A Vision Of DIVERSITY

28th of August 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. stood in front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington DC

and delivered what is regarded as one of the top five speeches of the 20th century and certainly

for the English speaking world. He said, I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and

live out the true meaning of its creed that we hold these truths to be self-evident that all

men are created equal. I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former

slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of

brotherhood. I have a dream that one day, even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the

heat of injustice and sweltering with the heat of oppression will be transformed into an oasis of

freedom and justice. I have a dream that my four little children one day live in a nation that

will not judge them by the color of their skin, but by the content of their character. I have a dream

today. He articulated and symbolized a great dream, a vision of racial harmony and social justice and

peace and unity, a vision that he himself unfortunately did not see to materialize.

It is, however, a dream that I would suggest aligns with God's purposes for his world and for all people.

I believe it's a dream that must start with Christians embracing the Lord Jesus. It must start with the

local church and it must start here at St. Paul's Chatswood. Our vision, as I launched last week,

we're in a vision series and launched last week a new vision for us and our vision is to be united

in our desperation for the world around us to encounter Jesus and in our desire to represent

the diversity of Chatswood. I talked a lot last week about unity. This week, I want to focus on

the idea of diversity for us as a church. Our vision is to be united in our desire to represent

the diversity of Chatswood. God's vision, as we just heard from God's word, is a vision for all

people. The vision that we're looking, working our way through in the course of these four weeks of

vision series is far greater than Martin Luther King's vision of a racial harmony of the United

States or even beyond the United States. Our vision is intimately connected to God's vision

of all things. The biblical vision, let me say what I intend on doing in this next little while

is to preach the Bible to you. So we're going to begin Genesis chapter one and see God's vision

unfold really, really quickly. The biblical vision starts beginning of the Bible in Genesis one,

where God creates all things. He creates all people, two of them at this point, in his image.

In his image. And every person who's ever walked the face of the earth from that moment

carries the image of God. There is solidarity for all people. We all are created equal.

It's not just a constitutional thing for the United States. All people are created equal. But as

we have solidarity in image, so we also have solidarity in our sin. In Genesis chapter three,

Adam and Eve reject God's rule over their life. And every human being who's walked the face of the

earth since that has followed in their footsteps. And we, from the point of conception, are flawed.

Our image of God is marred by sin. We have all sinned and we fall short of God's purposes for our lives.

Romans chapter three. And one of the big consequences of that is God's judgment upon all people. And you see it

played out in terms of the nations in Genesis chapter 11, where he scatters people. He confuses their

Genesis 11 · chapter mention

language so that they would not work together in order to dethrone him as the Lord of all.

And yet God doesn't just act in judgment. He doesn't leave us in that place because

he sets about a plan to reverse it all in Genesis chapter 12, the beginning there, verses one to

Genesis 12 · chapter mention

three. But Genesis 12 is the hinge point of the Bible. It's the turning point of scripture. It's the

beginning of God's plan of redemption that began with a promise to a bloke named Abram, that all peoples

of the earth will be blessed through him. And God's call of Abraham here is a direct response

to the disastrous human situation of Genesis 3 to 11. God's focus is on Abraham and it's not

an exclusive focus, but to use this individual, an unimpressive individual, and his descendants to

bless and deliver the entire human race. And that means that God's solution to our sin

reaches its final goal when it includes all peoples, all nations of the earth.

The purpose of God choosing Israel was to witness to the universal power and love and magnificence

of God for all people. God's plan for all the nations is amazing in its scope and its vision.

And that's what you see right through the rest of the Bible, including the Old Testament, which

appears to be so centered on the people of Israel. Psalm 67, the nations will benefit from the Abrahamic

blessing of Israel. The nations will come to worship the living God in Psalm 22, 86, 102, 138, 145, Isaiah 2, 12, 42, 45.

The nations will be included within Israel as the standard people of God, as God's purposes are worked out,

as such a way that they'll be registered in God's holy city in Psalm 87.

They'll be blessed with God's salvation in Isaiah 19. They'll be accepted into God's house in Isaiah 56.

