When Jesus sent out the twelve, and the others who were with them, he sent them first to Jerusalem; it was only after their home town was saturated with the gospel that they were to go on to Judea, Samaria, and finally towards the Ends of the Earth. Even when Paul took the gospel into Asia and then Europe he always began at home in the sense that he went first to the synagogue. It is among the people of our own kind that we have the greatest credibility, and the greatest success rate. We don’t have to learn the language, or the culture, we don’t even have to learn technique; we just have to share the story of how God saved a wretch like me to others who are a lot like me.
Evangelism has been described as one beggar telling another beggar where to find bread. Our countrymen have similar needs to our own, particularly in their expression of the need for salvation. All people need Christ’s saving grace, salvation to become the likeness of Christ, but it is the people next door who need salvation from the same stuff we do: materialism, pressure to perform, the issues of postmodern, and twenty-first century British life.
Before I returned to England from Australia in 2002 I completed a unit on World Christianity and Missions at Bible school, during which I identified an unreached people group which met all the criteria of the curriculum: that group was the antipodean community of London. Here was a group which did not have an indigenous church, indeed it seemed to me it did not have a single missionary focussed upon them as distinct from the wider London community. Aussies and Kiwis (and Saffas) in London are not Londoners, but neither are they really Aussies or Kiwis (or Saffas) like the ones at home. This group has a general demographic; under 28 years of age, unmarried, nomadic workers and travellers, open-minded, easygoing. Not like their countrymen who stayed at home, and not like the natives of Great Britain around them; these are a culture apart. Who will minister to them? Quite simply it needs to be those who are like them, not the English or the churches of England; not the Australian or New Zealander coming from “home”, not even the English returning from “gap year”; the London Crowd need to hear the timeless gospel from the Church within the London Crowd itself. But is there such a Church?
There is a people coming: Hillsong Church London, whilst not specifically a mission to the antipodeans is indeed reaching them, and is an indigenous church of same. The London Antipodeans are a reached people-group, the southern crowd run this church, and minister out of it for the benefit of the kingdom of God in all Europe, especially that within the M25.
By focussing on their own doorstep they are reaching the world.
Wednesday, 17 December 2008
Where to begin?
I have been writing all my life, and have had people telling me for ten years that I am to be known for my writing; but it is only in the last few months that I have come to believe this press and to understand that I can actually write enough to embark upon writing as a career. My question is now one of context: so I can write and I shall write, but what of?
I want to write about prayer and intercession, but I wonder whether that is old news now. I want to write of my journey with God, but I wonder if that is self indulgent: after all Paul never wrote about Arabia rather he used Arabia to write about the cross. I want to write short stories, and long ones, to write skilfully for the sake of writing, in ways I have done briefly and in the Past, but this is not where I want to make my mark. I want to write about the gospel and culture, the behaviour of developing minds and lives in our new century and the effect that the timeless gospel should have upon them if given a fair hearing. I want to write comments upon the news, to write columns and articles, sermons to be read rather than spoken aloud: to speak by my writing rather than my lecturing. I want to write in paragraphs, in dialogues like the ancient philosophers, like an interviewer: scripts for my own performance.
I want to write what comes from God, be it Christian teaching, or just for enjoyment’s sake: a creative God using me as a fountain for His creativity in words. I know the words will come, I need to be listening and practicing both my writing and my faith: it is all about Him but it first comes to me, then through me. God’s highest priority for me is that I become like Christ, transformed into the likeness of His son; out of that comes the writing and the teaching, not before. I am a son first, an oracle second. I want to write out of my heart, out of the wellsprings of life: first then I must invest into my heart the time to make it clean, (by Christ alone, not me), and the time to make it wise.
I shall begin by reading, and then shall write from that.
There is no chicken and the egg here, because my writing comes from my reading, but my reading comes from the writing of others. I shall read what I want to write, (now to find such things). I shall write what I have already read, (can I remember)? I shall read them again: histories, hagiographies, biographies, opinions; stories in many forms. And I shall read books of language, books to perfect my craft, books to help me to write well in English English. And I shall read books and coursework to help me find publication.
I want to write about prayer and intercession, but I wonder whether that is old news now. I want to write of my journey with God, but I wonder if that is self indulgent: after all Paul never wrote about Arabia rather he used Arabia to write about the cross. I want to write short stories, and long ones, to write skilfully for the sake of writing, in ways I have done briefly and in the Past, but this is not where I want to make my mark. I want to write about the gospel and culture, the behaviour of developing minds and lives in our new century and the effect that the timeless gospel should have upon them if given a fair hearing. I want to write comments upon the news, to write columns and articles, sermons to be read rather than spoken aloud: to speak by my writing rather than my lecturing. I want to write in paragraphs, in dialogues like the ancient philosophers, like an interviewer: scripts for my own performance.
I want to write what comes from God, be it Christian teaching, or just for enjoyment’s sake: a creative God using me as a fountain for His creativity in words. I know the words will come, I need to be listening and practicing both my writing and my faith: it is all about Him but it first comes to me, then through me. God’s highest priority for me is that I become like Christ, transformed into the likeness of His son; out of that comes the writing and the teaching, not before. I am a son first, an oracle second. I want to write out of my heart, out of the wellsprings of life: first then I must invest into my heart the time to make it clean, (by Christ alone, not me), and the time to make it wise.
I shall begin by reading, and then shall write from that.
There is no chicken and the egg here, because my writing comes from my reading, but my reading comes from the writing of others. I shall read what I want to write, (now to find such things). I shall write what I have already read, (can I remember)? I shall read them again: histories, hagiographies, biographies, opinions; stories in many forms. And I shall read books of language, books to perfect my craft, books to help me to write well in English English. And I shall read books and coursework to help me find publication.
God Speaks
God speaks to us in the way we are listening: He throws the ball that we are prepared to catch. If I expect God to chasten me with misadventure then I will hear through disasters. If I expect God to speak through His Word graphe and rhema, then I will hear through them. If I don’t expect God to speak then I will not hear anything at all.
I am working through how I expect God to speak to me.
