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What Kind of Listener Are You?

“Now these Jews were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.” Acts 17:11

In Acts 17:11 Luke gives us a very striking description of the Jews who heard Paul preaching in the town of Berea. Comparing them to the Jews in Thessalonica (Acts 17:1-9), Luke says that the Bereans were ‘more noble’. This description is of course of historical interest helping us to follow the progress of the gospel from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth (see Acts 1:8).

But it is also of personal importance, for as we read of the noble Bereans we are challenged to think about our own response to the gospel message. The question is a simple one: When we hear the gospel proclaimed from the Scriptures, will we be noble hearers as the Bereans were?

Luke’s comparison between the Bereans and the Thessalonians encourages us to look back at Paul’s ministry in Thessalonica. Acts 17:2-3 tells us that Paul attended the synagogue on three Sabbath days and that he “reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying ‘This Jesus whom I proclaim to you is the Christ.’”

Note the words Luke uses to describe Paul’s preaching - reasoned; explaining; proving – words that tell us that Paul wanted his audience first to think about what he was saying rather than to blindly accept his words and then, having considered his words carefully, to accept the message and to put their faith in Jesus.

Some of the Bereans did that, but sadly many did not. We might say that the majority of the Thessalonians were ignoble hearers because notwithstanding the truth of Paul’s message and the lengths to which Paul went to explain and convince, they rejected the gospel. One can only imagine how this grieved Paul’s heart (see Romans 10:1).

What then of the Bereans?. Luke tells us that their response to Paul’s ministry of proclamation and persuasion was a noble response. First we are told that they “received the word with all eagerness” (Acts 17:11). The word translated eagerness speaks of ‘readiness and good will’. And this tells us something about the attitude with which the Bereans listened. While not gullible, as we shall see in a moment, they were also not closed minded or antagonistic in the way they listened. They were not like those people who decide in advance that they will not give the Christian message a fair hearing, no matter how clear or convincing the argument is.

Rather they were open minded, willing to listen and ready to receive the word, provided of course that what was being said was true. How we should pray that we and those with whom we seek to share the gospel have the same attitude to listening!

Second, Luke tells us that the Bereans “ examined the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so” (Acts 17:11). What an important statement this is, for it tells us that the Bereans’ open mindedness was not an easily impressed gullibility. Paul was without question a capable orator, but in the end it was the content of his message and the fact that what Paul was saying agreed with what the Scriptures taught, that persuaded the Bereans to become Christians. Nor would Paul have had it any other way, for we read in Acts 17:2 that all of Paul’s reasoning, explaining and proving was based on the Scriptures and not on his own opinions. 

The fact that this examination of the Scriptures took place daily reminds us that conviction about the truth of the gospel is something that grows over time and through diligent effort. To put it in personal testimony terms, I can well remember hearing the gospel at St James and wanting to believe the wonderful truth about God’s grace to me, a sinner.

As I look back I realise that the Lord was giving me open ears and a willing, open mind. But I needed time and the answers to many questions before I finally believed. During that period I listen eagerly to the preaching. And for the first time in my life, I began to follow up what I was hearing for myself in the Bible. The more I studied the Scriptures, the more answers I found and the more questions I had. I was making progress toward genuine, Bible based faith but it took time and a lot of patience on the part of those whom I kept peppering with hard questions.

By the grace of God I came to the point where I moved from being a eager hearer and inquisitive seeker to being a true believer. And having believed, I discovered an even greater joy. For the truth is that even as believers we are keep imitating those noble Bereans. For every day is a day to grow in the gospel and to discover for ourselves from the Scriptures that these wonderful gospel truths are indeed so!

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by Joe Lyons

A New REACH Bishop is Consecrated

New REACH Bishop

October 6^th, 2019, was a day of great celebration in the town of Ondangwa as Rev. Lukas Katenda was consecrated Bishop of REACH-Namibia. 

Over 1000 people attended the grand occasion and many visiting clergy and government dignitaries were also present.  

The consecration of Bishop Katenda and strengthening of REACH Namibia, amongst other events that are taking place, are the happy culmination of many prayers through long, challenging years. For decades, the small and scattered REACH-Namibia congregations stood bravely for the gospel with limited support.  Clergy and members from REACH-SA (Church of England in South Africa) regularly visited to minister and fellowship with their northern Namibia brothers and sisters.  Visits by GWC (George Whitefield College) and CFN (Churches for Namibia), for training and mission, have also continued through the years.   

In recent times, the ongoing disruptions within the Anglican communion have seen a number of realignments taking place around the world.  GAFCON is the largest evidence of this global repositioning.  REACH are signatories to the GAFCON Jerusalem Declaration and participate in this global fellowship of faithful Anglicans. REACH-Namibia is further evidence of this Anglican realignment, with a number of laity and clergy now finding a spiritual home in this church.  These believers seek to unite under a Reformed Evangelical Anglican heritage that holds to the ultimate authority of the Holy Scriptures both in faith and practice. 

There are now over 20 congregations in REACH-Namibia with ongoing plans for evangelism and church planting. 

We praise God for the gospel centred growth evidenced in our growing REACH churches across several countries in Southern Africa. 

The Lord grows His church through all seasons.  Praise be to God!

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by Joe Lyons

Christ Church Christian Care Center

Just imagine for a moment you are a 4-year-old child with no single relative on earth.

The only person you had was your mom who died through AIDS related illness when you were 6 months old.

