Yesterday, I was in a prayer meeting in Australia with lots of other church-planters, disciple-makers and Pete Greig from 24/7 Prayer. We cried out to God for the meeting that was happening between Benjamin Netanyahu and Joe Biden. I came out so faith-filled that our prayers had shifted something in the Middle East that it made me want to check the news. I truly believe that prayer can change our world. That calling out to a supernatural God can result in real-world answers.

I am usually a very active person. However, I recently broke my ankle, so all I can really do is sit or kneel. Read, write and speak. Then, last night in my hurry out of an Uber, I left my glasses behind, so I can’t even read or write (I am writing this hurriedly at 3am in a hotel bathroom so as not to wake Jenny and before my eyes get too blurry). I just woke in the middle of the night, wondering what I would do until I can get my glasses back, and I felt the Spirit say this… ‘You can still pray.’

This is my journey with God. A painful journey to help me realise that when all I can do is kneel and pray, I can still change the world. When my usual activities and abilities are taken from me, one of the most powerful things I can do is still there. What will it take for you to realise that too?

Much love,
Simon

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This post is part of the Senior Pastor’s weekly blog. Go to the the blog feed >>

PLEASE NOTE there has been a time change and our Together service now starts at 10:30AM Sunday 29th October at Wellington College: 15 Dufferin Street, Mount Victoria. If you’re in our church database you should have received an email about this.

We are one church pursuing one mission and vision, and on 29 Oct we’ll be gathering together in one place for one Sunday service. This is such a big day for us as we get to pray for new Elders, commission new Location Pastors and cast a vision for the future.

Come prepared with a koha for a sausage after the service. The Year 7-8's are cooking the BBQ and all proceeds will contribute to the Kids Zone 'Giving Project'. Due to constraints with the venue, we will have biscuits for morning tea, but NO HOT DRINKS. So come pre-caffeinated :) Lunch will be provided for children in Kids Zone.

This service is free to attend, but please register if you haven’t already:

As we think about discipleship at The Street, there are four words we use as an overarching framework. Upwards, Inwards, Outwards and Onwards. The first is “Upwards: We love the Lord.”

Upwards means the goal of our growth as followers of Jesus and our helping one another grow is not simply to grow in our knowledge of God. Our goal is to grow in our love of the Lord. This moves our faith from the head to the heart from which everything else we do flows. Can you see how important it is? Jesus summarised Israel’s Law—all 613 laws—into just two. Love God with all that you are and love others as yourself. Even the goal of the Law was love.

At the moment, I’m reading through the Psalms and this morning I found David coming to the same conclusion.

“Because I love your commands more than gold, more than pure gold, and because I consider all your precepts right, I hate every wrong path.” (Ps 119:127-8)

When David thought about the privilege that the eternal God of creation had spoken authoritatively and accurately to his people, he knew that those written words were more precious than any gold he could amass. He also knew that God had a perspective on life that was more accurate and life giving than the collective wisdom of humanity. He knew that in these commands was the opportunity for a full life and it led him to love God’s commands. What’s more astounding is that his love wasn’t for the gospels but for the Torah - the first five books of our Bible.

What is your motivation for reading Scripture today? Is it obligation? Is it routine? Is it to grow in knowledge? Or is it to grow in your love for the Lord? Routine and knowledge aren’t bad things so long as they lead us to love. Only that will be truly life giving.

As you think about your view of Scripture, what is a step you could take today to help it lead you to love the Lord? One of the things I have changed over time is to not worry about how much I’m reading and focus more on processing and applying what I’m reading. How about you?

Much love,
Simon

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This post is part of the Senior Pastor’s weekly blog. Go to the the blog feed >>

This week marks a milestone in our multi-site journey as we announce the appointment of two couples as Location Pastors.

When we embarked in this direction, we believed in faith that God had been preparing people and would call people to these roles and the leadership teams of Locations. These announcements show his faithfulness to us in providing for where we believe he is leading us. It’s also a milestone because these appointments are for volunteer roles. We have been shaping our structure to provide the necessary support and resources to make volunteer teams sustainable. However, part of their roles will be to foster a culture of team leadership. This means they will need the faithful support of people around them.

This week we’re heading into our 4th ‘Pillars’ series called Salvation. Pillars first came about because I was concerned that we were grappling with some big issues in out culture without a basic Biblical framework. The purpose of the series is talk through the basics of what Christians have always believed so that we can have meaningful discussion.

