The Grove Is On Fire

Calvin For Everyone?

Tonight, Dr Sinclair Ferguson (a man who's endorsed more good books than you've read) is speaking at Grove Chapel on John Calvin. It's 7:30 and in Bat Country South London. I'm going, you should join me.

Ministry Maxims - Advice Along The Way

Mark Meynell has some pithy and good advice on ministry particularly is the maxim on choosing your first ministry; "choose the boss, not the job!"

Books To Give To Young People: Christian Beliefs: Twenty Basics Every Christian Should Know

I can't believe I only found out about this the other day, but there is an abridged version of Wayne Grudem's Bible Doctrine (itself an abridged version of his own Systematic Theology) called Twenty Basics Every Christian Should Know. I found out about it because a young person I know was reading it. He said it was good, which was enough to make me push it to the top of my, loved by some, feared by all, highly extensive list of systematic theology books to lend to young Christians (I'll tell you about it some day).

Books To Give To Young People: Big Truths For Young Hearts

Justin Taylor interviews Bruce Ware about his new book Big Truths For Young Hearts, a book born out of the guy teaching his kids Systematic Theology at bedtimes. It's worth checking out the online excerpt to get a feel for it's style. Here's Bruce Ware talking in the preface of the book:

I'm aware that this book may be used in different contexts than the precise one out of which it has grown. Yes, parents may wish to read these chapters with their children, discussing these rich truths together and looking at passages of Scripture that teach aspects of our faith that we need to understand and embrace. Middle and high school students may find it helpful simply to read the book on their own, working bit by bit through some of the core teachings of Scripture on the great doctrines of the Christian faith. Homeschool and Sunday school settings are also places where this book may meet a need. Since it covers the whole range of Christian doctrine, from the doctrine of the Bible all the way through to the doctrine of last things, some may wish to use this as an introductory curriculum for young people to gain a foundational understanding of the whole of the Christian faith. Perhaps also young converts to the Christian faith, no matter what age they may be, will find here a helpful overview of Christian teaching that will give them a better grasp of the truth and beauty God is and has for them to behold.

Why Setting Goals Can Backfire

This article about the failure of goals is worth reading if you're working in a culture of youth work where hitting set numeric goals is the normal way of measuring success (which is a fairly big culture seeing as that's how the UK government measures youth work).

Shorts Day 2009

Today is officially First Day of Shorts 2009, where I, Mark Walley, am wearing shorts for the first time of this year. Previous years can be found below:

• 26th April 2008
• 14th April 2007
• 4th May 2006
• No data from 2005
• 16th May 2004
• 7th June 2003
• 17th July 2002

You'll note that for the last three years shorts day has come mid April time, which I put down less to global warming and more to living in London where it's slightly hotter and shorts just seems more acceptable. Probably less windy than East Anglia. As always though, this is released under a creative commons license so feel free to mash this data up with Google Maps to make the next web 2.0 sensation.

Does Street Evangelism Work?

Greg Stier, a dyed in the wool hardcore street evangelist type (by his own confession) writes about some of his misgivings of street evangelism. It's a very worthwhile read if you do any cold contact evangelism, not because in any sense his thoughts are novel, but because they're so well lived out and understood.

Isn't it the responsibility of the evangelizing believer to do his/her best to follow up on those they lead to Jesus? Yes! But I can tell you from three decades of hands-on experience, it is much easier to lead a person to Christ than to get them to agree to give you their contact information. Even if you do, it is very difficult to get them to say "yes" to attending church with you. Over my decades of mall evangelism, I coined the phrase, "It's easier to get somebody out of hell and into heaven than it is from the mall to the church."

Preaching and Not

I've set myself the not miniscule task this week of trying to work out whether or not sermons have any particular blessing attached to them. There is an Evangelical argument that says that preaching is the primary method of teaching that God has envisaged to grow his church, and by preaching the argument means "delivering a sermons". Now, if that argument is sound, that God truly has instituted sermons as the main method of teaching, and if they are particularly blessed at turning the heart, then they're a thing that needs to be done, and done well. If they're not though, then if an other method of teaching the Bible (say small groups) might be more appropriate, that method should be used. The reason this is relevant for me, a youth worker, is not because I plan to evolve one day into a full minister or because I plan to start a coup-d'-église but because of the dreaded God slot.

