Manly Life Church

A new shape for church

What are the best experiences you have ever had being a part of a church? For me some would include being in trafalgar square and seeing Mike Pilavachi lead hundreds to Jesus, being in a little township church in South Africa and being filled with the Spirit, being invited to lunch in London on Christmas day after church and recently seeing a church gather to pray for a sick mum who gets healed. The interesting thing for me is that often they match the experience of the early church. Acts 2:41-47 in the Message;

“That day about three thousand took him at his word, were baptized and were signed up. They committed themselves to the teaching of the apostles, the life together, the common meal, and the prayers.Everyone around was in awe—all those wonders and signs done through the apostles! And all the believers lived in a wonderful harmony, holding everything in common. They sold whatever they owned and pooled their resources so that each person’s need was met.They followed a daily discipline of worship in the Temple followed by meals at home, every meal a celebration, exuberant and joyful, as they praised God. People in general liked what they saw. Every day their number grew as God added those who were saved.”

There is potential with a new church plant to re-imagine how we gather together as a church. We can do things differently, not for the sake of it, but to more effectively be the people of God.

Life in the early church would have been an amazing community to have been a part of. Many had followed Jesus only to see him crucified. But now he has been seen to conquer death and breath his Spirit on the church. After a knockout sermon from Peter, 3,000 decide to follow Jesus and the result is incredible. As Jim Wallis from Sojourners states;

“The message of the Kingdom became more than an idea. A new human society had sprung up, and it looked a lot like the new order to which Jesus pointed. Here love was given daily expression; reconciliation was actually occurring. People were no longer divided into Jew and Gentile, slave and free, male and female. In this community the weak were protected, the stranger welcomed. People were healed and the poor and dispossessed were cared for and found justice. Everything was shared and joy abounded, and ordinary lives were filled with praise. Something was happening among the Christians that no one could deny.”

As Leslie Newbigin points out, the credibility of the Gospel was people who believed it and lived it. Jesus did not write a book but formed a community.

Based on Acts 2:42-47 and the elements in the gathered believers time together, how could we re-imagine being a church community? In other words not revert to the default option of church as it is commonly done, but make a shift to something more dynamic, more engaging, more participatory? Something worth investing your life in?

One thing you could derive from the passage is that Sunday’s matter – or at the least gathering matters. There is something special that happens when believers get together – the presence of God is there, community gets built, people get prayed for, truths and revelations are taught and shared, collective worship occurs.

The shift for me is how do we shape our gatherings so that what is important has space and time! In other words how do you shape our time so that someone can get prayed for and healed. How do you meet so that there are real times of eating together and sharing amongst our community? How do you allow all the gifts that are insides each member of our community to be expressed?

So here is an idea… Inspired by the gatherings of the first believers. Doing things differently because we want more…

Two parts to our time together each week

One that is shared as a whole community
One part that allows for us to engage, participate, share, move around.

So obviously it all has to begin with a big welcome, coffee, the joy of being together

We might then move into our together time… Worship and ministry, the scriptures read and taught, news and testimony from around the community.
So the first 50 minutes or so of the gathering is spent in praise, in seeking the presence of God, in sharing the stories from within our community, in listening to the Word of God and teaching.

After this is hopefully where it then gets more interesting, a bit different, hopefully more engaging, more dynamic…

As the teaching ends the offer of different options for the community is presented…

Some might stay in the main space for more worship and time with God
Others go to prayer rooms for prayer ministry, healing, someone to listen to them. Genuine seeking of God, prayers for healing and restoration…
Others mighty go to communal space for fellowship and a meal. Game of bocce, building community…
One week some might have a space to discuss justice and compassion. Support the Micah Challenge, organise Christmas shoe boxes, support children overseas. Others might plan a community act of kindness.
Another space is dedicated to a gift exchange board. People are encouraged to share things to give away – both goods and services.
In another room there is a space for confession to an elder in the church.
A seminar is offered – A short message or teaching on different areas is given by a member of the church. Maybe on how to read the bible better, improving your prayer life, lifestyle stuff like health, diet, exercise. An expert on finances or relationship tips… you get the idea!
And of course have the kids involved for most stuff. Yes a space for them to hang out and have fun and be taught, but also ensure they are a part of the community.