They'll be called by God's name in Amos 9. They'll be joined with God's people in Zechariah 2.

Just to name a few. It is absolutely essential for us to see that God is not a racist in any way whatsoever.

He doesn't have favorites. The choosing of Israel was not for ethnocentric purposes. It was for universal redemption.

But Israel failed consistently in living out that purpose. They consistently displayed sinful prejudice,

apathy, racial pride. They consistently forgot the reason God chose them.

And God's plan of redemption, which started with the promise to Abraham,

was not thwarted in any way, but it continued on and finds its fulfillment in the death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus.

You see, with the arrival of the Lord Jesus, you see this very early on in the Gospels,

was a radically new way of defining what it meant to be part of the people of God,

start to be expressed with clarity from the person of Jesus.

And it wasn't ethnically defined.

It was defined by faith in the Lord Jesus.

You see, with Abraham, God set in motion a plan of redemption that overtones every curse

for everyone who receives the blessing of Abraham.

And that blessing is the forgiveness of sins, acceptance by God,

that comes through Jesus Christ, the descendant of Abraham.

Galatians 3, 13 and 14 says it,

Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us.

For it is written,

Cursed is anyone who is hung on a tree.

That is, what it's saying there is that Jesus redeemed all people by his death on the cross.

He redeemed us in order that the blessing that was given to Abraham

might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus.

It's for all people.

God's redemptive plan has always been to save and to bless peoples from all peoples of the earth

and to unite them together with him as his people through the Lord Jesus.

It is the center of the Christian message.

We refer to it as the Gospel, the good news about Jesus.

It's redemption with our Creator God,

being redeemed, united with him,

and united with all people.

Galatians 2 refers to the Gospel as justification by faith.

Justification is what a judge does in a courtroom.

It's the declaration that a defendant is innocent because they are in fact innocent.

They are truly innocent.

How does God declare rebellious humans to no longer be rebellious?

When they've been rebellious?

Not by just going,

Oh, let's just love everyone and forget about it.

No, by judging it.

By dealing with it.

By giving it the right condemnation.

Someone has to jump in to be the substitute.

Someone has to take the place of the guilty,

to suffer the just punishment for the guilty.

And as we saw last week, that was Jesus.

Jesus Christ lived and died to bear our punishment

and provide for us a right standing before God.

Justification by faith puts all people on a level playing ground.

That's what justification by faith does.

It's a level playing ground for all people.

We are all utterly dependent upon God's grace to us in the Lord Jesus.

No one is different.

And justification smashes pride.

It's why we have a core value written on the wall just out there called humble authenticity.

The Gospel smashes pride.

Justification by faith is at the center of the Christian faith

and many new and sweet and tender and deep and strong

and beautiful and noble and humble and kind

and wise and patient and caring

and serving attitudes and behaviors that flow directly from that.

And one of which is the breaking down of the hostile barriers

and suspicion that gets built up between people

who are different than us.

It breaks the barriers

builds us together as one new humanity

and that's how Galatians 3 puts it

you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus

for all of you

who were baptized into Christ

have clothed yourselves with Christ

there is neither Jew nor Greek

slave nor free

male nor female

male nor female

male nor female

male nor female

if you belong to Christ

then you are Abraham's seed

and heirs according to the promise of Abraham

back in Genesis 12.

