Deep Thought Archives - Tasmanian Baptists

April 19, 2023May 23, 2023

Deep Thought April 2023

Deep Thought – A bi-monthly feature in reCharge

The God of Bethel

While Maddy Svoboda was away on leave over Christmas, God used the time to help him recall some moments of big impact in his life.

In the Scriptures, there are familiar beats and rhythms that get hit on a regular basis. Examples include: “The Lord is compassionate, gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness”, “I will never leave you nor forsake you”, and “Do not fear”.

Another one of the regular rhythms and sentences that comes up throughout the narrative of the Hebrew Scriptures is this refrain, “I am the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob”. It comes up in some significant places.

Over my recent time of long service leave, I was reading through Genesis and came to another phrase in Chapter 31 that, for the first time in my life, stood out to me: “I am the God of Bethel, where you anointed a pillar and where you made a vow to me. Now leave this land at once and go back to your native land.” (Genesis 31:13 NIV)

I was familiar with the refrain of “the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob”, but not so much “the God of Bethel”.

What was happening here?

Yahweh is speaking these words to Jacob, a man who had an incredible experience of him in a place he would name Bethel.

In this place, he had a dream that there was a ladder or stairway going up to the heavens. There were angels going up and down the ladder. God reaffirms the promises made to his grandfather and father and they are made to him.

When Jacob wakes, he cries out: “Surely the Lord was in this place, and I was not aware of it’ (Genesis 28:16 NIV). He anointed the rock he slept on as a pillar, and called the place Bethel or ‘house of God’.

Moving right along

Fast forward to Genesis 31, and we see God identifying himself as The God of Bethel. All of this is deeply personal to Jacob. Yahweh meets him where he is at, in order to call him to the next step of obedience.

This is the beauty of the incarnation of Jesus: he meets us where we are at by becoming one of us and dwelling among us (see John 1:14).

For me, he encountered me on the banks of the South Esk River in Hadspen after a horrendous 18th birthday party. Again, he encountered me at a Christian group camp shortly after where I was overwhelmed by the love of God.

Questions for you

As you reflect and pray, have a think about the following questions. You could even use your journal to write down your immediate responses.

Perhaps God will meet you with the next step of obedience, as God did with Jacob.

How did God meet you where you were at?
What does this mean for your involvement in the mission of God?
What does this mean for those in your life, who Jesus loves and you are in relationship with?
How might God be wanting to meet them where they are at?

Maddy Svoboda is the pastor at Summerhill Baptist, and represents the Greater Launceston churches on the Tasmanian Baptists Mission Leadership Team.

More Deep Thought

Being Family Together by Christa McKirland
The Sound of Silence by Denise Stephenson
A Change in Thinking for Changing Times by Laurie Rowston
Courage to Make a Difference by Mark Wilson
Just Mercy by Michael Henderson

Deep Thought March 2023

Deep Thought – A bi-monthly feature in reCharge

Being Family Together

Dr Christa L. McKirland is a lecturer at Carey Baptist College, Auckland, and spoke at the recent Tasmanian Baptist Pastors’ Muster in Hobart.

In the past few weeks, I’ve had the joy and privilege of speaking at three different conferences across this amazing country. The content of those talks was also hard-hitting and in many ways, controversial.

Having never visited Australia before, I wasn’t sure how those talks were going to land, but as I prepare for my flight home to Aotearoa with my family, I returned encouraged.

Faith and passion

Starting at the No Limits conference hosted by Baptist Women of the Pacific, I had a chance to hang out and learn from sisters from all over this hemisphere. Intentionally hosted in Brisbane, the only state where Baptists don’t ordain women, I was inspired by the faith and passion of women who are hungry for depth in our teaching and to live without limits, by the power of the Holy Spirit. This was a sacred space and deeply encouraged me.

I was inspired by the faith and passion of women who are hungry for depth in our teaching

My family and I next travelled to Melbourne, and then on to Tassie, where I had a chance to speak on women’s roles in the church, as well as ways to engage the LGBTQIA+ community with a heart toward unity within our diversity of views.

