Audio download here http://www.christchurchbalham.org.uk/ccb/sermons.php

Recent research by the University of Exeter has concluded that most children aged between 7 and 14 find Jesus and I quote, ‘a bit confusing and hard to believe in’. I’m not sure that the results would be too different if the research were carried out among the adult population. Some of the answers in the study are priceless.

For example the question ‘Why do you think Jesus chose fisherman like Simon and Andrew to be his disciples?’ was answered with ‘because he liked fishing and fishing is a wise sport’. My biggest problem with that answer is allowing fishing to be described as a sport!

Or ‘What do Christians celebrate on Easter Sunday?’ answer ‘chocolate’.

Professor Copley who carried out the investigation said, ‘they weren’t anti-Jesus. The best way of describing it is ‘pallid respect’. They thought he was important but He didn’t excite them’.

If only they’d read John’s Gospel because his intention is to persuade us that Jesus is the eternal pre-existent word in a human body who came to earth as the Christ, God’s promised saviour king to bring eternal spiritual life to all who follow him. The Christ isn’t pallid he’s a heroic rescuer who delivers us from danger. John wants us to understand that Jesus is more James Bond than Archbishop of Canterbury. As claims go it’s at the ‘harder to take for granted’ end of the spectrum. It’ll take some proving. And so John has selected and arranged his eyewitness evidence to do just that.

Having looked at the Prologue in 1-18 last week the rest of chapter 1 splits into two sections

In verses 19-34 John the Baptist testifies that Jesus supersedes his own lowly preparatory ministry. Having been told in the prologue that John the Baptist came as a witness to the light we now see him witnessing to Jesus’ identity.

In verses 35-51 the disciples testified that Jesus fulfilled the messianic expectation. Having been told in the prologue that some would receive the word and become children of God we now see Jesus gathering disciples who are convinced of his messianic identity. We’re going to look at the first of those narrative sections this morning that focus on the activity of John the Baptist. We’ll note that he does two things.

1. John the Baptist testified about himself (19-28)

19 And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, "Who are you?"

John, the Gospel writer, records an incident in which John, the Baptist, is confronted by the religious authorities from Jerusalem. In the context of interrogation John is forced to explain himself, his identity and his authority. There are essentially two exchanges. In the first exchange John denies that he’s anything other than a temporary voice.

a. John denied that he was anything other than a voice (19-23)

20 He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, "I am not the Christ." 21 And they asked him, "What then? Are you Elijah?" He said, "I am not." "Are you the Prophet?" And he answered, "No." 22 So they said to him, "Who are you? We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?" 23 He said, "I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said."

The delegation from Jerusalem was anxious to clarify the nature of John’s identity. At this time there was heightened expectation that one of the great Old Testament figures would return. Christ is the Greek word that translates the Hebrew word Messiah. The Messiah was expected from Isaiah 11. Elijah, the great preacher of repentance, was anticipated because in Malachi 4 God had promised a figure in advance of the great Day of the Lord when God would visit the world in judgement. The other gospels Matthew, Mark and Luke all put him in this category but John never claimed it for himself. He did not see as much significance in his own ministry as Jesus did. The prophet like Moses was a reference to Deuteronomy 18 where the prophetic role was defined in terms of speaking God’s words. The Messiah, Elijah and the Prophet. John denied that he was any of these individuals. He does however see himself as the fulfilment of one Old Testament category. He’s the voice of Isaiah 40. John claims the role of Isaiah’s wilderness voice preparing the people for the arrival of the Lord. As such his role is not to draw attention to himself but to announce the arrival of God. I don’t know if you’re a fan of darts. Now there’s a sport worthy of the name! But John the Baptists is a bit like Sid Waddell. We never really see Sid but we hear him. He’s the commentator who announces the arrival of the players on stage and then disappears.

John the Baptist is clearly a unique figure in salvation history and as such much of what he did is unrepeatable but not all of it. He’s also an exemplary model of what it means to follow Jesus. He is supremely self-effacing. He was a gifted preacher with a great following but he exhibited great humility in refusing to allow attention to be drawn to himself.

In the second exchange John explains that even his baptism which drew attention from mass crowds was nothing more than preparatory for one infinitely more worthy than he was.

b. John explained that his baptism was nothing more than preparatory (24-28)

24 (Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.) 25 They asked him, "Then why are you baptising, if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?" 26 John answered them, "I baptise with water, but among you stands one you do not know, 27 even he who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie." 28 These things took place in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptising.

