Couldn't Help Noticing

Donut theology

I really don't know whether I made this term up or not, but when I am asked to think about how to reach Group X with the gospel—whether it be Generation Y, men, women or Iranian Muslims—I keep thinking of the idea of a ‘donut’. A part of me wonders if setting up these sorts of questions predispose us towards coming up with a donut answer—i.e. one that has plenty to say around the periphery and margins of a subject, but reveals a great gaping hole in the centre where the facts of the gospel ought to stand.

The gospel tells me that the greatest need of any group of humans is to hear the word of God. That word is a word of judgement on sin and a word of undeserved grace shown through the Lord Jesus Christ. When any man puts their trust in the Lord Jesus (be they Generation Y or female or an Iranian Muslim), they pass over from death to life; they become a new creation.

That Iranian Muslims are considerably less belligerent, and more sympathetic to Christianity than the media profile of Muslims in Australia suggests, is probably true. For most Christians, the practical upshot of this is that it is easier to have a friendly gospel conversation with such a person. But in theological terms, they are just as difficult to reach as the most pompous secular materialist we are ever likely to cross apologetic swords with. This is because they are dead in their sins, just as we were dead in our sins before God (who is rich in mercy) raised us to life in Christ.

This makes me wonder whether questions of how to reach particular subgroups of humanity with the gospel would be better framed in a different way. Too often questions like these lead us into the unstated assumption that if we can just crack the cultural code, people will be more receptive to the gospel. We observe that one group prefers to use YouTube, another dislikes attacks on the perpetual virginity of Mary, a third group are indifferent to ideology, and yet another subculture is appalled by Western immorality. But we forget that all alike refuse to submit to the Holy Spirit, and hate everything God stands for.

But if we want to ask questions about opportunities and cultural obstacles (and the Bible very occasionally does raise questions of being “all things to all men”), why not rather turn the spotlight on ourselves and ask what it means to obey the command “Love your neighbour”? This places the gospel front and centre, because the greatest expression of love possible is to tell someone news that will save them from eternal damnation. Similarly, if the gospel is true, it impels us to love others and to pay attention to their particular sensitivities—be they cultural, generational or even religious.

By beginning with the right question, other questions about opportunities and cultural obstacles fall neatly into place. We will be aware of these things because we love people, and our love for them will motivate us to act accordingly. What's more, we will be saved from the perils of the donut because the gospel will have been restored to the centre—right where it belongs.

Remembering the disabled

After publishing Peter Avery's article on God and the disabled in Briefing #341 (February 2007), Melissa Magee from Marsfield and Mel Fung from St Ives both wrote in to say thanks, and to tell us about the ministries to people with disabilities that they are involved with. For many years, Melissa has helped run WROK (Wheelchairs Rule OK!), a camp that Anglican Youthworks holds for youth with varying needs and disabilities. It not only serves the disabled by proclaiming the gospel to them and encouraging them through God's Word, but also serves their carers who are then able to have respite or a holiday. She writes:

Parents and carers sing our praises (praises which are really meant for God) after every camp. Some thank us for playing a large role in saving their marriages. Sadly, such camps for physically disabled youth and physically disabled adults are quite rare. The nature of disability ministry is very specialized and complex; it requires compassionate service and the availability of particular facilities. Some years we are unsure whether the camp will be held the following year as campers may not be able to pay their way and costs are quite high. However, for many of these campers, this is their only experience of church.

For more information about WROK, please visit www.youthworks.net. For adult disability camps, contact Joe Pennington.

Over at Christ Church Gladesville, Mel Fung has been running a ministry called Jesus Club for people with intellectual disabilities (e.g. autism and Down Syndrome) since April 2006. The group, which consists of around 15 members, meets once a fortnight. Mel writes:

Most people with intellectual disabilities would not understand a typical church sermon. Some are not even able to hold a conversation. However, just like everyone else, their salvation depends on knowing Jesus. The aim of Jesus Club is to communicate the gospel in creative ways they can understand. While there is only one Jesus Club at the moment, we hope that many more disabled people will be reached in the future. Our prayer is that a ministry to people with intellectual disabilities will become a regular fixture in every church, just like Sunday School, youth group and services for people from non-English speaking backgrounds. We would be delighted to help you set up a ministry like this at your church.

For further information about Jesus Club, please visit www.jesusclub.org.au or contact Mel Fung. Please support and pray for WROK and Jesus Club, and other similar ministries. Pray that all Christians everywhere will recognize every member of Christ's body, caring for and representing the disabled who often cannot do so themselves.

Survey says …

Greg Clarke, over at CASE, has helpfully alerted us via his blog to a very recent survey (PDF) of 1,000 Australians about their views on (among other things) Jesus and life after death.

