Leadership in the Church (1 Timothy 3.1-13)

Well now, in a week that has seen appalling lewdness in the private conversations of a candidate for the US presidency, and our main parliamentary opposition party is largely declining to serve under its leader and two British members of the European parliament reportedly had a scuffle that put one of them in hospital, the theme for today’s talk is leadership.

The New Testament has little to say about the qualities necessary for political leadership. But it does say much about the qualities required for leadership in the church. And the letters to Timothy and Titus is where we find a lot of what it says.

A vicar was leaving his parish and he was saying farewell to his congregation at the church doors for the last time. He shook the hand of an elderly lady called Mavis as she walked out. She said, "Your successor won't be as good as you." This was, he thought, the first encouraging word he’d had in all his ten years in the parish.

But it was a nice thing to say, and he was very flattered. But vicars have to be modest and self-effacing don’t they? They can’t let praise go to their heads. So he said, "Oh, nonsense Mavis!” "No, really", she said, "Your successor definitely won't be as good as you. I've had five different ministers since I’ve been here, and each new one has been much worse than the last."

We’re looking at Paul’s first letter to Timothy again this morning and we’re particularly interested today in what it has to say about leadership.

Listening to some of my clergy colleagues I sometimes get the impression that the secret of leadership is to keep the four guys who hate you away from the five who are still undecided.

Trip Lee once said “You cannot follow Jesus and be liked by everybody at the same time.” Which is true, but giving gratuitous offence just because you’re the vicar doesn’t always help either!

In the letters to Timothy and Titus, Paul uses four different words to describe church leaders in the earliest churches. The words in Greek are -

Apostolos, episkopos, presbuteros and diakonos.

The apostoloi were church-founding pioneers, who never stayed in one place all that long. Their job was to get a church started, appoint leaders, then move off and start another one somewhere else. They always worked in apostolic teams and in our Bibles they are called apostles.

The episkopoi were spiritual supervisors of a local congregation and are always referred to in the plural because they too always worked in leadership teams. In our Bibles they are called overseers.

The presbuteroi were also spiritual leaders of one congregation and, once again, they only worked in leadership teams. In our Bibles they are called elders. It doesn’t mean they had to be old and decrepit; it means they had experience and were mature in outlook.

In point of fact, episkopos and presbuteros were one and the same thing; the two words describe the same people; episkopos describes what they do (they provide oversight) and presbuteros describes what they’re like (they are mature Christians of good character).

Finally, diakonoi were also recognised leaders who excelled in practical tasks. They too were always local church based and, yet again, always worked in teams. In our Bibles diakonos is translated deacon.

These terms (apostle, overseer, elder and deacon) all sound rather official but, in fact, these words were not theological-sounding titles. They were every day, non-technical terms, which simply meant envoy, supervisor or foreman, mature person and helper or support.

Greek	NIV Bible Translation	Basic Meaning
apostolos	apostle	envoy
episkopos presbuteros	overseer elder	supervisor/foreman mature
diakonos	deacon	support worker

There are two important things to say about all these words.

Firstly, all New Testament ministry, without exception, was team-based. There is not the faintest hint anywhere in the New Testament of one-man or one-woman ministry. Jesus sent his disciples out in twos. Paul was always with Timothy, or Silas, or Barnabas; never alone. Every church had several leaders. Healthy church leadership means teams.

One thing that should be said to every newly ordained minister as soon as the Bishop’s hands have left his or her head is this: “God has already appointed his Messiah, and it’s not you.”

In fact, I am so against this one-person-doing-it-all model that I decided to write a poem against it. 

 

Mary had a little lamb, 'twas given her to keep,

It got ordained a parish priest, then died for lack of sleep.

The sermons that it preached each week were a total waste of bleating

And Mary's lamb spent endless hours attending every meeting.

It preached and sang and cooked and typed and cleaned and served the Lord

Not seeing there were other lambs available and bored.

So when your vicar’s burning out and splitting at the seams

Show him the New Testament, how they always worked in teams.

Not exactly Tennyson, but it made me feel much better...

The second important thing to say about these words is that there is no hint whatsoever that New Testament church leaders were ever called, or considered to be, priests. In fact, the Apostle Peter made it crystal clear that all Christians, not just the leaders, are equally part of a new, royal priesthood.

The word episkopos evolved into our English word bishop, and presbuteros morphed into our English word priest, that’s why we still use that word.

But I am not a priest in the sense of an intermediary standing between God and the people. I have been ordained a priest in the sense of "elder;" an experienced, mature leader. Speaking amongst friends, if I'm totally honest, I think it's a confusing and misleading business and, if I had my way, we would ditch the word "priest" for all ordained ministers today. I never use the word. And while I'm at it, I also think we should scrap calling bishops "My Lord." There is only one Lord - and his name is Jesus.

What is clear is that God calls leaders to serve in his church and they are each given authority to provide direction and organisation.

The emphasis in the New Testament is on church leaders, not controlling the church, but releasing it, so that everyone can excel in using the gifts they have been given by God.

To finish my poem on a happy note:

Mary had a little lamb, who trained the local church

So all the lambs could use their gifts, not one was in the lurch

Everything grew wonderfully, the flock was doing fine

And Mary's lamb lived to the ripe old age of ninety-nine.

As you must have noticed in the reading, 1 Timothy 3 sets out some qualifying criteria for church leadership. There is no mention whatsoever of natural talents. (You might be thinking, “Well, that explains a lot!”) There is nothing here about academic qualifications either. All the qualities listed here are about good character. That’s what God is looking for.

In v1 it says it is good to have an ambition for church leadership. It is a noble task. It is an excellent thing. It certainly is. Two years ago, The Office for National Statistics compared hundreds of different careers and occupations. Vicar came out as the number one occupation for job satisfaction, the most enjoyable and rewarding occupation of all. Incidentally, pub landlord was rock bottom at 274th out of 274. 

