Missional-Life

Over the past few years John Piper and N. T. Wright have become the figureheads in the growing debate called the ‘new perspective on Paul’. Christianity today has helpfully published a pdf document that summarises the major differences between Piper and what many would call the traditional reformed perspective and N.T Wright and the New perspective. I would really encourage you to have a read and think about the issues raised in this document, because both of these figures are ‘heavy weights’ in the theological world and the issues that they are discussing are not small or insignificant!

Click here to download the document (please note it may take a few seconds at the document is 4.5 mb)

“A room without books is like a body without a soul”

- Cicero

THE DIFFICULT DOCTRINE OF THE LOVE OF GOD

With only 103 pages this book at first glance looks lightweight. Do not be deceived! This book deals with some mammoth theological challenges!

D. A Carson opens the book by saying…

“On learning the title of this series, ‘the difficult doctrine of the love of God’, you might well be forgiven for thinking that the 1998 W. H. Griffith Thomas lecturer has taken leave of his senses. If he had chosen to speak on ‘The difficult doctrine of the Trinity, or ‘The difficult doctrine of predestination’, at least hi title would have been coherent. But isn’t the doctrine of the love of God, well, easy compared with such high-flown and mysterious teachings?”(p9)

Carson goes on and shows how the love of God is at the very centre of some monumental and humungous theological challenges. He also demonstrates so clearly that to have a deficient theological framework for understanding the love of God will inevitably lead to a domino effect of distortion on other massive theological issues such as the sovereignty of God and a right understanding of the wrath of God.

There are four chapters in the book:

1. On distorting the love of God
2. God is love
3. God’s love and God’s sovereignty
4. God’s love and God’s wrath

This book is short but every page is a sirloin steak of theological brilliance!

Please visit my amazon site to purchase a copy… buy now

It is a great pleasure to be able to introduce my next Converse Interviewee. Keith Hazell has been in the prophetic ministry for more than forty years and ministers extensively around the globe. However, he has increasingly been serving the growing family of Newfrontiers churches in the East of England, Europe and Canada.  On a personal note, Keith has been a great encouragement to me over the past couple of years as we have looked to see Christ Community Church well established.

Adam Bradley: Please can you tell me a little bit about yourself?

Keith Hazell: I live Lethbridge, Alberta Canada. My origins are in Essex in the UK and my wife Nova and I came to Canada more than 41 Years ago as immigrants, We have lived in Calgary Vancouver and Lethbridge during our time here in Canada.

I have a grown family of three children. 8 grandchildren and two great grandchildren all of whom live within easy reach of us, here in Western Canada.

I am an a prophet to the nations and have worked with some New Frontiers churches in East Anglia for more than 20 years. I travel these days very closely with Mike Betts team into Eastern England, Northern Europe, and of course here in Canada.

I have had the privilege of founding and apostolic family called Life Links, which has churches in Canada, USA, Africa, Asia, and Europe. This group are led by a team since I laid down my role 4 years ago, and have more than 60 churches around the world

In the early 70s we saw a revival in Calgary Alberta and were elders in a church where more than 2000 were saved and 1000 baptized in one year. This profoundly affected my vision  for Youth and the Nations. A heart for revival has never been far from us through the years

Adam Bradley: Please can you tell me some of the highlights of your testimony?

Keith Hazell: I am a convert of the Billy Graham ministry, haven given my life to Christ during Billys first UK crusade at Harringay.

Came from a strong left wing political family and did not attend church until after my salvation at all. Nova was my first convert, and I have been following her up ever since!!

After I got saved I lost my interest in extreme left wing politics, and have always felt the call of the Kingdom to be my biggest priority

I was challenged by WEC in my early Christian life with the words of CT Studd “ If Jesus Christ is God and died for me there is no sacrifice too great for me to make for him” this compelled my devotion and also influenced me to have a heart for the nations

Nova and I were discipled by a Salvation Army Ensign in our little Essex village, we attended Congregational, Evangelical (peculiar Peoples Church) and Baptist   and Plymouth Bretheren churches in our pursuit of New Testament Christianity

I began preaching at 17 years of age and preached against the Gifts of the Spirit till in my late 20s . God sovereignly baptized me in the Spirit in a meeting where he was not supposed to be able to come!! I began then to prophesy and have continued ever since

God has taken me to many lands and situations, Europe, Asia ,South and Central America, United States and Canada of course . I have run with the leaders of the underground church in China from the police to hide in the bushes. I have also been detained by the same police for questioning about my reasons for being in China and preaching

Adam Bradley: What church do you lead/involved in? (background, movement/denomination, philosophy of ministry, etc)

Keith Hazell: I am currently part of a New Frontiers Church plant here in Lethbridge Alberta. The church is called Mosaic Christian Fellowship and is growing under the oversight of Mike Betts team.

