Driscoll's 18 Points

Unless you were at the recent conference, you wouldn't know what 18 points Phillip Jensen was talking about in his most recent From the Dean.

Here is a summary of the 18 Points. And here some of the bishops and church planters respond to them.

From the Dean: On Driscoll

Recently Sydney has had the pleasure of hearing an American preacher, Pastor Mark Driscoll. In a two-week period he spoke in many venues, including the Cathedral.

In the Cathedral he twice addressed a packed gathering of Christian workers. His second address was a challenge to our evangelistic ministry of the gospel in this city. He lovingly told us of eighteen problems that he saw we had. It was an address that has caused some considerable discussion amongst Sydney's evangelical community.

Since that address I have been approached by many people wanting my opinion on Mark Driscoll and in particular on his critique of Sydney's evangelism. As one of those who invited Mark to speak to us, I am keen to keep the conversation going and to ride the enthusiasm that he has engendered amongst the next generation of Christian leaders.

I hope to look at the eighteen points in subsequent articles but before doing that I think it is important to make some general observations about listening to criticism.

Mark Driscoll is a fine Christian man, gifted and blessed by God to undertake a great ministry in his home city, Seattle. He loves the Lord Jesus Christ as his Saviour and Lord. He upholds the great Reformation doctrines of grace and seeks to teach the Bible as he reaches the lost with the Gospel. His gifts in oratory and communication are enormous. He is a great evangelist: able to communicate with his generation, making the gospel clear and its claims compelling.

His address to us in the Cathedral was more that of a prophetic preacher than an expositor of the Bible. He spoke as a Christian friend about the problems he sees we have. As such, it is important that we weigh what he says (1 Corinthians 14:29).

There are three obvious mistakes that we can make concerning such a message and messenger.

The first mistake is that of reactionary defensiveness. He was hard-hitting and critical. He said things that can make us feel very uncomfortable. He said them with force and vigour. He was calling upon us to change our ways. All of this can create defensiveness within us. We want to argue with him and explain ourselves.

There are many ways that we can defend ourselves. We can find fault with his manner or his choice of words. We can look for holes in the logic or point out the minor errors of fact especially about Sydney. We can qualify what he has said to the point where we have domesticated his main points. Or we can complain about what he failed to address (e.g. some find fault in his attack on young men because he did not speak to young women - as if he was supposed to say everything).

Some people are unhappy with his rhetorical use of hyperbole, generalisations, stark contrasts, lack of nuanced discussion - but in all this he is not dissimilar to Jesus' preaching. He is a man who confronted us with hard questions - we must be very wary of our own defensiveness.

The second mistake is to become a sycophantic follower. Mark is a remarkable man with many clear and great insights but he is not the only one, nor is he always right about everything, nor would he want people to follow him instead of Jesus.

The prophet is without honour in his own country but has great honour overseas. It is humorous to hear of the respect that our preachers have overseas, and the honour that overseas speakers have in Australia.

We have had many compelling preachers come through our city over the years. Each arouses a new generation of enthusiastic followers. Over time we get used to the arrivals and departures of the John Stott, Dick Lucas, Billy Graham, Bill Hybells and Rick Warren. We have been blessed over the years by books and tapes from Francis Schaeffer, Tim Keller and John Piper. America is full of great preachers and leaders who influence Australian Christianity. Mark is not the only voice to listen to and learn from. It is immature to think that any single person is the answer to all our problems.

Mark Driscoll's challenge to us is timely and helpful. But his criticisms may be more helpful than his solutions. The gulf in church life between a denominational church in Sydney and an independent church in Seattle is quite enormous. Our theological perspective on church and ministry is also quite different.

This is not to say we have nothing to learn from him or that we should not change what we are doing in the light of his challenge. But just as defensiveness is wrong, so is slavish sycophancy.

The third error is to do nothing.

It is manifest that if we are going to reach our community we must change. Mark has challenged us to change and I believe he is right. Much of what he said is already in the Diocesan Mission statements. But having them in mission statements and putting them into practice are two different things.

I was glad to host Mark speaking to us because he is challenging us to change in the very direction that we want to change. But it is all too possible to spend time weighing what he said rather than doing anything about it. He has caused a real movement in the camp - it is important that we capitalise on his visit and bring in change.

Those who are defensive will oppose any change. Those who are sycophantic will wait till Mark returns to tell us what to do. Both errors we have to avoid. If Mark never returns it will be a shame and our loss. But it will be an irrelevance to his message - for his challenge to us was to get moving, to take initiative, not to wait around to be told what to do next.

