Glenn Lyons appointed as Chairman of REACH-SA Leadership Committee
Dear Brothers
Warmest greetings to you all on behalf of the REACH SA leadership committee. A month ago I would certainly not have imagined I’d be writing to you all in my new capacity as chairman of the committee but I’m strengthened by the knowledge that Christ is and always will be the true Head of the Church. We were certainly sad to hear that Bishop Des had to step down early but we are very grateful for his leadership through a short but significant time in our denomination’s history.
In God’s providence we now have seven bishops, along with our Administrator and Chancellor, who will share the responsibility of leadership both regionally and nationally.
I am very glad to report that our first committee meeting was most encouraging and I was impressed by the spirit of unity and ministry mindedness in our discussions.
Naturally there will be changes to our leadership structure and responsibilities. The bishops are all rectors of local churches and this will demand a more devolved and shared responsibility. At the same time, we are aware of the need for us to provide the ongoing leadership, vision and encouragement to all our fellow workers in Gospel ministry. We hope to keep you all updated through the various regional structures as well as regular postings on our website (www.cesa.org.za) and the various social media networks.
Finally, I wish to share three thoughts that are uppermost in my mind at the moment.
Praying: Are the current challenges and difficulties in our country causing many to lose heart? My counselling sessions have definitely increased this year. I also know a number of our brothers in the ministry are grieving the loss of loved ones or struggling with local church troubles. Is it not a time for us to be calling our congregations together for focused prayer as we seek God’s help in sustaining the saints and saving the lost?
Preaching: In difficult times there is always a subtle temptation to focus on more "practical” and "results” orientated solutions. We can easily find ourselves trying more ‘quick fixes’ to keep our people happy and regular. Remember that bran keeps people happy and regular but Gospel preaching keeps people from the gates of hell. Let’s keep the hours spent in preparing and preaching of the Word our weekly priority.
Training: A number of us are desperate for extra staff but lack the finances. Ephesians 4 is clear that we are called to equip the saints. Many of us may be missing the goldmine of help that sits silently in our pews. Let’s think about more ways in which we can recruit and equip ‘volunteers’ to help carry the ministry load in the local church. I can also highly recommend GWC’s revised correspondence course material as a valuable tool for training.
I’m very grateful to so many colleagues who have called or emailed me with warm words of encouragement and prayer. I’m so conscious of my weakness and grateful for God’s grace in enabling me to serve His people in this way.
May our God continue to fill us with His Spirit as we trust in Him and continue the glorious struggle of gospel ministry.
Every blessing to you all and may God give us much fruit in the coming Christmas season.
Seeing People God's Way
In 2 Corinthians 5vs16 Paul makes the very striking statement: “So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view”. The statement is made in the context of Paul’s urgent appeal to the Corinthian Christians (and of course to us) to understand the times and to see both ourselves and others in the light of two divinely ordained events. The first of these events, described in 5vs10, is the future day of judgement, a day on which “we must all appear before the judgement seat of Christ” to give an account to the Lord “for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad”. Commentators are divided about the exact nature of this judgement. Is it the judgement of believers with a view to the giving or withholding of rewards for service done to Christ, or is it a more general day when all will be judged according to God’s righteous law? On balance it is probably correct to say that Paul has the general judgement of all people in view and that it is precisely the threat that this day holds out for the unforgiven person which motivated his urgency in his appeal to them to be reconciled to God. As a believer, Paul knew what it was “to fear the Lord” (5vs11), and because of this, he took both the reality and the seriousness of divine judgement to heart, especially for those who though created in God’s image and thus accountable to Him, were nevertheless ignorant of His love.
The second event, referred to in 5vs14-15, is the death and resurrection of Jesus. “We are convinced”, says Paul, “that one died for all…” Later in the paragraph (5vs19-21), Paul spells out the great significance of Jesus’ death and resurrection. By His death Jesus dealt with the guilt of sin with the result that sin is no longer counted against believers in Christ. But by His death Jesus also dealt with the hostility that existed between people and God because of sin so that through Jesus, we who were God’s enemies can now be reconciled to God. Because of the grace and love of God in Christ, a wonderful exchange thus takes place – “God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God” (5:21). As Paul says elsewhere of Christ, “He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification” (Romans 4vs25).