However, sometimes talking about this means we do encroach on areas where there is lively debate. That’s where we get to this weekend. At the start of our series on Salvation, we have to talk about the very beginning of the salvation story - predestination. We’ll focus on what we all agree on, but it’s inevitable that we’ll get into territory where people have different positions.

With this in mind, I thought it might be helpful to share something to guard against unnecessary disagreement. It’s the idea that not all doctrines are equal.

When we’re talking about a point of theology, it’s good to think through just how important it is. 

At the top level there’s dogma—core beliefs. There are about seven of them and they include things like the Trinity, the deity and humanity of Jesus, the resurrection, and salvation by grace through faith. To not believe these things is really to claim that you’re not a Christian. These core doctrines can be discussed but they can’t be doubted. I would die on a hill for these.

Next level down there are doctrines. These are important and will often define how our faith is practiced, how we interpret Scripture, or how a church is run. They include things like whether women can be Elders, whether Jesus will rule on earth for a literal 1,000 years, and you guessed it… predestination. Is it about God’s sovereignty or human will?

The point about these issues is not that they don’t matter. It’s just that they’re not worth falling out over. I have good friends who see each of these issues differently to me and we don’t fall out. We understand that there are intelligent people on all sides of the discussion and they don’t actually affect whether we’re included in the family of believers.

The final level is that of opinion. These are issues that we really don’t know about because God hasn’t made it clear. It includes things like the identity of the Two Witnesses in Revelation. We don’t actually know, we can try and work it out but it has no bearing on how we live or how we lead churches.

The problem is that some people try to load as much as possible into the core beliefs category while liberals relegate as much as possible towards opinion. The former make unnecessary divisions while the latter has nowhere firm to stand. Both are poor choices. Instead let’s affirm our unity around what is core and then, as brothers and sisters, have meaningful conversation with one another about everything else.

The truth is that sometimes these things can be a horrible distraction. There’s so much that God has made clear and I want to suggest that our focus should be more about putting what is clear into practice rather than getting too hot under the collar about things that aren’t.

Much love,
Simon

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This post is part of the Senior Pastor’s weekly blog. Go to the the blog feed >>

Today in this series of blogs, we turn to 1 Peter — where the context is suffering for doing good. Peter reminds us that we will be overlooked, misunderstood and mistreated for our belief in Jesus and the life we live as a result. This just can’t be avoided.

In fact, it’s more concerning to find yourself living an easy, comfortable life because it provokes the question, “am I too assimilated into this culture?” It’s the feeling we don’t quite fit in that reminds us that here is not home, we’re destined for somewhere greater!

In 1 Peter 3:15-16, Peter teaches that the way to live in the midst of this tension is to live with Christ as Lord. Such a life, Peter says, provokes a question about the hope that we have. Questions we should be ready to answer.

So what does it mean to live with Christ as Lord?

One thing it doesn’t mean is being an overly dogmatic person who loves to trumpet truth. That’s not the gentleness and respect Peter was after (1 Pet 3:15). Nor does it mean someone who frowns at everything they don’t agree with. This is a life that shuts down all questions, conversation and friendship.

Living with Christ as Lord means letting your life do the talking. That’s the life that provokes a question.

For a start, if this is the case, you’re living with a completely different sexual ethic. Faithful marriage, celibacy, dating honourably and not sleeping around. A guy who doesn’t stare at a woman in a low-cut top. A woman who doesn’t complain about her husband. Standing out in this area is not even that hard.

From there, just look through the Sermon on the Mount. We don’t just treat our friends well but we love our enemies (Matt 5:43-47). How would it look when we don’t talk behind another’s back? What about continuing to be kind when we’re insulted or honouring your boss rather than undermining them?

What about our anxious age? We’re worried about the cost of living, increasingly anxious about the climate, and bereft of contentment because we just can’t live up to social media’s view of what our lives should be like. Has there ever been a greater need for the church to show what it’s like to be generous with those in need and to live with an abiding trust in Him rather than the harassment of worry?

Let’s live with Christ as Lord and with an unshakeable hope that He will soon return to bring about a world made right. Let’s live lives that show Jesus’ way of life so that some — maybe many — might be invited into it too.

Much love,
Simon

Questions to ponder:

• Can you think of a time where someone has noticed or commented on how you live your life differently as a Christian?

