Eternal Echoes

beyond the them and us syndrome....

Dear Church,

yes I am writing to you again, writing because I hear your desire for renewal and growth, I am also writing because I need you to know that I do not have a quick fix solution to bring people flooding through our doors. Let me burst a current few myth bubbles; "they" are no going to come if we install a data projector and install a screen, "they" won't come because we have decided to replace the organ with a worship band. "They" might come to a special event if you invite "them", but it is unlikely that "they" will come again on Sunday morning....

Oh and while we are talking about Sunday morning I'd just like to say that I think we've blown its importance out of all proportion especially when we measure our successes by Sunday morning attendance, or use it as a barometer of our health.

I wonder if you'd come with me through the doors to meet "them", your friends, your neighbours, your children even, these are the  folk who don't come. It is easy to criticise "them" in our meetings and gatherings, but when you get out there amongst "them" the picture is quite different. You'll find you know "them", that you understand "them" and even dare I say that you like "them".

So maybe the question is not so much about how we get "them" to come, but more about how we share with these friends and neighbours and families of ours the miracle and mystery of a living relationship, our living relationship with God. I think you will find that most of your neighbours won't want to argue the finer points of doctrine with you, but they'll probably accept a helping hand and even a prayer in a time of need. Or maybe it will be the other way around, maybe the gracious and humble way that you accept their help will speak to them....

Be confident in your relationship with God, it is not about knowing all of the right answers, we'll never know all of the right answers, but it is about the mystery that we are loved and accepted by the creator of the universe who knows us through and through with all of our faults and flaws. It is about the peace that passes understanding in the most difficult of circumstances, the light that shines in dark places, and the hope that will not let us go even in the face of adversity. 

Here is a wonder that we too often forget, Jesus ministry and mission did not stop at the cross for he overcame death and was raised to life, fullness of glorious resurrection life, and this is the life that he invites us into. And while we so often remember that the cross is where all of our wrongs are forgiven, I wonder how often we focus upon our unworthiness and forget that the cross is where all of our guilt (often self imposed) and shame is also cleaned away. I wonder how often we wear masks, brittle and hard masks of self sufficiency because we feel that as Christians we should have it all together. I wonder if sometimes we have worn them for so long that they have become a part of us. I wonder if we are aware that our friends and neighbours and children, "they" see something false in us because we are not being true to ourselves or before God.

So here is the challenge, lets not focus on attracting folk with technology and trying to be up to date for we'll fail there anyway. Instead lets focus on living out a life of love, let's focus on being Jesus disciples living with our own brokenness in a broken world and seeking to make a journey towards wholeness and daring to invite others towards us. Let's dare to become again a living and vibrant community of faith able to live with our questions and the questions of others. Let's become a people who celebrate life in all of its richness and diversity, let's value one another for who we are, learning to love God, others and even ourselves as we journey together. Let's not worry about Sundays but rather seek to live this celebratory life everyday, let's learn to be our true authentic Christian selves with our friends, family and neighbours, lets stop referring to "them" as "them" and work towards becoming us for we are all on a journey.

Maybe we need to stop fretting and worrying and start being, maybe when we seek for  renewal and growth in ourselves we'll begin to see our lives touch the lives of others. Maybe as we seek to  be generous with our lives. we'll prompt people to open up with God, our generous Father in heaven.

Can this be wrong???

Over the last few weeks I've noticed a rise in the number of face-book comments and blog posts surrounding the question of the role of women in the church. These are coming from all sorts of angles and traditions, and while my usual reaction these days is to simply let this rumble on around me like so much white noise, every now and then it makes me really angry, and today is one of those days. I am not angry for myself particularly but angry for friends, good friends and good ministers who keep on getting hurt by stupid, yes stupid comments from people who try to put them down and question their calling. I have received a couple of e-mails just today from Godly women who are being treated appallingly because they are women, one e-mail said that the attacks, and don't get me wrong I am not using the word attack without thought, the attacks, are often followed with the loving phrase, "nothing personal of course." 

Nothing personal???? You mean it is OK to question someones calling, their inner being and then say "nothing personal???" It is not OK, it is very far from OK, and that is what has prompted me to write. I am not going to set out a Biblical argument as to why women can and should be ministers, and how complimentarianism is wrong, quite simply because I know that I will be inundated with those who will throw proof texting counter-arguments at me, and we could get into a theological slanging match which is not something anyone would find edifying!

