Dear Friends,

I had the opportunity yesterday in some of our congregations to share some reflections and a challenge for Christians in the face of  worldwide political movements and particularly at this time, the election of Donald Trump as President of the United States of America. Here is a short summary….

When there is a moment of political intrigue or controversy somewhere in the world, there is a moment for Christians to stand up and show the world that Jesus makes a difference to the way we think and act. But it is also a moment when that is difficult. Generally, the tide of people and opinion drive us to do some things that come far more easily. We are often tempted to…

1. Join the yelling crowd – join in with the voices for or against, cheering or jeering, making noise. It is easy to be swept up in a tide of people who are keen to make their opinion known and when that happens we miss the chance to think and act in a way that is distinctive and glorifying to God.
2. Post memes – we can also be tempted to join the cynical and satirical crowd who will not leave their house to join a protest but attempt to make their point known by using social media to flood the world with their preferred politics, often mocking or belittling the contrary opinion.
3. Do Nothing – you can ignore the whole thing and hope it will go away.

I don’t believe any of those options are right for the Christian. Rather, there are four things we should do:

1. Pray – I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people— ² for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. (1 Timothy 2:1-2) If you have been busy cheering, jeering, posting or just doing nothing, you have missed the most powerful and important thing you should have been doing – praying! This is the most important thing any Christian should be doing in the face of worldwide political movements and changes. 
2. Remember who appoints kings – Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. (Romans 13:1) God is in charge of all who rule. He establishes them and he doesn’t make mistakes. That sounds particularly odd to students of history, but remember that God does not always appoint kings and rulers to do good. Sometimes he appoints them for judgement. So point 3…
3. Remember why God appoints kings – Most rulers are appointed to bring order and justice to the world and they do so in (sometimes unknown) submission to the Lord. But on a few occasions we see that God appoints Kings to bring judgement – even kings who do not acknowledge him (see especially v.4 below). We cannot know what God has in store for the people of America but we can know that God is not one-dimensional in the way he operates – his wisdom is unsearchable!

This is what the Lord says to his anointed,
    to Cyrus, whose right hand I take hold of
to subdue nations before him
    and to strip kings of their armour,
to open doors before him
    so that gates will not be shut:
² I will go before you
    and will level the mountains;
I will break down gates of bronze
    and cut through bars of iron.
³ I will give you hidden treasures,
    riches stored in secret places,
so that you may know that I am the Lord,
    the God of Israel, who summons you by name.
⁴ For the sake of Jacob my servant,
    of Israel my chosen,
I summon you by name
    and bestow on you a title of honour,
    though you do not acknowledge me. (Isaiah 45:1-4)

4. Remember who is really King! – I always wonder about Christian people who get worked up about politics and politicians. Have they forgotten about who really matters? Have they placed too much faith in human people when the only one really worth trusting in is God himself? It is utterly ridiculous to think that anyone but the Lord Jesus can really give you all you want and need. Only he is truly King and truly in charge. Even when your “man” gets elected, he or she is still under the authority and power of God and any good they bring about only happens under his control. The Lord Jesus is always among us as King as Revelation 1 explains:

I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, ¹³ and among the lampstands was someone like a son of man,^[d] dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. ¹⁴ The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. ¹⁵ His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. ¹⁶ In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword.His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance. (Revelation 1:12-16)

These are the things Christians ought to be doing when faced with moments of political intrigue, excitement or disappointment. Of all of them I urge you most of all to pray. Here are some suggested prayers:

Prayer for all in authority
Almighty God, ruler of the nations of the earth, give wisdom to Elizabeth the Queen of Australia, to the Prime Minister of Australia Malcolm Turnbull and the Premier of this state Mike Baird, to the members of Parliament and to all who hold office in this land. Grant that their decisions may be based on wise counsel, so that peace and welfare, truth and justice may prevail among us, and make us a blessing to other nations; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

For good government
Gracious Lord, grant to our governments and all who serve in public life wisdom and skill, imagination and energy. Protect them from corruption and the temptation to serve themselves. Help us all to commit ourselves to the common good, that our land may be a secure home for all its peoples; through Jesus Christ the Prince of Peace. Amen.

For our nation
God of the nations,
we pray for Australia.
Inspire and direct our leaders
to seek first your kingdom
and your righteousness,
that we may live peaceful and quiet lives
in all godliness and holiness.
Bring many Australians
to a knowledge of the truth about Jesus,
who gave himself as a ransom for us all. Amen.

