What will the new King bring to Britain?

70 years after the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, Britain has changed almost beyond recognition. Or has it?

The Monarchy, the Parliament and the office of Prime Minister persist. Constitutional Monarchy and Parliamentary democracy are still mutually connected. We remain a nation where there is a place for Christianity in public life. We continue to have a State Church in England as well as an environment of tolerance for those of all faiths and none. 

The Coronation of King Charles III is a focal point for all the above. As a religious ceremony, it is perhaps the highest national expression of the Anglican faith of the Established Church of England. It is also a public instrument of the State as the Monarch is the Head of State for the United Kingdom.

The challenge for King Charles is to maintain these essential elements of the British Constitution while adapting to contemporary society. Will he successfully do so in the light of unrelenting activism?

In the very recent past the Christian view of marriage has been rejected by our society, largely due to pressure from highly vocal self-interest groups and biases in our Media, Education and Politics. Superficial arguments of equality were never fully debated or stress tested in any considered way.

The very definition of male and female which, up to very recently, was soundly rooted in biological science has now largely given way to the subjective feelings of individuals and groups. All opposing views are disregarded, shunned or cancelled.
Activism is also being brought to bear on the Institution of the Monarchy. It is understandable that the Institution is again being visibly questioned. The Coronation provides Republicans a platform for their right to dissent. The Monarchy is least supported by the younger generation. This too, is not a surprise given the political agendas now being pursued by the educators of our young people.

King Charles’ Christian convictions have been made public. His own faith is deeply rooted in the Church of England of which he is now the Head. His desire to ensure Britain remains tolerant and welcoming of those from other faiths is also, to a large extent understandable. However, if this is done from the point of view of Religious Pluralism, it should be less welcome to thinking people from most, if not all, faiths. Our tolerance should not be based on the idea that all religions are basically the same or that they all lead to the same God. The god of pluralism is neither the God of the Bible nor that of most religions in the world.

As Christians, we pray to the heavenly King of Kings and ask for wisdom, strength and perseverance for our new earthly King. We also pray for compassion, humility and willingness to surrender to the Book presented to him at the Coronation with the words: “…the most valuable thing this world affords.”

Jesus said, “he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him.” This aspect of God’s love is conditional.

God’s Rewarding Love

This blog series ends with one final aspect of God’s love – his rewarding love. We have seen that God unconditionally set his love upon everyone he created. The blessings of God’s ongoing Providential love rest unconditionally upon all humanity, without exception. He also demonstrated his Invitational love by sending Christ to die for the sins of the world, so that whosoever believes may have eternal life. In this way, God’s Saving love is conditional upon us opening up and receiving his love.

God has also established relationship with his people through what we call his Covenantal love. The initiative his entirely his, but to enjoy the blessings of the covenant we must respond with believing loyalty and obedience. This aspect is clearly conditional.

The answer to the question, “Is God’s love conditional or unconditional?”, is that it’s both. Both elements apply to God’s Rewarding love. God’s prior love of his people is unconditional. He chose to set his love on us without any precondition or merit on our part. But to enjoy the rewards of this love we must sincerely respond to it. Having received God’s love simply by faith, we go on to enjoy the blessings of relationship with him by being faithful to him in all things.

Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.”  Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, “Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world?” Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me ( John 14:21-24 ESV).

Loving obedience to God brings the promise of increasing intimacy and proximity to him. He dwells with the faithful, manifesting himself to us, and not to the world. This is why people who do not yet know Jesus sometimes find it difficult to believe God really loves them. 

Maybe you have prayed to God asking him to bless your health, your job, your relationships or your finances. But when things don’t work out as you want, you immediately doubt his love.

The secondary things of life are never the measure of God’s love. Those who truly give themselves to Christ and long for more of him will naturally pursue him and seek to please him in all things. That’s the proper response to God’s love. The most precious love we can offer God is to trust him in all circumstances of life. 

Bad things sometimes happen to good people and good things to bad people. Therefore, God’s love and displeasure are not easily discerned through our circumstances. He disciplines those he loves. The love of God is never removed from his people, but it can be restrained. If we displease the Lord, his response is one of rebuke and chastening. He restrains but never removes his love. 

However, God’s reward and blessing is with those who fear him. The Lord rewards those who diligently seek him, walking in his wisdom. And the ultimate reward is the gift of himself.