When Paul states here that there's neither Jew nor Greek

slave nor free

male nor free

male

what he does here is he

he strikes at the heart

of three of the major barrier forming divisions

in human society

and certainly was the case in the first century

ethnicity

economic status

and sexuality

there was a Jewish prayer

that was prayed

in the first century

that went like this

and it's a prayer of thanksgiving

blessed be he

that he did not make me a Gentile

blessed be he

that he did not make me a slave

or an ignorant peasant

blessed be he

that did not make me a woman

now I'm assuming

that that was only ever prayed

in the

men's breakfast

at the temple

the bacon free men's breakfast

just egg rolls

that's all it is

just egg rolls

and what the Christian gospel does

is it smashes those barriers

and forms a radical new society

the old divisions are abolished

the new community is formed

and you see just after Jesus' resurrection

in Acts chapter 2

Acts 2 · chapter mention

on the day of Pentecost

the Holy Spirit comes

the church is formed

and people of different races

and generations

and languages are there

and the coming of the Holy Spirit

is a symbolic reversal

of the judgment of

Genesis 11

with the Tower of Babel

where God scatters

and confuses their language

people who were once scattered

and frustrated

are gathered together under Jesus

and even language on that day

is not a barrier

as people hear

hear God's plan of redemption

in the Lord Jesus

in their own tongue

the blood of Jesus unites all people

and what is symbolic

in Acts chapter 2

Acts 2 · chapter mention

is a reality of the final picture

of all things

final picture of all things

in history in Revelation

as we just saw in Revelation 5

in verse 9

John tells us

why Jesus is worthy

to open the book

at the end of history

so that things unfold

according to the plan of God

Jesus is worthy

because of how

his death relates

to all races

and tribes of the earth

it says

you are worthy

to take the scroll

to open its seals

because you were slain

and with your body

you purchased men

let me just

purchase people

for God

from every tribe

language

nation and people

and you have made them

to be a kingdom

and priests

to serve our God

and they will reign

on the earth

it was God's design

in the death

and the resurrection

of Jesus

to ransom some

from every kind of race

and language

and people

and kingdoms

and to make them

one kingdom

and as the king

of the kingdom

all people live

with Jesus

as their supreme

treasure and lord

every individual

in this new humanity

as you notice

you have made them

a kingdom of priests

there's not a hierarchy

of order here

they're all priests

they are all

full time

worshippers

of the king

that's what the priest's job was

Jesus died

to ransom subjects

for the king

and worshipers

for the king

from every race

and tribe

and language

the goal

is for all those

scattered from God

will return

to enjoy fellowship

with him

the scattered ones

once separated

from God

and from each other

are now brought together

under the reign of Jesus

and finding God's blessing

his promise of blessing

as God said to Abraham

back in Genesis 12

we see it here

in Revelation 5

fulfilled

you can see it fulfilled

in verses 11

sorry

13 and 14

then I heard

every creature

in heaven

and on earth

and under the earth

and on the sea

and all that is in them

singing to him

who sits on the throne

to the lamb

be praise

and honor

glory

and power

forever and ever

the four living creatures

said amen

and the elders

fell down

and worshipped

the elders fell down

and worshipped

and that is what

all of creation

is designed for

this is what history

is about

this is what

the nation is about

this is what

people is about

this is what

group is about

this is what

diversity is about

this is what

language is about

this is what

St. Paul's

is about

this is what

my life is about

this is what

your life is about

and so it is

inconceivable

that we should believe that the goal of God in history

and the aim of the death of his son

is to gather all people

and for us not to care

about breaking down the barriers now in this city

and this church

between you and other people and me and other people.

The Christian gospel is the power of God

that breaks down the dividing wall of hostility

between Israelis and Palestinians

and Russians and Poles and Nazis and Jews

and white and black and male and female

and old people and young

and whatever other divisions are in there.

When our Redeemer and Great Reconcile and his gospel

are what we hold as first importance

which is what 1 Corinthians 15.3 says it is

we are empowered to listen to those different perspectives and preferences

evaluate fairly to change as we need

and be proactive in reaching across those lines

that have traditionally caused divisions amongst us.

