Christianity Has the Numbers!

Acts 19:20

“The word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power.”

God’s word has influence. It impacts lives and changes communities. It spreads. It grows. 

Today, every third person on the planet is a Christian. 

In Ephesus Paul’s preaching brought change. There was spiritual renewal among “some disciples” (Acts 19:1-7) whom he baptised. God’s power routed evil and “a number who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly” (Acts 19:17-19). There was cultural change as the gospel clashed with the worship of idols to Artemis (Acts 19:23-41).The word spread.

This was the pattern everywhere.

• Acts 6:7 “So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.”
• Acts 12:24 “But the word of God continued to increase and spread.”
• Acts 13:49 “The word of the Lord spread through the whole region.”
• Acts 19:20 “In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power.”

Despite what a secular western media may imply, nothing has changed. The gospel still has influence. God’s word still spreads. Never dismiss this truth! Never lose sight of the power of Jesus.

In the last 100 years Christianity has spread to Africa where the church has grown from 9% of the population to 50%.The growth of the church in Asia since 1950 has been equally impressive.

While the West has become more secular, turning away from the gospel heritage that has given so much, the “word of the Lord” has continued to spread. Christianity has not declined, it’s centre has shifted. 

Here are some 2010 facts about Christianity*

• There are 2.3 billion Christians which is one third of the world's population
• 1.5 billion people are church attenders
• Christianity has more adherents than any other religion on the planet
• The most exciting growth of the Christian church is happening in Africa and Asia
• An average of 178,000 Christians are martyred each year
• Spanish is the leading language of church membership in the world

 And here are two more interesting facts

• At the close of each day there are 85,000 more Christians in the world
• And, 300 fewer Atheists!

I know there are challenges. Christianity in the west is declining, Islam is growing faster than Christianity, 800 million of the world's Christians don’t turn up in church and many don’t live up to the ideals Jesus calls us to. But none of this changes the fact that God’s word spreads and grows even today. The word of the Lord still “grows in power”. There is work to do and much to celebrate.

Christianity is not antiquated. Christians are not a marginal group on the planet. The gospel of Jesus has made a massive impact which cannot be eclipsed by a few sarcastic quips in a novelette or the dismissive rant of an angry journalist.

Global Christianity has great strength. Jesus’ vision for our planet is not dead, it’s not even sick. It requires faithful followers of Christ to pray, live holy lives, love our neighbours, witness and believe!

Questions

• What encourages you or discourages you about global Christian witness?
• How do you contribute to the spread of "the word of the Lord"?
  
  

 *Source for the stats in this post: International Bulletin of Missionary Research, Vol. 34, No. 1

Would The Apostle Paul Use Twitter?

Acts 15:27 

"We are sending Judas and Silas to confirm by word of mouth what we are writing."

The Jerusalem Church Council (JCC) did not have twitter. But if they did, it would not have been enough. Someone would need to go in person to speak with the churches as well. That’s the point of verse 27 and it is still a good point. Do you know why?

The JCC heard news from Antioch and then made some important decisions about their future. This needed to be communicated with speed and accuracy. They wanted to encourage them, correct some errors and instruct them on the new decisions of the Council. The way they do this is informative for us even today.

Admittedly it would have been convenient to tweet the Gentiles about the Jerusalem Council proceedings (Acts 15:23-29). "Heard U got mistreated by @baddies. SRY! We made NU rules 4U: 1 - NO Idol food 2 – NO blood 2B eaten 3 – NO choked meat 4 – sex B good. TKS CU @JCC."

But! While this would be quick, it would be dangerous. Too little REAL communication is happening here. There is a principle at work in this verse that I think is very significant. 

Our culture values written words. Councils, courts, official proceedings and even family meetings produce documents in order to keep what people say accountable. In the Bible times it was the other way around. They produced a short letter and sent four people to tell how it really went down.

This makes a lot of sense. Here’s what can’t be communicated in a tweet (email, SMS, blog post, chat message, letter) or written documents generally:

1. Tone of voice and body language. How exactly did Peter say that? Did he raise his eyebrows? Did he lean forward and smile or was he pursing his lips and exhaling loudly through his nose. It all matters. And none of it is captured in print. Four friends telling and retelling the events of the JCC meeting would have made a huge difference for the Gentile believers spread around the empire. This would build trust and cooperation. 

2. Answers to my new questions. Written words raise new thoughts for me. The printed page won’t answer when I ask. It admits no dialogue. Have you ever read a newspaper article and wanted to ask the journalist a couple of questions? Or a tax guide and wished there was a person who could help you? That’s what Judas and Silas together with Paul and Barnabas were for the churches.

3. Feelings. Letters try hard but can’t really convey emotion. If you have ever received a letter from a would-be love interest, you know what I mean. 

4. The stuff between the lines. The difference between getting a letter from the JCC and getting four credible witnesses to the Council’s discussion is huge. Their contribution was significant (Acts 15:32). It probably changed history!