According to Paul, these events - the death and resurrection of Jesus in the past and the Day of Judgment in the future – should have a radical effect on the way in which we think about ourselves and others. By nature, we see and evaluate ourselves and others from a worldly point of view - in terms of gender, personality, appearance, relationships, gifting, socio-economic status, culture or occupation to name just a few. By nature, and perhaps also as a result of present cultural pressure, we shy away from conversations that encourage people to think about their relationship with God. We may believe in Jesus, but we are reluctant to talk about Him to others. But, says Paul, those who have come to see the truth about the love of God shown in Christ to a world which is under His judgement cannot think or act in this way any longer. As Christians we know what it is to fear the Lord (5:11) and we know the love of Christ (5vs14). As Christians we are convinced that Christ died for all so that no one need remain unforgiven and at enmity with God. And thus as Christians, it is essential that we no longer see people from the world’s point of view, but from God’s point of view and that we therefore “try to persuade men” (5vs11) about the truth of the gospel and implore them on God’s behalf: “be reconciled to God” (5vs20). What is more, the burden we feel for those who are lost is itself a God–given burden, for Paul reminds us that as we speak for Christ to a lost and dying world it is as if God Himself is making His appeal through us!
What an extraordinary salvation Christians enjoy – sins forgiven and relationship with God restored. What an extraordinary privilege we have, to be Christ’s ambassadors holding out His saving message to a world in need. And how urgent the task, for as Paul concludes: “I tell you, now is the time of God’s favour, now is the day of salvation”. May the Lord grant that each of us who name His Name, may come to share His burden for the lost, seeing them not as the world sees them but as God Himself does.
Written by Mervyn Eloff
Presiding Bishop of REACH-South Africa Retires
At the REACH-South Africa Annual Synod this past week (2-4th September, 2014), the Presiding Bishop, Desmond Inglesby announced his early retirement due to medical reasons.
This was what he said in his Presiding Bishop’s Charge:
"It is with great sadness that I need to inform you that, for medical reasons, I have decided to retire early. This means that I will be stepping down as Presiding Bishop with effect from the end of September. Unless the Lord had intervened, this decision was inevitable - but it has come sooner than I had hoped or anticipated. It was always my intention, God willing, to complete at least 5 years of my tenure, but that was not to be!!
Over the past few years my physical condition has deteriorated quite rapidly and significantly. I have made my decision on the advice of Medical specialists, and I believe it is the right thing for me to do. The physical demands required for fulfilling my role have become too much for me.
I have thoroughly enjoyed being a local church Minister, an Area Bishop and for the past 4 years, the Presiding Bishop. It has been a great joy and a huge honour and privilege to have served in these roles in REACH - South Africa.
Reaching this decision has not been easy. I have agonized and prayed over having to step down before my tenure was over, conscious that I may be “letting the side down”. The reality is - I am no longer physically able to fulfill my role in the way I believe it should be done. Although I am disappointed, I am also content with God’s will for my life. I've been blessed with a rich, full and happy life in Christian Ministry, and although I may be stepping down from full time paid ministry, I look forward to continued involvement in a retired capacity.
Of course, I regret that I haven't been able to do more, and I am acutely aware of my own unworthiness to have been granted such a great honour. I also realise that what I have done has been marked by my own sinfulness, frailty and imperfection. I'm grateful that our God is a merciful God.
With Jeremiah, and to the best of my knowledge, I hope I can say 'I have not run away from being your shepherd; nor have I desired the day of sickness. You know what came out of my lips; it was before your face' (ESV Jeremiah 17:16).
Jenny and I want to thank you for your partnership and the incredible support you have given us during my time in office. I especially want to thank the Clergy, the Executive and Trustees for their constant encouragement and affirmation of my role as Presiding Bishop. It has been an incredible experience, and I will always cherish it in my heart.
