Wednesday, June 25, 2008

29 June @TBT

This week at TBT, we are continuing our series on the early chapters of the Epistle to the Hebrews. Phillip Jensen continues to open the Scriptures for us as he preaches on Jesus the Greatest Brother.

For preparation, please read Hebrews 2:9-13, and Micah 5.

Sunday, June 22, 2008

From the Dean - Christians win the survival of the fittest? (22 June 08)

The theory of evolution is on the side of the Christians. In the crude formulation known as “the survival of the fittest”, or better “the advantage of the most adaptable”, the Christian is a winner.

Rodney Stark is an American sociologist who has argued that the early growth of Christianity came as a by-product of the Christian lifestyle. The Christians, unlike their Roman neighbours, believed in life and mercy. So Christians had large families, did not practice abortion or euthanasia, or leave unwanted children to die of exposure but cared for the sick, the widows and orphans. All these practices meant that over time (several centuries), the Christians basically outbred the alternatives.

If this hypothesis is true there is great hope for Christianity in the future.

Once again, compared to our secular atheist friends, Christians are making choices in the modern world that lead to growth. Atheists have the lowest birth rate amongst religious groupings. Bible believers marry more and have more children that the irreligious. Christians oppose life-taking decisions like abortion, suicide and euthanasia. The care of the aged is often in the hands of Christians at retirement villages, aged care facilities, and hospices.

The advantages of Christian living are great even if they are not intentional but only a by-product.

Look at our marriages and you can see why Christianity will survive better than atheism. Christians do not follow the current fashion of de-facto marriages. Rather we undertake the formal promise of commitment to each other. This creates a more stable environment to maintain the relationship necessary to have and to raise children.

De facto relationships produce fewer children and even fewer grandchildren. Women who co0habit in their twenties are far less likely to be married or even in a de facto relationship later in life. Furthermore, they are much more likely to be childless or to have only one child. If they do marry, they are far more likely to divorce. The children of divorce are less likely to marry or have children. The predicament compounds.

The problems of the modern uncommitted life-style go even further. Those who have multiple sexual partners have significantly increased risk of cervical and throat cancer through the spread of the human papilloma virus (HPV). Add to this the other advantages of healthy relationships and it is not surprising to see better long-term health outcomes for religious people.

Professor Harold G. Koenig of Duke University has been researching and publishing the health advantages of religion for the last twenty years. Such research and conclusions are statistical in nature. They can be illustrated by the lives of individuals but are about whole populations. And individual case may not fit the population norms. An atheist can have a dozen children and a Christian can die early of cancer. But overall, Christians have bigger families and live longer.

Another issue that shows the long-term advantage of Christianity is alcohol abuse. Bible believers have a great reputation for being wowsers in this matter. Temperance has always been associated with Bible believers. Even in today’s more relaxed attitude to drinking amongst Christian, we continue to be opposed to drunkenness. Still many Christians o not drink at all. Those who do so, drink in moderation. Those with dependency problems are encouraged to seek and receive help. We opposed the culture of binge drinking long before the politicians even noticed a problem.

Alcohol abuse seriously reduces life span. Heavy drinkers are known to have a shortened life span because of damage to their livers. Pregnant women are warned not to drink alcohol because of the damage to the unborn child. This month the Stat Government has published a summary of research papers which show alcohol as a key contributing factor to a wide variety of cancers – such as colon, breast and mouth cancer.

The damage that flows from alcohol abuse – such as car accidents, drowning, assaults, domestic disputes, etc – o not affect Christians anywhere as often as the population. Recent research shows that the level of drinking thought to be risky or dangerous is much less than previously considered. Overall, the Christian bias towards temperance has protected us so that we enjoy longer life, fewer accidents and better health. But alcohol consumption is only one health issue. Smoking tobacco, though not a moral issue like drunkenness, is generally avoided by Christian in our culture. And Christians continue to oppose the recreational use of mind-altering drugs and other chemicals of dependence.

The kind of long term advantages of Christian living that Professor Stark pointed to as the reason for Christian growth in the ancient world are still with us today. It is a wonderful irony that in evolutionary terms Bible believers are more likely to survive and flourish than the irreligious and atheists.

But it may be more than irony. It may indicate that living God’s way is the way to live in the word that God created. It may indicate that God actually knows best. It may indicate to our society that “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” after all.

