One of the world’s most (in)famous works of art has arrived in Melbourne, ripened just in time for Melbourne’s glamour event for art: Melbourne Gala 2023.
Without peeling away the bare naked observation that many of us have these curvatured pieces in bowls at home and an entire reel of duct tape in the cupboard, nothing communicates ‘wow’ like the real thing sticking to a wall in Melbourne’s National Gallery of Victoria.
As people study and gaze upon the yellow plantain, there is one further sticky observation to make: the original didn’t make it to Australia. Presumably, it became banana pulp; all $120,000US of it! Even then, the world’s second most famous banana (let’s not forget bananas in pyjamas), was substituted out when the original was eaten as an unofficial piece of performance art! Let’s not worry about details.
I first wrote about Maurizio Cattelan’s banana back in 2019 and never dreamed that one day we could view and goo and ga over (and maybe gobble) it here in Melbourne.
As our artistic geniuses examine and ponder the significance of a banana stuck to a wall, let me throw in my 2 cents worth. My opinion may not be worth the prized $120,000 or the $395 that bought you a ticket for opening night, but then again, neither was the bag of bananas I purchased from the supermarket.
Joking aside, I think there is something to this work by Maurizio Cattelan’s work, titled ‘Comedian’.
The Italian satirical artist has created art from real life and sometimes zany objects. His most famous piece was stolen and presumably melted down: a $10 million toilet! Comedia uses two common objects: an overripe banana stuck to a wall with a strip of duct tape. The work was originally exhibited at the Miami Gallery, Art Basel, before being sold for $120,000US.
Before the mockers mock and critics criticise, it is worth observing the success of this Cattelan original. Some might say that the work itself should be subject to ridicule. Add a $120,000 price tag, and the jeering and sneering is more than audible. But the story of this captivating banana isn’t yet finished. A performance artist by the name of David Datuna visited the Art Basel and while admiring ‘Comedian’ up close, he committed the great heresy of reaching out and touching the banana. He didn’t stop there. He ripped the banana and its duct tape from the wall and then proceeded to peel the banana and eat its flesh. Onlookers gasped while others laughed. A security guard appeared, horrified. Datuna exclaimed that his was a work of art and he gave it the name, ‘Hungry Artist’.
He was quickly taken away but later emerged as a free man; free to perform and eat again.
Posting on Instagram he said,
“Art performance by me. I love Maurizio Cattelan artwork and I really love this installation. It’s very delicious,”
The director of the gallery, Lucien Terras, told the Miami Herald,
“[Datuna] did not destroy the artwork. The banana is the idea”.
The $120,000 banana has since been replaced with a fresh banana.
I don’t recommend anyone trying the stunt here in Melbourne. But as thousands flock to admire…or scorn, let me ask this question, who is acting the fool? At the time of the infamous art meal, I recall friends rolling their eyes all over social media and decrying the waste of money. People were quick to point out the foolishness And now Melbourne has bought the banana…for $1.20 from Coles on Elizabeth Street!
Who is the fool? Maurizio Cattelan? After all, all he did was take a banana and stick it on a wall. Far from acting the fool, Cattelan is looking at us and laughing with a $120,000 wry grin, shaped like a banana. More significantly, Cattelan’s genius lies in successfully drawing us into conversation and debate about a slightly smelly piece of fruit. We are the suckers, falling into Maurizio Cattelan’s world of satire. The banana isn’t the subject, we are the subject. Even eating the art piece forms part of the ever evolving expression that has been set in motion by the artist.
So are we the fool? Well, we are certainly silly monkeys for eating into his artistic expression, and then, of course, there’s the fool who paid $120,000 for old fruit and a strip of duct tape!
In the world of commonsense, we are the fool as we offer up our half-digested opinions about a piece of fruit stuck to a wall. However, the world today isn’t ruled by reason. We have become eager participants in Cattelan’s pantomime. In this upside-down world where right is now wrong, and wrong is lauded, and where such divisions are even removed altogether, the only fool here is the security guard who dared assume that eating the banana was an act of vandalism. And yet, as Lucien Terras has declared, even the guard has become an aspect of the artist’s expression.
Art has merged into life. Or should that be, life has merged into art? Everything becomes art. We are the artist’s subject as much as that banana, and all the subsequent bananas that will replace the mould and smell.
As far as originality is concerned, Cattelan’s object is little more than a spin-off from Andy Warhol’s portrait of a banana. He is simply replacing a painting with the object itself. And yet, here we are, talking about a banana.
Now that we’ve established that all of us are fools and yet none of us is the fool, is there a right way to be looking at ‘Comedian’? Is there any single interpretation of ‘Comedian’ that is the right one? Indeed, should we even be talking in such categories?
The sculpture isn’t designed to elucidate a set response but to create an entire spectrum of reactions. It is a portrait of the absurd and the absurd is us. There is no fixed meaning, just meanings. There is no primal purpose, just a bunch of ripening and then slowly rotting contributions.
I’m not quite sure whether ‘Comedian’ is mocking today’s avant garde or is an example of its stupidity (apologies Melbourne). Either way, it is reveals something rather sad and disillusioning about our society. What if the real world is also without overarching meaning and design? What if all we have is 8 billion opinions and convocations and divisions? It would be a truly satirical place to live. In such a world, why shouldn’t we eat and destroy an expensive work of art? Why shouldn’t we deride or laugh or even destroy? Why not spend $120,000 on a banana instead of giving the money to charity?
A universe without God is such a world. In such a closed material construct the only fool is the one who stands up and says “no, you mustn’t do that”. Instead, let people be, to steal, to take, to laugh, to admire, and however else we choose to express ourselves.
If Cattelan’s ultimate objective was to communicate the irreverence and heresy of particular meaning, the joke rests finally on him, for it was after all necessary for Cattelan to image the idea in his mind and then to make it with his hands. There is no art without the artist. Even in the aleatoric movement of John Cage and company, the author could not fully remove himself.
The universe God created and the place in which we live are not such places. It is filled with careful design and purpose. Not all opinions and reviews are equal. Not every action is good. Not every investment is wise or useful. The scary thing is that this world’s creator takes an active interest and he expresses concern for how we treat his creation including one another. As Psalm 2 indicates, he is a God who laughs and scoffs at us for deluding ourselves into pretending that our speculations and philosophising can subvert and replace his revelation.
“The One enthroned in heaven laughs;
the Lord scoffs at them.
He rebukes them in his anger
and terrifies them in his wrath, saying,
“I have installed my king
on Zion, my holy mountain.” (Psalm 2)
How much better is the portrait God has given us of his creation. How much more stunning and meaningful and satisfying is the Creator’s plan for the canvas on which you and I exist and have our being. Indeed, it involved the artist entering his own creation for the purpose of redeeming and reconciling us to His Divine purpose. This doesn’t end with the loss of creative freedom, but with finding greater freedom where we are no longer consumed for the value of an overripe banana.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it…
9 The true light that gives light to everyone was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and though the world was made through him, the world did not recognize him. 11 He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him. 12 Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— 13 children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.
14 The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth.”
Kevin De Young has written an important critique of the Moscow crowd led by Doug Wilson. Kevin’s offering is both irenic and castigating.
Kevin’s stated purpose is less to address theological concerns coming from the Moscow of Idaho, but to explain the success of Moscow and why this ought to concern Christians.
“I’m convinced the appeal of Moscow is visceral more than intellectual…people come to those particular intellectual convictions because they were first attracted to the cultural aesthetic and the political posture that Wilson so skillfully embodies. In short, people are moving to Moscow—whether literally or spiritually—because of a mood.”
“My bigger concern is with the long-term spiritual effects of admiring and imitating the Moscow mood. For the mood that attracts people to Moscow is too often incompatible with Christian virtue, inconsiderate of other Christians, and ultimately inconsistent with the stated aims of Wilson’s Christendom project.”
“The Moscow mood provides a non-stop adversarial stance toward the world and toward other Christians who are deemed (or caricatured to be) too afraid to “tell it like it is.” Moscow cannot become the American Redoubt for conservative Christians if it is too similar to other places, with basically the same kinds of churches, schools, and institutions found in hundreds of other cities. Differentiation is key, and this can only be sustained by a mood of antagonism and sharp antithesis…
“I fear that much of the appeal of Moscow is an appeal to what is worldly in us. As we’ve seen, the mood is often irreverent, rebellious, and full of devil-may-care playground taunts. That doesn’t make us better Christians.”
It is worth reading Kevin De Young’s piece in its entirety. Behind this mood is a set of theological assumptions about the relationship between Church and State, Gospel and culture. These assumptions are often known as ‘Christian Nationalism’, a position that De Young thinks is problematic, as do I (as I’ve written earlier this year ).
Language really does matter
De Young is rightly concerned about the type of speech Wilson regularly employs to convey the mood. This includes,
“Wilson’s deliberate decision to use uncouth (at best) and sinful (at worst) language, especially language of a sexual nature.”
Angry speech and coarse speech. As they say, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. As the article was shared on social media the very issues Kevin highlighted were being played out in real cyber time. Supporters of Wilson were soon defending his use of vulgar language, as though the times require such vocabulary to come from the lips of pastors. As others expressed thankfulness for Kevin’s article, Moscovites were eager to zoom in and add their own filthy language and derogatory words, presumably as an instrument to silence people.
Take, for example, the abuse Karen Prior was subjected to when she tweeted, ‘thank you for speaking up’,
I wonder if the people pause long enough to realise that they simply reinforcing the very issues Kevin has outlined in his critique of Doug Wilson and Moscow?
One Aussie Pastor, defending Doug Wilson, summed up well the ‘mood’ concern De Young is highlighting. He said on a friend’s Facebook page,
“We can lament the state of the church and culture all we want, and natter amongst ourselves about what the right tone to strike is. Maybe it’s just time for haymakers and door slamming.”
Over the last 5 years, I found that the ‘truth and freedom’ brigade is quick to fend off voices calling for considered speech and tone. They don’t see the times as one for making peace but waging war against the culture and against all those weak knee Christian groups who don’t buy into the angry mood. Failure to reach the same heated temperature is viewed upon with suspicions and probable complicity with all that is wrong with culture.
If Jesus overturned tables and made a whip that’s what we’re going to do. If Jesus can call Pharisees ‘vipers’, then let’s make sure we stick that in our rhetorical rifle and fire off a round every day. After all, if we do it often enough we will aim true at some point. Friend, not every word is meant to sound as though we’re Elijah or Ezekiel in their boldest moments.