In v2-7, the personal qualities include integrity, moderation, insight, an open home to people with needs, and the ability to teach. Negatively, it says that a leader in church should avoid four “a”s. They should not be alcoholic, aggressive, argumentative or avaricious.

That’s personal qualities. There are domestic qualities too: leaders in church should, if married, have a married life that is in line with God’s pattern, be respected outside church, be seen to be able to manage the more limited sphere of the family first, and not be recent convert – lest they let it go to their heads and become proud.

Those are the kinds of qualities you should expect to see in bishops and clergy.

In v8-13 it talks of deacons, or servant helpers in church. Again, it is all about character. They should be serious (that doesn’t mean lacking a sense of humour, it means not flippant). They should be sober, satisfied with their lot, discreet (not gossips), stable, trustworthy and have a sound grasp of Christian teaching.

That’s an impressive list. But it’s not an impossible standard. It may be demanding, and it should be, but it is not unattainable. You don’t have to be the Archangel Gabriel to qualify.

Let me end by talking about the ancient Romans and a tradition they had because it illustrates very well the serious responsibility and the humble servanthood that I think characterise Christian leadership.

Whenever one of their engineers constructed an arch, as the capstone was hoisted into place, the engineer assumed responsibility for his work in the most profound way possible: he stood underneath.

May the Lord bless his church with leaders who build carefully, do a proper job, take responsibility for their work and give Christ the glory.

Let's pray...


Sermon preached at Saint Mary's Long Newton, 9 October 2016

Faith: Sure of What We Hope For (Hebrews 11.1-7)

Introduction

There was a very cautious man who never travelled fast.

He wouldn’t risk a step of faith; it was safety first and last.

And when, one day, he passed away, his insurance was denied,

For since he’d never really lived, they claimed he’d never died.

I don’t know who wrote that poem, it’s anonymous, but it’s perfect for opening this series on faith. We’re going to be going through Hebrews 11, on and off, until the end of November.

Why a series on faith? We’ve all got faith, haven’t we? We hear every day about faith but it’s not the faith God is looking for. There’s talk of faith communities, faith schools, interfaith initiatives, faith-based charities and all the rest of it, but that’s just a new way of saying “religion.”

Someone said to me this week, “The answer to the question ‘do all religions lead to God?’ is no. Not because some do and some don’t, but because no religion leads to God.”

When we talk about “faith” over these next couple of months, we’re not talking about belonging to a religion. We’re talking about daily trust in Jesus Christ as the way, the truth, and the life.

People say, “I haven’t got much faith; it’s all very vague for me.” But faith is not clarity, it’s not sight, it’s not knowledge. Faith doesn’t know the future, but it knows the one who does.

Hebrews 11 is all about faith. The word appears 27 times in this one chapter and you find the words “by faith” 22 times. Hebrews 11 is a guide on the sort of thing living by faith involves.

If I had to sum up Hebrews 11 in a few lines, I’d say it’s all about people in the Old Testament; seventeen are named personally, who were given the land of Canaan but were never content with it. They were yearning for a better country. They were hoping for something more. They were looking ahead into the future to something - or someone - who would fulfil all their spiritual longings, and when Jesus came, he was it. None of them lived to see him, but they never gave up looking until the day they died.

We too, as Christians, are people who long for more. Many Christians say that they don’t quite feel at home on this earth. We don’t totally belong. We’re misfits. People think we’re a bit weird. They’re probably right!

I have a brother called Richard and a sister called Fran, neither of whom are Christians. I feel like a spare part whenever I’m with them. They don’t understand me and I never feel at home in their company. In many ways, I feel a closer family tie to you and all Christians worldwide. You’re my family, and this is home.

I’ve got a United Kingdom passport. So this is where I’m from, and there are things I like about my country, but I don’t feel I completely belong here. My patriotism feels stronger for God’s kingdom than for the United Kingdom. Hebrews 13.14 says, “We do not have [on earth] an enduring city, but we are looking for the city that is to come.”

So it’s as if I’m just passing through here. I’m like a traveller with no fixed abode. Is it just me? Do you ever feel like that? Well, faith gives us rights of citizenship of a heavenly country.

Definition

Hebrews 11 starts (v1) with a definition of faith. “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.”

You might be saying to yourself “I’m never sure or certain about anything. I’m riddled with doubts.” Do you ever say that?

Martin Ayers wrote a really good book on dealing with doubt called Keep the Faith. And in this book, he asks you to imagine that you’re on jury service for an important trial.

“You arrive on the first day and you sit there with other members of the public. You see all the same things and hear all the same evidence. Speeches are made, witnesses are called, exhibits are passed around, and right from the start, you think it’s fairly clear. The defendant is guilty.

Each day of the trial leaves you more and more convinced. The evidence is overwhelming – stacked against him. By the time you listen to the closing arguments, you think it’s a dead certainty. And then comes decision time. You and your eleven fellow jurors gather in the jury room. As you sit down, people are already saying what you expected them to say. “Well, it’s fairly straightforward isn’t it?” “No question in my mind.”

But then a shocking truth begins to dawn on you. Everybody else is convinced the other way. Every one of them thinks he didn’t do it... You pluck up the courage to say what you think and mention that you think he’s guilty, and the others gaze at you with astonishment. A few of them appear angry – they’re aghast at the way they think you’ve misread the facts.”

That’s a bit like how it feels to be a Christian in the modern world. Everyone else seems to think you’ve lost the plot. Such is the overwhelming tide of opinion against Christian truth, the environment we live in can feel daunting. No wonder we wobble!

But faith is being sure of what we hope for. The word ‘hope’ in English is a tentative, abstract kind of word. Is it going to be sunny tomorrow? I hope so. In England, that means, “who knows?” Basically, “I hope” is indistinguishable from “I wish.”

But the New Testament (in Hebrews 6) describes hope, not as a lottery ticket, but as an anchor. Anchors are never made of porcelain or papier maché; they’re usually cast iron; they’re weighty, they’re solid, they’re built to endure. They’ve got to be up to the job of securing a 400,000 ton fully-loaded super tanker from being dragged off its mooring by powerful tides and currents.

