CHANGING

In the story of Ben Hur, Judah Ben Hur, a first century Jew living under the Roman occupation of Israel, has a chance meeting with the One they all call The Christ. The kindness and grace with which Jesus of Nazareth showed Judah Ben Hur in that brief moment and the courage it took to do so under the tip of a Roman spear, left an indelible mark upon Ben Hur. As all who meet with Christ experience, Judah Ben Hur became a changed man as a result of this meeting. Once he was filled with hatred, bitterness, and rage but after meeting The Christ he began to become a man of peace, love and forgiveness. The author of Ben Hur was Lew Wallace. His life was also changed by meeting Jesus Christ.

 

Lew Wallace was a Union General during the American Civil War. He would go on to become the Governor of New Mexico. In 1880 he published Ben Hur – A Tale Of The Christ. He wanted to tell people about how a meeting with Jesus Christ could dramatically change their lives – as it had his.

And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.
Second Corinthians 3:18

In my last Pastoral Desk post, I mentioned the story of Professor Rosaria Butterfield. She was a lesbian feminist academic who despised Christians. She was on a mission to dismantle Christianity’s place in the public square and expose it as a flawed world of fantasy. But then she met Jesus. From that moment, her life was forever changed. Today, she is the wife of a Pastor and a home-schooling mother. Her life is now dedicated to telling others what Christ can do for them. 

All of us! Nothing between us and God, our faces shining with the brightness of his face. And so we are transfigured much like the Messiah, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like him.
Second Corinthians 3:18 THE MESSAGE

I have witnessed Jesus transforming many people. Some of these people have had their lives so dramatically transformed that they are barely recognisable from who they used to. These people have been changed into calm, considerate, kind, caring Christians by beholding Christ. Sometimes their former lives are characterised by averice, indebtedness, alcohol, anger, adultery, or abuse. Yet they met Christ, and their lives are now forever changed.

And we all, with unveiled face, continually seeing as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are progressively being transformed into His image from [one degree of] glory to [even more] glory, which comes from the Lord, [who is] the Spirit.
Second Corinthians 3:18 THE MESSAGE

Each of them will tell you though, that often their transformation was slow and long. Each time they met with Christ’s Body, they were meeting with Christ, and as the Word was preached, they were beholding Christ and being changed. God has graced us with the means of continually beholding Christ through: 

i) Prayerful time spent in God’s Word (John 17:17; Heb. 4:12)

ii) Prayerful time spent in prayer (Matt. 6:6)

iii) Prayerful time in worship with Christ’s body (Heb. 10:24-25)

iv) Prayerful attention to the preaching of God’s Word (1Cor. 15:2; Titus 1:3)

WITH TEARS I WRITE

But what happens to a believer when they cease to continually behold Jesus through these graces? Paul wrote to the Philippians with tears dripping onto the vellum over those believers who had ceased to behold Christ as he said- 

For many, of whom I have often told you and now tell you even with tears, walk as enemies of the cross of Christ.
Philippians 3:18

It seems that the one of the hallmarks of a true believer is their resolve to continually behold Christ through these graces of Bible reading, prayer, congregational worship, and receiving the teaching of God’s Word. But when compromise gets its toe in the door of a believer’s heart, the drift away from the strength to change derived from these graces is almost undetectable. This is because this compromise begins in the heart, not initially in the outward behaviour. A believer who has ceased to do their spiritual warfare of resisting the devil’s distractions away from scripture, prayer, church, preaching, will still appear to others (for quite some time) to still be beholding Christ. Walking with Christ changes a soul. Walking away from Christ changes a soul. Walking with Christ beautifully graces a wretched soul to be transformed into the image, character, and likeness of Christ. Walking away from Christ disgraces a soul and makes them more wretched than they once were. 

holding faith and a good conscience. By rejecting this, some have made shipwreck of their faith, among whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I have handed over to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme.
First Timothy 1:19-20

The Apostle Paul’s tears still stain the passages of our New Testament. When a believer continually beholds Christ they are being transformed from one degree of glory to the next. People who once took their comfort from alcohol have met Christ and are now being delivered from those things which had them bound. People who were once addicted to internet porn, which is an insidious form of modern-day slavery and reduces women to a piece of meat, have met Christ and are now being renewed into seeing girls as sistersworthy of respect and protection. People who once stole from their employers have met Christ and have been converted into diligent, cooperative, productive, teachable, team-members. The Gospel, the Good News, is about changing – not merely having been changed. As we each behold Christ in the graces God has mercifully provided us with, we too will be continually undergoing changing. The next time you encounter someone who seems to be too much of a wretch, remember, the Good News is changing people, and one of the graces which our Father offers these dear wretches is the opportunity to behold the growing image of Christ in us.

