Tuesday, October 26, 2004
A quick note from Aracaju
Just to say that we arrived safely in Aracaju yesterday after some delayed flights, and are staying at the home of our dear friends Kleber and Talita. I am preaching Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday nights on the Solas of the Reformation. (Friday night is a wedding, to which we are invited.) Tonight was on Grace and Faith, and went very well. I am aiming to expound a key passage each night, rather than doing a lecture on systematics, and this evening we started off with Ephesians 2:1-10. A packed church, great attention, and a long message (70 mins) seemingly well received. Tomorrow is Sola Scriptura. On Friday during the day I will be leading a workshop on "Preaching Christ from the OT" - the first time I have tackled this theme in Brazil. Please pray for the remainder of the week.
I am sorry not to have got a programme for the week on here before, but my computer crashed pretty drastically on Sunday, and that froze a lot of things, before our journey here. Please pray for rapid recovery of files, and possibly for new machines ere long.
Just to say that we arrived safely in Aracaju yesterday after some delayed flights, and are staying at the home of our dear friends Kleber and Talita. I am preaching Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday nights on the Solas of the Reformation. (Friday night is a wedding, to which we are invited.) Tonight was on Grace and Faith, and went very well. I am aiming to expound a key passage each night, rather than doing a lecture on systematics, and this evening we started off with Ephesians 2:1-10. A packed church, great attention, and a long message (70 mins) seemingly well received. Tomorrow is Sola Scriptura. On Friday during the day I will be leading a workshop on "Preaching Christ from the OT" - the first time I have tackled this theme in Brazil. Please pray for the remainder of the week.
I am sorry not to have got a programme for the week on here before, but my computer crashed pretty drastically on Sunday, and that froze a lot of things, before our journey here. Please pray for rapid recovery of files, and possibly for new machines ere long.
Monday, October 18, 2004
Churrasco at Pântano do Sul
This weekend we had Franklin, Marilene and Beatriz Ferreira with us from Rio de Janeiro. Please pray for the time with them: they face big questions regarding their future in Rio, as we do here. In order to make the best use of the time with them as a group, we all spent Saturday together at Marquito's family's beach house down in the south of the island. Alex cooked churrasco - a barbecue, but for British readers, please subtract the rain and add real meat! At the start of the meal we remembered who died for us and who we are in him as we broke bread together: very simple, with a brief word from Luke's Gospel, and a hymn sung from memory.
What a glorious day! Much good food, much good conversation... and touch rugby on the beach! What more could you ask for?
Sunday was also a good day - Franklin preached in the afternoon at Beto's house, and afterwards we had an impromptu celebration of Cora's birthday. Good conversations continued throughout the weekend, and we were sad to see the family fly home today.
We hope the pictures tell the story...
This weekend we had Franklin, Marilene and Beatriz Ferreira with us from Rio de Janeiro. Please pray for the time with them: they face big questions regarding their future in Rio, as we do here. In order to make the best use of the time with them as a group, we all spent Saturday together at Marquito's family's beach house down in the south of the island. Alex cooked churrasco - a barbecue, but for British readers, please subtract the rain and add real meat! At the start of the meal we remembered who died for us and who we are in him as we broke bread together: very simple, with a brief word from Luke's Gospel, and a hymn sung from memory.
What a glorious day! Much good food, much good conversation... and touch rugby on the beach! What more could you ask for?
Sunday was also a good day - Franklin preached in the afternoon at Beto's house, and afterwards we had an impromptu celebration of Cora's birthday. Good conversations continued throughout the weekend, and we were sad to see the family fly home today.
We hope the pictures tell the story...
Sunday, October 17, 2004
Churrasco at Kito's beachhouse: what price a British barbecue???
On the beach: Franklin and Alberto - heavy talking
Tuesday, October 05, 2004
Part of the Blumenau group - Guto holds the Bible open at Psalm 2
Blumenau. Andrew writes:
We had a tremendous day on Saturday, over in Blumenau. We last visited in early June; since then there has been rapid growth in numbers, with 25 or 26 now gathering regularly. The age range has not changed much though: apart from two mothers of group members, in their fifties, the average age must be around 22 or 23, with many of them still in their teens. Some have been converted in the group, but most are from traditional, Pentecostal or G12 churches where they have become utterly disillusioned with shallow and erroneous teaching. They are strong Calvinists, in a fairly intellectual and aggressive way, as you might expect from people of this age who have gained their doctrinal understanding principally from trawling the internet.