’Till death us do part

God’s covenant love means he is totally committed to his people. As with any agreement there are promises made, conditions to fulfil and consequences if these are not met.

‘Covenant’ is a slightly old-fashioned word, but is still widely used today.  It’s another word for a contract, a legal agreement. For example, two parties agree to supply and pay for certain goods and services. The contract lists the specific benefits and responsibilities for each person included in its terms and conditions.

Marriage, is also a covenant, a formal, public and binding agreement. In biblical terms, marriage is linked to procreation and therefore can only be made between those inherently capable of having children, that is, a biological man and a biological woman (with the presumption that both will fully identify with their biological sex). Circumstances such as age, infertility or other conditions that preclude a heterosexual married couple from having children does not negate the basic binary nature of biological sex. The point is that Christian marriage upholds these categories which inherently include the capacity to be fruitful and multiply.

In many nations, the civic definition of marriage has recently been changed to include people of the same sex. The principal reason given for this change is to provide equality under the (secular) law for LGBTQi+ people. Christian believers consider marriage to be a sacred bond as revealed in the Bible. Wider society does not share this perspective, however, secular marriage remains legally binding.

The sanctity of biblical marriage is held in extremely high esteem. This is due to the parallels between God’s relationship with his people and the marriage between a man and a woman. Marriage is a picture (some would argue a sacramental picture) of the gender specific relationship between a man and a woman in marriage. Our relationship with God is also defined in gender specific terms, a male Groom who is Christ and a female Bride incorporating all God’s covenant people.

Earthly marriage is ’till death us do part, whereas God’s covenant with his people endures after death when the divine-human relationship will be consummated. 

The terms of this covenant are clear. God takes the initiative and confers his covenant love upon us, pledging himself in divine faithfulness. Believing loyalty is our response to God’s covenant love as we, in turn, pledge to remain faithful to him. He loves us eternally and remains forever faithful. But we must also be faithful to him. This conditional element really matters to God and he holds us responsible for keeping our pledge. 

So, we see that God’s covenant love is conditional. Not in absolute terms, because God will never leave or forsake us. But the degree to which we enjoy his covenant love and blessing does depend on our continued believing loyalty to him.

This is linked to God’s rewarding love which is the subject of the next and final blog in this series.

Does your church structure stifle the life of the Spirit?

Many pastors today are being let down by their church structures. Instead of providing real relationships, they have become examples of non-relational institutional Christianity. They long for mutual accountability in genuine relationships, but have only been handed rules, regulations and top-down authoritarian control. The ensuing loneliness and pastoral isolation is tragic.

Supporting the Life of the Vine

Structures are necessary in every walk of life. It is part of the divine order. The Kingdom of God is the supreme example. We have God-given guidelines, frameworks, injunctions and prohibitions. The anarchical tendency in our world in general has also come into Christian communities. Accountability, responsibility and the denial of the self in favour of the community, are all part of contemporary aversion to what is called “organised religion”.

With that, we witness the promotion of a falsely idealised view of New Testament Christianity with no structure, just freedom to follow the Spirit, which is sometimes adopted as a Christianised version of “doing your own thing”. The expressive individualism that dominates Western culture has come to the Church. This is not the Kingdom of God in which we honour one another, serve one another, prefer one another and submit to one another in the fear of Christ. But what kind of church structure can promote that quality of corporate life?

The question is not, ‘Do I walk with structure in my spiritual calling?’ But, ‘What kind of structure should I follow and be a part of?’ 

On offer today, is a wide variety of structures. These range from loose, open arrangements where the boundaries are hardly visible, to tightly controlled organisations which are closed, cold, non-relational and self-serving. This latter error diminishes the preeminence of Christ, who is the Head of his Church. It exalts human structure above the Lord. Probably, we can all think of examples of authoritarian leadership that exists merely to maintain personal agendas and the organisational status quo, and does this even when God has long left the committee meeting. 

The saying goes that if the Holy Spirit departed from certain churches and denominations today, things would more or less carry on the same tomorrow.

So what’s the answer? Not an easy question. I picture a grapevine, like the one growing on the trellis (wooden framework) in my childhood home in Kalgoorlie, West Australia. As a family, we would sit under its shade in the scorching heat of the central West. Spraying the vine with water and inducing a cooling effect like outdoor air conditioning. Then eating chilled grapes straight from the vine.  

