In a recent conversation with Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, Pastor Rick Warren of Saddleback Community Church in Lake Forest, CA commented, 
“The last 50 years has seen the greatest redistribution of a religion ever in the history of the world. For instance, in 1900, 71% of all ‘Christians’ lived in Europe; by 2000 it had declined to just 28% who claimed to be Christian. Far fewer go to church. Conversely, in 1900, only 10% of all people in Africa (10 million) were Christians vs. over 50% (360 million) today…I may surprise some when I say that there 
are by far more Christians in China than in America. There are more Presbyterians in Ghana than in Scotland, where they were founded by John Knox. There are more Baptists in the India state of Nagaland than in the American South. There are more Anglicans in Kenya or Uganda or Rwanda or Nigeria than in England. There are two million Anglicans in England compared to 17 million in Nigeria. Last Sunday, more Christians went to church in China than all of Europe combined. This is a fundamental shift. If you want to know the future of Christianity, it is the developing world. It’s Africa, Latin America and Asia.” (Pew Forum 13 Nov 2009)
Posts
( In 14th September 2007, I posted this piece in the old blogpastor, which I have now revised and re-published.)
Don’t miss this excellent post of the different views of holy communion by Alex Tang of Random Musings. It includes the view of Joseph Prince of New Creation Church.
John Piper’s view is the best fit and description of wrpf’s belief and practice regarding holy communion. John Piper writes:
“Let me read the key sentence from the Elder Affirmation of Faith once more and then show you in the Bible where it comes from. “Those who eat and drink in a worthy manner partake of Christ’s body and blood, not physically, but spiritually, in that, by faith, they are nourished with the benefits He obtained through His death, and thus grow in grace.”
Where does this idea of “partaking of Christ’s body and blood . . . spiritually . . . by faith” come from? The closest text to support this is in the previous chapter: 1 Corinthians 10:16-18. As I read it, ask, “What does ‘participation’ mean?”
The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ (koinōnia estin tou haimatos tou Christou)? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ (ouchi koinōnia tou sōmatos tou Christou estin)? Because there is one bread, we who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread. Consider the people of Israel: are not those who eat the sacrifices participants in the altar (koinōnia tou thusiastēriou)?
Here is something much deeper than remembering. Here are believers—those who trust and treasure Jesus Christ—and Paul says that they are participating in the body and blood of Christ. Literally, they are experiencing a sharing (koinōnia) in his body and blood. They are experiencing a partnership in his death.
Partaking of Christ’s Body and Blood, Spiritually, By Faith
And what does this participation/sharing/partnership mean? I think verse 18 gives us the clue because it uses a similar word, but compares it to what happens in the Jewish sacrifices: “Consider the people of Israel: are not those who eat the sacrifices participants [a form of the same word] in the altar?” What does sharer/participant/partner in the altar mean? It means that they are sharing in or benefiting from what happened on the altar. They are enjoying, for example, forgiveness and restored fellowship with God.
So I take verse 16 and 17 to mean that when believers eat the bread and drink the cup physically we do another kind of eating and drinking spiritually. We eat and drink—that is, we take into our lives—what happened on the cross. By faith—by trusting in all that God is for us in Jesus—we nourish ourselves with the benefits that Jesus obtained for us when he bled and died on the cross.
This is why we lead you in various focuses at the Lord’s table from month to month (peace with God, joy in Christ, hope for the future, freedom from fear, security in adversity, guidance in perplexity, healing from sickness, victory in temptation, etc.). Because when Jesus died, his shed blood and broken body, offered up in his death on our behalf, purchased all the promises of God. Paul says, “All the promises of God find their Yes in him” (2 Corinthians 1:20). Every gift of God, and all our joyful fellowship with God, was obtained by the blood of Jesus. When Paul says, “The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ?” he means: Do we not at the Lord’s table feast spiritually by faith on every spiritual blessing bought by the body and blood of Christ? No unbeliever can do that. The devil can’t do it. It is a gift for the family. When we celebrate the Lord’s Supper, we feast spiritually by faith on all the promises of God bought by the blood of Jesus.”
John Piper’s full article is titled, “Why and how we celebrate the Lord’s Supper”.
It is hard to believe but it is already happening. Where else but in the land of eternal innovation – USA? Read this report and let me know what you think of a church using this as an outreach to this internet-savvy generation; as a supplement(not substitute) to actual community.
The Internet has become the hottest place to build a church. A growing number of congregations are creating Internet offshoots that go far beyond streaming weekly services. The sites are fully interactive with a dedicated Internet pastor, live chat in an online “lobby,” Bible study, 1-on-1 prayer through IM and communion. (Viewers use their own bread and wine or juice.) On one site, viewers can click on a tab during worship to accept Christ as their Savior. Flamingo Road Church, based in Cooper City, Fla., twice conducted long-distance baptisms through the Internet. The move online is forcing Christians to re-examine their idea of church. It’s a complex discussion involving theology, tradition and cultural expectations of how Christians should worship and relate. Even developers of Internet church sites disagree over how far they should go. The sites share the same basic approach: rock-style worship music and a sermon recorded at the in-person weekend service that is quickly mixed with live or recorded greetings expressly for online viewers. The phenomenon is so new that no one has an exact count of interactive online campuses. The Leadership Network has found at least 40.
1) What uses do you see in this as the Christian population ages and the shut-ins increase in number?
2) Are there theological “trespasses” or is it all a matter of variable “methodology/culture”?
3) Can there be true ministry and fellowhip without handshakes and physical presence?
4) Which church in Singapore have the resources and philosophy of ministry in place to make this internet “church plant” offshoot a reality in Singapore?
5) What if this technology could be combined to create an internet church hub with a house church network (in Singapore and beyond) to dispense with the need for expansive and expensive church buildings?
Hmm…all kinds of possibilities and questions running through my mind as I read the above report.
We had a nice lunch at the Bukit Gombak CDANS restuarant to say goodbye to Archdeacon Raphael Samuel, Anglican priest and missionary. My good friend and classmate is flying back to Santa Cruz, Bolivia. Back to his missions field. He goes with his wife and son but the son will return later to study business in the Nanyang Technological University. He’s been here for two years and during that time he was ministering in Christchurch Anglican Church, a Tamil congregation near Kandang Kerbau Hospital. During the two years we have had several occasions to fellowship and support each other and to have those reunions with bible school classmates whenever Rev. Benedict Muthusamy, a Malaysian Presbyterian minister and moderator, or Dr TanYak Hwee, a seminary lecturer in Taiwan drops over. We have been meeting like that for over 20 years, since we all graduated in 1985 from Trinity Theological College. Goon Heo and myself are the ever-present core in this group. I wonder if other cohorts and classes have this kind of regular enduring get-togethers. So much strength and sharpening can be gained from such friendships.