EG34

inside: Sarah-Jane Marshall meets a shop manager who prioritises relationship over instant profit

An LICC Resource A LICC Resource

Edition 34 September 2012

Neil Hudson moves beyond disclosure to accountability Mark Greene on a prudent, prayerful and proactive Old Testament leader Antony Billington engages popular culture with a biblical perspective

W hich would you choose?

Editorial 30 years old – working for another 40 I read a report a couple of months ago suggesting that educated twenty and thirtysomethings are the most likely segment of the population to be hit by insecurity and depression. Being the owner of a BEng and having just reached the milestone of 30 years young, although you probably wouldn’t guess to look at me (I was recently ID’d in a DIY store trying to buy a polyfiller knife), I am supposedly one of those at greatest risk… and I can understand why.

I have been in work for 8 years now, been married for just over a year, struggled with finances, hauled myself onto the housing ladder and have faced questions about my own identity, the assumed pressure to “succeed”, redundancy and comparison with peers.

I’ve been in work for 8 years and, at this

moment in time, it’s likely that I will be working for a further 40. Right now that seems like a very long way off.

I realise that Christ is the solid rock upon whom I build my present and future, but I also desperately need a community of godly people around me. A people who will not only help me work and pray through these struggles and questions, but who will also hold me to account – on my ethics, my business decisions, management style, my attempt to live and love like Jesus in a world obsessed with the self, salaries and stuff.

Thirty years ago, not only was I born but John Stott also started LICC to engage a contemporary culture and society with the relevance of Christ. Thirty years later we’re still going. “The times they are a changin’” but the gospel, living and active, is as good news today as it was nearly 2000 years

‘I also desperately need a community of godly people around me.’

ago – sharper than a double-edged sword, and awaking hearts to life.

May this edition of EG bless you and encourage you in your daily lives on your frontlines. May you be emboldened to ask the tougher questions, to be lovingly held to account by one another and may you seek the wisdom and creativity of our heavenly father so you may shine like stars in the night sky.

Jay Butcher LICC Communications Manager

Connecting with LICC Emails, social networks, giving and a survey It can be hard on our frontlines. Sometimes we feel like (perhaps we actually are) the only disciple in the building, but this magazine, the events that we put on, and the social networks that we’re a part of are just some of the ways we can share the stories of what God is doing on our frontlines. We love hearing from you by email, phone, post or carrier pigeon – your thoughts, insights, struggles and successes.

So please do connect with us because we are a people of a story, and as American author Madeleine L’Engle once said, “Stories make us more alive, more human, more courageous, more loving.”

Facebook, Twitter & LinkedIn Do swing by any of these networks and Like or Follow us to share stories and encouragements and receive event info and great resources throughout the week.

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Become a Friend We want EG to be a blessing to you and other Christians on their frontlines, so we make it free to subscribe. If, to celebrate our 30th year, you can help meet our challenging b u d g e t o f £1,030,000 by becoming a Friend of L ICC t hat w o u l d b e enormously appreciated. In addition to EG you’ll also receive a quarterly teaching CD or booklet and two introductory publications.

Regular emails You can receive any or all of our emails Word for the Week, Connecting with Culture, LICC Prayer and What’s Happening @ LICC by visiting bit.ly/regularemails.

WorkStart Survey – 18-30s Do you remember what it was like when you started work… would you share how you felt and how church supported your transition into work in a quick online survey?

This research is part of our WorkStart programme, developing resources for young Christians entering the workplace. Tell us what you think at bit.ly/18-30worksurvey.

Continue making a difference Another way you can help ensure that the work of LICC can continue and flourish is by remembering the Institute in your will. For details of how to leave a legacy and enable us to keep on helping God’s people to make a difference, please call 020 7399 9555 to request a legacy pack.

Thank you.

“It’s great. We can tell each other anything.”

Neil Hudson seeks to move Church groups beyond disclosure to accountability You might know how this feels. You come away from a really good evening in a small group and begin to tell someone else why it was so enjoyable. ‘It’s great. We can tell each other anything’. This time it might have been you who was courageous enough to reveal that you struggle with your temper after a stressful day. That the pent up frustration causes you to kick the cat, shout at the kids and end up arguing with your own shadow. It was a good place to be in: a safe place, an affirming place, an authentic place. And you know that the next time you meet, you’ll be able to do it all again, allowing people to keep up with your life.

I suspect that many groups are birthed out of a desire to become these safe spaces where people can share their lives with a no-holds-barred honesty. And it’s good when it happens. But how do we go beyond just sharing our failures and struggles to become groups that can help one another to live as fruitful disciples.

After sharing your struggles would you be taken aback, or grateful, if someone asked forthrightly, ‘So, what are you going to do about that temper of yours?’ Most people will feel that it is not their place to ask that. We don’t want to discourage anyone, we don’t want to appear to be judgemental, and we don’t anyone else to feel deterred from sharing their struggles.

So we don’t ask the difficult question.

What we establish is a strong culture of disclosure at the expense of a culture of accountability. We disclose our struggles, but neither expect, nor necessarily welcome, anyone offering to help us change. It’s all part of the church being a community of support, rather than one of intentional mutual transformation. It’s part of the pastoral care contract that dominates our church life, rather than the pastoral equipping contract that we so desperately need to help one another grow into maturity.