In the past I have heard Him speak in a quiet, internal voice, and in a gripping in my chest while I pray. Sometimes things do ‘pop’ out at me when I am reading my Bible, but just as often it happens with other books, or even films that I am watching. Events on the television, (especially the news), will sometimes grip my chest as well: then I begin to pray and the answer is unfolded in our dialogue. All of these are valid, but now I want to know if there are other ways in which God can speak: ways in which He would prefer to speak to me.
• Will He speak to me through my own writing? He has in the past, so perhaps he shall again.
• Will He speak to me through directing my reading, rather than awakening my interest when I come across a pertinent section of text, will I now be directed to entire books which will minster to my needs and purposes? Why not; I have a few books beside me now which I would like to read in the hope that God will reveal stuff to me.
• Will He speak to me through my new and developing friendships? I have always been a solitary person, but now I see the need to get more involved with community, to make friends I can trust to speak into my life as well as to just spend time with. I’d love for that to be the case too, I need to develop godly and trustworthy relationships if I am ever to communicate with the world at large, and get married.
Whatever His means, or His message, I know God will continue to speak to me as a son of His. Regardless of my being a writer I am first a Christian and I know God will speak to me for me and then, (and oftentimes quite separately) speak to me to speak through me, but first will be my sonship. The quote is true: Don’t read for writing Damien, read for learning. Read to impact your own life and not only to teach others. I have not been reading recently, too busy with work and other things, although I have been watching films. Now I want to return to books, and to do so properly: not just something before bedtime but research as an investment in my own future.
I shall make the time to read and to write professionally.
I am working through how I expect God to speak to me.
In the past I have heard Him speak in a quiet, internal voice, and in a gripping in my chest while I pray. Sometimes things do ‘pop’ out at me when I am reading my Bible, but just as often it happens with other books, or even films that I am watching. Events on the television, (especially the news), will sometimes grip my chest as well: then I begin to pray and the answer is unfolded in our dialogue. All of these are valid, but now I want to know if there are other ways in which God can speak: ways in which He would prefer to speak to me.
• Will He speak to me through my own writing? He has in the past, so perhaps he shall again.
• Will He speak to me through directing my reading, rather than awakening my interest when I come across a pertinent section of text, will I now be directed to entire books which will minster to my needs and purposes? Why not; I have a few books beside me now which I would like to read in the hope that God will reveal stuff to me.
• Will He speak to me through my new and developing friendships? I have always been a solitary person, but now I see the need to get more involved with community, to make friends I can trust to speak into my life as well as to just spend time with. I’d love for that to be the case too, I need to develop godly and trustworthy relationships if I am ever to communicate with the world at large, and get married.
Whatever His means, or His message, I know God will continue to speak to me as a son of His. Regardless of my being a writer I am first a Christian and I know God will speak to me for me and then, (and oftentimes quite separately) speak to me to speak through me, but first will be my sonship. The quote is true: Don’t read for writing Damien, read for learning. Read to impact your own life and not only to teach others. I have not been reading recently, too busy with work and other things, although I have been watching films. Now I want to return to books, and to do so properly: not just something before bedtime but research as an investment in my own future.
I shall make the time to read and to write professionally.
Saturday, 27 September 2008
Assignment Three
Hello.
I am so terrible at getting my assignments in for my writing course, I think calling this blog Damien Writes was a declaration of hope rather than a statement of fact.
Here is something I wrote for Hillsong Church London's magazine Abrupt, which they didn't publish (or even acknowledge), but it fits as suitable for my assignment. I must admit I find it easy to write, but hard to think like someone looking for a publishing deal, hence the delay in getting stuff submitted to Manchester.
I hope you like this,
Damien.
Daytrips from London.
There is life beyond the M25, and it is indeed life as you know it. Minus the crowds, minus the traffic; minus “mind the gap” there is a world of England that can be reached within an hour’s travelling on a local train. Some people from Hillsong Church London even live out here.
ROCHESTER-UPON-MEDWAY.
Rochester is one of two cathedral cities in the county of Kent, the other being the better known (but far more crowded and therefore less interesting) city of Canterbury. Rochester is the quintessential English city with its Norman Cathedral (still in use) and Castle (ruined, so not in use); yet also with a history beyond that which dates back from before the Romans until after the turn of the twenty-first century. In spite of this its greatest claim to fame is that it was the home city and chief inspiration of one Charles Dickens. (It is also the home town of Kelly Brook if you are interested in such things.)
Rochester is served by a British Rail station close to the centre of town, and is connected to both London Charing Cross and (a better option) London Victoria. The neighbouring town Chatham is host to the Dickens Experience, think Disneyland with chimneysweeps, and the Chatham Maritime which was once the Royal Navy’s premier ship-building port. Both towns are also easily accessible by road from London via the M25/A2(M).
ST ALBANS.
A Roman city, now a cathedral city, with more of the history of England than you can poke a stick at St Albans is less than thirty minutes by train from London. It is also home to two Hillsong Church London connect groups.
The Roman city of Verulamium was established within ten years of the arrival of the Roman occupying force, and was built upon the site of a town founded in 10AD which had been capital of the Celtic Catuvellaunii tribe. In 209AD legend has it that Alban, a merchant/civil servant of the town, helped to hide a Christian priest who was attempting to escape persecution. The priest converted Alban to Christianity, and was assisted to escape when Alban and the priest (known as Amphibalus, but that’s probably a fake name) swapped clothes. When the ruse was discovered Alban was offered the chance to make a token sacrifice to the local goddess, the Roman equivalent of an on-the-spot fine. Alban declined, stating somewhat heroically, “I am Alban and I worship the true and living God”. He was summarily tried and found guilty of treason, and was taken beyond the walls of Verulamium to a cemetery half way up the hill behind the town where he was beheaded. In so doing he became the first British person to suffer Christian martyrdom. In the decades and centuries following Alban was made a saint and the site of his death became a pilgrimage hotspot culminating in the establishment of an Abbey, St Alban’s, which later gave its name to the town which sprang up beside it to cater to the pilgrim crowd. Since mediaeval St Albans was built around the abbey, rather than on the old Roman city, the site of Verulamium is now a rather attractive city park with some above ground ruins beside a swan infested lake, and three nearby “ye olde quainte” style pubs.
