Being comfortable with uncertainty

We want answers. All of us.

Especially teens and young adults.

As they piece life and faith together, working out what they will stand for, it is inevitable that they will hit an intellectual wall.

Things won’t line up.

Previous pithy answers won’t satisfy anymore.

People they respect won’t agree with each other.

When this occurs, what happens next?

In short, they continue to search for answers. As they should.

They wrestle. They argue. They dig in. They Google.

But, for some things, the answer is not like cracking a difficult quadratic equation.

The solution will not be discovered by searching harder or learning more.

Instead, the “answer” is comfort in uncertainty.

With maturity comes a peace of not knowing.

Now, this is not a stick-your-head-in-the-sand ignorance, but it is a humble realisation.

You don’t know it all.

You don’t now.

You never will.

But, you can have peace and security in the middle of this uncertainty.

Why?

Because of what you can know.

You can grow in the knowledge and depth of the goodness, justice, mercy, grace, forgiveness and love of God.

This intimacy with the character of God will help you live with uncertainty.

For, what you don’t know, God knows.

What you don’t understand, God fully understands.

What confuses or frustrates you doesn’t worry God.

With this truth cemented in your mind, living in the midst of uncertainty isn’t as scary.

What makes the dancing stop?

 Last weekend the church I attended sang a song from at least a decade ago.

It was… underwhelming.

Now, there was nothing wrong with the song.

The music was performed more than adequately.

The singing was to the usual high standard.

But, compared to then energy the song used to generate, it was now just… meh.

A similar problem arises, I imagine, for a song like One Way, Jesus.

By now, the clapping is less energised.

The dancing is more subdued, maybe even ceased.

But, this transitioning of the way songs are sung gets me thinking about music from today and a generation (or more) ago.

Do we consider that, in time, the buzz around the most energised worship sin will eventually subside?

Equally, are we mindful that the dullest song from the hymn book - potentially - held a similar energetic vibe when it was sung for the first few times?

really, it all boils down to this…  after being played for over a decade, has a song lost the energy it had or is it just that those who grew up singing the tune lost their vibrancy?

Did the World Wars kick off the gender gap within the pews?

Over the last five weeks I’ve been teaching my year 9 history class about World War 1. As we conclude the unit we’ve been looking at the lasting consequences of the conflict and the impact upon those who returned and the fallout from the vacancies caused by those who never returned home.

Needless to say, the war was devastating.

World War 2 more so.

I wonder, in light of the detestation that was inflicted on a generation of men, how did this impact the church?

For, every church (which is old enough) has a plaque to two commemorating the names of the fallen from their congregation.

Is this, in reality, the pinpoint that the gender gap emerged within the church?

For, if a third of all me fell in combat, what legacy did this leave for the demographics within the pews?

Once children didn’t see as many males at church on a Sunday, at least across a generation or two, did this actually set in motion the trend for women to dominate the numbers within the church?

Does youth ministry feed the the gender imbalance or just prepare you for it?

I first entered a church youth group when I was 12.

Over the next six years the group changed a lot over the high school years.

It grew. It shrank.

By the end, I was the only guy left in a group of around eight.

Now, my home church did youth ministry in a slightly unique manner.

For us, each year group would meet separately on a different afternoon after school.

But, the dynamics of my group were not uncommon.

The majority of the groups were female heavy.

Generally, this was also reflected in the youth groups I led, especially over the senior high years. More girls. Less boys.

The gender statistics in the average church will be around 60:40 (women:men). So, for those who emerge from youth ministry, these female loaded demographics won’t be unfamiliar.

But, I wonder, does the male:female breakdown reflect the wider church OR is this where the gender imbalance germinates?

After a few generations of youth ministry, has the gender ratio of churches been cemented within youth ministries?

Or, does youth ministry just coincidental prepare those within it for the church dynamics which lay ahead?

What do you do with a bible you are throwing out?

Last week there was a “controversy” in a small corner of the internet.

Someone, rather innocently, dared to ask what you should with a bible you are going to throw away.

With the internet being the place of gentleness that it is, keyboards quickly armed themselves with digital flamethrowers.