Phillip Jensen
22 June 2008

Thursday, June 19, 2008

Masculine Stuff: Steak n Snooker, Ping Pong n Pretzels

When: This Saturday, 6:30 pm till late. Meet at the North Door at the Cathedral. (The north door is the door that faces the Town Hall).

We'll then proceed to dinner (steak n chips for $6).

Afterwards, dust off your Snooker cue and your table tennis skills for some challenges from your fellow TBT Males.

Enquiries: Mike on 9265 1673, or email here.

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Chick-flicks, chocolate, chat and ...

Thai? Ok, the alliteration falls down at that point, but I thought it would be silly to have Chinese just for the sake of alliteration!

Come to Mandy and Sarah’s in Glebe at 6pm on Saturday 21st June for a great night. Email if you need the address. Bring $5 for the Thai and something to share (chips, chocolate, drinks etc) and come prepared for lots of fun!

Hope to see you Saturday, please RSVP to mailto:info@thebibletalks.org.au

Don’t Waste Your Life - John Piper

On Sunday Kristy gave a really helpful review of a book by John Piper Don't Waste Your Life. If you follow the link, you can actually read the book online.

Here's the review:

The theme of this book is really self-explanatory. Piper is pleading with us to live a life that is not wasted. But what does that actually mean?

Piper, whose own father was a fiery preacher and evangelist, tells the story that his father passionately told him as a boy of a man converted in his old age.

He was hard and resistant. But this time, for some reason, he showed up at church when my father was preaching. At the end of the service, during a hymn, to everyone’s amazement he came and took my father’s hand. They sat down together on the front pew of the church as the people were dismissed. God opened his heart to the Gospel of Christ, and he was saved from his sins and given eternal life. But that didn’t stop him from sobbing and saying, as the tears ran down his wrinkled face – and what an impact it made on me to hear my father say this through his own tears – “I’ve wasted it! I’ve wasted it!” (pg 12)

So what does it mean to not waste your life?

As Piper relives his own youth in the first two chapters and tells of the years he personally struggled with the question what it meant to make the most of his life, he recalls a story from Readers Digest in 1998…

…which tells of a couple who took early retirement from their jobs in the Northeast five years ago when he was 59 and she was 51. Now they live in Punta Gorda, Florida, where they cruise on their 30 foot trawler, play softball and collect shells. At first when I read it I though it might be a joke. A spoof on the American dream. But it wasn’t. Tragically, this was the dream. Come to the end of your life – your one and only precious, God-given life – and let the greatest work of your life, before you give an account to your Creator, be this: playing softball and collecting shells. Picture them before Christ at the great day of judgement: “Look Lord. See my shells.” That is a tragedy. And people today are spending billions of dollars to persuade you to embrace that tragic dream. Over against that, I put my protest: Don’t buy it. Don’t waste your life. (pg 46)

Piper urges us to not live for what might be the ‘Aussie dreams’ but to recognise what we were made for and in chapter 3 points us back to the burning centre of God’s glory – that is the cross. He states that ‘A cross-centred, cross-exalting, cross-saturated life is a God-glorifying life – the only God glorifying life. All are others are wasted.

Therefore every enjoyment in this life and the next that is not idolatry is a tribute to the infinite value of the cross of Christ – the burning centre of the glory of God. A thus a cross-centred, cross-exalting, cross-saturated life is a God-glorifying life – the only God-glorifying life. All others are wasted. (pg 59)

Chapters 4-7 of the book refer to the teaching and letters of Paul. Piper expounds what Paul writes from prison in Philippians 1:20-21’…it is my eager expectation and hope that I will not be at all ashamed, but that with full courage now as always Christ will be honoured in my body, whether by life or death. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.’ (ESV)

Chapter 8 looks at how these teachings are applied to our lives now living in the secular world. He shows us how to make much of Christ through our secular work through:
- relationships
- creativity and industry
- the ways we conduct ourselves
- focussing on the helpfulness of our work rather than financial rewards
- the right uses of our money
- a love of sharing the gospel

He finally challenges us in chapter 9 to consider mission and the ways that we can support those in mission work.

The book is accompanied by a study guide and is fabulous for individual, one-to-one and small group study. It also has website with helpful podcasts, blogs and downloads.