We want to assure you of our ongoing prayers for REACH-South Africa and for those who will lead our Denomination in the coming years"
As we forgive those who have trespassed against us...
“For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” Matthew 6:14-15
These are challenging words from the Lord Jesus! Everyone has been hurt by someone. Everyone will be able to think of a relationship that has become fractured, tense and difficult. This relationship may be with someone in your place of work, your family or even in your church
And yet here, in his famous “sermon on the mount”, Jesus Christ stresses just how important inter-personal forgiveness is. Notice, he goes so far as to say that “if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”
Does he mean that our forgiveness from God is earned by us being forgiving of others? Is this salvation by works?
No. Why would God have sent his one and only Son to die on a cross if we could instead just earn salvation by being forgiving of others? We are forgiven and saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. In the words of William Temple: “The only thing we contribute to our salvation are the sins from which we have to be redeemed.”
What Jesus means in these verses is that those who have understood the nature and extent of God’s forgiveness will, in turn, be forgiving towards others. And, when you downright refuse to be forgiving towards others; when you shut out any consideration of attempting forgiveness, it is a very worrying spiritual sign. It may be that you have never have really opened your heart to God’s grace and forgiveness.
Just like gauges on the dashboard of a car tell you what’s going on under the hood, so someone’s willingness to forgive others tells you what’s going on in the heart. Of course, the car doesn’t derive its life from the gauges! But the gauges show the state of the engine. Our spiritual life emanates from our union with Christ, but when we show no forgiveness in our lives, it calls into question whether there is union with Christ at all.
So, if you are struggling to forgive someone (and it will never be easy!) the key starting point is to remember, reflect on and immerse yourself in God’s forgiveness of your sin, through Jesus Christ. Consider your own sins against God and the massive debt he cleared for you when he died on the cross. This debt far outweighs anything that anyone has ever done to you. This is what Jesus was driving at in his parable of the unmerciful servant (Matthew 18:21-35).
In his book on the Lord’s Prayer, the great puritan Thomas Watson puts it better than I ever could: “[Our forgiveness of others] is a sign of God’s forgiving us. It is not a cause of God’s forgiving us, but a sign. We need not climb up into heaven to see whether our sins are forgiven: let us look into our hearts and see if we can forgive others. If we can, we need not doubt but God has forgiven us. Our loving others is the reflection of God’s love to us. Oh, therefore, by all these arguments, let us be persuaded to forgive others. Christians, how many offences has God passed by in us! Our sins are innumerable and heinous. Is God willing to forgive us so many offences, and cannot we forgive a few? No man can do so much wrong to us all our life as we do to God in one day.”
We must also remember that God’s forgiveness through Christ does require repentance on our part, as the wrongdoers. We will only be reconciled to him if we repent and believe the gospel (Acts 2:36-39; Colossians 1:21-23).
So too, in human relationships, when the wrongdoer refuses to repent this will put a limit on our forgiveness and reconciliation. Sometimes we are not even able to speak to the wrongdoer (they have died) sometimes we don’t know who they are (an unidentified criminal has harmed you) or sometimes they just plain refuse to admit any wrongdoing. In these situations we will not be able to complete forgiveness and reconciliation. In his very helpful book “Unpacking Forgiveness” Chris Brauns makes this point: “Forgiveness is a figurative handshake. You cannot shake hands alone. For forgiveness to happen, you need to seek out the offending party (or the offended party if you are the offender), extend your hand, and pray that the other party will offer his or hers to you.”
Nevertheless, even in those situations where our forgiveness and reconciliation is limited, even in those situations where the other party does not “offer the hand”, as Christians we must still strive to be gracious and merciful. We must still be praying for and seeking out opportunities to heal the divide. Yes, God’s reconciliation with sinners is dependent on them turning and trusting in Christ, but consider God’s gracious and merciful activity in the first place: “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)
A few areas to consider:
- As we celebrate twenty years of democracy in South Africa we may be reminded of the divisions that remain in our society. Thankfully, these divisions are no longer enshrined in the laws of the land but there may be lingering scars of apartheid in our relationships with people of different races. With this in mind, who do you need to forgive, or seek forgiveness from?