Phillip Jensen
28 September 2009

The Day of the LORD

As promised, a little late, here are the references to the Day of the Lord.

Isaiah 13:6 Wail, for the day of the LORD is near; as destruction from the Almighty it will come!
9 Behold, the day of the LORD comes, cruel, with wrath and fierce anger, to make the land a desolation and to destroy its sinners from it.

Isaiah 58:13 "If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on my holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight and the holy day of the LORD honorable; if you honor it, not going your own ways, or seeking your own pleasure, or talking idly;

Jeremiah 46:10 That day is the day of the Lord GOD of hosts, a day of vengeance, to avenge himself on his foes. The sword shall devour and be sated and drink its fill of their blood. For the Lord GOD of hosts holds a sacrifice in the north country by the river Euphrates.

Ezekiel 13:5 You have not gone up into the breaches, or built up a wall for the house of Israel, that it might stand in battle in the day of the LORD.

Ezekiel 30:3 For the day is near, the day of the LORD is near; it will be a day of clouds, a time of doom for the nations.

Joel 1:15 Alas for the day! For the day of the LORD is near, and as destruction from the Almighty it comes.

Joel 2:1 Blow a trumpet in Zion;sound an alarm on my holy mountain! Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble, for the day of the LORD is coming; it is near,
11 The LORD utters his voice before his army, for his camp is exceedingly great; he who executes his word is powerful. For the day of the LORD is great and very awesome; who can endure it?
31 The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes.

Joel 3:14 Multitudes, multitudes, in the valley of decision! For the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.

Amos 5:18 Woe to you who desire the day of the LORD! Why would you have the day of the LORD? It is darkness, and not light,
20 Is not the day of the LORD darkness, and not light, and gloom with no brightness in it?

Obadiah 1:15 For the day of the LORD is near upon all the nations. As you have done, it shall be done to you; your deeds shall return on your own head.

Zephaniah 1:7 Be silent before the Lord GOD! For the day of the LORD is near; the LORD has prepared a sacrifice and consecrated his guests.
14 The great day of the LORD is near, near and hastening fast; the sound of the day of the LORD is bitter; the mighty man cries aloud there.

Malachi 4:5 "Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes.

Acts 2:20 the sun shall be turned to darkness and the moon to blood, before the day of the Lord comes, the great and magnificent day.

1 Corinthians 5:5 you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.

1 Thessalonians 5:2 For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.

2 Thessalonians 2:2 not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come.

2 Peter 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.

Women's Evangelistic Prayer Breakfast

Are you a woman who works in the city?

Do you have friends, family members and colleagues who don’t yet know Jesus?

Would you like to join with other like-minded women from TBT to pray that these people would come to know Jesus? To pray that our conversations would be seasoned with salt and our words wise? To pray for opportunities to speak of the hope that we have?

Then join Mandy at Café Rush from 8am-9am on Thursday 25th September [and the last Thursday of every month thereafter (30th October and 27th November)] to pray. You can even grab a coffee and some breakfast at the same time.

Café Rush: 263 Clarence St, Sydney (just a few minutes from the Cathedral, between Druitt and Market Sts)

Men's Social Night

This Saturday at 6:30 we are having our Men’s Social event. We will have steak n fries in the city then head down to the new TBT offices for a game of “500”, or whatever takes your fancy.

But I challenge you all to a game of 500 (not at the same time).

Meet at the Cathedral (George St door) at 6:20 on Saturday night .

If you are running late call me on 9265 1673 (which is directed to my mobile).

Women's Afternoon Tea

Today from 3pm at Mandy's in Glebe. If you don't know the address ring 9265 1673 and we'll let you know.

Here's a sample of some of the food we'll be enjoying ...



Feel free to drop in any time throughout the afternoon. We'll order some Thai for dinner at around 7pm.

Looking forward to hanging out with my sisters in Christ.

M

So, what are you reading at the moment?

A couple who were visiting at The Bible Talks on Sunday night asked me what I was reading at the moment (apart from the Bible).

I shared with them that I was currently reading The Consolations of Theology, available at Moore Books. Edited by MTC lecturer Brian Rosner, it also contains contributions from other MTC lecturers Andrew Cameron, Richard Gibson, Peter Bolt and Mark Thompson. It's not an easy read, but by looking at a great theologian from the past (such as Boethius, Luther or Lactatius) it demonstrates the great comfort that a true understanding of God can provide the believer. I've really appreciated the insight and practical reminder of the great hope that we have and the comfort it provides.

When they asked me for any other recommendations and I gave them my 3 other favourite reads. I try and read each of these books at least once a year, with another person if at all possible.