How can we make the changes that will help move a group forward? The first thing to say is obvious, but vital. Yes, we need to continue to encourage each other to be open and honest with one another without the fear of being judged. Our call is to help one another to grow, not to sneer at those who fear that they are the losers. We are to restore one another gently, carrying each other’s burdens (Galatians 6:1-5), but at the same time both the burdened and the supporter must take personal responsibility to ensure that as a people we all grow into maturity.

If we have a strong enough relationship with the temper-torn individual, is it unreasonable to ask them what they are learning about themselves through this pattern of behaviour? To ask what they are learning about the good news of the gospel in the midst of this? To ask how we, as a group, can help them? Can we call them on their way home to act as a lightning rod for the stress build up? Can we think through practical steps that will act as a buffer between work and home?

Can we commit to pray specifically for them about this issue for the next 3-6 months?

Wouldn’t this start to make a real difference, not only to the kids, the

‘We establish a strong culture of disclosure at the expense of a culture of accountability.’

atmosphere in the house and of course the cat, but also to the workplace – the initial source of stress? What, we need to ask each other and ourselves, irritated us in the first place? Too much coffee, jealousy, a dysfunctional relationship with a colleague, an overbearing or undersupportive boss?

What is our response to that?

In other words, is it possible that such situations can be seen as a crucial opportunity to grow so that we understand ourselves better, learn how to read ourselves better, allow others in the group to come closer to us and help us, and allow God to speak and minister and change us, ultimately revealing the transformational power of the Spirit in our day to day lives (2 Cor. 3:18).

Wouldn’t this be a group worth belonging to?

Neil Hudson Neil is Director of the Imagine Project and has no ill feelings towards felines. Watch Neil talk more about Pastoral Care or Equipping, by scanning the QR code below.

Imagine: On The Road - Dates & Locations This autumn, Neil Hudson is being kicked out of the LICC’s London HQ and is setting off for the second leg of Imagine: On The Road. He’ll be leading training workshops for church leaders and those involved with church leadership teams who want to help create whole-life disciplemaking churches – offering biblical vision and clear frameworks for moving forward.

Cost: £15, inc. refreshments. Lunch not provided.

To book, please contact mail@licc.org.uk If you’d like to host a training day, please contact nigel.hall@licc.org.uk

London – 25 Sep 2012 South Devon – 8 Oct 2012 Rugby – 11 Oct 2012 Belfast – 19 Oct 2012 Shrewsbury - 8 Nov 2012 Colchester – 13 Nov 2012 Chessington – 26 Feb 2013 Crewe – 2 Mar 2013 SE Cornwall – 16 Apr 2013 Nottingham – 14 May 2013

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“We only wanted a youthworker…”

But it’s not just young people who are being blessed.

Sarah-Jane Marshall meets Clare Herriot whose creative management principles are helping to change a community.

I’d not been to leafy Chislehurst before and at first it was hard to imagine that this picturesque village with its broad pond has, like almost everywhere in the UK, its own regrettable share of petty crime and vandalism by some of its disengaged youth. So in 2003, like many churches across the country, Churches Together in Chislehurst & Bickley were stirred to address the need. And one good intention was, in this case, going to lead to a whole range of quite unplanned benefits.

For individual churches the expense of employing a youthworker was prohibitive – but working collectively there was more room for creativity so Chislehurst Youth For Christ was launched to provide a positive influence in schools, churches and the local community. Nevertheless, it wasn’t long before the financial pressure began to bite.

Despite generous donations from all churches, relying on the individual giving of congregation members was proving simply unsustainable and fundraising events would only provide a short-term solution.

Something had to change or the initiative was at risk of closure. In retrospect, in this

instance, that lack of money turned out to be an enormous blessing.

An empty shop had recently come up for sale on the High Street and after much prayer it was suggested that the shop be bought to lease to Chislehurst YFC. Already running one charity shop together, the group took the plunge to open a second. Now this strategy wasn’t without risk. After all, the group’s other charity shop was only a stone’s throw away. Would they receive enough donations to stock two shops? Would they be able to get enough volunteers to fill both rotas? Would the investment really pay off? Only time would tell – but they were stepping out in faith, trusting that this was what God was asking of them.

It was now 2004, but as the paperwork was still being processed the visionary chairman and driving force behind the project passed away. At his funeral, among the tributes, a plea was made for volunteers for the new shop which had been aptly named 2gether. One spirit leapt – enter Clare Herriot. Clare’s two children were now in school and she had been looking for a fruitful way to use some of her newfound time. As Clare’s heart pounded she knew that she had to get involved.

‘2gether was not only to fund a service to the community, it was to be a service.’

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For Clare, who had struggled with the loneliness that being a stay-at-home mother can bring, the opportunity to volunteer brought a new lease of life. In the twelve hours Clare spent at 2gether each week she found a place to use her gifts and flourish and within two years she became the shop’s full-time manager.

Clare was delighted, but also daunted.

The shop had achieved an awful lot in two years, but was still in a fragile state.

Funding targets were not quite being reached so the youth worker post was still far from ‘secure’. So Clare set about maximizing profitability, rearranging every square foot of display space to make it as productive as possible. That was until she came to the seating area by the shop windows: the sofa was quite bulky and using the space for an extra few rails of clothes would bring in far more revenue for the charity than selling coffee.