The Jerusalem delegation asked why he was baptising if he was none of the expected figures. The issue seems to be one of authority. They wanted to know why he felt that he could exercise unlicensed ministry independent of their control. Centralised power often seeks to suppress independent spiritual activity. At first glance it looks as though John ducked the question. But John refused to answer because the far bigger issue was not that he was an unknown quantity but that a far greater one had yet to be recognised.

It’s tragic that on the whole the religious authorities in Jesus’ time failed to recognise him for who he was. It’s incredible that they were so close to God and yet so far away. They couldn’t see Jesus for who he was. They wouldn’t believe where the evidence was pointing.

If we’re here this morning as an unconvinced spectator we need to be wary that we don’t make the same mistake. We’re not being led up the garden path by believing the evidence. John’s testimony is historical. He was there and he wrote it like it happened. There are too many incidental eyewitness details that contribute nothing to the story for this to have been fabricated.

If we’re here this morning as someone persuaded of Jesus’ identity, we need to be very careful that our familiarity with Jesus doesn’t blind us to the fact that he is someone whose sandal straps we’re not worthy to untie. There really is the world of difference between him and us. For us to kneel at his feet and remove his footwear is a task too lofty because he’s more exalted than anyone we could imagine. Having been forced on the defensive and required to explain himself John now testifies about Jesus.

2. John the Baptist testified about Jesus (29-24)

He used two OT images to explain who Jesus is and what he came to do.

a. Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (29-31)

29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, "Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.’ 31 I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptising with water, that he might be revealed to Israel."

The Lamb of God is a concept from the Old Testament. Before Israel became a nation in their own right they were a numerous nomadic people. After Joseph they went into captivity, made slaves by the powerful Egyptian Empire. God promised through his prophet Moses that he would not leave them. He promised that he would set in action a course of events that would lead to their redemption or rescue from slavery. The Pharaoh of the time, the Egyptian ruler, wasn’t too keen on the idea of losing his sizeable workforce and refused to let God’s people go. Because of Pharaoh’s unwavering stubbornness God promised an act of such terrible judgement that he would be left with no option but to release them. God promised the plague of the firstborn in which he said he would kill every firstborn son as a punishment for rebellion. But at the same time God also promised a way for the firstborn to be saved. The Israelite people were instructed to take a lamb and slaughter it. The blood from the lamb had to be painted over the front door. When God went through the land to strike down every firstborn son he would see the blood of the lamb and Passover those houses. The lamb was a substitute who took the place of the firstborn and was sacrificed instead of another. The lamb therefore averted the judgement of God. When John the Baptist points at Jesus and calls him the Lamb of God he’s not therefore calling him a wimp! He wanted people to understand that Jesus, like the lamb, is the substitute sacrifice who will avert the judgement of God on sin. It’s a verbal illustration. When the children in the survey were asked why is the cross an important symbol for Christians? One of them replied ‘because Jesus was crucified on one to replenish our sins’. Jesus is the sacrificial lamb who dealt with the problem of sin and took away the judgement of God he replaces the whole sacrificial system.

b. Jesus is the Son of God who baptises with the Spirit (32-34)

32 And John bore witness: "I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. 33 I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptise with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptises with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God."

John the Baptist recalled an incident from the day he baptised Jesus. It led him to the conclusion that Jesus was the Son of God. God had revealed to John the Baptist that the Holy Spirit would come down and remain on an individual, this man would be the Son of God.

• God was marking him out as the king of his choosing to govern his people

The Son of God is a title. It’s used in the Old Testament to identify the King of God’s choosing. About 1000 years before the incidents in John’s gospel God promised that he would send an eternal king who would rule over his people forever. He would establish a spiritual kingdom that would never end. John the Baptist reckoned that king had arrived in Jesus because the HS came down and remained on him.

It’s a little bit like the real life equivalent of Star Wars. The Jedi are looking for the one in whom the force is strong, the one who will return balance to the Empire. Obi Wan thinks he’s found him. Yoda eventually identifies Anekin Skywalker as the one, with the grammatically innovative phrase, ‘strong with him the force is’.

