Senior Pastor

Mission month - What?

Tue, 08 May 2012 00:31:00 GMT

Jesus disciples were slow of heart and foolish. They were surprised that the Messiah was executed by the enemies of God. They were just as surprised that they could not find his body in the tomb. Although they were well-versed in the Scripture, they really did not believe all that the prophets have spoken (Luke 24:25,26).

The Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms have written that the Christ must suffer, and his must rise from the dead on the third day (Luke 24:45). How foolish of the disciples for not seeing this! But this is not the only matter written of in the Scriptures. For it is also written that repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations (Luke 24:46). It was foolish of the disciples not to believe this. What about us? Do we believe that global mission is as much a gospel imperative as the death and resurrection of Jesus? Is this reflected in your priorities, investments, aspirations?

We will turn our mind and energy to this aspect of the Gospel in the next 30 days. I pray that by the end of the next 30 days:

1. Everyone at church will have the conviction that global mission is as much a Gospel imperative as the death and resurrection of Jesus.

2. Everyone at church will be committed to self-sacrificially: praying, sending and giving for global mission.

The first week of the Missions month will be focused on prayer, the second on sending and the third on giving.

Week 1 - Prayer

'When Jesus confronts his disciples in Matthew 9:37 with the need of the world and the shortage of workers, note that he does not issue them with a command to go and get involved. What he presents to them is a command to pray and to ask the Lord of the harvest to send out workers (Matt 9:38).' (Dipple, Becoming Global)

Praying for global mission is not something we do when we can't get directly involved. Prayer is the work of mission. You can start your mission activity today. How? By joining the 30 Days Challenge.

The 30 Days Challenge

1. For every day of the next 30 days, pray for God's work in the world today.

2. Be specific. It would be a real waste of your time and effort to just pray in a generic way. Pray intelligently with knowledge. So one of the things you might need to do is to get informed. Find out about what our global partners (link missionaries) are praying for, and join with them. Find out what is happening in the world, including locally in Chatswood e.g. who are the unreached people group - pray for them. Do it by yourself, in your group, with a friend etc etc.

3. Share with us your experience.

With every blessing

Brain Tung, Purpose Pastor Mission

Treason, the Wilderness, God & Joy

Tue, 08 May 2012 00:10:00 GMT

I read Psalm 63 last Sunday. David’s attitude struck me:

O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water. I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory. Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you. (vv 1-3)

The writer is David when he was king (vv1 &11). The context is that someone was seeking to kill him (v 9). This corresponds to the time when Absalom, his son, drove him out of Jerusalem and into the wilderness (2 Samuel 15:23). Imagine being in David's shoes. His son is not just alienated, but hostile enough to want to see his father killed. His life is at stake, and his heart is broken.

What does David do in this moment? He prays. The whole psalm is addressed to God. He asks for one thing - not protection, not victory - he asks for God! O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water (v1).

There are times of pain and loss and grief and darkness when nothing is worth asking for but God. Everything else seems trivial, even life. I suspect that’s why David says in v3, Because your love is better than life, my lips will glorify you.

Resting in God's lovingkindness is easy to say, but do we feel the reality? I think that David’s cry of earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you tells me that he didn’t feel it the way he wanted too. David desperately needed God to answer his cry to come and help him taste, not just know, that God's lovingkindness is better than life.

How did God come to David in such a way that he could see God and be satisfied as with the richest of foods (v5)? The answer is that David remembered the days in the house of God where he communed with God: I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory (v2). David had been driven from Jerusalem - and specifically the Temple - the place where God met with his people. In his distress, he remembers what it was like, and what he saw of God. He remembers God’s character and his promises. So he is able to say with confidence: you are my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings. My soul clings to you; your right hand upholds me.

David didn’t know joy only once the wilderness experience was over, he knew it in the midst of it because he leant on the lovingkindness of a sovereign God. He says this in v11 (referring to himself) But the king will rejoice in God. When the saving of his own life and the rescue of his own son cease to be his gods, and God alone engulfs him in the solid joy of unshakable love, then David will sing with joy in the wilderness.

What a wonder it would be that we would come to this place in our walk with God! Would you pray with me David’s prayer, O God, you are my God, earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you, my body longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water. May we earnestly seek to be so satisfied in God - that we’d treasure Jesus - that all other experiences and circumstances are put in their proper place.