Instead I'd like to share a little of my journey with you; I was brought up in an unchurched home, and when I came to faith in my twenties it did not occur to me that women and men were anything but equal in the eyes of God or of the church. I was soon to find out that I was wrong, even though I knew an early call to preach and to be an evangelist this made others uncomfortable and I have been counselled to stop being pushy and to consider what other women in the church did. This seemed strange to me because many of these women were competent professionals, but when I did a double take I discovered that within the church their teaching was often confined to Sunday School ( and there is a whole other debate there) , and their activities to "creative things" like baking and flower arranging. Don't misunderstand me I like cakes and enjoy flowers, but I am not gifted in either of these creative outlets in any striking way. BUT I am pretty good with words and I can preach, but the criticisms rumbled on, I was even accused of "stealing" my husbands ministry!

In the 1990's Tim ( mu husband ) joined an evangelistic organisation who conducted week and fortnight long missions, I too joined in with this, and while I was accepted as a team member and even a second in command leader, I was never allowed to lead, even though I have a letter from the founder of the mission quoting General Booth who said; " some of my best men are women" followed by the statement " such are you".

When life took me into Lay Ministry in the Methodist Church it soon became clear that God was calling me to take another step and to offer for Ordained Ministry, through the years of interviews and training that followed that call was confirmed again and again. BUT I still meet opposition, and the naysayers of my early steps into ministry have not all melted away, and sometimes they can be very loud indeed. Usually my stance, as I have said, is to ignore these voices, in effect turning the other cheek and allowing the fruit of ministry to speak for itself, but when I hear of my friends and colleagues being hurt and abused it makes me see red, and I simply ask those who are involved in critisising to take a deep breath, step back and look.Choose to lay aside all of your well formed arguements, your traditions and prejudices and look, look at the good being done by women ministers and priests, look at the creative and innovative ways that they work, see the fruit and the blessings that they bring, and ask yourself, seriously ask yourself, can this be wrong?

creativity....

I haven't blogged for ages, well over two weeks and that's a long time for me, this has partly been due to moving house and the chaos and exhaustion it brings, and if I'm honest partly because I've been spiritually drained for a number of reasons. Today though has been a reminder that creativity brings me life, today we got around to beginning to bring order to what will be a creative/prayer space and a spare bedroom when needed. In that room were a collection of boxes containing fabrics, candles, paints, pens, pastels, music books, icons, pictures of various types, art books, paper of all kinds, prayer books, incence burners, and general creative stuff. 

Some of that stuff has been packed away in files and folders and I've haven't looked at it for months, some for even longer. Some of the boxes contained prayer journals reminders of the ebb and flow of my spiritual life...

And while the room currently looks like something has exploded in it, it gives me hope, this evening we have moved shelves around, some are filled and some are not, we want to put a table in there for painting/drawing and a sofa bed and chair. I've found my music stands and guitar stand so they will have a place too. We'll put pictures on the walls find room for a music system too...

And it will probably not be the neatest room in the house, but that's OK...

 

pondering possessions, (the tyranny of stuff)

They’ve arrived, a big pile of boxes now wait in our garage to be filled with all our worldly goods to be moved from North Yorkshire to Blackpool. Over the last 15 years we have moved 7 times, this move will be the 8^th. Some of the moves have been short-term others longer, and certainly for the longer moves one thing stands out, we clear stuff out, we give away, sell and re-cycle stuff. Every time we vow that we will not collect so much stuff, and while I have to say that this time we’ve done reasonably well on that front there are additions, and some of them will inevitably be given away….

 

All of this has me pondering my relationship with stuff, when Tim and I first married we had very little, our coffee table was a cardboard box with a chess board on top and in the early months if people came to eat with us it was a case of bring your own cutlery! I can remember the pressures I felt, a sinking feeling of not being good enough brought on by various pressures from advertising to “well meaning” comments from friends and family.

 

That sense of being defined by what we had was deeply ingrained in me, this was partly a result of my upbringing where appearances were important and partly a bowing to the pressures I was surrounded with. The result of this was years of struggling to fit in and feeling unacceptable, even the church did not help for it had its own acceptable standards and demands. Like it or not most churches are middle class and exude demands if only subconsciously!

