Our Culture in Christ

This is the book I published in 2009. 315 pages. $22.
Order by e-mailing jsmcn@yahoo.com.au
or write to P.O. Box 1277 Warrnambool, Vic, Australia, 3280
It's all about understanding Christianity from a cultural perspective.
The chapter outline is as follows:

PART ONE - THE CONCEPTChapter 1 - One People in Christ
Chapter 2 - Levels of Culture
Chapter 3 - God's Cultural Mandate for His People
Chapter 4 - A Cultural Response for Changing Times
Chapter 5 - Worldliness in the Church

PART TWO - EVALUATING OUR CULTUREChapter 6 - How Useful is our Worldview
Chapter 7 - Life Transitions
Chapter 8 - Other Rituals and Traditions
Chapter 9 - Marriage and Family
Chapter 10 - Priorities and Passions
Chapter 11 - Life Attitudes
Chapter 12 - The Problem of Individualism

PART THREE - QUESTIONS AND ISSUESChapter 13 - Isn't it Better to Work From Within the Culture?
Chapter 14 - Christianity and the Culture Wars
Chapter 15 - But Aren't There Many Christian Cultures?
Chapter 16 - What About the New Paradigm Churches
Chapter 17 - Won't Subculture Thinking Discourage Evangelism?
Chapter 18 - How Do You Build a Culture?

Making Sense of the Resurrection Accounts

The following set of 3 mini-dramas was written for a combined churches Easter dawn service in Warrnambool this year (2009). I was fascinated by the way Geoffrey R. King harmonised the resurrection accounts in a book called "The Forty Days" (Henry E Walter Ltd, 1948). So I tried my hand at a dramatic retelling of the story that would account for all the things I had previously found so confusing. Let me know how you think I went.

John’s story: (John 20:1-5)

The special times that I had spent with my Master, Jesus, had somehow earned me the title “the disciple whom Jesus loved” but such a title never sat well with me. Yes, I was glad – more than words could tell – that I knew His love but I was more than happy to stay in the shadow, as it were, of my good friend Peter. When we did things together, Peter was always the dominant one and I was just “the other disciple”. Yes, I knew that Jesus loved me but His love was so amazing and far-reaching that it affected everyone He met.
But that morning, that unforgettable morning, Mary from Magdala came running, breathlessly, frantically, first to Peter and then to me. Somehow, she thought the two of us – more than all the other apostles – needed to hear the news she carried.
It was still dark when I was awakened from a restless, patchy sleep. All night I’d been tossing and turning, sobbing, groaning, crying out to God. Jesus was dead. The One who raised others to life and healed the multitudes was dead. No matter how I searched the Scriptures in my mind, no matter how I pondered everything that had happened, I couldn’t understand how this was possible.
But then Mary’s voice pierced my grief. She was screaming and wailing all at the same time. “They have taken the Lord’s body out of the tomb, and I don’t know where they have put him!”
Peter took off running and I raced after him, a million thoughts whirling in my head. Who would take Jesus’ body, and why? The authorities had given Joseph of Arimathea approval to to deal with the body, so why would they suddenly change their minds? What could it possibly mean? Then, as I was running, it was like the questions didn’t matter any more. I just had to get to the tomb to see for myself. So I ran like the wind.
Being younger and fitter than Peter, I easily outran him and, when I got to the tomb, I saw the stone a few metres away from the entrance. I stopped and looked inside. I could see the burial cloths lying there but no body. I wasn’t sure if I should go in but, when Peter arrived, he just charged past me into the tomb, so I followed him. Now we could see the cloth that had been around Jesus’ head, lying folded in a different spot. I still didn’t understand but, somehow, while I was standing there inside what had been the tomb of Jesus, I believed. Somehow I knew that something really exciting had happened. This was not the work of some body-snatcher but it was the work of God.
Christian brothers and sisters, my message to you is that you don’t have to understand everything in order to believe. There is more to life than what you can study and analyse and explain. The resurrection of Jesus is a glorious mystery but the truth is that, because He lives, we also can live. Death is conquered, sins are forgiven and we have eternal life in Him!

Peter’s story: (John 20:6-10)

