The best leader of a church service I have ever met

Last Sunday I had the privilege of being part of a church service that was led by my friend, who is (IMHO) the best leaders of church services I have ever met. Here’s 10 reasons why.

1. Everything he says oozes the gospel.

Whether he is saying a few words of welcome, directing us to the notices for the week or interviewing a visitor, everything he says oozes the gospel. The vocabulary and themes of grace, forgiveness, joy and peace are everywhere.

2. He is friendly

You can’t help but like this guy. He makes you think that he is glad you are there. And before or after church when you speak to him you realise he actually thinks that.

3. He is structured, and the structure is instructive

The way he leads church indicates that he has thought about what he is doing, and has structured all the elements to achieve various ends. Each element teaches us something, but in fact the way in which the elements are ordered teaches us as well. For example, we confess and hear the gospel message of forgiveness before we celebrate the Lord’s supper together. Very 1 Corinthians 11.

4. There is lots of Bible.

Not only do we read big chunks of the Bible in preparation for the sermon, but also as part of the general flow of church. We are welcomed with words from scripture, encouraged, rebuked and prayers use the language of scripture. This is clearly a consequence of his Anglican and BCP heritage, and relates closely to point 3.

5. He is informal, but not casual.

When he leads, we are made to feel like we are doing this together and we are all “normal”, but not in a way which makes us think what we are doing is unimportant.  There is something special about the gathering we are participating in. We are meeting with God and with each other. And yet there is nothing “priestly” or “different level” to who he is. When we are meeting together he points us to our heavenly father, rather than “the big guy upstairs who we can call mate.”

6. He is welcoming and values everyone being there.

A consequence of point 2. He welcomes some people by name, says “it is good to see you” – things like that. He has a great knack for names.

7. What he does up front matches what he says and who he is.

The man has a lots of words to say, and his words ooze the gospel, but so do his actions and personality. From his body language to the way he treats others, everything he says is reinforced by what he does.

8. The values the participation of others.

He is not a control freak or a “I need to do it all” sort of guy. He welcomes others to preach, read, lead in prayer, give announcements etc and visibly and audibly appreciates their contribution.

9. He is unapologetic

He tells us what why we are here, what we are going to do and what we might like to do in response – and is unapologetic about it. There is no sense of “I know this might make you feel awkward and so I’m going to tone it down a bit”. No, it is all clear (while considering 2,5 and 6.)

10. He is instructive

He wants us to learn from what he does, and so he should. He is not just leading us through the service, he is teaching us how to respond to what we are hearing. As the service leader, he has realised that he has an important teaching role, and he has taken on that role with great consideration and care.

I hope you have a service leader like this. If not – feel free to pass this on!

Classes cancelled tomorrow

This semester I've been teaching a discipleship class at a seminary here in Monterrey. It has been fantastic - the dozen students are great, enthusiastic, asking good questions, learning - it is a joy to be teaching them.

But tomorrow night, classes are cancelled.

You see, Monterrey has two football teams in the Mexican League, and the home stadium of one of them (Los Rayados) is 2 blocks from the seminary. Tomorrow night is "El clasico", the local derby between Los Rayados and Los Tigres. And that means just one thing.

Enthusiastic chaos!

At the same time I'd normally be teaching, 50,000+ people with trumpets, flags, banners, drums and general happiness will be trying to park their cars and walk to the stadium, past my classroom. 500 transit police are being deployed into the area to try and keep things relatively under control - but it won't work!

(For Australian readers, think trying to teach a class out the front of Flinders Street station on Grand Final afternoon, or outside Olympic Park station on State of Origin night - with bands!)

Not an ideal learning environment.

So - class is off tomorrow.

Will I be watching the game?

No - it is only on Pay TV and we don't have it. But, some of our neighbours do, and I know which house supports which team, so I can keep score by listening to the cheers.

Vamos los rayados!

(By the way, "Bimbo" is the local bread company and sponsors quite a few of the teams. The players are not making a statement about their manlihood!)

The challenge of success in a bi-vocational setting

There are many things that are different about ministry in Latin America, but a conversation I had recently gave me an insight into one difference and resulting challenge that hadn't even crossed my mind.

Many, if not the majority of the pastors I am working alongside here are bi-vocational. As well as pastoring a church they have a "day job" to pay the bills. Most commonly this is the result of a combination of factors - economic, cultural, family expectations etc.