For the sake of the times in the wilderness,

Steve Jeffrey

The Source of Boundless Joy

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 06:07:00 GMT

In last week’s bulletin I wanted us to see that joyless grumbling doesn’t make Jesus look so impressive. Grumbling belittles God’s sovereignty and goodness, and robs the Christian community of joy. We mostly grumble, complain, murmur when we don’t like certain circumstances (such as changes in church). True joy, however, is not at the mercy of life’s circumstances working out how we think they ought to be. If we are honest though, it is too often the case. We rejoice when things are going well (such as church being the way I prefer it to be). But there is nothing especially Christian about rejoicing when things are going well.

What is extraordinary about Paul is how unbelievably stable his joy was when things weren’t going well. For example: I am greatly encouraged; in all our troubles my joy knows no bounds. (2 Corinthians 7:4). Or Now I rejoice in what was suffered for you (Colossians 1:24).

There is no doubt that the Apostle Paul was an extraordinary man. He knew the ups and downs of life. I suspect he knew how to rejoice when things went well, but he also knew how to rejoice when it was really tough. He wrote these words while rotting in a first century prison: Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! (Philippians 4:4). He is not suggesting that we rejoice but commanding it. Rejoicing - or joy - is not a feeling then because you can’t command a feeling. But you can command an attitude. Joy is what God expects of those who follow Christ.

Where does this come from? Did Paul have an unusually strong constitution? No! First of all it was taught by Jesus: Blessed are you when men hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man. “Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven. (Luke 6:22-23).

Second, it comes from the Holy Spirit, not our own efforts or imagination or family upbringing. The fruit of the Spirit is ... joy (Galatians 5:22).

Third, it comes from belonging to the kingdom of God. For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit (Romans 14:17).

Fourth, it comes through faith - from believing God. May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him (Romans 15:13).

Fifth, it comes from seeing and knowing Jesus as Lord. Rejoice in the Lord always (Philippians 4:4).

Sixth, it comes from fellow believers who work hard to help us focus on these sources of joy: we work with you for your joy (2 Corinthians 1:24).

Seventh, it comes from the transforming effect of hard times. Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, 3 because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. 4 Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. (James 1:2-4).

I’m not enough like Paul, but I’m wanting to be. In fact, he calls me to be. Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ (1 Corinthians 11:1). In facing circumstances with joy - circumstances that would have tempted him to grumble - Paul was like his Lord. Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross (Hebrews 12:2).

Paul’s eyes were fixed on Jesus. He followed Jesus. He calls us to follow for joy. For most of us this is a call to filling our heads and hearts with the word of God, and earnest prayer. The life of boundless joy is a supernatural life.

Needing to learn Paul-type, Christ-centred, boundless joy,
Steve Jeffrey

Know, Treasure and Represent Jesus...for Joy!

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 06:04:00 GMT

Our mission statement reveals why St Paul’s exists. We exist to know Jesus, treasure Jesus, represent Jesus for God’s glory and the joy of all people. Romans 14:17 tells us that JOY is a Christian virtue: For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. God places a high importance on the fruit of joy in our lives. Without joy our lives are not very pleasing to God. Without the fruit of joy in our lives God doesn’t look so great!

Right now, some of us are struggling with joylessness - especially on a Sunday. It seems there is much to grumble about - service structure to formal, service structure not formal enough, music too loud, music too soft, music too old, music to new, the painting of the welcome centre, chairs too uncomfortable, no church directory, not enough notices, too many notices, not the right notices, etc, etc, etc. The list is endless! Interestingly, we are not to sit around waiting for our circumstances to change so we can be joyful. We are commanded to be joyful always (1 Thessalonians 5:16). We are to rejoice always (Philippians 4:4). Paul is emphatic about it: I will say it again: Rejoice! God intends for everyone of his children to be growing in joy.

Grumbling robs the Christian, and the Christian community, of joy. Grumbling is an evidence of little faith in the gracious providence of God in all the affairs of our lives. Little faith is a dishonor to him. It belittles his sovereignty and wisdom and goodness.

In Philippians 2:14 Paul said, do everything without complaining (murmuring, grumbling). The only effective way to deal with a grumbling, joyless, heart is to look to our great God and his attitude towards us. When the circumstances are tempting us to joylessness and grumbling we must be reminded again of everything we have in God through Christ. Easter was great for that!