when Jesus is our greatest treasure

we see that our lifelong preferences

our lifelong treasures

all those little idols that I spoke about last week

are ultimately our hope

they're not our hope

they're not our security

they're not our comfort

it means that we will actually become eager

to have them changed

removed

refined

if it means less barriers to others

embracing and treasuring the Lord Jesus with us

you see when the cross is our salvation

and our daily strength

we're eager to crucify our pride

and our love for self

and our type

and our comfort

and our way

we're empowered to take the extra steps

extra steps

to step across those dividing lines

across generations

across cultures

with kindness

with grace

with a listening ear

because my security is not in my preferences

my comfort is not in my preferences

my security

my comfort

my identity

is wrapped up

that I'm a child of a living God

and so as I said last week

there's a certain irony

a terrible irony

in this being

as I launched into this vision last week

that this is my passion

this has been my ministry passion

as a church

for so, so long

and yet

for me to have

an idol

that results in me

working against my passion

I talked about it last week

I encouraged you

in the past week

to go and look at your idols

I've got other

treasures and idols

that get in the way

of me pursuing

God's vision

of all things

I said last week

it was control

and it's not all negative

it's a positive thing

I am the senior minister

of St. Paul's

and so

there is an element

that I ought to have

a certain element of control

but when

that becomes

the most important thing

becomes the ultimate thing

then it becomes

a treasure

it becomes an idol

that displaces Jesus

from being the greatest treasure

of my life

and the interesting thing

about the

idol of control

is that your biggest emotion

will be an emotion

of worry

when your idol

is fed

inflamed

and pumping in your heart

worry

will be the thing

that I'll be

my greatest

troubling emotion

and

what will people

around me feel

when it's really

got my heart

control's got my heart

that's the idol

that's the treasure

that's really got my heart

people around me

will feel condemned

isn't that ironic

when we're trying

to build a community

of unity

a unity

around the Lord Jesus

who says that there is

no condemnation

in him

and so

I've walked away

since July

Steve

you've got to work

on this idol

because it's impacting

St. Paul's

it's impacting

my relationships

it's impacting

us as a

as a church

and the vision

that God has

for us as a church

treasuring Jesus

is the only solution

and here's how

the solution

is for me

for an idol

control

I go to those

Bible passages

they're in front of me

all the time

the Bible passages

we talk about

God's sovereignty

over all things

they are sweetness

to my soul

I've got to

constantly remind

that he is

control of all things

do you know

the other Bible passages

which is so

so important for me

is those Bible passages

we speak about

the grace of the Lord Jesus

there's no condemnation

in him

I've got to keep

both of those things

together

there's no condemnation

in him

the only way

to displace an idol

is to have a bigger one

a greater affection

and to see that

Jesus is the one

who gives you

all that you need

and all that you desire

and so

I believe

it is

more than just

unfortunate

when our worldly

associations

and our identities

are allowed

to determine

the composition

of our churches

I believe it works

against the very nature

of the Christian gospel

and God's purposes

here's a quote

from an American theologian

Michael Horton

he said

not that long ago

evangelical missiologists

were defending

the separation

of races

based on the principle

that people like

to be with people

who are like them

South African theologians

have pointed out

that this principle

in mission work

laid the groundwork

for apartheid

an incredible evil

now that racial segregation

is less explicitly deployed

as a church growth strategy

I think he's being

somewhat sarcastic

at that point

we carve up

Christ's body

into socio-economic

and generational segments

some churches

use demographic marketing

to appeal

to different music styles

with country western

rock and jazz services

it's what has been