Some said that you could simply dispose of a bible, like you would any book. Recycle it thoughtfully. 

These people were declared heretics.

Others said that you should do everything to preserve the pages of scripture.

These people were declared heretics.

A few dared to share that you could use the bible creatively and utilise the pages in a mural or artwork.

These people were declared heretics.

Personally, I have thrown away bibles in a range of contexts. 

When I’ve moved, and downsized my library, some bibles haven’t survived the transition.

I’ve worked at churches where, due to overuse, age or teenage enthusiasm, bibles needed to be replaced.

After a few decades of being a Christian I’ve had a few bibles which have been retired.

I don’t think it’s that big an issue.

Put simply, don’t treat the bible disrespectfully. But, at the same time, recognise that it is just a book made up on ink and paper.

The bible, in itself, holds no special power. It may be sentimental, but the bible isn’t the equivalent of an Infinity Stone.

The message within hold the power.

Frankly, my phone holds these words. In fact, my phone contains far more bibles than any bookshelf or most churches. And, I’ll dispose of an old phone without a second thought to my “precious” bible app.

Ideally, if a bible is in good condition, you can hopefully find a way to ensure your old bible can be placed in the hands of another. You donate it. You give it away.

Ultimately, you don’t burn the old bible or kick it down the street, but I’m not offended in the least by someone placing their old bible in the recycling bin.

Why you shouldn’t ride solo

Last week I went to a training day for early teachers.

And it was… boring.

Despite the decent content.

Despite the engaging presenters.

Despite the nice people hosting.

Despite the lovely location.

It. Was. Boring.

Why?

Because I was there alone.

I travelled in alone.

I sat alone.

I ate lunch alone.

I left alone.

But, this wasn’t the worst thing. As an introvert, being without constant company is something I can contently live with.

The worst thing about being alone was what I missed out on. 

There was no one to constructively chat with.

No one to contextualise what you heard.

No one to bounce ideas off.

No one to hear their perspective.

No one to point out the odd things you notice.

And, this absence cheapens the experience.

For, others widen your experience.

It doesn’t matter if it is an educational training event, the University tutorial or a church service. Others enhance your enjoyment and engagement.

Truely, it was not good for this man to be alone… and riding solo is something I’d seek to avoid in the future.

Being on the other side of scripture teaching

When I was a youth minister I taught a lot of scripture in local school. A lot.

At the school I currently teach at the scripture timetable was just released for the term ahead.

Frankly, it’s annoying. It’s inconvenient. It’s a little unpopular.

And, I’ve been on the verge of complaining about the effect it will have on my classes.

But, that would make me a massive hypocrite.

Why? 

Because, when I was the scripture teacher, I expected that the school would accomodate scripture. 

Now, I can’t whinge that I’m the one who needs to step aside.

And, if I think that scripture served/serves an important purpose, then I need to be prepared to allow that to cost me a timetabled lesson.

Even if it means that I need to bite my tongue in the staff room and be prepared  wear the heat for an interrupted timetable.

The turning up when nothing is on is a step of commitment

Events draw people in. 

They provide the perfect reason to invite a newbie.

It is true for church and youth group.

We love an evangelistic excuse.

Unfortunately, “it’s Sunday” isn’t a particular significant occasion.

They’re ordinary.

Having a new person turn up on a spectacular occasion is excellent. Anyone darkening the church door for the first time is great.

Having them turn up again is even better. 

But, having them turn up when nothing significant is on is game-changing. For, now, the new person is attending because of something deeper than the special event. This is an important leap of commitment.

What do you think of when you hear that the epistles were written to a “young church”?

The biblical letters written to the churches were sent to “young churches.” This is what we say.

But would we define an epistle penned to a church today, which has been established for a decade, correspondence to a “young church”?

I suspect not.

But, this is what we find in the New Testament - Letters written in the 

and 60’s to congregations founded a decade prior.

Of course, this is not comparing like-for-like.

Theology wise, the epistles were written to very juvenile churches. Two or three decades of theology is still a young sprout compared to the two millennia we have today.

