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Who, not What

The Church has spent far too much time teaching people what to believe.   Correct doctrine; right theology;  acceptable behaviours;  this is the way to expresses our faith; this is what decently and in order looks like…  All of these things have a degree of importance but, somehow, they have become the focus.  Too many church communities have spent so much energy on these and we’ve not equipped people for the most important thing.

Our focus should not be on WHAT we believe; our focus should be on WHO we believe.

The Church has, since the 1940’s, taken an apologetic approach to teaching.   With a motivation to protect people from the rising tide of secularism and rationalism, the Church began to teach people how to defend themselves against the challenges of those who did not believe.

While that may have been necessary given the cultural influences at the time the Church has, to this day, continued to teach people what to believe at the expense of helping them discover who to believe.  In our attempts to counter-act a rationalistic, materialistic, humanistic and pluralistic worldview we have tried to teach people a list of doctrines rather than helping people discover who God truly is.

Admittedly, our intentions have been for the good of people, but the questions need to be asked.  After generations of telling people what they should believe, is the average church-goer becoming more like Jesus?  Are we increasingly displaying the heart and character of God?  Do we, those set apart as God’s holy people, have reputations among society as being ones who exemplify the fruit of the Spirit?

We have put so much effort into methods and practices that we have, effectively, taught people a list of rules and behaviours.  In doing so, we have firmly established Christianity as a religion.  But what we need is to remember WHO it is we’re in relationship with.

  • Love isn’t something we should ‘do’ because we’ve been taught how to behave; Love is part of our nature as we become more like our Father.
  • Prayer isn’t a technique or a chore; prayer is communication with our loving Father
  • Sharing God’s grace and mercy with others isn’t a programme or a method; mercy is a natural expression of our love of God and our compassion for people.
  • Learning to hear God’s voice and know his presence is not something we strive for and then give up if we “don’t feel like it”.  Developing our relationship with him is the one thing we pursue because he is good and being with him is important to us.

I believe the Church needs to reconsider our approach to preaching, teaching and mission in order to model for people a life of personal encounters with God through which they will learn to develop and deepen their relationship with Him.  I humbly acknowledge the challenge of this view but am increasingly convinced of its necessity.

Focusing on WHAT we believe leads us to behaviours but focusing on WHO we believe leads us to becoming like him.

I know him who I have believed and he is able to guard that which I have entrusted to him (2 Tim 1.12)

I Understand

I understand your frustration.  I understand the questions you have – wondering if this is all there is to Church life.  I know the confusion you’ve felt, wondering if what you’re experiencing is the fullness of the life Jesus talked about.  I understand that you would feel deeply hurt if what you’ve experienced is all that is available.  Disappointed at feeling as though you’ve been misled.  Even angry, that someone had tapped into the deepest parts of you only to then leave you with a list of behaviours to mimic, meetings to attend and rules to follow.  I understand. I’ve been there myself.  I’ve felt this way too.

There really is more to this whole Christianity thing.  There really is more to what Church should be.  More to who God is.  More to who you are.

I don’t have it all figured out yet.  I’m still learning.  But what I have discovered is so much better than I imagined possible.  The things I’m learning are incredible, liberating, life-giving.  They are so wonderful I often stop and wonder why I didn’t see them before.  Why didn’t anyone tell me?  How have so many of us missed these things?

I understand if you are sceptical.  I know how deeply you’ve been hurt, disillusioned, disappointed.  I realise that by raising these ideas I’m opening up wounds that you felt had healed over.  But I’m asking you to try trusting me.  That little tug you feel in your heart; I encourage you to allow yourself to follow it.  Come with me, let’s explore together.  Let’s discover what God has in store for those who believe.

Journey To the Top of the Mountain

Have you ever noticed that when you go on a journey, you rarely travel directly from the starting place to the destination?  Roads aren’t made to go straight from town to town.  Walking up a mountain you usually walk a path that weaves back and forth as it climbs.   Even when traveling by airplane, the pilot will fly along a determined flight-path.

When selecting the photo for this site I knew as soon as I saw the photo in the banner it was the one I wanted.  As an illustration, allow me to use the top of the highest point of the mountain as my destination.   But, if I’m following the road to get to that mountain top, the road will take me away from the peak in order to bring me toward it.

That’s the way life sometimes works.  The journey is not always a straight shot to the destination.  In the process of getting to where we want to go it’s normal for us to travel what seems like an alternative route in order to get there.

Our spiritual development is no different.  I don’t want to sound overly simplistic, but it’s easier to accept this principle when we’re in times of positivity.  But when we’re struggling with confusion, frustration or pain – especially when it feels as though we keep coming back to the same points of pain – we don’t really like to hear that we’re on a journey toward maturity.

