Ekklesia

God does exist – the humanists just dont seem to know it – yet!

Okay, so the Swedish humanist society is on the go once again. This time with a campaign that resembles a lot of a campaign in England. The other evening, as I was getting on the subway, I saw this big advertisement saying “God probably does not exist”. It’s almost amusing (deliberate?) that the humanist society of Sweden writes that God probably does not exist. Are they getting second thoughts. In the poster they invite people to go to a website to do a test. It turns out that this test is everything but open-minded. The same kind of advertisement has been appearing in some of the major newspapers the last couple of days.

And by the way, it kind of makes you wonder, how come the chairman of Humanisterna, Christer Sturmark, decided to register the domain “gudfinnsnog.se” [God probably does exist]. Fear of having a discussion or what?

There are plenty of reasons to believe in the existence of God;

1 – Creation as we know it must have an origin. If we assume that the Big Bang was the time of birth of the universe. Then we need to ask ourselves: What happened before “the Big Bang” or what is the origin of it? Have a look at Francis Chan’s video and decide yourself.

2 – Watching Yann Arthus-Bertrands last movie called the Home project 2009 (it can be viewed for free here), I was once again reminded about the fact that earth has (or used to have) a perfect balance.

3 – What about the experience of billions of people? And what about moral. Where did moral come from in the first place?

It is logical to believe in God – it’s not unscientific
It’s the smartest thing to believe in – it’s the best explanation
It’s right to believe in God – there is justice
So get in touch with the Creator who has created the universe and loves you!

Which Jesus do we preach?

I went to Sofia kyrka (part of the swedish lutheran church) this afternoon. There Jonas Gardell (comedian, writer and artist) shared his view on who Jesus Christ was.

Gardell previously wrote a book called About God (2003) and this easter his new book About Jesus (2009) was published. I haven’t had the time to read the book, but meet a lot of people who wonders about the message of this new book. In his 1,5 hour talk Gardell shared his view on who Jesus was.

As we arrived in the church 20 minutes before the talk started, we came into a packed church. Basically all the seats were taken and you could almost feel the expectation in the air. Gardell attracts listeners in a fascinating way. But, despite the fact that the church was full, you need to ask yourself who this Jesus is that Gardell is talking about.

What Gardell does is a fascinating attempt to reconstruct a Jesus that fits a certain agenda. It’s a prime example of how contextual theology can be used in a way that results in a distorted theology. Gardell puts an emphasis on experiences from the present instead of putting more weight on the experiences from the past (i.e tradition and the Bible). Already in the beginning of his talk, Gardell spoke about two diffrent Jesus’ – one created by the church and the true one; Yeshua, a jewish man living in the “shadow” of Jesus Christ, escaping the spotlight. This is just one of many tragic conclusions.

I will have a series of sermons on the subject of Jesus and will return to Gardells talk at a later point here at my blog. I just realise that it’s of great importance to share a different alternative to this book, a perspective that begins in the biblical texts.

Theology in the making (Part 1)

Emergent and missional church are two of many new names or definitions, all trying to describe “new” ways of church life and organisation. At the core it’s basically all about creating a definition of the ecclesiology (the study of doctrine pertaining to the Church itself as a community or organic entity and with the understanding of what the “church” is — ie., its role in salvation, its origin, its relationship to the historical Christ, its discipline, its destiny).

This definition can be done in a numerous of ways. One way to define what this theology (read ecclesiology) is all about, could be to put in a model and compare it with other parameters. Stephen B. Bevans has tried to explain this in his book Models of Contextual Theology. Bevans shares some really interesting thoughts concerning how we do this translation and how we shape different theologies. Bevans’ main thesis and starting point is that “There is no such thing as “theology”; there is only contextual theology. Contextual theology is an imperative, according to Bevans.

Bevans means that we create theology by adjusting two basic parameters; the experience of the past and the present. The past has to do with the Bible and with the tradition. Experiences from the present has to do with values such as culture, social status and social change and both personal and collective experiences (see my illustration below; in Swedish).

In his book Bevans shares a few different models that he has discovered in his studies. These are the Translation, Anthropological, Praxis, Synthetic, Transcendental and the Counter-cultural model. More about these in my next posting.

Breaking the silence

The last couple of months have been busy to say the least.

At the end of 2008 I decided to end my employment at EFS-kapellet, Lund and headed back to Stockholm again. As I was preparing to return to Stockholm, Korskyrkan in Uppsala contacted me about a pastors vacancy opportunity and it turned out to be exactly what I’ve been looking for! Korskyrkan is part of  Evangeliska Frikyrkan (EFK), a network of  314 congregations and with a huge work in some 45 countries outside Sweden.