- Patterns of confession, repentance and forgiveness should be a feature of Christian marriages. Tension, bitterness and distance creeps into marriage when couples refuse to forgive and reconcile. You may need specific counseling help in walking through forgiveness and reconciliation as a married couple.
- In church life, Christians are sadly prone to withdraw or paper over the cracks when a relationship has gone bad. The Bible has excellent help for us in this area. It urges us to live as a united, open community in which sin is honestly confronted and, God-willing, genuinely dealt with.
One thing’s for sure, this is not an easy area. You’ll need to be asking God for his grace, spending time in his Word and seeking counsel and advice from other Christians around you.
As we strive to get this right we can be encouraged by the “beatitude” from Jesus: “Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy” (Matthew 5:7). As we see the tension, division and rancor that is so evident in our society, wouldn’t it be great to be a truly distinctive, forgiving and loving community?
Written by Murray Anderson
St Peters Church, Fish Hoek
Is the world officially out of control?
You probably have watched the news this week and seen the aeroplane crashes, the storms, the violent invasions, the violence, the sorrow and all the pain – and thought to yourself – the world is officially out of control. The Bible, however, tells us that the world is, for the record, not out of control; but continually being governed and directed by a sovereign God.
Lord of all
When we speak of God’s “sovereignty”, theologians also use the word “providence”. “Sovereign” means absolute ruler or someone possessing supreme or ultimate power. This is of course true of God – that’s why we call him “God”. By the term “providence”, we mean that because God is absolute ruler, he preserves and governs everything in the universe as well – including your life and circumstances.
Westminster Confession of Faith
I like the definition of providence in the Westminster Confession. Paragraph one reads:
“God the great Creator of all things does uphold, direct, dispose, and govern all creatures, actions, and things, from the greatest even to the least, by his most wise and holy providence, according to his infallible (without fault) foreknowledge and the free and immutable (unchanging) counsel of his own will…”
Paragraph seven goes on to say:
“As the providence of God does, in general, reach to all creatures; so, after a most special manner, it takes care of his church (Christian people), and disposes all things to the good thereof.”
Holy Scriptures
This is how the Bible puts it:
Whatever the LORD pleases, he does, in heaven and on earth, in the seas and all deeps. (Psalm 115:6)
He (Jesus) upholds the universe by the word of his power. (Hebrews 1:3)
And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good. (Romans 8:28)
God is sovereign over all he created. God works all things together (including sinful things, evil things and wicked things) for the good of his people. Conversely, if you are not a Christian, i.e. you have not put your confidence in Christ to save you, God is not working for your good.
Popular worldviews
The truth of the sovereignty and providence of God goes against very popular worldviews:
Deism says God or a “Higher Being” created the world then abandoned it. “God” has nothing to do with the ongoing governing of the universe.
Pantheism says the universe is part of God and we are all god.
Evolutionary theory says we are masters of our own destiny in the struggle for survival and life is ruled mostly by random chance
Impersonal fate says the universe has determined my fate already and there’s nothing I can do to change it.
In contrast to all the above worldviews, the Bible teaches that God is distinct from his creation, has not abandoned it, and is providentially, carefully and consciously ruling over all things – while we are still responsible for our actions.
