William Chong

HBC goes to Impact 2009.

On the lookout for more photos to slot into the video, email me if you have some!

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Monday morning. For those of us in the workforce, this was our last day of the Impact 2009 Conference – for others (including Jono) there was the option of an extra day of leadership and discipleship seminars.

General session 10: Rick completed his series on 1 Peter in expositing verses 10 to 12. By way of introduction, he first brings some questions raised by Old Testament standout Job, who asks: “How can a man be righteous before God?” (Job 9:2) This question can be answered by considering three extraordinary magnifications of salvation: the prophets foretold it (vv.10-12a), the Apostles announced it (v12), and the angels are amazed by it. Rick makes the astute point that even the angels — who have been worshipping God at his throne in an unceasing, almost OCD fashion (compare Isaiah 6 with Rev 4), would still be amazed that a God who’s “Holy holy holy” would save the unholy.

Seminar session: Dr Hugh Rorrison, an anaesthetist at Hawke’s Bay Hospital, gave a very medically and Biblically-informed overview of the myriad of issues in medical ethics, answering the following questions:

1. Where does human life come from? Hugh makes an important statement that “medical ethics is illegitimate if humans have no inherent value”. He explains that if humans have evolved by random chance, there is no right or wrong and our life could (in jest) be summed up as follows: “born a fluke, live life as a farce, and end up as fertilizer”. The Bible affirms that we’re created by God and in His image.
2. When does human life actually begin? After going through the scientific concepts of meiosis and embryogenesis, Hugh gives several varying definitions people use to ascertain the start of human life. Some argue that life begins at viability (when it can survive on its own), some at quickening (when the first movement is felt by the mother), some at implantation. He however notes that the Bible unashamedly notes that human essence of a new life is imparted well before birth (Psalm 139) and we are even given a sin nature at conception (Psalm 51: “Surely I was sinful from the moment my mother conceived me”). Therefore human life according to the Bible begins at conception.
3. When does human life end? Ultimately God knows the exact moment we die, says Hugh – he notes that medically human life ends at “death of the person as a whole, as opposed to the whole of the person”.
4. On abortion – Hugh explains that as a natural conclusion from the previous questions, abortion is equivalent to breaking the 6th commandment. This is achieved today either by drugs or surgery. He points out that the intra-uterine device (IUD), morning-after-pill, and some pill-based contraceptives prevent implantation of the womb and would also be immoral. A birth control method that prevents sperm and egg from uniting is OK, but those that affect the lining of the womb are not.
5. On IVF – Hugh details what the procedure involves, noting that in order to increase the success rate, surplus embryos (up to are fertilized, but then discarded or used for medical research.
6. On stem cell research – Hugh supports research where stem cells are harvested from bone marrow, but objects to when they are taken from surplus embryos.
7. On Euthanasia – the word literally means “to die well”. Despite the seemingly noble aims, the act of euthanasia is still deliberately cutting short a person’s life.
8. On life support – This is not the same as euthanasia – to allow someone to die at the end of their natural life is not the same as a deliberate act of ending it.

The Q&A session following covered even more issues – deciding between the mother or the baby (e.g. ectopic pregnancies), birth control, IVF and God’s sovereignty, organ donation, and prenatal testing. The audio for this seminar is well worth having a listen to.

A couple of closing thoughts:

• The calibre of teaching Impact Conference brings to NZ is phenomenal. I think it’s testament to the strong relationships the folk at Riverbend have with the speakers: Rick, for example, has come to NZ for the past 20 years; Martha Peace has come before.
• Simon and I both noted the mildly uncharitable action of reserving seats prior to speaking sessions. Sometimes we’d walk through the hall an hour before any session and find rows of seats with Bibles and book bags unceremoniously strewn across them! I know everyone becomes amplified eager-beavers during a conference and I can understand the enthusiasm in getting a good seat, but just reserving it with your books and expecting a prime spot feels a little unChristian. It’d be much more adelphous (is that a word?) to even selflessly offer the better seat to a brother or sister in Christ.
• The musicians at Riverbend are extremely gifted: I especially enjoyed the Casting Crown covers as they played songs like “Slow Fade” and “If We are the Body“. Definitely some things I took away to help with my own worship leading.
• It was great to meet so many like-minded people who worship Christ and hold biblical teaching in such high regard.

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Us out-of-town sojourners had the pleasure of worshipping and learning with the local Riverbend congregation on Sunday morning, day 3 of the Impact Bible Conference. Rick and Russell preached during the morning sessions, while Jerry presented a stirring message during the evening Communion service.

Sandwiched between the plenaries was the continuation of the ladies seminar by Martha Peace, and a spirited Q&A session which offered much insight and learning.

General session 7: Rick continued his exposition of 1 Peter in a message entitled, “Joyful, Joyful We Adore Thee” – how does one experience true Christian joy? In verses 6 to 9 the apostle Peter explains to Christians under trial four discoveries for enjoying life-changing joy:

1. Joy is rooted in the thought of heaven – Christians are betrothed to an afterlife with Christ
2. Joy is strengthened through the refinement of suffering – “the happiest days of the Church have been her days of persecution”
3. Joy is centred on the person of Christ – this point included Rick’s most insightful comment of the conference: “The only man-made thing in heaven will be the scars on Jesus’s body.”
4. Joy is _____ the reality of heaven (v9)

General session 9: I was enriched by Jerry’s exposition of the crucifixion narrative from the human perspective in Luke 23:39-43. For those who don’t know, that’s the part where Jesus hangs between the two criminals, who offer two startlingly contrasting responses to the Suffering Servant. I loved seeing this Passion narrative from this uncommon perspective. The proud unrepentant criminal curses And cajoles despite being rightly condemned, utterly helpless, and unable to reverse the consequences. On the other hand, the repentant thief justifies God, vindicates Christ and pleads for mercy which is graciously given: “Truly I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.”

As Jerry closed in prayer, the Hawkes Bay was treated with the first sea-level snowfall in over 40 years. Snowfights and merriment served a fitting coda to a Lord’s day to remember.

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General session 4: Jerry Wragg started Day 2 of Impact Bible Conference delving into the meaning behind Paul’s word to the Corinthian church (1:30-31). A lengthy sermon where he stressed continuously the sufficiency of Scripture as given: “We have no business changing evangelism from what it is in Scripture.” Also a thorough tracing of justification, sanctification and glorification plainly described in Scripture.

General session 5: ”Heaven is a comforting term,” said Rick Holland as he continued his exposition of 1 Peter, this time focusing on the ways God satisfies three aspirations of the human heart. In writing to persecuted Christians, Peter expounds on how God gives believers hope upon Christ’s grace, provides security in the imperishable certainty of heaven, and the assurance that “this life is the closest a believer will ever come to hell.”

General session 6: Jerry Wragg asks how far we should go regarding the phrase “all things to all men”, tackling the issue of contextualising the gospel. A few provocative statements, such as: “I don’t care how reformed your teaching is, if you’re repackaging the gospel, it’s not sanctified.” Wragg highlighted points from 1 Corinthians 2:1-5 to consider, including:

- preaching is not preeminence: not flaunting brilliance and turn of speech nor dressing the gospel at clarity’s expense
- preaching is not about personal charisma; Paul in particular came “in weakness, fear and much trembling”

Question for the day: Does the next generation of preachers act, dress and speak like Rick Holland, Jerry Wragg etc, and to what extent is this shaped by culture?

Twitter updates: http://twitter.com/wchong
Full write-ups: http://bit.ly/jonomac/