It's certainly worth a read, even though it probably reflects similar results to past surveys. Worth noting is the percentage of people who believe that Jesus was the son of God (51%), or who believe Jesus was a prophet or representative of God but not an actual son (8%). 10% are unsure about Jesus, 23% think he was just a man and 8% think he never existed at all.

A far higher proportion (65%) of Coalition voters think that Jesus was God's son, compared to Labour voters (43%). Yet only 32% of Coalition voters go to church at least once a month.

34% of those surveyed believe in ‘conscious’ life after death, 21% don't believe in it and 45% are ‘unsure’.

The survey breaks these results down by gender, age bracket, income level and state.

Once again, these sort of surveys seem to be telling us there are more people out there than we intuitively expect who are sympathetic to a Christian view of Jesus.

Make the most of your creatives

I started writing stories from a very early age. Raised on a diet of Enid Blyton, L.M. Montgomery, E.B. White and Louisa May Alcott, I wrote my first ‘book’ at the age of 10. (It was juvenilia blatantly modelled on my literary heroes which, I hope, will never see the light of day.) I wrote my second at the age of 13, my third at 14 and my fourth at 15 (and all were equally as dreadful) . Then high school got tougher, and though I scribbled things on the side and learnt to appreciate poetry in spite of my high school English teachers, I only got back into the swing of the pen at university where I undertook a double major in English and Creative Writing.

But it wasn't until I was 23 and attending a writing group that met under the gentle tutelage of Greg Clarke and Tony Payne that it ever occurred to me that writing could be useful in some way for the growth of God's kingdom. I had always thought that writing was something you did as a hobby in private in your spare time; it had nothing to do with being a Christian or doing the work of ministry.

However, now that I think about it, the creative disciplines are so useful—and, in some respects, essential—to ministry in the local congregation. Think of the music you use to teach and admonish one another (Col 3:16). Think of your building which is the product of some architect's design. Think of the signs, logos, pamphlets and websites you used to advertise your church's presence. Think of your church bulletins, corporate prayers, sermons, missionary newsletters, pastoral emails, Bible study questions, evangelistic courses, youth group talks and Sunday school lessons.

And why stop at church? We need more songs on the radio that are about more than love, sex, drugs and revenge, and which don't sound like they belong in an elevator. We need more TV shows that don't glorify pride, lust or greed, but seek to wake their viewers to the grim reality of a world without God. We need more films that combat the unrealistic view of relationships in mainstream chick flicks by giving us a model of how God intended men and women to interact (in purity and holiness). Just recently I overheard a minister complaining about the dearth of good fiction appropriate for his primary-aged children.

So surely, given 1 Corinthians 12, we (and by ‘we’, I don't just mean our ministers but everyone in our congregations) should be encouraging the creative types among us to step up and use their gifts for the “common good”. I'm not saying that all Sunday school teachers need to do a degree in visual arts. I'm also not saying that a creative-type needs to be on the organizing committee of every mission you run. But look at the Christians around you. Are you out of ideas of how to reach your community? Get a group of unconventional thinkers together and brainstorm. Does your church need to advertise a dialogue dinner? Ask that graphic designer to make an invitation. Do you want to podcast your sermons? Ask if your resident IT guru knows how. A lot of ministers have trouble stringing two sentences together (I should know; I edit The Briefing); why not ask the guy who sub-edits the local newspaper to give your sermon a once over before you preach it? And afterwards, if it's something we might use in The Briefing, why not give it to that wordsmith to see if she can turn it into an article? See how you can utilize each member of the body of Christ.

But why stop there? You know that lady over there has been working on a novel; ask her about it and let her use you as a sounding board. You know that that young man wants to make a concept album; why not let him show you some lyrics and riffs? Even though people in the four churches I've attended over the course of my Christian life knew that I studied writing and wrote in my spare time, very few people asked me about it or encouraged me to use what I was doing for the glory of God. Encourage your creatives to use their gifts for service, not for selfishness.

Furthermore, encourage your creatives to develop their skills. Send them along to painting master classes, or things like TWIST or the writing conference CASE and Matthias Media are running in July. Match them up with older saints who have been practising the discipline for longer. Maybe even get them to teach your church some of their skills: how to design a webpage, how to write your testimony, how to lead the singing, etc.

But above all, teach your creatives the Bible. Many creative people I know are slightly off-the-wall, often coming out with stuff that almost seems heretical. You need to deal with them gently, not clamp down on them and then metaphorically burn them at the stake. Help them to know God better. Help them to soak up the Scriptures. Teach them good theology, for good theology will help them to produce art that doesn't misrepresent God or his word.

One final word: if you're creative and you have skills that could benefit your Christian family, don't sit back and wait to be asked. Dig in and demonstrate just how useful you are.

Unable to save ourselves

If you're looking for a memorable sermon illustration about being slaves to sin, unable to save ourselves, the mental image conjured up by this news story about a 91 year-old man accidently gluing himself to the roof of his house should do the job nicely.