Joseph’s amazing technicolour dreamcoat
From the account in Genesis of Jacob’s son, Joseph, we see the practical out working of God’s providential care of his people. Joseph was born into a highly dysfunctional family, wickedly sold into slavery by his brothers, wrongfully accused of rape by his master’s wife and then thrown into an Egyptian prison. All through these account we read that the “Lord was with Joseph”. In prison he interprets dreams for Pharaoh’s imprisoned butler and baker and, as a result, ends up interpreting Pharaoh’s dreams. Pharaoh’s dreams indicate that there will be seven years of plenty followed by seven years of drought and famine. Pharaoh is impressed and makes Joseph prime minister. Joseph in turn begins storing food and when the famine finally arrives, who should arrive in Egypt looking for food but Joseph’s brothers who had sinfully sold him into slavery many years before. Joseph’s words to his brothers show us how God’s providence works:
So Joseph said to his brothers, “Come near to me, please.” And they came near. And he said, “I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life. (Genesis 45:4-5)
No such thing as coincidence
Joseph’s up and downs were not fate, luck, or chance, but God’s governing, directing and overruling of all things to achieve his good purposes. V5 says “you sold me here”, but at the same time, Joseph says, “God sent me before you” (v5). The same sinful event of selling a brother into slavery is seen in the larger scheme of things as God sending Joseph to Egypt. God “sent” Joseph to Egypt in order to be bought by Potiphar, in order to be falsely accused by his wife, in order to be thrown into prison, in order to interpret the dreams of his fellow inmates, in order to interpret Pharaoh’s dreams, in order to become prime minister and collect food, in order to save the Israelite nation – from which Jesus would be born.
The truth about life
God ordains events, circumstances, illnesses, joys, promotions, retrenchments, trouble and all things to achieve his good purposes in the world. Joseph goes on to say:
And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors. So it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh, and lord of all his house and ruler over all the land of Egypt. (Genesis 45:7-8)
God overrules human deeds, whether good or evil, to achieve his saving and good purposes. God is sovereignly orchestrating every event in all human history. No-one and nothing escapes God’s sovereignty; not sin, not slavery, not dreams, not pharaohs, not wars, not plane crashes, not disasters, not ISIS invasions, not retrenchments, and not cancer. For the Christian it is great comfort to know that God is working all these things for the good of his people.
God is not the author of sin
It is important to remember that God is never the author of sin or evil. All people will stand accountable to God and responsible before God for their sinful deeds and evil practises. On the great Day of Judgment nobody can say, “God (or the devil) forced me to do it.” But God can and does use even sinful deeds and evil practises to achieve his good purposes.
The killing of Jesus
The classic example of God using evil for good is the killing of Jesus. The killing of Jesus was a sinful, wicked, evil deed; yet God used that deed for ultimate good – the forgiveness of sin and the assurance of life for all God’s people.
My car “accident”
Friday 5 October 1985 changed many lives. In 1985 I was 10 years old and went ice-skating with our church’s youth group. We were driving home in convoy after a fun-filled evening and my uncle was driving the bakkie (a small pick-up) I was in. On the front seat with him were three children. I was in the back of the bakkie with four other children all between the ages of 10 – 13. It was about 10:30pm and we were driving on the national road just outside Paarl. A drunken driver in front of us did a U-turn on the dual carriage highway and collided with us head-on. Everyone on the front seat died instantly. The bakkie’s canopy was thrown aside and all of us in the back were thrown onto the national road in front of oncoming, speeding cars. Yet, in the providence of God, the first car to arrive on the scene (the car travelling right behind us), was an off-duty traffic officer. He was able to secure the scene and call for medical help. I was unconscious for two days, but after excellent medical care, God’s goodness and my parent’s perseverance, I was able to make a full recovery. God called my uncle and three children to glory that night. Another boy was paralysed from the waist down. Yet, even in that “accident” (as we often refer to it) God was providentially overruling, directing and caring. I certainly do not know if I would even be a Christian today if that so-called “accident” had not happened.
Our crazy world?
The world is not out of control. God is orchestrating all things according to his good purposes. Atrocities and great evils are being committed – possibly in your own personal history too. Please know that no-one will escape God’s judgement and all will stand accountable before God for their sins. However, the account of Joseph and the death of Jesus, show us that God can and will use even great evil for even greater good.
The world is officially in control.