But best of all though – I’m a happily engaged fella!

I will soon return to my blog – the list of future posts are growing (at least inside my head).

Back from Tanzania

So, I am back from my trip to Tanzania. It was a rather intense 2,5 weeks with lots of new impressions and experiences. We spent most of the time in the small village of Kapolo, just about 10 kilometers from the rural city of Ifakara which can be found close by the main mountain reef some 450 kilometers from the capital of Dar Es Salaam. In Kapolo I got to spend some time with the staff at Christian Volunteer Service (CVS). I also got to meet the kids that go to school at Lars English Medium School, founded by help from a Swedish pastor some five or ten years ago.

The biggest the longest lasting memory from the trip, belongs to the kids in blue, who are the most underprivileged ones in the whole area. Some of them live in families that every now and then has to eat the cortex of the trees in order to survive. Even though we didn’t understand each other 100%, we still managed to have a great time with lots of laughter and playing games.

It is difficult to understand their situation. Some friends in Sweden thought Tanzania was doing pretty well and that there isn’t much of poverty left. Well, that is not the picture I got. In fact it actually seems as if Tanzania is backsliding in some areas.

I have just updated the photo gallery with some photos from the trip. You can browse my new gallery by clicking here or by clicking “Photos” in the menu above.

Enjoy and feel free to comment!

Renovation of the Heart

I have been preparing for yet another sermon. The title is “One step further” and has to do with the fact that we all need to change certain things in our lives and this Sunday we will be looking at how we can make that next step of change happen. As I’ve been writing I happened to pick up a book that has been standing in my shelf the last couple of years, collecting dust and waiting for a special occasion. The book I ended up reading a good part of, is Dallas Willard’s book “Renovation of the Heart”. It was first published back in 2002 and has received a great deal of positive reviews. The subtitle share the main purpose of this excellent book; putting on the character of Christ.

Willard starts by asserting what the Bible clearly states, namely that the human life flows out from the inner being, from the heart and soul (Proverbs 4:23). The Spirit within us have been shaped by different factors and it has a specific character. Therefore, how we live here on earth is almost totally a result of who we have become in the depths of our inner most being. It can be really comforting to ascribe most of our experiences in life to factors outside ourselves, since we then don’t have to take on our responsibility.

The second chapter is dedicated to spiritual formation in relation to the church. Willard boldly states that we need to change and Jesus is the one who is essential for this change to actually take place. What Jesus started 2000 years ago was a revolution. He just didn’t send people out to share some new thoughts, his goal was to gather the whole of humanity under the eternal plan of God. This revolution of Jesus is foremost a revolution that aims for the heart of people, it is a revolution that has to do with a change of character which change humans from the inside out through the personal fellowship with God in Christ Jesus and with other humans.

“There is a fundamental error within the conservative part of Gods church today where they believe the main goal is to prepare as many people as possible for death and to enter into heaven. They strive to get people into heaven rather than getting heaven into people.”

I’m listening to Brenton Brown’s CD Everlasting God and stop as I hear the lyrics of the 13th track “We will go”;

Light of the World, You’ve shone on us
You filled our hearts with hope that reaches out
Friend of the lost, Saviour to me
Friend of the lost, come burn in me
Make me a flame, set me on fire to be
A light in the world

The top 10 tasks of Christian leadership

I’ve already written a post on my impressions from my visit to the New Wine summer conference “Kingdom come” (can be found here). As I went through my notes I found some from a seminary called “The top 10 tasks of Christian leadership”. Sometimes I get a bit suspicious about top-lists (even though I like to use them occasionally), however I found this seminar both helpful and interesting.

I belong to the group of people who strongly believe that there truly is a difference between Christian and other types of leadership. This is something that becomes visible in the first (and most important) point in this list, presented by Will Donaldson, director of Christian leadership at Wycliffe Hall in Oxford, who shared from his extensive experience.

