The Cost of Discipleship

I’ve been reflecting much on some conversations I’ve had recently. The most noticeable is something I learnt from one of our Bristo interns, David Nemeshegyi, as we were reading through Old Testament together. In looking at Ruth 1, he commented that the conversation between Naomi and Ruth, where the former seeks to discourage the latter from going to her hometown of Bethlehem with her, is the reason why rabbis have the duty of seeking to dissuade three times any potential convert to Judaism.

Can you imagine a revival evangelist? The invitation goes out. The people come forward. And then the reasons why they should not become Christians and the persuading begins!

Which leads us to a question. When is a convert really made? Is it simply when a persons has been coming around regularly to church? Is it when they respond to the truth that Jesus died for their sins, that God loves them and that they can have eternal life? Can we make the Christian life and entry into it seem too easy?

Perhaps we should stress that there is always cost and renunciation when we become a Christian. And now I remember the reason for the title of Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s classic work ….

The Wisdom of Elders

Eric Watson retired 17 years ago as Superintendent of our Baptist Union of Scotland. He's as sharp and insightful as ever. Three quotes from table-talk with him:

• The endless search for programmes for revival is useless, unless people see that being, not doing, is where you must start 
• Christians have to realise that they are doing mission every day, whether they want to or not. The only question is 'what witness are others seeing in them?'
• Real fishermen go out and let their nets down into the deep places, to reach down to catch fish, where they get torn and ripped by rocks. They need to repair the nets. Sunday is our time for repairing the net of the church, before the net is let down through the week to catch fish among the rocks. 

Scottish Pastors' Conference 2010

That time again, in St Andrews. Great to meet with colleagues from all over Scotland. This morning's seminar is with Michael Harvey speaking on ‘BackToChurchSunday’.

Michael’s message was about ‘unlocking the growth’ - acknowledging that God gives the growth; but it is the constituency of the church, within a time, culture and context, that tends to lock down and inhibit God’s plan, purpose and power. The starting point is in acknowledging that God is active and working across the nation. This strategy is simply serving God’s purpose. All we have to do is invite people.

So … we need to just chill  and believe that people might enjoy church. I like it.

Life infused creativity

We had Alan Donaldson, our new General Director for the Baptist Union of Scotland, join us today at our weekly pastors' meeting in north Edinburgh. Great guy, and with a real heart for getting our union of churches functioning together. I'm really excited about the way ahead. This is the biggest crossroads both in our Union and in the history of Bristo in a lifetime; and if we get it right, we can see our congregation being taken forward in renewed purposefulness within an exciting and bigger picture.

I was reading NT Wright again today, in The Resurrection of the Son of Man, and was impressed in how he talks of John's Gospel's emphasis on the new creation. We live in the season of the 8th day - the new creative act of God that issues, in the power of the Holy Spirit, to fashion and reshape all things in the life and the light of the Resurrected Jesus Christ.

I like that. For those who are arrested in the ministry and mind of Christ, things will never get stale. There is always freshness, newness. Amen - come, Holy Spirit!