But, for Clare, the choice wasn’t just between coffee and clothes. There were deeper questions. What was the role of a shop in God’s economy? Was profit always to be the primary goal? What was the role of this shop in this community?

Clare realised that the sofa symbolised the founder’s desire for 2gether to be about more than generating revenue for the youth worker. 2gether was not only to fund a service to the community, it was to be a

service to the community. 2gether was a church presence on the high street, a channel of God’s blessing, a model for the kingdom way of doing things. The coffee, and sofa, would stay.

And so Clare’s first-rate attention to detail, which proved so fruitful in the shop’s facelift, is now turned to setting the relational culture too. Returning customers are always greeted warmly by their first name and a deliberate effort is made to remember details from their last conversation – costly effort too, as there are always tasks to be getting on with. And this is not only something Clare does, but a practice that she trains new volunteers to emulate. For new members of the team a powerful principle is laid down – you don’t just need to be able to operate the till, you need to dispense an extravagant welcome.

And now, even though only 40% of the volunteers are church-goers, the kingdom principle of giving dedicated attention to ‘the one’ is beautifully alive.

Similarly, not only does the shop only display quality items, when new stock comes in, items are not just labelled and displayed but often kept aside with a specific customer in mind. Under the counter, you may well find a stegosaurus or diplodocus saved especially for the little boy that adores dinosaurs, classic films for the film fanatic and Tupperware lids for the mother that mentioned in passing that hers were all breaking.

known, each one is precious.

But finding a place where volunteers can f lourish doesn’t always mean that the shop immediately runs more efficiently. When a volunteer lacks confidence on the till they are paired up for as many weeks as needed until they are happy to work alone. When new volunteers Clare (right) manages 2gether with Assistant Manager, Sue Smith come forward and the rota is full, Clare decides not begun to shine down Chislehurst’s High to restructure the rota to squeeze in the Street. The shopkeepers’ email group that extra pairs of hands but to honour the Clare created has facilitated a new and important contributions of the existing tangible sense of community. Where once team. Consequently when one volunteer is retailers were strangers, they are now a unable to come to work because of sickness united group, proudly sharing photographs the hole they leave behind is felt throughout of their joint achievement. Where they the shop. Like Jesus’ parable of the good acted as competitors towards each other, shepherd, when you pay such attention to they now act like a mini Neighbourhood the one, you notice when it goes missing.

Watch group alerting one another to thefts Paying attention to each and break-ins. Once again, something of individual as a unique child the life-giving kingdom breaks through. of God is not only costly, but And so it is clear that God has smiled a challenging discipline to on the faithfulness of Clare and her army maintain, as Clare explained of volunteers enabling 2gether to flourish when I met her on LICC’s in every way. Locally the store is known as Executive Toolbox course. “It’s ‘the Harrods of charity shops,’ Clare has a so easy to forget the individual waiting list of volunteers wanting to help, when the shop is busy and there customers are offered excellent products is a big backlog of things to at low prices, the shop owners on the High do,” Clare said. “I have to keep Street are growing closer, Clare’s volunteers reminding myself to first think about the are flourishing, she prays for and with them person and then think about the task.” and has seen prayers answered, seeds of faith planted and a few new attendees to Cost, relationships and blessings Sunday services – although none have Affirmed that relationships were key in quite taken the plunge yet. And Clare God’s way of doing business, Clare left now sees herself differently, “a square the first module of Executive Toolbox with peg in a square hole” confident that she a fresh energy to use the shop as blessing is exactly where God wants her to be. But to the community. When the chair of the what about the youthwork? Well, with a local retailers group was unable to organise 30% increase in profit year on year, the their annual fundraiser for Christmas original youthworker role is fully funded lights, Clare immediately identified the and has in fact grown to three roles and a job as one filled with relational potential. youth centre enabling excellent work with Once again the decision came at some the town’s young people. cost; Clare had to get clearance from the And to think that, in this case, these charity’s trustees to be released from the abundant blessings came from a lack of shop for a few afternoons a week. During funding and a lot of faith. this time she would visit each retailer on the High Street one by one collecting Sarah-Jane is part of the WorkForum, with a particular focus on donations, promoting and selling tickets for the WorkStart project – the Christmas charity quiz and taking time equipping people in their to build genuine relationships.

20s to develop a richer understanding of how their The quiz was a great success and the faith interacts with their daily Christmas lights shone brightly on the work. For more information High Street, to the delight of all who about this project, visit www.2gethershop.org.uk visited. But as a result another light has

‘Where once retailers were strangers, they are now a united group.’

Flourishing & Rotas Clare’s relational values drive the volunteering rotas too. When a new volunteer comes forward, Clare not only inwardly asks ‘Where could we use you?’, but specifically asks ‘Where would you like to serve?’ and faithfully prays ‘Lord, where would they most flourish?’ As such, completing the rotas is not just about filling a series of homogenous slots, but creating opportunities for blessing that require the skills and personalities of unique individuals. The elderly volunteers that like the quieter rhythm of sorting clothes in the upper room are given the dignity of being left to do what they do best. The booklover – who constantly dreams of new display ideas – is trusted with free reign over the library section. Each volunteer is

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Connected Conversations Antony Billington on engaging popular culture with a biblical perspective.