 

All of this pressure only added to my own sense of inadequacy and failure, this led to trying to keep up, which led to debt, which only deepened the sense of despair. It has taken me years, no decades to begin to break free of the vicious circle. Again and again I have returned to Jesus words:

 

Don't hoard treasure down here where it gets eaten by moths and corroded by rust or—worse!—stolen by burglars. Stockpile treasure in heaven, where it's safe from moth and rust and burglars. It's obvious, isn't it? The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being……

 

If you decide for God, living a life of God-worship, it follows that you don't fuss about what's on the table at mealtimes or whether the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to him than birds.

 

Has anyone by fussing in front of the mirror ever gotten taller by so much as an inch? All this time and money wasted on fashion—do you think it makes that much difference? Instead of looking at the fashions, walk out into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They never primp or shop, but have you ever seen colour and design quite like it? The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them.

 

If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers—most of which are never even seen—don't you think he'll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? What I'm trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God's giving. People who don't know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don't worry about missing out. You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met. (Matthew 6)

 

Again and again I have failed to live free of worry, the demands upon my children, myself and my self esteem have caused me to crumble. The desire to fit in and not to be shunned is huge, and I am more and more convinced that as a Christian that I must seek to live in a radically counter-cultural way. I am not advocating a miserable ascetic existence, but rather a decision to live life to the full which means being freed from the demands and shackles of fashion and the desire to keep up with the Joneses, but for this I need friends, I need encouragement and support.

 

More and more I am convinced that the church needs to become again (or maybe in some cases for the first time) a community of radical hospitality where everyone and I mean everyone is accepted and welcomed! Maybe we should worry less about out shoes than our smiles when coming to worship! One of the Chapels I work with has recently opened a Christians Against Poverty Centre, CAP helps people struggling with debt, the folk who will be our clients have got there for a variety of reasons, and not a few because they have struggled with the same issues and demands as I have. We have had some discussions about whether we can afford to run such a centre but at Church Council it was decided that we could not afford not to. In our discussions we were challenged about the things we hold dear, and questioned as to whether we would be willing to sacrifice just a little so that many could be helped. The response was positive, and now the challenge to be the welcoming community of faith that accepts all lies ahead of us.

 

I say that this is a challenge because not too long ago I sat in another Church Council meeting (in a different church) and was told “you are reaching the wrong kind of people”, when an explanation was sought the response was “well they’ll never have much to put in the plate…”  I saw red then and that attitude makes me see red now!  If we are sharing the good news of God’s love for all then how dare we demand that people measure up to our standards, even subtly so! Again this has got me thinking, and while I am not opting for a vow of poverty I do believe that there is a definite call through the gospels to live a simpler life than Western culture demands, and I find the whole health, wealth and prosperity angle on the gospel particularly abhorrent ,even hints of it are unacceptable! I struggle with this because I hear it whispered through our attitudes, it may not be overt but it is there, blessing is equated over and over with financial gain and successes. Interestingly that makes Jesus the ultimate failure, and yet he has everything and holds everything in his hands…

 

So as I sort and clear I am aware that I need to begin again to practice what I preach, and I wonder…. do books have a category al of their own, are books “stuff”? Sadly I suspect they are….

 

 

 

church alive......?

Come with me to Church, walk up the path and through the door, I hope that you will be welcomed warmly, but if you have time just take a look around our foyer, you’ll see a Christians Against Poverty Banner letting folk know that our centre is now open, also a collecting box for the Selby and District Food Bank, and a notice board with details of activities and events. What you won’t know is that this has not always been the case, and that some people don’t like it looking as it does, only last Sunday I heard of complaints, people asking what the entrance says about us; I hope it says that we care about the poor, the hungry and the homeless.

 

Now imagine for a moment that you are one of the guests of the family who are bringing their baby to be baptised, you’re a bit confused because you thought that baptisms were private services but this morning the whole church is here; all of these people make you feel a bit nervous. I hope that we’ll help you to relax, and that you’ll enjoy the service; you might be surprised by the fact that we use a screen and video projector and the atmosphere is much less formal than you’d expected….