• He was equipping him for the task of ruling over his kingdom

In the past the HS had equipped Israel’s leaders for the task of ruling over God’s kingdom. Old Testament kings like Saul, David and Solomon were all helped by God in their responsibility to govern the people of God. When the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus and remained with him

• He was giving him the Holy Spirit so that he could give him to others

All of this was necessary if God’s promises in the OT about his New Kingdom were to be fulfilled. The Kingdom of God had a chequered past. Israel’s stability wavered because of sin, their rebellion against God and rejection of him as their ruler. The kingdom in which they lived remained under constant threat because of two things the inconsistency of their devotion to God the consistency of God’s determination not to overlook but to punish rebellion. But God promised a time when the rebelliousness of his people would be dealt with. He promised that he would send his Spirit to all his people to give new spiritual life. The Holy Spirit would change the desires of the human heart from unholy rebellion to holy obedience. God would come in his Spirit to help his people change their ambitions and follow his words. This is what being baptised by the Spirit means – being immersed not in water but in this new spiritual experience. As a result the kingdom would never come undone. John the Baptist was convinced that Jesus was the one who would give this new spiritual life.

We need to come to terms with Jesus’ identity. Here is no pallid religious figure. There’s nothing colourless about Jesus. He’s the Spirit anointed Son of God who baptises with the Spirit. He’s the Lamb of God who’s removed God’s judgement on human sinfulness. He’s our Lord and our Saviour. He alone has the authority to rule over us and direct our lives. We’re not self-governing; we’re answerable to God’s appointed King. He alone had the ability to save us from the consequence of our sins. We can’t save ourselves from God’s judgement. But we don’t need to because God sent Jesus to do it for us.

Conclusion

The only way to keep us from pallid respect is to listen to John’s testimony and be led to the logical conclusions.

This is essentially a summary of John Dickson’s excellent book, Promoting the Gospel, http://www.thegoodbook.co.uk/promoting-gospel-pg_1040/

About a year ago someone said to me that she thought that she didn’t fit in at CCB because she felt unable to contribute to our evangelistic priorities. I thought that was very honest. I can’t remember exactly how I responded but being a bloke I’m pretty confident that I’d have tried to solve the problem rather than listen to her issues! I suspect that I suggested that with a bit of training she’d overcome her reluctance to speak up and gain new confidence to approach her friends. I’d have encouraged her to get involved in the Two Ways To Live training course that we undertook as part of ‘Knowing God’ this time last year. But whatever I said, I didn’t reassure her that people like her could get involved here. What I should have said is ‘that’s nonsense’. Just because we feel we lack the skills and ability to speak confidently about the gospel doesn’t mean that we can’t make a significant contribution to our aim here at CCB to make disciples for Christ.

It’s nonsense because as we’re about to see the task of making disciples is not exhausted by evangelistic speaking [for which she felt ill equipped]. Evangelistic speaking is preaching that explains the ‘evangel’, the gospel of God concerning the identity and work of Jesus Christ. Evangelistic speaking is what evangelists do week on week and not the bread and butter existence of the normal Christian disciple. It’s nonsense because the Bible presents a full range of activities that come under the broader heading of promoting the gospel. However, I think it’s completely understandable that she thought like that because I’m not sure that we’ve articulated the breadth of activities that contribute to the discipleship making task.

Now I don’t want to let us off the hook and concede that just because some find it hard to speak about Christ that we don’t need to. Nor do I want to suggest that we can win people to faith in Christ without evangelistic preaching, the Spirit brings life through the gospel word about Christ. Nor do I want to suggest that we can’t gain confidence in answering our critics through courses, reading and practice. It’s just that in the church God has equipped his people differently and we each have a contribution to make. Therefore our aim this evening is to be convinced by the Bible’s all encompassing call to be involved in promoting the gospel. The reason for this is that we’ll all be inspired to see everything that we do in life as a tool in the hands of our Saviour God for the good of those who are yet to know Christ.

The Bible identifies 6 key areas in which we can promote the gospel.