• How are you doing in the areas mentioned: sexual ethic, loving others (including “enemies”), contentment and generosity? Does your faith in Christ show in the way you live?

• Can you think of any other areas where it would be easy to stand out as a Christian?

• What is one step you could take this week to be different (in a good way!) from the world around you?

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This post is part of the Senior Pastor’s weekly blog. Go to the the blog feed >>

My Mum once made porridge for us both using a new recipe I assume was Scottish. I assume this because one of the ingredients was salt. The problem was that there was too much salt for our liking, and we effectively spat it out. It is the one and only time in my life I have seen my Mum throw something out as inedible.

I wonder if this is the reaction that many people in our culture have towards Christians these days. While the message of Jesus and being identified with Jesus are inherently polarising, we have to take ownership of the fact that the posture of Christians has, in some ways, contributed to this reaction.

In Colossians 4, Paul gives us a recipe for correcting our posture in how we engage with people who do not believe.

“Let your conversation always be full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone” (Col 4:6).

Grace is the means by which God does everything in our lives as a free gift. Grace creates the environment in which we can thrive. Salt is mixed into a dish to enhance flavour. It’s clear that salt is a distinctive ingredient. As Christians, we bring a different perspective — truth from God designed to enhance people’s flavour of life (John 8:31-32). But too much salt — too much truth — will overpower the hearer and be rejected.

In any recipe, the proportion of ingredients is important. This recipe is no different. Our conversations are to be full of grace but only seasoned with salt. Let me give some suggestions of what I think that could look like.

Kindness
Grace means we’re to be warm, welcoming, and kind. No matter what someone believes, they are a person made in God’s image. We should love and care for them more than anyone.

Listening
We’re to listen well to people even when we disagree with them. We’re to listen long enough to make sure we truly understand why they see the world the way they do. Listening is a lost art but one of the greatest ways to love.

Common ground
Our culture is pretty post-Christian. It means people want the values of Christianity even if they have no desire to believe in Jesus. It also means there is plenty of room for common ground. The moves to embrace Māori culture or to welcome people’s gender fluidity arise because we’ve realised it is not okay to abuse and marginalise people of different cultures and worldviews. This is a good thing borne out of a desire to love others. We may not love all of the ways this plays out, but we can affirm the intention as a good one.

All of these things — and I’m sure there are more — are ways to build genuine friendships with people who are different to you. My favourite name for Jesus in the gospels is “friend of sinners.” Could it be that some of us might be called this over time?

And when we’ve built genuine friendships, when we’ve listened long enough to truly understand, maybe then we will have earned the right to sprinkle a little salt. To ask a question or share something small that helps people to see—from a place of friendship and common ground—a way to see the world differently and a way to see how Jesus meets their need.

Much love,
Simon

Questions to ponder:

• Who are some people that don’t know God that you would call genuine friends of yours? If you can’t think of many, ask yourself who are some acquaintances or people you cross paths with that you could pursue a deeper friendship with? Pray for these people that God would draw them to Himself, and perhaps use you in that process.

• While thinking of the people in your life that don’t know Jesus - do you think your past conversations with them have been seasoned with too much or too little salt?

• Maybe you are someone who keeps your faith private outside of church and Christian circles. What are some ways your faith could be a natural part of everyday conversations, no matter the context?

• Who is someone in your life you’d like to make more time to listen to?

• What are some areas of ‘common ground’ you have with the non-believers around you? How could you use these areas to form deeper friendships?

• If God is real, but you didn’t know Him — how would you want Christians to reach out to you?

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This post is part of the Senior Pastor’s weekly blog. Go to the the blog feed >>

The apostle Paul was a man who knew what it was like to be pushed and pulled by different circumstances and yet it was this movement that led hm to a profound conclusion:

“But thanks be to God, who always leads us as captives in Christ’s triumphal procession and uses us to spread the aroma of the knowledge of him everywhere” (2 Corinthians 2:14).

Paul knew that while he was being pushed around by circumstances, God was at work spreading the message of Jesus through his ministry. As we emerged from the most significant Covid restrictions in the early part of this year, there is a sense in which we have been pushed around. And yet our confidence is in how God has worked through the very circumstances we would never have chosen and has done so for his own purposes and glory.