What struck me, especially with the amount of discussion time we had at the two-day Muster in Tassie, was how important these conversations are to have—out loud, and with those who disagree with each other.

Tas Baptists Pastors Muster Feb 2023 - Being Family Together — Some of the attendees at the Pastors and Leaders Muster, Hobart. 20-21 Feb, 2023

Today’s challenge

I believe we are part of the church because of our belief in the resurrection of the God-human, Jesus Christ. But beyond that, our being in the same family is not based on our same beliefs. Instead, it is based on our sharing the same Spirit of adoption—the Spirit of adoption given to us because of the death and resurrection of our firstborn brother Jesus.

However, resisting echo-chambers is a massive challenge in our day. It would be much easier to stick with people who agree with us. With those who hold to the same interpretations of Scripture, who vote the way we do, and who fear the same things we do. But that is not what it means to be the church.

The church is the “gift of the given other” (to quote Tom Greggs from his Dogmatic Ecclesiology). How we treat the gift of the given other is a testament to the Gospel. And I truly felt like we experienced a taste of valuing that gift at these two conferences. The bravery of folks to show up knowing that we were not all on the same page. The willingness to sit in discomfort. The openness to hearing other views.

The bravery of folks to show up knowing that we were not all on the same page. The willingness to sit in discomfort. The openness to hearing other views.

Being family together

These are some of the muscles we need to develop if we are truly going to be family together. If we are to be known by our love for other another (John 13:35), a great way to test this is loving those with whom we (even vehemently) disagree.

By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.
John 13:35 (NIV)

That way of loving does not simply mean “speaking the truth” as we understand it—but forfeiting our priority of being right over being family.

I hope these experiences can become more common across our churches not only in this hemisphere, but globally.

Christa McKirland, originally from the US, studied her Doctorate at St Andrews University in Scotland, and has lectured at Carey College since 2020. She now calls New Zealand/Aotearoa her home, along with husband Matt and their two children.

More Deep Thought

The Change Makers by Melissa Lipsett, BWA
The Sound of Silence by Denise Stephenson
A Change in Thinking for Changing Times by Laurie Rowston
Courage to Make a Difference by Mark Wilson
Just Mercy by Michael Henderson

Read ReCharge

February/March 2023

Getting to Know You Franz Brosch, Associate Pastor at Wynyard
Around the Churches, Feb/Mar 2023 Community engagement from Marrawah to Mornington!
Generations of Legacy Perth Baptist Church Profile
No Limits Women’s Symposium REPORT by Ann Herbert
Marrawah Baptist Closes It was a grand finale! By Dan Evenhuis
GOD and Life in Tasmania From the Mission Director, Stephen Baxter
Walk the World Lifeway win Baptist Mission Australia award
NEWS: February 2023 | March 2023

Recent (PDF) Issues of ReCharge

Being Family Together

December 7, 2022February 22, 2023

Deep Thought December 2022

Self-help group in Bangladesh; change makers

Pictured Above: A self-help group meets

Deep Thought – A bi-monthly feature in ReCharge

The Change Makers

Melissa Lipsett, CEO Baptist World Aid, explains the impact of women empowered to change their world.

It’s illegal, but 40 per cent of girls in Nepal are married before they turn 18, and seven per cent before they turn 15. The Nepalese government is hoping to eradicate child marriage by 2030, but is this even possible? Will this ever change?

I believe it will. Here’s why

I recently returned from Kapilvastu in West Nepal. It’s a region that has major development challenges and a general lack of adequate services. For example, there are no toilet facilities or running water in people’s homes. There are few opportunities for people to generate income and, sadly, high levels of gender-based violence and child marriage.

The challenges are overwhelming, but here’s the thing: communities ARE overcoming them. Baptist World Aid works with local Christian Partners who share our belief in the dignity, value and equality of all people (Gen 1:26-27).

Our Partners bring the locals together in community groups, and it’s the locals who lead the transformation of their communities. Ninety per cent of these community leaders are women. They’re known as self-help groups, and they’re courageously changing their world.