There are many issues in our society that grieve Christians and that we understand are serious missteps that will lead to further harm to people in our suburbs and streets. There are occasions for godly anger. But surely this cannot be our only sustained note in public. We mustn’t gather around rage and all we find problematic, but around the Gospel of grace. If the moral and spiritual sitz im leben of our community is concerning, how much more therefore must we pay attention to the godliness within the church and how we speak with not only truth but also kindness and grace. Are we seeking to persuade people with the Gospel of Jesus Christ or whacking them with a rhetorical blitz?
Gruff doesn’t equal greater faithfulness to the gospel. Using strong language doesn’t equate to greater love or persuasive power? And coarse language contravenes God’s message of grace and righteousness.
Tone does matter. Tone is about godliness. Tone chooses words. Tone is about conveying truthfulness in love. Our models for public speech shouldn’t be Donald Trump or the anti-semitic sloganees who are marching through the streets at the moment. Loud and brash may grab attention and win the cheers of devotees, and also betray the very Gospel we are claiming to represent.
The Bible warns us about our tongues.
“Not many of you should become teachers, my fellow believers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. 2 We all stumble in many ways. Anyone who is never at fault in what they say is perfect, able to keep their whole body in check. 3 When we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we can turn the whole animal. 4 Or take ships as an example. Although they are so large and are driven by strong winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot wants to go. 5 Likewise, the tongue is a small part of the body, but it makes great boasts. Consider what a great forest is set on fire by a small spark. 6 The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by hell… (James 3:6)
“Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving.” (Eph 5:4)
“But I tell you that everyone will have to give account on the day of judgment for every empty word they have spoken.” (Matt 12:36)
The Bible urges us to speak not only truthfully but with a tone of grace and respect and kindness.
“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” (Eph 4:29)
“Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.” (Col 4:6)
“Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.” (1 Timothy 4:12)
“A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.
The soothing tongue is a tree of life, but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit.” (Prob 15:1 & 4)
“My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry,” (James 1:9)
The Bible identifies a correlation between speech and the heart.
“A worthless man devises mischief. His speech is like a scorching fire.” (Prob 16:27)
Avoid godless chatter, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly (2 Tim 3:16)
What is tone? It is the sound attuned to God’s melodic line. Paul wrote that one’s words amount to noise if not spoken in the right manner. When the music score says legato, do I play staccato instead? When the composer indicates pianissimo, do I bash triple forte? When the composer asks forte, should I play in a whisper?
Tone is more than a choice of which key to sing, it is a sound of godliness that we want to faithfully match God’s melodic line. Our tone is a heart issue, and only the Gospel of grace can cure it. Kevin De Young has sounded a warning, and it is one that has its roots in the pleas and corrections offered up by James the brother of Jesus. While I feel no gravitational pull toward Moscow, this is nonetheless an opportunity to consider the words I use and how. If that’s the takeaway, then I think Kevin has served us well.
Mentone Baptist Church celebrated our 70th anniversary yesterday (November 19).
It was a great morning. Our auditorium is often fairly full, but yesterday it was very full and dozens of people spilling over into the foyer and hall to be part of this thanksgiving service. It was encouraging to have former pastors and former members visiting and local MPs giving their time to celebrate with us. Many thanks.
The theme for our celebration was giving thanks for the past and looking to the future. Our Bible text was Philippians 1:3-11 (there is a link to the sermon below).
As we live in the present to worship God, to proclaim Jesus Christ and to show our community the reality of Christ, we give thanks to God for the last 70 years and we are looking to the future.
In recent years aspects of Melbourne’s culture have made much hay out of churches and negative press toward Christianity. Let’s be honest, sometimes Christians deserve the bad press given the awful things committed by some religious figures. At the same time, we might be forgiven for believing that Christianity in Melbourne is on the way out. To be sure, ‘progressive’ forms of Christianity are declining, but the real picture on the ground and in many local churches suggests new growth and new hope.
I want to share a brief history of Mentone Baptist Church that was presented at the anniversary service (it’s impossible to capture every story from 70 years!). There is also the link to our anniversary sermon. I hope you’re encouraged.
Mentone Baptist Church: church for the future
Beginnings
Mentone Baptist Church is known as the church with the sign: ‘Jesus Saves’ and ‘Christ our Hope’.
The original sign was replaced in 2009, and the buildings, people, and times have changed, but our message remains the same.
Mentone Baptist Church was formally constituted as a Church on November 19th 1953, but the origins came earlier. As far back as 1945, there was a desire to start a Baptist church in the area. At that time there was no Baptist church in Melbourne south of Oakleigh.
It wasn’t until 1950 that a group of 10 people living in Mentone and Cheltenham began discussing the possibility of a church. They first met on 9 Nov 1950, in a home on Nepean Hwy. Rev. Hawley led the group which included Reg and Ruby Ward, Jim and Grace Sutherland.
9 months later this group of 10 men and women began praying and searching for a property. A site on the corner of Warrigal Rd and Harpley St was purchased in February 1952 by the Baptist Home Mission Society, although some of the land, including what is today the cark park, was purchased years later.
Horace Jeffs commenced as the first pastor in April 1953, on a part-time basis with a stipend of 1 pound and 12 shillings per week. While waiting for the build, which is what today is known as the church hall. Mentone made news in The Age newspaper, for the novel story about a church meeting in a house and with their own organ! Sunday attendance reached 30-40 people.
On 1 November 1953, the church building opened. But of course, church isn’t the building, it is the people, and so on November 19 with a membership of 23 people, Mentone Baptist Church was formally constituted and the first members meeting conducted. Baptist Churches highly value the priesthood of all believers and so congregational involvement and ownership matters to us. Hence, our (in)famous members meetings!
A manse was purchased in 1955. Today this house is known as the church office, where it is used as office space, meeting rooms and children’s ministry.
Over Mentone’s first 10 years, the church grew to 60 members and always with a strong emphasis on the ministries of prayer and word.
A season for growing
Mentone’s evangelical roots and desire to start new churches continued with a team planting Beaumaris in 1959. This has continued over our history and most recently, Mentone sent out a team under Stephen Tan to plant Regeneration Church, next to Monash University. Over the years we experienced a trickle of university students travelling to us from Monash, with many being baptised at Mentone. We however saw the need and benefit from us moving closer to the university. 6 years later, there are more than 170 students and young adults calling Regeneration Church home (and growing every year).
A key turning point for Mentone took place in 1961 when Alcc White accepted the invitation to become pastor. Alec White was an effective preacher and communicator. He was rightly convinced the Bible is God’s word good and sufficient word, and that Jesus Christ is the way to know God. Under his leadership, and with many folks including the Foxes, the Lees, Betty Boase, the Platts, and the LePage family, the church grew in number and maturity. The Church invested in connecting with the local community, including ministering to the sick at the Kingston Centre and providing RE classes in local schools. Boys and Girls Brigades provided opportunity for local children to enjoy mid-week activities, gain life skills and learn about God. Dorcas commenced, a women’s group providing practical help to disadvantaged people around the world.
For 50 years Rex and Shirley Wills have been faithful members, serving in almost every part of church life. Betty Boase is our only member today who has been part of the church for 60 years.
A right emphasis on the good news of Jesus Christ raised up a generation of men and women who were trained and sent out to serve overseas on mission: Jim and Pam Sterrey, Daphne Smith, Fred Stoll, Chris and Carole Hebert, David and Sim Senator, Roger and Ruth Alder, and more. In the late 1960s, Marsali Ashley joined Mentone while studying at the Melbourne Bible Institute. Following a term in Papua New Guinea, she returned and married John Campbell at Mentone in 1972 (Murray’s parents).
Our current auditorium was built in 1968, with member Don Platt drawing the plans and his company constructing it. Originally, the seats faced north, with a stage in front of the northern window. The space was renovated in 2013 to accommodate more seating. Internal walls were knocked down and the old parent’s room was removed, thus increasing the space from 150 to 230 seats.
In 1981 Ross Prout was inducted as the new pastor and served here for 10 years. Under Ross’ leadership, the church experienced significant growth, especially among young adults. He continued the church’s emphasis on Bible teaching and a heart to see people coming to know Christ.
With Ross and Bronwen moving to Mitcham Baptist in 1991 after 9 years of fruitful ministry, Leigh Diprose commenced his ministry here, with Helen his wife and their 4 children joining. The Church continued to support ministry in the local community and worked alongside Youth Dimension to reach teenagers. Leigh concluded in 2000 and has since served at Altona Baptist and helping rural churches with preaching. Today Leigh serving at City on a Hill at their Melbourne West Campus.
Every church experiences difficult seasons and challenges, and Mentone is no exception. At the start of the new century, a significant number of the Church moved away as housing prices squeezed out young families and the Church lost a sense of direction and what it was about.
The congregation had shrunk to a Sunday attendance of 30 people by the end of 2004.
A new chapter
In 2005 Murray and Susan joined, following 4 years studying at Moore Theological College and gaining pastoral experience at Chatswood Baptist in Sydney. After several years away from Melbourne, the Campbells were excited to return and to make Mentone Baptist Church home for their young family.
The Church started to grow and saw growth of 10-20% each year for several years to come. In 2010, Murray suggested to the church that to help facilitate further growth, it would be advantageous to employ an associate pastor. To see whether the church could finance this, he asked if members would commit to increasing their giving. The Church was able to employ an associate pastor full-time from the first day! The Church called Phil Ninness and he commenced in 2011. Phil is an excellent preacher, and we also began an evening congregation, which attracted university students, and saw many becoming Christians and baptised and joining the church.
Phil and his wife Heather finished after 2 years to take on the Senior Pastoral role at a Baptist church in Tasmania. Mike Veith, who was serving as a student pastor while studying at Ridley College, became the new associate pastor. Mike has served in this role for 10 years, with his wife Camille and daughters part of the church family.
Over the past 18 years, the church has developed strong links with the Christian Union at Monash University. Stuart White and Dan King are both members at Mentone and they work on campus with AFES. We might assume that in our secular society, intelligent university students are disinterested in God; the campus ministry is experiencing quite the opposite.
The church continues to have a heart for mission both locally and overseas. In the past 6 years, several members have been sent out for church planting, pastoral ministry, and mission. We pray that God will add to those numbers in years to come.
The vision that began all those years ago in a Cheltenham house hasn’t been forgotten or lost but continues in 2023: ‘Christ our Hope’ and ‘Jesus Saves’.
70 years ago a tiny church moved from meeting in a house to this property on Warrigal Road. The year 2023 may look and sound very different from 1953. The streets and suburbs look very different today. 70 years ago this area was dominated by small farms and market gardens. There were a few schools and a train line. Southland didn’t exist. There was no McDonalds or KFC! The cars and cricket bats, the coffee and fashion and phones have changed, but the underlying issues and questions and longings of the human heart remain the same.