Being bi-vocational has all sorts of implications. Greatest of all is that you generally don't have much time on your hands. You are busy doing your "day job" and then in your other hours you are frantically trying to do the best you can for your church, prepare your sermon for Sunday, visit those who need visiting etc. I think most of us would be aware, or even be able to sympathise to some extent, with the pressures of wearing different hats.

But there is one aspect of "bi-vocationality" that hadn't even crossed my mind - and that is the way you think about success.

In "day job world", success can often be measured in quite concrete indicators like sales figures, investment performance, exam results, efficiency improvement, production targets being exceeded, waiting times reduced, customer satisfaction, number of enrolments etc.

But in ministry, how do we measure success? Should we even consider it as a appropriate category to be measured?
Perhaps categories like "faithfulness" and "love" and "patience" might be better indicators of success and performance, not sales figures or attendance numbers, but how do we measure those things? And if we are to measure them, can the very act of measuring and analysing them create an unhelpful rod for our own backs?

For bi-vocational pastors, the tension of working in "two worlds", and the difficulty that comes from stepping from one world to the other is enormous. Measuring the "success" of their ministry can be one of those areas where it is so easy to unconsciously transfer the thinking of one sphere of life into another, with the result that often the pastor can easily feel dis-heartened because they are not seeing the "performance" that they see in the other workplace.

Of course, such feedback can motivate and energise the pastor to try new things, to motivate his people to work hard on a gospel project or some personal milestones. But it can also mean that perhaps less gospel-centred thinking can creep in as well as a way of "boosting the numbers." Latin America is full of examples of churches that have tried to increase their "success" in ways which focus on the world and what itching ears want to hear, rather than on faithful, loving and patient gospel proclamation.

I am grateful for the insights which my bi-vocational brothers have shared with me and for their willingness to serve in such difficult contexts. We need to continue to pray for them and support them as they carry on this difficult task.

What do you do at a conference on mission?

I'm in Orlando, Florida at the moment, participating in a pretty big conference about christian mission. (Well, actually, OK - it is huge! At the moment the "pre-conference" is on and there are 3,000 people at it. I've heard there will be about 10,000 by the time the main conference gets going tomorrow. That is a lot of people seated in one room!)

Today, one of the speakers (John Piper - if that name means anything to you) had us think about what you actually do at a conference about mission. Yes, we have heard from a couple of missionaries (although not that many), I've just been to a great session about the history of mission in Latin America and I'm just about to have dinner with a group of leaders from Latin America, but what is the essence of a mission conference?

His answer was great. The key activity at a mission conference has to be the opening and teaching the scriptures. Why? Because it is as we open and study the scriptures that we understand what mission is, and learn what will sustain mission and missionaries.

So for the last day and a bit we've been reading and studying 2 Cor 4-5, and it has just oozed gospel, gospel motivated mission, and gospel sustained mission.

The temptation at a mission conference is to get all caught up with the missionaries and spectacular stories or success or failure, or to hear about great needs or rejoice in needs met. And those are all good things - but they won't in the long run motivate or sustain mission - especially when it is difficult. What will motivate and sustain mission is the gospel - a firm understanding of the gospel its place in the world.

I am glad to say - I've been challenged and motivated once again by what I've heard.

Dreams and aspirations

I enjoy ready the travel section of the Sydney Morning Herald. I enjoy hearing different experiences that people are having from around the world and seeing if I recognise places or airports as they are mentioned.

I especially like reading the travel letters in Saturday's paper. Some of the things that people complain about are in the hilarious / get-a grip-on-reality category ("we ran out of champagne half way through our flight - it was an absolute disaster") and there are also good news stories about airline and hotel staff going out of their way to be helpful and accommodating.

Today, one correspondent caught my eye. Michael Schokman was commenting on the paper's interest in reporting on the latest designs, fads and gadgets that are available to travellers who get to sit up the front of the plane, and there by definition are out of reach to the vast majority of us who sit in squashed seats counting down the hours and dreaming of that one time when an upgrade might come our way. (By the way, forget it, I fly a lot of miles, have some "status" as a frequent flyer, usually travel on my own, dress reasonable well and and well behaved, and have never once been upgraded... but I digress.)

Michael defends this publication and promotion of the impossible, saying "I would hope such an article would inspire children such as my 12-year-old son, who is made about planes, to maybe get a better education than his old man, work smarter, and one day do what I couldn't." (ie: fly first class)

Is that what we really want for our kids? For them to be able to fly first class? Surely there is more to life than that?