Amen.

Pastor Andrew.

NEW CHANGES. YES IT DOES!

New Changes

Pat Rafter was languishing in the world rankings well outside the top 50. Despite being an elite athlete who was well coached, hard working and motivated, he just couldn’t breakthrough into the world’s top 50 professional tennis players. Then someone suggested he change something. The suggested change seemed so unlikely to have any bearing on his game that it met with some initial skepticism and resistance. What he was being asked to consider was so different from what all the other elite tennis pros were doing. He made the change and even though he struggled at first it wasn’t long before he broke through well beyond his best expectations! New changes. Yes it does.

“Old” is not just relative to years of existence – and in some cases – is actually quite distinct from it. If “young” is the phase of adventure, discovery, risk-taking, trying new things for the first time, then it becomes obvious that too many of us have become old before our time! Premature ageing has less to do with the amount of smile-lines on a face and much more to do with how open a person is to change and all things new.

In 1997 it was suggested that Pat try a completely different racquet string from a small start-up Belgian manufacturer called Luxilon. These strings were not natural or synthetic gut which were up until Luxilon came along the only category choices for tennis players. These strings were polyester. Players soon discovered that these strings did exactly the opposite to gut strings (which “ping” the ball so that it feels crisp off a racquet – I used to love playing with a fresh natural gut restring). Rather, these strings made a “thuuud” when striking a ball. The difference is that the ball is gripped slightly longer by polyester strings than gut strings. While most players using gut were hitting a ball at 1,000rpm, polyester players were now hitting balls with 2,000rpm – and Pat Rafter joined them! (Rafa hits between 3,500 – 5,000rpm!) It meant that players could now hit the ball much much harder and add topspin to have them drop in. Pat began to beat players he was previously losing to. At the French Open in 1997 he stunned everyone by making the Semi Finals. He broke into the Top 50, then the Top 20. He then won the U.S. Open – which John McEnroe said was a “Fluke!” and that Pat was “a one Slam wonder!” So Pat came back the following year and won it again! He also went onto become a two-time runner-up at Wimbledon. He went on to become #1 in the world. And it was all made possible because he made a small, but initially uncomfortable change.

André Agassi was also reluctant to change and in his very early thirties when most of his fellow pros were retiring and he was languishing at #104 in the world, he made a series of painful changes. First his training régime, then his coach (an Australian), then in 2002 his strings. As a result he got a second-wind for his career and won the Italian Open and another Australian Open Slam. He wrote in his autobiography –

People talk about the game changing, about players growing more powerful, and rackets getting bigger, but the most dramatic change in recent years is the strings. The advent of a new elastic polyester string, which creates vicious topspin, has turned average players into greats, and greats into legends. [Coach Darren Cahill] puts the string on one of my rackets… In a practice session I don’t miss a ball for two hours. Then I don’t miss a ball for the rest of the tournament. I’ve never won the Italian Open before, but I win it now, because of Darren and his miracle string.

“Open”, André Agassi

Change is uncomfortable. It is often painful. It can be annoying, It slows us down. But nearly all of us who have been advised to change and have done so have got over the hill of difficulties and then enjoyed a previously unknown downhill stretch that has made us wonder why hadn’t done this sooner!

God will give ear and humble them,
He who is enthroned from of old, Selah
they do not change because they
do not fear God.

Psalm 55:19

Our Enemy does not want us to change – at least not the kind of change that is positive and therefore often slow, new, challenging, stretching, different, uncomfortable, awkward, embarrassing. But change is the door through which someone comes out of darkness and into light and change is the path that must be trod to remain in the light. To follow Christ is to change and be changed. It is to embrace newness.

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

Second Corinthians 5:17

When was the last time you did something for the first time? Old is not a matter of years!

When we share our faith in Christ with someone and hope that they too might turn away from bondage to salvation we are hoping that they will make the most dramatic change of their life! We are summoning them to a life-time of constant change!  Therefore don’t be surprised if people are a little reluctant to accept the Gospel upon first hearing it. Such mammoth change in the way they live, talk, think, feel, can be daunting for most.