 

Now imagine you are a fly on the wall overhearing a later discussion, one of the retired Local Preachers has tackled me he thought the service was a shambles, the prayers weren’t right and the sermon not hard hitting enough, “those people need to understand God’s message!” Another member approaches me, “you did well considering those people didn’t know how to behave” is the comment made. I was speechless, and the next comment made me even angrier, “at least they dressed up properly”….

 

Them and us syndrome is a horrible curse, it prevents us from seeing others in a positive light, it puffs us up and fills us with a false sense of pride, it is  distasteful and out of place in the church! As I was processing my reactions to all of these comments and conversations I came across post after post concerned with why younger folk don’t come to, or struggle with church. The first one that challenged me was entitled “Why you can’t solve your churches young adult problem” , the first thing to take on board was a simple statement of fact;

 

“Churches are not perfect- nor should we ever think they will be- but as long as church people do mean things to people who are a little different, don’t be surprised when no young people want to come to your church.”

 

It should be obvious- and of course it is not only young people who will stay away, only today a friend said this;

 

“ I long for something interesting to ponder, something to challenge and inspire, something to give me hope and faith in the future here, something worth putting energy into fighting for - you know, a better world, a healthier environment, greater justice, fairer distribution of resources, world peace. I don't see the Church delivering any of that really, or offering people any great incentive to get on board enthusiastically with it. I don't even feel it's a particularly loving place, so why would I wish to be in it?”

 

Ouch, but she makes a good point, as does the writer of the first article, who continues by asking us some very pertinent questions;

 

“Do we really want young people in our churches? Or do we really mean we want to preserve our values in a younger generation of prototypical images of ourselves? And are we willing to make the gospel compelling enough by trying to actually live it?”

 

If you want young people in your church, go to where they are. Learn what they do. Strike up a relationship and trust the Holy Spirit enough to let you know when it’s time to invite them to church. In the meantime make sure your church is a place that worries about doing justice, loving kindness, and walking humbly with God (Micah 6:8). …”

 

Make sure your church worries about doing justice, loving kindness and walking humbly with God NOT about how people are dressed and whether they “behave” according to our standards. Surely we should be helping people to connect with God by offering an open door a welcome and a place to be, an environment where questions and confusions are heard and answered gently... Which brings me to the second article “Releasing the generations”, written by Bishop Graham Cray. He begins with this:

 

“The relationship between older and younger generations in the Church is complex. Older people can hang on to leadership too long, while younger people (if they stay) get frustrated. Well-intentioned, but often token, appointments of young people are made to church bodies whose meetings can frustrate - or bore the life out of - those same young people. Yet there are also older people looking for someone younger to take on roles they have filled for years – and they can’t find anyone to take their place. The problem is essentially one of power: who has a say and who does not. The issue is also vocational: is each generation respected and released to obey God’s call and trusted to trust God’s promises?”

 

The issue is essentially one of power he says, I wonder if it is also one of fear, fear of what might happen, what might change if we were to let go. In their book “The Human Face of Church” Sarah Savage and Eolene Boyd-McMillan refer to sociologist Max Weber’s observations which point to a cyclical process amongst religious movements;

 

“Weber argued that any great vision require a human process to carry it through time, sometimes in the form of “a man, a mission, a movement, or a monument”. Even with the Body of Christ, the life giving charism has to be embodied in a routine – in some form of human organisation. Yet, life giving visions do not fit easily into neat boxes. So the very process that gives the vision continuing life also begins to kill it. When the maintenance of the institution (which protects the charism) becomes the institutions primary purpose, the death of the charism is on the horizon. Only spiritual revival or reform will re-ignite the gift.” (Savage and Boyd-McMillan 2007. p4)

 

A church that is willing to let go and pass on the power, that is willing to be re-invented for every age is a church that will grow, it’s risky certainly, but the risk of not daring to do so is surely more costly for it will result in our ultimate demise, a picture we see all too often! Cray continues;

 

It is not the calling of young people to preserve or continue the church as it is but to engage in God’s mission in a way which will inevitably shape the Church of tomorrow. If we are to engage with the UK as a mission field with its sheer scale and diverse complexity, we need the missionary gifts of young people today - not just tomorrow.