We live at a time when different voices ‘carefully... both to the ancient Word and to level, in ordinary conversation, those who come at us from all directions. It’s a moment the modern world, in order to relate the one are truly gifted in listening have a way of which many have identified as a shift to the other with a combination of fidelity drawing people out. The rhythm of a good from ‘modernity’ – with its rationalistic and sensitivity’. For John, this was holding conversation gives space to another person, worldview, faith in science, confidence careful balance between irrelevance to the letting them be who they are and express in progress, belief in the ascendancy of world on the one hand and accommodation how things look from where they stand, the West and its values – to an era of to the world on the other. before responding with something of who ‘postmodernity’, or whatever label one ‘We listen to the Word with humble we are and how we see. It’s through such attaches to the state of flux in which we reverence, anxious to understand it, and conversation that we might gently affirm or find ourselves, living in a challenge what we hear. globalised, multicultural, media-saturated world, with Purposeful Dialogue Engaging with Culture: A Basic Method many believing in no ‘truth’ Despite conversation being except what seems right to a regular part of everyone’s Listen – to what is being said them. Add to the mix the everyday life, it can be all Affirm – what is good from a biblical perspective? current economic breakdown, too easy to think that such Critique – what could a biblical perspective bring? the growth of radical Islam, dialogue is for the professional Learn – what might we learn about us, God, society? and the rhetoric of the new few – the ‘evangelists’. Even atheism, and it’s apparent we the designation ‘apologetics’ Pray – how might we follow Jesus more closely? exist in a thick cultural soup.

– used to describe the task How then, do the people of of defending the faith against God engage with such a objections – can sound like culture – arguably one of the most complex resolved to believe and obey what we come something reserved for an academic elite. in human history? to understand. We listen to the world with But, in 1 Peter 3:15, the use of the Greek critical alertness, anxious to understand it word from which ‘apologetics’ is derived Attentive Listening too, and resolved not necessarily to believe casts the net much wider: In all this, we are to listen attentively. and obey it, but to sympathize with it and ‘But in your hearts revere Christ as John Stott’s 1992 book, The Contemporary to seek grace to discover how the gospel Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer Christian, laid out the concept of ‘double relates to it.’ [apologian] to everyone who asks you to listening’ – to the word and to the world – Such listening involves understanding give the reason for the hope that you have. as ‘indispensable to Christian discipleship the world’s needs; acknowledging fears, But do this with gentleness and respect...’ and Christian mission’. He wrote of listening hearing questions. On an interpersonal Clearly, apologetics, in the sense of

Helpful Reading

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The Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Scepticism, Timothy Keller (Hodder & Stoughton, 2009)

Think Christianly: Looking at the Intersection of Faith and Culture, Jonathan Morrow (Zondervan, 2011)

Examines seven common objections and doubts about Christianity, and explores seven reasons to believe in the claims of the Christian faith.

Helpfully explores the responsibility to engage in culture, the preparation we need to do it well – understanding all of life from God’s perspective – and looking at key issues for engagement.

Mere Apologetics: How to Help Seekers and Skeptics Find Faith, Alister E. McGrath (Baker, 2012)

Popologetics: Popular Culture in Christian Perspective, Ted Turnau (P&R Publishing, 2012)

Commends a mindset of engagement, encouraging Christians not only to communicate the ‘truth’ of the Christian faith, but also the ‘attractiveness and joy of the Christian gospel to our culture’.

Eminently readable and highly rewarding, Turnau sets out worldview and popular culture issues, deals with approaches that aren’t so helpful, and applies his own set of five steps to a range of popular cultural works.

An Example: Imagine at the Olympics Few songs in the last fifty years have captured the contemporary British imagination more deeply than John Lennon’s Imagine. In 1999, on the cusp of the new millennium, twenty nine years after Lennon first invited us all to imagine a new world without poverty, war, or racism, a UK poll cited it as the song of the millennium. Interestingly, most of the people who voted for it were not even alive when it was first played.

Thirteen years later, as the Olympics drew to a close, Imagine was played to a global audience.

Somehow it has become the soundtrack of our British, and perhaps Western, collective aspiration for a better world. The song’s meaning has transcended its original anti-Vietnam, new left, atheist lyrics. Otherwise it would be rank insensitivity to invite a world in which some 90% of people believe in an afterlife and some 70% are devoted to their god(s) to listen to such propaganda for atheism.

Biblically, the song denies God, the doctrine of sin, the fall, heaven and hell, but that is not its attraction. Rather, it is, I think, the song’s overall impression that strikes our cardiac chords – the non-triumphalist, melancholic melody; the gentle, tentative invitation to hope; the quiet confidence of a better possibility. We can affirm that yearning surely and point to our hope in its fulfilment in the return of the Creator King and to the signs of its inauguration in the body of Christ today.

Pretty much everyone is familiar with the song, so it’s easy to talk about: Do you like that song? Why do you think it’s still so popular? Why do you think they chose it for the Olympics? Is Lennon’s hope for a better future realistic? Do you think he’s right that religion is the cause of conflict? And so on.