referred to

as the

homogenous

unit principle

like

like to be with like

we like to hang out

with people

who are like us

it's a principle

that was propagated

by the church growth movement

in the 1990s

but has been in play

for a long time since then

it goes right back

to the issues of racism

and everything else

it has led to churches

planted

to target specific demographics

specific segregating

segregations of people

segregating corporate worship

into individual preferences

traditional services

family services

youth services

ABC services

and a multitude of other services

such as cowboy services

even in the United States

in Texas

and you must ride a horse

by the way

that's true

it might seem funny

but it's true

I know it's the United States

and anything can happen

especially

you know

in the next couple of days

and let me tell you

the homogenous

unit principle

is standard practice

on the north shore of Sydney

it's standard practice

right throughout

Sydney Diocese

and it was standard practice

here at St. Paul's

until 2011

Martin Luther King

once said

that the most segregated hour

in America

is 11 o'clock

on a Sunday morning

that was over 50 years ago

but I believe

the statement is true

of a lot of churches

in our city

even today

even though we have

an integrated society

our schools are integrated

our places of work

are integrated

our neighbourhoods

are integrated

our social clubs

are integrated

and on Sunday morning

we get in our cars

we drive to our

homogenous churches

to worship our God

who has called us

to be united

in the Lord Jesus

by the power of his spirit

and I am totally convinced

that our homogenous

circles of comfort

are a hindrance

to the gospel

as we fail to display

the beautiful picture

that God has

of all time

in Revelation 5

and 7

and 9

it's so ironic

that Christians

have led some of the charge

in pursuing

racial and social justice

as well as

cross-cultural ministries

across the other side

of the world

and yet it has not

appeared to trickle down

into interpersonal behaviour

on the local church level

it's phenomenal

it's so much easier

to pursue God's purposes

when they don't interfere

with my preferences

when I can just give money

to

seeing the gospel

reach somewhere

at the other side

of the world

changes we have made here

in St. Paul's

in 2011

in our corporate worship

was to move deliberately

away from the

homogenous unit principle

in our corporate worship

in our community groups

and a bunch of other ministries

the ordering principle

of our corporate gatherings

at St. Paul's

is

not

personal preferences

based on

age

stage of life

ethnicity

tradition

music

and the

morning tea

colours of carpet

or anything else

my personal preferences

don't set the agenda

of what we do

when I say

my personal preferences

what I mean is

my personal preferences

even me

as senior minister

of St. Paul's

it's our

purpose

as a church

our vision

our values

they do

God's glory

does

rather than valuing

the comfort

of like

we started valuing

the discomfort

a shared

discomfort

when we gather

together

and that includes

me

let me tell you

I think I've said

this so many times

but

but there's still

an assumption

I've heard from a few

people

that the way we do

church at St. Paul's

right now

is my preference

there is

I

I do not

recall a single

Sunday

where I've not

had discomfort

not a single

Sunday

where I've not

had discomfort

we don't do

church

according to my

preference

we've got a

purpose

we've got a

vision

and that

what drives

us

but what I am

so pleased

about is that

I look around

at our

English

congregations

today

we have

so much

greater

diversity

than we did

five years

ago

in fact

even more

than we did

six months

ago

so much

greater

diversity

did you

know

since we've

been breaking

down the

modulus unit

principle

our

Chinese

congregation

has less

Chinese

members

in it

than the

English

congregations

it's been a

journey towards

greater unity

and diversity

a journey that

we are

continuing

and I

assume that

given that a

whole bunch of

people have

come to St.

Paul since

2011 and we

continue to

grow

you've found

Christ here

you've found

a church

family here

I would

suggest

that this

is at least

one aspect

of St.