1. we can promote the gospel with our prayers [Colossians 4:2-4]

This point is really about the essential task of asking God, who is more passionate about people than we ever could be, to bring success to His mission. It ought to remind us that ultimately the mission is not ours but God’s. It’s striking that of all the things that Paul urges the churches to pray for, prayer for the work of the gospel is most common. Of the entire range of gospel promoting activities, prayer is the one most frequently urged. Now we don’t want to construct our theology by statistics but it’s obvious that if something is mentioned a lot it’s probably significant. We see that in Colossians 4

2 Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving. 3 At the same time, pray also for us, that God may open to us a door for the word, to declare the mystery of Christ, on account of which I am in prison— 4 that I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak.

This link between prayer and mission is a common one throughout the Bible. It was a feature of Old Testament faith, it was a theme of Jesus’ teaching and it finds expression throughout Paul’s letters. And in those biblical texts concerning our role in prayer two principal themes emerge.

a. We’re to be praying for people who’ve yet to be persuaded to faith in Christ so that they might be saved. So Paul writes in Romans 10:1 ‘Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved’. We’re to pray then for unbelievers.

b. We’re to be praying for the ongoing work of those whose task it is to evangelise unbelievers. Paul writes in Ephesians 6:19 ‘pray also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak’. Theerfore we must pray for our missionaries. Few of us will feel confident speaking to others about the message of salvation but all of us can feel confident speaking to God about the salvation of others.

And so we need to prioritise evangelistic prayer once again and ensure that we give it the attention it deserves. So can we redouble our efforts to make the Church Prayer Meeting? Of course it’s not the only time we pray but it is the one time in the month when we gather to pray together for our common gospel work. At this meeting we also pray for our missionary partners who bring an international dimension to our longing to see Christ honoured in His world. It could well be that from the perspective of eternity some of our most significant work has been praying for the success of the gospel in other places through other people rather than seeing huge swathes of Balham turn to Christ. In our prayer triplets we need to make sure that we’re regularly praying for friends, colleagues and neighbours. In our Sunday meetings we need to keep praying for Christianity Explored and our missionaries but also our ongoing evangelistic endeavours. In our times of personal prayer we need to be speaking to God about those whom we’d love to know God in Christ. After a suggestion we’re going to undertake at our weekly staff meeting to pray for the work of the gospel and so if there’s anyone that you’d like us to pray for then e-mail us and we promise to pray about it. Fortnightly the elders meet for a painful 0630 prayer meeting at which we pray for everyone listed in the directory. If there are people you’d like us to pray for that you’re helping to engage with the gospel then let us know.

2. we can promote the gospel with our money [Philippians 1:1-5]

This point is really about showing what we value by financing it.

1:1 Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus who are at Philippi, with the overseers and deacons: 2 Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 3 I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, 4 always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, 5 because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.

I’m not going to say anything much about this tonight. But please note that Paul’s thanks for the Philippians was fuelled by their gospel partnership. In Chapter 4 it becomes clear that he wasn’t talking merely about prayerful support or encouraging words he was talking about cash. We’ll come back to the subject of opening our wallets for the gospel in a few weeks time when we consider our financial situation.

3. we can promote the gospel with our good deeds [Matthew 5:14-16]

This point is really about being active as a loving community.

14 You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. 15 Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. 16 In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.

The theme of the light of the world was well known in Jesus’ day. It fell to Israel and in particular city of Jerusalem and her inhabitants to prove to the nations that their Lord was the God of the whole world. In Matthew 5 Jesus picked up this idea of a world saving light and applied it to his disciples. And so the task of promoting God’s salvation to the ends of the earth became the mission of Jesus’ followers. The effect of the world saving light would be that the nations would give glory to God. In other words they would pay God the respect that He deserves. Jesus expected that the world would be brought to its knees in worship by witnessing the good deeds of the church. The word translated ‘you’ in (14) is plural. Jesus had in mind that the acts of kindness and goodness of his collective followers would illuminate a watching world. We need to be wary here and not misunderstand Jesus’ advice. He’s not telling us to pursue good works because it’s an effective strategy for softening up people who have yet to be persuaded by the gospel. It’s because good deeds are an essential fruit of following Christ that they so powerfully promote the gospel.

It’s like a school. If the pupils coming out at the end of the day are well presented, well behaved and well educated we can draw some conclusions about the school. The kids themselves are a powerful advert for what goes on inside. The head doesn’t tell his kids to behave so that people think highly of the school. He arranges his school so that the kids are transformed and as an unavoidable result the school is promoted.