Mark Greene

‘providing an answer’, is not for specialists only, but for all the Christians to whom Peter is writing. They do so – even in hostile contexts – ‘with gentleness and respect’, their dialogue with others flowing out of their commitment to ‘Christ as Lord’.

As such, apologetics can’t be avoided – not if we seek to make sense of who Jesus is and the implications of the gospel for today’s world. Sometimes such conversations about faith happen spontaneously – with the taxi driver, or the person sitting next to us on the bus. More often they happen over time when colleagues spot there is something ‘different’ about us as they interact with us on a daily basis at work, or when friends observe how we respond to periods of suffering or moments of celebration.

For our part, we can pray for opportunities for conversations. And we can learn to ask good questions – like Jesus did – which can disarm hostility, invite reflection, reveal motives, express empathy, provoke discussion. Above all, we seek to bring conversations about science, sex, and suffering (to name just three big topics) back to Jesus, to see how a focus

on him reframes the issues. Talking about Jesus only when ‘religion’ comes up as a topic reinforces the misconception that our faith is merely a private matter, with little applicability to everyday life and culture.

The reality is very different.

Confident Engagement The gospel is good news for all areas of life, not just for providing a moral compass for the big issues that come up time and again. Coining the term ‘popologetics’, Ted Turnau shows how Christians may engage with popular culture thoughtfully and confidently. Popular culture, he says, has become something of ‘a touchstone for our deepest desires and aspirations’, in which we see elements of ‘the good and true and beautiful’ as well as the ‘false and ugly and perverse’. It reflects the mixture of nobility and idolatry that we would expect from created-but-fallen human beings. Hence, ‘fragments of grace’ are woven into songs, movies, TV programmes, books, and social media, but are often bent to the service of false gods who will not deliver salvation. Popologetics finds a connection, points out where the idol is

inadequate and false, and shows how the gospel offers a better alternative.

Although it’s not beyond us, it inevitably takes practice to think critically about the big questions related to identity, purpose, and destiny as these are reflected in everyday culture, and to bring these into discussion with others. It also requires knowledge and discernment to be able to demonstrate where the gospel speaks most forcibly – the significance of Christ’s death and resurrection for those who fear death, who are burdened with guilt, who are under the mistaken impression that identity is bound up with money, sex, or power, who are searching for ‘meaning’ in life.

Still, for the sake of our witness to Christ, learning to read popular culture with eyes informed by the biblical story provides a way of enabling open conversations – not just engaging with ideas in the abstract or even primarily with popular culture as such, but connecting with people in order to introduce them to Jesus.

Antony Billington is Head of Theology at LICC.

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“Great Job J.” Prudent, prayerful, proactive – Mark Greene finds plenty to admire in Jehoshaphat’s innovative rule…

What’s the task? And what might it mean to do it really well? And what might it take not only to do it really well but to do it in a way that gleams of God? Jehoshaphat has a task: to rule Judah.

The Chronicler’s account (2 Chronicles 17-21) – much longer than Kings – is a treasure trove of insight not only into God’s priorities, the trustworthiness of his words, his patient faithfulness, his grace, and the unimaginable creativity of his interventions in miracle and message but also a treasure trove of insight into how a godly follower approaches the task before them and uses the power given them.

We all have tasks… make a meal, lead a team, fix a car, sell a fridge… And we all have power, though we may think we don’t have much of it or nearly as much as we’d like. Certainly, in the modern world, only dictators, drug lords, war lords and one or two emirs have the kind of unchallengeable power invested in an Old Testament king like Jehoshaphat. Still, power most of us have: power to vote, power to protest, power to deploy resources, power – if we are employed – to influence those above us, below us, at the same level… Power, if we are parents or deacons or church members, power if we are popular, gorgeous or have some relevant expertise or… How do we use that power to fulfil the task?

So what might we learn from Jehoshaphat?

The first duty of government is the security of its people. And this is where Jehoshaphat begins. Ahab threatens from the North and so he begins by strengthening his garrisons. These early initiatives, however, are set by the chronicler in the context of Jehoshaphat’s character – he is devoted to God, he seeks the Lord, he walks in the way of his father (2 Chronicles 17:3-6).

His military preparations are not fuelled by panic or self-aggrandisement or motivated by expansionist ambition but rather by prudence and trust in God. Indeed, as elsewhere in the Bible, the most reliable economic and foreign policy is to seek the Lord and follow his ways.

Do that, and you are more than likely to be blessed, even if you make some less than Lincoln-esque decisions – as indeed 8

Jehoshaphat does.

This, however, is no prosperity theology.

What is required, is not some robotic adherence to biblical injunctions which God is somehow obliged to bless but rather a seeking of God’s will in one’s own context.