You don’t even know that you are HIV positive and may not live to see your 10th birthday. 

What kind of future will you have? If you even have a future.

Check out this video from Christ Church Christian Care Center about the amazing work that they are doing as they "seek to demonstrate the love and compassion of Jesus in a practical way to the homeless, needy and destitute."

http://www.5cees.co.za/Video.html

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by Joe Lyons

Faith in Times of Perplexity

Almighty God,
in your wisdom you have so ordered our earthly life
that we must walk by faith and not by sight:
give us such trust in your fatherly care
that in the face of all perplexities
we may give proof of our faith by the courage of our lives;
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

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by Joe Lyons

4 Reminders When We Face Our Fear and Anger

Uyinene was a 19-year old student, just like us. In the last week of August, Uyinene went missing. On Monday, 2 September, the news broke that a post office worker had been arrested for her rape and murder. Her story leapt to the forefront of a news cycle already saturated by daily reports of gender-based violence. Her name has joined the endless and ever growing list: Jesse Hesse (University of the Western Cape); Hannah Cornelius (Stellenbosch University); Lynette Volschenk; Meghan Cremer; Leighhandre Jegels; Ayakha Jiyane. These are the reported names, in an ocean of unreported ones.

Uyinene’s murder has left students, and especially our young women, overwhelmed with feelings of fear and anger. Students are scared because they don’t feel safe in their communities, in their homes, or even at their universities. On Wednesday, Graça Machel, widow of Nelson Mandela and Chancellor of UCT, speaking to thousands of students gathered for Uyinene’s memorial, expressed this with tremendous clarity when she declared: “there are no more safe spaces”. Our society has failed its women by tolerating any unsafe spaces, but those spaces which have been ‘safe’ have now diminished to the extent that every space is an unsafe one for female students. Now, women are asking #AmINext? 

This fear has been accompanied by a tremendous anger. The difficulty is that the enemy is unseen and this has left students uncertain as to where to direct their fury. Some have directed it at the university, others at the government, and others towards the president. There is an intense anger directed towards men for perpetuating gender-based violence, and also for permitting it. The expression #menaretrash has once more become a rallying cry for many angry students. 

But, Christian students, despite also being affected by the fear and outrage of these past weeks, are choosing to respond differently. And non-Christian students are not only taking notice, but they are also asking why. These students admire the way their Christian peers have been disturbed but unshaken. Some students, for the first time, are being confronted with death and the prospect of eternity. Now, they are turning to their Christian friends to help them make sense of the world we live in.  

As Christians what can we offer to a generation who are scared and angry?

Remind them of God’s love and comfort. Then remind them of His justice. 

Our students need to know that God cares about them deeply. For all the moral confusion in our universities, events like this reveal clearly that we still recognise injustice. Students are desperate for justice. How beautiful is a God of justice in such a time! 

He said to his disciples, “Offenses will certainly come, but woe to the one through whom they come! It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea than for him to cause one of these little ones to stumble”.

Luke 17:1-2 Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

Jesus told his disciples that those who cause his little ones to stumble should be warned. Jesus was on the offensive, teaching against those Pharisees, who, through their false teaching, are leading people away from God. Woe to those whom through offences come! Why? Because God cares profoundly for the ones he loves. Our God loved Uyinene, he loves each and every woman in our country. For this reason, he acts with justice.

For the wrongdoer will be paid back for whatever wrong he has done, and there is no favouritism.

Colossians 3:25 Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

Remind them of God’s righteous judgement

Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord. Romans 12:19 (NIV)

Just as God acts for those He loves in the face of the Pharisees’ wayward teaching, He also loves and acts for those who are the sufferers of gender-based violence. Students have begun to call for the re-introduction of the death penalty. Jesus replies that the death penalty is a lesser penalty than the one which offenders should expect from the God of justice. Jesus does not outline a punishment, he outlines what would be preferable to the actual punishment. This is a terrifying and powerful image, and it’s one which our students need to be told. 

The god of the secular world is perpetually weakened in their eyes. That god is distant and powerless, but that is not our God. Our God will act for Uyinene, for Jesse, for Hannah, Lynette, Meghan, Leighhandre, Ayakha, and every other little one. God’s love is our comfort in fear and despair and his justice is our comfort in our anger. 

Remind them and ourselves of Jesus’s warnings

 “Be on your guard. If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and comes back to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.”

Luke 17:3-4 Christian Standard Bible (CSB)

Jesus continues by setting out the correct response to God’s love for his ‘little ones’ and his fearful justice: “Be on your guard”. We must keep ourselves from sin, and because we love others, we should seek to keep them from sin as well. So, all of us, and especially men, need to rebuke our peers and our Christian brothers when they objectify women. We don’t do this to climb the moral ladder, or to remind the world how much better ‘we Christians’ are. We do this because we desperately want to keep our fellow believers, our friends, and our classmates from the wrath of our God. For this reason, let us be ‘on guard’ against gender-based violence, and against rape and abuse, and against pornography, crudeness, lust, and catcalls. Let’s warn others, out of love and out of a healthy fear of the justice of our God. 

Remind them of our God’s mercy and forgiveness

Forgiveness was not mentioned once at Uyinene’s memorial service. The very idea is outrageous to students. Yet Jesus tells us that as we challenge our friends and classmates we can expect that sometimes they will repent. Let us pray, that at a time like this, many do repent! 