Andre Visagie
Christ Church Tygerberg
Perspective - Established in Love
“I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ and to know this love which surpasses knowledge…”(Ephesians 3vs17-18)
In Ephesians 3vs17 the apostle Paul gives us a rich and deeply encouraging description of what it means to be a Christian. As believers, says Paul, we are “rooted and established in love”. Although the NIV translates this phrase as “being rooted and established”, it is better to translate it as “having been rooted and established”. What Paul is describing in these words is an act of God’s grace – it is God who does the rooting and establishing; an act of grace which happened when we became believers but which continues to have an effect on our lives day by day.
The love that Paul is talking about here is not our love for God or our love for each other, important though these are. In context it is clear that the love that Paul is talking about here is God’s love for us in Christ – love that Paul has already mentioned in chapter 1vs4 and again in chapter 2vs4 of Ephesians. It was in love that God predestined believers to be adopted as His sons through Jesus Christ, and it was because of His great love for us that God who is rich in mercy made us alive with Christ. And it is this love of God in Jesus Christ which is the soil in which Christians are rooted and grow, the foundation on which our lives for Jesus are built. The love of God in Jesus is thus the environment in which we as believers flourish.
This is a very important lesson for us to grasp, especially given the world within which we live. So much in our world today focusses upon self – either self love and self indulgence, or performance based self esteem which inevitably leads to disappointment and at its worst, even self hatred. The way to thrive and progress in the world, we are told, is to believe in ourselves, better ourselves and always, of course, to try harder. How different the perspective of the New Testament, which urges us to be honest about ourselves, to face up to our weakness and sinfulness but then to realise that despite what we are and because of who He is – God loves us and has demonstrated this great love for us in and through Jesus Christ. The Bible thus confronts us with the truth that we are more sinful than we believe and more loved than we can imagine. Rooted and established in this truth we are then empowered to grow and to flourish.
It is because of the vital importance of the love of God in our lives that Paul follows his description of believers as those who “have been rooted and established in love” with a prayer to God that believers would be given “power to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ and to know this love which surpasses knowledge” (3vs18-19). The language which Paul uses here is very striking indeed for it declares that God’s love in Christ is beyond measure and beyond our imagination. The language has its roots in the Old Testament and in texts like Psalm 103vs11: “As high as the heavens are above the earth so great is His love for those who fear Him”. Here the Psalmist David is giving reasons for us to praise the LORD for His many blessings and benefits, not least His grace in removing our sins from us “as far as the east is from the west” because of His great and immeasurable love. One cannot measure how high the heavens are above the earth, and one cannot fathom how wide or long or high or deep God’s love for us in Jesus is. It is love beyond measure.
But God’s love in Christ is also love ‘beyond knowledge’ – not in the sense that we cannot truly know God’s love, for Paul is praying precisely that we will grasp and understand and appreciate this love. God’s love in Christ is beyond knowing in the sense that, try as we may, we can never exhaust the full extent of God’s love. The more we come to know about God’s love in Christ, the more there is to learn. Throughout this life and on into eternity we will have an ever growing experience of joy in the love of God shown to us in and through Jesus Christ. It is little wonder then that heaven is indeed filled with His praises!
Mervyn Eloff
St James Church, Kenilworth
Compassion...Prayer...Evangelism
There’s an old story about two shoe salesmen who travelled to a third world country in the early 1950’s, in search of new business opportunities. One man called his head office the moment he landed, telling them, “I’m coming back home. There’s no hope here. Nobody here is wearing shoes, so there’s no one to sell to.” He boarded the next flight home. But the second man called head office saying, “You wouldn't believe what I found here. There is so much opportunity. No one here is wearing shoes. I can sell to the whole country!”
A 2012 poll indicated that the number of South Africans who “consider themselves religious” decreased from 83% of the population in 2005, to 64% of the population in 2012. Given that, in 2001, 80% of our population claimed to be Christian, we can assume that the 2012 stats represent a significant decline in the number of professing Christians in South Africa.