Finally, Piper finishes with a prayer for himself, Christians and those who are out of Christ. It concludes

Take your honoured place, O Christ, as the all-satisfying Treasure of the world. With trembling hands before the throne of God, and utterly dependent of your grace, we lift our voice and make this solemn vow: As God lives, and is all I ever need, I will not waste my life…
…through Jesus Christ, Amen

TBT Starts at 6:30

TBT Church commences at 6:30. One coming Sunday we're going to commence with the sermon. Please ensure you are on time, or (shock!) early, to encourage your brother/sister before church commences.

22 June @TBT

This week at TBT, we are continuing our series on the early chapters of the Epistle to the Hebrews. Phillip Jensen continues to open the Scriptures for us as he preaches on Jesus the Greatest Man.



For preparation, please read Hebrews 2:5-9, and Micah 4.

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Jesus' Greater Salvation

On Sunday night we looked at Hebrews 2:1-4 and were challenged to stand firm as Christians.

This is what it says:

Therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it. For since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution, how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard, while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will.

I was particularly challenged to ensure that I keep reading God's word regularly, even when I don't feel like it, because it is in his word that I will learn more about him, be reminded of all that Jesus has done for me and continue on as one saved by him.

Other things people were struck by:
* We must pay closer attention. Just skimming passages without concentrating never does anything for me!
* The need to pay much closer attention to what we have heard.
* The nature of drifting - how it can happen without us noticing, when we lose focus. Challenged me as can see how easily this can happen.
* God's word always has something new to teach us - so keep reading it, daily.
* Very helpful sermon - the danger of drifting is real and relevant and therefore we must be vigilant.
* How to do daily bible reading? Prayerfully, obediently and persistently.
* I was struck by the ease with which we can drift, slowly and imperceptibly.
* Great reminder to never drift from God as he loves us so much.
* Struck when talking about the different soils how few people renounce God vs how many slowly drift away.
* A powerful warning. Thank you!
* Helpful reminder to prioritise spending much time and attention in God's word. God chose his Son to deliver his message to us!
* I learnt how to go about reading the Bible.

Sunday, June 15, 2008

From the Dean - Anglican Family (15/06/08)

You can't split a marshmallow. You can melt it. You can even cut it. But, marshmallows are too malleable to be split. Something has to be brittle to split.

So there will be no split in Anglicanism. It is just not the kind of thing that is open to splitting.

The heat of the society in which we operate may melt us. Outside forces can even cut into us. But we have no mechanism to split even if we had the desire to do so.

Here is the strange strength and weakness of Anglicanism. Having resisted the tyranny of Roman rule, Anglicanism could not replace it with Lambeth rule. Thus each national church is free to follow the Lord Jesus in their own culture.

Anglicanism has expanded and developed in much the same way as a family. Over generations we have gradually changed and drifted away from each other. Cousins know that they are related but have never met. Second, third and fourth cousins do not share the same culture or even speak the same language. They do not even recognise each other as relatives. It is not that families split - they just grow apart.

Sometimes families fight. There are divorces and sibling spats. There are members who refuse talk to each other or visit each other's house. Sometimes this is justifiable because of unsociable, even criminal behaviour. Often the fight is worse than the issue over which they are fighting. But unlike disputes with neighbours or at work, you can never leave relatives behind. There is no mechanism to “de-brother” or “de-sister” your sibling. Even with divorce, splitting is near impossible. Marriage intertwines our lives over children, friends, families and property. It is nigh impossible to unwind it completely.

Recent actions of some Anglicans have loosened the family ties. Certain relationships are now untenable. Some joint family activities have been undermined. But the communion is not split - just weakened further and melted a little more into the morass of society around it.

Two such related actions have been the unrepentant consecration of an openly practicing homosexual man as a bishop in USA, and the consecration of a woman as a bishop in Perth.

In some ways they appear different. One is about behaviour, the other about gender. One affects the world wide family, the other the Australian branch.

In other ways they are related and their effect on the Anglican family is the same. Both place the “rationality” of modern culture above the word of God. Both are intentional departures from the practice of the church over centuries. Both aim to change and “reform” the church. Both cut deep into the family unity, making certain joint activities impossible.

Sadly, the Lambeth Conference is no longer viable. If those who consecrated the bishop in the USA are present, then those who see the consecration as promoting sin should obey the Bible and not fellowship with them. Thus many bishops this time are not going to Lambeth to meet the rest of the family.

The Archbishop of Canterbury had to choose whom to invite. He tried to be diplomatic and basically invite everybody - but that was never going to work. He chose to welcome the unrepentant sinners and so excluded the faithful. It is not the end of the family. The Lambeth Conference is only a once every ten year get together of bishops. It is not the essence of the family.