They are The Cross of Christ, John Stott, Knowing God, JI Packer and A Call to Spiritual Reformation, Don Carson. I'm pretty sure that each of these 3 are available at the Cathedral Bookshop - why not pick one up after church on Sunday?

Escape - Friday 19th September

Join other Christians from all over Sydney for a relaxed dinner and good conversation this Friday night!

From the Dean - 14 September 2008

The other day I went to the optometrist. It is a strange thing to look at glasses instead of looking through them - leaving aside the difficulty of looking at your glasses carefully when you do not have them on! Glasses are designed to look through, not look at. They are supposed to help us see the world in sharper focus. But, if the lenses are distorted or even dirty, they can distort your vision of the world instead of clarifying it.

For the last couple of centuries western civilisation has been looking at the world through the lens of the public media. The prophets have been the journalists as they mediated and explained the world to society, and ourselves to us.

Journalists have had to fight hard to avoid their message being compromised. They have had to resist the seduction of the media owners' profit motive as well as the government's desire to control public broadcasting. But the fight has become irrelevant in the face of the electronic revolution that is overtaking the world.

The revolution in electronic technology has overwhelmed us. Now anybody can speak to anybody within a few seconds without censorship. We no longer need the public media to describe the world to us. It is like laser surgery - we can see the modern world without our glasses.

Mark Scott, the General Manager of the ABC, is reported as saying: “We are seeing a great transformation from the era of media barons and public broadcasters, controlling all that was seen or heard or read, to a great democratisation of media where anyone, anywhere can report or comment or analyse, and find an audience.”

Naturally such an open and free system has created all manner of problems. For example, the revolution has given rise to the spread of pornography, the availability of on-line gambling, and the rapid dissemination of misinformation. Human sinfulness will always use the technology of the day to rear its ugly head.

Yet the advantages of the new world of communication so vastly outweigh the problems, that it is overpowering all other media. As the telegram is no longer available, so the newspapers, mail, fixed line telephones, and large commercial TV stations are all undergoing threat. Even some basic books, like dictionaries and encyclopaedias, seem to have a limited future.

Today we access information rather than read. We relate technologically rather than physically. Our “friends” on Facebook are people we have never met and yet are more important and even more real to us than the people living next door.

Advertising in mass media has paid for reporters to research and recount the news of the day. Smaller readership means declining advertising revenue. This in turn reduces the quality of journalism - which further erodes readership.

For some time regular readers have noticed the blurred line between editorial and reporting. All news stories have become editorialised. In one sense it is impossible to report without opinionating. All stories are biased summaries. However, objective reporting has been replaced with intentional subjectivity.

Journalists have long argued for the importance, even necessity of their profession. Their commitment to fearless, impartial investigation and exposure of the truth is said to be the necessary foundation for a free and democratic society. But the lack of professionalism, their clear bias, their involvement in creating the news rather than reporting it, their stereotyped way of framing stories, all belie their claims.

Fast disappearing are the reporters who reported what happened. Today journalists create the news by stimulating conflict and then “reporting” on their own homemade stories.

The high moral ground of concern for the truth has become just empty rhetoric used to gain readership and credibility. The moral imperatives of professional journalism are about as believable as “Truth, Justice and the American way”. It is only believed within their own circles.

The public media are now in the optometrist shop trying to look at themselves.

This week the journalist Paul Sheehan complained of the traditional media's political bias concluding “Everywhere there are signs of growing cynicism with the media: an unwillingness to pay for what can be obtained free on the internet, a refusal to shuffle through the old media information portals, and a contagious knowingness and irony about the traditional media's self-proclaimed role as moral guardians and custodians of the public good.”

And Mark Scott expressed his desire for the future of the ABC as “to create a service - online and on television - that allows citizens to watch for themselves key democratic processes and public events: unmediated, unfiltered.”

Unmediated media is a wonderful idea. It is impossible, because the media is the message. But it is a wonderful play on words as well as a great ideal to pursue. To let people speak for themselves and to be heard without intermediaries distorting their message. How wonderful to put the speaker and the hearer in direct contact with each other. This is the electronic revolution that the public broadcasters are struggling to keep up with.

This is the media revolution that Christians have been wanting for years. It suits us as the printing press suited us back at the time of the Reformation. It enables us to speak directly to the world without media distortion of our message.

It is like that greater media revolution that happened in the first century. Then all intermediaries were abolished as God became Man and removed the sin and judgment that separated us from God. Now we no longer need mediums, priests, sacrifices, temples or gurus. Now we are in direct contact with God in the man Jesus Christ. Only the man who is God can be the mediator between God and man.