And finally, here is a short video from one of my favourite musicians Colin Buchanan who has an uncanny knack of summarising deep theological thought into simple lyrics that even children can digest.

Dear Friends,

This week I co-signed a letter with all the local Anglican ministers expressing our dismay and shock at the ISIS inspired attack in Minto. The letter said:

Local Anglican Ministers Respond to Minto Attack

Like the rest of our local community we were shocked and saddened to hear of the attack that occurred in Minto on Saturday.

We love the SouthWest of Sydney with its rich mix of people from all over the world. We know that the overwhelming majority of our Muslim neighbours want nothing more than to live peaceful lives, working together with everyone else to make Australia a great place to be. We want to wish all Muslims living in our local area a wonderful Eid al-Adha as they finish their celebrations today.

Our hearts go out to the victims of this attack and to our local community as they come to terms with what has happened. We stand together in urging everyone to defeat these actions by responding in the right way.

As Christians we look to the example of Jesus Christ. When He was cruelly murdered He responded by saying, “Father forgive them, because they don’t know what they’re doing” (Luke 23:34). Jesus taught us that the most powerful answer to wrongdoing is sacrificial love.

We are confident that our local community will rise to the challenge of reaching out in love and friendship to our Muslim neighbours at this difficult time for them and we urge everyone to play their part in making sure that good comes out of this terrible act.

I signed the letter because I am convicted that as Australia comes to terms with Islam, and especially radical Islamism, Christians should be leading the way. We are among the few left in our rapidly secularising society who can genuinely understand people who are motivated by theological conviction. I also believe that we must fight jihad not with violence or fearful rejection of Muslims, but with truth and grace.

If you want to think more about how to engage with your Muslim neighbours and friends, then I suggest you read Answering Jihad: A Better way forward by Dr Nabeel Qureshi (HarperCollins) and Understanding Jesus and Muhammad: What the ancient texts say about them by Dr Bernie Power (Acorn Press)

I read a review of the books and have started delving into them with thankfulness. They are a far better resource than many of the speeches we have been hearing this week in federal parliament. One reviewer wrote: “Both books were forged in the context of real-life conversations between Muslims and Christians. This means that the ideas you find in each are not abstract theological concepts, but the ideas you will commonly run into when you speak to Muslims, or try to understand why Muslim groups, like ISIS, behave the way they do. It also means the discussions are framed in everyday language, as well as having been road tested for facilitating helpful conversations.”

I commend the books to you and pray you will have many gracious conversations about our gracious Jesus with all the Muslims you know.

In Christ
Nigel

The Anglican Church is in trouble. This is not new news but the heat is certainly on now as an increasing number of Dioceses around the world approve and endorse unbiblical theology and practice. Paul writes unequivocally in 1 Timothy 4:16 to his young apprentice saying; “Watch your life and doctrine closely. Persevere in them, because if you do, you will save both yourself and your hearers.” The fear of many is that salvation for the masses is now at stake.

In the UK a number of parishes have set up a new fellowship of churches committed to the teaching of the Bible and salvation through Christ alone. A GAFCON UK representative wrote about it this week:

This is a grass-roots initiative by local congregations which is representative of the views of many across the country, and is in line with the concerns of Anglicans from the GAFCON movement worldwide as expressed in the Jerusalem Declaration of 2008 and subsequently.

The message being clearly conveyed is that there are Church of England churches that hold to the unchanging truths of the gospel and the formularies of the Church of England; these churches oppose the relentless slide towards revisionism in the Church of England structures; these churches are prepared to take action to protect their congregations. These churches will promote faithfulness to the gospel and provide fellowship for those who share this commitment, and it is for these reasons that we warmly commend this initiative.

The Chairman of GAFCON, The Most Revd Nicholas D. Okoh wrote the following after a visit to the USA this week:

We face unprecedented global challenges, but the successful establishment of the Anglican Church in North America, now formally recognised by the majority of the world’s Anglicans, is a sign of hope. God in his mercy has raised up GAFCON for such a time as this to call the Anglican Communion back to its biblical roots. Let us therefore stand shoulder to shoulder as a global family and be men and women of courage, committed to the glory of Jesus in the Church which he has purchased by his own shed blood.

