A Consistent Question

Every year at the PYV (Presbyterian Youth Victoria) Summer Camp, we give people the opportunity to ask questions, and pretty much every year, this question comes up: “What happens to babies when they die?” I have had the task of answering this a couple of times, and have heard others answer the question too.

In PYV circles, this is no longer academic.

On Monday, we sat in a crowded church with a large number of hurting people and stared at the small white coffin at the front of the church. If you have ever been to a funeral for a baby or a toddler, you will know the horrible feeling that I’m describing here. A life that we all expected to be full of joy and happiness didn’t even get the chance to take a first breath. And we are all left wondering why such a thing should happen.

Searching for an answer to that question is often fruitless and frustrating, but this funeral had something special about it. Here the question of what happens to babies who dies was irrelevant. There was no doubt about what happened – we all believe that she is with Jesus; she is in a place infinitely better than earth (though we wish she was still here); and we believe that she will be united with her parents again one day.

So as we sat in that church, we had the opportunity to worship God. We sang to the one who absolutely understands what it means to have a child die. We prayed that God would comfort the family and friends of this hurting family. And we heard about the only One who can give us hope in such times. “Nothing can separate us from the love of God.”

Does it stop the hurt? No. Does it mean we don't grieve? No. Will we ever laugh and smile again? Yes, but maybe not just yet.

And was the original question answered? Yes.

We need a new anthem NOW!

It's a standing joke that most Australians don't know the words of "Advance Australia Fair", our national anthem. I don't think it's a great tune, and some of the words seem a bit odd - 'girt' always makes me laugh. But there is a line in the second verse which is no longer relevant, and so we should abandon the anthem.

This line reads, "For those who've come across the seas, we've boundless plains to share". But today our Prime Minister, the one who is elected to speak for Australia, has announced that no one who arrives by boat as a refugee will be allowed to stay in Australia. Instead, those people who have left their homeland for all sorts of reasons; those people who have risked everything to get to Australia; will be flown to Papua New Guinea where they will be 'processed'. And if they are found to be genuine refugees, then they will still be unwelcome in Australia.

There is so much that is WRONG with this decision, but I won't comment on that here.

However, there are two things that stand in my mind.
Firstly, we should abandon our National Anthem. It is now a joke.
Second, when we do have an election, who do we vote for now? The Labor party have made this decision, and the Liberals support it.

"For those who've come across the seas, we've . . ." Fill in the blanks yourself.

Don't dismiss the small church

I remember hearing once that God must love small churches. He made so many of them. We want churches to grow, and that's good, but many churches are in areas where having a big church is unlikely, and many faithful Christians appreciate the feel of a small church. But this isn't a debate about large or small churches.

This is about a small church with a big hope.

I spent last weekend with the youth group connected to the Benalla Presbyterian Church. There was 17 people from grade 6 to year 12, and then on Saturday night some of the families from the church came to join us for the Camp Concert - where I saw a camp skit I hadn't seen for thirty years! And it still made me laugh!!

There are a whole lot of churches with that size of youth in their church who wouldn't even dream of having a youth camp. But this church did. There are a lot of churches who would say it wasn't worth the hassle of organising a campsite and getting someone to cater and all that goes with it. But this church believed it was worth it. And it wasn't just the minister. Some people came to cook the food that other people in the church had donated. Some people couldn't come, but they covered the cost for some of the youth to get there.

What will it achieve? In God's grace, we believe it will lead to changed lives and world impact. Because we can't read the future, we don't know what these young people will grow to be. But that is the same in a big church or a small church. Don't let that stop you from getting people together and sharing the gospel together.

I had a great time at the camp, and I was pleased my son Daniel was able to be there too. We met some great people. Some young, and some not. But all connected.

So don't dismiss the small church. Pray for them. Support them. And if the small church is the one near you, then go there. You might just meet some of God's great people there.

And if you're in the Benalla area, look out for the Presbyterian church. God's people live there.

Friendship and Ministry

The strength of friendship

In the world of ministry, many of us have responded to the call to “forsake all to follow Jesus.” This has often meant moving away from our friends and family firstly to attend a training college, and then to serve as a parish minister which is usually no where near anyone we know. And that’s ok.

But what if . . .

What if we worked with a different paradigm? What if I could travel back in time and instead of leaving my group of close friends, what if we committed our lives to the ministry of Jesus together? We could use the strength of our friendship and the different skills that we have, and a common love for Jesus to build a ministry that might be far stronger than anything we could do on our own. I am now in my mid-forties, and every time I have moved to a different church or a different ministry setting, it has meant forming new friendships – which has been great – but it takes time to build deep friendships.

So if I try to imagine the last twenty years in ministry but now in those thoughts include two or three of my closest friends through those years, I can’t even conceive how different it might be.

I’m not sad about the ministry experience I have had, and I’m grateful for the many friends I have as a result of this; but what if . . .

What if you and your two best friends began to consider how you could impact the world around you in the name of Jesus Christ? What would you do? What could you do together that you couldn’t do on your own?

What could you do together that you couldn’t do on your own? (Repeat this sentence a few times, but read it slowly.)

I think I need to sit and wonder about this a bit more.

A couple of final points. Firstly, I am incredibly grateful for my wife who is my greatest friend, and who has been a part of this ministry journey for nearly 21 years now. Secondly, I acknowledge that anything we can do is by God’s grace.

Big Grace

I've just been reading through another blog and in the middle of describing a troubled period of life, the writer included this phrase,

"I was getting a vision of a very big Jesus with a very big grace for sinners from them."

This got me thinking about how I present the message of Jesus to those around me. When I get the opportunity to preach, do I urge people to live better lives or do I point them to the one who can help them to lead better lives? Do I preach about the condemnation of sinners, or do I preach about the one who gave his all to save those same sinners?

And if I think about this too long, I find myself wishing I could go back through the last 20 years, apologise to some churches for what I have preached and instead urge these people to hold on to Jesus Christ. But I can't go back. (Not that I intentionally misled people. I just fear I have missed the main point too often. Forgive me?)

So, I want to give a vision of a very big Jesus with a very big grace for sinners. And I hope the Church can do the same - but that's another topic all together.

If you want to read the blog I refer to you can find it here: http://thegospelcoalition.org/blogs/gospeldrivenchurch/2013/05/15/john-piper-and-mark-driscoll-talked-me-off-the-bridge/

I know nothing about the writer other than what he has recorded in this blog.

Wedding Rehearsal

Tonight I took party in a wedding rehearsal. I didn't have a big part to play,  just playing my bass. But it isn't about me. It is about two young adults who love each other and want to make that relationship formal and lifelong.
The songs and venue also reflect another love - a love for Jesus and a love for the Church. And when a couple love each other, and they both love Jesus, and they love to be in the Church, it provides a solid foundation and the materials for a solid building.
So I wonder what the future will hold for them.  I don't know, but I'm confident it will be good.
And I'm looking forward to Saturday.

Hospital Sitting

There's nothing quite like sitting next to a hospital bed. The person you are visiting often can't get involved in a conversation; there is always other noise around you; and the nurses keep coming in.
But for all that,  most of us know that this is where you need to be.
This week I feel like I have spent so much time in hospital just sitting. So much work is waiting for my attention and has been neglected. There are so many things I could have been doing.
And none of that matters.
This is where I need to be.