Missionary Gas

It was like taking part in a Harry Potter episode.    The location was Parliament Hall where the Scots Parliament met in 1645-46.   You enter it by pushing open an unmarked door at 66 South Street,  St Andrews.     Bright panelled walls and enormous portraits look down upon you in a friendly manner. We were warned by the Divinity Dean,  Ivor Davidson,  that we were on dangerous ground.   What we were embarking on "involves confession,  petition,  doxology and wonder.   We are at the edges of what we can say".       This was a conference on the Doctrine of the Trinity. The first to speak,  Tom McCall,   had flown in (by aeroplane) from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School,  Chicago.    Since arriving he had spent a night in a tent on Ben Nevis,  and now he spoke at breakneck speed on the biblical data. The second speaker looked as if he had flown i...

This email arrived from Habana: "Brothers,  many greetings.   Our desire in a few words is this:   We want you to know that in Cuba we have many serving in missionary work,  opening new churches,  but they have little Biblical and theological preparation.   Our country has experienced  50 years of communism with its strict censorship against the gospel.  Now there is an open door and we want to be effective in the Great Commission,  but we are in need of the help of trained pastors.   Therefore we want to invite you to visit us, so that you may known the situation,  write about it,  appreciate what is going on,  and help us with teachings to form a new generation of men of God.   There are many in need.   Remember when the apostle Paul heard a voice saying  "Com e over to Macedonia and help us."    Come over to Cuba...    Warm greetings,...

Gustavo from Santiago, Chile wrote on hogmanay to express thanks for an article:   "it helped me to understand that God's plan for man includes suffering. I've been a Christian for 30 years and am a preacher in our local church and also the daughter churches.   I'm part of the leadership  team and,   in a voluntary capacity,  am very active in the church's ministry.  Eight months ago I lost my job and have been unable to find work.   There have been  desperate prayers, much suffering and many tears,  all without a resolution;    rejection and failure,  pain in my soul,  frustration,  perplexity and also,  anger.   The Lord spoke to me of a desert.     This is what I have lived through.  Suffering has marked my life since childhood:  often death,  illness,  and unemployment;  frequent failure in business.   It's...

The following was received from Costa Rica:   "Greetings to everyone,  may our good Lord continue blessing you,  my name is Aldron Castillo,   married with 5 children.  I'm an ex prisoner who was in jail for 11 years,  although originally sentenced to 55 years.  While in prison I received Christ as my saviour,   and saw him doing mighty works to secure my release,  but his greatest miracle was my salvation.     Today I serve the Lord seeking to prevent crime.  My wife and I travel 8-9 hours by bus in order to testify to others of the way Christ saves spiritually and physically and can be their savour too.    We get no external help for this work either in literature or economically.  In my  country ex-prisoners carry on as before and no one believes that God could make such a great change.    A lot of time is spent in preparing materials to give to peopl...

Javier Montoya,  a Colombian pastor and ongoing Seminary student,  wrote for advice about an essay he was preparing on the book of Revelation.     It concerned the 24 elders around the throne of the lamb.      He explained how he was tackling the topic and wanted to know how to approach the subject exegetically. His email finished with a brief PS: "This week I was robed of my car with all my study materials,  computer, documents,  books and iPhone.  They abused and beat me.   But I'm well.   Thanks be to God" Seminary students,  Colombia

Cuba brings up images of cigars,  smoked filled bars,  and red coloured pictures of Che Guevara. How out of date we are was revealed in an email from a lecturer supervising MTh students on that island.    For the first time theology is being taught at this level.   Evangelicalism is outliving Don Fidel's atheism. For students it means there are no theology theses available in libraries.    Rumour had it Recursos Teológicos had some online.   Where are they?   A few hours later they were being looked at not through cigar haze but in the vibrant atmosphere of an evanglical seminary. ¡Viva la revolución!  Studying the gospels in Moyobamba

Quiet weekend,  Olwen's over to Ballymena for her mother's 94th birthday,   so I'm reheating pasta.   Managed to read a whole book today,  which says more about the publication than the reader's ability.   It's called "Tweet If You Love Jesus:  Practicing Church in the Digital Reformation", by Elizabeth Drescher.    She comments about Kirk Smith a pastor working on the US/Mexico border whose successful online ministry is based on: Starting where you are Being exactly who you are Building bridges with users Using images - photos or video clips Practicing the ministry you profess Kirkintilloch ramblers outing to Ben Ledi last Saturday