Our Partners bring the locals together in community groups, and it’s the locals who lead the transformation of their communities.

What self-help groups do

Working as a committee, with elected positions such a chairperson and treasurer, members collaborate to make the changes they want to see in their community. These women showed me how they had depolluted their pond and water source.

Some of them have started small businesses. And I heard stories of how they confronted perpetrators of domestic violence as a commanding group of 17! I saw leadership, determination and courage from the same people who were, until recently, considered less than their husbands, brothers and sons.

"Kumari" Self-help group Nepal, change makers

Emerging from poverty

Every one of these women, these “change makers”, has a story. Many were married as children and didn’t have the opportunity to go to school. Quite a few are now mothers, surrounded by little people with constant needs that are hard to meet. In the past they might have given a daughter in marriage to ensure she—and her remaining siblings—would survive.

But the gains they’ve made in emerging from poverty means they now say, ‘No more! We will not allow our daughters to suffer as we did’. And they mean it.

‘No more! We will not allow our daughters to suffer as we did’.

As I travelled through the area, it was evident that wherever poverty was effectively diminished, girls were in school.

One extraordinary facet of these self-help groups is that are made up of traditionally antagonistic social groupings, but there is no infighting. They are too busy changing the world.

I wonder if what would happen if we were too?

Melissa Lipsett is the CEO of Baptist World Aid

More Deep Thought, 2022

The Sound of Silence by Denise Stephenson
A Change in Thinking for Changing Times by Laurie Rowston
Courage to Make a Difference by Mark Wilson
Just Mercy by Michael Henderson
On Becoming Wise Elders by Mike Frost

Read ReCharge

November/December 2022

Christmas Events Tasmanian Baptist churches celebrate! (from 14th December)
How did we do in 2022? From the Mission Leadership Team
CHRISTMAS IDEAS For Baptists from Crossover
AROUND THE CHURCHES November 2022
ANNUAL ASSEMBLY Report by Anthea Maynard
NEWS: November 2022 | December 2022

Recent (PDF) Issues of ReCharge

Change Makers

October 19, 2022November 23, 2022

Deep Thought Oct/Nov 2022

Deep thought, Denise Stephenson Oct 2022

The Sound of Silence

Or perhaps, the ‘Fear of Silence’?

Deep Thought – A bi-monthly feature in ReCharge

Maybe we fear silence because we think it will be empty.
By Denise Stephenson

jesus was in the stern sleeping on a chusion. Mk 45:38 (NIV)
Fear of Silence, Denise Stephenson Deep Thought Oct 2022

Each morning I listen to a short, guided meditation using the Lectio 365 app. Every day, the morning begins with these words:

“As I enter prayer now, I pause to be still; to breathe slowly, to re-centre my scattered senses upon the presence of God.”¹

These words fall on me, inviting me to detach myself from all that has been happening, and all that will unfold during the day, inviting me to turn my attention from the storm of life and curl up beside Jesus in the stern of the boat. (Mark 4:35-41)

I long for quiet spaces. Constant noise, whether it is chatter, traffic, background music, exhaust fans (the worst!) makes me irritated, unsettled and distracted. But quiet spaces are becoming rarer in our public and private lives. People are, it seems, uncomfortable with silence and go to great lengths to avoid it.

Having been a Spiritual Director and Retreat Leader for over 22 years, I have seen how unsettled people become when a moment of silence begins to draw out from seconds to minutes. Many people become restless, anxious and fearful. The pressure is on to bring the silence to a close. In a group of people, someone often seems compelled to say something to end the silence.

Why do we fear silence so much?

Diving through the ‘surface’ of ourselves, of the noise and chatter of our lives, we find a deeper current of peace

Maybe it is because when we quiet our mouth, our mind goes into overdrive. All the thoughts buried under busyness have space to express themselves and they hammer at the door of our mind, demanding to be heard. This feels overwhelming, but if “we allow our mind to simply listen, we perhaps begin to hear our heart speak – faintly, beneath the clatter. It says, ‘I am so weary, so lost. I have no energy to redeem myself. How I long for rest.”²

When we dive beneath the surface of a stormy sea, we leave the turmoil on the surface. Only a few meters down, the water is perfectly calm. This image can help us as we come to prayer: diving through the ‘surface’ of ourselves, of the noise and chatter of our lives, we find a deeper current of peace.