I’m coming into a stage of life where I yearn for the easy and the comfortable and find change a little frustrating. I must overcome this. I may be getting old but I don’t want to get old before my time – and the way to ensure that doesn’t happen is to embrace change. Let’s be open to the new, the different, the strange and let’s understand that this is most often an uncomfortable zone. But as a church we need to change. Where we are now is not where we were 20 years ago, and where we’ll be in five years is not where we are now – if we make positive changes. This will include our facilities, our leaders, our music, and one day our pastor. When something isn’t working we want to try something new. Some of us met this week with the Youth and Young Adults leaders and outlined the changes we are introducing this year. These guys are all young so it was very pleasing to see the positive reception of these changes.

And no one pours new wine into old wineskins; otherwise the skins burst and the wine is spilled out and the skins are destroyed. Instead they put new wine into new wineskins and both are preserved.”

Matthew 9:17

Change has a fragrance to it. When we spend time with Christ we smell of this fragrance. He causes us to have open hearts to new things generally but to His newness in our lives particularly. And as a church this fragrance comes not just from the new wine of His Spirit but the new wineskin for His Spirit as well. I dare say that if we will open our hearts to the new things God wants to do in us each and in us each together, Tasmania might yet see a demonstration of the kind of Church that Christ said He had come to build!

Ps. Andrew.

It's Latin For Change

VICISSITUDO

"There's only one thing that won't change, and that's that things change!" - is what my senior pastor used to say when I started out in pastoral ministry. "For a church to grow it has to change!" he often used to say. History and suburbs are littered with churches that wouldn't change. They stand alone, cold, dark, dilapidated, and empty. While the church's mission and message does not change, its methods must. Change is here to grow.

...on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
Matthew 16:18b

Jesus used "growth" language to describe the establishment of His Church. When our family bought our current home, it was an old, small, two-bedroom, weatherboard, farm cottage. In 2010 we transformed it into a two-storey, four bedroom executive home. The process of change involved a considerable amount of discomfort and inconvenience. Firstly, it cost us financially. Secondly, it meant having a bunch of strange people in our home. Thirdly, it became noisy. Fourthly, it meant we had to shuffle things around. Fifthly, in order to add the second floor our existing roof had to be taken off (you know the expression, "As long as I've got a roof over my head..." during this reno, we didn't!). Sixthly, it was smelly - the sweat of the workers, the fumes of the paint, the odour of the glues, the scent of the new flooring, and the addition of our new septic tank system! But it was all worth it! The benefits of this growth have outweighed the cost of the change.

And He gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ
Ephesians 4:11-12

I think the analogy of building is valuable for any church to consider. The language that Jesus used to describe His church is the language of building, growing ... changing. The list of inconveniences that we went through to transform our farm house into a family home is equally true for a church. For a church to grow it will cost, involve welcoming a bunch of strangers, get noisy, cause some rearranging to happen, take you out of your comfort zone, and smell. But I can absolutely assure you - it will be worth it!

until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, Ephesians 4:13

YOU CANNOT FOLLOW CHRIST
WITHOUT GROWING

The proof of whether someone has truly encountered Christ is whether they are becoming increasingly Christ-like. One of my primary roles as a pastor is not to do house-calls, but to help people understand what God they worship is truly like, and lead them in worship of Him. By beholding Christ in worship, we are incrementally and automatically transformed into His likeness. Before we knew Christ we swore, we drank, we lied cheated and stole. But then Christ gripped us and we beheld Him. We saw in Him the 'pearl of great price', our 'treasured field', and 'exceedingly great reward', and we forsook all and followed Him. We became a wet lump of clay in the Heavenly Potter's hands. He then began His work of transformation. He began spinning us. He began hollowing us out with His hands (one inner, the other on the outer). He applied pressure to us on the inside of our life and with His other hand He applied pressure to the outside of us. When He had finished with us on His wheel, He took us and thinned us so we would be adaptable in His hands. 

After He had shaped us into a vessel that was now tall and fashioned, He sat us on a shelf to dry. During this phase of our growth we felt abandoned, alone, and dry. But He hadn't left us. He was waiting for us. And when we were ready, He took us and applied His distinguishing paint to us. He then seemed to abandon us again by turning up the heat in our lives in His kiln. In this phase of our growth, The Potter stood off, seemingly aloof and uncaring - we rarely caught His caring eye through the inspection hole of the furnace. In the kiln, His paint on us fused into the clay and it formed a beautiful glaze. In the same way, the heat/pressures/trials of life are used by the Potter to beautify us as well as to harden us - so that we are useful for Him. This is the process of growth for a lump of clay into a beautiful vase. One of the hallmarks of a mature Christian is that they endure despite not understanding what the Potter is doing!