I’ve spent a lot of years in the progress of process.  Over the years, there were times I was convinced I was about to exit the process and arrive at the destination, yet it continued to elude me.  There were also times during which I felt if there was one more challenge or delay I would crack under the weight of it all, but that didn’t happen either.

I have learned many lessons but there are two that stand out above them all.

1. God is always good. I feel a bit strange putting that down as a lesson because I don’t recall ever doubting this or feeling like he wasn’t being good. But, the lesson I’ve learned is how important it has been for me to acknowledge his goodness even in the most difficult and challenging times.

My relationship with him has grown to new depths through my learning how to worship and honour him as my Good Father in the midst of telling him how painful and confusing things have been.  There were many times I would ask him to intervene and change my circumstances but, through his grace, I was also able to state my willingness to remain in that place if he had more for me to learn.  As those months turned into seasons I grew in deeper love for him and his goodness.

2. The process helped me gain clarity on my goals. A number of years ago I came across Jeremiah 32.39 and asked God to help me become a man of singleness of heart and action so that I would always serve him. Little did I expect the difficulties I would face that would help me refine the affections of my heart.

Back in 1992 God spoke to me very clearly, giving me a vision for life and ministry.  I have held onto those promises and have attempted to live them out as well as I could given the circumstances in which I found myself. The challenges I’ve faced have helped develop perseverance and resilience, bringing a clarity and assurance of who I am and what I want to do.

Now it feels as though I’m coming into the clearing and able to see the top of the mountain.  Maybe I’m experiencing an unwarranted feeling of positivity and the path will, once again, wind back through thickets. Either way, I’ll have a chance to go deeper in my love for God and continue becoming who he intended me to be.

God Loves to Hide Stuff

I had been a Christian for a long time before I discovered how much of an adventure it could be to have a life with God.  When I first became a believer I was full of excitement and wonder at God, his love for people and the depth of meaning I was finding in so many things.  I spent hours devouring the Bible and lapping up the truths and principles I discovered within it.

Over time much of that excitement waned.  I didn’t grow cold, hard or disinterested (at least I don’t think so); but I lost much of the sense of wonder at God’s word.  I had gone to seminary to study the Bible.  I learned some Greek and a bit of Hebrew so I could understand the rich heritage and context behind the original texts.  But somehow in that process I lost the thrill of discovering what God has for me.

Then, I came across a verse that opened a whole new understanding of how God operates.  Yes, operates.  Not just how he speaks to us, but how he relates to us, how he reveals things to us, how he leads us.  Proverbs 25.2 states, “It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but it is the glory of kings to search out a matter”.   When I read this I stopped in my tracks.  I felt as if I’d just opened my eyes and was seeing, for the first time, what had always been right in front of me.

God hides stuff.  I understood that Jesus spoke in parables – he had a purpose for not disclosing everything to everyone all at once.  He wanted the hungry to come looking for the deeper meaning behind what he taught.  I got that.  But, for some reason, I didn’t transfer that understanding to God.  I just didn’t expect that God would ‘hide’ things.  After all, he is within me and through his Spirit he is revealing himself to me.  But this verse challenged a lot of my assumptions.

God likes to hide stuff.  But he doesn’t hide things from us, he hides things for us to find.  When I was a kid my mother, when giving us a special gift at Christmas or birthdays, would create a treasure hunt to add a bit more excitement into her giving us the gift.  I still remember going from room to room figuring out the clues she’d left until I finally found the console stereo turn-table at Christmas of 1980 (I know, showing my age again).

So, why is it so hard to accept that God would hide good things for us to find and discover?  Searching for the hidden treasures of his kingdom demonstrates that I’m hungry, that I’m expectant, that I have a hope and a faith that there is more available than I am currently experiencing.  Searching for what he’s hidden displays a trust that he has placed things within my reach and he is leading me toward himself as the ultimate treasure.  After all, he is the rewarder of those who seek him (Hebrews 11:6).

It is the glory of God to conceal but it is the glory of kings to search it out.

A Prayer for Ireland

In June 2008 the Lord led me pray through the 33rd chapter of Jeremiah for the area in which I live.  As I read this chapter, which is full of hope and restoration, I began to declare the promises for my home, my town and my region.  Through these declarations of hope, I wrote the below prayer.

Over the next several months my job took me through small towns and large cities all across Ireland and I prayed this prayer during my journeys.  This prayer has now been prayed in all 32 counties of Ireland and Northern Ireland.  After sharing this prayer with others I have been informed that a church in Canada has used the prayer in their intercession for Ireland.  I have also learned that the prayer has been used in a local civic (non religious) ceremony which honoured fallen Irish immigrants.

