Once I emerge from the insanity of an international move, I’ll be back to blogging again. Until then, follow me on Twitter (if you’re interested).

For a detailed post about this visit, see Visiting Mars Hill Church in March.

Today I am continuing my series on the church, it’s mission, and the work of the Holy Spirit—particularly as it relates to the supernatural manifestations or gifts of the Spirit. In my last post I began by defining the gospel (what God’s mission actually is), and that this mission to “save his people from their sins” is much bigger than just a individual’s personal salvation. It is in fact a mission to redeem the whole creation from sin and its curse, including mankind, and to restore the cosmos to fundamental peace and harmony under the government of his Son—Jesus.

We read in Genesis chapter 3 that when sin entered the world through Adam, it did not just bring about enmity between God and man. It also brought enmity and division into human relationships—between wife and husband, parents and children, young and old, and between the nations and races of the earth. And it also brought enmity between the material world and humanity, so that now it fights against us until eventually in death it consumes us.

The gospel then is that through his Son Jesus, God is undoing the Genesis 3 curse of sin. Which must mean that in order to “save his people from their sins” Jesus must deal with all the consequences of sin—including the material ones. Sickness, pain, famine and drought, earthquakes, hurricanes, floods, and physical death are all the result of a creation under the curse of sin. Against this then, as Jesus came proclaiming the gospel, we see that the sick are healed, thousands are fed from a few pieces of bread, storms are stilled, and the dead are raised to life.

God’s salvation is therefore outworked in these three areas—bringing peace between ourselves and God, bringing peace in our relationships with one another, and bringing peace between ourselves and the material world in which we exist.

Let me just address for a moment what I previously called the “Willy Wonka” view of heaven and eternal life. My guess is that if you were to ask most Christians what heaven and eternal life is like, they would describe a place that is somewhat “other” than our material world, where we live with God either in an eternal church service—singing worship songs for a very very long time—or not really doing anything meaningful except being very happy hanging out with Jesus. Sadly, somewhere along the line the Christian hope of the resurrection became the Christian hope of an ethereal place called heaven—not living for the day that Christ returns, but living for the day that we die and escape this world.

There is a big difference between these two.

God is redeeming this world, so that Christ’s return does not represent God’s last foray into enemy territory before retreating to heaven forever with his people—but rather the final purge of his enemies (Satan, sin, and death) from the cosmos he loves. It is not so much that we go to heaven, but that heaven comes to us. Isn’t this what Jesus taught us to pray? Let your kingdom come, and let your will be done on earth as it is in heaven?

It is important that we understand this as we see the purpose of the church, the faith we can and absolutely should have for miracles today, and the fact that whatever works we do today by faith in the Lord Jesus are not detached from eternity. Our missional work to bring about the kingdom of God is not just for a spiritual reward that we will receive one day in another place called “heaven”—but they themselves will stand and endure for eternity in this growing kingdom of God.

I had hoped in this blog post that I would get more specific in defining the mission of the church, but I think I shall wait until my next post. Stay tuned!

In part 1 of this blog post I highlighted a specific area in which I believe Newfrontiers is very different from the other reformed, missional church networks that have emerged in the last few decades. This difference is that we believe the supernatural manifest presence of God through the Holy Spirit is absolutely essential to a biblical ecclesiology and missiology, and in today’s blog post I will begin to explain why I think this is the case.

Defining Missio Dei—The Mission of God

One of the exciting things that God is doing through these new church movements like Acts 29 and Newfrontiers is restoring the centrality of gospel mission to the local church, and along with this restoring the church’s understanding of what it’s mission actually is. At the heart of the gospel has always been God’s mission to save his people from their sins through his Son, Jesus Christ (Matthew 1:21).

The Western evangelical church has historically had a very individualistic and narrow view of this mission, focusing on how it is applied to restoring an individual’s relationship with God. This is of course a huge part of God’s mission—but it is far from the whole story. This perspective has led the church into a dumbed-down kind of “Willy Wonka” view of God and the gospel, where heaven is proclaimed as the mysterious candy factory of delights, and Jesus is the golden ticket to get us there.

In reality God’s mission in and through Jesus is far more amazing than that. The meta-narrative of scripture from start to finish reveals that God’s mission is a complete restoration of the entire created order to harmony and perfection—a journey that begins with creation in Genesis, and reaches it’s crescendo with the return of Jesus, the final resurrection, and the re-creation of the universe in Revelation. It is not just a spiritual salvation, but it is a material one as well. Through his Son Jesus, God is not just saving our souls—he is also saving our material bodies, and the material world that we live in.