This, for me, is a picture of the Christian congregation. The fruit of the vine comes from the life that’s in the vine, not the structure that supports it. The way I evaluate church structures is by examining closely the leadership, their rules and their attitudes. The moment the structure which is supposed to support the vine and the life it carries becomes confused with the vine itself – that moment the structure has become dangerous.

The tendency is to confuse the house we have built with the house that only God can build as his dwelling place. We can easily denounce the pagan temple structures of polytheism where the best that humans can do only attracts false deities. But we also ought to include in this Christian organisations that have forgotten why they really exist. Not to perpetuate and to glorify what they have built. But examine their structures frequently, and at every point, make sure that what they have built for God truly supports the life of God in his real Temple, the people of God.

Ways of testing our structures:

• Do they exist (in practice) for the upbuilding of believers and the flourishing of the life of Christ in Christian communities?
• Do they uphold the preeminence of Christ as the Head of the Church?
• Do they exist as flexible and renewable means to the chief end which is the glory of Christ in his Church, or are they merely static ends in themselves?
• Do they isolate believers from each other by demanding loyalty to the organisation rather than the kingdom of God?
• Are they founded on true fellowship and relational holiness, or are people held captive by the worldly ambition promoted by the structure?
• Are they ruled by self-serving and unaccountable people whose agenda is to promote themselves and maintain their own vested interests?
• Are they truly releasing and enabling structures so that every person can flourish in community living, serving and sharing their substance and their spiritual gifts.

The choice is really between two options. Structures that are built on genuine cross-forged and Father-faced relationships. Or, structures that are based on human pride and ambition. Every church, denomination and Christian organisation will ultimately stand or fall by how consistently they choose to be in one category or the other.

Correcting a Pastoral Model in the Contemporary Church

Walk with Teams

I knew “the buck stops here”, with me. But I had wonderfully gifted people around me to sound out my ideas, check my leadings from the Lord, and make up for my deficiencies in ministry and wisdom, as together, we looked for an agreed witness of the Spirit in our deliberations.

In this series, I have been presenting the case against pastors seeing themselves in a “sole leadership” position. Not only is this a sub apostolic practice, it isolates pastors under a burden of responsibility no-one is equipped to bear.

In New Testament times, the terms ‘pastor’, ‘elder’ and ‘overseer’ all referred to the same calling. ‘Pastor’ describes function, ‘elder’, qualification and ‘overseer’, role. Local churches were led by teams of acknowledged pastors/elders/overseers.

Fivefold ministry

Within this overall leadership category, the 5 ministry gifts of Ephesians 4:11 function: apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers. Each of these specialise in different kinds of ministry. They are the gifts of Christ distributed to his body, the Church. He had them all and we need them all.  If any of these ministries operated translocally, they had no governing authority independent of the local eldership or leadership team. Translocal governorship does not appear to exist in the New Testament church.

Apostolic teams had a translocal role in establishing new churches and appointing elders, but their on-going role was not perceived as translocal eldership. For a while, Paul continued to oversee the churches he planted, but it seems he was not an on-going part of the local church governing body. That was the responsibility of the local eldership team, the pastors and overseers.

In the local church, there is always a plurality of eldership, but this does not rule out a ‘first among equals’ or a ‘presiding elder’, such as appears to be the case in the Jerusalem church, where James seems to have that role (Acts 15).

The power of teams

If this analysis is to a certain extent correct, then it shows that pastors should never walk alone. They function in teams with each duly appointed leader having a helpful and distinctive contribution to make. While there are many different styles, collegiate and co-operative leadership is essential.

Throughout my time in ministry, I have always worked in teams appreciating what others bring to the table. I never saw myself in monarchical leadership and was all too aware of the dangers it brings and its tendency towards becoming authoritarian, dictatorial and severely truncated. Who, apart from Jesus, can bring the full complement of ability and wisdom to the table? We need each other.

That is why I worked hard to break down the so-called clergy-laity divide. Those who led from a full-time position in professional or occupational life were equal to those whose sphere of ministry was centred around full time work in the church. That meant, though I often felt lonely, I was never actually alone. I knew “the buck stops here”, with me. But I had wonderfully gifted people around me to sound out my ideas, check my leadings from the Lord, and make up for my deficiencies in ministry and wisdom, as together, we looked for an agreed witness of the Spirit in our deliberations.

