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Getting to Grips with Grace
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It has been a breadth of fresh air to be working with our new work, Grace East, which is meeting bi-weekly in London Docklands. What has been so exciting is our going back to the beginning with a group. One of the things that has really struck me is the need to distill our message in order to make it simple and more relevant. It’s fair to say that I’ve not always been known for simplicity in the past but I’m totally convicted about it. Let me tell you why. The Lord has spoken to me very clearly about the emphasis of my particular contribution to the work. Without discounting anything else which we do or is available, I see that the main emphasis for me (and I hope you’ll want to join me in this adventure) is to change the way the world perceives Christianity. To do that, we must change the way we, as Christians, perceive God. Adrian Plass was closer to the truth in his diary entry when he wrote about the monk who visited his church and said, “God is nice and likes us.” Well, actually, it’s far deeper than that – God is love and loves us. Sadly, that’s not the image the church projects of God. The god of Christianity is all too often a god who is the Ebenezer Scrooge of the universe, a mean bookkeeper with whom we must keep short accounts.
My point is that we’re working on some new materials that are going to deal with real entry-level questions. I have in mind a sort of Grace Alpha Course, only a bit more edgy. I want to know what the real tough questions people are asking. So, I’d like to invite you to email me at
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with any questions you feel is important; any question at all. I’m going to run some focus groups and also some FAQ sessions to make sure we drain the tank, so to speak, but I really want to hear from you with your individual questions or questions which you’ve been asked by Grace Immigrants (for want of a better term). So, don’t hold back. Please send them in. Here’s a sample of some questions I’ve already received.
How should we interpret the Bible?
How are we to understand the all apparent “bringing and doing” in the Old Testament against what you say is the “receiving and being” of the New Covenant?
Why does the Bible talk about “doing” if grace is, as you say, about “being”?
Is everyone saved?
So, do Christians have to do nothing?
How does a person become saved?
How are we to evangelise? What’s the New Covenant model of grace evangelism?
How should we meet together? What place do corporate prayer and worship play?
If this message is truth, why are we the only ones who know and believe it to be the gospel? How do we fit into the rest of the Christian community? Surely we are called to belong to a wider body. Are other Christians not a part of that then?
Do you believe in the gift of tongues? If so, when, where and how does it operate?
Do you believe in the other charismatic gifts such as healing and prophesy?
Are we aiming to look like every other church externally; just with a different message? So, aren’t we just another denomination?
Why do people get the message and then leave? Is there scriptural grounds for that?
How do we respond to passages that clearly tell us to do stuff such as “imitate Christ”?
Why does the New Testament talk about people who will not inherit the kingdom of heaven?
Why does the message seem to promote passivity?
If the gospel is so simple, why are we finding it difficult to understand and communicate to others?
How can we communicate this message to other churches?
How does God speak today?
Most people have a very real salvation experience. Can we rubbish that as if it never happened? How does their experience fit into what we understand?
What is the ABC of salvation, i.e. if I wanted to share my faith with others, what would I say to them in order for them to access it?
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