Unichurch video

Over the last 15 months you’ve been able to stream videos of the preaching at Unichurch on the website; but that can be a hassle, particularly if you’re on a slower internet connection. As of this week the videos have now been set up in a vodcast (video podcast) so that you can set it to download in iTunes and watch it when you want…

The videos (since the start of the Romans series) will now also work on portable devices like your iPhone or iPod – so you can listen to and watch Rory preaching when you’ve got nothing to do on the bus, or you’re bored in lectures or you’re lying in bed…

Click here to access the vodcast in iTunes, or use this feed for other programs.

different…but the same

Last weekend I went on a Missions Interlink Short Term (MIST) training weekend, which included all sorts of stuff about cross-cultural ministry. The main message, I think, was that it’s hard! That didn’t come as that much of a shock, though a few things on the weekend really made me think.

One ‘penny dropping’ moment was during the ‘Know and tell the Gospel’ session. The presenter asked us to write down the basic elements of the Gospel as we’d explain it given the chance, so I wrote ‘creator God, rightful ruler, rebellion, punishment deserved, Jesus takes our guilt…etc’. Through that our cultural orientation to innocence/guilt thinking was highlighted, and contrasted with the way other cultural worldviews. For example, some cultures really work on a pride/shame basis – maybe Japanese and Middle Eastern cultures – and others on power/fear thinking – maybe some Asian and African cultures.

I probably should have known that already, but it really helped me understand why different people react to different parts of the gospel so strongly. I while a ago I blogged about sharing the story of the prodigal son and his forgiving father with some Chinese people. They were amazed that the wronged, dignified father RAN to the son, which shows their pride/shame orientation.

So I guess the thing is the gospel doesn’t change, but it’s amazing that God uses different parts of it to speak to different people groups. Worth thinking about more…

Romans 5:12-26

As you would have heard if you were there on Sunday, I tend to go with Henri Blocher’s understanding of Romans 5:12-14. The problem is the relationship between the “one man’s sin” and the fact that “all sinned.” Does this mean:

1) That all people actually end up sinning just like Adam did? We sin like Adam.

2) That all people sinned and are guilt because of what Adam did? We sinned in Adam.

The first, though true (Romans 3:23), seems to say less that what Paul is saying here.

The second, which is the traditional Augustinian view, makes better sense of the text, though raises problems like how someone can be held guilty for something someone else did.

Blocher, without rejecting the truth of 1) or 2) argues that what Romans 5:12-14 is saying is that,

3) Through Adam, God reckons our rebellion as sin (=breaking God’s law), even when we do not break a specific law of God known to us.

Perhaps the best way to get Blocher’s understanding across is to quote his paraphrase:

Just as through one man, Adam, sin entered the world, and the sin-death connection was established, and so death could be inflicted on all as the penalty of their sin…
For take the period from Adam to Moses: sin was in the world, yet sin is not imputed in the absence of law, when it is view independently; nevertheless it was imputed through the relationship of all to Adam, and so death reigned even over people who had not sinned, as Adam had done, by violating a precept directly given to them. Adam’s role as a racial head for condemnation makes him a type of Christ, the Head for justification.

Henri Blocher, Original Sin: Illuminating the Riddle, 1997, 78.

challenge

Last weekend a couple of car loads of food, a whole stack of sleeping bags, approximately  60 adult people and two interstate speakers headed an hour North-west and spent a weekend together. It all looked pretty unexciting from the outside, but the weekend was designed to encourage Perth Christians to think about entering full-time/vocational/paid/formal (pick your PC adjective, you know what I mean) gospel ministry. And, in doing that, was a really exhilarating and inspiring weekend. Thinking about the vast majority of our own small city whom have never engaged with the gospel is a depressing activity, but not when you do it after hearing from Titus and surrounded by others who just really want the world to know what they’re missing out on.  Sadly it’s another year till the next MTS Challenge conference, but in the meantime let’s keep encouraging each other to fight the good fight…and if you see Tim Thorburn, put your name down for next year and tell him he rocks.

photo taken from flickr, uploaded by Rare Surname

Would anyone miss us?

“If Unichurch disappeared tomorrow, would anyone miss us?”

This was the very clarifying question I was throwing around with one of the brothers from Claremont Baptist Church last week. If our churches were to pull up stumps, would there be anyone in the local community (as opposed to church members) who would think: “It’s a shame they’re not here anymore.”

Tim Keller, of Redeemer Presbyterian in NYC, often talks about one of the aims of their church being that people would at least say: “I don’t believe what they believe, but, to be honest, I’m really glad they’re here.”

It’s a way of thinking about the church’s place in the society that has a long and noble biblical pedigree. In the OT we see it beginning with God’s call of Abraham (Genesis 12:1-3), the vocation of Israel (Exodus 19:4-6), the place of God’s people at the height of the monarchy (1 Kings 3-10) and, most importantly, the role of God’s people in Babylon in the Exile (Jeremiah 29:7). In all these cases, God’s people are set apart from the wider world in order to be a blessing to that world.

And in the NT too, in the wake of Jesus’ death and resurrection, his new people are to be salt of the earth and light to the world (Matthew 5:13-16). Of course, God’s people are also to expect hostility and persecution (2 Timothy 3:12), but this is not an either/or proposition. See 1 Peter 2:12: “Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.”

