Another induction

Another Saturday, another induction. This one was nearer home - in Hemel Hempstead, at the Congregational Church in Alexander Rad where John Marshall ministered at one time. The new minister is Chris Bennett who was at Wilton Community Church. The chairman was Gwynne Evans of Hayes and the sermons was given by Jeremy Marshall. There was a good turn out (over a hundred) in their beautifully redesigned church building which now has the preaching point on the longer wall and chairs have replaced pews. The entrance way has also been remodelled and other improvements made. Great to meet with various ones and chat over tea. It has been some time since the church had a pastor and it is good that they now have one. Chris sounds like a good fit.

Conference on Singleness

George Chris
Keith Andrew

Saturday's conference at Highgate Road Chapel on singleness was a worthwhile effort. Some 90 people gathered (60 women and 30 men) - mostly singles I guess but not exclusively by any means. It was good for singles to meet and for all of us to look at the subject and simply to meet other Christians. Most present were fairly local but some had travelled a little distance (Southport, Wolverhampton,  Portsmouth, etc). We are grateful to the organisers for putting this on.

George Platt from Highgate Road started us off with a biblical theology of singleness.

There probably isn't a biblical theology of singleness but there may be one of marriage and so one is able to extrapolate. George, a good Baptist, appeared to want to emphasise discontinuity between the Testaments more than most of us. It is difficult to be positive about singleness (which we should be) without sounding slightly negative towards marriage.

Chris Bennett spoke on the gift of singleness taking the view that not all people who are single have this gift. Chris is very persuasive (from Matthew 19 if not from 1 Corinthians 7) but the view is fraught with difficulties. One wonders what married people who lack the gift of being married are to do, for example. We would prefer the view that sees singleness itself (like marriage) as a gift from God.

We men had a good session with Peter Law and Neil Richardson (while the women had a session with Vicki Gardner and Christine Sherwood). I liked Peter's frankness about his singleness. This session could have been longer. There was no real time for discussion. Keith Berry was also very helpful from Philippines as was Andrew King on singles in the church.

We finished with a question panel. Again, all very helpful.

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Affinity Study Conference 2017

It was good to be able to be at the theological study conference once again. Some 74 of us gathered at the King's Park Conference Centre in Northampton from lunch last Wednesday to lunch on Friday. 

I was glad to be able to bring along two seminary students currently on placement, who joined two or three other students also along. It was good to have my old friend Alan Davey with us on the road up. We also met several other Welshmen or Wales based souls including Mark Thomas, Guy Davies, Stuart Dainty and Gareth Williams Bala. Also nice to chat with Ian McNaughton and others. Some of us including Chris Thomas, Lucy Beale and Mark Pickett enjoyed a walk around nearby Pitsford Water just when the rain stopped on day 2. Other leisure activities included playing pool - not something I often do. I even managed to win two games!

The format is that six papers are distributed to attendees beforehand and then presented at the conference followed by group and then plenary discussion. This year's subject was The Christian Church: Its Mission in a Post-Christian Culture.

I was put in a group ably led by Hexham based American Joshua Rieger that included Andrew Murray, Mike Plant, Ian Parry and others and David MacKay who presented the last of the six papers given.

The papers took us through the Old and New Testaments, church history (Augustine then the rest of history) and the present day. The best of these papers were David Green on the OT and Paul Helm on Augustine. Sadly, Lee Gatiss's slightly sketchy paper did not arrive until the conference had started for various reasons.
We ended with a plenary session chaired by Stephen Clark, who had played a big part organising the conference. Logistics were in the hand of the ever proficient Assistant Director Matthew Evans. Various men chaired including Affinity Director Graham Nicholls, who also organised a prayer session where we had various reports on Wales, N Ireland, Christian Concern, etc, etc.
I thought the conference lacked a little perhaps in theology (for a theological study conference) and was surprised that we didn't appear to differ on Presbyterian/Independent lines as may ahve been expected. In fact, I would have valued more Presbyterian input (I think). Anyway the next one the year after next will be on worship and I doubt if I will be making the same observations then.

Induction of George Platt at Highgate Rd

Another Saturday, another induction. We were over at our neighbours Highgate Rd Chapel in Kentish Town this afternoon for the induction of George Platt. The induction was led by Robert Strivens and Chris Bennett preached. There was a good number there and a nice spread to follow. Tim Collier led the meeting and Andrew Hill the former pastor was among those taking part.

10 Years in Cranford

It was good to be present with many others this afternoon at Cranford Baptist marking the tenth anniversary of Robin Asgher coming to lead the work there. It was good to see Robin and Muno and other old friends. Chris Bennett preached well on the living, conquering, empowering and commanding Christ. The service was led by Paul Williams from Swindon and Basil Howlett from Reading spoke on behalf of the support group and trust.

A good few days

It's been pretty busy the last few days.

Elisha and Hazael

1. Sunday morning I preached here in Childs Hill on 2 Kings 8:7-15 on God holds the future. This was the eighteenth in a series on Elisha. My two main points were that God holds the future and reveals some things about it and that he holds the future, which is not always rosy. We had a good number present including visitors around for Mothers Day and a new couple from the Philippines.