Paul's that

we actually

value

so let

me just

take this

vision statement

a little bit

further for us

and point out

some implications

it says that

we're united

in our desire

to represent

the diversity

of Chatswood

now for those

of you who

get the

technicalities

of all this

vision statement

stuff

you would know

that a vision

statement must

be measurable

must be

measurable

you need to

be able to

assess

whether in

fact you're

pursuing your

vision

and that

statement

right there

is the

measurable

bit

in our

vision

statement

every five

years

there's this

thing called

the census

if it doesn't

crash

and there's a

national church

life survey

that gets an

evaluation of who

we are as a

people

and it does

evaluation of who

the community is

as a people

and we get to

compare those

things

and we get to

go

okay

how we're

tracking in

our diversity

we desire to

represent the

diversity of

Chatswood

that is what

we desire is

we desire not

to be a

subculture within

a culture

our goal is to

have that data

so closely

aligned as

possible

it is also a

massive danger

for Christians

Christian churches

to be a

subculture within

a culture in

such a way that

the two don't

relate

it's possibly so

comfortable with

one demographic

group because

of a long

association and

yet have no

interest in another

demographic group

because their ways

are just too

foreign to us

they're too

strange to us

they're even

repulsive to us

as a Christian

subculture

my vision is for

us is to always

be assessing

whether we are

reaching our

community

whether we're

displaying the

diversity of our

community

if we find that

50% of Chatswood

are below the

poverty line

but we don't

have anyone

in this

building

who's below

the poverty

line

I want to

ask why

is it

the middle

class or the

upper middle

class or the

whatever class

level of lower

north shore

that's hindering

the mission

that God's

placed us in

and if that's

the case

we need to

change

I need to

dress differently

or something

if 20% of

Chatswood

we discover

has Icelandic

heritage

but we've

got one

member from

Iceland

in this

church

we need

to buy

some ice

or something

there's my

narrow mindedness

coming to play

at that point

or if

15%

are of

in our

community

are same

sex couples

and we've

got none

here

I want to

ask why

my vision

for us

is that we

are so

love

and treasure

the Lord

Jesus

that we

have hold

him of

such

infinite

value

that it

will be

displayed

as the

Lord

Jesus

said

in our

love

for one

another

love

will be

the

primary

thing

that people

experience

when they

gather

in such

a way

that even

those who

are fundamentally

opposed

to my

theological

convictions

will be

able to

sit in

church

and say

I disagree

with that

guy

I disagree

with

he's

narrow minded

but I want

to be part

of this

community

because I

feel more

loved here

than I do

with the

liberal

church

that agrees

with my

position

that's my

vision

for St.

Paul's

and so I

got to work

on my

treasure

my vision

is that we

will be

welcome

while at

the same

time not

affirming

of all

cultural

distinctives

and this

is an

issue for

the whole

church to

address

if our

current

1115

congregation

is only

Chinese

I want to

know why

they're not

reaching

Syrians

and Japanese

we want

to look

at the

data and

see what

God has

for us

next

what new

barriers

we need

to break

down

what

listening

ear

what

things

we need

to learn

and know

what we

need to

change

what groups

we need

to start

praying for

what things

need to be

resourced

Chatswood

is our

mission field

it's a place

where God

has called

us for

his purpose

to reach

it with

the gospel

in such

a way

that people

from all

nations

gather

around

his throne

and we

get an

expression

of it

in this

place

the vision

of unity

in diversity

is for

every

congregation

it's for

every

small

group

one of

the great

demonstrations

of the

Christian

gospel

is people

coming

together

all people

black

white

rich

poor

male

female

cool

uncool

all coming

together

because the

good news

of the

Lord Jesus

and so my

vision for us

as a church

is to be a

trans-cultural

church

this is

different

than a

multicultural

church

a trans-cultural

church

you see

to me

multicultural

still implies

an element

of

individualism

and it

still implies

that the

thing

that is

distinctive

about me

is my

individual

culture

it says to

me that

our individual

cultural

identifications

should in

fact be the

significant

marker in

how we

view

ourselves

in how we

view each

other in

the way that

we relate to

each other

as a church

it says to

me that our

individual

culture is

one of the

significant

ordering

principles of

our life

together

it means to

have equality

you've got your

culture I've got

my culture and

we need to

equally honor

them

that's what

multicultural

that's how it's

worked out in

Chatswood

it means

including all

aspects of

all cultures

in such a

way that

we don't

critique we

don't seek to

transform any

culture we

just take it

on holus

bolus and

it means that

every culture

has every

right next

thing you

know 365

days a year

we're celebrating

someone's culture

in some particular

kind of way

there's no room

at all for me

to preach or

anything else

in a

multicultural

church there's

always a danger

that we'll be

tussling to

evaluate one

culture over

another in

order that one

cultural group

will have

supremacy over

another and

in that

environment the

majority culture

will set the

tone they will

set the flavor

they will set

the agenda

they will have

the prominence

as they have

at St.