Celebrating our differences

Maturity in life, ministry and the workplace all came together in the gift-mix of our teams. We looked beyond ourselves and drew from the spiritual wisdom of the whole church. We recognised and celebrated our different gifts and areas of expertise. We discerned the full range of Christ’s gifts among us from the apostolically-minded to the didactically-gifted, from the prophetically-motivated to the pastorally-equipped and the evangelistically-enthused.  

For too long, churches and denominations have paid mere lip service to these New Testament principles. It is time for a bold and thorough-going reformation. We must move intentionally, albeit probably gradually, establishing these uniform principles and expressing them in the myriad patterns that can emerge from them. One size does not fit all, but we must nevertheless fully embrace the principles laid down by the Apostles.

What price failure?

The first casualty is the traditional-style pastor who inevitably functions below potential. Loneliness, discouragement and burn out often set in, sometimes compensated by increasing defensiveness, insecurity and self-referential promotion. The next casualty is the life and health of the church whose truncated leadership can never build the body of Christ correctly or bring it to full maturity. Finally, the casualty is our mission which a weak and ineffectual church can never fulfill.

Walk With the People

Isolated Pastors

The idea of ordination to the ministry is, at best, unhelpful. All believers are in the ministry of Christ. The moment pastors see their ordination as giving them special powers or spiritual privileges, they unnecessarily isolate themselves from the people. Instead, all church leaders should see themselves as fellow members of the Christian community along with all God’s people. Being among them and walking with them not only ends the isolation, it accurately reflects our unity and equality before God.

There should be no clergy-laity divide. The ‘ministry’ belongs to the Body of Christ. There 47 ‘one another’ scriptures in the New Testament.

Much that surrounds historical and contemporary practices of ordination is drawn from the Old Testament model of ministry. The Priesthood was instituted by God in the context of his covenant relationship with Israel. It ensured that the Temple in Jerusalem was preserved as the sacred space where God manifested his presence. Thus the central promise of the covenant was fulfilled, “I will dwell among you”. 

The priests of the Old Testament were given special privileges and special powers to approach God in the sacred space and to maintain its sanctity performing rituals on behalf of the community.

The whole community of Israel was also considered to be part of a corporate priesthood. But this did not rule out the special role of some. For example Moses and Aaron as High Priest, the sons of Aaron and the Levites all had sacred roles to fulfill within the Old Covenant context. 

Now, that mediatorial role has been fulfilled by Christ, the only Mediator between God and humanity. And with that, all special powers belonging to special people are rescinded. Or, perhaps better expressed, they have been dispersed to the whole Christian community.

In the New Testament Church, the priesthood of all believers is the central emphasis, where we are all servants of God and ministers of one another. Believers, both individually and together, are the Temple of the Holy Spirit. There are some 47 verses in the New Testament which describe our role in encouraging, teaching, admonishing and serving one another. 

Ministering to one another

Leadership in the New Testament also takes on a different form. Specific people with specific ministry gifts are called to leadership in Christian communities. But these are not given special powers to preserve sacred space or to prepare the people to approach God. Christ the Mediator fulfills this role perfectly and exclusively.

Originally, the terms ‘pastor’, ‘elder’ and ‘overseer’ all referred to the same calling. Pastoral leaders, elders and overseers were given ‘delegated’ or ‘derived’ responsibility from Christ himself, the Chief Shepherd. Their responsibility, for which they were given the spiritual authority to discharge, was the overall care and spiritual leadership off the flock of God, but the overarching concern was pastoral. Above all, this service was offered from among the people, not exalted above them.

From the Second Century onward ministerial roles were developed and separated into hierarchical categories. With the coming of Constantine, the situation worsened. Church structures reflected the administrative structures of the Roman Empire.

Ending the isolation

It is time we stopped giving mere lip service to the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Imagine the difference it would make to church life and ministry and our influence in wider society, if we removed artificial distinctions between sacred and secular, and between clergy and laity. Certainly, it would end the isolation of pastors thinking they have to walk alone.

Walking with Sacred Companions

We were never intended to make the life pilgrimage alone. And attempting to make the spiritual journey on our own is particularly hazardous.