There are other factors at work, of course. Certainly within the churches, including the Pentecostal and G12 ones, the fact that many of these young people are of the long-hair, black clothes and body-piercing tribe doesn’t go down too well. Not only are their doctrines weird, but they look weird. So they are out of the churches. I have no doubt that they have not always been wonderful in their tact and Christian grace, whether in their espousal of unconditional election or nose rings, but they are a good group at heart, with a tremendous need of, and hunger for, the Word.
While many Brazilian evangelicals would react strongly against the doctrine and appearance of these young people, they are getting on with the big issues of the kingdom – love to neighbour, practical care for the poor and needy, spreading the gospel. Sadly for many evangelicals, as we know personally to our cost, adherence to fundamentalism’s code book is more important than the righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit of Romans 14:17.
To return to the group and their needs: the Calvinism accessible in Portuguese on the net and in general dominant in the reformed movement here is highly polemic, oriented in terms of systematic theology, with very little Biblical exposition. The reformed movement in fact is not reformed at all, if by reformed we mean the practice of the reformers, who opened the scriptures week by week in their churches. We need polemics, we need systematics, but the basic diet of the people is to be the Bible and the Bible alone. And this group is a prime example of the problem. They are believers, they are Calvinists, and yet they have never, ever heard a real Bible exposition.
I wasn’t sure what to do on Saturday, and had brought various notes with me. But as the conversation progressed, I felt that we had to open up a central gospel passage. Those who know me well will have guessed: Psalm 2, the manifesto.
The study took around 2 hours. Heaps of questions. Sidetracks – both valuable and useless – the paper chase approach to preaching and the obsession with the Five Points were very visible and not helpful. Enthusiastic and very noisy interruptions. Exclamations in youth and surfer slang, “Que animal, cara!” (What a beast, man!) Tears (yes, really) as the beauty of the gospel presented in the passage hit home.
We love this group. They need the Word. They need the tools to get into the Word for themselves. They need teachers.
We are doing what we can to bring the word, and to try to give some support and training to the group members who do most of the teaching. We are going to aim at a visit every month. Pray that it might be possible.
It seems that the road to Blumenau is going to become familiar.
We had a tremendous day on Saturday, over in Blumenau. We last visited in early June; since then there has been rapid growth in numbers, with 25 or 26 now gathering regularly. The age range has not changed much though: apart from two mothers of group members, in their fifties, the average age must be around 22 or 23, with many of them still in their teens. Some have been converted in the group, but most are from traditional, Pentecostal or G12 churches where they have become utterly disillusioned with shallow and erroneous teaching. They are strong Calvinists, in a fairly intellectual and aggressive way, as you might expect from people of this age who have gained their doctrinal understanding principally from trawling the internet.
There are other factors at work, of course. Certainly within the churches, including the Pentecostal and G12 ones, the fact that many of these young people are of the long-hair, black clothes and body-piercing tribe doesn’t go down too well. Not only are their doctrines weird, but they look weird. So they are out of the churches. I have no doubt that they have not always been wonderful in their tact and Christian grace, whether in their espousal of unconditional election or nose rings, but they are a good group at heart, with a tremendous need of, and hunger for, the Word.
While many Brazilian evangelicals would react strongly against the doctrine and appearance of these young people, they are getting on with the big issues of the kingdom – love to neighbour, practical care for the poor and needy, spreading the gospel. Sadly for many evangelicals, as we know personally to our cost, adherence to fundamentalism’s code book is more important than the righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit of Romans 14:17.
To return to the group and their needs: the Calvinism accessible in Portuguese on the net and in general dominant in the reformed movement here is highly polemic, oriented in terms of systematic theology, with very little Biblical exposition. The reformed movement in fact is not reformed at all, if by reformed we mean the practice of the reformers, who opened the scriptures week by week in their churches. We need polemics, we need systematics, but the basic diet of the people is to be the Bible and the Bible alone. And this group is a prime example of the problem. They are believers, they are Calvinists, and yet they have never, ever heard a real Bible exposition.