‘Seeking’ suggests something much deeper than simply following the rules, it suggests a proactive desire to know God’s will for now. In Jehoshaphat’s case this proactive seeking not only results in some familiar policies, but also in a series of fresh, creative initiatives. For Jehoshaphat, the task of the monarch is much, much bigger than the defence of the realm, it is also the shaping of a godly people. For a parent the task is much bigger than the provision of food and shelter and physical care…

For a manager the task is much bigger than making one’s numbers…

Jehoshaphat institutes a two-pronged national education initiative. He not only removes the high places and the Asherah poles – predictable if highly laudable – he appoints a team of 12, including five civil servants (‘lay’ people), five Levites and two priests, to tour the land and teach the people the word of God. The removal of the Asherah poles reduces the opportunity for corporate or individual idol worship, and the teaching programme reduces the desire for it. Tough on idolatry, tough on the causes of idolatry. It is the first time that such an initiative had been taken. Perhaps such imaginative freshness of approach, like the writing of new songs, is the mark of the creativity that springs from ‘seeking’

the wisdom of the creator God. Jehoshaphat’s creativity goes further. He not only sends out a teaching team but he sends the Book of the Law with them. For Jehoshaphat, the Book of the Law is not some museum relic or a treasure reserved for the Jerusalem elite but is relevant to every square hectare of the territory and to every person. Furthermore, it is the clearest possible indication to the people that the teaching they are receiving is not the spin of some trendy new regime but springs from the authoritative word of God. In sum, Jehoshaphat is not just leading

the people by a set of principles – as any godly leader would seek to do – he is trying to create a people with a set of principles that they know how to apply.

It’s a familiar contemporary challenge. It is one thing to create codes of practice and reams of regulations for a host of sectors but they have consistently been shown to be limited in their efficacy. People need to understand the principles behind the codes. Most of the MPs castigated for abuse of expenses did nothing illegal, but a number did something immoral.

In a work context, it may not necessarily be helpful to send a primarily non-believing management team on a Christian retreat

– though I’ve known it done to positive effect – but should we not be making some deliberate attempt to inculcate biblical values through imaginative communications – a statement of a principle in a meeting, an occasional quote that’s emailed to the team, a reference to a thinker whose values have helped shape something in you, a proverb at the bottom of an email, an article photocopied (eg. Harvard Business Review April 2012, on the commercial value of common coffee times), a few pages from a book (Good to Great? By Jim Collins), an afterwork discussion group on a core corporate issue – it’s been done.

If we want people to taste the ways of the kingdom so that they might one day know the king, what can we do to move their thinking in that direction? Yes, behaviour is eloquent but it is all the more potent if others have the opportunity to understand and explore the rationale behind our behaviour and our decisions.

In Jehoshaphat’s case the result of his honouring God has a remarkable impact on international relations: “The fear of the Lord fell on all the kingdoms of the lands surrounding Judah…” (2 Chronicles 17:10). God honours Jehoshaphat’s determination to create a Yahweh-centred culture by supernaturally protecting Judah – a highly effective, non-nuclear deterrent. Interestingly, Jehoshaphat’s response is not to see this divine deterrent as permanent but as an opportunity to invest more in conventional defence against some future threat. He remains prudent, proactive and not presumptuous.

Then Jehoshaphat makes a mistake. He marries Ahab’s daughter.

Politically, it looks like a smart move, entirely consistent with the mores of the time, and most eras up to the 20th century but is it God’s will? It may be motivated by a desire to reduce the threat from Ahab but Ahab is an idolator, married to the aggressively anti-Yahweh Jezebel.

Similarly, when Ahab later asks for military help to retake Ramoth Gilead, Jehoshaphat

For a good, recent commentary on 1 & 2 Chronicles, see Mark Boda in the Tyndale Cornerstone series.

seeks the counsel of the Lord, but ignores the Lord’s prophet. Perhaps the goal looks too obviously good to allow one lone voice to overrule hundreds of others. But then, as now, the question “Is God in it?” is crucial.

One of my friends invests in companies. “How do you make investment decisions?” one of my children asked, no doubt looking for a speedy route to a Buffett-like fortune. The reply was as swift as an arrow from Legolas’ bow: “I pray about it. I look at the business case. And I ask myself, “Do I want to work with the people?”

In Jehoshaphat’s case the ‘business case’ is solid but he ignores the Lord and is almost killed in the ensuing defeat. God, however, is not content to let Jehoshaphat draw his own conclusions from his narrow escape. Jehu carries the message: “Should you help the wicked and love those who hate the Lord?”

Jehoshaphat’s response to the rebuke is not a retreat into sulky inaction or selfflagellatory woe-is-me-I-am-an-unworthyworm. Rather he increases his efforts to transform the people. In his first education campaign he sent out a team. This time he goes himself “to turn the people back to the Lord the God of their fathers”. The whole nation can see how important this is to their leader. However, he recognises that even royal engagement is not enough to sustain the required culture shift, so he massively increases access to justice by appointing permanent judges across the land.

In sum, what we see in this God-fearing man is a persevering attempt to build a God-fearing nation through prayerful seeking, personal engagement, imaginative policy initiatives and the establishment of ongoing institutions that make biblical justice accessible to all. No wonder then that the Chronicler summarises his life so positively: “He did what was right in God’s eyes.” Praiseworthy in anyone – king or commoner.

‘Then, as now, the question “is God in it?” is crucial.’

Mark Greene is Executive Director of LICC

How to read Old Testament Narratives I suppose we all have our literary preferences – mine has long been stories. And I’ve always loved the Old Testament stories for their vigour, their earthy realism and their subtle craftsmanship.