 

So we need to consider our ways, how we share leadership and power, and dare to risk  leaving behind what we have to travel to a new future, but of course there is more, for what is Church without God. Let me take you back to our baptism service, during the intercessions which took the form of a power-point display set to music I offered people a chance to respond to God by offering a blessing for those that wanted one, a couple of church members responded, but then something powerful began to happen as a number of the baptism party began to come forward, some of them were in tears, the Spirit was moving, and I too began to weep. I believe that THERE IS A HUNGER FOR GOD planted within us, and that hunger was stirred as folk came forward, they hadn’t expected it, they hadn’t looked for it, but equally they could not resist it. That leads me to a third article by Shane Raynor entitled “When Christianity gets boring” and while I don’t agree with the thrust of his article that young people stay away because church is boring I do find truth in this:

 

“Christians have spent a lot of time figuring out how to get people to church, but we haven’t always done a lot to establish them in the faith once they’re there. That's partly because we’ve largely reduced faith to activities and programs or to creeds and doctrinal statements. And many of us are chasing a Christianity that’s a figment of our imaginations. We’re looking for the faith of the church fathers, the faith of Luther, of Calvin, of Wesley... sadly some of us would actually settle for a Christianity that’s a snapshot from somewhere in time rather than explore the infinite God of the now!”

 

…sadly some of us would actually settle for a Christianity that’s a snapshot from somewhere in time rather than explore the infinite God of the now! I want to cry out- surely this is not true, but sadly deep in my heart I know that it often is! We look for methods and fixes, for programmes and solutions, and fail to seek God, the author and perfector of our faith, God who can do immeasurably more in us than we can begin to ask or imagine. Raynor exclaims;

 

“…since the power and presence and person of God are anything but boring, that tells me we have a disconnect between experiencing God and experiencing church. “

 

Another Facebook friend posted a comment from a young man who says this;

 

" I did a YouTube video the other week on the reason why church has made me contemplate leaving. I'm 31 and have only been a Christian for two years. The two main reasons for me, and it seems to be echoed by others around me are lack of discipleship (we are just left to get on with it, questions remain unaswered) and too much noise. Church tries to be 'trendy' loud music, bands, messy church. All great concepts but what myself and others want is hard, straight up answers to questions and silence. Church is not boring, its just failing to connect with what young people really need....God"

People NEED GOD, not just young people but people of all ages, sizes, colours and backgrounds, we were made for God, by God and NEED a real relationship with God who loves us more than we can possibly imagine. People need God, and the church is called to know, and nurture that need, to call forth life by growing changing, and adapting, sharing the life that it has received allowing it to flow out into the desert places of this world causing the desert to bloom. Life should no be kept in a neat box, safely shielded from the realities of the world, if we do that with life it will die, and we will be lost….

 

Jesus says:

 

Let me tell you why you are here. You're here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavours of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You've lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage.

 ^14-16"Here's another way to put it: You're here to be light, bringing out the God-colours in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We're going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don't think I'm going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I'm putting you on a light stand. Now that I've put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you'll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven. (Matthew 5)

Maybe we need to remember;

 

“God can do anything, you know—far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us. “ (Ephesians 3) 

 Pictures all by Tim 

Growing from love, growing into love; Sermon blogging (Mark 4:26-34, 2 Corinthians 5: 6-17)

I don’t know how many of you are gardeners, Tim and I are newbie gardeners, we’ve always had gardens, but beyond pulling out weeds and cutting a bit of grass we’ve not done much until now. Then something happened, we were visiting friends for a meal, and they cooked us a lovely lamb steak on the BBQ, it was accompanied by fresh spinach, fresh new potatoes and fresh beetroot all from their garden! We tasted and we knew and we were hooked, the non gardeners became gardeners because we’d caught a glimpse of the joy of growing your own. In a sense we were converted, and all it had taken was a mouthful of fresh spinach! At that point the lamb paled into insignificance! The seed of desire for something new had been sown in us and supermarket spinach would now be a poor substitute!

 

The apostle Paul tasted something new, and changed, a much more dramatic change than a change from not gardener to gardener, he experienced a deep internal change, a transformation of heart and soul, mind and spirit, a change that opened his life to the extraordinary love of God in Christ, a love that he now describes as a compelling love….

