The Way of the Cross, Melbourne 2011

The Way of the Cross stops
outside St Patrick's Cathedral

Yesterday we had the pleasure of joining the Way of the Cross service in Melbourne as part of the Easter celebrations put on by the city churches. I had heard about the service in the past, but this was the first time that I was in the neighborhood and I thought it might be interesting to check out.

It is billed as an ecumenical devotion and it begins at St Francis' church on Lonsdale St while ending at St Paul's Cathedral on Flinders St. Along the way, the route weaves between significant CBD churches with each stopping point marking Christ's key moments from the last supper until his death on the cross. These moments have traditionally been called the stations of the cross and within Melbourne, these stations are marked by a series of 15 permanent sculptures, each residing in the grounds of the various urban churches.

One of the sculptures that mark
the stations of the cross

After hurriedly racing through the city, I managed to catch up with the progression out the front of St Patrick's Cathedral. Several impressions were immediately apparent. Firstly, the crowd of people attending the service was quite sizeable. I estimate about a thousand, but Channel 9 news who were covering the Easter march, reported hundreds. The demographics of the crowd was an interesting mix of nationalities and cultural backgrounds, with most age brackets represented, except for the youth/uni category who presumably are naturally under-represented in urban churches anyway.

Secondly, the organisers had rigged up a portable PA system which allowed the priests and ministers to pass around a wireless mic while two vans had four-way loudspeakers respectfully broadcasting the service to the outer-reaches of the throng. Usually one van would be slightly behind the crowd, while the other acted as the vanguard to the mobile service. The march had a police escort, consisting of several uniforms who walked the outer fringe and a couple of cop cars who blocked off the streets. At some moments, it felt like I should have been holding a placard and chanting some catchy three word sentence - particularly when the route passed Parliament by.

The organisers had a portable PA system to broadcast the service to the crowd

Ballieu had no need to be worried though. The service was equal parts funeral procession and proud proclamation, more reverent than demonstrative. Curious onlookers - once they saw the wooden cross and put-two-and-two together about the reason for their relaxing day off - didn't quite know how to handle such an obvious display of Christianness. Thankfully, no-one loudly vented their issues with the church or make offensive gestures, with most opting for a good old-fashioned gawk or shuffling of their shoes. The only real disturbance was the MFB who raced by and drowned out a poor minister in the middle of a prayer with sirens blaring.

Station 11: Collins Street Baptist Church

We followed a large wooden cross that acted as a heraldic standard for the walking mass. The holder of the cross changed hands at every station with seemingly random people chosen from the crowd, perhaps reflecting the way the ancient Romans selected individuals from the side-lines to help the condemned carry the cross. At each station, a mini service was held, which followed a strict liturgy that was neatly documented in a professional booklet that was freely available. These services included a brief catechism, bible reading, reflection on the bible reading in the form of a poem, common prayers, call-and-response prayers, and a hymn to finish off with.

Station 12: St Paul's Cathedral
Swanston St entrance

Generally everything was fairly straight-down-the-line theologically speaking, although the call-and-response prayers were heavily focused on social justice issues such as depression, homelessness, gender equality, prisoners, pimps, druggies, gangs, the abolition of the death penalty, terminally ill patients and funeral companies. While I agree that these concerns should be matters that the church should consider, I'm not convinced that Good Friday is the best time to address them. Conversely, their inclusion did demonstrate the relevance of the gospel to 21st century Australia.

As the service concluded on the steps of St Paul's and students from Melbourne Grammar handed out juice boxes and hot cross buns (donated by Brumby's bakeries), it was apparent that this was a very special Christian event to have participated in. It was fantastic to see such unity between the different denominations (Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, Baptist, Uniting, Church of Christ, etc) and to actually visit the steps of so many majestic places of worship. Melbourne truly is a great city and it was an honour to be part of the moving congregation, rubbing shoulders with random believers from different perspectives, and reflecting upon Christ's awesome sacrifice outdoors with the wind in your hair, sun on your face and trams reverberating past.

Can I really do greater things than Jesus?

On the face of it, the idea that Christians could do greater things than Christ himself, seems audacious at the very least and outright blasphemous at worst. This notion comes from a tiny piece of scripture as recorded by the Apostle John:

Very truly I [Jesus] tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father.
John 14:12

Can Christians expect to do greater
works than Jesus?