The church is led by my son Jeremy and we have actually four generations of the family actively involved .

This is currently a house church and at a recent Conference with Mike we could count more than 40 people who are directly associated with the church. This is an excited church of mainly young adults. They are all very talented. We have an author, an artist, two filmmakers, a dancer, some incredible photographers and also musicians in the group.

We are currently believing God to get into a building to operate out into the community with outreach programs custom designed for those we are trying to draw in.

Many of our congregation are new believers and we have children of leaders from other churches and some leaders kids who have found their way back to God at Mosaic.

We are a strong missionary church with 70% our group having overseas missionary experience.

We are looking forward to others joining us from UK and around the world as we work Together on a Mission

Adam Bradley: What books are your currently reading?

Keith Hazell:

You see bones… I see an army by Floyd McClung

Starting a House church by Larry Kreider

Adam Bradley: What’s sermons/preachers are you listening to at the moment (the i-pod question)?

Keith Hazell:

Terry Virgo and Mike Betts, don’t have much time to find others but enjoy Dave Holden and some of my own friends unknown to your audience

Adam Bradley: Why is church planting such a passion for you?

Keith Hazell:

• Because it is the most direct commandment we have to the corporate church from Jesus.
• Because the church is the only thing Jesus said was worth building
• Because Ephesians teaches us that God will only do what He is going to do through the church. Therefore it makes sense to plant as many churches as possible

Adam Bradley: What would you say are the three most important principles for any young want-to-be church planter?

Keith Hazell:

• Passion for Jesus
• Passion for Prayer
• Passion for People

Adam Bradley: Here’s your opportunity to say anything else you like..

Keith Hazell: I believe that  we are living in the most exciting time for the church. I wish I could make it for another thirty years to see what He will do.

As well as the most exciting time it is also the most disturbing, if you are a traditionalist. God is breaking out of past patterns and putting His hand on individuals and churches who are not afraid to take a risk.

It is a time when some of these people will lose reputation in the eyes of their peers and gain great credibility in the eyes of God. It is an easy choice if you know the beginning from the end but not quite as easy if you don’t!!

God is in favour of the Church, but not just church the way we have it!! The New Testament pattern owed a lot to the Word but was totally innovative by the Spirit of God to take its members into brand new fields where they would not have gone on their own.

Today, God wooing the church out of its comfort and attitude of convenience into uncomfortable places like Peter when he found himself at the door of Cornelius. He didn’t even know what he was doing there!! Jesus Himself amazed his followers by  bringing a Samaritan women to face her sin and sent her as an evangelist to her own people… much to everyone’s dismay!

There is no such word as Revival in the Scripture, but we are on the edge of one of those periodic times of the Manifestation of His presence that will lead many of our timorous church members to become flaming fires for Him…bring it on Lord!

Adam Bradley: Keith a huge thank you for taking the time to answer my questions! Looking forward to seeing you later in the year!

The following is an email interview which I have conducted with Greg Haslam from Westminster Chapel (London, UK) which, was formerly the ‘pulpit’ of Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones and Dr. R. T. Kendall.

Adam Bradley: Please can you tell me a little bit about yourself?

Greg Haslam: I was born in pretty poor circumstances in Liverpool in 1953. My parents divorced when I was six. Life was hard. I have a twin sister, but my older brother died twelve years ago. I was converted in June 1967 at age 14, through the witness of zealous school friends and a visit to hear Billy Graham’s London Crusade relayed and screened at the Methodist Central Hall on Lime Street, Liverpool. I immediately joined a small Baptist Church with youth leaders who got us into the Bible and prayer, and taught us to boldly share our faith with others.

I soon felt the call to become a pastor-preacher at age 16, when I attended the Keswick Convention for the first time and heard John Stott speak for four hours on 2 Timothy – ‘Guard the Gospel’. This material subsequently became a superb volume in the Bible Speaks Today series of commentaries (IVP). I’d never heard such clarity and authority in preaching the scriptures, and knew God was calling me to give my life to such work in the future.