The Jerusalem Council did a smart thing. They sent people to make the communication real. They trusted four followers of Jesus to take not just the new rules but also the spirit of the meetings forward to the churches. This would have been a wonderful blessing to these Christian communities.

If you think about it, this is a servant spirit. Written texts tend to benefit the ones trying to say something. They anchor the rules. One-on-one conversations, while longer and more involved, serve the one trying to understand something. Written stuff can be very useful (I hope so, I invest a lot in this blog), but it cannot stand alone. Paul, who wrote most of the letters in the New Testament, understood this preferring to be with people where possible. (Gal. 4:20, Phil. 1:8, 2 Tim. 1:4) 

Here are my personal decisions based on reading Acts 15:27.

• Maximise face to face. One shared cuppa is better than ten tweets
• Let social media serve my mission. Never let it be master
• Value oral truth. Trust four friend's stories more than one long email

So, would Paul use twitter? I think he would, BUT not to send the outcome of the Council proceedings. I reckon he’d use it to set up the meeting. “Will B @ANTIOCH TUES. WNT 2CU. GR8 news from JCC. Paulus.” Then he would spend time face to face serving his friends and growing the Church of Jesus. It is a balance that I want to get right too!

Questions

• Is there a communication that you need to make face to face?
• How do you control your use of social media wisely?
• Leave a comment and make this blog just a little less one-way

Epilogue:

And aren’t you glad that God doesn’t restrict Himself to Twitter. He gives us his written word and then he visits us in the person of the Holy Spirit to make it clear to us, to explain it to us. Wonderful!

Other Resources:

An interesting Article on Understanding Social Media by Douglas Groothuis (Thanks Sam). 

And, if you don't know anything about Twitter, here is a 2 min introduction.

(Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ddO9idmax0o)

Unbelievable Forgiveness!

Acts 13:38 

"I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you."

What a great thing to know! Is it certain knowledge for you. It is for me.

Paul was asked to preach. Having just arrived in Pisidian Antioch he attended the Synagogue on the Sabbath and was invited to bring "a message of encouragement for the people" (Acts 13:15). 

After recounting much of the Old Testament and the life of Jesus he comes to his main point: "You who believe can be forgiven!"

Here is what forgiveness means to me:

• I have a restored friendship with God
• My guilt has been lifted off my shoulders
• The future is secure for me
• My inner life is renewed
• I am healed and whole
• I am pure and right before a holy God
• I have a mission
• Hope is everywhere

Praise God for the cross that takes away my sin. Hallelujah for the empty tomb which proves God's love. How true it is, God is doing something new "that you would never believe even if someone told you". (Acts 13:41) 

Questions

• Are you forgiven? Are you proclaiming forgiveness through Jesus?
• What does forgiveness mean to you?

Just for fun

Handel's Messiah: "He Shall Purify" - A somewhat silly re-mix

Have you Changed Your Theology Recently?

Acts 10:13, 14

“Get up, Peter. Kill and eat.” “Surely not Lord! Peter replied “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean”.

My mind is not my socks. I don’t want a daily change. But then it is not my liver either. Why wait for dysfunction and radical surgery to bring change? We should let God work on us year by year.

What would it take for God to change your mind? Acts 10 and 11 tell a theological change story that is a good model. The change it talks about is as big as any you can think of. Bigger than any of my changes (see below). Peter’s convictions are deep and unbendable. But, God changes him.

Here are the ingredients that led to Peter’s healthy change of mind:

• A confronting personal experience. A dream shakes Peter’s world. It gets his attention. He is open now for what God will do next.
• Confirming group experiences. Don’t change your mind because of one private dream. But if eventually there is an event like what happened in Cornelius’ house and another like the Jerusalem Council. Don’t persist, out of step with God.
• Repetition. Peter’s vision was repeated three times. His new convictions get repeated (by him) several times in these two chapters as he works it out.
• Emotion. I can change my restaurant preferences pretty easy. Ask me to change my views about heaven and it will get emotional for me. Real inner change links with big emotional responses. That emotion needs to he addressed slowly.
• A process. It takes time. By the end of Acts 11 Peter has changed his theology. But consider what it took to bring about this change. First a vision, then a coincidental invitation, then a visit to meet people who were unexpectedly warm and spiritual, then a shock encounter with the Spirit, the baptism of a house full of gentiles, and finally a conversation with the Jerusalem church leaders. 
• A mission concern. Don’t change your theology for convenience. But if eternal hope is at stake pay attention to God. What is going on? Peter’s change of mind impacts the eternal destiny of many people.
• Confirmation in the Bible. A change of theology will find its roots in the Bible. Previously unnoticed verses will pop out at you. This happened to me in my journey to understand the Holy Spirit. For Peter it was the words of Jesus that came to him as the events unfolded (11:16).
• Confirmation among the leaders. When the whole Jerusalem Council praised God something profound shifted in the story of the Christian Church (Acts 11:18).