For those of you who are interested in more recent History, St Albans was the site of two battles (including the very first) in the Wars of the Roses, the first conflict ever to be fought using flowers instead of arrows. (Ban the bulb!) It also saw action in the English Civil War during the 1640s when Oliver Cromwell himself visited and stayed in the Fighting Cocks, which claims to be England’s oldest pub.
St Albans is served by two British Rail stations, St Albans City (from St Pancras and London Bridge via the old Thameslink) and St Albans Abbey (from Euston or Milton Keynes, change at Watford Junction) and can be reached by road from Junction 6 on the M1. It has the necessary “Hillsong mix” for doing life (Nandos, Starbucks, Wagamama, and Pizza Express are all present); but if you want my two pence worth then Verulamium is a park that deserves a picnic.
I am so terrible at getting my assignments in for my writing course, I think calling this blog Damien Writes was a declaration of hope rather than a statement of fact.
Here is something I wrote for Hillsong Church London's magazine Abrupt, which they didn't publish (or even acknowledge), but it fits as suitable for my assignment. I must admit I find it easy to write, but hard to think like someone looking for a publishing deal, hence the delay in getting stuff submitted to Manchester.
I hope you like this,
Damien.
Daytrips from London.
There is life beyond the M25, and it is indeed life as you know it. Minus the crowds, minus the traffic; minus “mind the gap” there is a world of England that can be reached within an hour’s travelling on a local train. Some people from Hillsong Church London even live out here.
ROCHESTER-UPON-MEDWAY.
Rochester is one of two cathedral cities in the county of Kent, the other being the better known (but far more crowded and therefore less interesting) city of Canterbury. Rochester is the quintessential English city with its Norman Cathedral (still in use) and Castle (ruined, so not in use); yet also with a history beyond that which dates back from before the Romans until after the turn of the twenty-first century. In spite of this its greatest claim to fame is that it was the home city and chief inspiration of one Charles Dickens. (It is also the home town of Kelly Brook if you are interested in such things.)
Rochester is served by a British Rail station close to the centre of town, and is connected to both London Charing Cross and (a better option) London Victoria. The neighbouring town Chatham is host to the Dickens Experience, think Disneyland with chimneysweeps, and the Chatham Maritime which was once the Royal Navy’s premier ship-building port. Both towns are also easily accessible by road from London via the M25/A2(M).
ST ALBANS.
A Roman city, now a cathedral city, with more of the history of England than you can poke a stick at St Albans is less than thirty minutes by train from London. It is also home to two Hillsong Church London connect groups.
The Roman city of Verulamium was established within ten years of the arrival of the Roman occupying force, and was built upon the site of a town founded in 10AD which had been capital of the Celtic Catuvellaunii tribe. In 209AD legend has it that Alban, a merchant/civil servant of the town, helped to hide a Christian priest who was attempting to escape persecution. The priest converted Alban to Christianity, and was assisted to escape when Alban and the priest (known as Amphibalus, but that’s probably a fake name) swapped clothes. When the ruse was discovered Alban was offered the chance to make a token sacrifice to the local goddess, the Roman equivalent of an on-the-spot fine. Alban declined, stating somewhat heroically, “I am Alban and I worship the true and living God”. He was summarily tried and found guilty of treason, and was taken beyond the walls of Verulamium to a cemetery half way up the hill behind the town where he was beheaded. In so doing he became the first British person to suffer Christian martyrdom. In the decades and centuries following Alban was made a saint and the site of his death became a pilgrimage hotspot culminating in the establishment of an Abbey, St Alban’s, which later gave its name to the town which sprang up beside it to cater to the pilgrim crowd. Since mediaeval St Albans was built around the abbey, rather than on the old Roman city, the site of Verulamium is now a rather attractive city park with some above ground ruins beside a swan infested lake, and three nearby “ye olde quainte” style pubs.
For those of you who are interested in more recent History, St Albans was the site of two battles (including the very first) in the Wars of the Roses, the first conflict ever to be fought using flowers instead of arrows. (Ban the bulb!) It also saw action in the English Civil War during the 1640s when Oliver Cromwell himself visited and stayed in the Fighting Cocks, which claims to be England’s oldest pub.
St Albans is served by two British Rail stations, St Albans City (from St Pancras and London Bridge via the old Thameslink) and St Albans Abbey (from Euston or Milton Keynes, change at Watford Junction) and can be reached by road from Junction 6 on the M1. It has the necessary “Hillsong mix” for doing life (Nandos, Starbucks, Wagamama, and Pizza Express are all present); but if you want my two pence worth then Verulamium is a park that deserves a picnic.
Cat Astrophy
I am feeling a bit sad today: Geelong has lost the 2008 grand final after being the best team in the country all year. This is a disappointing end to the season, and is particularly sad for my family and me as we have been Geelong supporters for all of our lives.
Our tribe is in mourning.
This is a truth that Christians need to get, even amongst themselves. Of course there is no satisfaction like the love of God, but in this world there is pain and there are other loyalties. These are not conflicting loyalties, it’s not unchristian to follow the AFL, they’re just not church groups.
Our generation is a tribal generation. Our nation is too. We have always been a people who like to form groups around the things that define us in society: as Australians, it is states of origin (to various degrees) along with Ford vs. Holden, AFL vs. NRL (and the sixteenths within). These are the denominations of the world...not “of the Flesh” per se, (since when did Anglican vs. Roman Catholic be a different form of loyalty?), but of the way we think as men and women on this side of Heaven.
Therefore, my tribe is in mourning. "Sorry Business" ensues now and as a group we will commiserate together before gathering ourselves around our faith and looking to 2009, (as we looked to 1990, 1993, 1995 and 1996 of recent memory), with renewed hope.
I wonder in this specific time whether part of the issue lay with the eighteen on the field. In 2007, a Geelong team won the flag for the first time in 44 years...”we did it for the town”, the players said. Two thousand and eight was going to be different however, this time it was going to be for the boys, “we’re doing it for ourselves”. Has the team lost sight of who they are? Geelong and its football club do not exist for the support of the eighteen men in white and navy hoops: it's the other way around. We as a 150 year old tribe, founded in 1859, allow some to represent us. It was never going to be about the eighteen, it was always about the city, and the fans. If you take the event away from the tribe, the event loses its meaning and the participants lose their focus.