Jesus said "Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth or rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where you treasure is, there your heart will be also." (Matthew 6:19-21)

What do we dream about? What do we dream about for our kids? What do we communicate to our kids as our ambitions and our dreams for them?

Surely it is more than a good education, a good job and the ability to fly first class? We need to make our ambitions heavenly ambitions, and therefore have our dreams, investments and efforts reflect that heavenly calling.

The reality is, if we want our kids to understand a dream beyond the good job and the lavish lifestyle, we're going to have to be very intentional about communicating that, because that is what they get fed every hour of the day.

So let's dream, let's wonder, let's talk about what might / could be. But let's make the point of our dreaming lasting heavenly treasure.

Oh the humiliation!

Working in a language which you've had to learn as an adult is a humiliating experience! We've been here for 4 years now and I am still making the most basic mistakes. It is very frustrating.

I was chatting to a fellow missionary here the other day, and he was sharing his frustration at this week-in, week-out reminder of his failings. He shared that one of the things that frustrates him most is that it really threatens his ability to be useful and to be a "contributor to the team." In the end he said "I want people to like me and I want to feel like I am doing something useful - and my daily struggle with Spanish threatens that."

But he then went on to say - that is just ungodliness on his part, and it is something he needs to repent of.

I was thinking about this conversation later, and it really resonated with me. Language proficiency can be just another example of relying on our own abilities and our own talents, rather than being a jar of clay which displays that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. (2Cor 4:7) We want to fight the crushing, perplexing and despairing (2Cor 4:8) which comes from bad pronunciation and poor conjugation with an excellent fricative 'd' and a smooth use of the subjunctive.

But that's not where the apostle finds his strength in 2 Cor 4. He says

"But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus' sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death is at work in us, but life in you."  2Cor 4:7-12 (ESV)

I doubt whether anyone is going to kill me because I get my pronouns mixed up, but it can sure feel like  your contribution slips quickly down the "useful" rating when it happens. Our strength and our confidence needs to be in Christ, not in our abilities.

So if you are ministering in your own language, how might this be a problem for you? Where is your confidence? Or where is your lack of confidence, and how do you respond to that?

Is it in strategy - those key steps to implement? Is it in the schmickness and professionalism of style or presentation? Is it in a particular model or mode?

Wherever it is - be a jar of clay.

Helping the theological famine

One of the great challenges facing anyone involved in theological education in a language other than English is the availability (or more to the point, the unavailability) of resources.

In English, we are blessed with a massive number of books, articles, training resources, conferences and mp3s  - and the ease of the internet makes accessibility for many people more or less a non-issue.

This is certainly not the case once you step outside the English-speaking world. For example, in Spanish I am guessing that for every 100 English books and training resources, maybe there is 1 in Spanish. (That is a complete guess and I have no hard data to back it up, but that's the vibe.)

The resources are often also expensive, because they require translation and a lower production run for a smaller market, so in many cases, out of reach of the people who need them - pastors, church leaders etc.

I understand from my friends working in other cultures that the situation is equal, or worse for them.

I remember speaking to someone from Argentina who I have great respect for, and he said that if he knew anyone who was serious about doing some theological study, the first thing they should do is learn English - because that is where the resources are.

It is great to see that there are various groups trying to address this theological famine. In Spanish, books by Vaughan Roberts, Don Carson, the 9Marks crowd, and Matthias Media are slowly making their way into the market. Along with this increased availability comes an increasing willingness to buy, read and study - which is really excellent.

I particularly want to highlight the work of The Gospel Coalition - International Outreach.
http://thegospelcoalition.org/io

This project, led by my good friend Bill Walsh has a number of projects on the go, but my favourite is the "Packing Hope" project.
http://thegospelcoalition.org/io/packing-hope-resources

TGC-IO raises money to translate and print great titles in some of the language groups that are suffering a theological famine, and then make the books available for distribution - using a really ingenious method.

The idea is that if you are a US resident and you are going overseas, either on a holiday or on a short term mission trip, you get in contact with TGC-IO and organise a box load of books to take with you. The books are free, all you need to do is pay the delivery from the warehouse to you. Brilliant!

There are a great number of titles available, and all the time new projects are seeking funding - in fact at the moment, Vaughan Roberts' "God's Big Picture" in Spanish is seeking funding.
http://thegospelcoalition.org/io/project/spanish_resource_book_by_vaughan_roberts

If you are in US reading this and know people going overseas, please highlight this great opportunity to them. And if you are interested in helping relieve the theological famine that so many languages are suffering under, please donate to this great project.