In the same way when as a community we live for Christ we can’t help but be attractive to outsiders. Implications Don’t we find it hugely encouraging that in our efforts to be faithful followers of Christ we’re also commending the gospel to others? Simply by doing the normal sort of things we’d expect of Christians we’re promoting the gospel.

In many different ways we’re shining our light to illuminate a dark world. For example, the way in which we provide for those who are suffering from long term illness speaks volumes about our love for those who find themselves vulnerable. The way we rally round when the house needs decorating and put a team together. Those who step in when someone needs a babysitter so a couple can get some quality time together. When someone’s moving house and they need some lifters and shifters. Or when someone has a baby and an evening meal is one less thing to think about. Those things speak volumes about our love for those who need help and support. We do these things because we care for our brothers and sisters. But as we do them they’re promoting the gospel to those who watch. Of course there are perhaps one or two ways we could strive to improve. We need to go on providing a place for friendship and community that the world doesn’t offer. I have to say that some rugby clubs are better than churches at this. I’ve been involved in rugby clubs since I’ve been 16 and churches only since I was 19 so I’ve been able to compare them for many years. Rugby clubs are brilliant at welcoming people into the fold and making them part of what’s happening. There are times when we can be a little slow to welcome people into the social life of church. We’re great at welcoming people to church but less strong at welcoming them into our socials networks.

4. we can promote the gospel with our personal conduct [Titus 2:1-10]

This point is really about individually deciding to live for Christ. It’s the individual application of Jesus’ point in Matthew 5.

2:1 But as for you, teach what accords with sound doctrine. 2 Older men are to be sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness. 3 Older women likewise are to be reverent in behaviour, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, 4 and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, 5 to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled. 6 Likewise, urge the younger men to be self-controlled. 7 Show yourself in all respects to be a model of good works, and in your teaching show integrity, dignity, 8 and sound speech that cannot be condemned, so that an opponent may be put to shame, having nothing evil to say about us. 9 Slaves are to be submissive to their own masters in everything; they are to be well-pleasing, not argumentative, 10 not pilfering, but showing all good faith, so that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour.

Paul states his point in negative and positive terms. Negatively in (5) & (8), he argues that godly behaviour can silence our critics. Imagine the effect if some of the strongest critics of the Christian faith had Christians for neighbours who were just terrific. Paul then puts his point in positive terms in (10). Good works promote the word of God. When people look at who we are and how we live they’ll learn something about our Father in heaven. In naming us as His children God has put His reputation in our hands.

I’m very much aware that my reputation is tied up with my children’s behaviour. For good or for ill how they behave communicates what happens at home.

We’re the public face of the Kingdom of God and what we are and how we behave will affect what people think of God. But that’s a terrific opportunity. Implication Some of us may be the only Christian others know. That’s a terrific opportunity to show them how wonderful it is to know God, the forgiveness of sins, live for Christ and be confident in the present and also about the future. We’ve got people all over the place, it’s a marketing dream.

5. we can promote the gospel with our public praise [1 Cor 14:23-26]

This point is really about recapturing our Sunday meetings for the gospel.

23 If, therefore, the whole church comes together and all speak in [un-interpreted] tongues, and outsiders or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are out of your minds? 24 But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or outsider enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all, 25 the secrets of his heart are disclosed, and so, falling on his face, he will worship God and declare that God is really among you. 26 What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up.

In chapter 14 of his letter to the troublesome congregation at Corinth Paul gets to the stage in his argument where he must explain that our gifts must be used for the sake of others in seeking to build them up. He describes a situation where someone walks in off the street to check out what’s going on. If what is happening is unintelligible he’ll think we’re bonkers and find it easy to dismiss what’s happening. But if what happens is intelligible they’ll be troubled, intrigued and convicted and realise that there’s something different about this gathering. So Paul stresses the missionary significance of normal, intelligent congregational spoken contributions. He calls that activity prophesying and that terminology has provoked a raft of alternative explanations as people try to pin down exactly what Paul envisaged by it. A broad definition is not at all hard to put together. It’s spoken contributions shaped by the Bible’s message for the strengthening, encouragement and comforting of God’s people. It happens in our singing, our relaxed conversations over coffee, when we pray together at the end of the meeting and in our regular preaching and doctrine slots.