It is argued that the institution of marriage is important for the good of society. Therefore even gay marriages should be viewed as a good thing. This is a reasonable view but has significant flaws when compared with the Bible. According to the Scriptures, marriage is heterosexual in order that children might be born: “God blessed them and said to them, ‘Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it’” (Gen 1:28).  Romantic and passionate marital love is illustrated in Scripture as a heterosexual experience. The Song of Songs, the emotions of David and the marriage of Ruth are indicative of this.  Single people, such as Christ, Mary of Bethany and John the Baptist enjoyed a fulfilling life without being married.  There were severe warnings against homosexual practices. Male rape and male prostitution were condemned (Gen 19:5; Deut 23:17-18) Judg 19:22) as were homosexual practices (Lev 18:21-22; Rom 1:26-27).  Outside of what is ...

Nowadays the most hotly debated issue in theology is justification by faith.     Last week St Andrews University hosted a 3 day conference on Galatians.   About 150 scholars and wanabees attended.    Since I fitted into the last category along with a Croatian,  a Norwegian and a one-legged lady from Texas,  I went along.   The New Perspective on justification,  ably communicated by Tom Wright,  is taken as gospel by  academics.    So there was little fighting type debate,  until,  the last keynote address. This was given by Richard Hays,  Dean and George Washington Ivey Professor at Duke Divinity School,  who spoke for an hour on "Apocalyptic Poiesis in Galatians".    An excellent speaker and erudite,  he convinced me of the dramatic narrative of the epistle.    And I was about to go home and reshape my sermons. That was unti...

A bit like Stirling Uni but less suicidal,  Nottingham University is scattered through an undulating green campus.  I recently gathered with 70 Thiseltonians for a Conference honouring the 75 year old star of modern Biblical Hermeneutics,  Prof Anthony Thiselton.   He's a likeable John Stott type figure who broke down in tears when mentioning the support of his wife and family.  During the day seven academics presented papers looking at different angles of the subject.   Now hermeneutics deals with how we communicate and understand things:  a film,  an Ibrox sign or a Pauline epistle.  It's currently the most important subject in Divinity.    Unfortunately the presentations were models of bad communication being papers read from manuscripts and not readily understandable.      But the chatting in-between was brilliant:   "We live not according to the calendar but according to t...

Next question is Ayuda Pastoral is: Should a Christian observe Sunday as God's day?  Does a New Testament believer still keep a day of rest,  or is it just a matter of personal preference? A day of rest is a gift from God God himself rested "from all his work" on the seventh day (Gen 2:2).  This indicates that not only the family and work are part of the pattern of creation,  but so is a weekly rest day.(Ex 20:8-11 cf Gen 2:14-15).  As such it is a gift from God from the time of creation for the benefit of humanity: "the LORD has given you the Sabbath; (Ex 16:29). And in New Testament times Christ stated:   "The Sabbath was made for man"  (Mark 2:27).    Ceremonial laws about the Sabbath belong to Judaism God gave to the nation of Israel moral, civil and ceremonial laws.    The civil laws concerned the ordering of society,  for example about slavery (Ex 21:1-11) and the protection of property (Ex....

Next topic in Ayuda Pastoral (Help for Pastors) Should a congregation have one main preacher?   If there is a team ministry , what biblical principles indicate who should occupy the pulpit?     To answer this a brief overview of church leadership in the New Testament would be helpful.  Flock with its pastor.    Over 24 times in the New Testament we read of pastor or pastoring.    And it is always with the idea of one flock cared for by a pastor:  "there shall be one flock and one shepherd" (John 10:16 cf 1 Pet 2:25).  So it is to be expected that the church will have one pastor or minister looking after the needs of the congregation. Plurality of elders.      Paul left Titus in Crete in order that he might "appoint elders in every town" (Titus 1:5).  So in the New Testament there was  also the practice of having a team  of elders in each congregation.   As the cas...

Next entry in Ayuda Pastoral  (Pastoral help) According to the Bible what ministry can women have within the church? Strengthener of the work.    The woman's ministry in the church is particularly to accompany, support and provide for others.  This has been the case since creation:   "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him" (Gen 2:18).  It is seen in the work of couples:   "Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus" (Rom 16:3).  Christ and the apostles received material help from women:  " Joanna...Susanna; and many others. These women were helping to support them out of their own means" (Luke 8:3). Diaconal ministry.   Although it might appear that the diaconate is just for men we do read of Pheobe who was " a servant of the church in Cenchrea". (Rom 16:1 cf 1 Tim  2:11-13) .   In some versions the word servant is translated "deaconess"....