Durands



2. In the afternoon I popped out to nearby Muswell Hill to collect Emmanuel Durand who had been preaching for Chris Bennett so that after tea with us he could preach and speak about the UFM work he is involved in, in Britanny. He enjoyed speaking Welsh with us at tea and a bit of French with members who speak it in church. Thankfully he preached the sermon and gave his report in English. It was great to hear. (Also see here and here)

3. On Monday they had workshops on creation at one of the schools in Childs Hill. I had the opportunity to present the Christian view from Genesis. I began by reading Genesis 1 from the NIrV, getting them to count off Day 1, 2, 3, etc. I then gave a simple powerpoint presentation of the material, touching on Genesis 2, before taking questions. The first group were a little slow getting off the blocks but got going eventually. They wanted to talk about the end of the word as well as the beginning but, while making the point that you can't understand the one without the other, I tried to keep on track. Someone asked me in the afternoon if Adam was a Muslim. Each workshop finished with the kids making posters showing the six days of creation. (I also showed the first group this). There was also a final whole school report back. Most of the workshops had done the Christian view and one the Jewish (pretty much the same). Islam I gather accepts six day creation to some extent but not the biblical account. There were also workshops on some of the more exotic creation stories among Native Americans, etc. (See here). So it was good opportunity and I certainly enjoyed it.

Asghers



4. In the evening I was over in Hounslow for a series of meetings about the church planting work in Cranford. That went well. We are now moving into a new phase of the work with support coming through a trust rather than FIEC. Robin Asgher again had news to report of contacts with Asian people and opportunities to speak to Buddhists, Muslims and others. Always encouraging.



PfS Reading

5. Then this morning I was standing in at the FIEC's PfS course in Reading giving a seminar on Proverbs 9. Around 30 men and women of different ages were present, most of whom I'd not met before, and I think we had a good time. Chris Bennett followed me on the doctrine of Christ. As a WelshmanI've been through Reading a hundred times or more but I don't recall ever being there before so that was good. The Cooks are a lovely couple and made me feel very welcome.

Affinity 05

Our fifth session was on the use of the Mosaic Law in the NT by Chris Bennett with Steve Wilmshurst (Bristol) chairing. Chris's paper was the shortest (and latest) of the six.

Outline of the paper
1. The whole Bible - Covenant, kingdom, Christ
2. Mosaic Law and the NT
3. 1 Corinthians 5
4. 1 Corinthians 9:7-14, esp 9, 13
5. 1 Timothy 5:17-20
6. Matthew 18:16
7. Synthesis and some application
Summary
In what he himself later described as a harangue Chris explained that he was attempting to supplement and slightly modify Moo taking it into a more Reformed position. He mentioned
1. The church and the fact that dispensationalism is a big error. Replacement theology is correct. Further, Paul interprets and applies the law not in a literalistic way (not a regulative principle approach - or normative principle either). Ordering the church is not so different to ordering other things.
2. On NCT he said that this was correct in light of the exegesis of Col 2:16. Also Gal 3:15-4:7; Rom 14:5, 6; Rom 7:1-6; Rom 6:14. Even advocates of Westminster theology do not carry through it was claimed their commitment to the Decalogue as they accept that the Sabbath day has changed.
Chris repeated his idea that if the gospel is scattered throughout Scripture then why confine the law to the commandments argument.
3. His main concern was what motivates us - it should not be law.
Questions for clarification
Chris said the Puritans were fearful of antinomianism, which Stephen Clark denied but is in fact so -so I defended him. The Larger Catechism was quoted to refute the idea that it was not gospel driven - Q 75: What is sanctification?
Answer: Sanctification is a work of God's grace, whereby they whom God has, before the foundation of the world, chosen to be holy, are in time, through the powerful operation of his Spirit applying the death and resurrection of Christ unto them, renewed in their whole man after the image of God; having the seeds of repentance unto life, and all other saving graces, put into their hearts, and those graces so stirred up, increased, and strengthened, as that they more and more die unto sin, and rise unto newness of life.
Plenary Questions
After our small group session we reconvened.
Plenary Questions
These included those on whether an Infant Baptist can accept NCT, which Chris does.
It was asserted that the Westminster catechisms are gospel driven and it is unhelpful to drive a wedge between law and gospel in understanding them. This prompted a confession of hyperbole from Chris.
It was suggested that the general equity of the moral law is what is to be sought just as with other laws, which makes sense.
A question was asked about unbelievers and the Law and an orthodox answer was given.
Professor Helm also tackled Chris on doing theology and the danger of reactionism which is not the way to deal with problems (eg moralism, legalism). He also questioned the suggested Platonism in the Puritans.

Affinity Conference

The book of papers for the Affinity Conference early in February on the end of the law has arrived. It currently lacks Paper 4: The use of the Mosaic Law in the New Testament church by Chris Bennett Wilton Community Church, Muswell Hill. The other papers

Paper 1: The concept of Covenant in the history of theology

Bob Letham Wales Evangelical School of Theology (WEST), Bridgend
Paper 2: The validity of the three-fold division of the Mosaic Law in Scripture

Iain D Campbell Back Free Church, Isle of Lewis
Paper 3: One Covenant or two – the relationship between the Old and the New

Douglas Moo Wheaton College, Illinois
Paper 5: The use of the Mosaic Law in society today

Paul Helm Regent College, Vancouver and London University
Paper 6: Where do we go from here?

Michael Horton Westminster Seminary, California

I've only just started on the papers so I can't comment yet but I am looking forward to reading them and the discussion at the conference. Douglas Moo and Michael Horton are names I know well but have rarely had opportunity to hear. The Affinity website is here.