I began serious reading that year, and later studied Theology and Church History at Durham University, having begun preaching in my Baptist church and among Independent Methodists when I was 17 years old. I developed a love for theology, doctrine, philosophy, apologetics, great Christian writers etc, leading our youth group, conducting Bible studies and teaching children in Sunday School. I spent ten years doing everything I could to prepare my mind and life for full-time ministry when the right time came.

I married my truly amazing wife Ruth in 1975, became a High School teacher for two years, then left to study full-time again at the London Theological Seminary that Lloyd-Jones founded in 1977 (I was part of the second year of intake). I was called to Pastor an Evangelical Free Church in Winchester Hampshire in late 1980, and went there as a young pastor of 27 years. We had three sons, saw amazing spiritual renewal and growth in the church, changed its name to ‘Winchester Family Church’, then joined Newfrontiers in 1990 and became regional leader of the Wessex Region of NFI churches for some years. After 21 years in my first church at Winchester, I received a surprise call to follow Dr. RT Kendall as Minister of Westminster Chapel, London, in 2002. God confirmed this with scores of prophetic words from strangers and friends, and we’ve now been here for over six years.

Adam Bradley: What books are you currently reading?

Greg Haslam: I’m an avid reader of everything that will help me to become a better man and preacher of God’s word. I try to read 8 to 10 books a month and have done this for 36 years. I’m currently reading a new work on Paul (Rediscovering Paul – An Introduction, Apollos), a biography of the late Derek Prince (one of my favourite Bible teachers) by Stephen Mansfield, a book on Creationism (‘The New Answers Book’ Edited by Ken Ham – one of my favourite areas of study), a series of sermons by A W Tozer on worship (a writer I admire greatly), a new commentary on Revelation by David Pawson, a novel called ‘The Kite Runner’ by Khaled Hosseini, and a new commentary on Leviticus and Numbers by Richard N. Boyce (Westminster Bible Companion).

Adam Bradley: What’s sermons/preachers are you listening to at the moment (the i-pod question)?

Greg Haslam: My time for listening to sermons is somewhat limited due to the heavy preaching load I carry at the Chapel and elsewhere. But I regularly try to hear sermons by A W Tozer (a true prophet for today, who died in 1963), Tim Keller (a church-planter in New York, and evangelistic pastor-teacher par excellence), Mark Driscoll (a modern-day Spurgeon!), Terry Virgo, David Pawson (prophetic teachers), past greats like Lloyd-Jones, Eric Alexander and John Stott (great expositors), as well as some people you may not have heard of like Rick Godwin and Ern Baxter.

Adam Bradley: Outside of scripture, who is your ‘preaching hero’ and why?

Greg Haslam: My greatest preaching hero is the 19th century Baptist, the ‘Prince of Preachers’ C. H. Spurgeon, who I discovered when I was 16 years old. He’s closely followed by Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones who I began to read only months later. They’ve been my close companions for nearly 40 years. Spurgeon is probably the one who has influenced me the most. His sermons are all available in print in 62 annual volumes of his regular pulpit ministry at the Metropolitan Tabernacle in London, along with many other works. They were preached weekly to congregations of 1000’s from 1855 – 1892, but they are full of life, Christ, a God-centered Gospel, attractive Calvinism, humour, amazing insights into scripture, vivid illustration and prophetic clarity due to his overt dependence on the power of the Holy Spirit.

Spurgeon was a spiritual giant who spoke from and to the heart, He displayed incredible eloquence, colourful speech, imagination, creativity, astonishing leadership, effective evangelism, scintillating writing skills and amazing faithfulness in challenging the foolishness, pomposity, cloudy religiosity, errors, liberalism and distorted ‘gospels’ of his day. He was a model of warm humanity, sensitivity to the Holy Spirit, genuine love for people, crowd-pulling anointing, and effective apostolic mission and church planting.

Adam Bradley: In your excellent book ‘Preach the Word!’, you state in the introduction that “one of the greatest casualties of our troubled times, “….has been the decline of bold, authoritative and powerful popular preaching”. Can you briefly outline what you perceive to be the main causes of this decline?