We’ve perhaps forgotten the significance of our Sunday meeting for the visitors who regularly turn up to see what we’re doing. There’s a temptation to underplay the importance of what we do as Christians every week as we gather together as church. We may have got out of the habit of asking people to come to church either expecting them to come or expecting them to enjoy it. Now of course, if we’re not enthusiastic about what happens at church we’re unlikely to invite anyone along. In our own assessment of what happens here we must be wary of substituting professionalism for authenticity. If we’re looking for professional perfection we’ve come to the wrong church. Almost everything we do here is work in progress, as we ourselves are. Nothing we do is done as well as it could be but it’s done because we believe it matters. I think people recognise that sort of integrity. In fact people are more forgiving than we think after all no one comes to church expecting it to compete with the entertainment on offer in the world. Usually they’re just delighted to here someone talk about spiritual things in a way that they can understand. But if we undertake to improving the quality of everything we do in the church meeting will we also commit to inviting friends to some of the things that we do on a Sunday? There are peripheral things that will help us in the coming weeks. We’re expecting the new PA system to be installed by the end of October. We’re looking to buy a set of drums if we can convince someone to look after them and play them. But more importantly we’ve got a great series in Colossians coming up and that’s be a great thing to get enthusiastic about.

Can I urge us to turn up regularly, it’s terrific being here when we’re packed.

Can I urge us to actively listen and engage with what we’re doing whether that’s singing our hearts out, concentrating when we pray, taking notes in the doctrine slots and sermons.

Can I urge us to contribute in questions, observations and conversations about what we’ve been thinking about?

6. we can promote the gospel with our apt reply [1 Peter 3:13-16]

This point is really about being prepared to speak to others about Jesus.  Many of us ask what, when and how does the Lord require me to speak up about my faith. Some ask out of zeal because they’re straining at the leash to be let loose on an unsuspecting world. Others ask out of fear because we’re worried that we might be asked to do more than we can imagine we’d cope with. There are two New Testament passages that are instructive for us. In Colossians 4 and 1 Peter 3 the apostles Paul and Peter urge us to be prepared to give an answer to everyone. Look at 1 Peter 3.

13 Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? 14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, 15 but in your hearts regard Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defence to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; 16 yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behaviour in Christ may be put to shame. 17 For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.

Peter reminds us that we each have a responsibility to answer for the faith. I’m not going to say anything more about that now but we have someone with lots of experience of dealing with and helping others answer objections against the faith onboard

Conclusion

As we close I’d like to show a short clip to focus our attention on the mission field God has given us on our doorstep. [The boys at Quirky Motion www.quirkymotion.com put together a video with statistics about our context in Balham and we watched that].

Our strategy for growth isn’t rocket science. We’ll continue to prioritise the core elements of what we do namely Bible teaching, evangelism, encouragement to personal holiness and prayer. We do those things well. We do lots of other things badly and I try not to lose any sleep over that. Everything we do is imperfect and that’s become a ministry mantra for me! Some people will never start anything until they’ve got the whole thing pinned down to the nth degree. The danger with that approach is that  we never get round to starting anything. However, we start things even if we’re not entirely sure where it’s going. Some people think that’s reckless and we think they’re clenched!

The priority of Evangelistic Growth

We’ve recently jumped on the bandwagon and started Christianity Explored. There’s consumer confidence in it, the resources are pretty useful and it doesn’t require a theologically trained person to run a course. It’s not perfect but it’s terrific. It’s the best on offer. We’ll continue to prioritise evangelism and provide a range of pre-evangelistic and evangelistic events.

The blessing of Transfer Growth

Some transfer growth is essential. We can be very disparaging about transfer growth and whilst we don’t want to be parasitically living off larger churches the transfer of people can be hugely beneficial. Of course some people will always move churches and never settle and we need to beware those who bring their baggage with them. However, transfer growth is beneficial for at least three reasons

• People bring their gifts, which we’ll put to work: churches always need leaders, musicians, people to work in crèche and so on

• People bring their money, which we’ll spend: as church leaders we need to learn to persuade people to part with their cash, ministry costs and we have to excite people at the prospect of being generous and sacrificial and join with us in gospel partnership

• People bring their network of friends, which we’ll exploit: perhaps that’s a little pejorative but you know the way people come in contact with people through networks or locality

A discussion document produced ahead of plans to launch CCB All Age meeting.

