Hope for Christmas

Christmas is here for another year. But this year, more than any I can remember since the 1980's Thatcher era when unemployment topped 3 million, people are worried about their jobs, security, income and home reposessions.

Economists tell us it is worse than we can even imagine. The RBS and HBOS were, we learn, a day away from not opening for business in mid-October.

The darkness is closing in... Many people hear the depressing messages, amplified by the endless media coverage, and fear the worst. Credit card debt is out of hand - and the Government has the gall to tell us to keep spending - and that spending is based on more borrowing.

Personal debt in Britain is now over 1.3Trillion pounds. There is no doubt that the Nation is heading for a fall, and the drastic measures being pursued by the government is only keeping the wolf from the door, as we store up trouble for the future.

Into this dark world shines the Light. And John writes about Jesus, "The Light Shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it!"

However simplistic it sounds, it is nevertheless true. Jesus is the light of the world, He is THE Hope!

Along with many Christians, we are involved in helping people learn life skills, get out of debt, and grow in confidence as they face enormous personal hurdles. However, if all we are offering are programmes (however good), we are only dealing with symptoms, not cause.

We need to offer Jesus. He is the Light of the World, and when He shines into peoples lives no darkness can overcome Him.

Man-flu

I've got, what my wife calls "man-flu!" I feel dreadful - headache, blocked up nose, chesty cough and I can produce flem all the colours of the rainbow (well there have to be some compensations!)

Of course, it is just a bad cold - a virus. Someone told me that there are around 200 cold viruses in circulation in the UK at any one time. Once you have had one you have life-time immunity from it. Still - I think it's flu...

A fellow evangelist once put forward to me the concept that religion should not be taught in schools, and schools should not, by and large, have 'christian' assemblies. His theory ran that RE (or RS) and in particular, Christianity, is so poorly taught, or at least, presents such a wimpy, soft at the edges version of Christian faith, that it effectively innoculates much of the population against future contact with the real thing!

I always disagreed with him, feeling that UK law continues to give us a real opportunity to take the Good News about Jesus into our schools. I for one, am still involved in doing this, having had 2 opportunities already this week. (Follow the link to see one way some in Manchester are reaching real kids) http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=LWjLf0rfvz4

However - he may have had a point. Our churches (I generalise of course) continue to suffer with a distinct absence of men. "Women and children first" was the cry when the titanic went down, and with a continuing lack of male leadership, switched on fathers, and loving faithful husbands in many churches, some of them will soon go the way of the Titanic too.

What kind of man are you? What kind am I? If non-christian men look at me will they see a real man, or the 'gentle Jesus meek and mild' kind of guy that they may have been innoculated against? If we are going to reach men we must be deliberate about it. Great kids and womens ministries are fantastic (as a Father of 3 young daughters I am involved in both), but mens work will not happen by accident. Men must be pursued, confronted, engaged, deliberately targetted and attracted. Our churches must be man-friendly!

To coin a phrase "Real men followed Jesus - they still do."

The Shack

Last weekend I read the book "The Shack" by Wm Paul Young. This book has been number 1 best seller in the New York Times charts, and has even broken into the top 100 at WHSmith in the UK.

It is a controversial book in a lot of ways, particularly in its depiction of God the Father appearing to Mack (the central character) as a black African-American woman.

"The Shack" is endorsed by leading evangelicals, including Eugene Peterson (The Message) and Michael W. Smith from the USA and the evangelist J. John in the UK. Equally, it has been derided as Heresy by others, including Mark Driscoll (Mars HILL Church, Seattle) who I count amongst my Christian heroes.

What did I think of it? Well, at the risk of offending somebody - here goes....

Without giving the whole story away, the plot follows Mack, whose daugther Missy is abducted and murdered. For the following few years Mack is enveloped by "The Great Sadness." One cold winters morning he receives a letter from God inviting him back to the shack where his daughter is believed to have been murdered, though her body was never found. At the shack, Mack meets God - Father Son and Holy Spirit, and over the course of a weekend, his encounter with them transforms his life.

First - lets get the difficult and dodgy stuff out of the way. I found the depiction of the Father (Papa) as a black woman more than difficult to deal with. The first person of the Trinity is depicted throughout Scripture as a Father. In "The Shack", God explains that He is Spirit, and that any depiction of Him in human terms is purely for our benefit. In Scripture, there are ocassions where God shows clear 'feminine' characteristics, such as Jesus using the image of a mother Hen protecting her chicks, and defining his heart for Jerusalem in that picture. In the Old Testament, God is depicted as a mother desiring to breast feed and nourish her children. In Creation we read that God created Male and Female in His image. There is no doubt that it is the 2 together - Male and Female, that give completion to the image. God is neither Male nor Female, but Spirit. However, we have no Biblical mandate to present Him as a woman, and I found the image in the book deeply troubling.

Mark Driscoll's comments are interesting, and can be found on You Tube. However, having rewatched his comments after reading the book, I dont believe that he had read the book when he critiqued it. For example, he accuses the author of the heresy of 'modalism' (look it up - come on - do some of the work yourself!) He uses 1 quote to support this claim. The charge is not verified by a reading of the book.

The 1 other area that did trouble me though, was the possible suggestion of Universalism (that all will be saved whatever.) This is by no means explicit, but could be implied in a number of places. Particularly in one section where Jesus tells Mack that his followers come from all walks, races, political parties and religions - Hindu, Muslim, Mormon, etc. I re-read the section, and it seems to be deliberately ambiguous. Certainly people will follow Jesus from every tribe, people, tongue and nation, but they will have to come to Him as the only Saviour. The section in question has Mack mention about people being Christians, and Jesus responds "I never mentioned becoming a Christian!" It is deliberately ambiguous. However, the rest of the book seems to clearly suggest that if people want to know God, they must enter into a relationship with Him through Christ.

However (and you cant ignore the dodgy stuff - that's why I mention it), I was deeply moved by the book. I have no doubt that at times I had fresh insights into my relationship with God.

A couple of examples. Young's potrayal of "The Great Sadness" is just brilliant. Anyone who has had a deep sad, life changing (Life-numbing) experience will identify with it. His depiction of this cloak of despair is true to life, and many will see themselves in it.

The way in which Young deals with "The Great Sadness" is also brilliant. In a "Judgement" scene, God invites Mack to be Judge and Jury on his own children. He is told to choose 2 to go to Heaven and the others to destine to hell. He pleads with God "Let me take their place - let me go instead of them!"
"Now you sound like Jesus - you have Judged well" comes the reply!

In the book, there is also a wonderful depiction of Jesus at the centre of all things, with Creation and the redeemed gathering to worship Him. The scene that follows moved me to tears as Young writes... "Everything that had breath sang out a song of love and unending thankfulness. Tonight the universe was as it was intended!"

The last thing that I will mention is that the book deals as well as any (fictional book) with the issues of forgiveness and anger and bitterness. There is much Biblical wisdom in the way Mack is led to address the brokeness and pain in his own heart and family.

"The Shack" was a good read, moving, inspiring, and ultimately I would recommend it with the proviso that you read it as a piece of fiction, and not a systematic theology.