The God slot, for those not in the known, is the part where you make all the rowdy young people stop being rowdy and sit and listen while someone preaches for five to ten minutes (length dependant on how many times you have to stop things and tell everyone to be quiet). In some youth clubs and places, this works brilliantly, in other youth clubs it's a constant struggle, in others it doesn't exist. Is there a better way than this? Well, if preaching is the method to use, then it's the method to use everywhere, including in youth clubs. If it's not, then the pragmatic arguments win and whatever method you find for imparting the Gospel that works is the one you should use.

That's the question then, is the sermon the divinely appointed model of teaching and so preferable above all? I have no idea at the minute, having read compelling arguments for and against. But there are a few non-negotiables that are worth establishing.

• Words are important because that's the method that God has chosen to teach us about him. We know God the Father by seeing the Son through the power of the Holy Spirit who brings the words of the Bible alive to us. The famous Francis of Assisi quote "preach the gospel at all times. Use words if necessary" won't do (and not just because it's spurious and St Francis of Assisi is going to kick your ass when you get to heaven if he finds you've been throwing it around like he said it).
• The Bible has authority because it is God's word. We have authority not because we're special but because it's God's word. Regardless of how you teach the bible you've still got that authority¹.
• The power of the Holy Spirit is essential to the word speaking now into people's hearts and heads (cf Hebrews 3:7)
• Bad sermons are legion, but this doesn't mean we shouldn't have sermons.
• Bad small groups are legion.
• All pragmatic arguments for sermons are meaningless, because no-one here is arguing sermons aren't useful in at least some situations (imagine Soul Survivor, or Mars Hill, or New Word Alive with no sermons). The arguments not for sermons or against sermons, the argument is for and against sermons as a particularly blessed model.
• There is a genuine office and position of leadership in a church.

¹ Which is why bad teaching is so bad, because it pretends to be words from God when in fact it's blasphemy. It is you saying "God is saying these things" even if you don't say that.

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The Church must stop trivialising Easter

Bishop Tom Wright in The Times writing on the resurrection

Easter was the pilot project. What God did for Jesus that explosive morning is what He intends to do for the whole creation. We who live in the interval between Jesus's Resurrection and the final rescue and transformation of the whole world are called to be new-creation people here and now. That is the hidden meaning of the greatest festival Christians have.

(via half the internet)

Twitter Bible-Bot

I thought about coding this last night, but fortunately someone has done it first saving me the hassle of giving up half-way through because I'm rubbish. There is a Twitter bot that'll look up bible verses for you. Twitter @votd with a bible reference and it'll fire a verse back to you. Useful every now and again I think. There's a more detailed help page here.

Why You Should Not Publish Something

This is Brilliant. T.S. Elliott whilst director at Faber & Faber turned down the chance to publish Animal Farm by George Orwell. He didn't turn it down because he didn't think it was a well written book or even because he didn't think it would sell well, but rather because he (and the other directors) thought it wasn't the "right point of view that from which to criticise the political situation at the present time". Probably too often we recommend, teach, or link to without qualification things that we don't agree with because we think everyone's opinion should be heard. Why should it? If it's not something we agree with we should either ignore it or engage with it, but we shouldn't publish it. (via")

Carson On the Call Into Leadership

Meynell has some good stuff from when Don Carson was asked about calling at New World Alive 2009. As someone who fell into ministry (and someone who sees that he's not alone) it's slightly relieving but also challenging.

Site Update

I've generally tweaked around with the site a bit behind the scenes, most notably for you folk, if you head over to the page for finding older things there is a list of all the long articles I've written -as opposed to the shorter links. The reason for this being so those things get a bit more air time. I'm not vastly happy with that way of displaying older entries, but seeing as inevitably people find there way here through Google I'm not quite sure how much it matters.

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Woolhope Cockshoot, Christian Residential Centre

This is the sort of information I need once a year and can never find when I'm looking. There's a Christian Residential Centre called Woolhope Cockshoot, which is clearly named so as to make any parents reading the consent forms entirely suspicious. There's a flyer you can download (pdf) online too. I'll post the two we use up over the next few days.

Theology is the Revolution

Thoughts along this line have been buzzing around my head lately, mostly how much my mind needs to be turned upside down and my internal logic renewed. Matthew clearly read my mind though, and wrote it all up so I didn't have too.

Tedd Tripp on parenting at The Crowded House « Tim Chester

Tim Chester has notes from Tedd Tripp's seminar on raising Children. Some good stuff on Teenagers in it.

New Catholic Bishop for Westminster and the UK

If you keep up with these sorts of things. Essentially, this man is Arch-bishop of Canterbury but for Rome.