Nevertheless, back to my first point...Christians need to remember that Earth is a tribal place and those coming in to the church still belong to other groups. We are in the world, but not of it, but in the world there are circles and we are still very much a part of those circles...indeed it is where our ministry lays. It is not enough to say “pah but it is only football and as Christians we have a higher calling”. Yes, we do have a higher calling, but not to the exclusion of our friends and to what is important to us. Some do not like football, and that is fair enough, but those people I am sure belong to other tribes, be they other sports, or other interests. Australians are a sporting tribal nation: to minister to Australians is to minister in and within the culture of belongingness: we must not forget that to reach our “unreached” we must be sympathetic to their cries: and we must allow ourselves to feel it when our own tribes are saddened in the fight.
I am a Christian. Not “a Christian first” as there is no comparison between my belonging to Christ alone and to my “other allegiances”. Neither am I “a Cat second” as there is much of higher importance in my life than my sporting tribe: however at one level I am a “Cat”, and my family (to whom I belong more than my team) are Cats too. Today I am sad, and we are sad together, (especially as we are physically separated): I am in genuine need of ministry in a way that “look to the cross” will not fix.
I will get over it, it is only the end of the season and not the end of the world, but maybe I have discovered an insight into how our generation works. Don’t disparage the shared culture of society’s smaller groups...much rides on the fortunes of the men on the field and we must remember as light to the world that we have a duty to weep with those who weep.
For myself I will be at church tomorrow: many will be at Kardinia Park. Perhaps that is where the Church in Geelong needs to be too.
Our tribe is in mourning.
This is a truth that Christians need to get, even amongst themselves. Of course there is no satisfaction like the love of God, but in this world there is pain and there are other loyalties. These are not conflicting loyalties, it’s not unchristian to follow the AFL, they’re just not church groups.
Our generation is a tribal generation. Our nation is too. We have always been a people who like to form groups around the things that define us in society: as Australians, it is states of origin (to various degrees) along with Ford vs. Holden, AFL vs. NRL (and the sixteenths within). These are the denominations of the world...not “of the Flesh” per se, (since when did Anglican vs. Roman Catholic be a different form of loyalty?), but of the way we think as men and women on this side of Heaven.
Therefore, my tribe is in mourning. "Sorry Business" ensues now and as a group we will commiserate together before gathering ourselves around our faith and looking to 2009, (as we looked to 1990, 1993, 1995 and 1996 of recent memory), with renewed hope.
I wonder in this specific time whether part of the issue lay with the eighteen on the field. In 2007, a Geelong team won the flag for the first time in 44 years...”we did it for the town”, the players said. Two thousand and eight was going to be different however, this time it was going to be for the boys, “we’re doing it for ourselves”. Has the team lost sight of who they are? Geelong and its football club do not exist for the support of the eighteen men in white and navy hoops: it's the other way around. We as a 150 year old tribe, founded in 1859, allow some to represent us. It was never going to be about the eighteen, it was always about the city, and the fans. If you take the event away from the tribe, the event loses its meaning and the participants lose their focus.
Nevertheless, back to my first point...Christians need to remember that Earth is a tribal place and those coming in to the church still belong to other groups. We are in the world, but not of it, but in the world there are circles and we are still very much a part of those circles...indeed it is where our ministry lays. It is not enough to say “pah but it is only football and as Christians we have a higher calling”. Yes, we do have a higher calling, but not to the exclusion of our friends and to what is important to us. Some do not like football, and that is fair enough, but those people I am sure belong to other tribes, be they other sports, or other interests. Australians are a sporting tribal nation: to minister to Australians is to minister in and within the culture of belongingness: we must not forget that to reach our “unreached” we must be sympathetic to their cries: and we must allow ourselves to feel it when our own tribes are saddened in the fight.
I am a Christian. Not “a Christian first” as there is no comparison between my belonging to Christ alone and to my “other allegiances”. Neither am I “a Cat second” as there is much of higher importance in my life than my sporting tribe: however at one level I am a “Cat”, and my family (to whom I belong more than my team) are Cats too. Today I am sad, and we are sad together, (especially as we are physically separated): I am in genuine need of ministry in a way that “look to the cross” will not fix.
I will get over it, it is only the end of the season and not the end of the world, but maybe I have discovered an insight into how our generation works. Don’t disparage the shared culture of society’s smaller groups...much rides on the fortunes of the men on the field and we must remember as light to the world that we have a duty to weep with those who weep.
For myself I will be at church tomorrow: many will be at Kardinia Park. Perhaps that is where the Church in Geelong needs to be too.
Thursday, 14 August 2008
Dunked Driver
Hello.
This was a piece I wrote, initially as an email, in response to a friend of mine who is being baptised this Saturday. The ceremony will take place in the English Channel off Brighton (Sussex) beach.
Once again it was well received by those for whom it was originally intended, I thought you might like to see it too.
Damien.
Like many boys who grew up in Church families in our generation I was baptised as an infant. It was Sunday 23rd July 1972 and I was two and a half months old. (My birthdate is Friday 5th May 1972.) I can't tell you much about it as I don't remember, although I was awake which was good. Being baptised as an infant is one thing, being baptised when you are asleep is something else.
Following tradition, and my parents who now constituted a Christian family rather than a Church family, (we came back to Jesus in 1975 after almost being killed in a very bad Road Traffic Accident), I made Confirmation on Sunday 21st October 1984. I was twelve and a half years of age and in Grade Seven at school. It was a school confirmation class and I was in my school (winter) uniform in church. It was at the altar rail, kneeling before David +, Bishop Shand, of Gippsland, that I prayed 'Lord Jesus if you aren't already in my life, now I am inviting you to be my Lord and Saviour'. I had been praying in this style in the weeks leading up to my confirmation, and waited until 'the altar' before praying 'the prayer'. Jesus said to me that He was already in my life and had been for twelve years, but thanked me for the concern.