Quiet prayer tunes in to the deeper current of our innermost desires and fears. When we bring this deeper self to God in prayer, God speaks in ways that bring healing, hope and strength.³

Counter-cultural?

"Gazing in silent wonder at the expace of a glorious sunset or sinmrise we feel our smallness in the face of God's greatness."
Fear of Silence, Denise Stephenson Deep Thought Oct 2022

The unsettling, uncomfortable experience of silence, or quietness, that we may experience arises from our unfamiliarity with this space.

Places that were once quiet (libraries, cinemas, churches) aren’t anymore. Quiet spaces are counter-cultural and becoming rare, and yet we need these spaces to give meaning to our lives.

Without the silent listening after our words of prayer, we cannot hear God’s speaking to our heart:

– A pause following a friend sharing from the heart, allows the words to be honoured. It stops us hurrying carelessly to words.

– In the silence, after someone breathes their final breath, we hear the release from pain and the sense the soul’s ending.

– In the quiet of waiting for another to arrive we experience our longing for connection.

Sitting in the stillness

Practicing stillness, quiet, and silence, grows a sacred space within

Maybe we fear silence because we think it will be empty. But silence can be rich with meaning, and emotion. It takes conscious intention to notice the quiet pauses in daily living.

It takes practice to sit in the stillness. You may think there is nowhere quiet in your life. You might be surprised. Moments of quiet are all around us – but we need to tune in to where these moments are. Turn off the tv, just for a moment – mute the sound during the ad breaks; take your earpods out and stare out the window; lift your eyes from the screen as you drink your coffee. Just take a quiet moment.

Practicing stillness, quiet, and silence, grows a sacred space within that resonates with the Spirit’s presence in us.

So, let’s pause to be still; to breathe slowly, to re-centre our scattered senses upon the presence of God.⁴

Denise Stephenson

Denise Stephenson is a Spiritual Director and Retreat Leader, who completed her formation training at Wellspring Centre (Melbourne) in 2000. She continues to practice as a Spiritual Director, leads prayer days, retreats and workshops, focused on introducing contemplative spirituality and practice to those who have not experienced it.
She has attended LifeWay Baptist Church for most of her life, being part of the Leadership team for many years, working as Office Manager, and then as Pastor for Spiritual Formation 2018-2020.
Since moving to Lymington in the Huon Valley in 2021, Denise and her husband Mark (in partnership with LifeWay Baptist Church) are exploring growing a community of faith centred round their Long Table, food, hospitality and contemplative practice.

Lectio 365 app https://www.24-7prayer.com/resource/lectio-365/
Henri J. M. Nouwen
Margaret Silf, Taste and See: Adventuring into Prayer, Darton Longman and Todd, London, 2000pp10-11.
Lectio 365 app

More Deep Thought

A Change in Thinking for Changing Times by Laurie Rowston
Courage to Make a Difference by Mark Wilson
Just Mercy by Michael Henderson
On Becoming Wise Elders by Mike Frost

Read ReCharge

October/November 2022

CHRISTMAS IDEAS For Baptists from Crossover
AROUND THE CHURCHES October/November 2022
ANNUAL ASSEMBLY Report by Anthea Maynard
FAMINE In the Horn of Africa Melissa Lipsett, CEO Baptist World Aid
PRISON MINISTRY By Cameron Brett of Prison Fellowship Tasmania
FROM THE MISSION DIRECTOR: Does God Really Care? By Stephen Baxter
SCHOOLS MINISTRY: Mustard Lives Transformed by Jesus
CHURCH PROFILE: Newstead Baptist
October 2022 NEWS | November 2022 NEWS

Recent (PDF) Issues of ReCharge

Fear of Silence

August 31, 2022October 12, 2022

Deep Thought Aug/Sept 2022

Deep Thought – A bi-monthly feature in ReCharge

A Change in Thinking . . .