In this isolated text, Jesus seems to be indicating that Christians will be able to do all the same things as Jesus and then some. However, a cursory glance at Christ's Greatest Hits reveals miracles such as: turning about 450L of water into premium wine; restoring sight to blind people; feeding a crowd of over 4000 with nothing more than an initial couple of loaves of bread and fish - on at least two separate occasions; walking on water and verbally instructing a fierce storm to settle down; exorcizing multiple demons from quite a few possessed individuals; bringing a man back to life who had been dead for four days and had begun to decompose; and in the ultimate tour de force of Christ's divinity, he painstakingly submits himself to execution by crucifixion, sacrificing his life for the wrongs of all of humanity, and then comes back to life before ascending to heaven.

These historically recorded miracles provide a burden of proof to substantiate Jesus' claims about his divinity as the Christ and to give weight to his spiritual message about restoration with God. These signs are designed to demonstrate that Jesus was more than just a man and worthy of further investigation into his teachings. Therefore, some context must be provided for the aforementioned scripture, lest any Christian feel the need to outdo Jesus.

Firstly, this quote from Jesus occurs within a long-running Q & A that Christ was having with his twelve disciples between the last supper and the arrest of Jesus. The disciples know that Jesus will soon be leaving and in the cool of the night, Christ delivers his last sermon to his inner circle. In this final series of teachings, Jesus encourages, instructs and warns his followers. It is a provocative, confronting and uplifting message from a man who is about to willingly undergo arguably the worst form of torture devised. 

For a slightly larger context, here are the surrounding verses (taken from the Message translation so that the sentiment is more immediately apparent):

Thomas said, "Master, we have no idea where you're going. How do you expect us to know the road?"
Jesus said, "I am the Road, also the Truth, also the Life. No one gets to the Father apart from me. If you really knew me, you would know my Father as well. From now on, you do know him. You've even seen him!"
Philip said, "Master, show us the Father; then we'll be content."
"You've been with me all this time, Philip, and you still don't understand? To see me is to see the Father. So how can you ask, 'Where is the Father?' Don't you believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I speak to you aren't mere words. I don't just make them up on my own. The Father who resides in me crafts each word into a divine act.
Believe me: I am in my Father and my Father is in me. If you can't believe that, believe what you see—these works. The person who trusts me will not only do what I'm doing but even greater things, because I, on my way to the Father, am giving you the same work to do that I've been doing. You can count on it. From now on, whatever you request along the lines of who I am and what I am doing, I'll do it. That's how the Father will be seen for who he is in the Son. I mean it. Whatever you request in this way, I'll do.
John 14:5-12

Secondly, this quote from Jesus is only recorded in the Gospel of John and not in the synoptic gospels. It was written far later than the other gospels with the intent of persuading its audience (originally the area of Asia Minor - modern day Turkey) rather than simply informing. This does not imply that John was putting words into Jesus' mouth or that one could casually discard this scripture, but rather it provides an overall context into which the words were written.

Thirdly, when examining the lives of the apostles as recorded in the Book of Acts, miracles were performed but they were of a different measure and quantity. The apostles healed the sick, cast out demons and even raised the dead. They instantly spoke in different languages and experienced earthquakes that freed them from prison. However, no single apostle performed anywhere near the same number of miracles as Jesus or even the same breadth of supernatural phenomena. They did not influence natural weather events or remotely heal. Importantly, the apostles did not resurrect themselves.

Therefore, how do we understand this notion of doing greater things than Jesus? I would firstly contend that Jesus is not implying that Christians can out-perform him. To even think so seems down-right arrogant.
Secondly, I think Jesus was attempting to inspire his disciples during a strenuous period and that his words are to be interpreted with the intent rather than the actual specifics - in the same manner that no one seriously tells a mountain to move, or cut out their left eye after staring at a lingerie billboard for too long.
Thirdly, if this was a fundamental and theogically sound doctrine that you could hang-your-hat-on, I think it would have appeared in more than one singular scripture.
Fourthly, as the lives of the apostles set an example for our lives, even they do not out-perform Jesus' miracles. Why would a 21st Christian who has not physically met with Jesus suddenly think that they could do one better than the apostles?
Lastly, Jesus' miracles pale in comparison to his greatest accomplishment: triumph over sin. Therefore, by sharing the gospel with others around us, we participate in the great work of Jesus which was the reconciliation of humankind and God.