It was therefore important for us to learn everything we could about the church from what we had been through. Times of trouble often lead people to turn in or shrink back and we were determined to do neither. We were concerned at how much Covid revealed a lack of depth in discipleship and in connection with one another. Rather than try to bring back everything we did pre-Covid, we felt that the future needed to be focused on the main things like a simple devotion to Jesus, a commitment to discipleship, a determination to share the Gospel more broadly, and a deepening of our service of the poor and marginalised in our city.

Covid also brought about an opportunity to progress our multi-site strategy more quickly than we could have previously imagined. The local gatherings that began as a response to vaccine passes gained traction and afforded deeper connection among people and greater accessibility to people in the local community. By the end of the year, there was a determination to keep these going alongside a great need to develop and establish strong and sustainable local leadership.

2022 was a year that we would not have designed for ourselves and it did not pass without significant challenges. Yet there is a sense that it was a year we needed because it enabled God to bring about a direction that we would not have thought possible. As he continues to build his church and use us to spread the aroma of him everywhere, may he grant us the faith to keep trusting him in the midst of uncertainty and change.

Much love,

Simon & Jenny Gill
Senior Pastors

Everyday in our culture, there are challenges to the gospel. Was Jesus real? Did he really die? Do you actually believe he came to life again? 

But recently, I’ve noticed another challenge sneaking up. It’s not about how someone gets saved but whether we actually need saving at all.

I watched a video by a guy with cerebral palsy asking the question “Should I want to be fixed?” I write this not to call the guy out but because he asked some good questions that are worth considering.

For the most part, he was simply looking at the benefits of certain treatments to alleviate symptoms in the absence of a cure. But then came the conclusion. If I could be fixed, should I even want to be?

Let’s be clear. People with cerebral palsy are wonderful people and at the same time they have a condition involving the development of or damage to their brain. But our culture struggles to hold these truths at the same time. We are desperate to accept people for who they are - which is a good thing. But in doing so, we have collapsed our value and our health into the same thing. As such, it becomes offensive to call an aspect of ourselves imperfect - it feels like we are insulting our very identity.

Moreover, if our worldview has no future hope, we have to make the most of here and now. If this is all there is, we should embrace it and call it good.

As Christians, we offer something better in both cases.

We believe that every single human being is made in the image of God irrespective of age, stage, size, or condition. The person in front of you has inherent and infinite dignity, value and worth. The way we treat them is a reflection of how we treat God.

Secondly, we don’t need to pretend there’s nothing wrong. We can call out sickness as part of the fallen world. When we sense that things are not the way they should be, God agrees with us. You’re right, pain and suffering are real but it’s not the way things should be.

That’s the reason Jesus came. On the cross he paid the price for our sin and when we rose again, he gave us the sure hope that he will one day raise us too with bodies better than they have ever been and prepared to live forever in the suffering-free world he is bringing about. That’s the nature of Christian hope.

That’s the beauty of the gospel. Humanity is more valuable, this world is more broken and our hope is more incredible that any of us could imagine.  This is why our culture’s posture here is so dangerous—it dulls our desire for Jesus!

Where are you noticing the consequences of the fall being minimised? I wonder what God might lead you to do as you pray about that. Is there a question you could ask to promote conversation that moves people towards seeing Jesus afresh today?

Grace and peace,

Simon

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This post is part of the Senior Pastor’s weekly blog. Go to the blog feed >>

When we greet each other, it’s easy to use casual, throw away language that we don’t really mean. People say things like, ‘Hey, how you going?’ ‘Good, you?’ ‘Good.’ We’re not really asking how people are. We don’t want their life story, it’s just an extended hello.

We can make the same mistake with Scripture. At some point in the greeting of each of Paul’s letters, he includes the words grace and peace. They appear so often, it’s easy to skim over them. To assume there’s nothing really there. But rather than an extended hello, these words are laced with meaning.

Grace is God’s great enabler. I love this word and I know I talk about it a lot. But that’s because it’s so important and appears all the time. Grace is the way God works out everything in your life as a free gift. It’s the way He chooses you, justifies you, equips you to serve Him, changes you to be like Him. It’s the way He’ll raise you when Jesus returns. Grace is how God does everything in a way that comes our way for free.

Peace is another rich word. Peace is the condition of perfect prosperity and security. It is everything as it should be. It’s the condition of the world our souls long for and that Jesus is bringing about. It’s the state of our relationship with God. And whereas earthly peace is fleeting, God’s peace in your life enables a calm to resonate deep in your soul even when all around you is in turmoil.