If someone asks you, “Are you going to heaven?” how would you reply? Some people say, “I hope so, fingers crossed, touch wood, if I’m lucky, we don’t know, do we?” Ask a ship’s crew if they think their vessel is going to stay where it is after they winch down a 30 ton solid steel anchor and sink it into the sea bed!

Faith is being sure of our anchors. It’s not optimism, or positive thinking. It’s not about being sure of ourselves, it’s being certain of what we don’t see; it’s about trusting in God.

Faith is not, “I’ll wait and see how things turn out before I decide whether I believe or not.” Faith is “I’m going to believe now, I’m going to give my life to this, even though I can’t see absolutely every consequence.”

Faith in Creation

Verse 3: “By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.”

Where did everything come from? What’s it for? How did it get here? The answer is we don’t know; we weren’t there. Even John/Bill wasn’t there. Creation has never been replicated so we can’t analyse a repeat occurrence of it. These are facts beyond our ability to know for sure, so we have to take someone else’s word for it.

Imagine someone suddenly threw a ball into this space from the narthex behind you and ran off before you noticed it. With science you could calculate the distance the ball travelled and its rate of deceleration before it stopped. You could gauge the height it bounced, you could weigh it and measure it, and you could determine what it was made of. But you couldn’t tell who threw it.

This is what scientists have worked out about our origins:

About 13.75 billion years ago, in a spontaneous explosion called the Big Bang, everything came into being from nothing. Nine billion years later, the Earth formed when masses of very hot matter got pulled together by gravity to form a sphere.

It cooled down over time and now happens to be the optimal size for a life-sustaining planet. The earth’s mass has enough gravitational pull to support an atmosphere, but if it were much bigger its gravitational force would press mountain ranges down submerging the entire landmass under water. Our planet spins at just the right speed, is just the right distance from the sun, and has just the right mix of gases in the upper and lower atmospheres to allow flora and fauna to co-exist, and has a powerful enough magnetic field to deflect harmful solar wind.

Over a vast period of time, and by the most unlikely chain of lucky breaks, the heap of diverse elements, scattered chaotically over the world’s surface when it formed, somehow got it together. It just so happened that there was an ideal environment at the right temperature and the right atmospheric pressure for all this to give birth to something.

By a series of extremely complex chemical reactions, primitive cells eventually formed, each one made up of a million, million atoms, all in just the right arrangement. Amino acids and enzymes just happened to develop together at the same time and in the same place. Not only did these cells form, they also began to successfully reproduce themselves.

Even this ultra-primitive life had long and highly complex genetic information. Francis Crick, who co-discovered DNA, said, “The origin of life appears at the moment to be almost a miracle, so many are the conditions which would have had to have been satisfied to get it going.”

That’s what science knows about the origins of the earth. It’s brilliant. It’s ingenious. But it can’t tell you what or who brought it all about.

It’s by faith, not by sight, we understand that something was made out of nothing, “that the universe was formed at God’s command.” It’s by faith that we understand that God had only to speak for energy and matter and time to come into existence.

When I used to do homework with my children, they would sometimes struggle over something. As long as it wasn’t long division, which I still can’t do, I tried to explain as best I could, but I could sometimes tell that I wasn’t helping much. So I would try to explain again in a slightly different way and then, suddenly, there’d be a lightbulb moment and they’d understand what I meant.

That’s what it’s like with creation. You understand with your mind as the Holy Spirit gives you understanding. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.

With the illumination of the Holy Spirit, it is no big deal believing that God created everything out of nothing. Once you know God, it doesn’t really surprise you at all. “Creator God of earth and sea and sky, our awesome God.” He is grand scale, almighty, omnipotent, all-powerful, and pre-eminently supreme. It’s what you’d expect of him.

I think all the science points compellingly to a creator. The more I read science, the more it strengthens my faith.

Justin Brierley, writing in Premier Christianity magazine in April wrote this about the science of our origins: (You have to concentrate a bit to get what he’s saying).

“Some 30 or so fundamental numbers, such as the force of gravity, the rate of the expansion of the universe and the ratio of electrons to protons in the universe, are so exquisitely balanced that the tiniest fluctuation from their actual value would mean that a life-permitting universe could not exist.

The odds of the finely tuned universe we live in coming about by chance are so unlikely that it’s difficult to conceive of the astronomically large numbers involved.

US Physicist Hugh Ross gives a helpful analogy for visualising the ratio of electrons to protons as sensitive to the degree of one part in 10³⁷. ‘Cover the entire North American continent in dimes all the way up to the moon, a height of about 239,000 miles. Next, pile dimes all the way up to the moon on a billion other continents… Paint one dime red and mix it in the billions of piles of dimes. Blindfold a friend and ask him to pick out one dime. The odds that he will pick the red dime are one in 10³⁷.’

These then are the odds of the correct ratio of electrons to protons arising by chance. [And without the ratio being exactly so, life cannot exist.] When you combine all the other (even more improbable) odds of the [30 or so] other fundamental forces together, it becomes difficult to believe that our life-permitting universe is a product of chance.”

I love this stuff! And we need to understand that faith doesn’t contradict reason. Reason can coexist with faith but you cannot argue someone by brilliant logic into the kingdom of God. You can help them overcome some intellectual obstacles, but you can’t make someone believe by force of argument.

Faith in God at Work

Verse 2 says that the ancients were commended for their faith and then there’s a whole list of people, most of whom were very fallible, and had major crises of faith. The whole Bible is like this. God has chosen to reveal truth mostly in narrative, in real situations, through people’s triumphs and failures - not in philosophical platitudes.

I have about two dozen biographies of great men and women of faith at home; books about Smith Wigglesworth, John Wesley, Thomas Cranmer, and William Tyndale.