“For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all” (1 Timothy 2:5f).


Phillip Jensen
14 September 2008

From the Dean: The Foundation of Father's Day - 7 September 2008

It appears that Father's Day is about 100 years old - at least in the USA where it was started.

Australia's history of celebrating Father's Day may be different. Unlike most of the world, we do not follow the American date of the third Sunday in June. But finding the source of our celebration is not as easy as discovering the American foundations.

There are two common accounts of the commencement of Father's Day in the USA.

The first comes from a mine disaster that killed 361 men. A Methodist Episcopal Church in Fairmont, West Virginia, held a special service on July 5th 1908 to celebrate fathers, seeing that so many had died in the tragedy.

The other foundation of Father's Day in America is more personal. It was the story of Mrs Sonora Smart Dodd of Spokane, Washington. When she was 16 her mother died in childbirth leaving six children. Her father, a civil war veteran, raised the children as a single parent. Sonora's deep appreciation of the father lay behind her desire to honour fathers. It was while she was in church on Mother's Day 1909 that she thought of celebrating fathers with a special day.

With the help of the ministers fraternal and the YMCA she organised the first citywide Father's Day. Her plans were to hold it on her own father's birthday (June 5), but could not organise it in time. So it was held on the third Sunday in June 1910.

It seems that from these two events the modern idea and celebration spread across the nation and from America across the world.

It is not surprising that both ideas were connected with church. Not just because, in the early twentieth century, the church was the centre of social organization - but because family, honouring parents, giving thanks, and fatherhood are all such integral parts of Christianity.

It is not surprising that the celebration went beyond the church into the community as a whole. Fatherhood is part of creation. It is intrinsic to humanity and the concern of the whole society.

What is surprising, and very sad, is the failure of much modern fatherhood. There is today a failure to take paternal responsibility, matched by the failure to respect honour or value fathers and fatherhood. Words like "patriarchal", "paternalism" and even "father" itself are seen as derogatory terms. Through divorce, de facto relationships and sexual permissiveness, the "absent father" is becoming all too common, as many single mothers are left to raise their children alone. More concerning still is the danger involved in the growth in numbers of de facto stepfathers.

Christianity has an important contribution to make to society on the subject of fatherhood. We are committed to the Creator God whom we know as our Father. He has always been the Father. For all eternity, before the creation of the world, he was the Father. He is the one upon whom all human fatherhood has been modelled (Ephesians 3:15). He is called the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 15:6, 2 Corinthians 1:3, Ephesians 1:3, 17, 1 Peter 1:3, Revelation 1:6).

Our focus on Jesus does not distract us from the Father. Just the reverse, it models for us the relationship of Father and Son and introduces us to God as our Father. Jesus is God the Son become man. And as the Messiah, the Christ, Jesus is also the Son of God, just as all who are his people - the Christians - become the children of God (John 1:12-13).

The work of Jesus was to do the will of his Father. Ultimately Jesus will hand his kingdom over to his Father as he is subject to his God and Father (1 Corinthians 15:24-28). Jesus' work in dying and rising for us brings us to his Father. For Jesus is the one and only way to the Father (John 14:6). It is as the Spirit of the risen Lord Jesus is poured into our hearts in rebirth that we come to call the almighty creator of the universe and judge of all the world: "our father" (Romans 8:15f, Galatians 4:6).

Fatherhood is built into creation and is central to Christianity. This is one of the bridges by which society can understand the Christian message and by which Christians can make contribution to society as a whole.

As Christians we know the importance of honouring father and mother. It is built into the very commandments of God. We also know the importance of being a father who loves and provides, protects and disciplines his children as God does for us.

We live in a society that is confused about gender roles, unsure of how to raise boys, and with a generation of adult men unwilling to make commitments or undertake responsibility for others. It is the individualism that atheism teaches. It is miserable and lonely for many men as well as women. It fails to reproduce itself as the birth rate drops well below sustainability.

The message of the Bible was never more needed in Australia than today. Let us be bold to declare the greatness of our great God and Father. Let us be bold to uphold the importance of fatherhood in the structure of a healthy society. Let us train up our boys and young men to rejoice in the privilege of taking on the responsibility of becoming fathers. Let us encourage fathers to stick to their task of raising their children in the fear and nurture of the Lord. Let us invite all Australians to come into the family of the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.





Phillip Jensen
07-09-08


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Fathers Day at TBT

This Sunday at TBT is a special Father's Day meeting. Phillip Jensen will speak on the topic of Disparaging Fathers. The passages to read up and examine are Romans 4:13-25, and Genesis 12:1-3, 15:1-6, 16, 17:15-21.