Theologically, no church today should be considered young. If anything, this term should be considered a red flag.

But, when we call the churches in the New Testament young, does our mind place upon that phrase our modern expectations?

Do we instantly, evenly subconsciously, consider these churches to be a recent startup of only a few years?

You need to look at both sides of the marriage equation

You need to get a better husband.

This was my response to a young woman who stated that she had an issue with the concept of female submission within marriage.

Now, without going into the cultural or relational circumstances of the first or 21st century, my response had everything to do with the importance of perspective.

I highly suspect that the irking to the idea of submission within marriage was twofold.

First, it immediately - almost subconsciously - rubbed her modern feminism the wrong way.

Second, the “command” to “submit to your husband” seemed to be one of the only rules she had emblazoned upon her concerning marriage.

And here is where the significance of perspective kicks in. 

Anyone considering marriage, what it is to be married, or what kind of spouse they either want to be or have must have a balanced perspective.

You need to consider what the bible says about marriage as a whole and what the bible calls BOTH spouses to be and do.

If a young lady is only aware of what she considers are her responsibilities, then she may feel aggrieved that the ledger is one-sided. (The same could also be said for a young chap!)

The trouble is, it’s not.

The bible has just as many instructions concerning husbands.

Young Christian women should be aware of these instructions as well.

Why?

So they will have a good idea what to look out for in a potential spouse and so they will have a good idea of what kind of marriage the bible presents.

This goes far beyond mere submission.

It includes love. And honour. And sacrifice. For both spouses.

It clearly tells the husband that he must love and cherish his wife like Christ loves the church.

As I’ve pondered before, and I mentioned to this young lady, would she have a problem submitting to a guy who loves you and is doing his best to live out the biblical mandate of a good husband?

What does it mean to be spotted by a student at church?

A few weeks ago I was recognised at church by a student of the school I currently work at.

This was the first time it has happened.

It was, frankly, a little weird.

First of all, it was odd that I was called Mr Baldock. I’m still not used to be called by my surname, especially outside of school.

Second, it was odd because I wasn’t expecting to see a student randomly in the church foyer. My church, whilst not located on the other side of Sydney, is far enough away from my school that I’m not tripping over students regularly.

Third, it was weird because I don’t advertise my faith in the classroom. Sure, I may mention that I worked for the church in the past or that I have a theology degree, but I don’t go out of my way to talk about my faith.

Working in a public school, you have no idea what response you will get and, honestly, I’m not even certain that it would be allowed.

With that said, it raises an important point. What kind of witness, if any, do/should I have within the school?

Sure, one kid may now have an idea that I’m a believer, but very few others would.

Or, is the mission field of a public school only reserved for the staffroom?

The dangers of Build-Your-Own Christianity

A few weeks ago I took a bunch of young adults through an exercise I used to do in scripture classes.

In short, you build your own religion.

This night, the group built a religion based upon the Australian culture. Within it, they had to name their religion and outline what those within the religion must do or believe, should do or believe, what they can’t do or believe and what would identify someone as an adherent.

One we chatted about our new Aussie faiths, we then did the same thing for Christianity. What must you do? What should you do? What can’t you do? What will identify you?

The aim of the exercise is to compare your lists and see that the things you determine as a must or should will not be the same as others. Some will wildly disagree. 

And, the deeper you think about the questions, the more exposed your self-imposed Christianity can be.

Eventually, I ask if the Christianity that they defined could include the following people…

The thief hanging beside Jesus.

An illiterate person.

A persecuted Christian.

A five year old.

Someone with a physical or intellectual disability.

The reason I select these people is that they expose the width of the faith.

The thief never, as far as we know, evangelised. He definitely didn’t go to church.

The illiterate person doesn’t read the bible.

The persecuted Christian may not attend church or partake in the sacraments.

The five year old, or person with an intellectual disability, will only have a limited grasp of theology.

The physically disabled person my never lift their arms to worship.

When we create a list of must’s and should’ve then we risk excluding those that God would not or does not.

This is the danger of such lists.