I’ve got books by, or about, more recent giants of faith like Rachel Scott and Cassie Bernall (who were shot dead in the Columbine High School massacre after refusing to deny Christ), and Brother Andrew, Bilquis Sheikh (a Muslim woman of noble birth who met Jesus in dreams) and Jackie Pullinger. These too were, or are, ordinary people but their lives inspire me to live with greater faith. I’d commend reading a good Christian biography to encourage your faith.

Faith is as old as humanity. There was faith in the first family. If Adam was the first to lose his faith, his son Abel (v4) was the first to find it. Abel lived by faith because he had a right attitude towards God, unlike his brother Cain. Is your attitude right towards God today? Are you open to him working in your life?

Enoch lived by faith (v5). He didn’t just live for God. He walked with God. There was intimacy, friendship. Step by step, every day, Enoch knew experienced God beside him. Would you describe yourself as a friend of God? Do you need to grow closer to him?

Then it says (v6) “without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”

Noah lived by faith (v6). He built a ship in dry desert miles from the sea and where it never rained. But he believed that when God said, it would happen. Half-hearted Christians never live by faith. They structure their lives so that they never have to.

Jesus said that what happened in Noah’s day is going to happen again. When he returns, he said “people will be busy going about their lives, mostly ignoring God.” Jesus is coming again to judge the living and the dead. Do you believe him?

Ending

I’d better end. Maybe I should close with an encouragement.

Jesus’ 12 disciples exasperated him practically daily. They walked around with Jesus for three years, watched him feed the 5,000, saw him walk on water, heal the sick, turn water into wine, restore sight to the blind, cleanse lepers, calm a storm, get paraplegics back on their feet, raise the dead and do the same things themselves, even then they ran away at his arrest, denied him at his trial and refused to believe when he rose from the dead. No wonder Jesus often castigated them for their lack of faith. They were champions of doubt and unbelief.

But he never gave up on them. You haven’t seen half of what they saw. And he won’t give up on you either.

So without faith, it is impossible to please God. But acts of stepping out in faith do please him. He loves it. Whenever Jesus did see faith, he commended it and power was released. “Woman, you have great faith” he said to the Caananite woman, and signs and wonders followed.

Faith is what sets us apart from the rest of the world. What, specifically, are you doing in your life that requires you to take a step of faith?

Let’s go for it – and ask God to release his power as we step out.

Let’s stand to pray…

Sermon preached at All Saints' Preston on Tees, 2 October 2016

Giving the Firstfruits (Genesis 28.20-22, Malachi 3.8-10, Luke 18.9-14)

Introduction

If you have been coming to this church since the beginning of September, every sermon you’ve heard so far has been about giving! You might be wondering to yourself, “is this actually all they ever preach about at All Saints’?” And let me reassure you that the answer is yes.

We preach about God giving us his Son, about his Son giving us his Spirit as well as all spiritual blessings and gifts; we preach about us giving thanks, about giving up sin, about giving help to those in need, about giving our best in worship and giving Satan hell. Giving covers just about everything.

Actually, from next Sunday the theme is living by faith. But giving and faith are closely related. A couple of weeks ago I heard a true story about a pastor who was asked to take on the leadership of a large church in a big city that did a lot of welfare work. And for all that social action the church engaged in they received from the Council the sum of £120,000 a year - which kept a lot of Christian mission going.

The pastor himself, I won’t name him but some of you will have heard of him, came from an upper class and wealthy family and had a private income from that so he didn’t take a salary from the church. But one day, the Lord said to him “Give away all your money. I want you to live by faith.” So he gave away his share of the family fortune. He didn’t tell the church about it though. They still thought he was well off.

So it was challenging to his faith; even more so when he later married and had two children, and he still didn’t let on that he was basically penniless - but he proved God’s faithfulness and provision. The Lord supplied all his needs.

Sometime later, the Council asked the church to extend the nature of its social work by opening its premises for a Gay club. The pastor said “I’m very sorry but we can’t do that.” The Council said, “If you refuse, we will withdraw the £120,000 annual grant for all the other welfare work you do; the drop in, the ministry to the homeless, the rehab for alcoholics, the support for pregnant teenagers, the youth outreach, the lunch club, the days out for the disabled...”

So he spoke to the church and said “A few years ago the Lord told me to give away every penny I had. I’m still alive and I’ve got enough; enough for my family and some to give away. Now the Council are going to take away most of the income for our work here. But we’re not going to stop any of it. We’re going to trust the Lord. I’ve proved I can do it and now we’re all going to do it.”

The church didn’t cut a single thing – and now they are free from all the strings and conditions and limitations that the Council insisted on.

It’s like Hudson Taylor said: “When God's work is done in God's way for God's glory, it will never lack God's supply.”

Harvest

Today is Harvest Sunday and, you know what, God is a God of harvest. Did you know that there is a harvest coming and we are going to get to reap it? I believe that. And I believe that the more we sow and plant, the more we will harvest and reap. It’s a biblical principle.

The harvest of answered prayer comes after planting prayer.

The harvest of loved and healed people comes after planting kindness towards everyone we meet.

The harvest of souls coming to new faith in Jesus and discovering they’ve got a new family in Christ comes after planting invitations to Alpha and to church to find out more.

The harvest of a properly resourced church making an impact in the community comes after planting financial giving.

There was a prophetic word at prayer breakfast yesterday about muck spreading. “Money is like manure; pile it up and it stinks, but spread it around all over the place and it makes everything grow.”

New shoots, new growth, new life, only come after we sow in faith. There’s no harvest without sowing.

Here’s a courgette, or is it a marrow? I don’t know, but it was given to me this week by someone at Saint Mary’s School in Long Newton. It was grown in the school garden. We can admire it and marvel at it. But we all know that it would not be here at all if someone hadn’t planted in the earth many months ago a seed smaller than your fingernail.

The Tithe

Today, I want to talk about the principle of tithing. Tithing means God gives me this (giant marrow) and I respond by giving back this (modest courgette) for his work.

Tithing means I give back to God, as an acknowledgement of his prior provision, the first tenth of what I have already received from him.