For a far better analysis than mine of this scripture, check out this: http://www.predigten.uni-goettingen.de/archiv-7/050424-5-e.html

Planetshakers, Trumpets and Twitter

The Planetshakers conference has rolled into town and has pitched its tent at the Hisense Arena. The conference is running between the 12th and 15th of April and is in its 14th year of operation. Back in my youth-group heydays, I went to the conference when it was in Adelaide and I still have fond memories of 'shakers with the long bus ride, sleeping in church halls, learning to play warlords & scumbags, the South Australian heat, queuing for dominos pizzas, and jumping around in the loud worship.

The most memorable Planetshakers moment for me was during one particular session when Kong Hee was preaching and he stopped in the middle of his explanation of the communication system between ancient Israeli villages to give an example. His demonstration required a trumpet player, so he surveyed the 3000 strong crowd of sweaty teenagers and asked if anyone knew how to play. I raised my hand (I had been purporting to play trumpet at secondary school for many years) and he picked me out to come onto stage. To unjustifiable applause, I leapt onto stage and was handed a trumpet by one of the band members. Kong Hee then returned to his explanation, built up the story about the signalling system that relied on trumpets to sound warnings of danger, and then indicated that I give a suitable warning-of-danger blast. What came out of the end of my brass instrument was somewhere between the sound that gave the thunderbox its nickname and a rusty old truck horn that had been swallowed by an elephant.

Suffice to say that Rev Hee was suitable unimpressed.

He graciously kept me employed for the remainder of his demonstration, however by the time I had played equally painful blasts - much to the amusement of the crowd - he clearly was rethinking his teaching strategy and seriously questioned my ability to play the tortured instrument. I retired to my seat and I haven't picked up the trumpet since.

Is it helpful for Christianity to
embrace social media?

Planetshakers has always been very deft at cornering the youth market and using the tools of the day to ensure that their message is relevantly presented. This time 'round, they have embraced social media - particularly twitter - to be engaging to the life-in-140-characters crowd. The hashtag #Planetshakers reveals a mix of plugs for speakers, neatly encapsulated sentiments of snappy preaching sound-bites, and personal reflections of God's work in their lives. The tweets are overwhelming positive, punctuated by numerous exclamation marks - partly explained by Russell Evan's admonishment of cynics and urging conference attendees to honour the church.

So, the question is: is it helpful for Christianity to embrace social media? On one hand, social media is simply a tool, another system or strategy for the Christian to use. It also could be seen as an extension of the conversation that would normally occur offline between people. Additionally, it is very much in tune with today's culture.

Conversely, does a 140 character limit encourage deep reflection and mediation on the message of God? Does an emphasis on social relevancy provide a point of distinction away from the normal noise that seeks our constant attention? Social media may make us feel more connected, but updating your fb status three times during a sermon may not be the most profitable method to discuss, critique and respond.

What Would Jesus Watch At The Comedy Festival?

Last night I had the privilege of watching our perennial favourite comedian, Andrew McClelland, perform his hilarious hour long show, Truth Be Told, at the Victoria Hotel. He is a master story teller, who dresses in a flamboyant gentleman's standard and employs liberal doses of wit with expansive vocab to tell entertaining stories from history and his own life.

The WWJD wristband fad of the late 90s

In one section of his show, he referred to a book, What Would Jesus Eat, which he amusingly suggests has the worst title for a book behind celebrity food critic, Matt Preston's latest book which is called Cravat-a-Licious. This book title reminded me of the late 90's Christian fad of wearing WWJD woven wristbands which had two apparent purposes: a) to remind the wearer of their imperative to behave in a Christ-like manner; and b) to act as a point-of-interest when talking with a curious non-Christian, because Christians seemed to lack any other conversational strategy to inform the non-Christian of their faith viewpoint. The WWJD bandwagon has since expanded out to dieting, commercialization of society, music and parody.