Morning Meeting Proposal

Our Situation

By January, God willing, Christ Church Balham (CCB) will have four couples with small children. Therefore their ongoing involvement at our current 6.30pm meeting is problematic. In addition, there are also a couple of local families who have been monitoring our situation and are eager to hear what our plans may be. Several congregational members at CCB have also expressed a desire to support a morning meeting in addition to their regular attendance at our evening meeting.

Biblical Principles

The Bible defines church as the local gathering (however small) of God’s people to hear his word (however poorly taught) to encourage one another to live lives of sacrificial love in obedience to Christ (however imperfectly). Therefore it is right to understand even a small morning gathering as church.

God has taken great care of us at CCB. He has nurtured and grown us over the last two years. He has shown himself to be faithful as we have entrusted the care and life of our congregation to him. We have no reason to think he would act differently were we to launch a new meeting.

Where new opportunities appear to have been opened for the gospel we want to pursue them for the sake of God’s glory, through the salvation of the lost. However, whilst we do not have a morning meeting we will fail to attract families and we will fail to reach a large proportion of local people.

We want to be generous with ‘our people’ and accept that they could support other local churches. For some this may be a wise choice and though we would prefer people to stay and contribute to our gospel initiatives we must resist the temptation to be acquisitive.

Opportunities

Inevitably the patterns of friendship for these new families will change. For example, all are involved in local NCT classes and are beginning to build up a new network of friends in similar situations. Clearly not all of these contacts will leap at the chance to go to church but nevertheless God appears to be creating an opportunity for the gospel.

Weaknesses

Any morning meeting is likely to be small to begin with and may remain that way for some time. This can be discouraging especially if our expectations for growth are unrealistic. The stage of life that congregational members are in would mean that few would be bursting with energy. Therefore any proposal must seek to maintain a minimal and sustainable level of necessary administrative and practical support. The preaching workload and personal care responsibilities would also increase. However, it is possible to duplicate teaching material used in other contexts, such as ‘Knowing God’ (small group Bible study).

Proposal

Hold an ethos meeting in early autumn term to assess support, pray and seek collective wisdom. Run the house group and start a new Mum’s Bible study in the autumn term. The house group would probably close in the New Year unless there was significant demand for an additional meeting midweek.

Launch a small, low-key morning meeting in February 2005 having run ‘Families Carols’ for the second year and after systematic ‘leafletting’ of the local area.

Meet in one of the classrooms at Chestnut Grove School (CNG) to minimise cost. Meeting in someone’s front room is just too alternative for most families in this area. Crèche facilities would be provided in an adjacent classroom. If we attract parents with older children we would provide Sunday school which would be supported by the wider Co-Mission network and staffed from the evening congregation. The cost for two classrooms at CNG is £70 per week. The style of the meeting would be informal, with minimal music and an interactive sermon/bible study.

• Proposed launch date

27th February 2005 after 4pm Christmas Carols on 19th December, systematic distribution of leaflets in local area and CCB weekend away 18th-20th February.

• Proposed start time

10.30am [Hire hall for 2 hours from 10am-12pm]

• Proposed teaching style

The options are:

typical sermon monologue of 20-30 minutes but this may be slightly odd when we’re likely to be few in number

small group bible study and prayer but we may be an unwieldy size for this sort of group dynamic

A combination of both of the above produces benefits from the considered study of one person and the interaction of small group learning.  

• Proposed style of meeting

We want to run church for Christians but with outsiders in mind. We should expect non believing families to join us each week. Therefore without in any way compromising the truth we should accommodate what we do for their benefit. Consequently, it may be more sensible to have a series in Luke rather than Isaiah, not to include singing until we are a larger group and to cultivate an atmosphere of informality than anonymity.

• Proposed Activities

No home group since relationships will develop naturally and easily at church, but invite people to belong to Knowing God if they wish. Mid week bible study in a home to care for Mums [crèche facilities where feasible]. Christianity Explored courses run each term in conjunction with the evening congregation.