The Bible reveals many promises of God’s good will towards his children. He is...
The God who bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless. (Psalm 84:11);
The God who’s goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life (Psalm 23:6);
The God who works for the good of those who love him (Romans 8:28);
The God who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? (Romans 8:32);
The God who promises I can do everything through him who gives me strength (Philippians 4:13);
The God who will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:19);
The God who will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand (Isaiah 41:10);
The God who says “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” (Hebrews 13:5);
The God who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus (Philippians 1:6);
The God will fill me with joy in your (his) presence, with eternal pleasures at your (his) right hand. (Psalm 16:11);
The God who has all authority in heaven and on earth . . . and who will be with us to the end of the age (Matthew 28:18-20);
The God who disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness (Hebrews 12:10);
The God who knows the hairs of our head and without whom not a bird falls to the ground (Matthew 10:29-30);

Do you believe these things? If our faith is strong in these promises, then we will not grumble. An ungrateful heart (which all are by nature) must be transformed by the renewal of the mind. This transformation is the work of the Holy Spirit as we fill our minds with the word of God. Pray for yourself, and all of us, that we would be glad in the Lord and receive willingly from his hand all he designs for our holiness.

Thanks for your wrestling with me in prayer against grumbling and for joy,
Steve Jeffrey

Resurrection Contentment

Thu, 26 Apr 2012 06:20:00 GMT

The resurrection is not just an historical event to be argued over, but an event that we are meant to feel and experience right now. The resurrection of Jesus has very real and ongoing consequences for us every day. 1 Corinthians 15 reveals that the resurrection of Jesus satisfies five of our deepest needs and longings.

First, from 1 Corinthians 15:17, because of the resurrection our sins are forgiven.

This is the basic need and longing of our hearts because everything hangs on forgiveness. Everybody needs forgiveness. We long to be accepted by God. We fear the alienation of our guilt. We want a clean conscience. This is the most basic longing of our hearts.

Second, from 1 Corinthians 15:14, we can say that because of the resurrection our faith is well-founded. Or, because of the resurrection of Jesus there is someone we can trust absolutely.

Deep in the heart of every person is a longing for someone that you can count on through thick and thin. Someone who won't let you down. Now that we are no longer in our sins, this longing is satisfied by the resurrection of Jesus. Jesus is alive to be trusted.

Third, from 1 Corinthians 15:15, we can say that because of the resurrection the apostles are not false witnesses about God.

The trend today is towards not believing in absolute truth. Without the conviction that there are absolutes that can be shared, the only end will be anarchy where everyone does what is right in his own eyes. The need for truth is a deep need of the human soul and human society. Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. (John 14:6). Then he rose from the dead to vindicate his claim. Jesus has a right to tell us what is absolutely true because in the resurrection God proved him to be absolutely true.

Fourth, from 1 Corinthians 15:19, we can say that because of the resurrection we are to be envied. If Christ is not raised, then doing what he says is ridiculous. But because of the resurrection all our obedience is not just not-to-be-pitied, but is positively enviable.

There is in every one of us the longing that our lives count for something, that we don't come to the end of our days and say, it was all empty, pointless...pitiable. This chapter on resurrection ends with the wonderful words: Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labour in the Lord is not in vain. Not in vain! Christ is risen and everything done in his name—by his strength and for his glory—is not in vain. That's the longing of our lives.

Fifth, there is the longing that we not come to an empty end (or worse, eternally damned) after a full and valuable life. From 1 Corinthians 15: 17 & 18 we can say positively that because Jesus is raised those who have died in faith are not lost. They are alive. They will live forever. They will enter into the joy of their Master.

My prayer for us is that we would all feel these five longings, and that we would see the risen and reigning Jesus as the answer to those longings.

Praying for resurrection contentment,

Steve Jeffrey

Dying for me

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 04:44:00 GMT

It was a corker of a question: “How do you feel about the fact that for you to live, someone has to die?” The interviewee sat there, lost for words. His lower lip began to quiver, and his eyes filled with tears. “I have no idea how to answer that.” Then his head dropped, and he said, “I would probably pray for that person – every day, for the rest of my life.”