No doubt, there are plenty of flaws and superficialities with these kinds of statistics, but I wasn’t surprised by the overall trend. We can even assume that the percentage of genuine believers is far lower. Our country and our community has changed. Fewer and fewer people are being exposed to the gospel and to Bible teaching as they grow up. Fewer and fewer people are becoming Christians. Other societies (especially in the West) have been through very similar changes over the last fifty years.
So, how should we respond as Christians? Historically, churches have responded by being, at times, pessimistic about the power of the gospel; at times unwilling to assess their own culpability in the decline and, at times, downright apathetic about trying to reverse the trend.
We could, instead, learn a thing or two from the attitude of the second shoe salesman, above: there is a massive opportunity to take the gospel to people who desperately need to hear it!
But, even better, lets consider the attitude of Jesus Christ when he was confronted by thousands of unsaved people: “Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” (Matthew 9:35-36)
When Jesus saw the crowds he had compassion on them. The original word means: to have a very deep, emotional response. We might say that when he saw the crowds he was gutted for them. Why? Because they were “like sheep without a shepherd”.
That’s how Jesus felt. How do you feel when confronted by people who are critical of the church, mocking of the Bible and apathetic about anything Christian? Hurtful as these attitudes are we need to remember that they come from those who are lost, like sheep without a shepherd. And so, our underlying emotional response should be one of compassion. Heaven forbid, we ever feel self-righteousness or bitterness, for we know that we too were once lost and that it was only by grace that the Shepherd brought us into his fold.
In Matthew 9:37-8 we see that Jesus moved beyond feelings to action, and his first action, importantly, was a call to prayer: “Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”
We have a massive and wonderful opportunity for harvest and we need to be depending on God to provide all we need for that. As a church, lets always be praying for the lost, asking God to keep on drawing people into his Kingdom through the work Gospel-teaching churches throughout our country.
Jesus felt a deep compassion for the lost, he prayed for God’s provision in reaching the lost, and then he actually sent the disciples out. Their first mission (Matt 10:1ff) is a foreshadowing of what would happen on a far larger scale once Jesus had ascended and the Holy Spirit had been sent (see Acts 1:8). As Jesus’ disciples today, we are called to the same mission. We too have the Holy Spirit to sustain and guide us. We too are sent out into our community, country and world to spread the good news of a compassionate, saving God.
Some of us do that as full-time church workers, some of us do that as missionaries in the field, but the great thing is that everyone can be involved in this mission, regardless of their careers, stage of life or family situation. This mission can be on our minds in all the day-to-day interactions we have with people in our lives. Consider Paul’s words to the Colossians: “Be wise in the way you act toward outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.”(Colossians 4:5-6)
Paul called on Christians to be wise in their conduct towards unbelievers and to be alert to any kind of opportunity for gospel witness or gospel explanation.
Consider this perspective, from CS Lewis, on the importance of every contact we have with unbelievers: “The load, or weight, or burden of my neighbor's glory should be laid on my back, a load so heavy that only humility can carry it, and the backs of the proud will be broken. It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you can talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree, helping each other to one or other of these destinations. It is in the light of these overwhelming possibilities, it is with the awe and the circumspection proper to them, that we should conduct all our dealings with one another, all friendships, all loves, all play, all politics. There are no ordinary people. You have never met a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilizations---these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub, and exploit---immortal horrors or everlasting splendours.”[1]
So, as we survey our changing society and all the challenges posed, lets respond with compassion, expressed in humble prayer and godly evangelism.
Written by Murray Anderson, St Peters Fish Hoek
[1] From “The Weight of Glory” (1949)
Bishop Edwin Mgcineni Ngubane
Bishop Edwin Mgcineni Ngubane was consecrated as a Gauteng Area Bishop in REACH-SA in 2010. His ministry amongst the ministers and ministry workers in that Province has been well-received, and has born much fruit over the past 4 years.
After suffering a number of strokes the Lord saw fit to call Edwin home on Sunday 29th June, 2014 at 21:00
His Memorial Service was held at Christ Church, Midrand on Saturday 5th July 2014. The church was packed with family and friends and REACH-SA ministry colleagues.