Greg Haslam: The main causes are complex and intertwined. They include a relentless loss of confidence in the Bible among church leaders and ordinands, due to sustained exposure to liberal theology and Higher Criticism of the Bible, as well as loss of confidence in the power of the spoken word to touch people’s lives. Then there’s poor models of preaching just about everywhere so that young men have nothing to admire or aspire to, in so many cases.
Churches have opted for ‘Christianity Lite’, childish ‘Family Services’ and limp entertainments, so sermons last a few minutes, wouldn’t harm a fly, barely hold people’s attention, shake or offend no one, and regularly insure that God’s voice is never heard.

I would also observe that there’s been a serious decline in reading among Christians so that young believers have never been exposed to Christian writing that explodes off the page, sets us on fire, and cuts straight to the vitals with its penetrating power. Add to that, the almost universal very poor training of candidates for preaching ministry, so that we turn out very few people we could call ‘prophets’ who have the courage, directness, biblicism, clarity, simplicity and power in the Holy Spirit to arrest attention and changes lives. Loss of boldness and dependence on the Holy Spirit is a major factor therefore, that must urgently be remedied.

Adam Bradley: How would you define Biblical preaching?

Greg Haslam: It is to take such care in seeking to understand the original meaning and importance of what the Biblical writers meant to say on each selected text, that we in turn, let them speak to us today. For we have nothing else of much importance to deliver. True preaching is to let the lion loose, so that Christ may roar once again, in the hearing of His people. What scripture says, we say. Preaching is to open up the text of Holy Scripture in such a clear, accurate and prophetic way that God’s voice is heard, God’s power is experienced, and God’s people obey Him.

Adam Bradley: If you could fill Westminster Chapel with young emerging leaders, what lessons would you want to pass on to them about creating a lifestyle that is shaped to truly preach the word?

Greg Haslam: I would urge them to be filled with the Holy Spirit so that His passions became their passions. I would insist that they catch a vision for Christ’s Church and its centrality in His kingdom purposes, so that they would live and die for its welfare and seek its health no matter what it cost them to change it. I’d want them to rediscover the Gospel so that it pervaded all that they say, and to believe God will use them and His word to change lives every time they speak.

I’d want them to pray fervently and seek God for His anointing and prophetic unction, and to guide them clearly to the specific themes and messages they are to preach, as well as to ask God to attend His word with signs following – so that the presence and power of God becomes a regular accompaniment of all that they do in His name. Conversions, healings, repentance, new obedience, breakthroughs and inner transformation, all regularly occur.

I would want them to become avid readers and students of the whole of the Bible, not just their favourite bits but the whole counsel of God, and spend the rest of their lives discovering its contents and preaching its truth. This means developing a love for the best Bible commentaries and study books available, and reading the spiritual giants and theologians of the past and present. I would want them to become disciplined readers and students for the rest of their lives. Then, I’d want them to continually change radically for the better in their beliefs, conduct, relationships, friendships, love for people, work ethic, sex ethics, personal discipline, servanthood, service, willingness to be corrected and submission to godly authority – as a direct result of all that the Word and the Spirit are saying to them. Hearing alone is useless.

I would urge them to seek the gift of prophecy and let it colour all that they hear and say to others, especially in their preaching. I would insist that, sin apart, they would remain truly themselves rather than become a clone of somebody else, even though we can learn much from others, especially about preaching.

Adam Bradley: I’m guessing that there have been some tough periods in your preaching ministry; what has been the main thing that has kept you going through those seasons?

Greg Haslam: I’ve passed through many testing times and continue to do so. Times when my health has failed, I was totally burned out, I’ve wept uncontrollably publicly, I’ve been tempted to give up altogether, I’ve received lots of hate-mail and relentless demonic opposition, I’ve nearly lost my job through opposition to the truth I’ve spoken or the devil has tried to kill me, and I’ve wondered if God has left me, in much the same way that Jeremiah, Paul, Luther, Calvin, Spurgeon and others did too!
What I’ve learned from all this is that it is vital we remain and prove to be faithful in this calling. Let God vindicate you. Totally forgive every one who harms you, that very day!

Resolve to speak everything God tells you to say. Evict fear from your heart in Christ’s name, and cultivate holy directness and boldness. Consciously depend on the Holy Spirit before you speak, while you speak and after you’ve spoken. Never grieve the Spirit or quench His activity, gifts or operations. If we are ashamed of Him, He may well be ashamed of us one day.