I made a public re-affirmation of faith on Sunday 22nd September 1985 at my brother's confirmation service. We had changed Christian denominations as a family then, (I'd been confirmed into the Church of England, we were now Methodists) and since my little brother (twelve years and one day old) was the only kid in the confirmation class I went along to be his company amidst the scary grown-ups. He made confirmation and I made reaffirmation, basically saying that I still believed in God but I would become a part of the Uniting Church in Australia denomination as my local church.
I was Baptised in The Holy Spirit in January 1986, (I don't remember the exact date), in one of the evening rallies at 'Tabor Convention'. This was an annual conference held by Tabor College in Adelaide and had 15,000 attendees every year...basically what Hillsong Conference is now, but twenty years ago. I think it was Reinhardt Bonnke who was preaching, or possibly Paul (as he was then) Yonngi Cho. Anyway because I was little (almost fourteen) I had to stand on a chair to see the stage: and I remember my dad hugging me to him so that I wouldn't fall off the chair when the spirit came upon me. I got all wobbly and kept saying 'Praise the Lord' and 'Oh Hallelujah!' other Christian jargon.
I was first 'slain in the spirit' (ugh...horrible phrase) on Tuesday 10th September 1996 at 'The Power to Energize Conference' at Hobart Christian Life Centre. The speaker that night was Brian Houston and Darlene Zschech led worship. Our senior pastor was very sick with Motor Neurone Disease, (he died six weeks later), and so his best mate, my dad, was called in at the last minute to lead one of the workshops. (Incidentally the workshop he lead was on Casey Treat's book.) Because dad was a VIP he saved us (me and brother) seats in the second row directly behind his, so when Brian made the altar call I was one of the first ones down. Brian looked at me...and I looked at the ceiling! My dad had to carry me up three flights of stairs when we got home. It was on this night that many of my spiritual gifts were first released in me; and a lot of crap was pulled out by God's healing grace. I've only ever been 'slain' twice...the second time was Sunday 10th November 1996 and was just confirmation of what God had done two months earlier.
Since then I have had lots of occasions when Holy Spirit has washed over/through me in worship and prayer: both in church of a Sunday/conference, or just on my knees (or more frequently, my back) in my bedroom. There were other occasions at later Tabor and Energizer conferences, and memorably at 'Extravagant Worship' which Darlene lead at Hammersmith in April 2005.
So: there's the key points in the history of 'Jesus loves Damien Paul'. You will of course notice the glaring absence of me never actually going 'fully under'...I was poured on with water as a child, and drenched in Spirit both then and at every episode since: but there you go.
For me my baptisms are indeed all part of the developing love story of my Saviour's love for me, and my unworthy yet utterly acceptable efforts to love him in return. I am still only 36 now, and am looking forward to many many more times of quietness both in my prayer closet and in the midst of the thousands in worship. God continues to immerse (greek Baptismo) me in His self, his love and grace and favour and strength...and above all His life.
This was a piece I wrote, initially as an email, in response to a friend of mine who is being baptised this Saturday. The ceremony will take place in the English Channel off Brighton (Sussex) beach.
Once again it was well received by those for whom it was originally intended, I thought you might like to see it too.
Damien.
Like many boys who grew up in Church families in our generation I was baptised as an infant. It was Sunday 23rd July 1972 and I was two and a half months old. (My birthdate is Friday 5th May 1972.) I can't tell you much about it as I don't remember, although I was awake which was good. Being baptised as an infant is one thing, being baptised when you are asleep is something else.
Following tradition, and my parents who now constituted a Christian family rather than a Church family, (we came back to Jesus in 1975 after almost being killed in a very bad Road Traffic Accident), I made Confirmation on Sunday 21st October 1984. I was twelve and a half years of age and in Grade Seven at school. It was a school confirmation class and I was in my school (winter) uniform in church. It was at the altar rail, kneeling before David +, Bishop Shand, of Gippsland, that I prayed 'Lord Jesus if you aren't already in my life, now I am inviting you to be my Lord and Saviour'. I had been praying in this style in the weeks leading up to my confirmation, and waited until 'the altar' before praying 'the prayer'. Jesus said to me that He was already in my life and had been for twelve years, but thanked me for the concern.
I made a public re-affirmation of faith on Sunday 22nd September 1985 at my brother's confirmation service. We had changed Christian denominations as a family then, (I'd been confirmed into the Church of England, we were now Methodists) and since my little brother (twelve years and one day old) was the only kid in the confirmation class I went along to be his company amidst the scary grown-ups. He made confirmation and I made reaffirmation, basically saying that I still believed in God but I would become a part of the Uniting Church in Australia denomination as my local church.
I was Baptised in The Holy Spirit in January 1986, (I don't remember the exact date), in one of the evening rallies at 'Tabor Convention'. This was an annual conference held by Tabor College in Adelaide and had 15,000 attendees every year...basically what Hillsong Conference is now, but twenty years ago. I think it was Reinhardt Bonnke who was preaching, or possibly Paul (as he was then) Yonngi Cho. Anyway because I was little (almost fourteen) I had to stand on a chair to see the stage: and I remember my dad hugging me to him so that I wouldn't fall off the chair when the spirit came upon me. I got all wobbly and kept saying 'Praise the Lord' and 'Oh Hallelujah!' other Christian jargon.
I was first 'slain in the spirit' (ugh...horrible phrase) on Tuesday 10th September 1996 at 'The Power to Energize Conference' at Hobart Christian Life Centre. The speaker that night was Brian Houston and Darlene Zschech led worship. Our senior pastor was very sick with Motor Neurone Disease, (he died six weeks later), and so his best mate, my dad, was called in at the last minute to lead one of the workshops. (Incidentally the workshop he lead was on Casey Treat's book.) Because dad was a VIP he saved us (me and brother) seats in the second row directly behind his, so when Brian made the altar call I was one of the first ones down. Brian looked at me...and I looked at the ceiling! My dad had to carry me up three flights of stairs when we got home. It was on this night that many of my spiritual gifts were first released in me; and a lot of crap was pulled out by God's healing grace. I've only ever been 'slain' twice...the second time was Sunday 10th November 1996 and was just confirmation of what God had done two months earlier.