The service was led by Rev Don Kirkwood, the Rector of St Paul’s Church Pretoria. Edwin was ordained while working at Christ Church Pretoria under Don’s Rectorship. Don has continued to be a good friend to Edwin and Genevieve over the years.
Eulogies were given by Rev Njabulo Mazibuko and Rev Bryan Haigh, his REACH-SA colleagues and friends, Rev Siegfried Ngubane, the SA SIM Director and family member, Rev Nat Schluter, the Principal of JBC (Johannesburg Bible College) and good friend of Edwin and Genevieve and Bishop Martin Morrison, who together with Bishop Edwin is a REACH-SA Gauteng Area Bishop. Rev Andries Tsehle, lecturer at JBC spoke on behalf of the congregation and Church Council of Christ Church Hillbrow, where Bishop Edwin was currently ministering. Without exception, each of these folk made mention of Edwin’s sense of humour, his zeal in serving the Lord and His people, and his fierce loyalty and commitment to REACH-SA, the denomination which he loved to be part of.
Bishop Desmond Inglesby, the Presiding Bishop of REACH-SA, preached from 2 Cor 5:1-10 “What happens when a believer dies” (Dismantling his tent; covering his nakedness; coming of age; and arriving home).
Bishop Edwin died at 41 years of age, and he left his wife, Genevieve and their 2 young children, Stephanie (age 7) and Langa (age 5). Genevieve has been a great support and encouragement to Edwin in his ministry, especially in his role as Area Bishop, even though it took him away from home for periods of time. His death is a great loss to his family and friends, and to our REACH-SA denomination.
7 Reasons to Plant Churches
7 Reasons to Plant Churches
There are 12 churches in the suburb in which I live. They represent just about every major denominational group and theological strand. There are immersion Baptists and sprinkling Paedo-Baptists; those who speak in tongues and cessationists; there are Arminians and Calvinists; Sunday Sabbaths and Saturday Sabbaths; high church and low church; priests and congregatationalists. The question is why would we (and even should we) plant new churches in a suburb like this. I think there are 7 reasons why we should.
1. New churches do more evangelism
Older churches build extensive ministries, they start choirs and soup kitchens, they run preaching programmes and publish Bible Study material. As churches develop they slowly and subtly move resources away from the outsider towards the maintenance, development and growth of the insider. New churches are different they are forced to do evangelism to survive. We need to plant new churches to aid in the reaching of outsiders.
2. New churches are different
God is God who loves variety. He creates people to be different . They like different music, wear different clothes, watch different movies, speak different languages. New churches develop a different culture from the mother church. Different leaders, do different things and appeal to different people. We should plant churches to reach people different to ourselves.
3. New churches force individuals to grow
People in larger churches become lazy. They don’t serve because they don’t have to serve. As new churches are planted people are recruited into ministries and given opportunities to serve and lead that they would not get in a larger church. New church plants give individuals opportunities to grow.
4. New churches are better at relationships
As churches get larger they become less relational and more organisational. People in older established churches are often less relationally connected. It is easy in a large church to become a spectator, disconnected from people. God calls us to love him and to love each other. Because new churches are smaller they are more relational.
5. A church planted in a community can exist for a long period of time
Churches go through cycles. At times they are vibrant and happening. At others they struggle and strain but over a period of time a church planted in a community can hold the gospel light in that community for generations. A new church plant may take years even decades to grow but it is worth doing because it places a gospel community in a place for decades.
6. New churches start new ministries
As new churches are planted they begin new ministries, sometimes ministries that cannot be attempted in the mother church. New leaders have new ideas and do works of service in a different way to the mother church. Church planting begins ministries to the world that would not happen without the plant.
7. Church planting is God’s plan to reach the world
Wherever the gospel goes, as people are converted, churches are started. Christianity is a team sport not an individual exercise. God places Christians together into a church and uses them to reach their community of relationships. We must plan to plant churches as a part of God’s kingdom advancing.