It’s hard to imagine Paul could give a stronger greeting. It’s hard to imagine praying a more powerful prayer for one another. In fact, it’s the prayer I’ve been praying for our church this week. May God work powerfully in each of our lives as a free gift. May God give you a glimpse of the world to come in the inner recesses of your soul. I wonder what you’ll notice as God answers this prayer? I wonder what He’ll do as we pray it over one another.

Grace and peace,

Simon

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This post is part of the Senior Pastor’s weekly blog. Go to the blog feed >>

I had the privilege of working with Nick Field for almost ten years and there was a phrase he would often say, “don’t drag the start line with you.” His point was that we can easily get discouraged at a lack of progress in our lives and the things around us. Change happens incrementally and we can fail to notice progress unless we look back far enough for a true comparison.

One of the ways that we can combat this is to take moments to reflect and celebrate along the way. When Israel crossed the Jordan, they stopped and built an altar to celebrate the progress and remember what God had done (Joshua 4:1-9). The job wasn’t finished—they hadn’t conquered a single territory within the promised land—but they stopped to celebrate that they had moved forward.

This is important for us as a church. Sunday’s whole-of-church announcement was not the end of the journey. We’ve managed to establish Jerram as a Location Pastor for West and yet there are still East, Mt Vic, Porirua and Hutt to go. I have found this discouraging in my own life.

And yet when I reflect back over a longer period of time I realise the things God has done to get us even to this point. The redeployment of a staff team to better serve all Locations was months of work. The number of people leaned in and enthusiastic about being part of the solution at Locations is far higher than last year. Each Location has wonderful teams of people taking the lead who are passionate about seeing God move in their local area. And the stories of people who have come to faith or are growing closer to Jesus are new compared to last year. These examples are like stones on the altar next to the Jordan. Stones that would be missed if I was only comparing what’s going on with last week. Instead, by looking back over a longer period of time, we get a better picture and find reason to praise.

It’s also true in our personal lives. We’re prone to discouragement because we feel like we’re still praying for the same problems and still wrestling with the same shortcomings. But I wonder how this might change if we were able to compare ourselves and the situations we’re in now with the beginning of this year, or even a year ago. If you keep a journal or a prayer diary, maybe have a look back to see what you were processing or praying for back then. If you don’t record things, maybe take a few moments to think back. For me, I keep things I’m praying for daily on a small card in my wallet (no fancy prayer app for me!) and it’s been so encouraging to see the prayers I’ve been able to cross off—not in the last week—but since January.

Can I encourage you to take a few moments this weekend and reflect on how the Lord has led you and how far you have come.

Much love,
Simon

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This post is part of the Senior Pastor’s weekly blog. Go to the blog feed >>

This week we’ve been confronted with awful news of the shooting in Auckland that resulted in the deaths of three and injuries to others. In moments like this our hearts go out to the people involved but it can be hard to know how to respond.

Some people are tempted to wonder whether the series of events in Auckland (they’ve had a rough time with floods and storms as well) is some sort of punishment from God. But comments like this just aren’t helpful. Jesus specifically taught that disasters are not the result of the sin of a city (Luke 13:1-5). Rather they are part of the fallen world we live in and which Jesus is redeeming. So how should we respond?

Firstly, it’s right that we pray. As a staff we spend a lot of our Thursday prayer time specifically crying out to God for Auckland. In moments like this, I feel helpless and yet I know that God is not. When we pray, we invite the power and presence of the living God into the situation and that is no small thing.

Secondly, events like this remind us not to put our hope in this world. Whether we believe in Jesus or not, our lives are lived out in a broken world riddled with pain and suffering. However, our hope as Christians is not simply that ‘when I die I go to heaven’ but that Jesus is returning to bring about a new heavens and a new earth. A world made right where we will be with him forever. A world of perfect peace, provision, and security. It’s only with hope properly placed in our secure future that we’re prepared to live well through all the trials of this world.

Finally, while Jesus could return at any moment, if he does not come back today, it’s another day where he is expressing his patience and keeping the window of opportunity open for people to believe. Moments like this disrupt people’s sense of peace and provoke many questions. It means that it’s important we’re awake to opportunities for spiritual conversations. Why not pray right now that as you go about your day, that God might bring about an opportunity for you to share Jesus with someone wondering about these things. After all, as Tim Keller used to often remind people, while we can’t fully understand why God allows evil and suffering, the cross reminds us that it’s not because he doesn’t care. He entered our suffering to make a way for us beyond it. Let us invite people into that.