Still, applying stories set 2500 to 3000 years ago to the challenges of contemporary life is a task to be approached with judicious care as well as joyous relish. Nehemiah, for example, was a great leader but applying his highly autocratic strategy for regenerating Jerusalem would in most contemporary projects result in disaster or resentment – unless, like Nehemiah, the situation is dire, the people completely discouraged, and the leadership competencies absent. The best short summary on reading OT narratives is probably in Fee and Stuart’s evergreen How to read the Bible for all it’s worth (Zondervan). And they cite three main interpretative levels.

Level 1: What’s the story saying in its context?

For example, what is the Chronicler’s account of Jehoshaphat’s reign saying as a story in the context of the overall book of Chronicles. In that regard, you’d look not only at Jehoshaphat but at the parallels and contrasts the book makes with other kings – good and bad. So, we find positive parallels with Solomon in terms of wisdom and use of wealth and very strong positive reinforcement of Jehoshaphat’s devotion to God because other godly kings are cited as sharing those qualities.

Level 2: What’s the story saying in the context of the history of Israel? So, in the case of Jehoshaphat, the story confirms God’s faithfulness to the kingdom of Judah but also God’s opposition to the Kingdom of Israel based on the relative faithfulness of the two kingdoms.

Level 3: How does the story relate to the bigger story of the whole Bible and the Gospel of the crucified and risen Christ? In the case of Jehoshaphat, the reality of his failure to achieve a lasting shift in the hearts of the nation, despite the faithful, creative, godly initiatives he takes, points to the need for a saviour who can enable lasting change that is not merely a response to social conditioning or legal stricture but rather springs from being new creations, changed, empowered and directed by the Holy Spirit.

Other Recommended Resources The Art of Biblical Narrative - Robert Alter How to Read Bible Stories: An Introduction to Narrative Criticism Daniel Marguerat and Yvan Bourquin Preaching Old Testament Narrative - Bob Fyall

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Faith, Hope and the Global Economy David Parish reviews a new book which explores how hope influences work and wealth creation.

Forty years ago when I began my business career I asked the local Christian book shop if there were any books looking at business from a Christian perspective, but the only one they could find was Fred Catherwood’s excellent The Christian in the Industrial Society. The book reflected on a business world that is now history. A time when many major power companies were government owned and run, as were BT and BAA, banks did not manage ‘casino investments’, and investment banking was still in the hands of private companies and families.

In Faith, Hope and the Global Economy, Richard Higginson writes about the business world as it is today. He brings wide expertise as a theologian who, over the last 20 years, has specialised in the area of ‘Work and Faith’, written extensively on the topic, taught at business schools and headed up the ‘Faith in Business’ project at Ridley Hall. Higginson succeeds in producing a work which reflects on the way the business

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world reacts to market forces and globalism, considers the impact of the challenges in the banking sector and reflects on Bob Diamond’s 2011 suggestion that it was “time to move on”.

The central theme is one of hope for the future, reflecting on Jurgen Moltman’s Theology of Hope, and his understanding of how the Kingdom of God is present in everything we do, everyday.

The book explores how biblical hope should influence our attitude to our work and shape our approach to wealth creation through business and commercial activity.

He also breaks new ground in providing a good critique for Webber’s thesis that capitalism developed from Calvin’s acceptance of interest on loans. The link is not as clear cut as most believe. Higginson shows using several passages in the Bible that trans-national trade was more significant in much earlier times than is often realised. Interestingly, this is also supported by non-biblical sources, including 5th century BC Babylonian trade documents.

Also helpful are the references to the contribution the Quaker manufacturers have made to our understanding of how a business can be profitable, but also contribute to human flourishing.

Higginson achieves his aim of finding hope in crisis by pointing to new ways of doing business, both in our personal attitudes towards work and wealth and in exploring new models of doing business that are more integrated and consider the impact of the business not just for shareholders but the wider community as a whole.

I would challenge the overemphasis of the usefulness of the growing number of ‘Social

Enterprises’ (SE) as a future business model. Few, if any, of the existing 20,000 have shown how they could be grown to create the levels of employment and wealth creation on anything like the scale of traditional corporate models.

Indeed, there is no legal definition of an ‘SE’, and they are unregulated so it can be difficult to check what percentage of profit has gone to support the ‘SE’ element and how much has gone for salaries, or has been retained in the business.

One of the book’s stated aims is to stimulate debate, but there are no policy suggestions – for example, what government might do to rebalance the Companies Act? Or how might banking regulations be improved.

Personally, I feel that it is precisely theologians of Richard Higginson’s calibre, having studied and researched as widely and carefully and long as he has, should offer, however deferentially, some practical outworking of the belief that the Bible’s teaching is integral to running a morally sound business and a morally sound economy. It is how the debate may be ignited.

Those personal preferences aside, I would recommend this book to anyone who works in business or banking – you will find it both helpful and stimulating. But it should also be read by pastors who want to better understand the pressures that their church members face in their daily work and support them on their frontlines.

‘Biblical hope should influence our attitude to our work and shape our approach to wealth creation.’

David Parish is one of LICC’s WorkPlace Associates, a member of the London Synod of the Church of England and is a regular guest on Premier Radio speaking about business from a faith perspective.

Faith, Hope and the Global Economy is part of a series edited by Mark Greene, other titles include Working Without Wilting, Get a Life, Working it Out and Ten at Work.

Events@LICC

All events will be held at LICC, St Peter’s, Vere Street, London W1G 0DQ unless otherwise stated and livestreamed online where possible.