No, it wasn’t a religious show, discussing our response to Jesus’ death on the cross. It was Dr. Robert Winston of the BBC TV program Superhuman, and he was talking with a man waiting for a heart transplant. There in an American hospital is a whole ward full of people, who desperately cling to the hope that before their own heart completely packs it in, a suitable ‘donor’ heart will be found for them. Such hearts come from car accident victims and the like – people whose hearts were perfectly healthy.
If I underwent a heart transplant, I too would be lost for words at the thought that for me to live, someone had to die. Not a day – perhaps not an hour – would pass without me being mindful of my heartbeat, of the fact that in a very real way, I was totally dependent on the death of another.

As mind-blowing as a heart transplant might be, it only does us good for this life of ours on earth. But the death of Jesus, by contrast, is effective not only for this life, but the life to come. However, when Jesus died on the cross, he died the death we so richly deserve. He died as a sacrifice for our sins. By his death and resurrection our sins are forgiven (Eph 1:7), we are made right with God (Rom 4:25), and we receive the priceless gift of eternal life (Jn 3:16). We are totally dependent upon Jesus for a new heart, a new life.

How might we respond to such a staggering gift? Kind of like a heart transplant recipient - daily gratitude. I suspect it would mean going about life with the attitude that we owe this Man everything – our very life. Thanks to his death on the cross in our place, the life he offers is eternal. So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness. (Col 2:6-7).

Steve Jeffrey, Senior Minister

What have holidays to do with God and our families?

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 04:41:00 GMT

Life in Israel was (meant to be) very different to the nations. One distinction is Sabbath keeping. It is so important that death was the punishment for Sabbath breaking (Exodus 31:15). The Sabbath and other days, weeks and years were set apart as ‘holy-days’ for the Israelites.

Holidays are consecrated by God and for God, to remind His people that the universe is more than just endless cycles of birth, life and death - which lead to the vain and meaningless existence identified by the book of Ecclesiastes. In reality life is heading towards a single destination - the rest of God. During the holidays of Israel, the people were to remember this. Remembrance leads to faith.

Holidays also had a teaching function. The Israelites were to enact the Passover to teach the next generation who Yhwh is, what he has done and what he will do (Exodus 12:24-27).

Christians have consecrated certain days for remembrance, faith, love and instruction. Christian holy-days are the practical real life expression of our theology. As we forget our God we neglect our holidays. Our forgetfulness is evident in how we treat Easter.

Easter

Christians have for generations consecrated Easter to remember who Jesus is and what he has done - how his death and resurrection has brought us forgiveness, life and fellowship with God. At Easter we teach our next generation that Jesus has opened the way to the future and therefore hope for today. However, I think that any onlooker to our community would conclude that Easter isn’t all that special.

At every Easter, there would be more non-christians than Christians meeting in the name of Christ at our church. Easter has become a time for our ‘holidays’ - days consecrated for our travel and amusement. Yes, life is busy, and it might be inconvenient or inopportune to go away at other times. But what does our negligence reflect about our theology? What is holiday taking at Easter doing to our faith, and the faith of our children? And what is it doing to the witness of Christ in the world?

Let me invite you in 2012 to say ‘NO!’ to this - feed your soul and that of your children, fly the banner of Christ high in Chatswood. You can do this by:

Making a BIG deal out of Easter - bigger than your aunt’s 95th birthday, the wedding or graduation of your children, your job interview etc.
Deferring your travel plans for the Easter weekend so that you can worship God in the company of his people.
Do more than the usual. Set aside the Thursday night for Maundy Thursday (the night of the Last Supper) for a special meal with your family, inviting others to join.
Prepare for Easter - by prayer, reading etc.
Enjoy, celebrate Good Friday and Easter Sunday.

Brian Tung, Purpose Pastor Mission

Core Membership - Is it Legalism?

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 04:16:00 GMT

In my last bulletin note I encouraged the pursuit of Core membership at St Paul’s. There are 5 aspects of Core Membership at St Paul’s (they are all an expression of our Core Values):

Living a life of personal devotion: taking responsibility for personal Bible reading and prayer.
Living a life in community: where regular attendance at church is seen as a priority and an essential part of Christian growth. Along with regularly attending a Community Group under the leadership of an appointed leader where needs are met and mutual accountability is practiced.
Living a life of servant heartedness: being personally involved in one on-going ministry towards building up the St Paul’s family according to one’s gifts.
Living a life of local and global impact: by personally being involved in one ongoing ministry towards unbelievers.
Living a life of generosity: by sacrificially and generously pledging financially to the ministry of St Paul’s.