Much love,
Simon

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This post is part of the Senior Pastor’s weekly blog. Go to the blog feed >>

Something weird is going on. I can’t believe how fast the year is racing by and yet, at the same time, ​​so many people seem to be tired. We’ve hit July but we’re ready for a summer holiday. Is it nearly Christmas yet? It makes me wonder how much we’re still reeling and recovering from some of the challenges we’ve faced over the past three years.

Richard Black from Mind Health talks about how most of us have previously worked out the things we need to do to rest and refresh. But because the level of difficulty in life has gone up for many of us, there’s a good chance those rhythms are no longer sufficient.

Think of it this way. If you are used to regularly running 10kms and then step up to run a marathon, the sleep, food and time you’ll need to recover also goes up. If we’re finding ourselves more stressed and stretched than usual, are we learning what additional rhythms we need to refresh and replenish?

We’re heading away for a week-long break soon and in preparation, Jenny’s mentor asked her this question: “What would make the week wildly successful?”

I love the question because it stretches the thought process way beyond ordinary things and the usual outcomes. It challenges me to think differently which is the very thing we need if we’re more tired than usual.

For me, it will mean time with friends, reading for more than just entertainment (there’s nothing wrong with reading for entertainment, it’s just that learning replenishes me), making time for the Lord, and doing things as a family we love to do together.

What about you? Maybe you’re not going away. Maybe what you’re looking forward to is this weekend, an evening with friends, or just carving out a couple of child-free hours. I think the question is still relevant in these contexts too: what would make that time wildly successful?

Most of all, let us never stop making time for the Lord in Word, worship and prayer. Making time to place our anxiety on him and allowing him to remind us of his goodness. In that light, maybe this would be a good verse to ponder right now.

“Return to your rest, my soul, for the LORD has been good to you.” Ps 116:7

Much love,
Simon

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This post is part of the Senior Pastor’s weekly blog. Go to the blog feed >>

We’re in the first couple of weeks of a new series in 1 Peter, Trial By Fire. It’s written to a church who are suffering persecution and Peter writes to encourage them to stand firm (1 Peter 5:12).

However, those searching the letter for obvious words of comfort will be disappointed. Instead, Peter tells them not to be surprised by trials and persecution and continually points them to the example of the sufferings of Jesus.

My problem with this is that I am often surprised by trials that come my way. It makes me wonder what sort of discipleship we have called one another to over the years. Have we emphasised the message that Jesus will make you the best version of yourself and glossed over the consistent messages on suffering? In an effort to encourage people to believe, have we tried to make the gospel more palatable? 

The problem is that while a sanitised gospel message is incomplete, it is also counter-productive.

Ahead of his journey to Antarctica, Ernest Shackleton placed an ad in The Times newspaper stating: 

“Men wanted for hazardous journey. Small wages, bitter cold, long months of complete darkness, constant danger, safe return doubtful, honour and recognition in case of success.” Ernest Shackleton, 4 Burlington Street.

Who would reply to that? Well, it’s purported that Shackleton received over 5,000 responses. Not because he called people to comfort and a better life but because he called people to sacrifice.

There is something in our culture that honours sacrifice. We are inspired by stories of people who gave up and endured for a greater cause. And there is no cause greater than the message of the gospel. No prize worth giving up so much for.

Can I suggest that as we pray for and reach out to those in our world, that we don’t give in to the temptation to sanitise the message but lead more openly with the message of Jesus; “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me” (Matt 16:24).

Our world is full of messages about how to be a better you but sorely lacking in the call to suffer for a greater cause. Could it be that this is an aspect of the gospel people desperately need to hear?

Much love,
Simon

Questions to ponder:

• How has the gospel been presented to you throughout your life? Did you perceive it as a call to surrender and sacrifice, or a promise of a better life (or something else)?

• Have you ever felt surprised by troubles that have come your way? What do you think of 1 Peter 4:12-13?

• What do you think the result might be if we shared the gospel without trying as hard to make it seem more palatable to those around us?

• What areas in your life do you currently see yourself willing to suffer for a greater good? Are you willing to suffer for Jesus? Why/why not?

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This post is part of the Senior Pastor’s weekly blog. Go to the blog feed >>

If God would answer just one prayer I have for our church, what would it be? Today I thought I’d let you know.