30th Anniversary Celebration Bible, Balloons and a Nation at Stake – 9 October Please join us for this special evening.

It is thirty years since John Stott founded the Institute and LICC’s biblical vision for whole-life daily mission remains as radical as ever.

And if anything, more urgent.

So, how do we live it out in today’s harsher, more intimidating and much needier land?

Recent work has helped us sharpen our diagnosis of the challenges and enabled us to test-drive a number of practical responses. So join Mark Greene and the team as they share fresh insights, offer a richer vision for daily mission, explore the implications of a Gospel that is not just good news for individuals but for tasks and policies, companies and institutions, and highlight the one key shift that local church communities need to make. Hear too how LICC hopes to play its part in reaching our nation. Come and consider how you and your community could be involved and support the cause. The evening will begin with drinks and canapés.

Cost: Free and includes light refreshments, 6:15 - 8:30pm

Workplace Events Of Markets and Men – 24 September The City of London and its financial institutions continue to face crisis and scandal – the way we do finance reflects our values. James Featherby, author of the recently published Of Markets and Men, suggests four radical structural changes required to re-lay the foundations of our business and financial practices, paving the way for a more relational, holistic, neighbourly, adventurous, purposeful, humble and principled future. Come join the debate.

Cost: £7 (£5 concession) includes light refreshments, 6:30 - 8:30pm

Good Work? – 29 October Escalating challenges and demands on working Christians in today’s market place are recognised as a critical part of the pastoral care agenda – but what about work itself? Does the work we actually do matter to God? Is he interested in the impact that it has on his children and those around us? What sorts of activities deserve the majority of our waking hours?

Cal Bailey, Sustainability Director for NG Bailey, helps us engage theologically with what it means to be involved in ‘good work’.

Bible & Culture Events Spiraling Out of Control: A Day in Judges – 16 October Few books of the Bible compare to Judges for sheer intrigue and drama, not to mention sex and violence. Inhabited by heroes and heroines, villains and victims, it tells the story of the slow deterioration of the people of God into a situation where everyone does “what is right in their own eyes”, living without reference to God – yet it also points us forward to the supreme deliverer, Christ himself. Join Mary Evans, Old Testament scholar and author, as she leads a day of workshops suitable for all who would value digging deeper into scripture, Christian identity and discipleship.

Cost: £15 includes lunch & light refreshments 9:30am - 4:00pm

The Religion of Tolerance – 26 November ‘Tolerance’ used to be about the willingness to endure ideas with which one disagreed, acknowledging the right to differ. Now it is an idealogical commitment to treat all ideas as equally right, where expressing any disagreement risks the accusation of ‘intolerance’. Join Dan Strange, Lecturer in Culture, Religion and Public Theology at Oak Hill Theological College, for an exploration of the phenomenon of tolerance – its promises and pitfalls, exploring the implications for us in our daily lives and for our churches – being seen as cultures of hospitality not hostility.

Cost: £7 (£5 concession) includes light refreshments, 6:30 - 8:30pm

Science and Wonders – 3 December Science is a deeply rational activity, undertaken through observation, experimentation, gathering hard data, making sense of the world – so we don’t often associate it with beauty. But scientists have always appreciated the beauty of the world they study, and for many that has a spiritual dimension too. Wonder more obviously plays an important part in science, but how is that connected with faith in God, and the imagination and creativity involved in science? Ruth Bancewicz, research associate at the Faraday Institute for Science and Religion, reflects on the beauty in science, exploring creation and honouring the Creator.

Cost: £7 (£5 concession) includes light refreshments, 6:30 - 8:30pm

You can book your place on any of these events or courses by either registering online at www.licc.org.uk or by calling 020 7399 9555.

Cost: £7 (£5 concession) includes light refreshments, 6:30 - 8:30pm

Executive Toolbox 2013 Applications are now open for this intense but enjoyable course, uniquely structured TOOLBOX highly to help you have significant impact on the way you work, the people you work with and the organisation you work in. Register online at www.licc.org.uk or call 020 7399 9555.

EXECUTIVE

The London Institute for Contemporary Christianity St. Peter’s · Vere Street · London · W1G 0DQ (t) 020 7399 9555 (f) 020 7399 9556 (e) mail@licc.org.uk (w) www.licc.org.uk @liccltd

LICCLtd

Editors: Jay Butcher & Mark Greene · Design/print: www.x1.ltd.uk All articles ©LICC – use only with prior permission from the publishers. LICC Ltd is a registered charity No. 286102

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A Prayer for

Our Land Imagine the Cross is taller than the Shard.

Imagine a poet wiser than the Bard.

Imagine time unbounded by Big Ben’s chime, Imagine a river, untamed and pure, Bearing freedom to every shore.

Imagine a monarch with the universe at their feet.

Imagine an ear that hears every heart beat Imagine a hand that is ever strong, Imagine a judge who will right every wrong And turn lament to joyous song.

Imagine not just this: for all this is written, sure and true, Imagine rather what in our time such a One might do: Come Lord Jesus, our hearts and land renew.

Come Lord Jesus, our hearts and land renew.

Photo by DAVID ILIFF. License: CC-BY-SA 3.0

Mark Greene