Since then I have had lots of occasions when Holy Spirit has washed over/through me in worship and prayer: both in church of a Sunday/conference, or just on my knees (or more frequently, my back) in my bedroom. There were other occasions at later Tabor and Energizer conferences, and memorably at 'Extravagant Worship' which Darlene lead at Hammersmith in April 2005.
So: there's the key points in the history of 'Jesus loves Damien Paul'. You will of course notice the glaring absence of me never actually going 'fully under'...I was poured on with water as a child, and drenched in Spirit both then and at every episode since: but there you go.
For me my baptisms are indeed all part of the developing love story of my Saviour's love for me, and my unworthy yet utterly acceptable efforts to love him in return. I am still only 36 now, and am looking forward to many many more times of quietness both in my prayer closet and in the midst of the thousands in worship. God continues to immerse (greek Baptismo) me in His self, his love and grace and favour and strength...and above all His life.
Saturday, 19 July 2008
X Marks the Spot
This is a message I preached at Unity Hill Ministry Centre (Port Lincoln Uniting Church) in Port Lincoln, South Australia. It has some local content of course, but I think the message carries some universal significance as well. I hope you enjoy it, the people at Port Lincoln did.
Damien.
Isaiah 54:1-3
They say you know you’re getting old when policemen begin to look young. I must be dangerously close to ancient because I was in Tasmania last week and I must say the government is looking young: although in my defence that is because they are. The premier of Tasmania is a chap by the name of David Bartlett, with Lara Giddings as his deputy. Mr Bartlett was born in 1968, Ms Giddings in 1972. The head of government in Australia’s smallest state is forty years old, and his deputy is thirty-five. Tasmania is being governed by Generation-X.
Gary Clarke, the senior pastor of Hillsong Church London defines the term generation as a group of people who are alive at the same time. In sociological terms we can talk about The Baby Boomers or Generation-X or other groups who are defined by their decade of birth: but for the most part it is probably best to say that “this generation” is you, whoever you are, who woke up alive this morning, Sunday 20th July 2008.
But, of course within us as a group we do find different ages and different ways of thinking which mostly characterise these ages. I don’t really want to get into who the different generations are, or what defines them: that is for another time, but allow me a brief outline so that we all know who we are talking about.
At any one time in history there are four to five generations alive, with three in the forefront and one in charge. Due to the changing nature of Western Society and advances in medical technology there are six generations alive today:
The Builders 1901-1918: born before or during The Great War.
The Silent Generation 1918-1942: today aged late sixties to late eighties.
Baby Boomers 1943-1960: today aged late forties to mid sixties.
Generation-X 1961-1980: today late twenties to mid forties. This is me (36)
Generation-Y (Millennials) 1981-2000: today entering teenage to mid twenties
Generation-Z: born in the twenty-first century.
You will probably agree with me that for the most part it is the Baby Boomers who run the world at present, with some Silents still in key roles, (for example Pope and Queen are both in their 80s, although of course neither was popularly elected), and with Gen-X on the cusp. It is this cusp that the Church needs to be looking at as Generation-X begin to assume more responsibility in government and business leadership in our nation.
Another phrase used by Gary Clarke is that every church is only ever one generation away from extinction. We are here now, but who will be here in 20 years’ time? It was for this reason that God reminded the Hebrews in Deuteronomy 6:7-9 to “tell these things to your children” and “write them on your doorposts”: we must continue to pass on the things that we know to those who follow after us or the information will be lost. Just because you know something doesn’t mean your children do, and if they aren’t told and don’t know, then that information is lost when you go. If that information is the story of God, then truly this part of The Church will be extinct when we are all gone and the last one with the memory of this dies too. If we are to continue as the Church we must be a body of influence.
So what is in the future, and how can we be a body of influence?
Megachurch.
Now I know what you’re thinking, and yes Megachurch is defined by Wikipedia as a church having 2,000 or more attendees for a typical weekly service: but that’s not where I’m going. I want to suggest a different tack and describe them not as churches with lots of people in them, (although almost invariably megachurches do have lots of people), but churches with lots of influence around them. For example the place where I belong in London, Hillsong Church, is a megachurch: not because it is the biggest church in London and the biggest white-majority church in the United Kingdom, but because it is impacting its nation, its continent, and its generation in ways that many other aspects of the Body of Christ are not. And this is not just through sales of our music CDs either. As the DVD says, there is a Church behind the music.
What makes Hillsong a Gen-X church is not that it uses a big band and a lightshow, although it does do those things. What makes Hillsong Gen-X is its focus on community for those who are alone.
Let me give you an example of how the three generations think: and put it in terms of cricket.
The umpire born in 1925: a “Silent” says there are three ways to be dismissed in cricket: there is run out, LBW and caught behind, and I call them as they are.
The umpire born in 1950: a “Baby Boomer” says there are three ways to be dismissed in cricket: there is run out, LBW and caught behind, and I call them as I see them.
The umpire born in 1975: a “Generation-X” says there are three ways to be dismissed in cricket: there is run out, LBW and caught behind, but they are not out until I call them.
For those who are coming into prominence now, and have begun to take over, any decision within the rules is a good one. How should we as a Bible-based Church deal with that mindset?
The megachurches of Australia are dealing with this mindset very effectively, so is it really just about doing the Hillsong thing? Or perhaps modelling ourselves on Paradise or Edge Church (Reynella), or even Aberfoyle Park? Of course not. We can learn from their model, but what we are charged with is being the Hands and Feet of Jesus on The Eyre Peninsula. We may not see thousands come to Christ in a year, but we can act as a body of similar influence. Hillsong Church London saw just under 6700 people come to know Christ in 2007, which is pretty close to how many people attend our Sunday services in central London. This is out of a population of 7.3 million people in our city. That’s one in eleven hundred and four, or zero point zero nine of a percent. In proportion to its population that’s the same as Unity Hill reaching twelve people in Port Lincoln or forty six from across the Eyre Peninsula in a year; as well as having that as a weekly attendance on any given Sunday. Hillsong may be a “megachurch” in global terms but in population terms it’s a drop in the ocean in our city.
