Ekklesia

Time for an update :),
really i have nothing better to do, the joys of the life of a single man.

Two week ago i went to MYC (Mid year conference or Meet your companion) , and we looked at Ekklesia (Church). This is really testing my memory, here's what the conference had to say.

The End of our life is church, in the meantime we are building the church because Christ empowered us to build the church, He builds the church through us, by giving us gifts. We have many gifts from God, not for self purpose but so that we can build his church. Therefore we should not waste them rather, we should use them for the common good, for its original purpose.
We need people in whatever gifts they have to build the church. Thus is fundamental to our Christian living. The Church is eternal and it is what God is doing in the world. Therefore it is a great privilege for us to participate in building his church.
How does the kingdom of God grow? It grows by Christians using their gifts in love for the building of the church. Therefore the preaching of the Gospel must continue because the gathering of Christians listening to God’s word is what the church is about.
Some have the gift of expounding God's word, however all Christians should be ministers, to live in a way that maximizes the preaching of the Gospel. Therefore make decisions on the basis of Jesus’ Lordship not worldly materialism. Base everything to the building of the church. This is the mindset we need!

I think one of the main things that was really emphasised was the importance's of the public reading of scripture in Church. Over the past few years, i speak of the denomination I'm familiar with, Sydney Anglicans, the public reading of scripture in the church meeting has declined. The old prayer book used to start off with Psalm 95, every Sunday. Today, if you would only hear the word of God, do not harden your hearts as Israel did in the wilderness. Today, when you hear the word of God, what are you doing? what is your response to the word of God?

Theirs a lot more that was said, but that is basically the summary of it. I also went to an elective called "Working in the church" which was very good and made me rethink my future. If you imagine a triangle with three pieces in it. Purpose at the top, industry in the middle and existences at the bottom. Someone ones defined three types of works. Job, career and calling (not the biblical sense of the word). A job is what a person merely does to support their family and they are moderately happy. A career is where a person strives for nothing except advancement and they are profoundly unhappy. A calling is where the person is not interested in money or advancement but loves the job. Having a job keeps the three pieces of the triangle evenly spaced while a career minimizes purpose and existence. The dangers of uni students and careerism is that the advancements and bigger salaries become so appealing to the point where purpose gets smaller and smaller, and eventually God is out of the picture or only a small part of life. Christians should be aiming to increase the purpose in life while minimizing industry and existence. That means organising life in a way that maximises the preaching of the Gospel. What about full time paid ministry then? Well there is three main things Christians should have in teaching roles. Conviction, character and competency. trained theologically and absolutely convicted in the truths of the Gospel. Your christian living should reflex your convictions. We must be committed to living to what we preach. Last of all we should be able to teach. We need Men in public mission today to willingly sacrifice their lives to take leadership. I think this really made me think, am i fully convicted in the truths of the Gospel, is it changing my character, i know like all of us, I struggle at working on my own Godliness. Am i able to teach? Do i take lead? Am i clear? Things i defiantly need to continue working on however why do anything else in life then devote my life to the preaching of the Gospel!

Another thing i went to was an elective on mission. They made a very good point which challenged me. One of the big things missionaries face in the first year of mission work is their personal bible reading and prayer. Unlike here they don't have that constant encouragement and bible teaching from fellow Christians because they don't understand the language. So personal Godliness is very important, i know it something i have to really continue working hard on. The other things we had during MYC was seminars where we looked at the elements of church such as order and what needs to be in a church meeting. We looked at the idea of Ekklesia and the development of covenants throughout the scriptures. We also had bible studies where we wrestled with 1 John.

It was very encouraging to see so many first years come this year. It was even more encouraging to see first year being challenged by the word of God and willing to get more involved in CBM this coming semester. The classic quote, I released their just so much i don't know about God, their so much i need to continue learning. It was very encouraging to hear people say that.

Therefore MYC was a great time to share in fellowship with each other, real fellowship lol, hearing God's word together and challenging each other even during lunch, supper and even compulsory fun time :)



My ministries for the rest of this year have exponentially increased. I am now on two CBM committees, the penrith and cross-campus committee. Last week, i lead my first service at Emu plains Anglican, got some positive feedback. I was apparently too wordy, even started the service with Psalm 95. But from thinking over the questions from MYC, i was very encouraged to get feedback from people telling me i was very clear. I've also taken up to help with Sunday school. I'll be continuing in the scripture ministry. I'm down to preach on the 7th of October on John chapter 11. I'll be beginning my exegesis on Monday hopefully. Hopefully Mike can challenge me with all sorts of questions :) At CBM so far it looks like I'll be leading a biblical theology training strand on Mondays which i'm very excited about :). So I ask for prayer to be effective in those ministries, and that i might do all those ministries for the glory of the Gospel, for the glory of the kingdom.

I've ran out of places to explore Emu Plains. Some nice spots around the plains and at the foot of the mountains. Haven't done really any work over the holidays on Thesis, so i have to get back into it next week. Last semester i ended getting a HD and a D and i passed my Old Testament exam. What else? I saw the movie Amazing Grace yesterday. Was good, i would of liked it if they explored the struggles of William Wilberforce with God's word. However it was still a good movie. I've also been blessed to have some close friends nearby where i can meet up with them, and encourage each other in God's word.

Heres the latest conundrum to think about, the first question may be obvious.
The church is for the Christian, God’s gathered people listening to the word of God. This raises the question, then what about the non-Christian? 1 Corinthians 14:24 tells us that if all prophecy, and an unbeliever or outsider enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all, the secrets of his heart are disclosed, and so, falling on his face, he will worship and declare that God is really among you. Therefore if we faithfully proclaim the Gospel, the power of Gospel will convict the unbeliever or outsider if it’s in God’s will.
However we should not neglect to welcome unbelievers or outsiders during and after the church meeting. In my old church, we changed some of the pews to chairs, so that the service would be much more loving to de-churched (generation who have not been bought up in church) people.

My questions is then, is there a fine-line in how much we can change our church meeting to make it more appealing to outsiders before it hinders the preaching of the Gospel. The Gospel still might be preached faithfully, but may hinder the churched people, particularly the older congregation members. And finally what is that line.

My next questions is, which in some way relates to the first, should we be using words such as fellowship, sin and service in a church meeting, When even the Christians may have a misunderstanding of these words. For example sin, should we be using sin in our meetings, when most non-Christians see sin as breaking the law, rather than rebellion against God, trying to live lives our way.

How can we then be loving and welcoming to outsiders and preaching the Gospel faithfully while not being a stumbling block to the congregation, to the church?

Till next time,
May you continue to give all glory to him who called you out of Darkness into light.
Laurence.