Merredin Uniting Church

Congratulations to Fanie & Suzette Coetzee whose second daughter, Reze, was born on Friday at 8.30am. God is good!

We continue with our series on the Ten Commandments today, looking at the first of these – I am the Lord your God, you shall have no other god before me. This is foundational to all the rest of the commandments. It sets the sovereign, exclusive authority of God and claims His right to instruct us with regard to all the other commandments. Without this first commandment, none of the rest matter – there is no reason for us to keep them. And vice versa, if we believe that the commandments not to murder, or steal, or dishonor one another have value then we have to believe in the God who gave them to us.

I will be away for most of this week at the School of Ministry as part of my ongoing ministerial development. The theme is “Ecumenism and Ministry – Trends in World Christianity”. It includes an extensive study in the Book of Romans, reflections on baptism and Holy Communion and an all-embracing look at the future of the churches. I missed out on the Minister’s Conferences in Vanuatu, Alice Springs and Adelaide this year (for a number of very valid reasons) but this looks like a really good substitute. Every minister in the Uniting Church is required to undertake some form of development study each year. This is a really good discipline for ministers who can too easily become introspective and caught up in the busy rush of parish work.

Next Saturday is the Great Eastern Gathering at the York Uniting Church. I’m really sorry that you are getting this information so late and I apologise for that. Be that as it may, could I encourage you to think about attending – even at such short notice, and despite the fact that the Ladies Guild are planning to visit York on the following Tuesday anyway. It is a great opportunity for us to get together with other congregations in our region, to share stories and to get feedback about the wider church from our Regional Pastor.

The newly formed Young Adults Group – there were eleven at the first meeting (from all across town) are meeting at the Higgins’ Farm next Saturday evening for a Bonfire. It is a group for those who have left school but not yet married (or had children), who want to have fun together and explore what it means to be a Christ Follower. They will meet on the first and third Saturday of each month – one meeting will be a gathering and the other an outing.

The Walk to Emmaus begins in a fortnight with the Men’s Walk from Thursday evening September 8th to Sunday afternoon September 11th. (The Ladies Walk is the following weekend – September 15-18). I attended my first Walk in 2000, thirteen years after entering the ministry and it dramatically changed my understanding of the Grace of God, and what it means to be a Christ Follower. I have attended several Walks since then as a Team member and continue to learn more. Its hard to describe the experience though I can tell you what happens on the Walk. There are 15 talks about the Christian Life, there are times of reflection, there is lots of food to eat and lots of laughter and sometimes tears. But these don’t really tell the whole story. I suppose it is about being overwhelmed by the love of God through His people for three whole days. Its not too late! Speak to Steve Higgins (Men’s Walk) or Sal Marais (Women’s Walk) if you would like to attend. The cost is $210, and we stay at Kobyeela, in Katanning.

Wow! Its going to be a busy September! The Marriage Course begins on Tuesday September 13th with an introductory dinner. The course itself lasts seven weeks and consists of a candlelight dinner (romantic music included) with your spouse, some video input from Nicky & Sila Lee (Holy Trinity Church, Brompton) and private discussion times with your partner. The cost is $200 and includes all the meals (BYO) and a course manual for each person.

And its the Annual Synod Meeting on the weekend of September 15-18. Bob French and I will be attending from Merredin. There are some interesting discussions in the pipeline and the induction of the new Moderator, the Rev Ron Larkin.

Today is also “Make Ministry Happen” Sunday in the Uniting Church. Its an opportunity for you to consider when God might be calling you into ministry in one way or another. The new role of Pastor has opened tremendous opportunities for us to break out of the mould of the formally trained ordained minister. Speak to me, if God is speaking to you! The “Explore the Ministry” Day takes place on September 10th in Perth.

I have just finished listening to the audio version of Eric Metaxas’ 2010 biography of Dietrich Bonhoeffer and have been deeply challenged again by the account of his life. I had read Eberhard Bethge’s account several years ago. (Bethge was his confessor.) Bonhoeffer was a young German of the aristocratic class who chose in his teenage years to become a pastor and theologian. He was utterly committed to the cause of Christ and saw every aspect of life measured according to that cause. He was troubled by the rise of Hitler and by the events which led to WW2. He taught his congregation, confirmands and the students of underground seminary which he initiated, that life needed to be lived in the way of God, undergirded by serious study of the Scriptures and devoted prayer. He became part of a group of conspirators who three times were unsuccessful in their attempts to assassinate Hitler and was eventually hanged at the express instruction of Hitler just days before the war ended. He was not yet 40 years old.