I wasn’t sure what to do on Saturday, and had brought various notes with me. But as the conversation progressed, I felt that we had to open up a central gospel passage. Those who know me well will have guessed: Psalm 2, the manifesto.
The study took around 2 hours. Heaps of questions. Sidetracks – both valuable and useless – the paper chase approach to preaching and the obsession with the Five Points were very visible and not helpful. Enthusiastic and very noisy interruptions. Exclamations in youth and surfer slang, “Que animal, cara!” (What a beast, man!) Tears (yes, really) as the beauty of the gospel presented in the passage hit home.
We love this group. They need the Word. They need the tools to get into the Word for themselves. They need teachers.
We are doing what we can to bring the word, and to try to give some support and training to the group members who do most of the teaching. We are going to aim at a visit every month. Pray that it might be possible.
It seems that the road to Blumenau is going to become familiar.
Friday, October 01, 2004
Signs of spring at the Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC)
Major prayer needs as we start October
In terms of prayer needs in October, this is the month where we really get back into the normal rhythm of ministry. Please pray for...
Ministry with the Peregrinos.
We are now a church, and looking to change our name in order to reflect the new identity of the group. There are many practical matters to be sorted out - but we need a firm common understanding and theological base to do that well. We are looking at Genesis on Sundays; and meeting on Fridays to discuss who we are and where we are going. The group is growing - I am concerned that numerical growth doesn't outpace our capacity to make wise definitions of identity and direction.
You can imagine that life in a new church has its potential stresses, and involves a level of pastoral work.
IBE - Baptist Institute, Florianópolis.
Next Tuesday I return to the classroom, and will be in the following pattern until Christmas in all weeks when we are in the city. Tuesday night - 3 hour class - Homiletics (preaching) III. Wednesday night - 3 hour class - Ecclesiology (doctrine of the church.) This will be a key semester. I hope that members of our church will attend the Wednesday classes as part of our gaining a good basis for discussions.
First Baptist Church, Florianópolis
Our work in the English group continues – now in Exodus, and is a great joy, but I suspect that this series will be the last as we will need to move our church meetings to Sunday morning. We cannot really justify the English group in terms of the overall strategy of our ministry, although it has been a means to our own personal sustaining over the past year or so.
But the relationship with First Baptist remains strong. In some ways the possible loss of the English group is part of a choice to maintain the possibility of preaching at the church (and others) in the evening. Pastor Paulo Solonca will be travelling in November (Haggai Institute, Hawaii) and has asked me to preach on every available night. I thus find myself booked to do my first expository series at the PIB: we will send dates in November.
Blumenau
Two hours from us, this most Germanic town has a little church rather similar to ours, although much younger in age. (Average 23!) I first met them on-line, but we are about to make a second visit to provide some pastoral support and encouragement. (Tomorrow - 2 October)
Carianos
This neighbourhood near Florianópolis airport has a large Baptist church which is in a state of trauma following the withdrawal of its entire leadership who wished to take it into the G12 movement. (Ask me if you wish to know more!) The church resisted, but is now in a state of shock, and suffering from a lack of Bible teaching over many years. I have just preached there for the first time, and they are chasing me for more. God willing, we will be with them again on Sunday 17 October.
Jaraguá do Sul
Also this month I am starting a series of sessions in a church towards the north of ours state, planted by UFM colleagues Joe and Evelyn McCartney. They are our nearest neighbours; just 2 hours 30 minutes drive away. On Saturday 23 Oct we will go over for the day: I will do Biblical Exposition with some of their leading people, while Cora speaks to the women. The dose will be repeated twice, God willing, in November.
Aracaju
Over the last years we have developed a good relationship with a group of churches in Aracaju, Sergipe state, in the north-east of Brazil. This month we will travel, God willing, for an intensive week of preaching and training up there, focussed on the classic doctrines rediscovered at the reformation. The dates are 25 Oct - 1 Nov, with a public lecture each weeknight, an intensive training day on "How to preach the Old Testament" on Friday and preaching in two churches on the Sunday. Please pray for stamina. The journey involves about 4 hours in the air, plus airport time.