The consecration of women bishops is a much more serious rent in the family fabric. For it institutes into the national church a practice that the Bible explicitly prohibits. It strains long-term relationships for it forces us either into conformity with the new order or into partition so as to protect the old.

This was the consequence of the ordination of women as presbyters in the 1990's. The consecration of women as bishops only pushes the partition wider and deeper. The whole family is reshaped into “no go zones”.

There is no longer one interchangeable and recognized ministry across the nation. Some people ordained and consecrated in one diocese are not recognised or able to exercise their ministry in another. The family has spread further apart and can have less to do with each other in the future.

Wherever these changes in practice enter, those who oppose the changes are persecuted into conformity or forced to leave. However, some parts of the family, some parishes or dioceses, have resisted these novelties. In those places people are allowed to continue without change.

There is nothing new in this. In the nineteenth century, the Anglo-Catholic (commonly called the high church) movement forced all kinds of changes upon the communion. Many parishes and some dioceses (like Sydney) resisted those novelties.

The latest novelties are very serious. They are damaging the family as a whole. They have already involved appalling and unconscionable persecution of faithful Christians.

We are still family - just more distant than we used to be. There are still matters of common concern to which we have to attend. But these become more limited in scope. They usually deal with legal matters, especially concerning common property and constitutional issues. They are hardly the basis for a Christian family.

The marshmallow of Anglicanism is melting a little further into the surrounding culture. But remember the words of the Apostle: God’s firm foundation stands, bearing this seal: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let everyone who names the name of the Lord depart from iniquity.” (2 Timothy 2:19).

Phillip Jensen

Wednesday, June 11, 2008

15 June @TBT

This week at TBT, we are continuing our series on the early chapters of the Epistle to the Hebrews. Phillip Jensen continues to open the Scriptures for us as he preaches on Jesus Greater than Salvation.

For preparation, please read Hebrews 2:1-4, and Micah 3.

Sunday, June 8, 2008

From the Dean - God's Character 08/06/08

The Bible clearly teaches that there is ultimately only one true God. It should not surprise us that such a God is complex. This is seen in more than his triune nature of being three persons, but one God. It is seen also in his intricate and multifaceted character.

He is the generous God. His creation of the world is not mean and niggardly but abundant and rich. There is almost a prodigal display of diversity in the creatures of the world. The biological world displays a brilliant range of colour. But God also gives to the creatures made in his image the wonders of musical appreciation and of speech and communication.

He is also the covenant God. He gives his word by a formal contract. He makes contracts that have requirements, guarantees and penalty clauses written into them. He does not treat us as mules and horses - guiding us by bit and bridle. He spoke to us. He made promises to us. He bound himself to his word and has fulfilled his undertakings.

He is the faithful and trustworthy God. He speaks the truth and keeps his word. He is not fickle or unreliable. His word can always be trusted: as he can always be trusted to keep his word.

He is the just and angry God. He is not temperamental in his anger. He is always just and righteous. He acts out of his character, which is profoundly just. He acts in accordance with his covenants and contracts. His justice is to give to people what they deserve - both reward and punishment. His anger is only reserved for those who are guilty.

He is the patient God. He is slow to anger. Although he will not leave the guilty unpunished, he does not rush to judgement or punishment. He does not desire the death of a sinner but rather that he may repent and live. So God patiently provides every opportunity for repentance and forgiveness. He patiently endures the rebellion of his creatures.

He is the loving God. This has always been central to his character. In fact it is said of him: "God is Love". This is in no way contrary to his justice or anger. They are but expressions of his love. The opposite of love is not anger but indifference. It is because he loves that he is so angry. But his love will always trump his anger as his mercy trumps his justice. For out of his love he provides the pardon of his people in the death of his Son. For by his Son's free offering of his life in the sacrifice of Calvary - justice is satisfied, anger is assuaged and mercy is provided.

He is the missionary God. His concerns are worldwide. There is only one God and only on humanity made in his image. All people are provided for in the death of his Son. His concern is for young and old, rich and poor, men and women, democrats, monarchists, republicans and anarchists. He sends his Spirit to preach the message of salvation through his people to all of nations tribes and groups.