One accusation of such a list, and the calls to pursue core membership, is that it is legalism and not grace. I want to tackle this issue.

The word “legalism” does not occur in the Bible, but legalism is a certain attitude toward God’s law, commandments and rules. Romans 9:31-32 is a good example of legalism: but Israel, who pursued a law of righteousness, has not attained it. Why not? Because they pursued it not by faith but as if it were by works. Legalism is when faith is not the engine of obedience.

Legalism is not simply the pursuit of the law. It is pursuing the law in the wrong way—with some other engine than faith. Legalism is the pursuit of the law with some other engine than faith, on some other steam than the Spirit.

What is the engine of legalism? Paul calls it “works” (Romans 9:32). “Works” is the opposite of “faith”. So legalism is not whether you strive to obey the commands of God, but which engine you run on. The power of legalism comes from ourselves.

The power of the “obedience of faith” does not come from ourselves but from God (the Spirit). The aim of the obedience of faith is to receive everything from God as a free gift of grace. 1 Corinthians 15:10 is a key verse for me in understanding this: by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace to me was not without effect. No, I worked harder than all of them—yet not I, but the grace of God that was with me.

Discipline is not legalism. Hard work is not legalism. Acting against sinful flesh is not legalism. They may be. But they may also be the torque of the engine of faith running on the power of the Spirit to the glory of the grace of God in a self-centred and undisciplined world.

If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen. (1 Peter 4:11)

Pursuing Core Membership in the strength that God supplies,

Steve Jeffrey, Senior Minister

Growing a healthy church

Fri, 30 Mar 2012 05:54:00 GMT

Excerpt from Senior Ministers Report to AGM 2012

In his book Good to Great Jim Collins coins the term the Stockdale Paradox. This paradox is that you must retain faith that you can prevail in the end and at the same time retain the discipline to confront the brutal facts of your current reality.

The beginning of 2010 saw the start of our Vision 2020. Towards the end of last year, staff reviewed and refined this vision to provide more clarity in some of the objectives, setting a three year ministry target of 150 Core Members and 500 in attendance by the end of 2014.

A 1:3 ratio of Core Members is very important in measuring the health of our church. It is in fact a way to confront the brutal facts before they become obvious to most. For instance, if the ratio is too low (say 80:500) then the numbers can look impressive but there may be few who are really committed (a crowd but not disciples). Alternatively, if the ratio is too high (say 250:500) then it would send a signal that we are not being effective in reaching out (disciples not interested in the crowd). Either way, will lead to a church in decline.

We have a bold vision which we look forward to becoming a reality, but we have to face brutal facts. In his book Taking your church to the Next Level, Gary L McIntosh says that a church goes through five stages in its life cycle: the emerging church, the growing church, the consolidating church, the declining church and the dying church. He says that the normal cycle of these 5 stages (if not confronted at the consolidating stage) will take about 100 years from birth to death. He gives a number of characteristics of a declining and dying church (see my Rector’s report) and the brutal truth is that these characteristics have been and are still, characteristics of St Paul’s.

Over the last 7 years, some wonderful steps have been made but we have not yet taken on all the challenges to turn into a vibrant, healthy, growing church.

Some challenges for us are:

less than 18% are core members;
a church culture that incorrectly assumes what got us there will get us there;
controlling the blame game;
our facilities make us look like a declining church;

These are some of the brutal realities for us. Our gospel driven vision means making some very hard decisions, it means financial sacrifice, lots of work, labouring in prayer, struggling with our hearts to grow in godliness, surrendering personal preferences and a multitude of other things.

The Vision will not be realised without Spirit empowered courage for the cause of Christ.

The way the Vision will come to fruition is by each of us looking at our core values and asking God to grow us in them.

We have made lots of progress in the last year but still have areas to address:

Build core membership;
Develop & resource pastoral care plan;
Recruit more volunteers;
Meet our infrastructure needs;
Be vigilant in dealing with our pride;

I love this vision that God has put before us. I love being part of the leadership of this church. My plea is that we will all embrace the vision of St Paul’s and pursue strategic growth. At every step we are totally reliant upon God’s sovereignty, wisdom and enabling. I would again encourage you to be devoted in prayer.