Our vision and prayer is to see the good news of Jesus Christ growing more and more and lives being transformed by God’s grace, love and truth. We thank God for the past and we look forward to the future and seeing how God continues his good work.
I am truly shocked. A local council in Melbourne yesterday adopted a motion about the conflict in Israel and Gaza. To describe it as an anti-Israel manifesto is probably a dilution of the actual words and intent.
The Merri-Bek City Council has passed a resolution with 11 separate points (which I’ve included below). In summary, Israel is to blame for all the events of the past month, including the slaughter of 1400 Israelis and the 200 hostages taken. And because Israel is responsible, the people of Melbourne (and they call on the Prime Minister) need to take sides with Palestine against Israel.
There is no word affirming Israel’s responsibility to defend its people against terrorism. If anything, the document would have us believe Israel is the evil perpetrator of genocide.
You may ask, but what about Hamas? The Council doesn’t attribute culpability to Hamas. Not once does the Council condemn Hamas; they don’t even mention the terrorist organisation. Why not? Is Hamas not responsible for the attack on Israel? Are they not responsible for the ongoing suffering of people in Gaza and are they not responsible for the continued fighting in Gaza today? It seems that admitting these facts doesn’t fit the narrative that the Merri-Bek Council wants to spin.
We are not obliged to agree with every policy and decision made by Israel over the decades. No nation is immune from legitimate criticism and concern. But these Councillors are either ignorant of what is taking place in the Middle East and ignorant of the religious and cultural history of the region or something far more sinister is going on. No wonder Jews in Melbourne are nervous and feeling a heightened sense of insecurity.
What is staggering about the Council’s resolve is that they are not even trying to hide the undertones. They are playing the discord openly and without hesitation.
The Merri-Bek Council wants to step further and introduce both symbolic and practical support of Gaza and against Israel. The motion includes a call to boycott businesses connected with Israel and the Council will be “raising the Palestinian flag on the fourth flag pole at Council’s Coburg Civic Centre for six months in recognition of the specific situation of a genocide being carried out against the Palestinians in Gaza.” Notice, that there will be no Israeli flag.
I’m not a supporter of flying flags of other nations (and causes) on our Government buildings. So don’t hear me saying that the Star of David should be flying in Coburg. But, flagrant distortion of what is happening and the gaslighting toward Jewish people beggars belief. And it gets worse, the Council then has the gall to insinuate that Israel is akin to Nazi Germany! Are they so ignorant of history?
The Herald Sun is reporting that one Councillor who voter against the motion has subsequently received death threats*. I guess those calls for peace don’t include those people who wish to stand up for Jews.
No one wants to see civilians in Gaza suffering and dying. It is a horrific state of affairs. It is however sheer ignorance and arrogance for this Council to lay all responsibility at Israel’s feet and none with the very people who perpetrated the evil on October 7, and who, by the way, have subsequently told the world that they will do it again and again until from the river to sea until Israel is no more.
We can weep and grieve for innocent Palestinians. We pray for peace. But will Merri-Bek Council not grieve for the countless Jews who have experienced the most horrific day since the Holocaust? Will Merri-Bek Council not offer one word of solace to Jews and word of assurance that they will stand by them?
Who will weep with Rachel and for her children?
We said never again, but today those words are sounding increasingly hollow.
May I propose a new motion and Merri-Bek Council takes a break from pontificating and instead read Jeremiah ch.31. If we are genuine about seeking peace, not only in the Middle East but here in Melbourne as schisms grow, then this is a word we need to take to heart.
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* I originally said that only one counsellor voted against the motion. Correction, there were four objections, with one of those for receiving death threats
—————————————–
That Council,
1. Mourns the tragic and horrific loss of civilian lives in the current conflict and condemns all attacks that target civilians.
2. Recognises that the constant bombing and the total siege of Gaza is traumatising for many Merri-bek residents who have relatives in the region or have come from war-torn countries. We express our solidarity with these communities.
3. Notes that the current conflict did not begin on 7 October 2023 – it began with the Occupation of Palestine, and the forced displacement of millions of Palestinians from their homelands as a result.
4. Condemns the words of senior Israeli politicians and military officials that seek to dehumanise Palestinians in Gaza to justify their war crimes. For example,
On 8 October 2023, Nissim Vaturi, member of the Knesset for the far right and governing coalition party, Likud, called for “erasing the Gaza Strip from the face of the earth. Those who are unable will be replaced.”
On 9 October 2023, Israeli Defence Minister, Yoav Gallant, stated: “We are imposing a complete siege on [Gaza]. No electricity, no food, no water, no fuel – everything is closed. We are fighting human animals, and we act accordingly”.
5. Notes that many global organisations and institutions, including Amnesty International, United Nations Special Rapporteurs, and the UN’s Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Occupied Palestinian Territory, have documented systematic evidence of war crimes committed by Israel and its army against Palestinians, including:
a) sustained bombing of residential neighbourhoods
b) the bombing of schools, health facilities, mosques and churches where civilians are sheltering
c) the use of white phosphorous (a chemical weapon which burns the skin)
d) the denial of food, water, fuel, electricity, internet, and medical supplies to the people of Gaza.
6. Notes that 800 scholars of international law, conflict studies, Holocaust and Genocide Studies declared in a public statement on 15 October:
“We are compelled to sound the alarm about the possibility of the crime of genocide being perpetrated by Israeli forces against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip.”
7. Writes to the Prime Minister and Foreign Minister calling on the Australian government to:
a) Strongly condemn the war crimes being carried out by Israel against the Palestinians in Gaza.
b) Call for an immediate ceasefire and end to Israel’s indiscriminate bombing.
c) Call for the immediate lifting of the siege on Gaza to allow Palestinians in Gaza to have unlimited access to food, water, fuel, electricity, medical supplies and construction materials to repair damaged homes and civilian infrastructure.
d) Advocate for all Palestinian and Israeli hostages to be released.
e) Advocate for a political resolution to the decades-long conflict which includes an end to Israel’s illegal Occupation of Palestine in order for there to be a just and sustainable peace.
f) End all military, economic, political and diplomatic ties with the state of Israel until it complies with its obligations under international law.
8. Notes that boycotts, divestment and sanctions are legitimate, non-violent tactics used by individuals and organisations to pressure foreign governments over human rights abuses and war crimes, including Israel’s brutal and illegal colonisation of Palestine.
9. Receives a report to explore options for council to cancel contracts with companies that support Israel’s illegal occupation of Palestine or profit from it, especially companies which supply equipment to the Israeli Defence Force.
10. Amends the Community Flag Schedule outlined in Council’s Flags Policy by raising the Palestinian flag on the fourth flag pole at Council’s Coburg Civic Centre for six months in recognition of the specific situation of a genocide being carried out against the Palestinians in Gaza. That this decision be communicated to the communities who were expecting their flags to be flown on other dates after six months the decision will be reviewed by Council.
11. As a diverse, multi-cultural, and multi-faith community, Merri-bek City Council deplores and actively stands against all forms of racism, including Islamophobia and Anti-semitism.
We live in an odd society here in Australia. Part of us thinks that growing up means ridding ourselves of God and all those Bible verses that we find so constraining. And yet we haven’t found an alternative to provide the necessary robust foundations for moral living and a sharper and more stunning hope for ultimate peace and righteousness.
Yesterday afternoon (October 30), six former Prime Ministers of Australia released a statement. John Howard, Kevin Rudd, Julia Gillard, Tony Abbot, Malcolm Turnbull, and Scott Morrison. These former national leaders represent different sides of the political spectrum. Through the years, they have expressed strong and opposing words to undermine each other and their respective Government positions. However, today, they are standing with one voice.
I do not recall another occasion where this significant number of former national leaders of Australia signed a letter with such force, unity and concern. This is a rare and historic moment and ought to cause Australians to consider the very real and dangerous and ugly antisemitism that is spilling onto streets and social media around the world, including here in Australia. 75 years ago the world declared, ‘Never again’, and yet from university campuses to political representatives and crowds, we are hearing cries for Jewish people to be destroyed.
In the midst of an Australia that is becoming more divided and fractured, these former Prime Ministers have laid aside differences and produced a timely and vital declaration that I urge Australians to read and take with the seriousness they are conveying. They express deep concern at the antisemitism on display around the world and at home. They offer clear and unapologetic condemnation of Hamas and their evil, both upon Israel and their own people in Gaza. They also call on Israel to abide by international conventions as they exercise their right to destroy the terror network.
Returning to my opening reflection, as our former Prime Ministers seek to lead by example, they turn to the Bible for example and help. They quote Psalm 34, which forms part of the Scriptures for both Jewish people and Christians.
“Seek peace and pursue it”
I find it odd and somewhat shallow when inner suburbanites yell at Christians and tell them to keep their Bible out of public issues. They make an exemption when Christian words seem to support their progressive (or conservative) agendas, but as soon as dissonance returns, the demands for silence come back with pugnacious certainty. Of course, sometimes Christians say unhelpful things and misuse the very Scriptures that shape us. There are times when the Christian perspective is neither left or right, progressive or conservative; indeed, this is most often the case. There are times when Christian wisdom displays a properly diagonalised view, which avoids false binaries and compromises. This is why a Christian perspective is sometimes misunderstood and or unwanted. There are also occasions when not speaking is the right thing to do. I do not, however, see how we can remain silent as the noise of antisemitism grows in Melbourne, Sydney and elsewhere (the same is true when our Muslim neighbours are targeted and abused).
It is worth noting that in October 2023, as the world witnesses horrific evil and growing unrest, six former Prime Ministers lean upon the Bible for guidance and moral impulse. I am encouraged and would encourage others to also lean in.
As we do, the Scriptures push us even deeper, not letting us settle for a consolation built on myth or vapor-like hopefulness. Words are just words if they are not conveying concrete truthfulness and goodness. Like a Shakespearean Sonnet with sonorous beauty or a Hallmark Card, they form a heart without a pulse. As the Apostle Paul dares to insist, if Christ has not been raised, we are to be pitied by all men, and our faith is an exposé of ignorance.
The phrase borrowed by our former Prime Ministers, Psalm 34, has more to say that is worthy of consideration and which provides reason and guts to the search for peace. For example, the full sentence of verse 24 says this,
“Turn from evil and do good;
seek peace and pursue it.”
Immediately following this statement, the Psalmist provides a framework for substantiating peace,
“The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are attentive to their cry;
but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to blot out their name from the earth.
The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles.
The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”
There is evil in the world. There is also sin in each one of us. Modern Australia often tries to wipe away moral absolutes and considers categories like sin and evil as the language of oppressive Christians. Yet, time and time again we fall back into biblical language and concepts to articulate what we see and feel and know intuitively. Lean more attentively.
“Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near” (Isaiah 55:6)
The world said, ‘Never again’. Following the Holocaust, where 6 million Jews were slaughtered, guilt, conviction and repentance led much of the world to exclaim, ‘Never again’. Most people believed the words, and yet today, in the year 2023, that promise is losing confidence and support.
Two weeks have passed since the terror attack on Israel killed 1400 people and left thousands injured, and more than 200 as hostages. It is not the condemnation of Hamas that surprises, but the support for Hamas that is rallying voices in cities worldwide, including Australian cities.
A friend of mine, as she tries to make sense of what is happening, made this remark,
“Over the last week or so it’s dawned on me how much I’ve domesticated Satan in my own thinking. Yes he is the subtle tempter. But he is also the blatant protagonist of violence, clamour, hatred, cruelty & death. And he’s currently having an absolute field day. God have mercy.”
Indeed, Lord have mercy.
What we are witnessing around the globe, from Melbourne to New York, Sydney to London, are scenes that harken back to the darkest moments in 1930s Germany. Of course, the geopolitical situation is not analogous, and yet a deep and vile hatred toward the Jews is manifesting. These are not quiet murmurs but public and vocal, and at times the anti-semistim is lauded by crowds and even by political and so called ‘erudite’ groups.
We can try and explain away some anti-semitism by suggesting it’s just the fringe. When the forecourts of the Sydney Opera House witnessed a mob shouting, ‘Gas the Jews’, and when young Jewish men were threatened on the streets of Melbourne with ‘I’ll kill you’, our minds calculated that these are the words of the tiny few.
The world has seen footage of children in American schools chanting, ‘“From the River to the Sea, Palestine Will Be Free”, a saying that means eradicating Jewish people from the land of Israel.
Bari Weiss’ office was defaced over the weekend with ‘F#ck the Jews’.
There is story after story.
Lest we think that the awful language is limited to a few thugs, there are politicians and academic institutions supporting Hamas against Israel. Many Universities and Colleges in the United States have produced statements in support of the Gaza ‘uprising’ and condemning Israel.
Harvard University, for instance, is considered one of the world’s leading institutions of education. Yesterday, the halls of Harvard were filled with students supporting Palestine against Israel. This followed a letter that was signed by 30 student groups at Harvard blaming Israel for the atrocities on October 7. They didn’t even wait for the dead to be counted before asserting,
We “hold the Israeli regime entirely responsible for all unfolding violence”.
So, Hamas terrorists are not responsible for raping, kidnapping, and murdering innocent civilians but somehow they are justified or simply victims being swept up in a moral fight against their oppressors? Apparently, a few of these student groups have since rescinded their support of their letter, saying that they hadn’t read the letter carefully.
Sydney’s Town Hall plays to all manner of social causes and lights up to display solidarity, and yet the Mayor of Sydney has blocked the attempt to show the blue and white of Israel. These are not examples of antisemitism, but this is not a time to play the argument of moral equivalence and to sidestep what took place in Israel. But to make clear, ‘never again’.
It isn’t helpful to exaggerate how wide or deep the anti-Jewish sentiment runs through our cities, for large portions of our populations see how vile such dehumanising is. It is becoming clear, however, that antisemitism exists and it is perhaps more commonplace than we realised, and it is event present in our elitist institutions with noise and clanging. We didn’t believe it. Perhaps we still refused to accept it. But for all our sophistry and hubristic self-belief, we are not immune from profound ugliness and distaste.
Contrary to the wistless historical positivism about history’s arc turning toward justice, the 20th century blew that idea out of the water.* The early decades of the 21st century have further reinforced that the saying is vapour. History is more like a Wagnerian cycle; prolonged agony with an audience gasping for resolution amidst near-eternal dissonance. Yes, we see progress and good in many spheres and yet none removes that basic instinct to sin.
My friend is right to attribute the evil of recent weeks to Satan. Satan is a cunning foe, and he is also a powerful ally in the ambition of hatred and death. It is not as though people are helpless victims in his hands, but rather he exploits our pre-existing heart condition. Lurking in all our hearts is far more sin than we are prepared to admit. It was Jesus who made the diagnosis,
“For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. All these evils come from inside and defile a person.”
That is what we are seeing spillover around the world. Deep-seated views and convictions are sensing opportunity to come out and be expressed. Anti-semitism is but one example of many blots on the human heart, but it is a fearful one.
I still cannot fathom how a Melbourne Anglican Minister went on Twitter (X) in support of Hamas’ violent and bloody attack on Israelis. It is beyond belief.
Never again.
It is difficult to overstate the seriousness of the unfolding situation in Israel and Gaza. It is impossible to fathom the anxiety and fear overwhelming people in Israel and Gaza. National leaders and diplomats are pressing to control the situation and to find ways to release the pressure valve while at the same time acknowledging Israel’s right to destroy Hamas. For 3,000 years, Jerusalem has magnetised world history, and it remains so today. What happens in Israel doesn’t remain in Israel. We live in a global community, and when a stone is thrown in one part of the world, the ripples spread wide.
Surely we are gripped with sadness, grief and diminishing trust in man’s ability to overcome.
Never again.
Among the stories that gripped attention for more than a week is the speed to doubt and disbelieve. As reports were given to journalists and to the public of atrocities in Israeli homes, towns, and fields, many said, no. This isn’t true. We don’t believe you. Show us the bodies. Yesterday Israeli Defence Force representatives invited journalists into a room and played video footage of the dead. Films taken by Hamas show their members torturing, killing, burning and yes even beheading Israelis. The media are now reporting what ears refused to believe but eyes have now seen and witnessed now through flood of tears.
Andrew Neil retells,
“Journalists in tears as IDF shows them body cam footage of massacres by Hamas terrorists on Oct 7 with civilians and soldiers being shot, stabbed, tortured and burned merely because they were Jewish.
Their corpses were bound, gagged and riddled with bullet holes and knife wounds.
In one clip, a Hamas terrorist throws a grenade at a father and his son. The blast kills the father, while the young boy is covered in his blood. The child is dragged inside and forced to sit next to his brother, whose eye is a bloody mess after being subjected to horrific torture. One of the boys sobs: ‘Why am I alive?’
Other footage shows IDF soldiers beheaded with their headless corpses left splayed in the streets, while a contingent of female soldiers were injured by a grenade then shot at point blank range.
A Hamas gunman brags on the the phone to his parents about ‘killing 10 Jews’. He is using phone of a Jewish woman who has just been murdered and boasts that he ‘is a hero’ after killing Israelis with his ‘own hands’.”
Never again?
Unlike the waves of self-appointed Middle Eastern experts offering their opinions, I am not an expert. It does not, however, require a PhD in political science to understand that Hamas’ attack on Israel was evil and that Israel has the right to defend herself and her people and to agree that Hamas must never again have the ability to repeat these atrocities.
We can also and ought to affirm the protection of civilians across borders and people groups, regardless of their religion and ethnicity. How damnable are Hamas for preventing their own people from fleeing south. That Israel’s Defence Force gives prior warning and urge people to move away from targets, is demonstrably more than what a nation at war would normally do.
We pray and call for the protection of innocent Palestinians and Israelis. Speak up and stand against anti-semitism. We pray for justice. We pray for peace. Surely, we can give up our godless pretensions and take God at his word,
The Lord is angry with all nations;
his wrath is on all their armies.
He will totally destroy them,
he will give them over to slaughter.
Their slain will be thrown out,
their dead bodies will stink;
the mountains will be soaked with their blood.
All the stars in the sky will be dissolved
and the heavens rolled up like a scroll;
all the starry host will fall
like withered leaves from the vine,
like shriveled figs from the fig tree. (Isaiah 34)
Never again.
As it happens, I don’t believe that the modern state of Israel is the fulfilment of Biblical promise. I think that view misses the point about how the person of Jesus Christ fulfils all of God’s ancient promises. And yet one cannot ignore the Apostles’ teaching in the New Testament about how God loves Israel (the people); therefore we must also. This is a part of the Bible that Christians have sometimes ignored or abused. Sadly, the history of Christianity in Europe is marked by chapters of persecuting Jews. There are also positive moments, whether Oliver Cromwell welcoming Jews to return to England or the posture of preachers like Charles Spurgeon who insisted, ‘a Christian must be the last person who ought ever to speak disrespectfully or unkindly to the Jews’.
Never again.
Political and military courses have a place and imperative. However, the ultimate answer to justice and mercy, peace and reconciliation is the Christ whom we in the West are trying to remove from the story. Indeed, the world has tried that approach before. The world once famously rejected the Messiah. They arrested him under false pretences. They accused him of all manner of wrongdoing. The soldiers then had him tortured and forced him to carry the implement of his own execution. They crucified him, hands and feet until dead. And yet as Peter explained to the crowd in Jerusalem at Pentecost, it is through that very cross God was winning redemption for us. To confirm this ultimate victory, God raised Jesus from the dead.
Many of us remain sceptical today and others quietly go about thinking, maybe. In Gaza today and scattered around Israel too, are small groups of Christians, believing the world’s only hope is this Jesus.
In my previous and initial reflections on what happened on October 7th, I quoted an Old Testament Bible passage, and I do so again, because of how fitting it is. These words were written by a Jewish man who rested his hope on the promise of God. As he spoke of looming disaster and chaos and suffering, because of sin, Isaiah also gave words of comfort and hope. How the world today needs this kind of concrete hope.
“Nevertheless, there will be no more gloom for those who were in distress. In the past he humbled the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, but in the future he will honor Galilee of the nations, by the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan—
2
The people walking in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of deep darkness a light has dawned.
3
You have enlarged the nation and increased their joy; they rejoice before you as people rejoice at the harvest, as warriors rejoice when dividing the plunder.
4
For as in the day of Midian’s defeat, you have shattered the yoke that burdens them, the bar across their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor.
5
Every warrior’s boot used in battle and every garment rolled in blood will be destined for burning, will be fuel for the fire.
6
For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
7
Of the greatness of his government and peace there will be no end. He will reign on David’s throne and over his kingdom, establishing and upholding it with justice and righteousness from that time on and forever. The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.
A friend pointed out the origins of the ‘arc of history’ quote, which is from Martin Luther King and posits a faith in God who will make all things news. This differs from how the phrase is commonly used today, unfortunately
“Esther again pleaded with the king, falling at his feet and weeping. She begged him to put an end to the evil plan of Haman the Agagite, which he had devised against the Jews.” (Esther 8:3)
Shock. Horrified. Anger. Weeping.
The world is reeling at the sights and stories flooding our screens and phones from Israel.