I want to take the approach that people are mature, are looking for more, and wanting a richer diet when they gather. While it might take a little more effort and engagement, it will be a more valuable time

So time together, and then time to engage, expressions of kingdom life, of the things that made the first Spirit filled believers life together come alive… What elements can you think of? Could you lead or participate in?

Let me leave you with this… church can either be a noun or a verb… Either it is the name of something we attend and listen to or it is something that we do, we participate in, play an active role in. My guess is that if we can make a bit of a shift and Christ is honoured in that, then this whole thing could become a whole lot more exciting.

Thoughts???

God’s presence or bust!

Victoria spoke last night at Manly Life on that great passage in Exodus where Moses says to God; “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?”

In the same passage God promises; “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.”

This is the ongoing story of God’s people through time – it is His presence in and through us that makes all the difference to all that we do. It should be what distinguishes us from all other people. Whether in the way we share good news, pray for the sick, act with compassion or meet together, it all counts for nothing if the presence of God is not with us. Some thoughts for us as individuals, churches and in our communities…

1. Personally we need to take seriously being the temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Co 6:19). The same Spirit/power that conquered the grave now lives in us (Rom 8:11), the same Spirit of Jesus is now shaping our character (Gal 5:22-26), indeed the same Spirit cries out within us that we are the children of God (Rom 8:15-16). We live as children shaped by the presence in us!

2. As churches we are known for the presence of God dwelling in our midst. Just as the early church was filled with awe, miracles, signs and wonders (Acts 2:43), our meetings today are to be characterised by the presence of God. When someone comes to one of our services we owe them an encounter with the presence of God. Whether that be in a sense of peace and grace or in mighty demonstrations of God’s power – we are to be seekers of his presence with us!

3. In our community we are to be the visible carriers of God’s presence. Jesus promised after his resurrection that “I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matt 28:20). Whatever we do in our communities, let it be characterised by Jesus being there with us. An act of mercy, a word of good news, an encouragement, a prayer of faith – may His presence go with us!

Theologically I believe that battle is over – the church has awoken to the need for the presence of God to manifest in our lives, in our churches, in our mission. “My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.” And where we don’t see it yet, we keep seeking and praying. God don’t send us unless you are with us!

Public Launch of Manly Life Church

Victoria and I are really thrilled to announce that Manly Life will be launching on Sunday the 2nd of September. It has been an amazing journey so far with a great group of new and old friends – and now we are excited to launch a public presence in the Manly area of Sydney. Put simply we can’t wait to join God in bringing Life to Manly (conveniently also our vision line).

Just as Jesus reached out to broken and lost people like Victoria and I, giving us abundant and eternal life, we want to share that life with people in our community. Life for most people is difficult, juggling the pressures of finances, relationships, illness and stress. Jesus makes a tangible difference. Like the dry bones in Ezekiel 37 that come alive with the breath of God, we want to see people come alive as they encounter the love, power and forgiveness of God.

So what is Manly Life? It is a community that values the gospel as good news, that believes God’s presence is still active and powerful today, that values building community that honours people, is generous and hospitable, that does life together, that is socially engaged to do good, is full of ordinary people following a spectacular God. We want to be a church community that you would feel great about being a part of.

There is lots to do between now and when we launch (with our current Sunday gatherings continuing). Pray for us as we work towards a great launch which will hopefully get in our communities imagination. Our ministry teams are forming, our communications are coming together, our local outreaches are taking shape and our sense of community is growing.

“This is what the Sovereign Lord says to these bones: I will make breath enter you, and you will come to life. I will attach tendons to you and make flesh come upon you and cover you with skin; I will put breath in you, and you will come to life. Then you will know that I am the Lord.” Ez 37:5-7

Bill Hybels on Church Planting

A good article on church planting here by Bill Hybels from Willow Creek in Chicago.

http://willowanz.blogspot.com.au/2012/06/bill-hybels-hardest-years.html

Good insight here… Bill; “I think [church planting] is inherently messy. I think it’s inherently confusing. I think it’s inherently complex. We can help, and council, and bless each other, but one of the toughest things I’ve ever been through is the first five or ten years of planting Willow,”

Good thoughts on managing priority of the family too.