Sacred Companions: The Gift of Spiritual Friendship & Direction (David G. Benner)

In this blog series, I am launching an attack on the common idea that Christian leaders are somehow expected to go it alone. A false hierarchy has emerged, partly due to a bogus clergy-laity divide. It places ‘ordained ministers’ in a separate category of constant helper possessing special powers, the one with all the answers, and not the fellow traveller on the same spiritual journey that every pilgrim of Christ undertakes. The resulting pressure is too much to bear and one that God never intended. Loneliness, isolation, depression and burnout are never far away.

One significant corrective for Pastors and leaders (and indeed every follower of Christ) is to have what David Brenner calls ‘sacred companions’. We all need one or more companions with whom we share regularly in a spirit of mutual openness and trust. God is at the centre and the sole motive is to help each other become everything that he intends us to be.

One of the hallmarks of the Spirit’s presence in our personal and communal life is submission. Not submission to some institutional or hierarchical structure. But submission to one another in the fear of Christ. The awesome longing to be like him, and the total lack of resources in ourselves to make it happen. This is why we need each other. Sacred companions connect at a level of depth with no judgment but in total confidence in the Spirit’s power to bring mutual transformation. 

But first, we must clear the way. Obstacles include fear, suspicion and self-protection. These things are real. Many church leaders close up when invited to be vulnerable. Who can you trust? I know many Christian ministers who fear losing their status or their job if they were ever to open up about their inner struggles. There are many spiritual policemen ready to prosecute a weakness or a failing. But we have few fellow soldiers who are prepared to stand with us shoulder to shoulder in the trenches to help us fight our battles.

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If you are making significant progress on the transformational journey of Christian spirituality, you have one or  more friendships that support that journey. If you do not, you are not. It is that simple.

Sacred Companions: The Gift of Spiritual Friendship & Direction (David G. Benner)

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Despite the intense need, the reality of connected spiritual relationship runs counter to the culture of much contemporary church life. Superficiality, from the pulpit to the pew, has led to pretend community rather than the Spirit-led, cross-forged and Father-facing common unity of connected relationships. Surface-to-surface communication must be replaced by in-depth, heart-to-heart focus on genuine spiritual companionship. It must begin with the church leadership who set the tone and establish the pattern of true Christian fellowship. 

There will be a great shaking of ecclesiastical and denominational structures, as well as the promise of revival-type blessing for all churches and denominations which open up to the Holy Spirit.

New expressions and new forms of church life and ministry will arise, embracing both reformation and revival. 

Some will have a specialist emphasis on worship, intercession, prophecy, social action, training and equipping, market place ministries, and missions and evangelism. 

Others will begin to model the synergy of the full fivefold ministry springing out of apostolic hubs particularly in Nonwestern nations, but also in Western nations.

Expect an increase of passionate and fearless evangelism accompanied by signs and wonders in the streets and fields as well as the market places. Some of our High Streets will become Highways of God’s glory. 

There will be waves of repentance beginning with professing Christians, leading to the awakening of a growing remnant. This will include both renewed believers and surprising conversions of some high profile people. There will also be significant conversions of previously unknown people who will be given extraordinary grace to lead God’s people into the new things he is doing.

There will be a return to the New Testament practice of meeting in homes where believers will be accountable to leaders who operate within simple and reproducible church structures.

APOSTOLIC ALIGNMENT

Many believers feel disappointed, displaced and disconnected from existing churches and Christian communities. Some need healing and restoration from spiritual abuse and manipulation. Others are seeing, as never before, their need to be in genuine, connected, spiritual relationships within the body of Christ, within the context of a healthy 5-fold ministry as revealed in Ephesians 4:11-12.

New apostolic networks arising. These will be relational, not institutional. They will exist to connect churches, ministries and leaders who are looking for new alignments in this new season. The Holy Spirit himself will birth these divine connections. It will not come about by human persuasion, pressure or manipulation. 

There will be no authoritarian control or human-based power structures. Instead, there will be a genuine respect for the ministries God has given and a releasing of these ministries in the freedom of the Holy Spirit. God’s authority will be manifested in grace and truth.

Many churches and denominations are fearful of apostolic and prophetic ministry. Rather than being passionate for the kingdom of God, their desire is to protect and preserve their own institutions. 

Often this makes them defensive and inward-looking, resistant to apostolic initiatives and the voice of the prophets. However, apostles and prophets are needed in every generation to promote expansion, provide stability and offer spiritual direction to the body of Christ.