The attacks on Israel over the weekend by Hamas is the most serious threat to the security of that nation in 50 years. It is no coincidence that the attacks were orchestrated while Israelis enjoyed a public day to celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles. As families gathered and IDF members relaxed at home, thousands of rockets were fired into Israel and 100s of armed militants crashed through border fences and began killing and kidnapping.
It was 50 years to the day since the Yom Kippur War when Egypt and Syria launched a surprise invasion of Israel. As though like a blood-filled reminder and yet ironically oblivious to the outcome of that war, Hamas struck with terrifying assault on civilians and soldiers alike.
More than 1000 people are known to be dead and 1000s injured, and the situation is far from over.
“For three sins of Gaza,
even for four, I will not relent.
Because she took captive whole communities
and sold them to Edom,
I will send fire on the walls of Gaza
that will consume her fortresses. (Amos 1:6-7)
What is happening in Israel right now is of Biblical proportions. The last 2-3 days have witnessed the greatest number of Jewish deaths since the Holocaust. That is a terrible statistic to hear.
Across the globe and around Australia, there is widespread support for Israel. The Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese is among international leaders affirming Israel’s right to defend herself and condemn the insidious violence and brutality being carried out by Hamas. As the Scriptures remind us, the State has the power and responsibility to wield the sword. It is a heavy burden and duty and requires great wisdom, patience and righteousness, and yet a State has that right to protect herself against armed aggression.
While cities across the world light the night sky in the blue and white of Israel, as will my own city of Melbourne tonight, there are however some groups lifting their voices in support of Hamas. News outlets are now saying that Iran was involved behind the attack. A notable Imam in Sydney was on the streets last night, proclaiming to a crowd that this was a day of victory and celebration.
Hours earlier, The Victorian Socialists tweeted support for the terrorists,
‘Solidarity to the Palestinian resistance’.
Such a posture is disgusting and shameful.
I even saw a message from a Melbourne Anglican Minister supporting Palestine against Israel, as though the violence is somehow justified. It beggars belief.
In Sydney tonight, police have warned Jewish people to stay away from public spaces such as the famed Opera House because they are concerned for their safety. It is no wonder that Jewish people are fearful and many people are tonight wondering what on earth is going on?
I suspect (I pray), that those voices are like a scattering of drunken individuals at the MCG on non-game day. Their opinions are loud and carry across the G with force, but they are relatively few in number.
What is more common, although still a minority from what I have gauged, are journalists and political leaders trying to dance around the issues and employ whataboutism. As though, yes Hamas is bad, and so is Israel, and there goes the merry round. When tragedy or evil strikes, whataboutism is about as kind to victims as Job’s friends.
We don’t have to agree with all Israeli policy and affirm every past action of the Israeli Government. That’s not the point Eliphaz, Bildad, and Zophar! There is no justification for hating on Jews and for murdering and raping and kidnapping women and children. There is no moral equivalence here.
As much as the world moves on its axis and highlights different conflicts, movements, and moments, we rarely shift far from Jerusalem. That ancient city continues to perplex, amaze, and tilt global events, even today as the world watches on.
It’s not that we (Christians) equate the modern State of Israel with Israel of the Bible. Such equivalences fail to take into account Biblical theology and how Christ is the telos of God’s ancient promises. As the Apostle Paul describes,
“remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
14 For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility, 15 by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, 16 and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility” (Ephesians 2:12-16)
As Christians, we understand the foundational role Jewish people have played in God’s unfolding plan of redemption. Abraham, Moses, and David are vital characters of both history and key to the shaping of what will become Christianity. Of course, the earliest disciples were all Jewish and Jesus was a Jew.
Gentile believers like myself appreciate our place in God’s gracious redemptive purposes. It is to be grafted by grace, as new branches into a very ancient tree, ‘You do not support the root, but the root supports you.’
How Christians can respond
How might Christians respond to the events in Israel of the past 48 hours? Here are 3 suggestions: pray, mourn, and press close to Christ.
There is something every Christian can do today. We can pray. We should pray. There is, after all, Biblical warrant for praying.
“Pray for the peace of Jerusalem:
“May those who love you be secure.
May there be peace within your walls
and security within your citadels.”
For the sake of my family and friends,
I will say, “Peace be within you.”
For the sake of the house of the Lord our God,
I will seek your prosperity. (Psalm 122:7-9)
We pray for peace. We pray for justice. And we pray for mercy.
We both pray as members who have been grafted into that tree and we pray for Israel as we would another nation who have been terrifyingly attacked by men who doing evil.
Our prayers begin with Israel but they do not end with Israel, but extend to the Palestinian people as well. Hamas may control Gaza, but they do not represent all Palestinians. Indeed, thousands of Palestinians are Christian and no doubt many Muslim Palestinians are vehemently opposed to Hamas.
Second, the Scriptures teach us to ‘mourn with those who mourn.’
This is why the ‘wisdom’ of Job’s friends is so unkind. For a few days, maybe avoid whataboutism and instead sit with someone or at least show empathy to someone who is in profound grief and trauma. This includes thousands of grieving Israeli families and countless Palestinian families who are caught up by Hamas’s vile political and religious games.
When expressing anger at Hamas and showing support for Israel, let us be careful and not conflate all of Gaza with Hamas. I think of a Palestinian family whom I know. They have family living in the Gaza Strip and over the years members have died and others faced terrible conditions. In 2017 he shared on my blog what life is like for many people in Gaza including Palestinian Christians of which there are many.
“In Australia and much of the west it is very easy to take essential provisions for granted. Food, water, warmth, basic amenities, and the freedom to worship as a Church or body of Christian believers. Such rights as voting, police protection, medical and health cover, or a simple roof over your head do not exist to many in Palestine. Freedom to move around from suburb to suburb within the nation do not exist. There is no right to external travel, and no right of return. …Uncertainty and persecution is everywhere. Many fall in despair and suggest God is only a God of the Jews, and hater of the Palestinians. They consider God hated Ishmael – whereas instead God saved him in the wilderness, and blessed him bringing into his line 12 princes. The pain distorts their view on God’s true love and equitable justice. God is not the racist they often time feel He is portrayed as.”
Jerusalem was built on an ancient promise. Through millennia of blood and life, grief and joy, the very stones waited. The world is crying for ultimate justice and for ultimate hope. I am reminded of the One who warned us of wars and rumours of war, for he is the one who was crucified. He wept over Jerusalem and then entered the city as a King and then he gave his life as a ransom for many.
Today is a day where action and justice is required, to punish evildoers and to save life. It is also a day for mourning. A time will come and we pray soon, ‘Come, Lord Jesus’. Pray that God will awaken the conscience and spirit, to see that the tomb outside Jerusalem is today empty and that Jerusalem’s hope, the world’s only hope, is Yeshua.
Since writing yesterday afternoon, there have been so many additional reports and comments online that I fear that the anti-Semitic voice is larger than I suggested. And I say that with a heavy heart and one that makes me long even more for the Prince of Peace.
A new Baptist network in Australia has been announced. Rumours have been circulating for some time as disenchanted Baptist pastors meet to discuss the future. They are concerned by signs that State Baptist Unions may be reforming. By reformation, I don’t mean ‘Reformed’ but rather an evident desire among Baptists to affirm foundational beliefs, including around marriage and human sexuality. Whether we like it or not, views on marriage, sex and gender have become a point of orthodoxy in our secular culture. Given the Scriptures are already clear and as Christians, we are people of the word, it makes sense for our churches and denominations to build clarity on these matters.
The Open Baptists are open for business, but the question is, open to what and to whom?
The name kinda gives the game away. They are open to new expressions of sexuality and closed to Jesus’ teaching on marriage They are open to new ways of reading the Bible and closed to the Bible’s own hermeneutic. They want our Baptist associations to be open to all manner of theological convictions and ideas, as though the only way to be Baptist is to accept everything and stand for almost nothing.
In part (a large part), these Open Baptists are responding to NSW and ACT Baptists who have undertaken the faithful steps to insist that churches and pastors adhere to the “basic doctrines, objects and values of the Association”. Part of this includes affirming the Christian definition of marriage, in contrast to the recent redefinition of marriage under Australian Federal law. Churches that fail to do so, may be removed from association and pastors lose their accreditation.
Of course, there isn’t anything outrageous about the step undertaken by the NSW and ACT Association. Indeed it is a positive one for it is signalling that Baptists believe what God says and we trust his good word. But not everyone is happy, indeed some Baptists are fuming and others are saddened.
On their website, the Open Baptists state,
‘We are a group/network of Baptists and Baptist churches across Australia and beyond, committed to acknowledging Jesus Christ as the head of the church, the priesthood of all believers, freedom of conscience and the autonomy of the local church. We partner together, aware of our differences, in mutual support and mission to see the good news of Jesus made known.’
That paragraph sounds pretty awesome and every Baptist could probably say a loud Amen. The problem is, they have filled these principles with meanings that Baptists don’t subscribe to, and while highlighting these Baptist distinctives they are ignoring others.
Let’s not be confused by calls to historic Baptist convictions; this is only part of the story. Baptist associations have always established parameters for fellowship, and this includes statements of faith and affirmation of theological priorities. This doesn’t lead to uniformity but supports genuine Gospel unity, from which flows mission, theological education, and ministry partnerships.
The website later admits that issues related to marriage and sexuality ‘have been particular points of concern for some’. Well, that’s an understatement! It is this very issue that has led to this moment.
To be fair, some of the Baptists who are interested in this new network are not embracing same-sex marriage (and other current notions around sexuality and gender identity) but they so value the autonomy of the local church that they hold that all the churches should coexist.
Baptists are right to cherish autonomy and freedom of conscience, but these are not an open door to justify any kind of errant ideas and views. A Baptist association is a group of autonomous churches in fellowship together, through agreement with core theological and spiritual truths as defined by God in his word. When churches break these, it is only appropriate that they are called to repentance and should they persist, then they are shown the door.
Surely we recognise that Christians have a higher responsibility; namely faithfulness to God and obedience to his word. Autonomy and conscience don’t serve us particularly well when we’ve cut ourselves loose from the Gospel. That’s the issue facing Baptists today in Australia. Where churches and pastors hold errant views on crucial matters, is it appropriate for them to remain in fellowship with the wider association? Doesn’t Jesus call out religious leaders when they espouse wrong teachings and ethics? Don’t the Apostolic writings urge churches to dismiss those who abandon the faith and teach aberrant ideas?
If Open Baptists believe Jesus Christ is the head of the church, then surely they would believe what Jesus teaches about human sexuality and submit to him in teaching and practice. That’s the thing, ‘open Baptists’ are closed to what Jesus teaches about marriage and human sexuality. For example, in Matthew 19 Jesus says,
Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ 5 and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’? 6 So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”
In a single statement, Jesus repudiates the sexual progressivism of the Pharisees of his day, he insists upon the Genesis paradigm for marriage, and he defines all other sexual activity as porneia, meaning sexual immorality. That’s not what at least some Open Baptists say and do.