. . . for Changing Times

Mission in the 21st Century is necessarily very different to the mission of yesteryear.

By Laurie Rowston

The preaching once heard from evangelists of the past such as Henry Varley, which was used so effectively to tell people about Jesus, has lost its persuasiveness in part because the language of religious experience is increasingly unfamiliar.

If we keep using methods that worked for them to talk to non-church attenders about Jesus, we might see some fruit. But we can be quite certain we’ll lose the vast majority, and we’ll lose the vast majority under age 35.

Further, even the great and thoughtful preaching of that era, such as sought after by Congregational Church preachers, will not fill a church, as much as we wish it would and think it should.

What is more, it is harder today to put together a good 20-minute sermon than a prattling 40-minute conversation. On the saw-dust trail, it was a case of bringing folk to Christian faith in a limited time frame.

Keeping the mission alive

So, in the post-Christian, post-modern age in which we live, the method of evangelism must change in order to keep the mission alive.

Here are a few pointers . . . and they have more to do with the subject of evangelism generally, than the week-by-week preaching in church. For these ideas I am indebted to Carey Nieuwhof, who is pastor of one of the most influential churches in North America.

Embracing the question is as important as giving an answer

Evangelism used to be mostly about helping people find answers but, often, in the process of providing an answer, we fail to really embrace or honour their question.

Steering the conversation is better than pushing for a conclusion

We should not step away from people’s questions. We need to learn to listen without judgment. We need to affirm a person’s intentions. Being open is more effective than being certain. We can be certain. Ultimately, we must be certain because our faith is certain. Our faith stands on a sure and certain ground. But, when talking to others, coming across as certain is far less effective than coming across as open.
The person who is always certain thinks they’re being convincing, when the opposite is often true.

We need to learn to listen without judgment.

Arrogance, smugness and superiority are dead

For too long putting the case for Christianity has been carried with a tone of arrogance, smugness and superiority. It was the case with Billy Sunday. There was a triumphalism in his words. This triumphalism continued in “Moral Majority”, and today continues in the preaching of imaginative TV preachers.
Arrogance is so ingrained in many Christian cultures that Christians don’t even see it or hear it anymore. Humility is attractive. Humility is what makes Jesus so much more attractive to people. Spreading the kingdom does not mean hell-fire evangelism; it means living a Christ-like life.

Humility is what makes Jesus so much more attractive to people.

The timeline is longer

Give the Holy Spirit Space - the people who come to faith in their own timeline tend to be flourishing years down the road.

We like to conclude everything in about 35 seconds; revivalists did, within the hour. Increasingly, evangelism doesn’t work that way. People who come to faith when pressured often leave it after a few years.

Conversely, the people who come to faith in their own timeline tend to be flourishing years down the road. It took the disciples three years to figure out who Jesus was, didn’t it? We need people and leaders who will take the time to go on a journey with people.
But for the revivalists such as Billy Sunday, it all had to be done in the time frame of the particular revivalist meeting. People were there to hear the message, respond to the message, acknowledge their sin, repent and commit.

We need people and leaders who will take the time to go on a journey with people.

It is true we are not to lose our sense of urgency in the mission, as we should not raise doubts where there are none. But we need to give people space, and we need to give the Holy Spirit space to do His work.

Laurie Rowston is Tasmanian Baptists’ historian. His latest book, Tasmanian Baptists, Lessons from Our First Twenty Years, will soon be available.