Right from the first book in the Bible, there people giving a tithe, 10%. And every time they do, it is a spontaneous response to some kind of prior blessing from God.

So Abraham, in Genesis 14, right after the Lord gives him victory against his adversaries, and is blessed by Melchizedek the priest, gives a tenth of everything he has.

In Genesis 28, Abraham’s grandson Jacob has a spiritual experience, an encounter with God. There’s a vision, and the presence of angels. He says “Surely God is in this place!” Then he makes a decision right there and then about how he is going to live his life from now on. “If God be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear so that I return safely home, [in other words, if I can see blessing in my life] then Lord… of all that you give me I will give you a tenth.”

The Law of Moses mentions tithing a lot. Leviticus 27.30, for example, says: “A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the Lord: it is holy to the Lord.” So the first tenth of the harvest wasn’t the people’s to keep. It was set aside to share.

What was tithing for? Deuteronomy 14 explains it was for three reasons; firstly it was a way of thanking God for the abundance of his provision. Secondly, it was to give an income to the Levites who served the Lord in worship and had no land. And thirdly, it was to give emergency relief to the poor.

All the way through the Old Testament, this was the basic, standard benchmark for giving.

In the last book of the Old Testament, which was written about 450 years before Christ, it is still there. In Malachi 3.10 God says “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house.”

Malachi lived at a time of low rainfall and failing yields. The harvest was becoming an annual disappointment. Every year it was Groundhog Day. Wheat fields were patchy and dusty with dry, withered plants. Cattle and sheep were becoming bonier and scrawnier. Why were things not going right?

God said, speaking through Malachi, that it was due to spiritual neglect. All through the Bible there is this simple principle: when God’s people honour him and put him first he provides and blesses. And the reverse is true. When God’s people don’t honour him and put themselves first, he is silent, his presence disappears from worship and he withholds his blessing.

In Malachi’s day, worship had gone stale. Everyone just went through the motions. God’s people were drifting into foolish relationships with partners from pagan nations. Marriages were falling apart. The most vulnerable people (widows, orphans and immigrants) were being overlooked and forgotten. The nation was becoming disconnected from God and poor harvests followed.

But God speaks about opening up the floodgates of the sky and tipping down rain on the land to bring about a harvest so abundant that the people wouldn’t have anywhere to put all the grain.

What single solution does God prescribe to lift the curse on the nation and bring it into a new era of blessing and abundance? “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse," he says, “that there may be food in my house.”

God actually says in v10 “Test me…” Time and time again God says in the Bible, “Don’t test me.” But here, he makes an exception. God stakes his reputation on his competence to provide. “Come on,” he says, “you can try me out for size.”

Do you want to do an experiment to see if God can be trusted or not? Here it is. Step out in faith. Give him back the first tenth. See if he disappoints you.

Tithing has been a useful rule of thumb for many Christians – and it has at times in my own life. Kathie and I have only been in the red at one time in our 33 year marriage - and that was the time we weren’t tithing. Otherwise, we have never lacked for anything and have always had some left over.

How does this work? I don’t know. But my personal testimony is that it does.

I have never met anyone who told me they tithe and are broke. Let me quote three wealthy men, each of whom gave away most of what they accumulated before they died.

John Templeton, Christian stock market investor: He renounced his US citizenship, to allow him to release an additional $100 million to charity that he otherwise would have paid in income tax. This is what he said: “I have observed 100,000 families over my years of investment counselling. I always saw greater prosperity and happiness among those families who tithed than among those who didn’t.” 

John D. Rockefeller, Christian oil tycoon: widely considered to be the wealthiest American of all time. He said, “I never would have been able to tithe the first million dollars I ever made if I had not tithed my first salary, which was $1.50 per week.”

Robert Gilmour Letourneau, Christian engineer and inventor: On his grave there is the inscription from Matthew 6.33 – Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness and all these things shall be added to you. This is what he said: “I shovel money out, and God shovels it back ... but God has a bigger shovel!”

Not Under Law

Having said all this, I need to say that the tithe is part of the Law of Moses and, as such, is as voluntary for us under the New Covenant as circumcision or eating kosher food. Tithing may be beneficial, but it is not binding. It may be commendable but it is not compulsory. Some churches make tithing a condition of membership. I don’t think they have any right to do so.

When Jesus came, the religious leaders (in Luke 18) made painstakingly sure that they gave away one tenth of all their earnings. They would have been mortified by the idea of giving any less (even down to 10% of their herb garden – so they were going round with a ruler and pair of scissors to give exactly 10%, not 11, not 9, of the herbs in the window box. And they were absolutely sincere in their prayer “I fast twice a week” (they did) and pray every day (that’s absolutely true as well).

But Jesus said (v14) that it was completely useless because, when they talked about their good spiritual habits, they were exalting themselves.

There was a famous Rabbi in the first century called Simeon bar Yohi. One of his prayers has been recorded and it’s very similar to what we find in Luke 18. His prayer goes, “Lord if there are but two righteous men on earth, it is my son and I. But if there is only one, it is I”.

Look at the Pharisee’s prayer in v11-12. His prayer was basically “Lord, I’m fine. I’m great.” The most common word is “I”. It was all about him and how good he was. He was really talking to himself… And he didn’t get an answer to his prayer either. Why not? Because he didn’t ask for one.

Jesus fulfilled this Law of having to tithe because he gave, not 10, but 100% at the cross and in doing that he abolished forever the mandatory 10% tax on faith. That’s Old Testament living. You are not to be oppressed and burdened under the weight of that law. You are under grace.

But the New Testament still carries a promise of blessing to those who faithfully give back to God their first fruits, not their last fruits.

A study from Duke University recently found that more than 40 percent of actions people take every day aren’t actually decisions but habits.

When I was learning to drive, every manoeuvre I made was a decision. Mirror, signal, turn, clutch down, gear change, clutch up, accelerator… But after a while, all that became automatic. I never think to myself now, “Brake, clutch down, gear change, clutch up…” It’s almost subconscious now. It’s a habit, not a series of conscious decisions.