Lastly, I ask if they themselves would qualify - by their Christian definition - as a believer.

This, finally, exposes why they may shape their lists like they do. It probably looks like them.

What your thoughts about your old patch reveal

Occasionally I think about my old churches.

Honestly, I sometimes stalk them.

I see what they are doing.

I see if the ministery staff are the same.

I sneak a look into the youth ministry.

And I don’t know what I hope to find.

Do I want them to be doing amazingly well?

Would I revel in them struggling?

Would I like seeing people I didn’t enjoy working with no longer being there?

Is it nothing more than church snooping, like you would an ex on Facebook?

I would like to say that I wish nothing but unbridled blessings upon my old churches. I really would.

It would show a “kingdom mindset.”

It would show humility. 

it would show that I trust that God is completely sovereign.

It would show that, ultimately, no success within a ministry was dependent upon me or my skills. 

Of course, the longer I’ve been away, the easier it is to wish them well.

Two decades removed, things should - arguably must - be different. It would be damaging, and a little sad, if they were still the same.

Personally, it is because of what it reveals about my heart, that I keep wondering about my old ministry patches.

Should Christian have faux-Passover?

As we approach Easter I expect that many churches will be doing a Passover memorial meal. I’ve been to plenty, but never personally run one.

But I would have. 

Probably without hesitation.

But, is a Passover meal something Christians should partake in?

Should followers of Jesus imitate a religious feast of another faith?

Further to the point, should they do it and substitute their own beliefs upon another religions sacrament?

How would Christians feel if the shoe was on the other foot?

How would we react if Scientologist had “fake communion”?

How would we respond if Mormons imitated baptisms, stamping their doctrine over the sacrament?

And, why do we stop at Passover?

Why don’t we imitate all of the Jewish festivals? Jesus - being a faithful Jew - also partook in all of them. So, why don’t we do them and cram Jesus in.

Why don’t we commandeer other traditions like Ramadan?

Isn’t the whole practice, the more you think about it, quite insensitive to those whom the practice is still deeply significant?

The cost of omitting the rituals in the evening

Last Sunday I went to my first morning service at the church I usually attend in the evening. And it was… fine.

Nothing unexpected.

In fact, it was a far more generic morning service than I was anticipating.

But, the more traditional structure of the service - and rituals sprinkled throughout the service - did get me thinking.

Sure, many of these rituals are put aside because they are seen not to connect “with the youth.” But, does the church lose something when they keep their rituals away from the evening service, and thus, also the younger generation of believers?

What kind of rituals am I talking about? Fundamental liturgy. The Lord’s Prayer. A time of confession and declaration of forgiveness. Passing the peace. A time of preparation for the sermon or bible reading. A structured blessing and dismissal.

But, if the rituals omitted from the evening are not replaced by anything, do those in the evening then miss the important functions of these rituals?

Furthermore, does this make the integration of the youngsters into the wider congregation more difficult because the service functions in a manner that excludes them from their rituals?

Now, this doesn’t mean that the evening must be an carbon copy of the morning. That would be a mistake. But, surely, some of the rituals - if they are actually important and impactful - then they should still be included once the sun goes down.

How aware are we of our time?

I am about to launch into teaching my year 9 history class about World War One.

Even though I’m on isolation this week due to having COVID (never fear, it is the mildest case in human history) I am planning the lessons from home.

And, as we look at the causes of WW1… everything is… oddly familiar.

Militarism. Alliances. Imperialism. Nationalism. 

Europe was like a gas filled room. All it needed was a spark to ignite the conflict.

It does sound familiar…

I have little doubt that, currently, we are living in the middle of a future history lesson.

Hopefully, it won’t be the opening of the chapter on World War 3.

But how aware are we that we live in the midst of history?

With present world circumstances, it’s not too had.

We have an active war zone on the news.

We are still in a pandemic.

I’ll be able to tell my grandkids that I had COVID.

But, five years ago, would we have been so aware?

In a religious sense, how aware are we that we are in the middle of the salvation story still unfolding?

Now, of course, you can take this to an unhelpful place and project yourself, your church or your nation into a place it may not belong.