Jesus calls us to forgive those that do, and not just once, but again and again. Every time there is repentance we are called to forgive. By dying on the cross Jesus has demonstrated the extent to which he requires us to forgive. In this moment he displayed the full and glorious extent of God’s love, justice, and forgiveness. In that moment we are awed by the love of God. He will not relent in his justice, but he cares so deeply for us that he has made a way for all of us: students, professors, ministers and rapists to be forgiven. At  this very moment, He is calling for us all to repent.   Amazingly, because of Jesus, he is ready to forgive us.

On the night of Wednesday  4 September, around two hundred Christian students from different Christian Societies at UCT gathered on the steps of the central plaza, where the memorial took place earlier that day. These students too were full of fear and anger, but these students prayed together to the God of the cross. They looked up, towards the God that loves us, that acts for the justice of his ‘little ones’, who calls us all to repent of our sins and, who has made a way for us to be forgiven. Together, as the sun set on those university steps and as the whole country was covered with darkness, they sang:

‘Malibongwe, Malibongwe, Malibongwe, Igama leNkosi’

(Praise it, Praise it, Praise it, the name of our God)

Tim Gertzen is an English and Law student at UCT. He is the Chairperson of the Reach Students Society there. The society is affiliated with the Reformed Evangelical Anglican Church of South Africa (REACH-SA) and exists to reach UCT students with the gospel and get them plugged into local bible-believing churches.

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by Joe Lyons

Motion Relating to our Stand Against Xenophobia and Violence Against Women and Children

From the Reformed Evangelical Anglican Church – South Africa, Synod 2019, Cape Town, RSA. 

This Synod notes with grave concern the increasing levels of violence, gangsterism and lawlessness in our country.  We are distressed at the ongoing xenophobic attacks as well as horrific violence against women and children.  We commit to ongoing prayer for our country and urge our government to respond firmly and justly to all criminality.  As men present, we especially feel shame and repent of our complicit silence and failure to call out any disrespectful behaviour. We call on all God’s people to pray and to practice godly citizenship and Christian conduct, respecting all people, without prejudice.   May our God be merciful to South Africa. 

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by Joe Lyons

Presiding Bishop’s Charge – Synod 2019 (Part 3)

The Presiding Bishop’s Charge – 2019 (Part 3)

REACH-SA Going Forward

Over the last two days we have noted and discussed some key challenges and necessary changes we need to consider going forward. In this third session I want us to pull this all together, as we go from here, seeking to fulfil our role in the Lord’s Kingdom building commission. We will consider briefly our main strengths and weaknesses, revisit our mission and then share a vision for future growth. 

REACH-SA Strengths 

• Teaching: REACH-SAhas, under God, remained a fellowship of churches who are centred on the Divine Authority of God’s Word. Paramount in our ministry practice is our commitment to expository preaching and faithful teaching and application of God’s Word. We affirm that church tradition and human reason take second place to “God’s Word Above All Things”.
• Leadership: Our Bishops are united in confessing the Lordship of Christ in their life and ministry. That may sound obvious but looking at the current state of the Anglican world, it’s not something to be taken for granted. We praise God for women who serve the Lord in all our REACH-SA ministry and leadership structures.
• Training: We do place a strong emphasis on training and equipping workers for gospel ministry. We do not licence our workers lightly but expect our requirements to be attained and adhered to. Our emphasis on high standards for Bible teachers has also helped in birthing one of the finest Reformed Evangelical Anglican Theological colleges in Africa. George Whitefield College is a preferred study destination not just for REACH-SA, but for many other students from churches and dioceses across the continent. 
• Unity: We have remarkable denomination wide unity on doctrinal essentials and Anglican distinctives. We are grateful to God for such a kindness. These days we are seeing more and more traditional denominations fracturing beyond repair as the abandonment of Biblical authority continues along with the resulting moral and ethical corruptions.
• Network: It has already been identified that there is much room for improvement, and possibly even some restructuring, across our denomination. In saying that it is good to see that there is a strong ‘family’ feel to REACH-SA. We do have some good gospel networks and friendships in place. Several local churches have partnered quite effectively across society’s economic, colour and culture lines. 
• Financial: Perhaps this one is unexpected to some, but the reality is that we are not in major financial crisis nor are we carrying huge unserviceable loans or debts. We have a good banking record and most of our local churches have been faithful in repaying their bonds and loans (often ahead of schedule). REACH-SA negotiates favourable interest rates on behalf of all our local churches, and we all share in the same financing pool. This benefits us all, if we abide by our loan and levy agreements. If one church defaults on their financial commitments, we all suffer the consequences. 
• Evangelism:  Its been pretty much the bread and butter of CESA ministry over the 20^th century. Our churches grew and multiplied through people hearing and responding to evangelistic preaching and the call to decision.  Many in our gathering today bear testimony to hearing and responding to the gospel through the intentional evangelistic ministry of a CESA church. My wife and I are counted in that number and we give thanks to God for His gospel preaching servants, several of whom have since gone on to glory. 

It was a delight to see how enthusiastically our churches responded to the #REACH500 campaign and it was a wonderful confirmation of the evangelistic heart that beats in God’s people. It’s this same evangelistic heart that will be indispensable to our future growth goals.