It’s the same with giving. 2 Corinthians 9.7 in the New Testament says “Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”

God doesn’t want gifts given resentfully or grudgingly. There is no pleasure in receiving a Christmas present from someone who complains about how much it cost as they hand it to you!

In the New Covenant, God doesn’t set the standard rate and apply it across the board; instead everyone decides in their heart what is right to give.

Then 1 Corinthians 16.2 says “On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with your income...” There it’s gone from a decision to a habit. It’s the first day of the week, or of the month, or whenever, but notice it’s the first day.

So it’s not; “Let’s see what’s left for a nice tip for the Lord after I’ve covered all the bills.” Some Christians think that everything we have is ours and we choose how much of our stuff we give away – if anything. But the Bible teaches that, if Jesus is Lord, everything we are and have is already his.

Christians are incredibly generous people. In 2012, the most recent figures I have, Anglican churches alone (not including other churches in this country) donated more money to outside charitable organisations than was raised by Children in Need. According to the 2012 National Church and Social Action Survey Christians offer 98 million hours of unpaid volunteer work on social projects every year - and that’s outside of church-based activities like lunch clubs and youth groups.

Ending

Let me end with a lighter story.

The old Southern Baptist Wally Criswell once talked about an ambitious young man who told his pastor one day that he'd promised God a tithe of his income. They prayed for God to bless his career. At that time, he was making $40 per week and tithing $4. But after a few years his income increased and he was giving $500 per week. 

So he called his pastor to see if he could be released from his tithing promise. It was getting a bit expensive. The pastor said, "Look, honestly, I don't see how you can be released from your promise. You made a solemn vow to God remember. But, I’ll tell you what. If you like, I’ll ask God to shrink your income back to $40 a week, then you'd have no problem tithing $4 would you?!”

Let’s pray…

Sermon preached at All Saints' Preston on Tees, 25 September 2016

The Grace of Giving (2 Corinthians 8.1-15)

Introduction

It came to the knowledge of the Salvation Army in a certain city that it had never once received a donation from the city’s richest and most successful lawyer. So a volunteer offered to pay the lawyer a visit in his plush office.

He started off by saying, “Our research shows that even though your annual income is over £10 million, you don’t give a penny to charity. Wouldn’t you like to give something back to the poorest in your community through the work of the Salvation Army?”

So the lawyer thought for a minute and then he said: “I’ve got three questions for you. Firstly, did your research also show you that my mother is dying after a long and painful illness and that she has huge medical bills from treatment in the USA?”

Embarrassed, the volunteer said, “No, he hadn’t realised that.

“Second,” the lawyer said, “did your research discover that my brother is a war hero who came back from a tour of duty blind and confined to a wheelchair, and that he is now unable to support his wife and six children?”

The volunteer, red faced, started to apologise, but he was cut off again in mid-sentence.

“Thirdly, did your research reveal that my sister’s husband died in a terrible car accident, leaving her penniless with a mortgage and three children, one of whom is disabled and another of whom has learning difficulties, requiring an array of private tutors?”

The volunteer was completely humiliated. “I am so sorry,” he said, “I honestly had no idea.”

And the lawyer said, “So… if I didn’t give any money to them what makes you think I’d give anything to you?”

All through September, we’re going to be thinking about what the Bible has to say about giving, and the title we have given this series is “Giving is Worship.” It absolutely is. Jesus said, “As much as you clothed, fed, watered, welcomed, visited and nursed the least, you did it to me.” Rachael Phillips started us off last week, speaking on that very passage.

She was converted, totally unexpectedly, whilst on a tour of duty as a British Army Captain in a shipping container in Afghanistan. They have no awkwardness at all talking about money in that country. Rachael was telling me that the first question they ask you there, after your name and where you’re from, is “And how much do you earn then?” So if a sermon about giving makes you feel uncomfortable, I’ve got a couple of tickets for a fortnight in Kabul if you prefer...  

Background to 2 Corinthians 8

We’re looking this morning at one of the classic New Testament passages on giving. 2 Corinthians 8 and 9 are all about a collection that was organised by churches all over the Roman world to bring emergency relief to Judean Christians facing starvation.

Let’s me give you a bit of background. In Acts 11.28 a prophet called Agabus says that a serious famine is going to blight the entire Mediterranean world.

This is actually one of the most documented historical events in the New Testament. It’s mentioned in Acts 11, in 1 Corinthians 16 and in Romans 15, besides here in 2 Corinthians 8 and 9. Independent records outside the Bible also mention it and confirm that it happened in the year 47, during the reign of the Emperor Claudius. When God speaks, what he says comes to pass and nothing can stop it.

Some areas of the Roman Empire had enough reserves to survive these food shortages, but others, in particular the province of Judea, (that is to say the area around Jerusalem) did not. They were severely hit; food prices skyrocketed, and many people very quickly faced hunger and starvation.

So the apostle Paul, because he travelled widely and visited many churches, brought news of this pressing need everywhere he went.

Let me tell you something about this that I find really moving. In Acts 8, this same Paul, then called Saul, was persecutor in chief of the church, and he operated around Jerusalem. So those Christians he was harassing, threatening, rounding up, imprisoning, and even murdering were these very same people he was now collecting aid for to save their lives.

Only God can change a human heart like that. God takes bitter, hardened, hateful, unforgiving hearts and softens them with the sweetness of grace.

In the days of Apartheid South Africa, a woman was invited to a poor Zulu church in deprived Natal and was very conspicuous as the only white person there. They welcomed her like royalty, and made her feel at home.

They had a collection to help build a new Zulu church down the road. Then later in the service they had another collection for Zulu Christians who had no shoes.

She felt really embarrassed when they announced a third collection. Her purse was empty and she had nothing left. But the service leader said “this offering is for petrol for our white sister in Christ.” Zulus had suffered so much at the hands of the white minority. But Jesus takes the rancid vinegar of our experience and turns it, through generosity, into the fine wine of his blessing.