What challenged me about his life was his fierce (he was however a gentle man) determination to live his life committed to God. He would spend an hour each morning and evening with his Bible meditating on the Scriptures for the day. He prayed with deep devotion for God’s guidance every day. It struck me that this kind of life would be considered as pretty weird today, and yet his books “Cost of Discipleship” and “Life Together” remain best sellers. His definition of the “costly grace” of Christ versus the “cheap grace” of humanism remains as a standard for evangelicals of all ages.

In the light of this challenge which I have received, I have felt led to preach on the Ten Commandments over the next several months. I will deal with one of the commandments each Sunday so in the end it will cover ten sermons. I will be away at Emmaus, Synod and for my weekends off so it will not be consecutive but I would invite you to make every effort to attend each of these services. For Bruce Rock, Mukinbudin and Southern Cross it will take even longer because I am at each of these congregations only twice per month so we will go well into next year.

Why the Ten Commandments? God gave these “words” when He brought His people out of Egypt as an instruction on how to live in relationship with Him and with each other. They address ten questions about life …

1. Do you honor anything or anyone above the one true God?
2. Has God been replaced by something physical or material in your life?
3. Have you dishonored God’s name by using it in a frivolous manner?
4. Is your work more important than your relationship with God?
5. Do you honor your father and mother?
6. Do you value human life?
7. Have you kept your marriage vows?
8. Do you respect other’s rights of ownership?
9. Do you tell the truth?
10. Are you content with what you have or do you covet the possessions, relationships and successes of others?

To God, our answers to those specific questions about behavior and morality demonstrate our belief and trust in Him.

As part of this series we will have only one reading at each service – Exodus 20:1-17 which we will read together each time. I’m really looking forward to sharing my thoughts with you.

The next Marriage Course launches on Tuesday September 13th. It is an excellent vehicle for building up your marriage relationship. Each of the 8 evenings consist of a candlelit dinner for two with some video excerpts and a private discussion between the couples at their tables. The cost is $200 per couple which covers the sixteen meals and a manual for each person. It is more than just an eight week course, it helps build communication and relationship in each marriage that will last for the rest of your life. There are some brochures available. The course is open to anyone – they don’t need to be members of our congregation, indeed, they don’t even need to be churchgoers at all. So invite your friends!

We also have some brochures for the Yealering CampFIRE which happens at the end of this month. The main speaker is Max Champion and his topic is “Singing the Lord’s Song in a strange land; Christian living in a neo-pagan society”. Its an interesting and very relevant topic – let’s head down to Yealering where we “take over” the town for the weekend. Its a camping weekend and happens on an “arrive when you can, leave when you must” basis.

Margie arrived safely in South Africa last week. She spent a couple of days with Sven & Linda, Rebecca & Isabella and new grandson Micah. Then she flew down to Howick to visit Garth and Roxi and our newest grandson Samuel. Samuel is a big boy but he caught a lung infection and had to spend nearly a week in ICU. It was a traumatic time for the new parents but he is home now and Granny is there to offer advice and help. Sven, Linda, Rebecca, Isabella and Micah drove down for the weekend to visit as well.

Other good news on the family front is that Quinten and Tegan have been granted Permanent Residence in Australia. We are delighted. Linda is waiting for the Letter of Invitation to undertake the Midwifery Bridging course at King Edward in October and then they will also cross the Indian Ocean to make their home here in Australia. Meanwhile Garth has completely renovated his house and is putting it on the market. Times are tough for small businesses in South Africa which are not able to get Black Empowerment status and he and Roxi plan to also come to Australia to make a new start as soon as Samuel’s passport and birth documents are in hand.

The Moderator, Rev Ken Williams will be preaching at Southern Cross this evening. When he visited our Parish (for my induction two years ago) he visited the congregations in Merredin, Mukinbudin and Bruce Rock but did not have the opportunity to visit Southern Cross. He has made it one of the aims of his Moderatorial term to visit each of the congregations in the Presbytery. He will step aside at the Synod Meeting in September. The Rev Ron Larkin will then take office as the new Moderator.

Next weekend several folk from our congregation will be in Katanning for the training preparation for the Walk to Emmaus Weekend in September. I am the Spiritual Director for the Walk and Steve is one of the Lay Directors. Kevin Tengvall and Sal Marais will be giving talks and Gerhard Seymour is a Table Leader. Tania Higgins & Margie will be in the kitchen. Please pray for us.