• Church Planting: It has been a joy to see some traction come from our challenge to begin fresh church planting initiatives in new and strategic population areas (Universities, New Suburbs, Growing Townships).  I am delighted to report that our Church Plant and Church Development funds have been used to help kick-start and/or sustain 8 plants.
  • Red Post – UCT, Cape Town
  • Hope Church – Uitzicht, Cape Town
  • Cross Central – Parow, Cape Town
  • Masiphumelele Church – Cape Town
  • Christ Church Zwelihle – Hermanus
  • Lamontville Church – Durban
  • Christ Church Cascades – Pietermaritzburg
  • Christ Central Church – Soweto 

It’s clear that making designated growth funds available does help incentivise local churches to actively pray, plan and partner together for church planting. It has also been a great help to have our Generate arm providing ongoing assistance and focus on planting and growth through conferences and help networks. 

REACH-SA Challenges

I’m conscious that its easier to criticise faults than to commend progress. I confess that as a young Bible college student I thought I could tell the incumbent leadership a thing or two about running this organization. Now that I am in the position myself, I find myself quickly repenting of my foolishness. 

Structural: We have already discussed our federal structure and whether or not we need to be looking at adjustments or changes. We are also seeing some churches plateauing or even declining beyond hope of rescue. Some stubbornly refuse help or intervention (even showing themselves to be suspicious of our help). The reality is, we do need to make collective hard calls about some dying churches and also more strategic decisions about locating new churches. We all need to look beyond our own patch. A clear growth strategy will help us more effectively make these decisions. 

Leadership: As much as we celebrate our born-again Bishops and other gospel centred leadership, some questions do need to be asked about our leadership pipeline. How effective are we in identifying and mentoring future leadership? Are we making real progress in the transformation we committed to almost 20 years ago during our watershed reconciliation ministry conference? Is Christian leadership training side-lined because of our strong focus on training Bible expositors? 

Economic:  Quite a few local churches are grappling with financial shortfalls which are symptomatic of our struggling national economy.  We live with the reality of financial hardship in the majority of our Southern African communities. This affects our ability to employ staff as well as stock the necessary resources for doing gospel ministry. Let me say again we have much to learn from God’s discipline in this area, particularly in resourcefulness, sacrifice and sharing. 

Social: We are living in an increasingly secular society. The Christian gospel is no longer tolerated as a good option for life but is now actively opposed by many. There is a concerted effort to demonize Christianity in some very prominent social (and social media) circles. We live in what some call an “outrage culture” and this hyper-sensitivity even causes a sub-conscious pressure on us not to offend. Some of us may not even be aware of how we have subtly taken on pressure to avoid preaching the ‘unacceptable doctrines’ (e.g. hell and judgement) and naming the modern ‘acceptable sins’ (e.g. materialism and homosexual practice).

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All these obstacles, however, are not actually cause to despair. In many ways they are cause for encouragement, because its in just such an environment that the Lord caused the gospel to first take root 2000 years ago.  If anything, it was actually worse.  

Its important for us not to lose sight of this seemingly obvious truth. The church on earth is commissioned by Christ to grow His Kingdom in the midst of sinful and satanic opposition. It is out of such unlikely looking ground that God’s Holy Kingdom grows. The doctrine of the sovereignty of God is a great comfort here. God has chosen those He will call in every age and in every place. In the midst of rampant idolatry, attack, apathy and apostasy. The Lord reserves for Himself a remnant who have not bowed the knee to Baal. 

So let us remember that context in which we minister is not a lost cause, but a mission field! 

The Mission of REACH-SA

The collective purpose of REACH-SA as a fellowship of churches must reflect the immense gospel need of our country and aim to fulfil the command that the Lord Jesus gave to his church:

REACH-SA is a fellowship of Reformed, Evangelical Anglican churches partnered together in our Christ given mandate to go and make disciples of Christ among all people in our country, continent and world. 

We can only pursue this goal in dependence upon God in prayer and in reliance upon the powerful work of his Holy Spirit to change hearts through His Word. 

It is with this mission in mind that we focus on four key objectives. 

1. LEADERSHIP 

REACH-SA leadership must impart the urgency of gospel ministry and model a passion to make disciples.

Leadership will focus on: 

• Directing the Gospel Centred Vision for Growth 
• Preserving missional Unity across regions
• Actively Mentoring a new generation of leaders
• Guarding our Reformed, Evangelical, Anglican distinctives
• Applying and Modelling Godly Biblical Leadership 

A. Communication: The online age has radically changed how we communicate. It is vital for us to properly harness new forms of media to help convey our vision. Each area would need to appoint Media Rep. A national co-ordinator would then help to establish and maintain an effective online presence. This medium would help us to reach unbelievers and inform believers. A well planned and executed media strategy is essential to a growth plan. Discussions have already begun in this regard. 

B. Contact: Our Area leadership play an increasingly important role in promoting and supporting a network of local and regional relationships between pastors and churches. We must be more intentional in this regard. The evidence shows that grass-roots relationships build more effective and long-term partnerships than top down instructions. What must not be missed is that leadership still need to initiate, facilitate and co-ordinate these connections. 

2. EQUIPPING 

REACH-SA is responsible to help provide resources, people and expertise that will assist churches in fulfilling their mission to make disciples of Christ.