To find out more about the book, or to place an order, please get in touch with him: lrowston@tassie.net.au

Give the Holy Spirit Space

More Deep Thought

Courage to Make a Difference by Mark Wilson
Just Mercy by Michael Henderson
On Becoming Wise Elders by Mike Frost

Read ReCharge

August/September 2022

Disaster Strikes Floods in Pakistan – Baptist World Aid
Around the Churches News and events statewide
Ministry Profile Ben Cochrane, Somerset
Deep Thought 21st Century Mission by Laurie Rowston
From Andrew Turner of Crossover Census Overview
Stand Sunday 2022 Make a stand for foster carers ~ During September
Church Profile Claremont Baptist
From the MLT Achieving Lasting Social Change
Love Beyond our Backyard Three generations of generosity in Wynyard

September 2022 NEWS
August 2022 NEWS

DOWNLOAD Recent Issues

Courage to make a difference

July 13, 2022February 22, 2023

Deep Thought July 2022

Courage to reengage reimagine and realign

Deep Thought – A bi-monthly feature in ReCharge

Courage to Make a Difference

During 2022 Tasmanian Baptists are engaging with the concept of (EN)COURAGE,
as we REENGAGE, REIMAINGE and REALIGN with the Gospel in our own communities.

In this Deep Thought reflection, Mark Wilson has some thoughts to inspire you to take hold of that courage.

As Christians, we are called to be different. Not only in who we are, but in the difference we make. It’s a daunting challenge!

Ephesians 5:8-9 “For once you (followers of Christ) were full of darkness, but now you have light from the Lord. So live as people of light! For this light within you produces only what is good and right and true”

Be the Change

As followers of Christ, we are different by nature to make a different impact.

The Kingdom of God requires us to be different: Courage to make a difference

When we embrace the same values, lifestyles, practices, and priorities as the world around us, we have nothing to say of any consequence to that world. We may see the brokenness, the pain, the anxiety, and the shame, but when we are both in the world and like the world, we can offer very little to bring change.

The Gospel fundamentally calls us to be the change. Grace beckons us to be conduits of transformation. The Kingdom of God requires us to be different. It’s a requirement that is not for the faint-hearted.

Our spouse needs us to be different. Our children need it. And our workplaces need it too. By God’s grace, change comes first to us … and then through us.

So, different how? In what we watch, how we parent, in our language, in our priorities, in how we treat others, how we lead. Different in love, in hope and in compassion. In forgiveness, in peace-making, in spending, in web-surfing and in just about every way we can imagine.

Learning from the Martyrs

Richard Rohr, in his book Everything Belongs, writes:

“Underneath the language of orthodoxy and obedience (is) fear of a God who has not been experienced. Teaching and community without the necessary experience of the Holy One, often creates dry, ineffectual, and disappointing Christianity.”

Pre-Constantine, with Emperors like Nero (54-68 AD), Decius (249-251 AD), and Diocletian (284-305 AD) countless followers of Jesus were martyred for their faith, often in brutal and unspeakable ways. Perpetrators and executioners conceived shocking acts of violence, as Christian women and men bravely stood firm for Christ.

In the fourth and fifth Centuries, various church leaders and theologians reflected on the blood-soaked era of the martyrs. What did they learn? How might those deaths inspire us to live differently; to live better?

They generally concluded that those faithful martyrs could teach us at least three things.

Firstly, endurance built their faith and character.
Secondly, the faith of the martyrs ensured their eternal salvation.
But thirdly, and very importantly, the church fathers wrote about the martyrs receiving the gift of parresia, a Greek word meaning boldness or courage.

This courage was not the product of parental training. Nor did it come from natural grit and determination. Rather, parresia was a gift (a grace) from God; special courage that was needed for the moment to remain faithful, and to fulfill the will and plan of God.

The martyrs – thousands of Christian sisters and brothers whose names I do not know, but who are deeply known by the Father – encourage me to think that their extraordinary boldness and courage came as a gift from God, just in time. It was courage to make a difference in the world around them.

Giving God Glory

Whatever challenges you are facing, pray that Christ would grant you this same grace, this same courage. Not that you might emerge as a powerful person, but that God might receive glory and honour through you.

Few of us are called to martyrdom, but many of us will be called to stand boldly for the King and His Kingdom, in our marriages, workplaces, schools and communities.

In this, we will be truly different!