In our timely study of 2 Thessalonians, we focussing in on perseverance in the face of opposition and the importance of standing firm with Jesus. There is perhaps no more important message for Christian people at this time. We had a great discussion in our Growth Group on Tuesday about the power of Jesus – 2 Thessalonians 2:8 is a great reminder of the power of the one we follow, the one who is grace and truth.

Please pray for Anglicans around the world who are watching their life and doctrine closely.

Thankful for your partnership in the Gospel
Nigel

As another wonderful Christmas season draws to a close so does Mark Schroder’s ministry among us. Mark was one of the first people I met in Campbelltown – we were introduced by Stephen Bomford because of our shared interest in cycling. He was a tall primary school teacher with a passion for youth ministry. I was a green Senior Minister hunting for someone to take the youth and children’s ministry out of the doldrums. Inviting Mark onto the team with Leanne and I was perhaps the easiest decision I have made in ministry.

He set to work creating new connections with Broughton and St Peter’s, with local schools and families. Thoughtfully, theologically, creatively and passionately Mark renovated the ministry over five years to create a clear and cohesive pathway for young people to connect with Jesus and be saved. It wasn’t all plain sailing and there were moments where the change was hard and caused tension but Mark’s passion, decisiveness and clarity of thought has meant the outcomes were positive for the gospel. Gospel engagement over good entertainment has been our goal. Anyone can draw a crowd, few train the next generation of gospel leaders.

There is so much to give thanks to God for. We have more than 100 young people connected to 10am. We have more than 150 young people being taught the bible every week. We have 50 young adults in growth groups and serving in ministry. Mark has driven all of that and if you’ve had your eyes open you have seen it happening. But there are many things you would not have seen that are worth noting.

Mark has put a lot of effort into growing Scripture at Campbelltown East Primary School. Mark has walked alongside our HSC students to keep perspective. Mark has taken young people on training camps to equip them for a lifetime of Christian service. Mark has visited young people in hospital. Mark has caught up with countless young people struggling with existential questions and doubt over milkshakes, slurpees and Kings Chips. He’s also been pursuing further theological study to sharpen his thinking and skills.

As you can see, he leaves a big 195cm tall man shaped hole in our ministry. But I am confident that the people he has trained and encouraged are more than competent to continue things on until we seek a replacement.

So as the sun goes down on this Christmas Day, so does it go down on Mark’s time among us. We’ve become friends, competitors on the bike and partners in ministry and I thank God for Mark. I also thank God for his appointment as Chaplain at Broughton. Under God, I am expecting good things such as we have seen among us.

Thanks Mark. It’s been great. And thankfully, it still will be.

Soli Deo Gloria.

You might have noticed that the name of the card you are given when you arrive at church has changed! This is not just mere cosmetics – the new card is designed to create a fundamental shift in the way we think about what happens at church.

Last week I mentioned in a few services Couch to 5K. It is a step by step running program that is designed to help anyone of any level of fitness to run 5km non-stop. The key to the program is following the steps. If you are sitting on the couch eating a tub of ice cream, the idea of running 5km is ridiculous. But the idea of walking down the street for 20 minutes is probably not. And that is where it starts. You go step by step, improving all the time working towards the goal.

The Christian life is much the same. Or should be. Step by step, working towards the goal. But preachers like me have often not acknowledged this and have painted a picture of the Christian life and Christian discipleship that is practically unattainable. To be sure, the Bible speaks in absolute terms – take for example Ephesians 4:

³¹ Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.³² Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

The idea of ridding yourself of all anger/ hate/ lust/ sin might sound ridiculous. But what if I told you it was a step by step process? What if I told you to work hard at it with the Spirit and to keep improving? What if I asked you this: what is the next step for you in squelching your sin? That is an easier question and a realistic one that you can prayerfully work on now. Anyone can take one step towards being more Christ-like!

The Next Steps Card is designed to help you do just that… take the next step in your Christian walk. Each week in church, we want you to consider filling it in. Perhaps you will write your next step and take that card home to remind you. You can also hand it in and we will pray for you, remind you of your next step via email or phone and guide you where you need help. The choice is yours.

But we’re doing this so we don’t see church as just a moment in our week but as a growing opportunity. This is the shift the Next Step card helps us to make.

We don’t want anyone to stand still. We are called to be growing together in Christ. Let’s encourage one another in this often.