This will include:

1. Regional Ministry Training standards and assessment. 
2. Clear pipeline for ministry training:  

Local Church Ministry Apprenticeship  Theological Education (GWC)  Assigned Church for OJT / Curacy (LMin)  Licence and/or Ordination

1. Providing churches with resources for effective evangelism and outreach.
2. Providing our workers with resources to grow in their leadership. 
3. Assist pastors and churches with accurate assessments of the latest trends and threats in theology and church practice. 
4. Prioritise church growth and church planting funds. 
5. Regular Generate, Preaching and Ministry conferences and workshops.

3. CARING  

REACH-SA aims to source and provide encouragement and care for our church workers who labour amidst much apathy and hostility to the gospel.

We aim to helpsustain our churches and their leaders in their mission in a context which is discouraging and increasingly hostile to the gospel

This will include:

1. Working for the wellbeing of pastors, their wives and other church workers to promote a long term, fruitful ministry.
2. Committed to Biblical church discipline motivated by love. 
3. Developing localized support networks that reduce pressure on a small central leadership.  
4. Developing focussed prayer initiatives and networks. 
5. Co-ordinating resources to help support gifted and godly workers in struggling communities. 

4. PLANTING 

REACH-SA leadership are to assist local churches in identifying strategic church planting areas and directing available resources. 

This will include:

1. Ensuring priorities remain people, not profitability. 
2. Making strategic calls with our limited resources. 
3. Targeting critical demographic. New Suburbs; Young families; Students; High Population Townships. 
4. Providing training and assistance through our Generate network.
5. Providing available funds and other resources.

It is with this mission, and these objectives in mind, that I finally outline our vision for building God’s Kingdom through REACH-SA

Vision 2020

This consists of two tiers:

• A denomination wide 20 year strategy for church growth
• A local church challenge for 2020

1. Vision 2020:  Is a denomination wide goal of establishing 200 local churches in 20 years.

Currently REACH-SA sits at about 143 local ‘churches’ (if we include our church plants and preaching posts (some of which are quite large). 

In this breakdown, we have 112 potential “hub” churches (82 Constituent churches and 30 daughter churches). 

The goal is to grow that total to 200 churches in 20 years.  (Just over 4 per year) Current constituent churches will form the ‘hub’ for reaching a strategic population area (e.g. new suburb, high population township; growing numbers of young families; students). Training and resourcing will be channelled through these hubs. 

I would recommend further studies examine our Bhekithemba ‘model’ (South Coast KZN). This one ‘hub’ church has established 10 daughter churches across the greater Umlazi area. Our most successful township church planting exercise. 

We would love to replicate this in other areas. I’m glad to report that this conversation has been going for some time already and some momentum has already begun here in the Western Cape.  I recommend you all take time to listen to Rev. Phumezo Masango’s talk on township church planting when its made available online. 

There is much more to unpack in this vision, particularly into the specifics around regions and cities.  We will revisit this in future gatherings. 

Now to the first and most immediate ‘phase 1’ of this Vision2020 plan. 

2. REACH2020

Here is our REACH2020 challenge 

Today I challenge each local church member to prayerfully commit to 20 evangelistic acts in 2020. 

Make a similar chart to plot your progress. 

• Invite friend to a Men’s event 
• Invite friend to a Women’s event 
• Develop a Bible Reading Relationship with an unbeliever
• Meet with someone for evangelistic and mission focussed prayer 
• Seek out 20 personal evangelism opportunities 
• Issue 20 invitations to church
• Pray for 20 missionaries / evangelists in a year
• Pray for 20 people who need Jesus all year
• Make 20 social media contacts you can witness to
• Begin a daily gospel reflection social media post
• Street Evangelism and tracts (still works in many of our contexts)
• Start a gospel discussion blog 
• Write a letter sharing your faith
• Host an outreach dinner
• Attend an evangelism training course
• Start a community prayer group
• Host a coffee morning
• Participate in a short-term mission trip / outreach
• Join / Form a visitation team
• Start / Participate in neighbourhood care group.   

Try and tick off 20 in 2020

To help ensure this is effective each local church leadership needs to provide the opportunities for church members invite friends, family and colleagues to gospel gatherings (still the most effective means of gaining new visitors).

Some examples:

• TED type evangelistic talks (a specialist subject with gospel edge)
• Men’s and Ladies events
• Marriage and Parenting events
• ‘Hot topic’ evangelistic sermon series
• Church social events (e.g. Heritage Day braai) with witness potential 
• Debate evenings; Q&A sessions; 
• Sharable social media pre-evangelism video clips. 
• Children’s events (Holiday Clubs; Family Days; Outings)
• Seasonal events (Carols, Easter Plays)
• Community care initiatives (e.g. Day Care; Food bank)

Some may think these are gimmicks or that its forcing someone to do ministry.  That is clearly not our objective. (I certainly hope no one is in ministry because they feel pushed into it!) The purpose of our challenge is to provide channels and ideas for God’s people to serve the Lord through opportunities for discipleship and evangelism (which cannot be separated). 

I’m all the more convinced that we need to keep consciously returning to the call to be missional with our gospel. We too easily become comfortable or complacent. The secular world (both online and public) is also intimidating many believers into silence or shame. Our gospel is not socially accepted or even tolerated in many circles. Our response is not to be aggressive or ‘fight back’ but rather to ‘love back’ and sincerely and share the gospel with our lost, fractured, frustrated, broken world. 

Like Jesus, we must seek to go into our world full of grace and truth. 

I’ve been reflecting on the several parables Jesus taught about the coming of His Kingdom. Particularly the tension his teachings create in Matthew 24,25 regarding the need to be ready for his imminent return, and yet to also prepare for the delay. 