So, back to 2 Corinthians, Paul writes about churches in Macedonia (that is to say Philippi, Berea and Thessalonica) and he says that they had already been contributing to the needs of these famished Jerusalem Christians even though they themselves, like that Zulu church in South Africa, were suffering acute hardship.

Verse 2 talks about “their extreme poverty in the midst of a very severe trial.”

We know a bit about that. In some ways, Macedonia was the Roman Empire’s North East of England or South Wales; it was a region with run down infrastructure, underinvestment, unemployment, child poverty and all the rest of it. It had suffered a devastating civil war just before Caesar Augustus took power several decades earlier. There was heavy loss of life, and it cast the shadow of death over the area.

Then the Romans exploited Macedonia for its natural resources; zinc, lead and precious metals, plundering its wealth, and then deserting it once it was no longer economically viable.

On top of that, Acts tells us that the Christians in Philippi, Thessalonica and Berea endured harsh persecution. Riots and angry mobs unleashed violence against the church. Paul says to the Thessalonians, “You welcomed the message in the midst of severe suffering with the joy given by the Holy Spirit.” In Philippi, Paul himself was beaten with sticks, flogged, and thrown in jail. Anyone associated with him was in trouble.

These were the three churches in Macedonia that, v3, “gave as much as they were able” which sounds really generous. In fact, it was more than that, as it goes on to say, because they gave “beyond their ability.” Some had lost their jobs because they were Christians. They really were in extreme hardship.

Eagerness

There are three words in this reading that give us the key to understanding what it means. The first is “eagerness.” It says in v4 that they “urgently pleaded” (in another translation it says “they begged”) for the privilege of being able to give. People usually use the word “beg” in the context of receiving. Beggars badly want to get something. These people badly wanted to give something. In v11, he talks about their eager willingness to give.

Before he became the 26^th President of the USA, Theodore Roosevelt was New York City’s Police Commissioner. There’s an old story, probably apocryphal, that he was interviewing an applicant for a police officer job and he asked him a question, “If a mob started to gather and you had to disperse it, what would you do?” Quick as a flash, the guy said, “I’d pass round the hat for a collection, sir!”

That’s natural. But begging to be able to give what you barely have yourself is supernatural. It’s miraculous. It is clear evidence of the grace of God touching a human heart.

Mother Teresa was canonised last week. Actually, everyone who has faith in Jesus is a saint, so she already was one but the point is that she once told a moving story about a six-year old orphan boy. The sisters had found him on the filthy streets of Calcutta where he had been dying of a fever. They took him in and lovingly nursed him back to full health. On the day he was to leave their care, they gave him a small packet of sugar, which was a very precious commodity amongst the poorest of the poor. 150g of sugar equalled roughly a day’s wages.

As the little boy walked through the gates, he saw some sisters carrying another child in, obviously in great need. He walked straight over to him and he handed the sugar to the sisters, saying he wanted the sick boy to have it. Mother Teresa asked him why he did that. And he looked up at her and simply said, “I think that is what Jesus would have done.”

How do you become as generous as that? It’s very simple. Verse 5 says “they gave themselves, first of all to the Lord.” This is what I mean when I say “Giving is worship.” When you give yourself to God, everything else flows from that.

So Paul writes to the church in Corinth. He says, “look at the Christians in Macedonia. They’re amazing. Be like them.”

So what was life like for the Corinthians, the recipients of this letter? Well, Corinth was a prosperous commercial city, with a busy port and a booming economy. It was vibrant, and it was infamous for its excesses, both sexually and financially.

Unlike in Macedonia, Paul suffered very little opposition there; a bit of personal abuse but nothing much, and he was able to stay longer in Corinth than anywhere else. The church had it easy. No riots, no beatings, no imprisonments, no economic hardship. In 1 Corinthians 1 he tells them “You have been enriched in every way.” They were spoiled.

But he has to point to Christians living below the bread line as models of eagerness in giving to Christians living a life of ease with no material worries!

It struck me this week that the Bible rarely mentions rich people as an illustration of generosity. Somebody once said, “The poor know how to give because they know what it is to want.” It’s almost always the poor in the Bible who are held up as examples of what giving should look like; supremely Jesus of course, who had no place to lay his head but gave everything, including his very life for others.

Excellence

The second key word is excellence. Twice in v7 Paul uses the little word excel. “Since you excel in everything – in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in the love we have kindled in you – see that you also excel in this grace of giving.”

These Corinthians were spiritual gift champions. They spoke in tongues (a lot, and all at once), they prophesied, they were passionate about the gift of faith and zealous for words of knowledge and wisdom. All that is great. I want to see more of the ministry of the Holy Spirit here actually. But the message here is: ”Whatever you’re good at as a church; social action, musical worship, children’s ministry, preaching, prayer, technology, welcome, hospitality, youth work, pastoral care… don’t stop there. Put the same level of passion you have for whatever you excel at into giving.”  

If you’re about my age or older, you’ll probably remember the TV chef Graham Kerr. He hosted a show called The Galloping Gourmet and he was the Jamie Oliver or Rick Stein of the 1970s. He was a worldwide star and became very wealthy.

But then he and his wife Treena had a series of accidents and health scares. At one point, Treena was given a year to live. She began to suffer with mental health issues and became addicted to painkillers. And then, the Lord broke in. One day, someone laid hands on her and prayed that she would be made well in the name of Jesus and she was completely healed. They were both converted.

Soon afterwards, they felt God speak to them through the story of the rich young ruler where Jesus says “sell everything you have and give to the poor.” They felt they should give away everything they owned. And they did; their plush home, their fancy cars, their sparkling jewellery, and their bank account with millions in it. They gave it all away to bless the poor.

What was surprising was the criticism they received from some Christians because of their obedience. Some said that they weren’t good stewards. They could have maybe invested their money so they could give away even more.

