If you regularly attend a local church, which you love and serve at, this blog post is not for you.
If, however, you attend a church which frustrates and disappoints you, please read on. Or, perhaps you’ve given up on church altogether. Maybe you grew up in the church, but as soon as you were old enough to choose for yourself, you decided, ‘This isn’t for me.’ It might be that you had such a bad experience with church that you’ve resolved, ‘Never again.’
I want to urge you to reconsider. I want you to try another church.
Last week the MacPhail’s were invited to a friend’s home in Nassau for some Bahamian food. As the platters of food were set out before us, I became sufficiently excited about the menu options in front of me. One platter in particular, however, gave me pause. There was a plate of fried plantains that I was eager to avoid.
A couple of years ago, when we were eating at a restaurant in Freeport, Bahamas, I tried fried plantains for the first time. I absolutely hated this dish. The plantains we mushy and messy. Imagine an overripe banana, served warm. Yuck! I couldn’t finish the serving. And, having tried this new food, I resolved that my first taste of plantains would be my last. That all changed last week.
Good manners compelled me to try plantains again, and so I put two small pieces on my plate….and loved it! If I was blindfolded, I might have guessed that I was eating cooked apples that were rolled in cinnamon. But I wasn’t–I was eating plantains, and was looking for more.
I have met many individuals who have abandoned Christianity because of their bad experience in one or two churches—but does that make sense? If I go to a restaurant and, as a result, I get food poisoning, does it make sense to swear off eating at all restaurants? No—what would make sense would be to stop going to the restaurant that poisoned you and you find another restaurant, where the food satisfies you.
I fear that there are a plethora of people out there who have bailed on corporate Christian fellowship because of a negative experience within a local congregation. I don’t mean to sound unkind when I say that such a resolution follows a skewed string of logic. I almost employed that same skewed logic the evening when a platter of plantains was put in front of me. I’m so glad I gave plantains another try. They were amazing!
Could it be that you are overdue to give church another try? Perhaps your experience has been limited to a congregation chosen by your parents. Have you taken the time to identify a congregation more suited to you, and your life experiences and spiritual needs?
I readily confess that there are some bad churches out there. I have experienced congregations that are doctrinally mushy and relationally messy. But I also know of congregations that are sweet, and help bring satisfaction to the soul. I don’t want you to miss out on those.
No doubt, those reading this blog post will have varied backgrounds and experiences. But for those who are not currently connected to a congregation, my counsel is simple: You need to try another church.
Jun 10
29
Think.
As I consider which conference I might attend next, this is high on my “wish list”. What a fantastic promo video for what will undoubtedly be an outstanding event. The opportunity to sit under the teaching of John Piper, R.C. Sproul, Rick Warren, and Francis Chan would be a remarkable privilege and delight.
Jun 10
24
A Message Worth Repeating
I was at a Pastors Conference in Chicago in the late 1990s when a question was put to Howard Hendricks, “Is it acceptable for a preacher to deliver the same message more than once?” (presumably in different contexts).
Without hesitation, Hendricks replied with an emphatic tone, “If it’s not worth preaching more than once, it’s not worth preaching!”
I appreciated that response very much. As I was delivering my final messages at St. Giles Kingsway and The Well, from a series entitled, “Parting Words From Your Pastor”, my wife exhorted me to make these messages my opening words for St. Andrew’s Kirk in Nassau, Bahamas.
This past Sunday, we began a message series entitled, “Foundational Priorities”. Within this 6-week series I am adapting and reusing a few of my messages from “Parting Words”. The first was “Understand The Gospel”—based on Ephesians 1 and 2.
Reflecting on this passage, I presented the Gospel as having 5 prongs, or primary components:
1. The Gospel centres around God (His nature, His initiative, His glory, His reputation, etc.)
2. The Predicament of Human Sin (How our sin alienates us from God and prevents us from honouring Him)
3. The Gift of Grace (God’s riches bestowed, apart from merit, through Christ)
4. The Gift of Faith (Our God-given capacity to apply the riches of Christ)
5. We Reflect God’s Glory (Having been made alive, and having our nature altered by God’s Spirit, our lives become centred around glorifying Christ).
Have a listen to the audio below.
Jun 10
19
End of An Era
I’m more than a month late posting these pics from my final Sunday at St. Giles Kingsway and The Well. My personal reflection on the events of May 16 can be accessed in a previous post. I simply wanted to use this space to post a few pics with a couple of comments on each…
The Well, May 16, 2010
The Well was born on September 7, 2008. As an idea, it was born almost a year prior to that. The Well is an informal, highly contemporary, service that succeeded in attracting new families to St. Giles Kingsway and nurturing them in the faith. I was so pleased that on our final Sunday at The Well, we completely packed the place! As usual, Allen Froese and his band did an outstanding job leading the music, and Diana Loach was fantastic teaching and engaging the army of kids that showed up for the finale. Our hospitality team, led by Lois Taylor and our greeters, brought their “A” game, and we lingered afterwards over pizza.
In this pic is Don Taylor—elder, Clerk of Session, and one of my best friends in the world. Engaging Don in conversation is our almost 8-year-old daughter, Anya—who just adores Don! Anya is wearing her new necklace, a gift from the congregation, presented to her following the 10 am service earlier in the day.
Besides apparently giving myself a neck massage, I am engaging another one of my best friends, David Terry. David, if I recall, came to St. Giles Kingsway in 2003. David and MaryAnne became members and I had the privilege of baptizing their two children. David later became the Convenor of the Worship Committee and a member of our Session. At every turn, I was encouraged by David’s persistent support for me and for the new initiatives of the congregation.
This picture captures the final moment of my leading my final worship service at The Well. For me, it is the end of an era. It was a good run that produced great memories. I learned a lot about ministry during my 8 years at St. Giles Kingsway and am so thankful to have had such great people to work with.
I believe God was honoured here—not only in our ministry, but also in our friendships.