This is the gospel, and the Christian hope.

If you see this as God’s mission, then the miracles of Jesus begin to make sense. They were not just neat tricks to demonstrate that he was someone special, but central to his mission—that in his coming the re-creation had begun. They were the evidence that Jesus was indeed the Prince of Peace spoken about in Isaiah who would usher in the everlasting government of God. In Biblical language, this is the good news of the kingdom of God which Jesus proclaimed was “at hand”, and those who have eyes to see, and ears to hear, understand what is happening.

This is why Jesus full of the Holy Spirit healed the sick, drove out demons, and raised the dead—because sickness, demonic torment, and death have no place in a sin-free universe. And this is why Jesus calmed the storm that was so ferocious it made the disciples, who were hardened fishermen, fear for their lives—because there is also no place for natural disasters in a universe liberated from the curse of sin. The creation must be at peace—and so even the wind and the waves obeyed him.

Therefore God’s gospel mission to “save his people from their sins” is not just about restoring our relationship with him through the death and resurrection of Jesus—although if God’s work of salvation is a great mountain, then this is surely the peak of it. But it is also about restoring mankind in peaceful and loving relationship with one another by creating one new man in Christ (Ephesians 2:14-16). And it is also about restoring peace to the creation by liberating the material world, including our physical bodies, from the curse of sin and death (Romans 8:20-23). All the works of Jesus, including the miracles he performed by the power of the Holy Spirit, were therefore “missional” if you see them from this greater perspective.

In part 3 of this blog post I will look at how Jesus continues the mission of God as I have defined it here through the local church—a church baptised and empowered by the Holy Spirit for this mission just as he was.

As I hear more about the Acts 29 Boot Camp in Seattle next month, the more I realise that this is not just another leadership conference. In a recent blog post Mark Driscoll announced that alongside the conference they are hosting a World Church Planting Summit, and have invited young movement leaders from around the world to come together in Seattle to build relationship and learn from each other.

It is a very exciting time in church history to be alive. What appears to be emerging in the Western church is a new kind of evangelicalism—one that is not centred around denominations and seminaries, but around church networks with an emphasis on reformed doctrine and gospel mission. Newfrontiers, the church network I have been involved with now for many years, is one such network and I am thrilled that we will be well represented in Seattle next month.

Despite the strong relationship and commonality between these church networks, the more I listen to the excellent Bible teaching from their various the leaders, the more I am aware of one area in which we in Newfrontiers are very different. It seems that all these networks have a common and thorough ecclesiology, an understanding of the church’s form, and missiology, an understanding of the church’s mission—but it is in our pneumatology, our understanding of the Holy Spirit, that we differ.

Newfrontiers churches are unashamedly charismatic in both doctrine and practice, and despite the negative view of charismatics (at least in the US), it is not because we have low regard for scripture. When Mark Driscoll mocks charismatics as being “wing nuts and nut jobs”, he is understandably attacking those who do violence to scripture for the sake of a spiritual experience—but this is not who we are.

We believe in Sola Scriptura—that the Bible is the only infallible authority of the Christian faith, and that the Bible alone holds all the revelation from God necessary to know him and to receive his grace gift of salvation through his Son, Jesus Christ. And so we unashamedly love God’s word. In fact, it is because we love the word of God so much that we cannot close our eyes to the supernatural activity of the Holy Spirit first in the life of Jesus, and then in the early church. It is so evident in the scriptures, that it demands an adequate answer to the question why not today?

In Newfrontiers both our ecclesiology and our missiology are thoroughly shaped by our pneumatology—specifically as it relates to the manifest presence of God through the Holy Spirit. We believe that a biblical ecclesiology and missiology are not complete without explaining why the manifest presence of  God was so present in Jesus’ ministry, and in the early church—and therefore essential for the church’s form and mission today. Being charismatic (in the truly biblical sense) is not a style issue. It is central to the gospel.

In part 2 of this blog post, I will try to unpack why I believe this is the case.

Ever since Mark Driscoll spoke at our leadership conference in the UK last summer, I have been excited to see the growing relationship between Acts 29 and Newfrontiers—the church network that I have served with for the last 17 years. Both these networks share a love for Jesus, his church, and his mission—and this will be the first time that a Newfrontiers pastor has spoken at an Acts 29 conference. PJ Smyth from GodFirst Church in Johannesburg, South Africa will be joining Mark Driscoll, Scott Thomas, Matt Chandler, and others for two days of leadership training.