Next issue addressed in Ayuda Pastoral : What biblical principles deal with the use of instrumental music in worship? Dealing with the following questions helps to answer this: 1.  What was the most important part of New Testament worship? Probably the form of 1 st century Christian worship was similar to that of the synagogue.    James even uses "synagogue" to describe the meeting place of Christians (Jas  2:2).    Such worship was directed to the Lord with particular emphasis upon his Word.   Jesus was “teaching in their synagogues…” (Luke 4:15-30) and Paul wrote to Timothy:  “devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture,  to preaching and to teaching”  (1 Tim 4: 13 cf Col 4:15-16). 2.  How did the first Christians sing? The early Christians would have sung Psalms and probably some Christian hymns:  “speaking to one another with psalms, hymns,  and songs from the Spir...

Next subject in Ayuda Pastoral What biblical principals bear upon  how much a minister should be paid? It should be sufficient for a full-time ministry.       It was necessary for Paul at times to be  self-sustaining:     "... these hands of mine have supplied my own needs and the needs of my companions"  (Act 20:34 cf 18:3).   But this was not the normal situation:  "... the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel" (1Cor 9:14).  So as a general rule it is better for the church that the pastor is full-time and supported as such:  "It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables" (Act 6:2). It should be sufficient for the needs of life.      Christ and his apostles were provided for materially by some women disciples  (Luk. 8.3).   In the ...

Next issue dealt with in Ayuda Pastoral : How would you advise someone whose family member is in an openly homosexual relationship? This is a very delicate matter,  and the starting point is to think about how our heavenly Father treats us all.   This involves: Mercy and patience.    The Bible says  "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God"  (Rom.  3:23).   Everyone is sinful,  and the mercy and patience of God extends to each one of us to encourage our repentance  (Rom.  2:4).   Our attitude to the homosexual person should be similar,   and this may involve years of compassion .      Prayer and knowledge.    Obviously we pray for the person for only God can change their heart  (Jn.  16:8;  James 5:16-20).     But also God's Spirit works through the Word (Acts 2:37) since he is the Spirit of truth (Jn.  15...

Have just received an electronic Christmas card from the Carmelitas (Carmelite nuns) of Viedma (Argentina) with the assurance of their prayers. I've never visited a  Carmelite  nunnery nor Argentina.   F eel slightly guilty about not having sent them one.    Must write and thank them.

There is a heated debate in Latin American churches about the continued existence of apostles.   This matter has been taken up in Ayuda Pastoral . How should Christians view claims to contemporary apostleship? A biblical perspective on the issue indicates the following: The word "apostle" means  someone sent.   The Greek noun "apostolos" comes from the verb to send.  So as a "sent one" every believer is an apostle:  " no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger ("apostolos") greater than the one who sent him. (Joh 13:16 cf.  Heb.  13:1). I n a general sense an apostle is a gospel messenger.     The mission of the "apostolos" in the New Testament is to take the gospel message.  "as for our brothers, they are representatives ("apostolos") of the churches and an honour to Christ" (2Co 8:23).    To emphasize this,  the apostle is sometimes connected with the prophet:  "I will se...

Typically an out-of-office  automated   response to an email is:   Sorry, I am away just now but will reply as soon as I get back. Anita Latinos of course hype things up,  and maybe that's not a bad thing.    Recently I received the following automated response (which has been translated from the Spanish but with the original colours and exclamation marks): Blessings on you!!! A thousand thanks for writing to me and what you've shared!! I hope, with God's help,  you're well! I look forward to enjoying more of your pleasant and encouraging friendship!! Fraternal greetings to you! I'll be in touch! MARANATHA!! May Christ bless you ... He is returning soon!!!   Anita  

Next question dealt with in Ayuda Pastoral : What are a pastor’s indispensible steps in preparing a sermon? Basic and essential stages in sermon preparation are: 1. Prayer. What was notable about the ministry of Jesus was his time spent in prayer. Typically we read: "while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed" (Mar 1:35 cp Luk. 5:16; 6:12; 9:28; 18:1; 22:44). The preacher needs to pray for understanding of the text, for the Spirit’s accompanying the Word and for his own humility. 2. Think of the congregation. A sermon has to connect with the real world of its hearers. What concerns do they have? What needs to they face? What is their level of understanding? Paul’s sermons showed a noticeable change when he preached to Jews or Gentiles of the Royal Court (Acts 13:13-41; 17:2-31; 26:2-29). In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus appreciated his listeners’ background and so spoke to their ...