CHURCHES CANNOT FOLLOW
CHRIST WITHOUT GROWING

Similarly, churches undergo the Potter's shaping in order for them to grow. It starts by hollowing out the church. This is where the heart is - on the inside. For a church to grow in God's hands, it requires a new, enlarged heart. This heart firstly yields to the Father. "Father, have Your way in my heart" is a continual prayer of a church yielded to The Heavenly Potter. The result of this beautiful prayer is a change of heart toward others. Each Sunday changed-hearted church members look for others first not theirs (their friends, their family, their group members). Changed-hearted believers come to the assembly of the church and see others - a brother who is struggling, a sister who is lonely, a pastor who is disheartened, a drummer who is beaten, a guitarist who is highly strung. A changed-hearted church knows how to reach out as well to reach in.

If, therefore, the whole church comes together and all speak in tongues, and outsiders or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are out of your minds?
First Corinthians 14:23 

THERE IS COST FOR A
CHURCH TO CHANGE

I've mentioned the story of our house renovation and the cost - not just financial - that was involved. But the end result was that our house grew into a home through building. I've also mentioned that spiritual growth involves a change of heart. Heart transplants come at a cost - not just financial. And the Bible also talks about a kind of growth that requires maturing. This comes at a cost (just ask any parent!). For an infant to grow into adulthood there are all kinds of costs. For a church to grow into a mature church there is a price to pay. As parents discover when their families grow, there is a price to pay when children need medical attention at the most inconvenient times, when sleep-ins become a distant memory as you're up before dawn on the coldest Tasmanian Winter's morn driving your four and five year olds to Saturday junior soccer, and when your daughters each get married to some guys who've each got 35 brothers and sisters and 212 uncles and aunties, who all insist on being invited to the silver-service reception at the Hotel Grand Sherihilton. As your children grow, there's education costs and multiple volunteer requests from the organisations they are involved with. Growing families come at a cost of money and time. I could also mention the physical drain of having worked all day and then coming home to give your children play/talk/homework time. Growing families come at the cost of energy.

so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes.
Ephesians 4:14

For a church to grow, there will always be a price to pay. Growth comes at a cost of finance, time, effort, energy, training, and strained emotions. Are we prepared to pay the cost?

When a church is around 50 people, it is very easy for everybody to know each other. In a church that size, everyone has access to the pastor and the pastor enjoys having access to everyone.

This begins to change when a church reaches 100 people. There'll always be a third of the church that you don't know, and now you have to wait inline to catch the pastor - or even worse still, make an appointment to see him through the week.

And when a church grows to 200 there's a series of changes that have already taken place that some people will already be struggling with. Most people will not know two-thirds of those in their church. Neither will they be able to talk directly the pastor after the service anytime they want due to him ensuring that as many visitors are made to feel as welcome as possible.

For a church to grow to 300 several strategic changes - just like those in any large family where Mum and Dad parent more than three children - have had to have been made. Rather than the church expecting one man to directly pastor every person in the church, pastoral ministry is shared and done by those with gifts of compassion and mercy and the availability to give the kind of time that each person in their care deserves. Paul told the Ephesians that was when each part is working properly, making the body grow -

Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.
Ephesians 4:15-16

For a church to grow it must change, vicissitudo. And this change will involve three key areas:

1. Structure- changing from the non-Biblical model of the pastor does all the ministry, to the Biblical model of each member of the church shares their spiritual gifts in the way that God has called them to do so and submits to those God places over them.

2. Systems- changing from unwritten, arbitrary, habits to tried and proven methods that all members know and understand. This includes systems for how visitors are followed up, members are cared for, leaders are trained, problems are solved, rosters are done, property is maintained, and needs are prayed for.

3. Service- changing from a clergy model to a member-ministry model. Every member in the church become a partner with the church. As such they share in the cost by serving in prayer, time, efforts, and their spiritual gifts, with a servant heart.

We are now at a very challenging place as a church. Can we change? My house and family tell me it's worth it, and I think Jesus does too.

Ps. Andrew