He is the coming God. He keeps coming to us and for us. He came to us in the Garden of Eden. He came to us in the promises to Abraham. He came to us in the rescue of Israel from Egypt. But of course he particularly came to us in the life, death and resurrection of his only Son our Lord Jesus Christ. And the risen Lord Jesus did not abandon us but sent his Spirit who came to us on the day of Pentecost. His Spirit comes to us in the preaching of the Gospel through rebirth when he moves us to respond in repentance and faith. One day God will come again to us in the judgement of the world.

Our God is wonderfully complex but more than that he is wonderful in fact.

Friday, June 6, 2008

TBT Partners Dinner

Thursday 12th June at 7:30pm is our TBT Partners Dinner. It's on in the Chapter House of the Cathedral, and will be a great night of dinner, prayer and encouragement as we bring the ministry of TBT before God.

The meal is catered, costs $10, and we are expecting our TBT Partners to attend. Please RSVP in the negative if you can not make it.

Thursday, June 5, 2008

Queen's Birthday Convention

Coming up on Monday (Queen's Birthday public holiday - long live the Queen!) is the Queen's Birthday Convention at the Cathedral. The Dean of Sydney, (long live the Dean!) Phillip Jensen will expound the final 8 chapters of the Gospel of Mark.

This is a follow up to the Australia Day Convention where the first 8 chapters of Mark were explained. Set the date aside, go and listen to the free talk available at the Queen's Birthday Convention site. Register, and tell your friends.

Any blokes who want to help with registration, ushering and security, please speak or email David. The conference will be free (including parking, food etc) and you will receive the conference talks on CD.

Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Jazz Service

At St Andrew's Cathedral on Sunday morning (10:30 am, 8th June 2008), there is a Jazz service with Richard MaeGraith and his band. Rob Smith will preach. Read more here.

Obviously, this is in addition to the usual TBT, where we continue to look at Hebrews, brought to us by Phillip Jensen.

8 June @ TBT

This week at TBT, we are continuing our series on the early chapters of the Epistle to the Hebrews. Phillip Jensen continues to open the Scriptures for us as he preaches on Jesus Greater than the Angels.

For preparation, please read Hebrews 1:4-14, and Micah 2.

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

From the Dean (Censorship) 1July2008

This week felt like a return to the 60's. Censorship was the issue. There was a cause celebre: some highly respected creative genius pushing the boundaries of social tolerance. The intelligentsia were rushing to the barricades - all chanting the same mantra. There were endless repeats of unflattering images of police actions. The politicians and other community leaders were caught expressing popular but indefensible sound bites.

That is how the so-called "debate" about censorship was played out forty years ago - and nothing has changed. It was a silly debate then, it is no better now. Most of it is political posturing - forcing the issue by making others appear degenerate or ridiculous. It makes the perpetrators victims and the censored famous and wealthy. It never takes long before the usual litany of words get trotted out: Philistines, Nazis, moralizers and wowsers on one side and sleaze, decadence, corrupting the innocence of youth on the other.

Censorship is a very dangerous and undesirable blunt instrument. We can never be certain of the truth if people in power censor communication. Christians concern for the truth means we have to tolerate dreadfully painful and untrue things being said about our Lord and Saviour. Our opponents trade upon this tolerance in a way that they dare not with other groups. This time around the censorship debate is different in one respect.

This time all sides agree that there is something absolutely wrong - paedophilia. That was not agreed upon in the 60's and 70's. Back then a group of French atheistic intellectuals even argued for the decrimalization of paedophilia. Then most of society thought it unthinkable and so did not discuss it as a possibility. Now everybody knows it is more than possible and nobody is seriously arguing for it - though some people want to lower the age of consent.

The last thirty years have revealed the devastating consequence of tolerating the abuse of children. They have left nobody in real doubt that there is such a thing as evil. All now agree that society must protect itself and its most vulnerable members. Paedophiles are often predators using the open honesty of the community to reach their victims. Families, friends, schools, churches, scouts and other organizations that are built and operate on trust have had to change in order to protect the innocent.

But in a multi-cultural society there is very little agreement about morality. It is the creative community that has license to explore the nature of the human condition. But they have no central philosophy or ethics by which to conclude anything is right or wrong - good for humanity or bad for society. Their only commitment is to their own self-interested freedom. They want our protection to say whatever they like without bearing responsibility for its consequences.

