Broadband has arrived!

Finally, broadband has arrived, my WiFi card is working and I can now connect online at home. What a relief. Hopefully this will mean an increase in posting levels, once I finish my Genesis 27 sermon and come back from Keswick.

Thank you Pope Benedict

Pope Benedict 16th recently clarified the Catholic view that other (non-Roman-Catholic) churches are less than full churches. As might be expected, this was received by howls of protest. But Albert Mohler, a senior figure in the Southern Baptist denomination, is actually grateful for the Pope's clarity. A long quote is worthwhile:

It all comes down to this -- the claim of the Roman Catholic Church to the primacy of the Bishop of Rome and the Pope as the universal monarch of the church is the defining issue. Roman Catholics and Evangelicals should together recognize the importance of that claim. We should together realize and admit that this is an issue worthy of division. The Roman Catholic Church is willing to go so far as to assert that any church that denies the papacy is no true church. Evangelicals should be equally candid in asserting that any church defined by the claims of the papacy is no true church. This is not a theological game for children, it is the honest recognition of the importance of the question.

The Reformers and their heirs put their lives on the line in order to stake this claim. In this era of confusion and theological laxity we often forget that this was one of the defining issues of the Reformation itself. Both the Reformers and the Roman Catholic Church staked their claim to be the true church -- and both revealed their most essential convictions in making their argument. As Martin Luther and John Calvin both made clear, the first mark of the true Church is the ministry of the Word -- the preaching of the Gospel. The Reformers indicted the Roman Catholic Church for failing to exhibit this mark, and thus failing to be a true Church. The Catholic church returned the favor, defining the church in terms of the papacy and magisterial authority. Those claims have not changed.

I also appreciate the spiritual concern reflected in this document. The artificial and deadly dangerous game of ecumenical confusion has obscured issues of grave concern for our souls. I truly believe that Pope Benedict and the Congregation for the Defense of the Faith are concerned for our evangelical souls and our evangelical congregations. Pope Benedict is not playing a game. He is not asserting a claim to primacy on the playground. He, along with the Magisterium of his church, believes that Protestant churches are gravely defective and that our souls are in danger. His sacramental theology plays a large role in this concern, for he believes and teaches that a church without submission to the papacy has no guaranteed efficacy for its sacraments. (This point, by the way, explains why the Protestant churches that claim a sacramental theology are more concerned about this Vatican statement -- it
denies the basic validity of their sacraments.)

I actually appreciate the Pope's concern. If he is right, we are endangering our souls and the souls of our church members. Of course, I am convinced that he is not right -- not right on the papacy, not right on the sacraments, not right on the priesthood, not right on the Gospel, not right on the church. The Roman Catholic Church believes we are in spiritual danger for obstinately and disobediently excluding ourselves from submission to its universal claims and its papacy. Evangelicals should be concerned that Catholics are in spiritual danger for their submission to these very claims. We both understand what is at stake.

The Rev. Mark Hanson, presiding bishop of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, responded to the press by saying that the Vatican's "exclusive claims" are "troubling." He also said, "what may have been meant to clarify has caused pain."

I will let Bishop Hanson explain his pain. I do not see this new Vatican statement as an innovation or an insult. I see it as a clarification and a helpful demarcation of the issues at stake. I appreciate the Roman Catholic Church's candor on this issue, and I believe that Evangelical Christians, with equal respect and clarity, should respond in kind. This is a time to be respectfully candid -- not a time to be offended.

Diocese of Lichfield and leaders who grow churches

Okay, so being back online hasn't yet produced a flurry of posts. Bear with me!

Yesterday I met the other prospective deacons from Lichfield Diocese, who like me will be ordained 30th September at 10am (you are invited!). One of the highlights was hearing Archdeacon Bob Jackson speaking about the Diocese's commitment to growth, rather than organized retreat. He said that this extended to looking for vicars and curates who will lead churches into growth. It was very exciting to hear of official structures looking to see mission high on the priority, and not simply affirming this without practicing it!

A favourite website of mine is goodmanson.com, named after a church planter / leader at Kaleo Church, San Diego, and part of the fabulous Acts 29 Church Planting Network. Go check it out! If you want fresh biblical thinking about how to lead churches that proclaim the gospel and transform the world, here is a good place to start.

Bob Jackson said that the Church of England was slowly realising that we are not a pastoral institution caring for a Christian country, but a missionary church in a post-Christian culture. This needs to affect the priorities that church leaders have, and the following two posts will help:

Leading a Movement not an Institution
Eldership that leads a transformational community

Back online!

I'm back! I started working here in Stone, Oulton & Moddershall (we need a snappy title for the Benefice...) on Sunday - and a very big thank you for the warm welcome we have received.

Highlights of the last few weeks:

• Moving in dry weather (the rain arrived an hour after the movers left)
• Riding a steam train in a local back garden...
• Digging on Bantham beach (Devon) AND staying dry
• Tim Keller's fantastic talks at the Evangelical Ministry Assembly
• Eating lunch at the top of the Gherkin

I have just started reading the Doctor (i.e. D Martin Lloyd-Jones, not the time travelling one) on preaching and hope to post some thoughts soon.