My friend Jamie Freeman who has recently planted H3O in Dee Why said as much recently too – a hard road! But ultimately a good thing to spend your life on.

Choose Your Own Spiritual Adventure

Being in the religion section of Manly Library is as good a place as any to realise that you no longer live in Christendom (that mystical place when everyone was a Christian and the church held the dominant position in all areas of society). There are books on every imaginable spirituality and religion. Indeed the lady standing next to me in the religion section smelt like a walking incense stick…

With the release of the latest census data it is fair to say that Australia is becoming simultaneously a more diverse religious place and a less religious place. So what then is the fate of Christianity in Australian society? Is it destined to be one faith among many? Perhaps it will be reduced to a few useful spiritual slogans for the spiritually enlightened types? Or could we one day see a resurgence of Christian belief and impact by a church stripped of some of the unhelpful institutional baggage.

Jesus claimed to be the way, the truth and the life, the only path to God. He claimed if you want to know God, to get to know him. I imagine to the average Australian who knows believers from different faiths and non believers alike, this must seem a bit narrow and outdated.

As Leslie Newbigin (a Bishop in the CofE last century) said; “How is it possible that the gospel should be credible, that people should come to believe that the power which has the last word in human affairs is represented by a man hanging on a cross?” If we believe the Jesus story is true, if we believe that it is unique and we believe it is powerful – then how will that come to bear on a society that is increasingly spiritual but not religious? Searching for meaning but not in the church? Open minded but thoroughly skeptical?

Newbigin believed that the answer was the church – Christian communities living out the gospel and making it credible and powerful through their belief and practices. In other words, it becomes a powerful force once again when people can see it in action.

Talking about the early church Jim Wallis from Sojourners says;

“The message of the Kingdom became more than an idea. A new human society had sprung up, and it looked a lot like the new order to which the evangelists pointed. Here love was given daily expression; reconciliation was actually occurring. People were no longer divided into Jew and Gentile, slave and free, male and female. In this community the weak were protected, the stranger welcomed. People were healed and the poor and dispossessed were cared for and found justice. Everything was shared and joy abounded, and ordinary lives were filled with praise. Something was happening among the Christians that no one could deny.”

I am hopeful for the future of Christian faith in our country because like many I believe it is powerful to save and to transform. At Manly Life my hope is that people will see a community that bears witness to the truth and power of the Gospel by the way it follows Jesus and does life together. There is no more powerful a force than a community that loves one another and its neighbours around it. When we gather we want to share stories of grace and hospitality, to pray expectantly and see God move whether through signs and wonders, addictions broken or forgiveness given. This is surely the best signpost to the God we claim to know and serve.

Hope matters!

I got a chance to go sit on the beach at lunch and when I looked up I saw this… got me thinking of where hope comes from.

The last year has been quite trying with lots of changes (marriage – good, other – hard). Hope comes from believing that what lies ahead is better. Without hope it is easy for life to diminish, to begin to look inward, to get depressed. Hope matters.

Christian hope comes from resurrection. It means that not only is death not the last word, but that there is a power at work in this world moving things towards a more glorious future. More than just pie in the sky when we die, it means that we get swept up into God’s redemptive plans now. When the early disciples encountered the risen Jesus they went from living in fear to having purpose and hope! The revolution Jesus ushered in was not over, indeed it was just beginning.

There is a great passage in Romans 5 that says we rejoice in our sufferings because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit.

When life feels hard, or disappointing, that is a great opportunity for hope to come through. It says that this is not the end, that there is better ahead and resurrection assures us of this. Hope is not blind optimism, it rests in this experience of God’s love being poured into our hearts. That love is more powerful than fear, more powerful than our current circumstances and more powerful than death. Hope in the midst of the hard times is the catalyst that gets us through! Thanks Mr Skywriter for the reminder.

Take Jesus With You

What a great time at Manly Life last Sunday. New faces, old faces, great worship, Victoria bringing it and a wonderful meal afterwards. Thank you everyone for already making Manly Life such an amazing community! I am reminded this week of what Victoria shared on about intimacy with Jesus. The more I think about it, it is taking Jesus with you in every situation, keeping him in the conversation, being aware of what he might be wanting to say or do through you! Go for it!