The Open Baptists are holding a conference next month to discern the nature of their network and what kind of relationship, if any, they will have with State Baptist associations.
The keynote speaker at this conference is a current lecturer at Whitley College and former pastor of Collins Street Baptist, where she campaigned for same sex marriage, despite the agreed position of the Baptist Union of Victoria.
Canberra Baptist is hosting the event, and so presumably is supportive of Open Baptists. It is well known that Canberra is among a number of churches railing against the Baptist Union affirming classical marriage and refusing to embrace alternative views.
Lest we think that this is all about sex, this is but a presenting issue. Dig a little deeper and I suspect we’ll uncover other doctrines that open Baptists either dilute or altogether try to extinguish. It is no secret that among some of these progressive voices are Baptist pastors and theologians who advocate universalism, who reject penal substitution atonement, and who diminish Fatherhood language for God, and much more.
The real issue isn’t even sexuality but the authority of the Bible and the trustworthiness of God who speaks through his written word. Once all the hermeneutical gymnastics and eisegetical smoke machines are cleared, the Bible really is clear on marriage. The subject matters so much to Jesus that when he addresses the church in Thyatira, he is adamant that the church must not tolerate teaching that leads to sexual immorality. Doing so isn’t loving or kind or useful to either the church or to unbelievers in the community.
The current pastor of Canberra Baptist Church recently stated her disagreement with NSW and ACT Baptists, and did so by expressing this view,
I also hold as incredibly precious that we continue to interpret Scripture; that our understanding of the world, our contemporary learning about gender and identity and attraction is shaped by what we know of the love of God and the dignity and worth of every human being.
And, finally, based on that understanding of being church and reading Scripture, I hold as incredibly precious our seeking to be a community that welcomes LGBTIQ+ people and recognises their call as followers of Jesus; that honours those in faithful committed relationships and those who are single; that invites everyone to live out God’s intentions for us as God’s people.
This is a very different expression of Christian belief and practice from what we find in the Scriptures. In sharp contrast, Paul beautifully outlines the power of God to wash and sanctify and justify in Christ. As though preempting open baptists, he emphasises that sinful sexual practices are a shut door on the Kingdom of God, but there is a door open filled with grace and forgiveness to everyone who enters through repentance,
Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men 10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
When God has so wonderfully opened the door to eternal life, why would any Christian church choose to close it. Where is the love of neighbour in that? Why would other churches think it’s good to partner with these door shutters? If anything shouldn’t we be guarding our churches against gatecrashers?
Time will tell whether these Open Baptists will try to remain in fellowship with existing Baptist unions or depart to begin their own association. One thing seems to be clear and that is, in NSW and ACT, baptists have resolved that faithfulness to the Gospel does matter and that it is no longer possible to partner with churches or pastors who have moved away and embraced errant teachings and practices. Let them go. NSW has removed the sticky question of property, allowing these churches to keep their properties as part of the trust while no longer being in association. This arrangement should work both ways. Hopefully, other State Unions will follow suit.
There is a stark difference between this organisation and new networks that are setting up in other denominations such as the Anglicans. While groups like GAFCON and the Diocese of the Southern Cross are rallying around Christian orthodoxy in settings where their denomination has become hostile toward Gospel orthodoxy, Open Baptists have emerged as an anti-reform voice.
‘Open Baptist’ is a clever name but also quite misleading. It’s a descriptor of those embracing today’s spiritual zeitgeist and shutting the door on God’s Gospel and keeping people from seeing the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Baptists are a big family and we need to be big enough to say no, when the head of the church, Jesus Christ, says no.
Perhaps Jesus’ parable is more pertinent than we realise,
13 “Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.
October 5 – The unfolding story of Andy Stanley and his teaching and pastoral approach has some parallels to issues explored in the above piece. Sam Allberry’s response on Christianity Today is worth reading, not only as Sam refutes Stanley’s approach but as a man who is same sex attracted, these issues are personal. I appreciate the way Sam neither dilutes Gospel clarity nor Gospel compassion, doctrinal truth or pastoral grace. https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2023/october-web-only/andy-stanley-unconditional-conference-theology-lgbt.html
Church must change! Bring on the great reset! Make Church great again!
Sloganeering can sound like a clarion call or like cringe. This self-absorbed need for redefining, refreshing and relevance has captured the attention of many strands of Christian thought and Church growth networks. It may sound new, fresh and revitalising, but there is rarely anything new under the sun. While Churches diagnose the issues with as much concurrence as a circus of entrepreneurs, evangelists and the local university student union, and while answers are equally disparate, there is a semblance of agreement that in Australia our churches have taken some missteps, while others have leapt over the precipice and into the void.
We’ve had several visitors to church recently who are struck by the fact as a church we read the Bible and preach through the Bible, and we pray. Apparently ,many Melbourne churches don’t see the need to do this. My question for Melbourne churches is this, what are you doing? Who are you listening to? What are you teaching?
As a Church, we’re currently preaching through 1 and 2 Chronicles. After 18 years at Mentone Baptist Church, we were yet to explore this 2 volume work. I decided that 2023 is the year to do so. As I read, prepared, and preached I noticed that one of the recurring themes in Chronicles is this topic of reformation. While aspects of reform are to fore in many of the sermons, we gave it special attention for 2 weeks as we examined the life and times of one of the key reformers in Judah’s history, King Jehoshaphat.
Other than King Solomon, more chapters are dedicated to Jehoshaphat’s reign than any other King in 2 Chronicles. That fact alone caused me to take a good look at his rule and the events that took place under him.
Jehoshaphat was a reformer. There are principles and lessons about his reforms that are useful as we consider what it means to reform the church today. As you’ll see, these characteristics are not unique to Jehoshaphat, these features are found consistently throughout the Bible and yet they find vivid expression in this Old Testament period.
The word ‘reform’ is used in politics and economics and law and education. When reform is announced, it means there’s something wrong, the system is broken or out of date and needs reforming. It requires fixing or renewing.
Reform is famously used to describe one of the great Christian movements of history to which we owe so much today, the Reformation: with Martin Luther, John Calvin, Thomas Cranmer, and best of all, the Baptists! What happened is that throughout the 16th Century, Christians living in different cities and speaking different languages were convicted by God’s word that some of the official teachings and morals of Rome were in error and out of step with the Bible. Across Europe, people went back to the Bible, ad fontes, and God began to reform and renew thinking, theology, education, civics, ethics and more. The Bible again changed the world.
This notion of reform didn’t however first appear in 16th Century Europe. We find reforms taking place in the Bible, and the reign of Jehoshaphat is one such example.
1. Every new generation needs reform
Jehoshaphat is among many Kings of Israel and Judah who understood that each new generation need reforming. While he doesn’t initiate his reforms as quickly as someone like Hezekiah, he nonetheless commits to returning Judah to God’s covenantal promises. This is set in stark contrast to his northern contemporary, King Ahab, who flew the flag of progress and change.
17:3 The Lord was with Jehoshaphat because he followed the ways of his father David before him. He did not consult the Baals 4 but sought the God of his father and followed his commands rather than the practices of Israel. 5 The Lord established the kingdom under his control; and all Judah brought gifts to Jehoshaphat, so that he had great wealth and honor. 6 His heart was devoted to the ways of the Lord; furthermore, he removed the high places and the Asherah poles from Judah.
Jehoshaphat might be King but he understands God is God and his role under God is to serve and obey him. So begins the process of removing errant practices and ideas and returning the people to God’s revealed will in his word.
Reform isn’t about maintaining dead religion or resisting the future or pining for the glory days of film noir or art deco. The Chronicler explains reformation is about devotion to God and a heart for His people. We read how Jehoshaphat’s heart was devoted to God’s commands. There is no distinction for Jehoshaphat between seeking God with his heart and following God’s words. Heart and mind, attitude and action, belong together and move in unison when we love God. We don’t choose between loving God and obeying the Bible. We don’t choose to be a heart Christian or a mind Christian.
In loving God, Jehoshaphat leads Judah in reformation in these important ways:
He sought God and followed God’s commands
He removes idols
He raises up teachers to teach God’s words to the people of God
He appoints judges for the towns and regions
Jehoshaphat’s reforms include an aspect of the negative, saying no to false worship and removing practices and objects that distorted or altogether replaced the true worship of God. His reforms are also positive, sending out teachers and judges who will bring the people back to God’s words and cause them to live under the covenant.
7 In the third year of his reign he sent his officials … 9 They taught throughout Judah, taking with them the Book of the Law of the Lord; they went around to all the towns of Judah and taught the people. (17:7,9)
5 He appointed judges in the land, in each of the fortified cities of Judah. 6 He told them, “Consider carefully what you do, because you are not judging for mere mortals but for the Lord, who is with you whenever you give a verdict. 7 Now let the fear of the Lord be on you. Judge carefully, for with the Lord our God there is no injustice or partiality or bribery.” (19:5-7)
2. We move forward by going back to God’s word
Jehoshaphat leads the people not forward and away from God, but forward with God by going back to the word. He is a word-centred leader which is evidenced by him sending out teachers to all the cities and towns of Judah, men who took the Scriptures with them and taught the people.
One of the myths embedded in some missiology and church planting manuals is that to reach people today we need to find new ways and innovations. If I collected $10 for every time I hear talks and blogs and books advocating fresh, relevant and powerful ideas for churches, I’d soon be in a position to buy the Vatican!
Of course, not everything new in the world and not every innovation is bad and wrong; that would be silly. Mission and Church have a language. I don’t simply mean linguistic and verbal language, but there are communicative signs and symbols in the way we do music and the way we organise church meeting places and the way we connect the gospel with people’s lives and cultural moments. But attached to many plans and dreams for the future, is a hubris and misstep that believes reaching people for Christ today requires new methods and new messages.
New is superior. New is more interesting. New is more authentic.
Of course, this vibe runs deep through many facets of our culture: think art, music, movies, and even ethics. Ethics today is like experimental art. In places like Melbourne, what’s noticed and praised are new expressions and new definitions for those big questions of life, ‘who am I’ and ‘what’s life about’. He old old story lacks gravitas, it doesn’t sell tickets, or so we assume.
This thinking is of course myopic. Plenty of new ideas are also disturbing and dangerous. Think of the subject of the movie Oppenheimer: the atomic bomb!
In fact, ecclesial commitment to innovation often creates new problems rather than fixing old ones. The consumer bent model of church that provides a cinematic experience or the moshe pit frenzy, the slick preaching that feels like a Netflix special, or the stripped back lounge church where we don’t preach or sing or do Bible because that creates awkward conversation.