“Therefore, keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. 

(Matt.24:42)

“Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns.

(Matt. 24:45,46)

Will the Master find His servants faithful and wise on His return? Will we be found to be feeding the servants at the proper time? Or will we be found feeding ourselves and exploiting God’s servants (Matt.25:48f)? There are some sobering and fearful passages warning ministers not to expect heaven just because they wear a clerical collar. Your actions (or lack of it) betray your heart. 

We servants must be about the Master’s business, working hard in the delay, conscious of His imminent return. This is the perspective that must drive our service. 

In 2001 we had our very first GWC hosted Synod. Meeting in this very place. It was during that Synod that the 9/11 planes hit the towers. 

And the world was thrown into renewed turmoil. 

And David Cook preached on the imminent return of the Lord Jesus. 

Today we gather in this same place, and the world (and our neighbourhoods) are in renewed turmoil. 

And the message remains, Jesus’ return is imminent.

The Master will soon return and hold us all to account.  

And in this delay, don’t be lazy and do nothing. 

And don’t be selfish and beat and exploit the servants. 

But make sure you are found to be about the Master’s business when He returns. 

So let us go forward, together. 

Lord, give us Africa for Jesus. 

iAfrika mayibuyele ku Jesu.  

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by Joe Lyons

Presiding Bishop’s Charge – Synod 2019 (Part 2)

The Presiding Bishop’s Charge - 2019 (Part 2)

REACH-SA Ministry

This year’s Synod and Ministry Conference theme is “Building the Kingdom”. We cannot be about the work of the Kingdom without godly and gifted men and women being identified, equipped and sent into the harvest fields. 

I want us to consider today how best we can be doing that.

Ministry Workers  

Then Jesus 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.”  - (Matthew 9:37,38)

We are no doubt all conscious of the need for more workers in the harvest field. I don’t think any of our churches could say that they have sufficient lay and employed workers equal to the task at hand. Missionaries, Church Planters and Church Workers are desperately needed. As always, finding and financing the right people is a challenge. 

We must also not overlook the fact that the primary solution Jesus gives to this need is prayer (Matt.9:37,38). It is the Lord alone who sends out the workers. More than that, it’s clear from these words that the entire enterprise is all the Lord’s work. It’s His disciples, His harvest, His sending, His workers, and His harvest field. This short verse is of such a weight in implication that it should drive us to our knees daily. 

I wonder if much of our ministry problems relate to our lack of trust and prayer in this regard. It sometimes seems like we act as if the harvest is few and the workers are plentiful! Or that the harvest is thinning, and the workers must just look after the crop they already have? In my own heart I confess that sort of unbelief creeps in all too easily. 

We certainly are facing many difficulties in the harvest task. Our economy (along with much of the world) is flagging. There is much political and financial uncertainty. Crime statistics are looking bleak, particularly here in Cape Town as we meet on the doorstep of a turbulent Cape Flats. 

In the markets we are seeing a struggling economy. Our own REACH-SA financial reports have been showing notable a drop in levy income. This means most of you have had a difficult financial year.  

We are also facing a western influenced, worldwide social trend which is turning ever more aggressively against Biblical truth. Social media is a strong and instant influencer here. We are all well aware of the growing move toward normalizing sexual relationships and gender constructs that contradict the God given picture in Scripture. 

It may be said that we are facing overwhelming obstacles, and yet, it’s in the face of just this type of context that Jesus says, the field is ripe for harvest!

I have said before that the economic squeeze must be seen as part of our sovereign God’s discipline on His church. He is able to supply more than we could ever ask or imagine. Which means our lack has a purpose. Our hardships throw us back upon His sustaining grace and away from our sinful self-reliance. Financial pressures also lead us to be prayerfully careful with our limited resources. Shortages make our leadership more circumspect when it comes to investing in the right people. We cannot afford to carry people who lack giftedness, godliness and gospel gumption. 

Financial limitations also lead us to be more creative in recruiting training and equipping lay workers for ministry in our local churches. I know of ministry teams that are combinations of retired volunteers, self-supported ministers and part time employees. Volunteer or self-supported ministry workers are the norm in many regions and countries today and we may be looking more and more at that scenario in years to come. 

It’s also important to be clear that the denomination is not sitting on pots of money. Given that we only collect a 10% levy from churches, we work with a relatively small amount of distributable income compared to the needs of our churches and ministries. Fortunately, we do not carry a large denominational staff and most of our income goes back into the churches.  Even so, we can only supplement some people and projects and not exclusively finance them. If there is a surplus it is not invested in banks but rather in church building and church planting funds. This is the Kingdom investment that best befits the money God’s people give to gospel ministry in REACH-SA. We want to be generous with gospel investment, including partnering and sharing what we have for the cause of Christ. I’m sure that desire echoes with us all. 

Ministry Training 

It’s most appropriate that we meet at George Whitefield College in their 30^th anniversary year. At this year’s Gospel Workers Conference, we have been able to see and benefit first-hand from the faculty and facilities of this valued institution. We are grateful to the kindness of our God for providing this premier training facility to equip our future ministry workers. We affirm again that GWC remains our official theological college for men and women seeking to serve in our REACH-SA churches. 