Steve Jeffrey, Senior Minister

Building Core Membership

Fri, 16 Mar 2012 05:17:00 GMT

St Paul’s is just over two years into a redefined vision of the future. In pursuing this vision we have recently set a short term ministry objective. This ministry objective is to see 150 core members and 500 in attendance by the end of 2014. This short term objective will stretch us. Right now we have less than 300 in weekly attendance and our Core Membership is less than 18% of that figure.

The essence of Vision 2020 is for St Paul’s to be a healthy church. The way we become a healthy church is for us to become healthy Christians. Our corporate vision is worked out as we work at it individually. My plea is that we all embrace the vision to be a healthy Christian. Vision 2020 defines a healthy Christian at St Paul’s in terms of being a Core Member.

The Anglican Church’s practice of membership is very broad and inclusive, and rightly based on the doctrines of grace. Core Membership at St Paul’s is no way a rejection of this tradition. In fact, it ought to be a necessary outcome of the doctrines of grace. Grace is never meant to make us apathetic, it is meant to motivate us to work hard for the cause of Christ (1 Corinthians 15:10). So at St Paul’s we want to hold to Anglicanism’s openness while at the same time embracing a biblical perspective on the privilege and responsibility of Christian discipleship (eg. Luke 9:23-26) and belonging to a church family on a local level (eg. Hebrews 10:19-25).

Our definition of a Core Member is an endeavour to unite and motivate the St Paul’s family to higher levels of communion with Christ and commitment to one another. There are 5 aspects of Core Membership at St Paul’s, and they are all an expression of our Core Values:

1. Living a life of personal devotion: taking responsibility for personal Bible reading and prayer.

Living a life in community: where regular attendance at church is seen as a priority and an essential part of Christian growth. Along with regularly attending a Community Group under the leadership of an appointed leader where needs are met and mutual accountability is practiced.
Living a life of servant heartedness: being personally involved in one on-going ministry towards building up the St Paul’s family according to one’s gifts.
Living a life of local and global impact: by personally being involved in one ongoing ministry towards unbelievers.
Living a life of generosity: by sacrificially and generously pledging financially to the ministry of St Paul’s.

How are you placed with each of these aspects of Core Membership? Are there things that need to be worked on? Do you need to make a goal to pursue Core Membership in one of two areas this year?

Steve Jeffrey, Senior Minister

How to be a welcoming church

Fri, 16 Mar 2012 05:04:00 GMT

Greetings to you all. A special welcome if you are a guest with us today. We do hope that you will find your time at St Paul’s a great blessing. We would love to serve you in any way we can so please feel free to fill in the Communication Card and pop it into the collection bag at the end of the service.

Last week a number of servant hearted people met to discuss the role of Welcome at St Paul’s. Every ministry is encouraged to examine itself as to how we might need to change if we are to grow at St Paul’s and to fulfill the mission set before us.

Yes ‘welcome’ does require a large trained team but I want to encourage our whole church that this too is your ministry.

For St Paul’s to consistently be a welcoming church we need to make some radical changes. Allow me to give some suggestions:

Guests like and need to sit in the back half of the church. It is understandable that they do not like sitting in the front rows. Therefore we need to sit nearer the front of the church so that we can leave seats in the back half for our guests. Please assist here. I know you have sat in particular rows for a long time but for the sake of others I am asking everyone to move forward with where they sit.

Guests also like to sit at the end of rows. So do many of us! Can you please move along the rows so that the ushers can easily direct people to seats.

If at any time an usher asks you to move along can you please smile and move as requested. They will not be asking if it wasn’t necessary for another’s comfort

Make a concerted effort every service to introduce yourself to two people you do not already know. Sometimes these people will be regulars but other times they will be guests who will welcome a friendly face.

Why not start a “Ten-Foot Rule” for yourself. That is, if someone is within ten feet of you, then smile and say hi to them. You may not be able to have a long conversation but a friendly smile goes a long way for all of us.

You might like to consider leaving the ‘business’ conversations to another time during the week. We all fall into the trap of organising church activities on a Sunday but how about we try to have significant and caring conversations of each other, and those you are meeting for the first time. You may well learn points for prayer and indeed have the opportunity to pray right there, right then.

If you have the pleasure of meeting a guest who is visiting, be sure to introduce them to others, and if not already known, to those on the Welcome team.

With some small changes I am convinced we will not only improve how we welcome but it will improve how we care for each other. The leadership team will be praying for us all as we practice the points above. Blessings to you all.