This Sunday Louisa and I will be speaking on prayer. Louisa on praying together and me on praying for others. And as John Wimber used to say – “Teaching people how to pray without showing them how to pray won’t work effectively. The model of Jesus was the show & tell model…” So we’ll have a chance to have a go and then stay on for a BBQ.

Life’s Storms

Last night it felt like Manly could actually get blown over and washed away. Victoria was getting nervous that one of the big pine trees outside our apartment was going to come down. On the beach side, the waves came up to the retainer wall and on the harbour side boats were being run up on the beach. It is times like this you hope the foundations of your building are strong.

No life is left untested by storms. Everyone will face sickness, both in those you love and personally. Most go through challenging work situations, staff cuts, strangling office politics. The strongest friendships get tested, the ones closest to us can hurt us the most, relationships can fall apart. Things we once enjoyed can get a hold on our lives. There will be storms.

Jesus says as much at the end of his brilliant sermon on the mount (Matt 7:24-27). Rain comes, streams rise, winds blow and beat… the questions is upon what foundation has your life been built. The wise man has put Jesus’ teaching into practice and like a house built on rock it does not fall. Another whom Jesus calls a fool takes no notice and like a house built on sand does not survive the storm.

Before yesterdays storm I heard a warning to prepare for what was coming. It is the storm that will test the foundations, not the sunshine. When the storm rages I hope that my life is built on THE rock. That I will have peace because I know that I am loved and saved. That I will have power to transform a situation with grace rather than be overcome. That I will have an imparted strength that comes from the one who defeated the grave!

I am an apostle

Does a comment like that make you cringe? Should it?

Now mandatory disclaimer… I don’t think I am an Apostle (and am dealing with my weaknesses, sinfulness and pride like all the saints). But I do believe that I have the evidence for some of this gifting and as Paul says in 1 Corinthians 12:31 “eagerly desire the greater gifts.”

Who wouldn’t want to be involved in pioneering kingdom ministry and seeing heaven invade earth? You just have to accept that as Paul says, apostles will be treated like the refuse of the world.

Ephesians 2 says that the church, “God’s household” is built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets. That is how it gets built. If we are not theological acrobats trying to argue that these gifts and the 5 fold roles found in Ephesians 4 are not in operation today… then we need to identify, equip and cheer on the people God has appointed and anointed for these roles!

I remember at my church in London there was a lady who seemed to bring along about half of the Alpha guests each course. She was a natural evangelist. Similarly my wife Victoria moves in the prophetic in amazing ways. When she prays for people I see her imparting God’s love and identity into people in supernatural ways. We need to cheer these people on and name them for what they are! This is Victoria – prophet, this is Michael – teacher, this is Stephen – evangelist, this is Sue – pastor, called by God to build His church.

I want to be in a church that honours! I want to be part of a church that ministers and governs according to the kingdom of God and not the laws of man. Law controls, grace releases. I cant wait to explore over the coming months and years what it means to be a part of a ministry team that sees the body of Christ built up, attaining the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. And it happens when the apostles, the prophets, the pastors, the teachers and the evangelists are honoured and released!

Potential

What a great joy to have the Manly Life Church team plus some supporters come last night for our first evening of worship in our new venue. I think I would be echoing a fair bit of sentiment last night to say that this new church has huge potential.

Firstly we serve a great God whose kingdom is being established throughout the world. Woody Allen once said 80% of success is just showing up. I sometimes think that building a great church is mainly just putting your hand up and saying to God “here I am” and “let your kingdom come”
The venue is brilliant. I love the fact that we share it with so many different community groups. I love the big hall for our services, the adjacent hall and outdoor area for kids ministry, the big kitchen, break out rooms, parking, undercover eating area with tables and chairs… even the synthetic lawn bowls green. I can imagine what a fully alive church would look like on a Sunday. The worship and teaching, the prayer ministry, the hanging out after for a meal, building community, loving one another!
People, people, people! God is gathering a community together to serve him, love one another and reach the lost. Every individual loved by God, brimming with potential and gifts. What a great group.

The Apostle Paul calls himself the refuse of the world, he says the gospel is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. Your kingdom come!