Neither am I not arguing for traditionalism or conservatism. We don’t need to clean out the organ pipes and take classes to understand thee and thou. The tie is not more faithful than the t-shirt, or jeans over the dress. It’s not that one hour on Sunday is holier than 2, or a 50-minute exposition more faithful than 20. Within God’s given shape for church, there is great flexibility and freedom. And yet Jehoshaphat understood that faith has particular content and contour which shapes all of life.
The shape and trajectory of the local church is far less glamorous and sounds way less cool and exciting and all the other adjectives we use to appeal to our congregation’s hearts, time and money. And yet, it is far more substantial.
In the case of Jehoshaphat, his reforms produce something far more interesting and engaging and serious than what had previously captured Judah’s attention. In what we might consider rather mundane detail, in commissioning teachers to go to the towns and people with an open Bible, this King was shepherding the people wisely and lovingly.
Going back to the Bible isn’t a static process or a regressive move. Accepting all those profound ideas about the Trinity and atonement and the incarnation are treasures to wonder and share, not hide away in the too-hard drawer. The Bible’s teaching about sin and salvation, men and women, sex and gender, are to be embraced with thankfulness, not written out of the church. The Bible itself gives us directives as to how to read, understand and interpret the Scriptures. We don’t dismiss any verse or chapter as untrue or irrelevant, but we read appreciating its significance in that salvific moment and in the trajectory of salvation history, which of course finds climax in the person and work of Christ.
Big dreams and vision setting is fine, and even inspiring, so long as it’s driven by the biblical view of the gospel and grounded and shaped by God’s words in the Bible. The Bible is, after all, God’s loving word for the church. And yet how often is Scripture little more than background noise in our plans and moves and ideas and implementations.
Relevance is a mean master and pursuing it is often a sign that we’ve already lost our way. Many of the Kings of Israel and Judah had that attitude and found prophets to proffer that kind of message. Jehoshaphat doesn’t try to change or update God’s words with the latest trends coming out of Philistia and Ninevah. Instead, he raises up teachers who call the people back to God’s word.
This word is, as Psalm 19 declares, perfect. One can’t improve a Mozart Piano Concerto. One doesn’t add fresh brushstrokes onto a Rothko canvas. Some things are perfect and complete.
Jehoshaphat isn’t alone in grasping the need to reform a generation by going back to the word. Jesus holds the Scriptures in the highest regard and he was at pains to explain that not one dot or stroke will disappear.
As we read the Apostles’ letters, they stress how Christian leaders and church congregations alike must not manipulate the text. We must not change the text or try to reinvent the Scriptures, but faithfully pass them on from one generation to the next.
It’s what Paul says to Timothy.
And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others. (2 Timothy 2:2)
Timothy is to pass on to the next generation of teachers the same body of teaching given to him from the Apostle who in turn received it from Jesus.
Paul elaborates on his point later on,
But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, 15 and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.
2 Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.
In this age of expressive individualism and disconnection and disappointment, in this age of social media and AI, viruses and geopolitical tremors, God has already shown churches the way. The way forward for our churches is to keep going back to the Bible. That means our gatherings need lots of Bible: reading the Bible out loud in Church and preaching from and through the Bible, and ensuring our songs and prayers are soaked in Scripture. It means our small groups spend time in the word. It means discipleship is more than sharing life and coffee but is teaching them to obey everything Jesus commanded the Apostles (Jesus did say this in the Great Commission). It means structuring our churches and ministries by the word and making sure our mission ventures are about explaining and exhorting the gospel word.
That’s not irrelevance or dullness, it’s captivating. I don’t know what your favourite song is but whatever it is I suspect you have listened to that song 100s of times and you still love it and enjoy listening and singing along.
When Australian and English cricketers were interviewed during the recent Ashes series, they spoke about their love for the game. These cricketers have played hundreds of games and every week they practice in the nets for hours, hitting ball after ball after ball. These world-class athletes share how they are always trying to improve their game. There’s always something new that they can learn about cricket: a shot or ball position they can improve. The game is still the same game and rules and aims remain the same, but this doesn’t diminish their love of cricket.
The Bible is so big and deep and rich, that we do not need to alter it or go searching for a new word. By going back to the Bible and believing God, we’re not drinking out-of-date milk gone sour, this is life-giving, drink and food. This word is new every day.
Jehoshaphat’s reforms produce some rather interesting responses
3. Reform made the nations take notice of Judah
Jehoshaphat’s reforms and his renewed focus on God’s words were noticed by surrounding nations, and it caused them to take interest and even to fear the Lord.
Only twice in all of Chronicles do we find this phrase, the fear of the Lord fell on the nations. Both occasions happen during Jehoshaphat’s reign.
The first instance is ch17, early in his reign.
9 They taught throughout Judah, taking with them the Book of the Law of the Lord; they went around to all the towns of Judah and taught the people.
10 The fear of the Lord fell on all the kingdoms of the lands surrounding Judah, so that they did not go to war against Jehoshaphat.
I understand that this might feel counterintuitive. To be relevant don’t we need to embrace all the new trends and fads? The reforming church isn’t chasing relevance or neither are we stuck in the mud with rude and angry characters who bemoan everything that is happening in society.
A church in the word will stand out: different, surprising, disagreeable and yet also appealing, objectionable but yet good.
As Tom Holland famously called out English bishops,
‘“I see no point in bishops or preachers or Christian evangelists just recycling the kind of stuff you can get from any kind of soft left liberal because everyone is giving that…if they’ve got views on original sin I would be very interested to hear that”.’
There lies the lie. For Churches to have a future in Australia don’t we need to adapt and change our colours and contours, even our doctrine? The reign of Jehoshaphat says otherwise.
4. Not every prophet is a true prophet
One of the famous incidents during Jehoshaphat’s reign involves what is described as a foolish and even sinful alliance with King Ahab of Israel. There are important lessons to learn about the nature of Christian unity and when it is wise to partner with others and when it is not, but I want to observe the one thing Jehoshaphat does faithfully here: he distinguishes between false words from God and the true word.
“But Jehoshaphat asked, “Is there no longer a prophet of the Lord here whom we can inquire of?
Ahab has 400 prophets who in unison present what Ahab wants to hear. Their word is popular and soothing, it suggests an air of authenticity and persuasiveness, after all, it’s 400 to 1! Their message plays into Ahab’s a priori commitments and desires. However, as Micaiah spells out, behind these prophets is a lying spirit.
“So now the Lord has put a deceiving spirit in the mouths of these prophets of yours. The Lord has decreed disaster for you.”
Some of our ideas have good intentions but the timing is wrong or they are poorly executed. Sometimes our dreams for mission and church are noble but unwise. There are also messages, sermons and words offered that have demonic origins. Watch out for those sophist explanations of why the atonement isn’t the atonement or why the resurrection of Christ is spiritual but not physical or the appeals to new spirit insights as to why God’s sexual ethics has changed.
Paul argues similarly,
“The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. 2 Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. 3 They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth.” (1 Timothy 4:1-4)
Reform isn’t moving away from the Bible and searching for new truths or new words from the Spirit. That’s the kind of attitude that gets Churches into trouble in the first place. In the case of Ahab and his prophets, the word of the Lord was proven true and the prophets false, but only when it was too late.
Micaiah declared, “If you ever return safely, the Lord has not spoken through me.” Then he added, “Mark my words, all you people!” (v.27)
In other words, you’ll know when it happens! You’ll learn God’s words are true when it’s too late. There is a reason why liberal denominations tend to sink faster and their buildings serve as tombs for spiritual corpses. They promise the gospel of the world and as Jesus says, take it and forfeit your soul.
5. Reform is fraught with failures and shortcomings.
Jehoshaphat’s reforms made positive impact on those outside Judah, but inside we are told God’s people didn’t want to change.
The end of Jehoshaphat’s life and reign is recorded with these words, 32 He followed the ways of his father Asa and did not stray from them; he did what was right in the eyes of the Lord. 33 The high places, however, were not removed, and the people still had not set their hearts on the God of their ancestors. (20:31-33)
By the end of his life, Jehoshaphat’s reforms were incomplete. At times he compromised and he was inconsistent. After 20 years of teaching and instructing the people, the people still had not set their heart on God.
The Chronicler doesn’t suggest that Jehoshaphat’s reforms were an error of judgment or built on false assumptions about God and the Bible. Rather, this illustrates the nature of human hearts. There is a warning here, that we can sit under the Bible for years and all that does is bring judgement on yourself because we will not take this gracious word to heart.
It also serves to remind us how normal Christian ministry, that is, ministry of prayer and word, is most often slow and arduous. We thank God when we see lives changed and we grieve when people’s hearts remain unchanged or indifferent. This doesn’t mean God’s method is no longer working. It’s the reality of the human condition. Keep praying and keep teaching.
The famous Reformation of Luther and Calvin made profound changes from which we continue to eat the fruit today: both in our churches and even our secular society. Among the myriad of writers and thinkers and activists, there were some hairy moments, saints behaved like sinners, and whacky enthusiasts and bullish thugs all did their bit to try and manoeuvre reform down all kinds of dangerous roads. Where the true church is, there is always someone with a false passport lurking nearby.
I recently learned that Martin Luther King’s famous ‘I have a dream speech’ didn’t convert anyone that day or in the days that followed. Today, it’s known as one of the greatest speeches of the 20th Century, but at the time, some of his closest advisors thought that it wasn’t very helpful. They read the manuscript and urged him to leave out those parts which with time proved to be the most memorable. Historian Dominic Sandbrook describes the speech as a slow burner. With time this speech on the steps of the Washington Monument became a hallmark of the civil rights movement.
Paul famously shows us that the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing. The Gospel is stupid, silly, immoral, untrue, irrational, we’ve all heard the objections. And yet the same word is the power of God and the wisdom of God that brings salvation to all who believe. Reforming any church or organisation, even our own hearts, can be painful and cause anger, frustration and more. And yet God’s mission and method is as true and good today as it was in Germany 1517 and Carthage in 410, in London 1854 and Shanghai in 2019.
Do you love the church? Do you love the Gospel? Do you long to see God’s Kingdom growing around Australia?
There is wisdom in Jehoshaphat’s example. The Gospel is engaging and enthralling. The Bible is stunning and shocking. A reforming Church is Spirit-filled, word-centred and life-giving, joyful and sober-minded, intentional and creative, firm in belief and gracious and kind toward those who yet do not believe.
The future for churches in Australia doesn’t lay in coveting ourselves with the latest cacophony of trend words and theories, but in pressing ever closer to Christ and letting his word shape our message and method.