Rev. Mark Wilson is the National Ministries Director for Australian Baptist Ministries.

mark.wilson@baptist.org.au

More Deep Thought

Just Mercy by Michael Henderson
On Becoming Wise Elders by Mike Frost

Read ReCharge

June/July ReCharge 2022

Around the Churches: June/July 2022, North, Northwest and South
Ministry Profile: Matt Holloway, Westbury
Your Church CAN: Caring for Foster Carers
Tas Baptists Grow: Hobart Vision Church
Youth: Hobart Baptist Church
From the Mission Director: Take Courage in Dark Times
Church Profile: Gateway Baptist

July 2022 NEWS
June 2022 NEWS

DOWNLOAD Recent Issues

Courage to make a difference

April 20, 2022October 26, 2022

On Becoming Wise Elders

deep thought

Getting Old doesn’t Automatically Make You Wise

Searching for Wisdom

Michael Frost wonders where the wise ones are.

Women at Annual Assembly Oct 2021. Becoming wise elders — TB Annual Assembly 2021

Have you ever wondered why, if our churches are so full of old people, we often have so much difficulty finding the wisdom of elders? You would think all that life experience and Christian living would make us smarter, deeper, wiser.

Especially wiser.

If that were true, the world would be awash with wise elders. We’re living longer than ever. Our retirement villages and nursing homes are full. The aged are all around us.

I’ve concluded that becoming an elder in our society doesn’t happen automatically.

But younger people regularly tell me they can’t find elders they look up to, women and men who can pass on their wisdom and insight. Many older Christians come off as narrowminded, fearful, and suspicious of change.

I’ve concluded that becoming an elder in our society doesn’t happen automatically. It takes intention and focus to become one.

Growing in wisdom

Becoming wise elders — TB Annual Assembly 2021

Sure, the Bible teaches us that, “Wisdom belongs to the aged, and understanding to the old” (Job 12:12). But such wisdom and understanding aren’t automatically conferred by drifting into some easy agedness.

It takes a plan.

As comedian Matt Black once quipped, “We always romanticise that our elders are wise because of their years of experience, but you know what? Stupid people get old too.”

We need older women and men to be humble enough to remain open to God’s ongoing work in our lives – to embrace courage, serenity, peace, gentleness, and to see the work of our late years to be a blessing to others in their contribution to God’s kingdom.

As we age, we do well to see that growth can still occur, but the growing we undertake in our later years is the humble, expansive work of mentoring, coaching, championing, and celebrating others.

Moving into the future

True elderhood is concerned with being poised and willing to be better stewards of what God has taught us and to provide emerging generations with wisdom and models for how to traverse the challenges that confront them.

As the planet bakes, and nations clash, and public discourse breaks down, younger generations rightly swing between anger and confusion over being left with a world that is so deeply scarred and broken.

Where will they find the wisdom to traverse the future?

Intentionally becoming wise elders

One of the elders I’ve looked to for inspiration is Ann Morisy, a British community theologian and lecturer. In her brilliant book, Bothered and Bewildered, Enacting Hope in Troubled Times (March 2010), she says there are nine aptitudes that wise people need to develop:

NON-ANXIOUS: To be a non-anxious presence in stressful times.
SYSTEMIC THINKING: To practice systemic thinking in order to resist the temptation to blame others when things go wrong.
GRATITUDE: To practice gratitude — even in difficult circumstances.
COURAGEOUS: To engage in courageous micro-actions that counter the inclination towards neo-tribalism and fragmentation rather than social cohesion (e.g., the conversation that Jesus has with the Samaritan woman at the well).
IMAGINATION: To imagine ways of breaking out of the constraints of circumstances and have the motivation and discipline to persist with intentional behaviour.
CONFIDENCE: To gain confidence in the viability of the economy of abundance and generosity that Jesus inducts us into, rather than being beholden to the economy of scarcity.
GOING LIGHTLY: To practice sitting more lightly on the planet in recognition of our thoughtless abuse of the creation.
FRIENDLY: To practice compassion and conviviality.
AFFIRMING: To draw on the enriching memories of eras past in order to affirm the human capacity to repent and correct our errors.