The Planning Day last weekend was a great success. We came up with a lot of food for thought and some directions in which the Lord would have us go. For me, the best thing was the first exercise in which we were asked to list (a) the things we were happy with in our Christian Walk, (b) where we would like to be better and (c) the help which you expected from the leadership in the church. Summing up, the group indicated that they were generally happy with their degree of faith and trust in God but by and large felt that they could improve upon their reading and understanding of the Scriptures and in their prayer relationship with God. There was also a strong desire to form geographically based homegroups where we could meet to encourage each other in the faith, to study the Scriptures and to develop our prayer lives. The elders will be looking at options to introduce these ideas.

The congregation representatives in Bruce Rock and Mukinbudin also expressed some concern about awkward service times. I will explore options with them. One idea put forward was that they would begin the service earlier and lead it themselves until I or another preacher arrives from Merredin. I like that idea. I have felt that my Sunday morning “dash” around the Parish has limited the opportunity to fellowship with any of the congregations and I have been trying to overcome this through the visiting program. All of this is good.

In the sermon this morning we will be looking at God’s eternal plan that we should be conformed into the likeness of His Son. I find the Kingdom parables in Matthew 13 give us some direction of God’s intention. In the parables of the mustard seed and the yeast we see that the Kingdom GROWS. In the parables of the treasure hidden in the field and of the pearl, we see that God’s intention for us is WORTH EVERYTHING WE HAVE. And in the parable of the net we see that God allows NO ROOM TO COMPROMISE. God is at work making the Kingdom happen and conforming us into the likeness of His Son. From our side we must not put anything in the way of God’s intention (we can, because we have free will). This means that nothing should be valued above God’s purpose for us – there is no treasure or comfort which has more value than being conformed into the likeness of Christ. And further, we  dare not compromise the process by limiting our options ie by being lukewarm. God’s plan is continually being revealed in both old and new treasures – God has led His people in times past and He will continue to do so in times to come. He knows how His intention will be best achieved and our role is to be awake to that direction and purpose at all times. Following Christ is not a “walk in the park”, its an intentional choice which we have to make every moment of every day.

Next Saturday is our Planning Day for the Parish! Over the past several weeks we have spoken and prayed and thought about how we could better “be” the church. When Jesus called the Church into being, He clothed it (us) with power from on high to be a witness to the resurrection and to preach repentance for the forgiveness of sins. (Luke 24:46-49) The Church launched out offering a fresh expression of the relationship which God offers to the world. It was a radically new message offered in a radically new way. No more sacrifices in the Temple, no more offerings to an unknown God, laws and regulations were overturned – instead, people began to meet together in the temple courts and also in their homes to break bread (Communion) and to share meals together with exultation and simplicity of heart. Their focus was continually on the goodness of God and having grace towards all people. (My own interpretation from the Greek).

As I see it the early church was primarily concerned about relationships (with God and people) rather than with ritual and religion.

Over time the Church seems to have drifted backwards – our book of rules and regulations has got thicker and we are no longer reading the Scriptures or praying as much. Church has become an organisation with a building, a minister and a service of worship (not too much different, it seems, to the Temple, priest and sacrifice!).

Today many people in our culture are no longer able to relate to church as it is – our culture is now less religious and more spiritual; less formal and more relational. The truth is that people are searching for a relationship with God and with others (exactly what the early church was offering) but as they see it, the church is not offering that anymore. Instead it is offering a meeting in which many watch and listen but few participate except with a cup of tea afterwards. Many people feel condemned by the church (and by God). We have created a culture in the church which is quite alien to the world – we have rituals, language and rules which exclude virtually anyone who has not grown up in the church culture. Indeed even many of those who have grown up in the church culture have found themselves excluded now because they have adapted to the rapid changes in technology, changes in social norms and advances in scientific understanding in the world today. (Galileo was excommunicated from the church because he taught that the world was round rather than flat!) Not that every hypothesis is necessarily the truth. (Concerns about primal evolution and same-sex relationships come immediately to mind).

If we want to be the church which Jesus intended we need to rediscover His purpose – that we are witnesses to the resurrection of Christ, preachers of repentance for the forgiveness of sin and relationship builders between God and people. We need to be a Fresh Expression of the church in today’s world so that we are not simply serving the dwindling group of people who are part of present day church culture but creating dynamic new ways of connecting with the people in our community with whom we interact every day during the week.