You can squeeze yourself, chapter and verse, into the book of Revelation.

Many have. And looked rather foolish in doing so.

Nonetheless, being aware that the unfolding story of God’s redemptive plan is still ongoing, can provide a useful perspective.

The difference between maths and religion

This week I observed a maths exam in a year 7 class I was coving for another teacher.

For some students, it looked like torture.

They squirmed.

They groaned.

They held their head in their hands.

If I were their maths teacher I would have been concerned.

Downtrodden even.

It was clear that some students knew very little.

The whole experience made me think of the difference between a school subject like maths and religion.

As a maths teacher, the farrowed brow of lostness is a bad thing.

The stress of not knowing the answer is problematic.

This need not be the case with religion.

Religion should welcome questions.

Religion should embrace those who are lost and searching.

These are not the signs of failure.

If anything, the complete opposite is true.

A smug confidence is something to be cautious of.

What would happen if we all had our warning-flags displayed?

 Teachers know.

As a teacher I have access to details about the students in my classes.

This includes everything from learning, language, literacy or numeracy concerns/testing results, court orders, disabilities, medical ailments, mental health issues and behavioural problems.

These, usually, are indicated by a series of coloured flags attached to the students name within the school administration/roll marking software.

As a teacher you are told to be mindful of these issues.

You are to be weary of them when you set tasks, administer tests, conduct assignments, deliver expectations and negotiate classroom management.

There are a lot of flags in most classes.

I wonder how life would be different if we all walked around displaying our flags.

Furthermore, what kind of things would trigger a public notification?

Addictions? Past hurts? Family or relationship tensions? Character flaws?

How would we treat others differently if we were aware of their past hurts?

How would the church minister to people differently if they knew they had been hurt by the church in the past?

Unfortunately, we don’t display our colours of disfunction.

But, as a church (and people in general), we should always remain vigilant to the fact that everyone - no matter how together their live and persona may be - walks around with areas of struggle, strain and brokenness.

Your planning pillars shouldn’t be a surprise

Christmas and Easter. The incarnation and the resurrection of Jesus.

This is what your church or ministry calendar should circle around.

This isn’t a groundbreaking revelation.

But, the reason I mention it is that - if you don’t do it - you tend to look rather foolish when you misalign your themes or events with the pillars of the church calendar.

When you’re examining a gospel and your misalign the start or end it is obvious.

To those aware of the liturgical calendar, it’s quite annoying.

Why?

Because it shows a lack of adequate planing.

It exposes a lack of forethought.

If you sketch things out - even roughly - 12, 8 or 6 months in advance, then you should be able to match up what you are studying/teaching/preaching about with the primary festivals of the faith.

Worse still, it gets dreadfully exposed if there are some parts of the church who do seek to have their events match Christmas and Easter.

Finally, your folly is exposed even more if, once the two central celebrations do roll around, you directly reference them in detail (which you should!), you’ll be cycling back or jumping forward a few weeks from the rhythm that you yourself have established.

A nothing post... in a good way

I've been meaning to blog for a week.

But, frankly, I've had nothing pressing to write about.

Why? 

Because I'm now teaching fulltime. And it's week 7 of terrm.

The new-profession buzz has started to wear off.

My bible reading is still moving going along regularly - I've now done Genesis 1-25, Judges and am currently in 1 Kings 1-11.

There isn't any impending church issues, wider ministry controverises or pressing pastoral conundrums which have emerged.

While I'll need to track down another job soon, have finally (offically) finished university and had my eldest have a hospital stay... Life has just... been happening. 

In many ways, I've just been living out adult-monotony. 

And, as I previously wrote, this is a good thing.

For, life shouldn't be a constant rollarcoaster.

Yet, this can be what we project online.

There's always controversy.

There's always insights or "breakthroughs."

There's always Instagramable-moments.

These are the markers of a reality TV show. Not real life.

Real life is boring.

Real life... just happens.

When it comes to the days, weeks and months of our lives, when held up against Isaiah 40:31, we are most often walking, not running or soaring.