We remain aware, however, of the difficulty and sacrifice involved in coming to study full time at GWC. We are not ignorant of the fact that this move can be costly for many and even impossible for some. We are more than willing to find ways to navigate exceptional cases. 

Yet it must also me remembered that hardship and sacrifice is part of gospel service. This must not be overlooked in an age that too easily values earthly comfort over Kingdom cost. 

Our denomination and college leadership are not unaware of the difficulties involved with relocating for full time study. We want willing, godly, gifted men and women to be trained to the best possible standards. A lot of work goes into raising bursaries and funds in order to make residential Theological education as accessible as possible. 

It is also true that not everyone can, nor needs to be trained at GWC. Very able men and women serve the Lord in many effective ways without a GWC Theological education or REACH-SA ordination. We certainly are called to study and progress as we seek to be more effective in the work of the Gospel. GWC is a part of that training spectrum, not the whole.  

We realise that there is a growing need for more online, regional and local church based training in our country. I have long held that we should formalize a more comprehensive, nationwide training standard and network for our denomination. Both and pre-college training (Ministry Apprenticeship) and post graduate training. A secondary network of Bible and ministry training centres could be a helpful boost to expanding our equipping network. Some discussions have already begun between Johannesburg Bible College and GWC and there are also other options to be explored in other cities. 

More also needs to be done with regard to specialised training schools and courses for subjects like expository preaching, church planting, student ministry, Biblical counselling and missions. This is something for future conversations. 

Curacy / Post Graduate Training

I’ve often been told that we are placing a great deal of emphasis on ongoing training for male graduates working toward ordained pastoral ministry but not on other ministry workers.  I don’t think we should apologise for our focus on the best possible training for our clergy. But we do need to work at increasing and widening the focus on training for other fields of local church ministry. 

Currently we have a two year, post graduate Curacy program (LMin) for GWC graduates going into ordained pastoral ministry. There is no reason why the program can’t be expanded into other streams such as Children’s Workers and Women’s Workers. We have already begun including women graduates on the LMin program, but it is time for us to be more intentional in this practice. 

I have been in discussions with various role players to develop a two year ‘on-the-job’ LMin program for Children’s Workers and Women’s Workers and we hope to have the curriculum ready for implementation in the new year. 

I also believe in the future we could look at LMin modules for Expository Preaching, Youth Ministry, Student Ministry, Church Planting, and Biblical Counselling. (The complexity of today’s pastoral issues requires us to pay more attention to Biblical counselling ministry and I’m most encouraged to have various training opportunities being offered at this year’s Synod.)

Women and Men and Ministry  

Much has been said in previous synods and charges about the role of women in the church. We had a special focus on understanding Complementarian theology at last year’s synod with excellent input from our guest speaker, Carrie Sandom. I do not want to revisit all the details but I want to affirm again our convinced Complementarian stance in REACH-SA. 

We see the Biblical picture of Male and Female in Genesis 1 and 2, created equal but within an order that includes male headship of God’s creation. We see that order distorted and broken in our fallen creation (Gen.3) and we see that Christ restores that order in the New Creation, which we are called to reflect in the Christian church on earth (Eph.5; 1 Tim.2,3). God calls men to the role of headship in the home family and the local church family. The Bible affirms the equality of both men and women in the sight of God as well as the distinct and valued roles He has given to each gender. We do not have time to unpack this further here.

I realize this teaching flies in the face of our modern secular society as well as other Christian denominations and organizations who choose an Egalitarian approach. Given the context of where we are in society and the potential implications of our stance, we don’t do this lightly.  

It is important for us to be clear minded and united as we go forward. There are loud voices opposing even the mere mention of distinctive roles for (just) two genders. History shows us that the church has often failed in these sorts of challenges by either capitulating to the mood of the day or retreating into rigid rejection of change. Neither of these approaches reflect a Biblical expectation for God’s people to be constantly reforming our minds and actions according to the Scriptures.  

The #metoo movement should not make us rally the defences and batten down the hatches. Rather it should cause us to honestly examine the Scriptures and our own hearts and prayerfully implement right and Biblical practice in our local churches. 

We affirm the dignity and worth of all men and women who are equally made in the image of God - and equally fallen and in need of redemption through faith in Christ. 

We also call on Christ’s redeemed men and women to live out their Biblical roles and exercise their Spiritual gifts in our local churches. 

As much as we may also lament the sometimes liberal (and even intolerant) excesses of the politically correct brigade, there are also cautions against rejecting the sin that it does expose. We do need to repent of prejudice. We do need to call out abuse. We do need stand against injustice, hate and bigotry. The current level of violence against women and children is horrific and totally unacceptable. We are called to stand against this both in word and deed. 

Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves,
    for the rights of all who are destitute.
Speak up and judge fairly;
    defend the rights of the poor and needy.

(Prov.31:8,9)

Of course, this is a short visit to this discussion. I don’t think we have done nearly enough in unpacking the gospel implications of Christ’s love ethic in the context of our fractured society. 

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As we affirm the roles of women from our Complementarian theology, here are some examples of how that could look in our REACH-SA context: 

Our current denominational structures

• Women elected onto National Executive and Trustees.
• Women in senior administration and ministry support roles. 
• Women serving in regional leadership roles (e.g. heading up community care networks or ECDs).   
• Women serving in missions leadership roles

In our local churches

• Women represented on local church councils (diaconal role). My only caution would be with regards to Wardens given the nature of their task.
• Women leading ministries in church and para-church organizations. 
• Specialized skills such as pastoral counselling (women to women). 
• Specialized trainers and teachers in local church (e.g. administration; parenting; legal; finance; community care; ECDs; etc) 
• Participating in public services. 

