On fallacy and fashion...

Fallacies do not cease to be fallacies because they become fashions. - G. K. ChestertonG. K. Chesterton was known as the ‘prince of paradox.’ One of the great fallacies that the western church has often fallen for is to make our churches ‘seeker sensitive’, to become like the culture to win the culture, to entertain and feed people with information. We have hoped that this model will grow and build disciples of Jesus. Recently Bill Hybels, leader and church planter of Willow Creek realized that although his congregation is 20,000 strong, they have done a lousy job of building disciples of Jesus. Hybels is quoted as saying, “We made a mistake.” He admitted that at Willow Creek they had built a consumer culture.It would be tragic for St Philips to not grow disciples of Jesus but instead to grow consumers of church culture. If we only produce consumers, apathy and boredom will be our fruit and eventually the church will die.In scripture we see how Jesus modelled discipleship. It was all about building a strong team of fully-committed followers who not only knew about God but also lived out that knowledge. These 12 followers did all their learning ‘on the job’. They were immersed in Jesus’ life, seeing how he taught, how he healed, how he loved, how he brought the kingdom of God to earth. Jesus challenged his committed followers to do the same (Luke 9), to proclaim the kingdom of God by duplicating His life. Then a group of 72 was sent (Luke10) and their response was one of surprise when they saw that it worked! Jesus was also able to coach these ‘missionaries’ once they returned. All of this was building towards his final challenge - to make disciples and witnesses to the end of the age, empowered by the Holy Spirit.In these first five months in my ‘Discovery’ stage, I have been immersed in the St Philips’ culture. I have prayed a lot for guidance and to know where God would want me to focus my energies. I have learnt much from Malcolm and observed St Philips as a place where people seek God and step out together to impact their community.After all this learning, we (my family) are totally committed to you as our spiritual family and to serving St Philips and the wider community. We do not see this as a ‘flash in the pan’ but as a long-term mission that God has prepared for us. We feel deeply convicted that we are to serve the least and the lost of Cottesloe and to see strong disciples (sold out, card carrying Jesus followers) formed and developed. I have a vision for what that will look like and so would appreciate your continued prayers as we take this leap of faith, knowing that Jesus will always be with us to the very end of the age.Blessings, James