Change is hard. Changing your theology is very hard. The walk from Joppa to Caesarea must have been hard for Peter (10:23-24). His views are changing but not yet firm. He is going in a new direction but still uncertain. He could easily have run the other way. 

Peter’s story has similarities with Jonah’s story – they both go to outsiders to offer God’s hope, in both stories people take God at his word and salvation and joy comes to them. But, Peter didn’t need a great fish to get him to Caesarea and he didn’t get angry when God blessed the Gentiles with salvation. Peter, unlike Jonah, changed his theology. 

Not everyone goes along with the new thinking. Galatians shows us a different angle (unlike the initial unity of Acts 11:18). Some people resisted the change. This can be hard. It seems that Peter may even have vacillated on his new ideals. At least that’s how Paul saw it (Gal 2:11-14).

Things I have changed my mind about include: going to the movies, selling things in church on Sunday, women preachers, the gift of tongues and the use of alcohol. All of these were red letter no-no’s for me at one time. Now I take a moderate view. I go to movies (clean ones), I condone the sale of cappuccino and music CDs following worship, I promote female preachers, I welcome those with a tongues gift to exercise it wisely and I regard the moderate and responsible consumption of alcohol as a non-issue. I respect those with different views. These are my views.

Things I have become more vexed about include: earth care, the poor, divorced people, the Lordship of Jesus, heaven and the power of miracle. These were marginal, now they are central. I think Christians should lead the way in matters of environmental concern, poverty upsets me, I feel less judgement and more pain for the divorced, I would rather die than renounce Jesus as my Lord, I think the new heaven and new earth will be more exciting than I ever imagined, and I believe miracles are real today. This isn’t the final word. I might be wrong. But this is what I have come believe.

Some convictions have not moved at all. I believe God is the creator, Jesus’ cross is the hope of my salvation, resurrection is a real bodily miracle and evil will be judged.  

I am only middle-aged. Unless God takes me soon, I expect that I will change my mind again (and again, and …) on some matter of theology. That scares me and excites me. My world is not static. My faith is not frozen. My God is alive and my walk with Him is changing me – little by little.  

Change my theology Lord, as often as you need to. Save me from a brittle heart and an unbending mind. Don't let me persist as a gramophone when you need me to become an iPod so others can hear your music and dance.

I Don’t Want to Suffer for Jesus

Acts 5:41

“The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name.”

I want to obey Jesus. I want to be bold in witness just like the apostles. But I do not WANT to suffer. Does that make me a weak follower of Jesus?

I think not. I think it makes me normal. And that is exactly what this story is about (Acts 5:17-42).

Insight: this is not an exhortation it is a testimony. Acts 5 doesn’t say “Allan, be like this”, it says “Allan, look at this”. There is a big difference.

Exhortation: Allan, be like this!

On my first reading of this verse I thought, “I don’t qualify? I am not worthy like these great saints?” When I try to predict my response to suffering, I worry. “Can I suffer and then rejoice so freely?” To be honest, I’m not sure. The question even makes me feel a little guilty because I just plain don’t want to suffer.

Testimony: Allan, look at this!

There is a better way to read this. Nowhere in verse 41 does it say: “Copy this.” What it actually implies is more like: “This is what happened, can you believe it!”

God made the moment of suffering something unexpectedly good. The credit goes to God, not the apostles! The apostles did not bring joy with them to their day of torture. God gave it to them in the moment. God transformed their experience of suffering. It was a miracle.

I believe this story is in the Bible to encourage people like me who don’t want to suffer. The question for me is not, “Does Allan pre-qualify for suffering?” God knows, I fail. The right question is: “Will Allan stand up and trust God when the moment comes?”

This story helps me say: “Yes!” It helps me trust God not people (Acts 5:29).

Nothing here makes we “want” suffering. But the story does make me less afraid of pain. God transforms suffering itself and I trust him. If I can take the apostles at their word, the pain that I fear, won’t be what I fear. When I suffer “disgrace for the Name” I will actually feel elevated, joy-filled and connected with God’s purpose in an amazing way.

I have already experienced this. My pain is very small compared to the apostles, but I know exactly what they are saying. It is a privilege to suffer for Jesus. I don’t want suffering, but I don’t fear it either!

The apostles’ experience does not judge me, it empowers me. It is not an “exhortation” it is a “testimony”. God transformed their suffering into joy and he will do the same for me. The apostles are not better than me, they just went before me. Will I follow? Their testimony gives me confidence to say “Yes!”

Post Script

I might point out that Jesus didn't want to suffer either (Mark 14:36)! And when he did suffer, God transformed it in the most amazing way.

Questions

What have you learned about suffering for Jesus? 

Have you experienced suffering for him as a privilege and a joy?