There’s a scene in the TV show Modern Family (don’t judge me) that quickly induces tears. Maybe it’s because I’m a Dad of three girls. Perhaps it’s the inner thoughts about myself.

Teenage Haley is making poor relationship choices and vents to her Mum about her Dad from an open lift: “I’m a huge disappointment to him. I see it on his face everyday. He acts as if he doesn’t want me around.”

What do you think comes to God’s mind when he thinks about you? Anger? Frustration? Disappointment?

Suddenly Dad emerges from an adjacent lift, not knowing his daughter can hear. “That’s my little girl. I need her to know that no guy on earth is good enough for her.”

Haley has no words, she just hugs her Dad who had no idea she was there. How profoundly moving to finally hear the truth that she is deeply loved.

I wonder how many of us live life ‘knowing’ how God feels about us. Did you know God chose you before the foundation of the world (Eph 1:4)? He didn’t choose you from a group of others. He imagined you out of nothing. You exist because he wanted you. You are his inheritance (Eph 1:18). You are the one about whom he is well pleased (Luke 3:22). You are the one over whom he sings loud songs of joy over you (Zech 3:17).

My number one prayer is simply this: that you would hear what God really thinks of you. It would affect every single other aspect of your life. It would release you to freely love God with every fibre of your being and love others as an overflow of how you’ve been loved. Life would never be the same again. This is why we want every one of us to grow deeper in our knowledge of Scripture, because through it you’ll hear what God really thinks.

May God answer my prayer in your life today.

Much love,
Simon

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This post is part of the Senior Pastor’s weekly blog. Go to the blog feed >>

I love the feeling when I open the box on a brand new pair of running shoes - bright, colourful, blemish free; the feeling when I stand back and admire the car that I’ve (finally) cleaned; the feeling when I tidy my desk and it’s free from clutter. The cathartic feeling of everything being perfectly in place—as it should be. What about for you?

I’ve been wondering why this is. I think it has to do with a deep desire for the world to be as it should be. God created a world of peace, prosperity and security. Shalom. A world as it should be, perfectly set up for us to thrive. But sin means that this is not the world we’ve ever fully experienced and there’s been a longing in our hearts to find shalom again.

The problem is that we’ll search in all sorts of places to fulfill this longing. We search in things that are temporary. The trainers will get scuffed, the car will get dirty, the desk will get untidy, and the search begins again. But rather than putting our hopes in the next spring clean or shopping spree, can I suggest we use these moments to remind our souls of the hope we have in Jesus. That one day he will return to rule over a world made right. To bring about a new heavens and a new earth that won’t ever fade away. To enable us to live forever in shalom.

As Paul wrote, “so we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:18).

Where have you been searching for that feeling of a world made right? Why not offer that to the Lord today and fix your eyes on the future hope we have in Jesus.

Much love,
Simon

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This post is part of the Senior Pastor’s weekly blog. Go to the blog feed >>

Are we nearly there yet? It’s a classic phrase associated with children on long journeys. When we hear a child say this, I think we tend to smile in a semi-patronising way. “Ah bless, kids just don’t get how long it takes to get somewhere.”

And yet I wonder how often God has to be gracious with us because we’re asking the same question.

We’re on a journey as a church towards being locally present in communities around the city. One of the challenges that’s taking longer than I hoped is working out the nature of how these can be led and who can do it. I know that God can answer our prayers in a moment. I know he can produce a solution out of thin air. However he hasn’t yet done so.

Are we nearly there yet? “Ah bless,” says God to me!

The thing I’m learning is that whatever challenge is in front of us won’t be a challenge forever. What feels like it’s going on for eternity is only actually temporary. And yet God is using the trials in our life to form a Christ-like character that will go on forever. He’s using this season in our church to mature and purify His bride and to prepare her to be with Him forever. He’s more interested in working in us than in the situation.

It’s here that we begin to understand the origins of the phrase, “God is in the waiting.” Waiting for us is so often pointless. The traffic in the morning, the queue for security, the endless waiting on hold. But when God allows us to wait, we can be sure that His timing is perfect and He’s doing what He promised. “...he who began a good work in you will carry on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:9).

So be encouraged in the waiting and follow the words of Paul: “Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer” (Romans 12:12).