Do you remember the woman who broke an alabaster jar of expensive perfume, pure nard, and poured it over Jesus’ head? People muttered, “What a waste! This money could have been better spent.” And they rebuked her harshly. Jesus said “Leave her alone. She has done a beautiful thing to me!” Giving is worship.

See that you also excel in this grace of giving. Give yourself. Give your all. Give the very best.

Equality

And the third word is equality. What kind of equality does God want? Verse 13 says, “Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. At the present time your plenty will supply what they need so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. The goal is equality.”

Equality is one of the buzz words of our age. What does it mean? It doesn’t mean that everyone should earn the same wage, no matter what job they do.

The verse quoted at the end of the passage is from Exodus 16. It’s about the manna, the bread that fell from heaven, to feed people in the wilderness. Some gathered a lot, some gathered only a little. Those who collected lots of manna didn’t have so much left over that it was wasted. And those who collected only a little had no lack. All had enough. Equality means we should try and ensure that everyone has enough.

When our son Nathan was about 5 or 6, we were on holiday in London one day as a family. And very spontaneously, all of a sudden, Nathan gave all his holiday spending money, every last penny, to a beggar we passed in the street. I can still see him doing it in my mind’s eye. I remember how we all walked past, and then Nathan stopped, and emptied the contents of his pockets into his little hands, turned back, and tipped the lot into the man’s tin cup.

His heart was moved. It wasn’t much by my standards, but he gave all he had. I think he just felt, “It’s not fair. I’ve got everything I need; a home, a family, toys, food to eat, I have all this cash. And here is this beggar in dirty clothes not even knowing if he’s going to have breakfast today.”

Ending

That’s one of the most precious memories I have of our children growing up. Because it reminded me of Jesus. In v9 it says he was rich, yet for our sakes became poor. He was rich beyond compare. He was waited on by servants in heaven. He had 12,000 private angels that he could have called upon at any time. But he gave everything; he became poor, a baby born in a stable, he became a refugee fleeing for his life, a carpenter’s boy, a homeless preacher in humble clothes; he laid down his life in humiliation, in shame. He didn’t even have his own grave; he didn’t have enough to pay his funeral costs, it was a pauper’s burial.

He became that poor to raise you up to the throne of the heavens, to be seated in heavenly places and reign with him.

How poor does our giving make us? How rich does it make those we’re giving to?

One last story as I end. Paul Freed was the President of Trans World Radio which broadcasts the gospel in lands where it is impossible and illegal; communist and Muslim countries mostly. One day he visited Poland when it was still under communist rule. And he visited a Christian widow in a one-room shack in a small and soulless village near Warsaw. She told him how she had been invited to a friend’s house to listen to the radio.

 She said, “For the first time in my life I heard the gospel of Jesus Christ. My boy and girl listened too. I cannot tell you the joy we all had as we dropped to our knees at the end of the broadcast and accepted Jesus as our Lord and Saviour that night.

As he was leaving, she touched his arm and said, “Why is there only one broadcast a week for 30 million Poles who did not know Christ?” He said, “Because we don’t have the money.”

She walked over to the corner of the room, pulled an envelope from a crevice in the wall and offered it to him. It was all the money she had. He refused it. He just couldn’t let her do that.

And she looked at him with all the dignity of a queen and said, “Sir, I am not giving it to you, I am giving it to Jesus Christ.”

Let’s pray…

Sermon preached at All Saints' Preston on Tees, 11 September 2016

Has the Rubicon Already Been Crossed?

It feels like something changed this summer.

Until this summer, I thought that the Church of England would hold to its received, biblical understanding of marriage, and would patiently and firmly resist calls to bless same-sex relationships of any description or allow its leaders to live in such relationships. 

At least, I thought it would hold out up to the time I am due to retire; about ten years from now.

Pressure from the media, politicians, secular lobby groups and vocal minorities in the church has of course been relentless for years, but the sheer volume of cries for 'inclusivity' (meaning the endorsement of sinful behaviour as good rather than the acceptance of people as loved) is now deafening.

I have changed my mind. I think the dam is about to burst and it will lead to a permanent split in the Church of England, such as has already happened in the USA. Since the split there after 2003, the established Episcopal Church haemorrhaged spectacularly in membership whilst the breakaway Anglican Church in America has grown healthily.

Alexander Griswold writes: "Every major American church that has taken steps towards liberalization of sexual issues has seen a steep decline in membership. In 2003, Gene Robinson became the first openly gay, noncelibate man to be consecrated as a bishop of the Episcopal Church. In the wake of his consecration, entire dioceses severed ties with the Episcopal Church, eventually creating the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA). But the Episcopal Church continued to liberalize its sexual teachings, lifting a moratorium on any more gay bishops and creating a "blessing ceremony" for gay couples in 2009. In 2002, the number of baptized US members of the Episcopal Church stood at 2.32 million. By 2012, that number had fallen to 1.89 million, a decline of 18.4 percent. Meanwhile, attendance has fallen even more steeply. Average Sunday attendance in its U.S. churches was 846,000 in 2002, but had fallen 24.4 percent by 2012 to only 640,000. Other signs of congregational liveliness have fallen even further. Baptisms have fallen by 39.6 percent, and marriages have fallen by 44.9 percent. As for the ACNA? It's seen its membership rise by 13 percent and its Sunday attendance rise by 16 percent in the past five years. Since 2009, the ACNA has planted 488 new congregations. In 2012, the entire Episcopal Church managed to plant four new churches."

I have long set out the acceptance and promotion of same-sex relationships as a theological line in the sand. It is an absolute spiritual dead-end. It cannot produce life and will lead to decline and church closures.

We have, all of a sudden, from nowhere, come perilously close to crossing the Rubicon. We may already have crossed it.

This looks like a slow motion train crash. Things may come to a head and get settled with some decisive action and unequivocal leadership by senior clergy in the Church of England. Or not. It may get much worse. I may feel I have no choice but to resign my orders and vacate my home. Or find alternative oversight in another church structure.