Stay close to Christ and discover all you can about Him and His past and present ministry to His people, particularly in regular reading and preaching of the Gospels. You will then see opposition and enemies differently. Enemies shrink in their power to deter you, and opposition becomes a badge of honour and evidence that Christ is pleased with you.

Adam Bradley: Greg, a huge thanks for taking the time to be interviewed!

It is a great pleasure to be able to re-launch my new blog missional-life.com with one of the most visited pages interviews from my previous blog theologising.info . Mike Betts leads Lowestoft Community Church (Part of Newfrontiers) and also the growing apostolic sphere of Newfrontiers Churches in the East of England, Northern Europe and Canada

Adam Bradley: Please can you tell me a little bit about yourself?

Mike Betts: I was born and raised in Lowestoft. I am married to my wonderful wife Sue for 25 years this November. We have one son Sam who is 21 and successfully got a first in his degree which made us very proud! I love my town and also have a passion for the nations. I carry a twin heart beat in this regard. I think healthy local church life must have a perspective on the nations. I helped write WORD plus, which is a theological training course, completed by over 6000 people now in several nations. I lead a team overseeing churches in the east of England, Scandinavia, the Baltic nations, Canada, Poland and now we are starting a church plant in Turkey. I love fly fishing for trout and good friends and wine! My wife and I have had to learn about living with disability and pain for many years now and this has given us a perspective and reliance on the grace of God that has become quite precious to us. We love our local church and believe God wants it to grow large and see many trained to serve God.

Adam Bradley: Please can you tell me some of the highlights of your testimony?

Mike Betts: My Father died when I was 7 but his certainty of where he was going had a deep impact on me even at that age. At 17 I gave my life to Christ after hearing the gospel proclaimed for the first time so I could understand it. This made me aware of the need for clarity in preaching as often that is all that holds people back. I was baptised in the Holy Spirit at 18 without even knowing what it was! A friend explained it to me and I then spoke in tongues and began to prophecy. I helped start youth for Christ in Waveney as church was pretty naff! In those days. Then I saw the biblical vision of the local church and was ruined for anything else. I felt God speak to me very clearly at around 19 about serving him in leadership, it was a very powerful moment which remains with me even today.

Adam Bradley: What church do you lead/involved in? (Background, movement/denomination, philosophy of ministry, etc)

Mike Betts: I lead Lowestoft Community Church which is part of New Frontiers. I came from a Brethren background so we did not believe in the gifts of the Holy Spirit for today, it was a huge and pleasant surprise to me when I discovered how wrong and seriously wrong this was. I was ruined by the Holy Sprit early on in my conversion and found the anticipation of the Holy Spirit and his activity in local church life the real deal. I want word and Spirit in equal and powerful measures

Adam Bradley: What books are your currently reading?

Mike Betts: The reason for God, A higher throne, Axiom, Mark’s gospel (Edwards)

Adam Bradley: What’s sermons/preachers are you listening to at the moment (the i-pod question)?

Mike Betts: Driscoll on the Lord’s Supper

Adam Bradley: Why is church planting such a passion for you?

Mike Betts: To bring new life and a new foundation of New Testament values is much easier than trying to reshape an existing foundation. Also to reach nations and places where there is no expression of grace and other key New Testament foundations in local church life is a huge privilege

Adam Bradley: What would you say are the three most important principles for any young want-to-be church planter?

Mike Betts: Character, Character and character

Adam Bradley: Here’s your opportunity to say anything else you like…

Mike Betts: I feel myself to be quite a ‘soft target’ in that I do not have lots of strength and resources humanly. But I have found that God is with me and again and again surprises me at how much he delights in using the weak and frail. The local church when it works right is the most amazing thing on planet earth. I want to get as many people as possible to taste and see that the Lord is good. I also believe that apostles and prophets working together is dynamite when it comes to building the local church and extending the kingdom. How do people lead church without these gifts?

Adam Bradley: Mike, thanks so much for this interview!

Converse is the new name I’ve given to my online interviews, formally known as the coffee break interviews. Tomorrow I’ll re-publish the most viewed interview from my old blog theologising.info . Watch this space…

Welcome to Missional-life.com.

As many of you will be aware my previous weblog had a catastrophic failure a couple of weeks ago with the loss of all data (including backup files!). As result I have made the decision to start my blog again under the new name ‘missional life’. Please do get in touch to let me know if there are any subjects which you would like me to focus on over the coming months.