In our Theological college

• Women being trained to the same standard as the men without discrimination. 
• Women excelling in their specialized Theological fields (we need more women Theologians who hold to Complementarian theology). 
• Women serving on staff and faculty at Theological college level. 

Lastly: As we uphold ministry and teaching roles for women in our local churches, we must not give in to the mistake of creating some sort of secondary class of ‘non-ministry’ women who stay at home and raise children. The world does enough on its own to make stay-at-home mothers feel insignificant. I’m hope no one needs to be convinced of the high status the Bible gives to motherhood and parenting as well as the essential role that is given to those women who are married and have children. We must affirm both the high calling of ministry as well as marriage and motherhood - for those to whom God gives these gifts and responsibilities. It is also critical for us not to miss just how interconnected these responsibilities are (Titus 2:3-5; 1 Tim.2; 2 Tim.1:5; 3:14-17). 

The Gospel Workers Licence 

The establishment of the Gospel Workers Licence was an attempt to demonstrate a more formal recognition for all non-ordained ministry workers in our churches (both male and female). It was also seen as a way to get a wider range of recognised and licenced ministry workers into the field. The minimum requirement for this licence (the old Lay-Reader’s licence) is the Explore Course Certificate. It must be added (to clear up confusion) that the Gospel Workers Licence is not automatically issued to all Explore graduates. The licence is specifically for those working in our REACH-SA churches, under the oversight of one of our Rectors, who also needs to initiate the application.

There are clear advantages to having licenced Gospel Workers:

• Denominational Recognition: Gospel Workers receive a profile across the entire REACH-SA family. They are included in our database of ministry workers and in so doing their qualifications and ministry are known and recognised by us all.
• Transferability: It is far easier for local churches to access and offer positions to those who are suitably qualified and formally recognized in our denomination. 
• Accountability: Some may see this as a disadvantage but is it right and Biblical for us to be accountable to one another. This is not often welcomed in our individualistic and anti-authoritarian society, but proper church discipline and accountability is an essential part of God’s church.

It has been noted that even with the Gospel Workers Licence we are still seeing little if any requests to have men and women licenced as Gospel Workers in our local churches.  I’d be glad to hear more feedback with regards to the reasons. 

Deacons

I know I’m not alone in being convinced that the role of Deacon is a Biblical role for both men and women. It seems to me that we have danced around this issue for way too long and some positive progress needs to be made. We came so close to ratifying women Deacons almost 20 years ago and no real progress has been made since. 

Part of the problem is the perception of double ordinations (Deacon and Presbyter) and the way we apply the two responsibilities. I believe it’s time for a clearer policy here and the first step is a proper review of our offices and how they are practiced. We did have a ‘deaconing’ service for women in our Handbook of Procedures, but it had not actually been ratified by the Synod of 2000 (only tabled) Its quite critical for us to clarify this going forward. I would be very glad if synod even gave us permission to re-establish the Deacon review committee and bring their recommendations and guidelines to the area councils for Synod 2020. 

One other factor with regards to recognizing women Deacons. It is important to disconnect ourselves from the worldly notion that there is some sort of professional career advancement in mind here. The common perception is that one “progresses” from Deacon all the way to Bishop. Sadly, we too easily create that impression, even giving an unbiblical power status to the offices, particularly to the Bishop’s role. Ministry is not a professional career, nor is it a ladder climbing exercise. If we do come across any ladders in the course of our ministry, the Biblical move would be to climb down not up! We are servants of the Master not superior saints. We wash others feet, not our own crowns. 

Employment

We must add a final reality check here too. It’s likely that none of these changes will open up a massive run of employment opportunities in our local churches and structures. In the current economic circumstances even some of our Rectors are having to find ways to supplement their income. It’s also no longer unusual for married ministry workers to have a working spouse helping to supplement their income. 

Ministry comes with hardship (Ac.14:22) but I must also add that our God is faithful. It has long been my experience that those who are willing to work hard and who serve willingly in the place where they are gifted and called to be, discover a God who is more than able to supply our needs -not our greeds. (Matt.6:25-34; 2 Cor.9:8). Yes, it may take some creative and prayerful approaches (and you should not expect any reward for sitting around doing nothing) but our God cares for His servants - through His servants.  

And the Lord will grow His church!

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In summary: 

Progress -  

1. Post graduate LMin (‘curacy’) training streams:
   1. Pastoral Ministry
   2. Women’s Ministry
   3. Children’s Ministry

1. Gospel Workers Licence for both male and female workers.  Rectors need to apply on behalf of their workers and commission them under their oversight. 

We need further discussions with regards:

1. Women Deacons or a Deaconate for women?
2. Formalizing a wider network of recognized training institutions for Gospel Workers in our churches. 
3. Agreed upon standards and curriculum for Ministry Apprentice Training and Post Grad (curacy) training in our local churches and regions.  

Questions

• Do we have the right expectations of GWC within the wider context of ministry equipping and training? 
• Are we placing too much focus on employed ministry workers? Is training and engaging a lay-worker ministry force possible? How?
• Is the Gospel-Workers licence needed? Understood? Too complicated? News to some of us?
• Are we missing something important?

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by Joe Lyons