Deb Gould, Purpose Pastor Membership

Reflecting on the year ahead

Fri, 16 Mar 2012 05:04:00 GMT

2012 Staff Retreat

This week, staff attended a 3 day retreat at Clifton Cottage in the Kangaroo Valley. We were delighted that Michael Yip the new student minister for the Cantonese congregation was able to join us.
The venue was a wonderful example of Godʼs creation.
With limited access to phone and internet, the venue provided an ideal opportunity to pause and reflect on the year ahead.

St Paulʼs is a complex parish, with multiple language congregations, Youthsurge and Back To Church Sunday. (What a blessing this is!!)

Over the next 3 years, we hope to grow to a size of 500 parishioners with 150 of these being core members, with a heart and passion for Jesus. If this is Godʼs will, then we will face a number of challenges, not least being our facilities.
We will need a deep dependence in our God, a growing knowledge of His word and a commitment to prayer as a vital part of our daily routine.

Staff and Parish Council will need wisdom to resource the vision ahead and parishioners will need patience and grace as we seek to honour Jesus and proclaim His love for us to the people of Chatswood and beyond.

David Lawrence, General Manager

The Family Together in Corporate Worship

Fri, 16 Mar 2012 05:05:00 GMT

Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord (Ephesians 6:4 NIV).

The opposite of infuriating our children is bringing them up in the training and instruction of the Lord. Parents have the primary (but not the only) responsibility to train and teach their children about the Lord Jesus. Part of this training and teaching happens as parents, by our example, reveal the meaning and value of corporate worship. Children need to see dad and mum bow their head in prayer, sing with joy praises to God, listen hungrily to the Word of God. It is a parent’s responsibility (not the Kid’s Church leader, youth leader, etc) to form the attitude and behaviour of their children in worship.

Children absorb a tremendous amount that is of value; this is true even if they say they are bored. I suspect the accumulative effect of over 850 church services spent together up to the age of 18 would be incalculable. Music and words become familiar. The message of the music starts to sink in. The form of the service comes to feel natural. Even if most of the sermon goes over their head, experiences show that children hear and remember remarkable things.

On another level, the content of the prayers and songs and sermon gives parents unparalleled opportunities to teach their children the great truths of the Christian faith. If parents queried their children after the service, and explain things, a child’s capacity to participate would soar. Not everything that a child experiences has to be put on their level in order to do them good. Church services are not useless to children because much of it goes over their head. They will grow into it faster than we think – if positive, joyful and earnest attitudes are fostered by parents.

As a church we need to be careful from reinforcing ideas that you only go to church if it is interesting, or that the service is good up until the sermon then you can leave. A deep moving of the magnificence of God can come to a young heart through certain moments of great songs, Scripture saturated prayers or authoritative preaching.

It would be a mistake to under estimate the impact of corporate worship in the spiritual development of our young people. The setting of the family focussing towards God together in corporate worship will be a nonverbal picture growing richer and richer in a child’s mind and heart.

As a church we want to equip parents to bring their children up in the training and instruction of the Lord. We do this in many ways, both formal and informal. Right now I am very grateful for the work that Sam Freestone is doing in producing the Parent Pastors sheets. As it says on the sheet the idea of these studies is for you, as a parent, to spend time each night with your child, going through the Bible, praying and re-enforcing what they learnt on Sunday. I commend them to you as an excellent way of engaging our children, and yourself, in corporate worship.

Steve Jeffrey, Senior Minister

A Week of Prayer

Wed, 29 Feb 2012 03:14:00 GMT

One of our core values at St Paul’s is Devotion to Prayer. It reads:

Prayer is an expression of our relationship with God our Father. It is one of the great privileges of the Christian to be able to talk to the sovereign, all powerful, Creator of the universe about the big and small issues of life. As our heavenly Father, our deepest delight is to be in him and we need to acknowledge at every level that we can do nothing apart from him.

As a church we are committed to: * consistently bringing to God in prayer all things; * intentionally building prayer into the centre of our life together; * developing a culture of natural and unstructured prayerfulness when interacting with each other; * encouraging and equipping for prayer on a personal and family level; * incorporating prayer into every church activity.

(Colossians 4:2-4; Philippians 4:4-6; Ephesians 6:18)

St Paul’s will begin this ministry year with a week of prayer. I want to see us all stirred up to pray earnestly for me as your pastor, for the staff, for the Parish Council and leadership teams, and for the whole ministry of the gospel as we all strive, with the strength of God, to enlarge and purify the body of Christ in this place.