That’s a pretty decent set of objectives for elders to embrace. And it jives with New Testament teaching on wisdom: “But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere” (Jas 3:17).

It’s a skill!

Wise elders must commit themselves to the task. We need a plan for developing elders to embrace the things Ann Morisy lists. We need the wisdom that comes from heaven. And we need training programs in elderhood.

As Stephen Jenkinson writes, “Getting older is inevitable, becoming an elder is a skill.”

Michael Frost is the founding director of the Tinsley Institute, a mission study centre located at Morling College in Sydney. He is an internationally recognised missiologist and one of the leading voices in the missional church movement.

He is the author or editor of 19 theological books, the best known of which are the popular and award-winning, The Shaping of Things to Come (2003), Exiles (2006), The Road to Missional (2011) and Surprise the World! (2016). His latest book is ReJesus: Remaking the Church in Our Founder’s Image (2022).

Deep Thought March 2022

Deep Thought, March 2022

DEEP THOUGHT: A new bi-monthly feature in ReCharge

Just Mercy

Embrace your brokenness as you live in close proximity to others

By Michael Henderson

JUST MERCY

Bryan Stevenson: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ — Bryan Stevenson

Over the summer I read Just Mercy by Bryan Stevenson, an American lawyer who works with people on death row. It is a beautiful and brutal read, full of heart-breaking stories of injustice and prejudice right beside stories of grace and mercy and redemption. The book is powerful, but the podcast interview with Stevenson on the “On Being Podcast” is more accessible (and free).

HUMAN-FOCUSED

Something Stevenson repeats is being a human-focused leader. This thread is also a priority for Tasmanian Baptists this year, including at our March Muster.

Being a human-focused leader feels obvious. A leader helps humans. It feels so obvious that we shouldn’t need to think about it. Stevenson, as a lawyer and his work within the justice system, seems geared toward humans. Yet what he found was a justice system that was often set up to deny people their humanity, that lacked compassion and mercy, and ultimately justice.

Are we becoming more like Jesus, full of hope and grace and redemption for all?

Churches, in practice, can end up in a similar position. Our theory is we are human-focused and God-focused. Love God and love your neighbour as yourself. However, what we can end up with are events and programs and Sunday services and an organisation that has lost sight of humans.

Yes, humans are present, just like they are in the justice system, but are they helping humans? Are we becoming more like Jesus, full of hope and grace and redemption for all? Are we carrying that out into our towns and cities? The way many in our culture view the church suggests the answer is no.

WE CAN CHOOSE

Just Mercy: Embrace our broken natures and live in close proximity to people.

Stevenson’s solution: Embrace our broken natures and live in close proximity to people. He believes we have a choice. We can deny our brokenness, deny our humanity, which results in a lack of compassion and mercy. Or, we can embrace our brokenness, our humanness, our shared vulnerability and imperfection, and let it fuel our capacity for compassion and mercy, and how much we rely on Jesus for everything.

And, when we live in close proximity to people, we see people, and it fuels our ability to be human focused leaders. At a distance from people we can lose sight of compassion and mercy and love, and focus more on just getting things done. Because, with a busy life, it is actually very easy as a leader to forget about humans. But the call of Jesus is to live in close proximity to the people in your church, AND in close proximity to those in our community who are currently far from Jesus.

OBVIOUS AND EASY?

Embrace our brokenness, and live in close proximity to others.

It seems obvious and easy. Yet, that is not Stevenson’s story. Nor is it ours. But, with purpose and being intentional, and allowing Jesus to empower us into it, it can be done, and done so that humans actually benefit.

Michael Henderson, michael@tasbaptists.org.au
Mission and Leadership Development
Tasmanian Baptists

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Just Mercy is available at Koorong for $32.99 (plus postage). JUST MERCY is the #1 New York Times bestseller and now a major motion picture, starring Michael B. Jordan and Jamie Foxx. A powerful true story about the potential for mercy to redeem us, and a clarion call to fix a broken system of justice; from one of the most brilliant and influential lawyers of our time.

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