The impact of any one creative work is usually too small to measure. Nobody can be shown to be significantly degenerated by one work of art. It is the cumulative effect that changes society's values. Highbrow culture has a trickle down affect on society. People do not wear what models display on the catwalk but everybody's clothing is altered as a result of the fashion show. Similarly, today's art film results in the raunch culture of tomorrow's TV and magazines. Richard Neville, one of our leading fighters against censorship in the 60's was appalled at the movies in the 90's. He wrote of "freedoms vulgarised", of his anger at "freedom corrupted", of movie critics being "desensitised by the lashings of violence" and of "corrupting society as a whole".

So how do we discriminate between "art" and pornography? The problem is usually posed in the impossible question - "where do you draw the line?" There is no answer. There is a thing called pornography and there is a thing called art. You can recognise the difference when the two extremes are put side by side, but there is no clear dividing line between the two. Beautiful art can be pornographic and pornography can be artistically beautiful.

The value of most visual representations lies in the context in which it is shown. The medical textbook and the art gallery are very different to the home computer and the "adult" movie house. The same image in the art gallery could be unacceptable on an office computer. A crucifix in a museum can be an important and challenging work of art but the same statue in the front of a Church can be idolatrous and corrupting. In the computer age we cannot control where any work will be shown.

Art is more than self-expression. When we place it in galleries for other people to see, or use a controversial photo to advertise an exhibition, it is a social activity. And its value lies in its impact on the viewer. One of the fundamentally weakest arguments against censorship is that art never harms anybody. If it can do no harm it can do no good either. If it can do no harm it cannot enhance, ennoble or help anybody. This argument is like the stupidity of the claim that advertising (e.g. for tobacco, or alcohol) does not affect consumer behaviour. If the argument were vaguely true nobody would spend any money on advertising.

Viewers differ. As the scripture says: "To the pure all things are pure, but to the defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure" (Titus 2:15). The viewer brings their innocence and their corruption to any work of art. It is hard to blame the artist for other people's corruption. And yet the artist should know of our common corruption for there is no temptation that is not common to man (1 Corinthians 10:13). The intelligentsia should know the failure and weakness of humanity.

Churches should have done better in protecting children in their care because Christians teach the universality of sin. We, of all people, oppose the humanistic idealism of trusting in the goodness of humanity. It was to our credit that we thought paedophilia was an unthinkable taboo that nobody would break. But we were shown to be seriously wrong in that estimation. We should have been as vigilant in our auditing of relationships, as we have had to be with auditing accounts. Our credibility has taken a great blow.

But the artistic community would gain greater credibility if they took more responsibility for the consequences of their work. They would be more believable in their moral outrage if they unleashed it on some subject like pornography, prostitution and paedophilia than in defending their right to offend the historical norms of society. Artistic photographs of nude 13 year olds in the context of today's struggle with paedophilia and sexualization of children, is at the very least socially insensitive if not culpably irresponsible. The Bible says God made everything beautiful in its time - this is not the time.

Phillip Jensen, Dean of Sydney.

Connect09

Here is the Connect09 Prayer we prayed together on Sunday night.

Father God, we praise you for your love for all people and for sending Jesus to be the Saviour of the world.
Help us to share this love with others.
We pray for the people of our city and beyond.
By your Spirit prepare their hearts to respond to your Word and put their trust in you.
As we connect with them, may they connect with you, and find the joy of sins forgiven and life eternal through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Amen.


Don't forget to have a look at the Connect09 website.

A Latte or the Lord?

How to descend into irrelevance.

DENVER — Connection Metro Church, which used its foyer coffee bars to attract visitors to its eight satellite churches in the Denver area, has decided to abandon ministry altogether to focus on coffee. "People liked the coffee a lot better than the ministry, according to congregational surveys, so we’re practicing what we preached and focusing on our strengths," says former teaching pastor and now chief marketing officer, Peter Brown. Many in the congregation seem downright relieved. "The sermons were okay, but the vanilla frappes were dynamite," says one woman who regularly attended the church for two years so she could enjoy the special brews. "I even brought my Jewish neighbors and they loved them." The staff of Connection Metro Church began noticing last year that more money was coming in through the coffee bar than in the offering. "People complimented us about the pastries and mochas but didn’t really mention the teaching," says Brown. "After feeling disappointed, we got pragmatic about it and realized God was telling us where to put our efforts." The church renovated each of its locations into Connection Coffee Houses and removed most traces of its spiritual past. Now crowds are up and many former members are flourishing.



More here

It's great to have good coffee, but its not the reason why we meet.