 

What happened? Somehow Jesus had come to him in such a way that the knowledge of the love of God was firmly planted within him, and he would never be the same…

 

God’s love became his mission, his vision and his prayer; he wanted everyone to experience God’s love as rooted and growing reality in their lives, and in a lovely juxtaposition that all should know themselves planted into God’s love from where they could grow vigorously and healthily. Listen carefully to his prayer:

 

Through followers of Jesus like yourselves gathered in churches, this extraordinary plan of God is becoming known and talked about even among the angels!

 ^11-13All this is proceeding along lines planned all along by God and then executed in Christ Jesus. When we trust in him, we're free to say whatever needs to be said, bold to go wherever we need to go. So don't let my present trouble on your behalf get you down. Be proud!

 ^14-19My response is to get down on my knees before the Father, this magnificent Father who parcels out all heaven and earth. I ask him to strengthen you by his Spirit—not a brute strength but a glorious inner strength—that Christ will live in you as you open the door and invite him in. And I ask him that with both feet planted firmly on love, you'll be able to take in with all followers of Jesus the extravagant dimensions of Christ's love. Reach out and experience the breadth! Test its length! Plumb the depths! Rise to the heights! Live full lives, full in the fullness of God.

 

Live in the fullness of God, full lives in the fullness of God, that is Paul’s prayer, it is the love of God that sustains and compels him, the love of God that is growing in him and from which he is growing…

God is love, his kingdom purposes are that his love should be shown and grown in his people, Jesus offers us stories, parables to illustrate the vibrancy and energy of this, reminding us it is God’s work and not ours he tells of the field planted by the farmer, the mystery and energy, the warmth and the wonder that cause the seeds he has sown to grow and sprout until the harvest is ready….

 

God is love, his kingdom purposes are that his love should be shown and grown in his people; Jesus tells us another parable, of how the smallest seed becomes the largest plant, growing and maturing until it is able to offer shade and shelter…

 

God’s love growing within, God’s love from which we grow, God’s love which when we receive it and allow ourselves to be planted in it works in and through us a wonder, a compulsion to share it for we have tasted and known ourselves to be held by something that is far better than spinach!

 

So what happens to us when we receive this love, when we begin to grow in it? Paul speaks of groaning and longing for something more, more because we realise that there is so much more, we have only put our toes in the water of the possibilities of God, our roots are baby roots, and the soil of his love is rich and deep, and every fibre of our being longs to plumb it’s depths, to receive of it’s riches….

 

Stop for a moment, ask yourself is this your experience? Do you know the love of God in this way? If not now is the time to ask him to plant you firmly into his kingdom by receiving again or maybe for the first time the love of Christ, whose love was planted and displayed so richly among us as he left heavens glories to be born in a manger, as he stretched out his arms on the cross giving his life that we might live, and mightily through the glorious power of the resurrection as he overcame death, offering his transforming possibilities to be at work within the brokenness ugliness and loveless-ness of this world. His love available for all as a free planting for our hearts….

 

That transformative work within will enable us to see the world as God sees it, to see others as he sees them, to live from a balanced centre, we have been given a fresh start, our old life is gone; a new life burgeons! A new life giving, love sharing life that offers others a taste of the love and life of God just as our friends shared with us the fruits of their garden.

 

As we grow we become a part of God’s solution in a world that is so much in need of love, of healing and transformation, and we don’t have to go far to encounter that need in our own lives, in our fellowship and families, in our communities and beyond. God’s plan is that we should grow into his fullness from his fullness.

 

Are we willing to be planted in him, are we willing for him to be planted in us?

 (Pictures by Tim)

on humility, depression and God...

Over the last few days I have been privileged to witness three different acts (not sure that is the right word) of humility, and they were all beautiful. The first two were by carers who had brought their charges along to church for communion on Sunday. One pair came to each of the morning services I was leading and they both struck me by the gentle and loving way they responded to the people in their care, making sure they were able to participate in the service.

At the first service the young woman brought an elderly man from a nearby residential home, she walked patiently with him, making sure he could hold the book and the communion glass in his shaking hands, gently raising the glass to his lips so that he could receive and making sure she walked at his pace. 

At the second service a young man came with another man, I'd guess he was in his mid forties and clearly had learning difficulties as well as having trouble with balance and movement, they were a bit late but the younger companion helped his friend to find a seat, and then helped him at enormous physical cost to stand for the hymns, when I spoke to him afterwards I mentioned that it would have been OK for his friend to sit he simply remarked that he knew that, but his friend wanted to stand!