To be a church of influence is to be a church of engagement. We must speak in the language of Generation-X without losing our ability to speak to the Baby Boomers, and be developing ways of speaking to the Millennials who are our teens and twenties today. So, how do we speak to Generation-X? There are many things to consider, but I want to give you just two for now.
1. It’s about community.
What makes the difference is not the “show”, but the smile. If seekers don’t like the people they meet at church they won’t come back. In a world full of music, AV, charismatic speakers and advances in all forms of informational technology it is the people that keep seekers in fellowship. Indeed for Gen-X seekers it is not the “truth” which keeps them from faith, but their perception of what Christians are like. They may well agree with our arguments but they baulk at making a decision that will make them “become like us”, or what they think we represent. People are attracted to Christ by the attractive lives of Christians, not by our water-tight arguments. Truth has moved beyond relative, truth is relational. The question is not “is what you are saying true?” but “who are you that is telling me this?” Despite what some may have heard about us, Generation-X don’t resist truth; we resist arrogance. We long to find something solid that feels true, but which is prepared to consider the claims of others. The Church does not have to compromise, in fact it is best that it doesn’t because that makes it look less solid, (and feel less true); but it does have to be willing to engage in discussion.
2. It’s about compassion.
In his book No Perfect People Allowed Texan pastor John Burke writes: nothing poses a greater challenge and opportunity to the church than the overwhelming emotional pains that drive our generation into so many addictive behaviours....If God is going to use his church to reach emerging generations the church must be prepared for these struggles of brokenness....If [we] are going to minister to emerging generations [we] must create a culture where broken people are welcome and healing happens....Broken people are wounded people...they often run from those attempting to help them. Leaders must create a safe climate, so that the healing work of God can begin in their lives.
Hillsong mindset is that all Christians are to be leaders in their world, so that last sentence applies to all of you in this generation sitting here this morning, although of course with special emphasis for those of you on Vision Team who make the decisions and set the culture of Unity Hill.
In our day there is a culture of aloneness, of people longing for community, but afraid to get close – surrounded by friends, feeling ever more alone. Generation X craves the sense of community inside a spiritual family. If we don’t experience hope for authentic relational support, it doesn’t matter how contemporary the style, or how loud the music, or how trippin’ the AV: we won’t stick. The challenge the Church faces is to learn how to live in community with others, and then to provide ways to ensure that nobody stands alone.
People don’t care what you know, until they know that you care. For the members of our society in their twenties to forties it is not so much the truth that they need to know, but the Grace-without-Law that Rev Rob spoke on three weeks ago. In my generation people belong before they believe, so we need to be made to feel that belonging is easily available.
But yes, as Rev Rob touched on last week: revival and renewal are coming. Hillsong Church London saw six and a half thousand people make decisions for Christ in 2007 and our numbers grew by almost that amount. The answer, along with Biblical truth in the preached word, is that we care for those who come to faith in our house. We consider it a privilege that God would trust us with His most precious possessions, the individual “Lost”, and we do all we can to connect them to friendship and resource: and for the most part those we are reaching are those of our age-group, Generations X and Y.
There is a generation coming: men and women in the prime of life yet hungry for what the gospel alone offers: a promise of eternal connection with a gracious and loving Father, within a welcoming and sustaining community. Again as Burke said the emerging church is not a Church for a post-Christian culture but is one forged out of post-Christian people. It’s not about coming out of our Christian bunker to make forays into a fallen world, but is an indigenous church rising out of the surrounding culture to form the Body of Christ.
The lost are people just like us: and by the Father’s grace and our welcome they can join us on the road to what we are becoming.
All they need is to be made welcome.
Sunday 20th July 2008 Unity Hill (PLUCA).
Damien.
Isaiah 54:1-3
They say you know you’re getting old when policemen begin to look young. I must be dangerously close to ancient because I was in Tasmania last week and I must say the government is looking young: although in my defence that is because they are. The premier of Tasmania is a chap by the name of David Bartlett, with Lara Giddings as his deputy. Mr Bartlett was born in 1968, Ms Giddings in 1972. The head of government in Australia’s smallest state is forty years old, and his deputy is thirty-five. Tasmania is being governed by Generation-X.
Gary Clarke, the senior pastor of Hillsong Church London defines the term generation as a group of people who are alive at the same time. In sociological terms we can talk about The Baby Boomers or Generation-X or other groups who are defined by their decade of birth: but for the most part it is probably best to say that “this generation” is you, whoever you are, who woke up alive this morning, Sunday 20th July 2008.
But, of course within us as a group we do find different ages and different ways of thinking which mostly characterise these ages. I don’t really want to get into who the different generations are, or what defines them: that is for another time, but allow me a brief outline so that we all know who we are talking about.
At any one time in history there are four to five generations alive, with three in the forefront and one in charge. Due to the changing nature of Western Society and advances in medical technology there are six generations alive today:
The Builders 1901-1918: born before or during The Great War.
The Silent Generation 1918-1942: today aged late sixties to late eighties.
Baby Boomers 1943-1960: today aged late forties to mid sixties.
Generation-X 1961-1980: today late twenties to mid forties. This is me (36)
Generation-Y (Millennials) 1981-2000: today entering teenage to mid twenties
Generation-Z: born in the twenty-first century.
You will probably agree with me that for the most part it is the Baby Boomers who run the world at present, with some Silents still in key roles, (for example Pope and Queen are both in their 80s, although of course neither was popularly elected), and with Gen-X on the cusp. It is this cusp that the Church needs to be looking at as Generation-X begin to assume more responsibility in government and business leadership in our nation.
Another phrase used by Gary Clarke is that every church is only ever one generation away from extinction. We are here now, but who will be here in 20 years’ time? It was for this reason that God reminded the Hebrews in Deuteronomy 6:7-9 to “tell these things to your children” and “write them on your doorposts”: we must continue to pass on the things that we know to those who follow after us or the information will be lost. Just because you know something doesn’t mean your children do, and if they aren’t told and don’t know, then that information is lost when you go. If that information is the story of God, then truly this part of The Church will be extinct when we are all gone and the last one with the memory of this dies too. If we are to continue as the Church we must be a body of influence.