Much love,
Simon

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This post is part of the Senior Pastor’s weekly blog. Go to the blog feed >>

One of the things I would love to see is every single person at The Street Church having a daily habit of reading Scripture. Although there are sometimes days that I miss, it’s a habit I’ve had for many years and it’s genuinely life changing.

I wonder if for some of us, this seems an unattainable challenge. Finding that amount of time in an already overcrowded schedule can seem impossible. And yet, all I said was a daily habit, not a daily amount. I believe that it’s great to try and read the Bible each year. There can also be great benefit in reading large chunks of Scripture at one time. However, the most important thing is to develop a daily habit, even if it’s something small. And sometimes it’s actually the small that is most helpful.

This week I was rushing through James and got stopped barely out of the first paragraph.

“Consider it pure joy my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds…” (James 1:2)

It’s so counterintuitive. I can decide to count trials as pure joy, not because they are pleasant, but because God is using them to transform me into a perfect and complete person just like Jesus. It completely changed my perspective and my prayers around the trials in my life right now.

It was a profound insight for me and yet it came as I reflected on just a few verses. Alternatively there are days when I read a lot and remember nothing. You see the goal is not simply that we know more about Scripture but that we’re equipped for every good work (2 Tim 3:16-17). My encouragement is therefore to build a habit. To make sure you’re reading and reflecting on God’s word, even if it’s just one paragraph a day.  Small habits done consistently yield big results over time. Why not start today.

Much love,
Simon

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This post is part of the Senior Pastor’s weekly blog. Go to the blog feed >>

You may have arrived at this page because you've Googled "Shincheonji" and you're looking for answers. Perhaps you've heard about this new 'church' and want to know what it's all about? Or someone from Shincheonji - known as SCJ - has told you about it, but you want to know more?

Maybe you are part of SCJ,and you want to get out but don't know how? Or you recently left SCJ and you're looking for answers and some guidance, maybe a safe place to be for a while?

However you arrived at this page, please keep reading. What we want to say to you is so important for your freedom and for your spiritual life.

A quick look around Google and you will find dozens of articles and YouTube videos explaining that SCJ is a cult that has brainwashed its people and caused devastating harm to individuals and families through its extreme religious requirements and manipulative methods of recruiting people (fake Bible studies full of SCJ members posing as people who are exploring faith, for example). There is nothing about SCJ that delivers the freedom to believers promised by Jesus Christ in John 8:36, "Whom the Son sets free will be free indeed."

The Street Church is not unique in having experience with SCJ. Over the past years, numerous SCJ 'recruiters' have come to our church services - and many others - in order to 'convert' people to the SCJ way. We have also met with people who have left SCJ and are looking for answers and a place to heal and make sense of what they have been through.

Wherever you are at in your experience with SCJ, we want you to know that we are a safe place for you. We would love to meet with you (if you want someone to speak with) or simply provide a haven for you to heal and reorient yourself as you establish your life outside of SCJ. The Lord Jesus Christ said he came to give us “life to the full” (John 10:10b). You’ve been robbed of that freedom by SCJ, and we’d love to introduce you to this life!

So, if you have questions or are in Wellington and you need help getting out of SCJ, please email us office@thestreet.org.nz or call us on 04 385 7315.

Last week we looked at Extravagant Worship in 2 Samuel 6 where David danced before the Lord with all his might. Now if you’re like me, you’ve probably wondered… what’s the deal with the ephod? Is David dancing in his undies? Is this an outfit more suited to Dancing with the Stars?

David would usually have been wearing the robes of a king but in this instance he’s wearing an ephod - a garment worn by priests. Priests didn’t rule but they were a connection between the people and God. To understand this you have to remember what is going on. David is bringing the ark of the covenant into the capital city where he is king. The ark symbolises both the presence of God and the throne of God among the people.

For David to take off his royal robes suggests there’s a message in his attire. God is king and I am not. Don’t just look to my rule, look to God’s.

If you think about it, all worship is like this. In the fall, we rejected God’s rule and chose to do what we wanted. Worship is the opposite. We remind ourselves that we’re not on the throne. God is the true king in our lives.

Perhaps this is why worship is so freeing. Heavy hangs the head that wears the crown. Our desire to rule brings the weight of ruling we were never meant to carry. And in worship, we continually take off the crown and put the burden back on him. Let us daily come in humble worship before King Jesus.

Much love,
Simon

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This post is part of the Senior Pastor’s weekly blog. Go to the blog feed >>