Paul's for

decades it will

always happen

because our

individual culture

whatever it is

is the unifying

principle for us

and what must be

honored and it

must be respected

above all and

what I'm calling

to is something

different a

trans cultural

church is a

community that

reflects it

embraces and

enjoys the

diversity of its

mission context

but by the

power of the

gospel it

transcends

transcends its

cultural context

and it creates

one new

community in

Christ

that's a

trans cultural

church

this vision

this church

is not about

obliterating

cultural diversity

and distinction

you see

you know when

Jesus broke

down the

barriers between

people

he didn't

obliterate the

differences

he didn't say

well you Jews

are now Gentiles

and you Gentiles

are now Jews

or we'll have a

new thing

we'll have a

Jew

the Jews

were still

Jews

the Greeks

were still

Greeks

the slaves

were still

slaves

the free

were still

free

the men

were still

the men

and the women

were still

the women

the Bible

affirms culture

the Bible

affirms cultural

diversity

diversity of culture

is arguably part

of God's nature

in order for all

of humanity

the picture of

the end of time

is people

worshipping

Jesus still

I believe

in Revelation 5

and other bits

of the Revelation

still in their

cultural diversity

I don't think

we're all going to

walk in there

and all going to

look like me

praise God

I don't think

that's what's

going to happen

and I don't think

we're all going to

speak English

I don't think

Jesus is doing

ESL languages

right now

I don't think

that's what's

going to happen

and I'm

absolutely confident

we're all going

to be Anglican

the Bible

also causes

to a cultural

sensitivity

in Romans 14

and 1 Corinthians

10 11

we understand

and we communicate

the good news

of the Jesus

culturally

the word culture

is not mentioned

however in the whole Bible

but the Bible

is deeply concerned

about our human

identity

and interaction

our vision

is to embrace

the diversity

as part of

God's creativity

but transcend

the diversity

and find a common

ground

not in our

cultures

not in our

cultures

but in the Lord

Jesus

crucially

the Bible's

reflection on

human identity

interaction

stands outside

of culture

itself

it says

all of humanity

are fallen

they're all sinful

beings

who have been

made in God's

image

and yet

redeemed

and transformed

by the one

Lord Jesus

Christ

through the

Holy Spirit

into a new

humanity

under the

Lordship of

Jesus

that is

this is

and I believe

will be

true for everyone

irrespective of

your culture

and so what the

Bible does

is actually

marginalizes

culture

particularity

there is very

little interest

in cultural

practices

in the Bible

they are

either ignored

or they are

pushed to the

edges

in the New

Testament

our identity

in Jesus

supersedes

all other

cultural

identifications

and this is

the vision

that I have

for us

we don't

try to find

common ground

in our

respective

cultures

we transcend

them in order

to find

Jesus

a number

of years

ago

in the

transition

from me

being a

country lad

to getting

used to the

city

I said yes

to go to

the orchestra

and never

been to one

before

and it was

sold to me

as a concert

and so I

went along to

this thing

with Nat

thinking okay

I better

take something

to read

and I

remember

sitting there

and we

had a good

spot in

terms of

seeing where

it was going

first time

I've ever

been to one

of these

events

and I

remember

sitting there

in advance

when they're

all practicing

and people

are banging

on stuff

and making

a racket

you know

it was

squeezing this

and whack

whack whack

some blokes

over there

and I'm

thinking oh

this is going

to be great

yeah bring

it on

and yet I

remember

sitting there

being mesmerized

as they

they started

to play

the conductor

comes out

and the

conductor

gets them

all to do

their bit

at the right

time

and it

was incredible

the musical

harmony that

I saw with

that orchestra

and what I

thought was

interesting

one guy

stood at the

back

with this

huge

bell

donger

thing

I've got

a seat

this guy

standing there

for what

an hour

or something

I don't know

how long

it went

for

you know

it doesn't

matter

it seemed

longer

he's standing

there

and I'm

I'm watching

him

because I'm

thinking

this is the

most interesting

bit for me

when he

when he

wails on

that thing

that's going

to be great

and he

didn't do

it

until right

at the

end

boom

and I'm

like yes

that's all

he did

that's how

he earned

his money

that guy

that night

he stood

there the

whole night

and yet he

played part

in something

that was

magnificent

he played

part of

something

that was

magnificent

didn't draw

the attention

to himself

at the

end of

the night

at the

end of

the night

none of

the musicians

stood

the conductor

did

the conductor

stood

it all

reflected him

that's the

vision I have

for us

as a church

it's all

about Jesus

he's the

one who

unites us

takes all

of our

distinctions

and differences

and brings

them together

in a beautiful

harmony

that the

United Nations

cannot achieve

Amen