• Proposed Priorities

Pray, asking God to prosper our considered planning and conclusions

Recruit, asking people to join us in an exciting new initiative for the gospel

Interact, asking one another into each other’s homes so that we cultivate friendships

Possible objections to starting

‘We’re too few in number to be viable’

I think any assessment of viability depends on what we’re aiming at. If we’re deliberately trying to ape a larger church meeting then I agree with the doubters. We’re likely to be too few in numbers to imitate a large meeting. So let’s not even try. Many of us have been spoilt for our church experience over the past few years. If we’ve been part of student churches or the London scene we may have grown accustomed to large numbers at church but it’s worth remembering that for example almost 60% of FIEC congregations are less than 35 people. Yet these are viable churches in which people flourish in Christian discipleship and many are brought to faith. House churches have been flourishing throughout the world for years and in our own country gospel initiatives like the Crowded House has demonstrated that this is a viable option.

‘The required pastoral workload is too much for one person’

It’s inevitable that the extra responsibility required to oversee and to teach a new congregation will lead to an increased workload. It’s likely that this will be borne by my family and me but we’re committed and excited about the prospect of being involved in a family congregation to which we can invite our friends. In addition, with careful planning and duplication of teaching material it’s feasible to staff the new congregation and care for it without becoming crushed by the workload. One of the many advantages of belonging to the Co-Mission Initiative is the access to a network of support and resources that we would not have were we to be independent. This means it’s possible to consider a plant much sooner in the stage of the life of a church than otherwise would be considered possible.

‘We should wait for extra families’

Of course, we need to be aware of the dangers of being instinctive, opportunistic and reckless and those of us with a less cautious temperament must take any concerns seriously. Nevertheless, God appears to have brought us to a situation where it is possible for us to start a Sunday morning meeting. We have a few couples from the evening congregation who are about to become families. There are a few couples interested in attending twice and a few single people who are keen to support us. In addition it is probable that there are families who currently attend central London churches who would be willing and enthusiastic about joining us. It’s worth asking what would be different if we were to wait. Given the current arrangements at CCB we’ll always be sending out our families to resource other congregations. That may well be a wise course of action. But we’d be sending out ministry minded families who are likely to get involved in those congregations. They will in all likelihood contribute their gifts and develop new friendships. It would be hard to bring them back from their new loyalties. It will be tough to provide the alternative leadership that we’d need to stimulate the impetus to get this sort of project off the ground.

‘It’s expensive to start a new congregation’

The cost of hiring two classrooms at CNG will be £70 and that will increase with the need for an additional Sunday school classroom. However, the alternative of meeting in a home is probably too alternative for the kind of people living in the Balham area. In addition the house option gives us little scope for expansion and flexibility.

‘The evening congregation will lose out’

It’s probably correct that the evening congregation will bear a cost but I’m not sure that’s an unhealthy thing. The important issue that this objection raises is whether this proposed move would leave the evening dangerously exposed and vulnerable to collapse. Gloriously, as God graciously adds to our numbers that’s becoming a position that’s harder to maintain. God has greatly blessed us with the addition of new people and we are considerably more healthy than we were a year ago. Though we’ll discourage it, one or two may prefer a morning meeting but there is unlikely to be a mass exodus from the evening.

‘It will be hugely discouraging to be small’

I’m not convinced that it has to be discouraging. If we’re sensible about when we run church and therefore cancel our meetings in August and over Easter to accommodate holiday periods we can avoid trying to meet when most are away. The level of discouragement will also be affected by our expectations. If we expect wholesale expansion in the first year then it is likely that we will feel let down. However, I’m not convinced that people are being unrealistic. Those who’ve been involved in the evening congregation already know that growth takes time and have already experienced the delights and dangers of small congregations. God willing, the small group dynamics will mean we find it personally beneficial to receive the encouragement of others. This means that the quality of relationships will matter hugely. It would be fair to say that if we’re not committed to investing in personal relationships then the new morning congregation at CCB will not be the best place to be involved.

‘There’s no obvious way to grow’

Any growth is likely to come from one of two sources. The first is transfer growth from other congregations. The second source of growth [real kingdom growth] comes from evangelism. It may well be the case that, as with the evening congregation, we have to wait a long time for any marked growth in numbers. Nevertheless the new networks created through friendships established at the school gates and through post natal groups provide a wealth of evangelistic opportunities. If we remain prayerful and committed to evangelism there is no reason to think that God would not bless our efforts to reach the lost for his glory. However, whilst we have no family friendly congregation there is nothing for families to be involved with and they will go elsewhere.

Richard Perkins CCB September 2004