1. The number one task for a Christian leader is to find ways to grow in love for God (Luke 10:27). It’s about pursuing God and loving Him. We do this in many different ways; quiet times, devotionals, conferences, books, retreats and support groups. This is really the only and primary point, upon which the following ones are depending.
2. The second task is about developing and implementing vision. Just as Proverbs 29:18 teaches us, we need a vision that gives a sense of purpose and that provides a sound basis for unity and direction.
3. The third task is to appoint and support staff (Acts 13:1-3). Diversity within the team is important. It’s also important to invest in these by talking, praying together, sharing life, nurturing and guiding.
4. Point four on Will’s list is to mobilize the church into ministry (Eph 4:11-12). This reminds me about the illustration of how the church sometimes can be like a soccer team where 22 are playing, while the multitudes are watching. Will said that most of the ministry will come from the core group, who are the ones who wants to serve and go out. The problem is just that most people aren’t part of the core. This can be managed through providing people with a discipleship track, helping people move to the next step. Rick Warren’s model SHAPE (Spiritual gifts – Heart – Abilities -  Personality – Experience) is one way of doing this.
5. The fifth point is about both identifying and mentoring future leaders (2 Tim 1:13-14). In order to do this Will emphasized the importance of providing with both personal time and good opportunities to test and try. Encouragement, biblestudy and sharing life are some other important tasks to make this happen.
6. The next point is about preaching and teaching the Bible (2 Tim 3:16-17). To quote Will; “Without the Bible we don’t have the good news to the world.” Therefor it is of utmost importance to plan the sermon series very carefully using themes, books, current subjects, bible overviews and so on. It is also important to supplement the preaching and teaching with the small group study.
7. Organizing and leading worship (Rev 5:13-14) is the seventh point. We need to use time in prayer to prepare worship, as we are bringing the people into the presence of God to know Him and to grow deeper in our relationship to Him.
8. Enabling prayer (Acts 4:31) is the next point. Prayer meetings are the powerhouse and the rest is supplemental. The kingdom of God comes through prayer and the Christian leader is called to motivate people to pray. Get people praying!
9. The ninth point is about providing pastoral care (1 Pet 5:2-4). Small groups can function as places of pastoral care, however the small group will not be able to cope with everything. That is why a pastoral team is important. These pastoral teams can have different focuses such as bereavement, marriage, baptism and so on.
10. The last but still just as important as the rest is to lead missions and evangelism (Matt 28:18-20). This is a big, critical and important task in Christian leadership. Some different tools are Alpha, serving the community, teaching about how to be a Christian at work.

Impressions from "Kingdom Come" and visit to the UK

The last couple of days has been a time of summarizing and contemplation, as I returned from my visit to the UK and New Wine’s summer conference “Kingdom Come”. So what are some of my major impressions? One might think that it was visiting the National Gallery at Trafalgar Square and looking at some of Rembrandt’s most beautiful and interesting paintings. But it wasn’t. Another might think that strolling in the British Library, looking at and even reading one of the oldest papyrus available in the world (dated 300 AD) originally sent to the Hebrew readers of the early church, might be a major impression. Well I must admit it made me stoked but it probably wont leave me with a lasting impression.

One thing that really touched me throughout the visit to England and the New Wine conference in Somerset was the atmosphere. I don’t remember when or even if I’ve ever been in a place where 12′000 Christians gather together to worship Christ together, accompanied by a strong sense of expectation and longing to go deeper. I spent most of the time in the main venue where I believe there was somewhere around 6′000 seats. There was a great expectation to experience more of God is and what He wants to do in his church, an expectation stirred up due to the things that have happened around the world throughout the last couple of months, where the Holy Spirit has been stirring up new life, hope, healing and deliverance.

Reoccurring themes and words was “for such a time as this” (Esther 4:14), “your kingdom come and your will be done” (Matthew 6:10). I believe this atmosphere was the result of many different things; but one main reason is that the people of God set aside time to spend quality time and press in worshiping and praying. Time and worship must be two key factors.

Besides the awesome atmosphere, it was a week filled with some amazing teaching. After the morning worship session, Greg  Haslam (senior pastor at Westminster Chapel, London) spoke in venue one, on some texts from the book of First Kings chapter 16-19 and spoke about the life of Elijah. Those teachings were among the best ones I’ve heard for a very long time. Greg managed to intertwine the text with the current situation in England (and Europe) in a prophetic way that gave the texts life and meaning touching subjects such as the calling of Elijah, Elijah’s breakdown, his legacy and his big fight.

Some of the evening speakers were Bill Johnson (pastor at Bethel Church, California), Heidi Baker (missionary, evangelist and founder of Iris ministries) and Simon Ponsonby (pastor of theology at St Aldates, Oxford).

To conclude; Kingdom Come was an amazing conference and I’m sure that it will leave a lasting impression on my life that lies ahead. I will share some more impressions and some of the teaching that really captured my heart, mind and soul, in a couple of days. I met some interesting people from around the world that represent some fascinating ministries, I made new friends that I hope to see again, I got a renewed hunger for more of God, I saw people be set free and others be physically and emotionally healed in the name of Jesus. Those are some of my major impressions from a visit to the UK.