I hope that a week of prayer will go some way in reminding us of our dependency upon God. We have a big vision of what we want to see God do amongst us. But know this: we can work our heads off in pursuit of our objective to see 500 in church each week and 150 core members by the end of 2014; we can have countless meetings, and go through the motions of worship, but if God isn't in it, it will be hollow and merely human with no divine spiritual life. Psalm 127:1 is a great reminder: Unless the LORD builds the house, its builders labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchmen stand guard in vain.

Nothing troubles me more as a Christian than prayerless-ness. Nothing makes me feel more hypocritical as a pastor as ministry activity without prayer. There are few things more fearful to me than running a church on the momentum of tradition and habit when the power has been severed. Didn't Jesus say, I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing (John 15:5)? But how easily a church can become deceived into thinking that its activities are something, when in fact Jesus says they are nothing without him.

History proves beyond doubt that the way God effects revival, spiritual power, joy in worship, the healing of animosities, and zeal for outreach is by putting a burden for prayer upon a congregation and then pouring out blessing in response to their pleas. God give us such a burden!

So I begin this year with a plea to you for myself. You must help me by prayer, or I will not make it. You should include staff and leaders here, too. The weight of the responsibility of the spiritual welfare of this church is immense. In 2 Corinthians 11 Paul lists his hardships as an apostle, and then he adds with tremendous feeling these words in verse 28: Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches.Would you all please resolve to help me/us by prayer in 2012? Pray that I might learn to rely only on God, that I might be delivered from evil, that I might hear the Word of God daily and deliver it to you with life-changing power, that I might do the work of an evangelist and see many won to Christ, and that I might have vision for our future and the wisdom to equip you, the saints, for the work of the ministry. And I promise to pray for you.

Let this week of prayer be a launching pad for your new life with God in 2012. I invite you to join me in praying for a fresh outpouring of Godʼs Spirit to intensify our love to Christ, deepen our grasp of truth, strengthen our trust in Godʼs promises, endear to us the word of God, free us from personal vices, enliven family love and faithfulness, embolden our witness to unbelievers, make our personal involvement in worship authentic, move us out in acts of justice as responsible citizens, increase our compassion for the needy, convert the lost in our midst, and make oaks of righteousness out of new saplings.

Seeking for prayerful support in 2012,

Steve Jeffrey Senior Minister

The cost of discipleship

Wed, 29 Feb 2012 00:30:00 GMT

Thank you so much for your prayers in the lead up to and during Summer Camp, it was a significant time of encouragement and challenge from God’s word and for the deepening of relationships within our youth ministry.

We spent the five days looking at Chapters 9 and 10 of Luke’s gospel wrestling with the call to deny ourselves. It was so exciting to see God’s Spirit challenging both the leaders and the kids with specific areas in their life that they needed to surrender control to God.

We had fantastic weather for the whole week and only one injury involving a shell from the rock pool. It was very apparent that God was protecting us and removing anything that might have distracted from our main focus.

Each day on camp consisted of personal time in Gods word, singing and praying together, a message from the bible and small group time to dig deeper into the passages. It was a particular answer to prayer to see the kids taking the initiative to get fed from God’s word by themselves during hang time each morning.

There were opportunities for our senior kids to step up and lead as they planned our hoedown night, it is exciting to imagine what these 15 and 16 year old young people will accomplish for God as they continue to treasure him and seek his glory with their whole lives.

Saturday night was particularly important as we looked at counting the cost of discipleship, choosing to hand over our whole lives to Jesus no matter what the cost. For both leaders and kids it was a confronting message and an exciting one as God lifted our eyes to his sufficiency and the joy that is only found in him. Please continue to pray for those who were challenged on this night, that the Holy Spirit would continue to convict and empower them to count the cost and treasure Jesus every day for the rest of their lives.

We are really excited by the year ahead as we continue to support our kids in their ministry to their friends, as we encourage them in their relationship with Jesus and as we seek to equip them for lives given completely to God’s purpose and call. Please pray for the youth leaders this year as they disciple our teenagers, pray for wisdom, for energy and for their own godliness that they might be an example not only to our young people but to all of us.

Sam Low, Next Gen Minister