The question isn’t whether churches need changing, but are we being changed and sanctified by the word? If we’re not, then we will be as useful to the Kingdom of God as Ahab’s prophets. If we are, then we can trust God will accomplish his saving purposes and see Jesus keep his promise, “I will build my church”.
You may be familiar with this famous saying, “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall”. It comes from the Bible, Proverbs 16:18.
We have mixed feelings about pride in Australia. On the one hand, we like to run over any tall poppy with the lawnmower. And yet pride is splashed across Instagram and Facebook pages all the time: pride in achievement and success, pride in people, pride about identity. Pride has become an idea or slogan to embrace and celebrate.
We have a discombobulated relationship with pride.
To quote Pride and Prejudice,
“[Mr. Darcy’s] pride,” said Miss Lucas, “does not offend me so much as pride often does, because there is an excuse for it. One cannot wonder that so very fine a young man, with family, fortune, every thing in his favor, should think highly of himself. If I may so express it, he has a right to be proud.”
“That is very true,” replied Elizabeth, “and I could easily forgive his pride, if he had not mortified mine.”
I think Australians are selective about the pride we denounce and the pride we embrace.
As a Church last Sunday we looked at the reign of King Uzziah from 2 Chronicles 26. In the account, the theme of power and pride rears its ugly head in devastating form.
Uzziah comes to the throne at the age of 16 and he starts well. While most teenage boys are gaming and playing cricket and using their testosterone for all manner of quick fulfilment pursuits, Uzziah was ruling a nation. He begins well,
4 He did what was right in the eyes of the Lord, just as his father Amaziah had done. 5 He sought God during the days of Zechariah, who instructed him in the fear of God. As long as he sought the Lord, God gave him success.
Uzziah rebuilds military towers and rebuilds towns. He organises and leads the army well. He brings people together. He led the army in battle against the Philistines, verse 7, ‘and the Lord helped him’. It’s not difficult to imagine the excitement surrounding this positive beginning. Uzziah is doing what pleases God and he’s looking after the people and protecting them. He oversees State run building projects that run on time and to budget.
Then it goes horribly wrong. Verse 16 spells out the downward progression,
But after Uzziah became powerful, his pride led to his downfall.
Power – pride – downfall.
While power is usually spoken in negative and abusive ways today, power isn’t inherently bad or wrong. God is all-powerful. By his powerful word, God created the universe and he made you. By his powerful word God exercises justice and administers mercy. In this strength, he stops nations and cares for the hungry. God also gives people strength – physical, mental, and spiritual strength.
Power can achieve much good and also much sin. In the hands of sinful people, which is all of us, power and strength is a present temptation. We have the creative ability to twist and misuse power in all kinds of ways.
Power doesn’t inevitably lead to pride but when it swims in the bathtub of humanity, it’s like putting an egg in boiling water for 6 minutes; the outcome is pretty likely.
1. Pride grows in all kinds of soil
We mustn’t think of pride in a one-dimensional way. Pride can grow in all kinds of soil: in success, in power, in failure, in suffering. Pride is adaptable and fits snuggly in all different sizes.
Pride is having that concern for yourself and your reputation over and above God and his glory and the good of others. Pride is a belief that I am better or that I deserve better.
Pride includes but isn’t limited to boasting and feeling big about yourself.
John Piper is right when he observes,
Boasting is the response of pride to success. Self-pity is the response of pride to suffering.
Boasting says, “I deserve admiration because I have achieved so much.” Self-pity says, “I deserve admiration because I have suffered so much.”
Boasting is the voice of pride in the heart of the strong. Self-pity is the voice of pride in the heart of the weak.
2. Pride redefines reality, defining identity and worth against other people.
In Uzziah’s case, his pride is fed by power. He came to believe that power justifies freedom to live on one’s own terms. Uzziah comes to believe that power is a road to autonomy and freedom for defining life’s norms. He no longer felt the necessity to follow God’s laws. He had the liberty to take licence. He thought, I can even enter the Temple ignore the law and relate to God as I decide.
This pride exhibits itself in a shameful act in God’s Temple.
16 But after Uzziah became powerful, his pride led to his downfall. He was unfaithful to the Lord his God, and entered the temple of the Lord to burn incense on the altar of incense.
Of course, the reality is Uzziah was never independent. All the good he achieved only came about because of God’s help. As verse 5 reminds us, “As long as he sought the Lord, God gave him success” The Lord blessed his endeavours. The Lord was his helper. Not only that, the people he serves are God’s people. And this is God’s Temple and yet Uzziah’s self-confidence persuades him to strut about on his terms.
It’s here that I think it’s worth seeing how the story plays out and in doing so displays the stupid stubbornness of pride and its ability to destroy.
3. Pride doesn’t listen to wise counsel
We read that a large delegation of priests warn Uzziah and urge him to stop his behaviour,
17 Azariah the priest with eighty other courageous priests of the Lord followed him in. 18 They confronted King Uzziah and said, “It is not right for you, Uzziah, to burn incense to the Lord. That is for the priests, the descendants of Aaron, who have been consecrated to burn incense. Leave the sanctuary, for you have been unfaithful; and you will not be honored by the Lord God.”
Pride doesn’t listen to wisdom. Pride ignores warning.
3. Pride produces anger
Pride doesn’t know when to stop. It’s insatiable and when confronted, the typical response is anger. Pride and anger go hand in hand. Pride is never an isolated or controlled sin. When challenged, the proud responds with anger. Why? Because you’re questioning my identity and my freedom. We get very defensive.
19 Uzziah, who had a censer in his hand ready to burn incense, became angry. While he was raging at the priests in their presence before the incense altar in the Lord’s temple, leprosy broke out on his forehead. 20 When Azariah the chief priest and all the other priests looked at him, they saw that he had leprosy on his forehead, so they hurried him out. Indeed, he himself was eager to leave, because the Lord had afflicted him.
This idea of freedom is as ancient in time and as contemporary as the next model iPhone. Personal autonomy is perhaps the number 1 value today in Western cultures including Australia.. We want freedom and search for it, even demand it. Take pride! Express yourself!
Of course, Jesus said, ‘You can gain the whole world and yet forfeit your soul’, but who today believes Jesus?
Pride isn’t an ally, it cheats you. Pride is like a performance-enhancing drug that gives illusions of greatness and being faster and smarter than everybody else, but it is an illusion that will wear off.
Pride sets us up against other people and so you either become envious and jealous because those people are more successful or more liberated than you or you look down on others who are less successful and enslaved by the very things you have broken away from.
In a certain book of the year, there is this great line, “Progress panders to our pride”. It’s true. We love to talk progress: in technology, ethics, education, and science. Much progress is positive and brilliant, but as we engage morally and intellectually better than those who lived before us. We are quick to judge past generations. We even mock and condemn ideas that were considered normal 10 years ago.
Even Christians jump eagerly onto the pride wagon as though our grasp on the Bible today is greater than Christians from former days.
We live in a proud culture. I feel sorry for most Australians whenever Melbournians talk. They must think Melbourne has an identity crisis because we’re constantly going on about how great we are. We’re the capital of this in the capital of that. And in case we thought years of lockdown might humblest us a little bit, they were wrong.
I no longer need God. I will use God on my terms.
I am God.
Pride give us a sense of freedom. Susan and I had this nostalgia moment last night, so to quote that 80s Pop group, Tears For Fears,
It’s my own design
It’s my own remorse
Help me to decide
Help me make the
Most of freedom and of pleasure
Nothing ever lasts forever
No matter how confident we are in our proud bubble, reality will always catch up. God can’t be outmanoeuvred. No matter how rich, influential and powerful, we can’t out-power play God.
4. Pride has consequences
In Uzziah’s case when he took licence with God, God showed him who is God.
That’s the thing with pride, it doesn’t respond to gentle correction or open rebuke. When pride is confronted it either turns to defiance or to bitterness.
As Uzziah stood in the Temple in defiance against God’s law, leprosy broke out on his forehead. It’s a powerful real life illustration. In God’s holy Temple where nothing unclean can enter, Uzziah’s unclean and proud heart is now visibly unclean.
He is subsequently banished from the Temple and so removed from the presence of God and the only place where he could atone for his sin. He is also removed from the palace, the seat of his rule. Uzziah can no longer perform his duties as King or enjoy the privileges of being King.
Uzziah spends his final years in isolation. The message is, pride does not end well.
Uzziah’s obituary, in verse 23, reads, ‘he had leprosy’.
5. The way to break pride before pride destroys you
Uzziah’s start was so promising and yet he didn’t reach the finish line.
Pride isn’t just a societal problem; it is an ever present temptation for people in ministry. Pride will destroy your ministry and harm the people around you. Sure, it may go unnoticed for some time, and it may be excused because of your ministry successes, but the outcome is fixed. If only Uzziah had listened to the priests.
The only saving grace is to humble ourselves before the one who made himself nothing for us. There is one King of Israel who can truly say, ‘I’m the greatest’ and yet he chose to live in the dust and dirt and make friends with sinners and die on a cross.
He broke the chain: power – pride – fall.
Jesus took the harder path: power – humility – exaltation
Philippians ch.2 gives us this astonishing insight,
“In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature[b] of a servant, being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name,
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
No one has more power than God and the Son of God shares this authority and power. And yet he laid aside his glory and took the path of humility and suffering and shameful death. What Jesus reveals about God is breathtaking. God says, I’ve come to serve. He humbled himself that we might share in his resurrection.
At the recent Athletics World Championship, there was this beautiful moment between 2 female pole vaulters, America’s Katie Moon and Australia’s Nina Kennedy. All the other contestants had bowed out. After a gruelling competition, both Moon and Kennedy were exhausted. They had successfully cleared 4.90m but both failed in their third attempt at 4.95m. The umpires wanted to continue and lower the bar and award first place to whoever successfully jumped first.
Kennedy looked across to Moon and said to her, ‘‘Hey, girl, you maybe wanna share this?’
The expression on Moon’s face said it all. They are now both world champions. It was such a lovely moment.
One of the things that makes Christianity unique and good is that God’s Son came to us and he says’ I want to share with you my victory over death and sin’. He longs to share with those who’ve failed and have no hope of coming near God. When we grasp the nature of Divine grace, there is no room for pride in our ministry and life, but only thankfulness and gratitude that moves us to a life of service for the sake of others.
Pride will destroy you. Pride is an ugly ministry companion that doesn’t let go easily. Pride will undo years of ministry, preaching and leading. If a friend has the courage to say, I think you’ve become proud, listen to that loving correction. Let God break that chain before it breaks you. Daily immerse ourselves in the humbling grace of God in Christ, that we might avoid the route taken by Uzziah and instead walk the one taken by the Lord Jesus
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