What does it mean to be a contrast society in our world today? That is the question 50 CRCA leaders were challenged with at the recent Recharge Ministry Conference held at Collaroy, NSW. The keynote speakers were Mike Goheen, Mark Glanville, and Erin Goheen Glanville who came down from Vancouver, Canada. Mike began by tracing
God's call on Israel to be a contrast society. Against the backdrop of creation and sin's devastating affect God chooses Israel to live in the midst of the nations as a contrast people. This is a community that looks backward (and embodies God's creational intention for humankind), forward (and is a sign of God's final restoration), and outward (and engages the idolatrous cultures of the nations). The opening session was a brilliant overview of the Old Testament story.
In his second talk, Mike Goheen looked at Jesus' Disciples as a Contrast Community. After Israel's failure to fulfil its role the prophets look to the day when a Messiah will gather together Israel and renew them to take up their calling again to be a contrast people. Mike surveyed the mission of Jesus to gather and renew a people to live in the midst of the world as a light in darkness. In his final talk, The Early Church as a Contrast Community, Mike opened up the book of Acts and showed us the way the church takes up its role in the first century after Jesus. Roland Allen suggests the dynamic growth of the church in Acts is due to three things: the church living as an attractive contrast community, spontaneous evangelism, and the planting of more churches like that. Together we explored the way the church in Acts (especially in Jerusalem and Antioch) takes up their role to be a contrast people.
Mark Glanville, a CRC pastor in Canada doing his PhD in Old Testament, began by looking at Deuteronomy 16:1-17. This passage describes the three major feasts in Israel’s calendar. Harvest festivals engage God’s people Israel in a joyful rhythm of harvest and celebration.
We observed that this three part dynamic is central to Israel’s worldview: 1. God has given generously; 2. His people respond with thanksgiving and rejoicing; and 3. Thanksgiving results in generosity, justice and inclusion. Israel’s celebration of God’s good gifts is the basis of her ethic of generosity, justice and inclusion. Seasonal rhythms of festivity and celebration of God’s goodness motivate and energise her to bless and welcome others. These harvest festivals mobilise the Christian church to a life of celebration and generosity.
Mark's second Bible exposition looked at the Ten Commandments. He showed how the 10 commandments shaped Israelite society to be a place where every person could thrive, in contrast to the oppression and exploitation that the nation had experienced. These laws compel the Christian church to work for a society in which every human being is dignified and has the means to live a full and joyful life.
Mark's final message came from Deuteronomy 10, and focused on the words of vv. 18-19: "The Lord executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the stranger, giving them food and clothing. Love the stranger,therefore, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt." Personally I was really convicted by Mark's explanation of this Old Testament passage. We ended this session by drawing maps of our local community, and we were challenged to think how we can be a voice for the voiceless and bring peace, God's shalom, to our streets, our neighbourhoods, our communities.
Erin joined her husband Mark at this conference, and it was a delight to have her share how we as Christians today can be a prophetic community. She looked at the church's relationship with refugees. Drawing on the Christian tradition of hospitality, she showed how hospitality is the most prevalent metaphor used to describe church-based refugee activism in Australia and Canada today. Erin closed the conference by giving us some practical ways how the church being a contrast society might that look like today. She offered a number of ways the church can nurture a community in distinction from our culture. For example, being a community that knows God’s presence in a secular world, being a community of praise in a world of narcissism, being a community of joy in a world dominated by a frantic and hedonistic pursuit of pleasure. These contrast challenges inspire us to say "yes" to those strains of culture, as obscure as they may be, that resonate with the Biblical story.
Recharge 2013 was not all about listening to excellent Biblical expositions and delving deeply into how we as churches can be missional. There was also ample time to relax and be refreshed. On Tuesday Richard and Leslie Schoenmaker challenged us in a evening of Trivia. Most of us realised how little of Australian trivial we actually did know and how quick some people were on sending text messages. All in all, it was a fun night. And on Wednesday, with Terry and Karen Coleman of the New Life Christian Church as hosts, we took a 2 1/2 hour cruise on their Fun Boat in and around Sydney harbour. The weather could not have been better. It was a great day.
Already the Train Committee is thinking about the next Recharge conference to be held in 2014. A number of suggestions were made re: venue, topic, and speakers. The committee will review these suggestions and plan yet another wonderful opportunity for CRCA leaders to gather and be recharged for the work of ministry. May God's kingdom come in all its fulness and may his name be glorified.
Pictures from the Recharge conference can be viewed at the Ministry Formation Facebook page. All eight plenary sessions can be listened to by going to the Ministry Formation website: www.ministryformation.com.au