I pray that you sense the promises of God for your region that are put forward in Jeremiah 33.

Prayer for Ireland

God, we thank you for creating the nation of Ireland.

We bless you for the characteristics you have given us as a people…

We thank you for giving us the gifts of creativity and musicianship; literature and lyrics; drama and theatre; craftsmanship and artistry; inventiveness and entrepreneurship.

We thank you for making us a people who work for justice; who are quick to give generously, eager to show compassion and stand up for those who are unfairly treated.

We thank you for giving us an ability to laugh and not take ourselves too seriously.

… and we embrace these as a reflection of your nature.

We thank you for the heritage we received from our Irish ancestors: Columba, Kevin, Brendan, Colmcill, Brigid, Aidan and Patrick and others in more recent history. We ask that you give us passion to change the course of history through the spreading of your Gospel the way these people did.

We thank you for the faithfulness of those who paved the way for us to walk in the Freedom of Your Spirit and we commit ourselves to carrying Your Truth to the generations that come after us.

We ask for you to overwhelm us with prosperity and security. We ask for inventions that create new industries and new jobs. We ask for wisdom for the government; integrity for commercial leaders; stewardship from the financial institutions; legislation that honours the population and solutions that offer hope to those in difficulty. We pray for a society that is shaped by the culture of the Kingdom of God.

We thank you for bringing health and healing to Dublin and all the cities of Ireland. We ask for a corporate anointing on the Church in this land, that this nation would be a beacon of supernatural ministry so all those across Europe who are afflicted in body, mind or spirit would come to experience Your Presence and receive wholeness and healing.

We prophetically call forth those who will pastor, nurture, lead and mentor. We ask that you raise up spiritual mothers and fathers who will equip and mentor a generation of revivalists. We pray that Ireland would have a united Church operating under your Apostles, Prophets, Pastors, Teachers and Evangelists; and that we would pursue your mandate to make disciples of all nations.

We ask for an expansion of the dreams you’ve put in our hearts and we ask for courage to pursue them. We believe that you are a good Father and that you have given us every good thing. We receive your promise that we will be filled with the whole measure of the fullness of God.

We invite you to speak through us your words of compassion, truth and love.

We invite you to demonstrate through us your miracles, mercy and faith.

We invite you to live through us your grace, generosity and hope.

We offer ourselves to you fully and completely and pray that this city and this nation will be a dwelling place for your tangible, manifest presence. And we declare that in the streets of this nation the voices of Your Bride will say:

“God is good and His love endures forever.”

Amen

Compelled to Explore

I’ve often wondered what went through the minds of those who were explorers: David Livingstone, Ernest Shackleton, Lewis & Clark.

What was it like for them to plan their trip, predict the necessary supplies and embark on their journey not knowing what they would encounter?  Or what was it like for them to set off each morning not knowing what would be on the other side of the mountain?  What influenced their decision to cut a path through the forest or follow a river downstream?  More importantly what was the inner drive that motivated them to undertake what most people would have considered a foolish endeavour?

There are times I identify with these explorers.  Sometimes, I can feel their sense of adventure and excitement.  Other times, I imagine their apprehension.  But, most often, I relate to what I think drove them in their relentless pursuit of discovery.

Deep inside I have a conviction that there is more – a tangible ‘more’ that taps into the abundance of life Jesus promised.  This awareness of what God has made available drives me, compels me, pulls me to pursue him.  The irony is, I know this destination exceeds what I can imagine yet I have a clear, spirit-shaped sense of what it looks like.

With a confidence from the little I’ve experienced, I can almost see the blue-print and set out a faint shape of what the ‘more’ looks like.  But because the destination is, as yet, unseen I often feel my search requires laboriously cutting through vines and thick under-brush in the manner of the early explorers.

Undeterred by the struggle, the hunger in my spirit drives me on. It awakens my senses and I clear a path toward him.  I smell the fragrance of his presence; feel the gentle breeze of his whisper; hear the stillness of his voice and recall the goodness I have tasted; so I pursue.

Most have put down roots in the long-cleared settlements. Having no desire to explore seeming uncharted areas, their voices rise in my direction, “There’s nothing more to be discovered”, “Why put yourself at risk?”, “But we’ve formed a settlement that’s big enough for everyone”.   Yet I am not satisfied.  There must be more.

I have already made mistakes, taken wrong turns and wrestled with the questions of returning to the settlement.  But my inner longing fuels the compulsion to search, to forge ahead, to risk. There must be more.  I know there is more.  I must have more.

 

I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.