On reflection, the question of "What would Jesus do?" always seemed a little strange to me. On one hand, Christians already have an understanding of their moral imperative through the Spirit, as the Apostle Paul writes:

The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, for, who has known the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.
1 Corinthians 2:14-16

On the other hand, (albeit facetiously), it seems improbable to consider the moral ramifications of 21st century choices based on the life of a 1st century Jewish insurgent. Eg. Should I buy a Prius, plant 15 trees, drink fair-trade-coffee or drop a few coins in the hat of the busker that I sang along with as I walked by?

For me, the key problem with the WWJD meme is that it paints the world in a far too simplistic mold, with the proposition that every choice has a clear delineation between good and evil. Jesus himself hung out with the prostitutes and drunkards (Luke 7:34), an action that clearly challenges most modern Christian notions of acceptable behaviour. Therefore, I think that most choices require wisdom, research, consultation with scripture and careful consideration of the facts. Even then, I'm willing to bet that the 'right' action will not be immediately evident.

Which brings me to my original question: what would Jesus watch at the comedy festival? Most Christians I know are too wary of the comedy festival, let alone to even consider which comedian they might watch. Watching the Comedy Gala on the TV is not a good way to sample the Festival.

I've been going to the Melbourne International Comedy Festival for over 5 years and I have found it to be a worthwhile and entertaining experience. It's good to have a laugh and with discernment, you can find some really good acts that are relatively clean (probably no more dirty than what you would probably watch in a movie let's be honest). Obviously avoid the comedians whose posters contain words such as 'provocative', 'challenging', 'sexy' or 'Stephen K Amos'. Yes, Christianity can be comedic fodder, but perhaps we could learn something about not taking ourselves too seriously?

For those who are looking to dabble their noses into live, stand-up comedy for the first time, the Comedy Festival is featuring a show called Squeaky Clean Comedy. There is only two more shows left (15th and the 23rd), so check them out. Otherwise, be a little adventurous, do some research and go have a laugh!

St Johns Lutheran Church: Southgate

St Johns Lutheran Church, Southgate

Not surprisingly, the first church to visit on our journey was St Johns Southgate. Less than 10 minutes walk from our apartment, St Johns is a Lutheran church nestled amongst high-rise apartments, upmarket restaurants and next to the cultural heart of Melbourne, the Arts Centre. 

The building, dwarfed by its surroundings, is unremarkable and quaint from the outside, but stepping inside reveals a modern chapel with a main assembly hall that is sunk below the street level. The ultra white walls and interesting angles provide good reflective surfaces for the sun to stream through the windows high above, creating an open and airy environment for what could have been a tight and narrow space. A huge cross hangs in the middle of the wall immediately behind the altar, with a generous purple cloth draped across its wooden beams. 

The crowd was a curious mix of late twenty somethings, urban professionals, a couple of young families and a cohort of grey-heads – a mix which is probably reflective of the Southbank demographic generally. Most are well groomed in a conservative style. The large organ pipes, the dress of the Pastor and the prominence of the communion altar give signals that this church follows a more traditional liturgical style. 

St Johns has three advertised services each Sunday: a 9am traditional; an 11am contemporary; and a 7pm youth orientated service. We chose the 11am for convenience and because 'contemporary' sounded more fitting with our style. However, the service was contemporary by 1960s standards and featured several routines that would have appeared more in keeping with a Catholic church service than my perceived idea about what the Lutheran style is. 

Lasting a bit over an hour long, the service speedily whipped through a highly prescriptive worship that required congregational responses, frequent standing up and sitting down, and praying set prayers projected on the screen. The music was provided by a sleek grand piano that emanated a rich sound around the chapel, while the lyrics flirted between strict theology and being overly flowery.

Communion was an interesting affair, with parishioners invited to kneel before the altar as the common cup and wafers were passed around. The language reflected a sombre and humble understanding of the cross and the air was thick with doctrinal terminology. Bible readings were taken from the Old Testament, New Testament and the Gospels with the NIV picking up the translation work. 