So, back to the question. If Unichurch were to close up shop tomorrow, are there any non-members in the Western Suburbs who would be sad to see us go? Would the management of Clubba or the Cap S think “whatever happened to those guys? They were so helpful with X.” Would any international students say “I wish they were still around. They were very hospitable and helped me with Y.” Would the University think, “Oh dear, with them gone, no one will clean up _.” Would the College’s miss us? Would the local retirement village, or hospital, or High School miss the blessings we brought them in Christ’s name?

Now, I think in many cases the answer would actually be “yes.” I’m not implying we have no impact for good. But I am saying we should actively pursue this question, and allow it to shape our future. Not, of course, for the glory of Unichurch. (In the end, who cares about Unichurch?) But for the glory of the Father, and the redemption of people, lets go for it in the Western Suburbs (for a start) and see how we might be a blessing.

So, firstly, lets start asking God how we can be a blessing to our community. And, secondly, hit me with your ideas on how to do this.

What is it?

What is it? I asked my Scripture class at Hollywood PS this afternoon, and they came up with all sorts of answers. Was it a pencil sharpener? A toy pet? A paperweight?

But when they pushed down on the bird, it became clear.

It’s a toothpick dispenser. The interesting this isn’t really the bird (although it’s awesome), it’s the question. When I asked the kids, “what is it?” they all assumed the question meant, “what is it for?” They made a few guesses, but once I showed them what it did, there was no more argument. Everyone in the room agreed it was a toothpick dispenser.

So why did the kids assume, “what is it?” means, “what is it for?” They could have just as easily answered the question by describing it: it’s a black plastic cylinder with a red pointy bit on top. Or what they would do with it: it’s a paperweight, cos that’s what I would use it for.

But they didn’t. They unconsciously recognized that the thing was defined by its purpose, and that its purpose was defined by its designer.

Today’s lesson was on creation, and that’s why we looked at the bird. We discovered that everything has been made for a purpose, and finds its meaning in fulfilling that purpose. It would be undignified to use the bird as a paperweight, because it’s a toothpick dispenser.

Of course it’s not every thing’s purpose is so obvious. What’s the purpose of a tree? A star? A person? But we need to ask the question, because otherwise we’ll end up abusing it.

P.S. I found the bird in the stuff for the garage sale. This means it will be for sale at St Matt’s this Saturday morning. So if you fancy it, it could be your’s!

In which the Interns discuss theology in Rory’s study

Photos from our weekly interns meeting yesterday. Discussing theology in the study–this is what being a Unichurch Intern is all about!

Death by Love

On Sunday the teaching was on Romans 3:21-31 and, as a consequence, on the death of Jesus. We looked at the three big word pictures Paul throws us to try and get our head around what was going on on the cross: Propitiation (the temple idea of atonement for sin), Justification (the law-court idea of a declaration of innocence), and Redemption (the market idea of paying a price in order to re-possess something).
It would have been great to spend a week on each of these ideas: to plumb something of the depth of the ideas they carry, and to push through to their life-changing effect. I could imagine whole sermons on “Justification and the end of anxiety”, “Propitiation and the end of injustice” and “Redemption and the value of persons” etc.
I note that Mark Driscoll has written a book that makes these sorts of connections. It’s called Death by Love: Letters from the Cross and takes the form of letters written to people in a variety of pastoral situations, applying aspects of the death of Jesus to their situation. I’ve only dipped into it (just got it on Saturday), but it looks good! Reviews suggest that, even for people who don’t usually warm to Driscoll’s style, this book is an exception. And it comes with what is by far the best promotion of a book I have ever seen. Take a look.

Codex Sinaiticus

This is going to make me sound super-nerdy, but I found this cool website the other day.

In 1844 a guy called Constatin von Tischendorf found a 4thC copy of the entire Bible in a monastery in Sinai. Since then it – the Codex Sinaiticus – has ended up in 3 parts in various libraries and museums in Europe. It’s interesting because it’s an important example of how the Bible was put together when there wasn’t yet an agreement on which books were canonical. It’s full mistakes and corrections as the three scribes who worked on it tried to get it right. Now you can check out the 1600 year old document for yourself, because they’ve scanned in the pages and put them on a website!

John Dickson and Greg Clarke discuss the Codex on their CPX website, including some of the controversies surrounding it. It’s pretty easy just to live in the moment, but looking at the pages of the Codex is a good reminder of the rich Christian history we’re a part of and how much we have to thank God for.

interesting fact: The Codex is made from pages of goat skin – apparently over 300 goats were ‘harmed’ in it’s making.

One for the ladies

As much as I’m embarrassed to admit I know this, Britney, the Pussycat Dolls and Rhianna all have something to say about both being single and not being single. Funnily enough, so do the Kings of Leon, Beyonce and The Streets (although they’re much cooler). Sadly, though, just having rockin’ hair and something to say and  doesn’t make you an expert.

Ladies, here it is. It’s the answer to guys version* – ‘A Girl’s Guide to Marrying Well’. Check it out and you’ll soon realise don’t mean ‘well’ as in never having to work again. It’s a booklet produced by Boundless, a Chrisitan webzine, and it’s been written by people who’ve got to the bottom of the whole issue (ie. they’ve listened to what God has to say about marriage, singleness etc)  . While their hair is probably pretty average and I’m sure they can’t shake it like Ms Knowles, the guys at Boundless also have some great articles about all sorts of things, and regular podcasts too.

* As Dave blogged a few weeks ago