I was tormented by guilt and grief. My Lord Jesus had been crucified and I had miserably failed Him. All my good intentions and promises came to nothing when I was tested. I denied that I even knew Him. And when I heard that rooster crow, the sick feeling in my stomach just overwhelmed me. Me, the tough, confident, ready-for-anything fisherman. I fell apart and cried and cried and cried.
Friday night, all through the Sabbath, and the night following the Sabbath, I was inconsolable. I had failed the One who had given so much to me. He just needed someone to stand by Him, and it should have been me, but I was too frightened, too chicken. I should have died with Him. I should never have let the soldiers take Him away. I should have protected Him.
But then, that next morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene comes bursting into my room. “They have taken the Lord’s body out of the tomb, and I don’t know where they have put him!” I jumped up quickly, and grabbed my robe, but Mary was already running off to John’s house. Then the two of us ran together to the tomb.
John was faster than me but he hesitates too much. When I got to the tomb, he was standing outside, peering in. It was still quite dark so he couldn’t see much. I went straight in and found the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus’ head. Mary was right that the body was gone from the tomb but I couldn’t be sure that someone had taken it away. Why would they leave the burial sheets and why would they take the time to unwrap the headcloth and then fold it up again?
John and I waited there for a few minutes, trying hard to make sense of it all. But there was no point staying here so we went to our respective homes and, later in the morning, met together with the rest of the disciples. It was only when Mary came back and told us that she had seen the Lord that we started to remember the words of Jesus, how He said that He must be crucified, and then rise from the dead on the third day. Later that day, I saw Jesus with my own two eyes. It was a moment I’ll never forget! Best of all, He forgave me for all my sins and failures. He still loved me.
Christian brothers and sisters, my message to you is that there is forgiveness and restoration in the risen Christ. Even in the darkest moment of your life, call out to Him and He will hear you. He is not dead. He is the all-conquering, all-sufficient Saviour of the world!

Mary Magdalene’s story: (John 20:11-18)

I couldn’t sleep. I didn’t even try. I was too upset. My Lord Jesus, the One who loved me so tenderly and ministered to me so powerfully, was gone. Buried in a cold, dark tomb outside the city. I could not face life without Him. Nothing made sense without Him. In my grief, I wandered back to the tomb, before it was even light. Some of the other women and I were planning to come with spices but we had been wondering how we were going to move the stone from the entrance to the tomb. But when I got there, I saw that the stone had already been moved. I peered inside but couldn’t see the body that I was expecting. I panicked and ran to get Peter and John. The only thing I could think of was that the authorities must have taken the body away. I was beside myself with grief, wanting nothing else but to be with Him, and to hear His voice again.
Peter and John ran off to the tomb but I went and got the other women who had prepared the burial spices and told them about what I had seen. They tried to calm me down and suggested that we should all go together to the tomb as planned. Maybe in the darkness and with my confused, agitated state of mind, I might have made a mistake.
When we got to the tomb, the other women could see that I was right. The stone was set aside and the burial cloths were lying there but the body of Jesus was not there. Then an angel appeared to us, like a young man dressed in a dazzling white robe. We fell on our faces to the ground, but the angel spoke to us, saying: “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen! Remember how He spoke to you when He was still in Galilee, saying, ‘The Son of Man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again.’ ”
At first, we were too scared to tell anyone but then we decided that we’d better go and tell Peter and the other disciples. But they didn’t believe us. They thought we were crazy, that our grief had got the better of us somehow. People were running everywhere. There was a lot of confusion. But I just wanted to be near Jesus. I didn’t know what to do so I went back to the tomb, this time on my own. I just stood outside the tomb, weeping my heart out.
I looked inside the tomb again and, this time, there were two angels, one sitting where Jesus’ head would have laid, and one sitting where His feet would have been. They said to me: “Woman, why are you weeping?” And I repeated what I had said to Peter and John: “Because they’ve taken my Lord and I don’t know where they have laid Him.” I just wanted to know where my Lord was laid.
But then a voice from behind me. “Woman, why are you weeping? Who are you seeking?” And, through my tears, I didn’t realise that it was Jesus. I thought he might have been the gardener. Maybe he had taken the body, so I began blubbering and asking where the body was. It was only when He said my name “Mary!” that I realised it was Him. I cried out: “Teacher!” and threw myself at His feet, clinging to Him for dear life! He was alive! Jesus was alive!
Christian brothers and sisters, my message to you is that you will surely find Jesus when you seek Him with all your heart. People will tell you that you are crazy, or that it’s just wishful thinking, but He is real and He is alive. You do not need to live your life without Him!

What can you use a Bible for?

The first thing I bought after I started earning my own money was a Bible. It cost the grand sum of $4.50. A few years later, I bought a Thompson Chain Reference Bible for about $27. I also bought a dark green bible cover to protect it. When I met my future wife, I kept a photo of her inside the front cover of my bible. For a while, I even kept my drivers licence in there! That was before I ever owned a wallet.
What else might you use a bible for? Some people have huge family bibles that serve as a genealogical record and keepsake. I’ve heard of people using bibles as filing systems for old documents and letters. Some people use bibles to flatten out dried flower arrangements. One family, heaven forbid, used a bible to prop up a wonky leg on a table!
But it’s not the actual printed book that is holy. The Bible is God’s Word to us, a message of hope and salvation from our Creator. It is still the most influential compilation of literature that the world has ever seen.
Everyone, regardless of ethnic or religious background, should read the Bible at least once in their lifetime. If you start today, and read just four chapters per day, you will read the whole Bible before the end of the year. I recommend starting with the New Testament. Why not make a start today? Meet God this year in the pages of his holy book!
If you would like a free electronic version of the Bible, I recommend e-sword. See www.e-sword.net