The sermon theme was appropriate for the season of Lent in keeping with the lead-up to Easter. It focused on the reality of death for all and hope that Christ provides for new life eternally and on Earth. It was delivered from the pulpit with a serious tone and used real-world analogies to focus the message. Most surprising however, was the 'reflection' time immediately after the sermon, which allowed the congregation to comment on, and engage with the Pastor about the sermon. Most of the attendees seemed happy to sit quietly in their pews, while one guy asked a challenging theological question that was deftly handled by the Pastor. 

The service concluded with a range of announcements that seemed befitting of a town meeting and they indicated a vibrant and active church community with several prominent ministries. A bring-a-bake lunch was provided, but we chose not to stick around. 

The verdict? A solid theological church that is catering to the Southbank crowd, but the overly prescriptive nature of the service is probably not for our palate.

Evidence-based faith and Lazarus

It was interesting to re-read the account of Jesus raising Lazarus from the dead. Obviously it was a significant miracle and John devotes quite a few verses to covering the story. It was only at the end of the narrative that this section caught my attention:

Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?” So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.” When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.” Therefore many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him.
John 11:40-45 

I think this section fascinating because Jesus seems to have performed the miracle as a demonstration of his divinity with the aim of convincing the watching crowd that his ideas were more than just merely conceptual.

Within our scientific and educated context today, I wonder if Jesus performed this miracle down at local Melbourne morgue what the response would be from the onlookers/media/commentators? Would the evidence of the miracle propel people towards faith in God?

Therefore, it would seem from this account of Lazarus that Christ does not expect blind-faith. He appears to acknowledge the human desire for evidence, much in the same vein that the Psalmist writes:

Taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him.
Psalm 34:8

Tribe: Church For The Irreligious

Having heard whispers about this new concept for a Christian community, it was exciting to see that Tribe Church has officially launched! Dave and Emma have done a terrific job in deconstructing current expressions of church and then reshaping to fit a truly modern and relevant frame.

The tagline of 'church for the irreligious' gives an insight into this intriguing project and I'm looking forward to visiting sometime in the future.

Check out the concept, shot in a Trouble With Paris style:

TRIBE Launch from Tribe Church for the Irreligious on Vimeo.

New Beginnings

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

A Time for Everything

There is a time for everything,
and a season for every activity under the heavens:

a time to be born and a time to die,
a time to plant and a time to uproot,
a time to kill and a time to heal,
a time to tear down and a time to build,
a time to weep and a time to laugh,
a time to mourn and a time to dance,
a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them,
a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing,
a time to search and a time to give up,
a time to keep and a time to throw away,
a time to tear and a time to mend,
a time to be silent and a time to speak,
a time to love and a time to hate,
a time for war and a time for peace.

A short synopsis:

I grew up in Healesville and for about 13 years I attended a local church called Liberty Family Church. This is a community orientated, pentecostal church that specialised in grass roots Christian living. It was a fantastic church to grow up in and when employment and the hot blonde came along and I moved to Werribee, I felt that I had a faith that was practical with considered theological underpinnings.

In Werribee, we immediately connected in with an even smaller, pentecostal church called New Generation City Church. This church was extremely friendly and had a great understanding of fellowship. Over the 5 years that we attended, the church grew significantly and with the addition of new members, the church had to move locations three times. The church featured a wide demographic (culturally and chronologically) and we met some great people.

However, that season has just concluded.

For various reasons, my wife and I felt it was time for a move, so we packed our life into a moving truck and rented a renovated, NY-loft-style apartment in Southbank. While the new residence is within commutable distance from New Gen, it was mutually felt that a spiritual move was required as well. This opinion was sparked by: a long-held predilection for local, community churches that within an immediacy of one's abode; a desire for a less pentecostal flavour; and the opportunity to reignite a sometimes stagnant faith that is seemingly endemic to the late twenty-something, university educated crowd.

Therefore:

Having been a Christian for approximately 18 years and only experienced a limited number of churches, I would like to make the most of this new season and gain a broader understanding of the wider spectrum of Christian thought and expression. I believe a well-balanced faith would take account of the 2000 years of Christianity that has managed to thrive despite conflict, persecution and corruption. This narrative is found in the various denominations and expressions that at some point in time were an off-shoot from mainstream Christendom, in response to new and exciting theological differences.

I want to explore these differences and discover God's wider purpose for the church, ecumenically speaking.

This blog will serve as a reflection point for this journey.