Cora
Cora is continuing her course with the Evangelical Theological College of Wales. Her Wednesday Bible Study, with women mainly from Campeche Baptist Church, is currently in abeyance, partly because of the arrival of a new pastor there (Silas, a much-loved former student from IBE) whose new ministry we do not want to “crowd” and partly because she hopes to develop work with the girls at our church. At present we have two young to mid-teens – Leticia and Talita, who need help and encouragement. It would be great to have more adolescents – a real youth group would help these two and bring a sense of life into the new church.
Other needs
We are at a stage where we need to replace or upgrade various equipment items, mainly to do with computing. So please pray for wisdom in choices to be made, priorities to be set, and resources to be found.
In terms of prayer needs in October, this is the month where we really get back into the normal rhythm of ministry. Please pray for...
Ministry with the Peregrinos.
We are now a church, and looking to change our name in order to reflect the new identity of the group. There are many practical matters to be sorted out - but we need a firm common understanding and theological base to do that well. We are looking at Genesis on Sundays; and meeting on Fridays to discuss who we are and where we are going. The group is growing - I am concerned that numerical growth doesn't outpace our capacity to make wise definitions of identity and direction.
You can imagine that life in a new church has its potential stresses, and involves a level of pastoral work.
IBE - Baptist Institute, Florianópolis.
Next Tuesday I return to the classroom, and will be in the following pattern until Christmas in all weeks when we are in the city. Tuesday night - 3 hour class - Homiletics (preaching) III. Wednesday night - 3 hour class - Ecclesiology (doctrine of the church.) This will be a key semester. I hope that members of our church will attend the Wednesday classes as part of our gaining a good basis for discussions.
First Baptist Church, Florianópolis
Our work in the English group continues – now in Exodus, and is a great joy, but I suspect that this series will be the last as we will need to move our church meetings to Sunday morning. We cannot really justify the English group in terms of the overall strategy of our ministry, although it has been a means to our own personal sustaining over the past year or so.
But the relationship with First Baptist remains strong. In some ways the possible loss of the English group is part of a choice to maintain the possibility of preaching at the church (and others) in the evening. Pastor Paulo Solonca will be travelling in November (Haggai Institute, Hawaii) and has asked me to preach on every available night. I thus find myself booked to do my first expository series at the PIB: we will send dates in November.
Blumenau
Two hours from us, this most Germanic town has a little church rather similar to ours, although much younger in age. (Average 23!) I first met them on-line, but we are about to make a second visit to provide some pastoral support and encouragement. (Tomorrow - 2 October)
Carianos
This neighbourhood near Florianópolis airport has a large Baptist church which is in a state of trauma following the withdrawal of its entire leadership who wished to take it into the G12 movement. (Ask me if you wish to know more!) The church resisted, but is now in a state of shock, and suffering from a lack of Bible teaching over many years. I have just preached there for the first time, and they are chasing me for more. God willing, we will be with them again on Sunday 17 October.
Jaraguá do Sul
Also this month I am starting a series of sessions in a church towards the north of ours state, planted by UFM colleagues Joe and Evelyn McCartney. They are our nearest neighbours; just 2 hours 30 minutes drive away. On Saturday 23 Oct we will go over for the day: I will do Biblical Exposition with some of their leading people, while Cora speaks to the women. The dose will be repeated twice, God willing, in November.
Aracaju
Over the last years we have developed a good relationship with a group of churches in Aracaju, Sergipe state, in the north-east of Brazil. This month we will travel, God willing, for an intensive week of preaching and training up there, focussed on the classic doctrines rediscovered at the reformation. The dates are 25 Oct - 1 Nov, with a public lecture each weeknight, an intensive training day on "How to preach the Old Testament" on Friday and preaching in two churches on the Sunday. Please pray for stamina. The journey involves about 4 hours in the air, plus airport time.
Cora
Cora is continuing her course with the Evangelical Theological College of Wales. Her Wednesday Bible Study, with women mainly from Campeche Baptist Church, is currently in abeyance, partly because of the arrival of a new pastor there (Silas, a much-loved former student from IBE) whose new ministry we do not want to “crowd” and partly because she hopes to develop work with the girls at our church. At present we have two young to mid-teens – Leticia and Talita, who need help and encouragement. It would be great to have more adolescents – a real youth group would help these two and bring a sense of life into the new church.
Other needs
We are at a stage where we need to replace or upgrade various equipment items, mainly to do with computing. So please pray for wisdom in choices to be made, priorities to be set, and resources to be found.