It might surprise you to know that we are already doing this. Just look at Muckaround. Have you wondered why we don’t have many children in church and at Sunday School? We have not lost our Sunday School at all, they are now involved in Muckaround. Something like 18 children come along each Friday and it has effectively become our “Sunday School” – I think its brilliant! And so too with Ride for Life. We are connected with organisations, helpers, parents and students who would probably never otherwise connect with church – and we are seeing some really life changing things happen. I don’t think that we should necessarily expect any of these people to come to traditional church to be “counted” as part of our congregation in the traditional way but we do need to see and minister to them as part of our faith community. This means that we really do need to have a whole new idea of what it means to be church.

We have to now be witnesses to the resurrection and preachers of repentance for the forgiveness of sin in a different context. We have to make disciples in a completely new way – Sunday Church, Bible Study and Prayer Meeting is not going to cut it. So how do we do it? I guess we begin on our knees – we pray. We listen to God and we practice sharing our own faith in Jesus Christ in those situations. Its never going to be easy but I believe that God is calling His church to a new place.

So I invite you to prayer: to pray for direction and guidance from the One whose Church it is.

I invite you to share: at the Planning Morning next Saturday when we will continue the process of discovery of what it might mean to be the Church which Jesus intended.

It is good to have Luke Williams with us over the next two weeks for his rural ministry experience, and I think that it is marvelous that the Theological Hall have decided to send him out to Merredin (though Luke had earlier approached me about the possibility anyway). It seems that rural ministry is often considered as anything which is not metropolitan so students are sent to places like Mandurah and Bunbury for their rural ministry experience. However, ministering to several congregations of fairly small size spread over a wide area is a very different situation. And the people are quite different – they are far more practical and down to earth, and they have a really good understanding of what it means to have to “trust in God, rather than on your own understanding”. Luke spent his younger years in the Wagin area so he has an understanding of what “rural” actually means.

Note from Luke

This weekend I would like to share some thoughts on the importance of living in unity, as the body of Christ. We are all a part of this movement we call the ‘Uniting’ Church, but are we really ‘uniting’? Why is it so important to God that we recognise our call to live as one body, and “make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace”? (Ephesians 4:2) My prayer is that we will all be challenged to strive for greater unity within our churches and start to become the answer to the prayer of Jesus – that we may be One. (John 17)

The Fresh Expressions Conference in Perth this past week was very inspiring. The movement had its “formal” beginning in the Anglican Church in England about 6 years ago but in a sense, it is a movement which is as old as the church itself. Simply put, “A Fresh Expression is a form of church for our changing culture established for the benefit of those who have no contact with church.” Followers of Jesus Christ have always had to contend with the issue of a culture which is alien to the promise of the Kingdom of God which was announced in the incarnation, death and resurrection of Jesus. The fact that there are many different cultures, and that these are constantly changing has made it all the more difficult. By nature, we like the status quo; we prefer tradition; we like the way in which we have always done things – there is nothing wrong with that; but if we are to truly engage with those who have yet to know Jesus, we have to do things differently. Forcing a Eurocentric Church into an African culture just does not work, nor will we be able to bring the good news into our contemporary culture without recognising that it is quite a bit different to the culture which we have created within the church.

And so, Fresh Expressions happened – an intentional recognition that we have to engage the culture on its own terms if we are to be able to share the gospel. Its happening all the time anyway! The MoPS group, where Mothers of Pre-School Children are given an opportunity to have “timeout” and to be encouraged is nothing less than a Fresh Expression of church. The Barefoot Cafe, where folk can come to church to share lunch and a game of table tennis at our church is a Fresh Expression of church. Muckaround is also a Fresh Expression of church (or Sunday School!).

What we have to do is to recognise that people unfamiliar with church and with the gospel are unlikely to enter into the territory which is so familiar to us. Instead we have to create opportunity to encounter them in the places and activities which they find comfortable.

The next phase of Fresh Expressions is already on its way – its called “Mission-shaped church”. Now that’s not new either! When Jesus commissioned His church, He did in fact commission it as a mission-shaped church. We just got so engrossed in what we were doing as church that we lost sight of the fact that the culture around us was changing quite dramatically and fairly rapidly. The church of the future is likely to be very different from the one we have now – in the world of rapidly changing technology we are likely to see much more of the building up of social network communities on the internet. Sermons being delivered into homes and small groups via satellite – in fact it is already happening! I can see rural congregations in WA served by local lay leaders for pastoral care and community building and by “professional” teachers/preachers via online live video broadcasts into each of these communities. In a way we will see the modern hi-tech version of St Paul’s ministry to the many small communities in Asia Minor such as Ephesus, Philippi, and Colossus.