Along with PJ, a number of other Newfrontiers pastors from around the world will be attending the conference:

• David Stroud from Christ Church in London, England
• Tope Koleoso from Jubilee Church in London, England
• Steve Tibbert from King’s Church in London, England
• Joel Virgo from Church of Christ the King in Brighton, England
• Tom Shaw from The City Church in Cantebury, England
• Matthew Hosier from Gateway Church in Poole, England
• PJ Smyth from GodFirst Church in Johannesburg, South Africa
• Stephen van Rhyn from Jubilee Community Church in Cape Town, South Africa
• Bryan Mowry from Jubilee Church in St. Louis, MO, USA
• Bo Noonan from New Community Church in Tacoma, WA, USA
• Ian Jukes from Harbor Church in Portsmouth, NH, USA

And I am sure there will be many others.

The most exciting part of this trip though will be to finally meet some of the guys at Mars Hill Church who, through the wonders of modern technology, have become my friends without actually meeting face-to-face (yet).

I really cannot wait…

However I was not disappointed. The book may be small, but it packs quite the punch.

The Prodigal God is essentially an exposition of the parable in Luke 15, commonly known as The Prodigal Son—except that, as Keller points out, this title is not adaquate to describe the story Jesus is telling. The parable is in fact a tale of two sons, and Keller explains to us that the story is as much about the older son as it is about the younger. He goes on to argue that for the most part people in this world fall into two categories; either the irreligious free-spirited rebel (the younger son), or the religious responsible moraliser (the older)—and that both are equally lost to God.

In the parable the older responsible brother, who remained with his father and did everything he asked, refused to join the party that the father threw for the return of his younger rebellious brother because he felt he was being unfairly treated. The younger brother got the father’s best robe, a ring, shoes, and the fattened calf for the party—things the older son felt he was owed for his obedience.

Keller goes on to explain that the older brother’s reaction actually revealed a heart that was just as corrupt as the younger. Neither ultimately cared about pleasing their father, but manipulated him for what they could get out of him—the younger son in a rebellious way, the older son by his obedience. Keller’s contention however is that the sin of the older brother is more dangerous, because it is harder to see. It is hidden beneath a moral exterior that gives the appearance of a good heart.

For me, this is where the book really got under my skin. As I read this little book I found that there were more older brother attitudes buried in my heart than I ever realised, and that many prayers are prayed and actions taken for the hope of my own gain rather than the pleasure of my heavenly Father.

But it also made me thank God that he sent Jesus to rescue not only my actions, but also the motivations that lie behind them. Keller’s book, The Prodigal God, reminds us how radical God’s grace is—that He is not content with just a change of behaviour, but wants to win our hearts.

I thoroughly recommend this book. Buy it. It will challenge you deeply and give you a renewed appreciation for the reach of God’s grace in your life.

We are currently aiming to move around April 30th, with Megan and the girls flying out first. I will remain in the USA for a week or so to oversee the shipping of our possessions, and to tie-up any other loose ends we may have here.

Initially we will spend some time visiting with our families, with the girls taking a much needed rest. During this time I will visit Exmouth regularly to look for work, a home, and start meeting with the leadership of The King’s Way Church. Once I have secured a job and home, we will then move to Exmouth as a family—hopefully no later than August so the girls can start school in September.

In order for all this to be possible we need to sell our home here, and be able to leave without any debt. We also need to raise the money necessary to pay for the move (removals and flights), and to set up home in Exmouth (furniture and appliances, etc). All this will be many thousands of dollars (or pounds).

If you would like to pray with us, we would really value your support! In order of priority, these are the things that Megan and I are asking God daily to provide for us;

1. A buyer for our home here.
2. Finances for removals and flights (~$10,000/£7000).
3. Places for the girls at St. Joseph’s primary school.
4. A job for me.
5. A new home in Exmouth.
6. Finances to set up home (~$10,000/£7000).
7. A suitable car.

And these things are just the beginning. Despite the apparent mountain that is before us, I am not stressed and am thoroughly enjoying bringing these things before God. It is not a bad place to know that without him we have no conceivable means to make this work.

“The mountains melt like wax before the LORD, before the Lord of all the earth.” Psalm 97:5

Part 1 | Part 2