So what is in the future, and how can we be a body of influence?
Megachurch.
Now I know what you’re thinking, and yes Megachurch is defined by Wikipedia as a church having 2,000 or more attendees for a typical weekly service: but that’s not where I’m going. I want to suggest a different tack and describe them not as churches with lots of people in them, (although almost invariably megachurches do have lots of people), but churches with lots of influence around them. For example the place where I belong in London, Hillsong Church, is a megachurch: not because it is the biggest church in London and the biggest white-majority church in the United Kingdom, but because it is impacting its nation, its continent, and its generation in ways that many other aspects of the Body of Christ are not. And this is not just through sales of our music CDs either. As the DVD says, there is a Church behind the music.
What makes Hillsong a Gen-X church is not that it uses a big band and a lightshow, although it does do those things. What makes Hillsong Gen-X is its focus on community for those who are alone.
Let me give you an example of how the three generations think: and put it in terms of cricket.
The umpire born in 1925: a “Silent” says there are three ways to be dismissed in cricket: there is run out, LBW and caught behind, and I call them as they are.
The umpire born in 1950: a “Baby Boomer” says there are three ways to be dismissed in cricket: there is run out, LBW and caught behind, and I call them as I see them.
The umpire born in 1975: a “Generation-X” says there are three ways to be dismissed in cricket: there is run out, LBW and caught behind, but they are not out until I call them.
For those who are coming into prominence now, and have begun to take over, any decision within the rules is a good one. How should we as a Bible-based Church deal with that mindset?
The megachurches of Australia are dealing with this mindset very effectively, so is it really just about doing the Hillsong thing? Or perhaps modelling ourselves on Paradise or Edge Church (Reynella), or even Aberfoyle Park? Of course not. We can learn from their model, but what we are charged with is being the Hands and Feet of Jesus on The Eyre Peninsula. We may not see thousands come to Christ in a year, but we can act as a body of similar influence. Hillsong Church London saw just under 6700 people come to know Christ in 2007, which is pretty close to how many people attend our Sunday services in central London. This is out of a population of 7.3 million people in our city. That’s one in eleven hundred and four, or zero point zero nine of a percent. In proportion to its population that’s the same as Unity Hill reaching twelve people in Port Lincoln or forty six from across the Eyre Peninsula in a year; as well as having that as a weekly attendance on any given Sunday. Hillsong may be a “megachurch” in global terms but in population terms it’s a drop in the ocean in our city.
To be a church of influence is to be a church of engagement. We must speak in the language of Generation-X without losing our ability to speak to the Baby Boomers, and be developing ways of speaking to the Millennials who are our teens and twenties today. So, how do we speak to Generation-X? There are many things to consider, but I want to give you just two for now.
1. It’s about community.
What makes the difference is not the “show”, but the smile. If seekers don’t like the people they meet at church they won’t come back. In a world full of music, AV, charismatic speakers and advances in all forms of informational technology it is the people that keep seekers in fellowship. Indeed for Gen-X seekers it is not the “truth” which keeps them from faith, but their perception of what Christians are like. They may well agree with our arguments but they baulk at making a decision that will make them “become like us”, or what they think we represent. People are attracted to Christ by the attractive lives of Christians, not by our water-tight arguments. Truth has moved beyond relative, truth is relational. The question is not “is what you are saying true?” but “who are you that is telling me this?” Despite what some may have heard about us, Generation-X don’t resist truth; we resist arrogance. We long to find something solid that feels true, but which is prepared to consider the claims of others. The Church does not have to compromise, in fact it is best that it doesn’t because that makes it look less solid, (and feel less true); but it does have to be willing to engage in discussion.
2. It’s about compassion.
In his book No Perfect People Allowed Texan pastor John Burke writes: nothing poses a greater challenge and opportunity to the church than the overwhelming emotional pains that drive our generation into so many addictive behaviours....If God is going to use his church to reach emerging generations the church must be prepared for these struggles of brokenness....If [we] are going to minister to emerging generations [we] must create a culture where broken people are welcome and healing happens....Broken people are wounded people...they often run from those attempting to help them. Leaders must create a safe climate, so that the healing work of God can begin in their lives.
Hillsong mindset is that all Christians are to be leaders in their world, so that last sentence applies to all of you in this generation sitting here this morning, although of course with special emphasis for those of you on Vision Team who make the decisions and set the culture of Unity Hill.
In our day there is a culture of aloneness, of people longing for community, but afraid to get close – surrounded by friends, feeling ever more alone. Generation X craves the sense of community inside a spiritual family. If we don’t experience hope for authentic relational support, it doesn’t matter how contemporary the style, or how loud the music, or how trippin’ the AV: we won’t stick. The challenge the Church faces is to learn how to live in community with others, and then to provide ways to ensure that nobody stands alone.
People don’t care what you know, until they know that you care. For the members of our society in their twenties to forties it is not so much the truth that they need to know, but the Grace-without-Law that Rev Rob spoke on three weeks ago. In my generation people belong before they believe, so we need to be made to feel that belonging is easily available.
But yes, as Rev Rob touched on last week: revival and renewal are coming. Hillsong Church London saw six and a half thousand people make decisions for Christ in 2007 and our numbers grew by almost that amount. The answer, along with Biblical truth in the preached word, is that we care for those who come to faith in our house. We consider it a privilege that God would trust us with His most precious possessions, the individual “Lost”, and we do all we can to connect them to friendship and resource: and for the most part those we are reaching are those of our age-group, Generations X and Y.
There is a generation coming: men and women in the prime of life yet hungry for what the gospel alone offers: a promise of eternal connection with a gracious and loving Father, within a welcoming and sustaining community. Again as Burke said the emerging church is not a Church for a post-Christian culture but is one forged out of post-Christian people. It’s not about coming out of our Christian bunker to make forays into a fallen world, but is an indigenous church rising out of the surrounding culture to form the Body of Christ.
The lost are people just like us: and by the Father’s grace and our welcome they can join us on the road to what we are becoming.
All they need is to be made welcome.
Sunday 20th July 2008 Unity Hill (PLUCA).
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