Entering into Promised Land

This past Sunday I preached on Gideon and shared the story about how the angel of the Lord came and sat under the tree at Ofra. The angel didn’t start by a simple “Hello” but with a grand opening line; “The Lord is with you, O mighty man of valor.” (Judges 6:12, ESV). Anyhow, I started out by sharing some of the main events that had happened up until that very day. I mentioned Moses and how he was raised in the house of Pharaoh and how he was the one whom God chose, to lead the people from the bondage in Egypt to the freedom in the promised land. It’s really interesting to see how God makes things happen according to his plans. Just the fact that Moses grew up in the household of Pharaoh himself, is truly fascinating. Gideon at first might appear to be the least among the least, with basically nothing (according to himself) to use as an instrument for Gods purposes. Immediately the angel spoke out the perspective God had of Gideon and reassured him that He was gonna go together with him. That was his promise to him, just as He had promised to follow and lead Moses as he led the people of Israel out of bondage.

This morning I picked up a book that has been ling around for some time now. It is a book written by the dutch catholic priest, university teacher and author Henri Nouwen. In his book called “The Inner Voice of Love”, written as a journal during a period when he fought a clinic depression, Nouwen writes about going into the new land. This reminded me both of course about Moses life, but also about Gideon and even my own life. In the case of Moses it’s pretty obvious, since his mission in life was to bring the people out of Egypt. In a sense I believe the same thing is true about Gideon as well. Even though he wasn’t supposed to lead his people from Egypt, he still received the mission from God to act as Gods tool, in delivering his people from the hands of the Midianites. But first God had to do, what only He can do – help Gideon understand his identity, based on Gods perspective. It seems as if Gideon based his identity upon what other people had said and who he was in regards to his family and his tribe. Once Gideon was brought out of bondage and into freedom, he realized and accepted Gods call on his life.

Why is it that it sometimes seems so much easier to stay in the old and familiar place? Nouwen writes;

“You have a certain opinion about what the new land looks like. Still you feel more at home in the old one, but not feeling really at ease. You know what it’s like in the old land, you know about the joy and worries, about the happy and sad moments. Even though you know you haven’t found that which you long for the most, you are still attached to it. It has become a part of you. Now you have come to realize that you need to leave it and enter into the new land where your Loved One lives. You know that the things that led you in the old land no longer works.” (The Inner Voice of Love, p33; my translation from swedish to english)

Six desires of piety

My summer reading of biographies continues and this time with a book about John Wesley. I’ve started to read “Wesley and the People called Methodists” written by Richard P. Heitzenrater. The first part of this 300+ pages volume is about the early development of the Church in England and how it gradually became the Church of England, following many struggles between the papacy in Rome and the governing forces in England.

Heitzenrater describes the birth of the pietism and religious societies in Europe and England in particular. One of the first step of this was the Calvinists urge for Christians to recognized their elect status and making it visible in their lives, as a human response to God’s grace and in this way the Calvinists did not promote “good works” as such. Parallel to this, there was a whole “new” movement gaining ground in Germany in particular – Pietism saw the light of day. On of the main spokespersons was Philipp Jacob Spener, who was among the very first to present the program of the movement. One of the groundbreaking books was “Pia desideria” (1675). In this book Spener outlined six desires of piety. As I read through these six points once again, I realized how some things tend to repeat. We live in non-cyclical times where the kingdom of God is advancing towards a final goal, at the same time some things repeats themselves. These were the six desires of piety that Spener wrote about;

1) In order for the church to ground its life in the proper authority, the church needed to reemphasize the study of Scripture. This was a reiteration of the theme than was one of the main aims of the Reformation – Sola scriptura (Scripture as sole authority for Christian life and thought).

2) The second point of Spener was also a reiteration of one of the Lutheran themes, namely that the renewal of the church needed to commit to active involvement and concern of laity.

3) Speners third point was about the need of more emphasis placed on the evangelical zeal instead of debating skill.

4) Fourthly, Spener meant that there also should be a practical focus on Christian living rather than intellectual acumen.

5) The fifth point was about the method of preaching. Spener wrote that the preaching should be aimed at the salvation of the listener, not simply for instruction or correction.

6) The final point was aimed at the declining moral and spiritual qualities in the lives of many pastors. Spener meant that the ministerial training should emphasize the development of moral and spiritual qualities in the life of the pastors.

It is really interesting to see how these six points, written more than 300 years, in many ways just was well could have been written in our day and age. In an age when the church is contextualizing away some of the truths we find in Scripture, there truly is a need to reemphasize the study of Scriptures.