Steve Addison's Blog, page 18
January 26, 2023
The risen Lord confronts a fallen church
It’s official, after years of impasse, the bishops of the Church of England have decided the church must bless what God condemns. There’s no change to the official doctrine of the Anglican Church that marriage is between one man and one woman for life. Instead there will be services of dedication and thanksgiving pronouncing God’s blessing on same-sex couples who marry or enter civil partnerships.
Caught between the teaching of Scripture and the spirit of the age, the bishops have attempted to have it both ways.
The Church of England is the established church of Britain. The Archbishop of Canterbury will crown King Charles. Anglican Bishops sit in the House of Lords. Once the political and cultural elites shifted it was inconceivable that the Church of England would not ultimately go with them.
All of Europe’s present and former state churches are in terminal decline. It’s not all bad news, every time they close a church due to dwindling and aging congregations, a piece of prime real estate is sold and the proceeds banked.
When Jesus rose from the dead he restored his failed disciples, opening their minds to understand the Scriptures, teaching them why the Messiah had to suffer and rise again and that repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem (Luke 24:44–49). He gave them the core missionary task of making disciples and planting churches to the glory of God. He promised them the power of the Spirit.
The restoration of a fallen church is possible, but only if it will place itself under the authority of God’s living Word, and dependent on the Holy Spirit get back to making disciples among every people and in every place.
The future of the Anglican Church will not be determined by bishops, but by the risen Lord, which should bring both consolation and the fear of God (Revelation 2–3).
January 12, 2023
291-Mumbai Hilltop of Hope
Lipok Lemtur talks about the tragedy and triumph of making disciples in the red-light district of Mumbai, India.
For more:
December 30, 2022
290-Bud's Story
Bud Houston shares his story and talks about the opportunity to reach the unreached people groups of North America.
Find out more: UPGNorthAmerica.com
December 14, 2022
289-Joey and June's Story
Joey and June Gordy have given their lives to multiplying disciples and churches. Their current assignment is in Africa.
Previous interviews:
December 8, 2022
You shall become like gods
Ian Paul over at Psephizo has done a great job of dismantling the progressive attacks on Biblical teaching about sex and marriage. He makes two important points.
First, according to the vast majority of scholars, the biblical witness is clear. Where the Bible mentions homosexual behavior at all, it clearly condemns it. Renowned scholars Walter Brueggemann, Timothy Luke Johnson and Walter Wink support same-sex marriage but agree the Bible condemns homosexual activity.
These three at least have the intellectual honesty to accurately interpret Scripture rather than twist Scripture to bolster their case.
Second, for them and many other clergy, it’s not a question of what the Bible teaches, it’s a question of whether the Bible is right.
I think it important to state clearly that we do, in fact, reject the straightforward commands of Scripture, and appeal instead to another authority when we declare that same-sex unions can be holy and good.
The Gospel is not to be confused with or identified with the Bible. The Bible contains all sorts of voices that are inimical to the good news of God’s love, mercy and justice.
As one principal of a theological college advised me, we need to balance what Jesus taught on sex and marriage with his more inclusive sayings. Our word rules over God’s Word. We have become like God, deciding for ourselves what is right and wrong.
Ultimately this is a battle over the authority of Scripture and not something we can agree to disagree on.
And so we are back in the Garden and the tempter is asking once again, “Did God say?”
December 6, 2022
HTB and the Beginning of the End
All over the Western world, once-dynamic movements are drifting into decline and decay. Here’s one recent example.
Holy Trinity Brompton (HTB) is a 3,000-strong charismatic-evangelical Anglican Church in London’s West End. For a generation, HTB has been at the forefront of church renewal in Britain and worldwide. Under Nicky Gumbel’s leadership, the church birthed the Alpha cause that spread to 130 countries and resulted in the conversion of hundreds of thousands of people.
A few months ago, Nicky Gumbel stepped down from the leadership of HTB and endorsed the appointment of Archie Coates as his replacement.
In 2009 Coates was sent out by HTB to replant St Peter’s Brighton. Today around 1,000 people attend each Sunday.
The seaside town of Brighton is the unofficial gay capital of England and hosts the annual Pride Festival. As vicar of St Peters, Archie Coates was “very supportive” of the parade and noted that the church has many LGBT people who attend.
Coates believes sexuality is a secondary issue like Britain’s exit from the European Union (Brexit). He refuses to preach or teach about his own views on sexuality for fear of causing disunity in the church.
Movements that multiply disciples and churches rise and fall depending on whether they are moving towards or away from the life and ministry of Jesus. Jesus lived his life and fulfilled his mission through obedience to his Father’s Word.
The culture has shifted, but Jesus’ Word will never pass away. Once we place our word above God’s Word all hope is lost. Movements drift, then decline and then decay. The only way back is to deny our fear of rejection and restore the supremacy of God’s Word above our fickle opinions.
The story of HTB is being played out all around the Western world as church leaders, denominations, seminaries and mission agencies are deciding whether to place the culture’s word about God’s Word. We can decide, but we can’t choose the consequences.
December 5, 2022
288-Don and Theresa's Story
A conversation with Don and Theresa Waybright about their journey towards multiplying movements of disciples and churches.
More on Reach the Rest: reachtherest.org
More on the work in the red-light district: hilltopofhope.com
December 1, 2022
Navigating the Shift
I don’t need to tell you that there is a massive shift taking place in the western world regarding human identity, sexual morality and marriage. That shift is sending shock waves through western Christianity.
Bishops in England are lining up to embrace same-sex marriage and gender ideology. They sense they may be winning a battle that has raged for decades. Meanwhile, the archbishop is silent and refuses to discipline those who reject the church’s teaching.
In Australia, the Baptists of NSW decided to disaffiliate churches and pastors that embrace same-sex marriage. The head of Baptist Mission Australia and the head of missiology and evangelism at the NSW Baptist theological college opposed that move.
This shift is everywhere in the western church and it is not going away. How can we understand and respond to it from a movement perspective?
Here’s the heart of it.
When confronted with a conflict like this the first thing to do is return to our identity. Disciple making movements follow Jesus’ example by placing themselves under the authority of God’s living Word revealed in Scripture, they depend on the power of the Holy Spirit, as they pursue the core missionary task of making disciples and multiplying churches to the glory of God, from where they are, to the ends of the earth.
The way to meet this challenge is to remind ourselves of who we are and remain faithful to our identity in Christ, wherever that leads.
In the next post, we’ll talk about what that looks like.
November 30, 2022
Acts — the Blurb
My first attempt at a blur for my book on Acts and the Movement of God. Happy to get feedback.
There’s no other book like Acts. It ties together the coming of Jesus and his continuing mission through his Spirit-empowered disciples. Acts is a book about the unchanging God. Its relevance cannot be confined to the past.
Acts is about the spread of the Word in the power of the Spirit from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth fulfilling the Father’s plan through the crucified and victorious Lord Jesus.
Embattled witnesses triumph through trials and establish communities of disciples in ever widening circles radiating out from Jerusalem.
The church in every generation must return to the book of Acts and find renewal in its identity and mission or risk being swept away by the spirit of the age.
November 23, 2022
287-Movements in the Australian Outback
A conversation with Steve and Melissa Behrens about making disciples in the Australian outback.
The Behrans serve with praxeis.org