In both of these carers I saw the love, patience and grace of Christ reflected, they both came forward at communion and I am glad that they both received the elements, because to me they were a better sermon than I could give, they showed me the Christ who supports and walks with us in our brokenness, the Christ who does not despise our frailty but supports us in it, the Christ who enables us to be more, and to do more than we ever could without him. They displayed gentleness, kindness and patience but most of all humility, as if they recognised in their companions a reflection of their own humanity  a beauty in their brokenness that made them worthy of care, time, and consideration.

The third act of humility was different, I was visiting a member who is recovering from
by-pass surgery, he is truly "lucky" to be alive, a fit man who walked and practiced yoga he went to the hospital for a check up only to find himself whisked up onto the ward to wait for by-pass surgery, the arteries around his heart were almost completely clogged up. A four week wait, a seven hour operation and a couple of weeks in recovery later and he is home, when I offered to pray with him at the end of the visit he sank to his knees. I was surprised, but did the same, he'd never done anything like that before, now he says he has to, he has recognised his own vulnerability and need of God!

It left me wondering how often we are aware of our very real and deep need for God, and how we respond to his promise to be with us always, how we receive his words of affirmation and acceptance when we are at our most vulnerable. Do we know he is standing alongside us, standing with us and supporting us? Do we acknowledge that presence and receive support? As one who suffers from depression I know that there are times when if I try to be strong and to appear whole and healthy then I can come dangerously close to rejecting that the help that I need, and then the clay pot of my life becomes emptied, the well spring of my life dries up, and it seems that the glory of God is dim, and indwelling life giving Spirit of God is far away. But always somewhere deep within I know the truth, that God is standing with me, even in the darkest places, and that if only I could turn and sink to my knees and hold out my hands to him then he would help me to stand. It is then, when I am at my lowest that I discover that when I have no words to say and no strength even to turn in his direction that God comes, kneels before me and gently washes my feet. When I need rest he leads me to a place of rest and demands nothing of me, and asks me to ask nothing of myself, and if I respond with the humility that acknowledges my need then the healing can begin.

Pictures by Tim

your kingdom come....

We pray it so often;

"Your kingdom come....."

But I wonder if we know what we are praying, sometimes I have visions of the transforming power of God sweeping across the earth, visions of the second coming and of a world put right once and for all. A force so powerful that I cannot and will not be able to resist it, a move of God that would simply overwhelm me.

"Your kingdom come...."

Easy enough to pray, but if we really mean it we must be open to it as individuals, open to expect that mustard seed faith to grow in us and to spread through us, open to the possibility that our prayer for peace or patience might to be answered in and through us as we engage with day to day stuff, for God is at work in our lives.

"Your Kingdom come..."

Easy enough to pray, but if we really mean it we must be open to it together, open to expect the church to  grow, to go through seasons, to be a place of constant change, and that is very hard for many, for we have a strange tendency to expect the church to be static. We misinterpret it, believing that we somehow encapsulate church in an hour on a Sunday morning, and while that is an important hour it should only be a place from which we are sent to be church, making a difference in the world through the week.

"Your kingdom come..."

 Easy enough to pray, but if we really mean it we must be open to it appearing around us, open to expecting to find God at work in unexpected places and in unexpected people, calling us to join him in surprising ventures, to dare to become more than we are, and at times to leave the old behind in order that we can embrace the new.

"Your kingdom come..."

Easy enough to pray, but if we really mean it we must be willing to acknowledge that what is being built in through and around us is precisely that, God's kingdom and not ours, his means of restoration, not our relic, his place and ways of healing, not our systems and structures, his unfolding life in our midst challenging, changing and surprising us, leading us into being more than we could possibly ask or imagine....

^{Luke 13 18} Then Jesus asked, "What is God's kingdom like? What can I compare it to? ¹⁹ It is like a mustard seed. Someone took the seed and planted it in a garden. It grew and became a tree. The birds sheltered in its branches."

 

Picture: Blessed One by Tim

thoughts on ministry, with a few pictures....

I am kind of fascinated by this picture that has been doing the rounds on Facebook over the last few days, it shows different perspectives on what pastors/ ministers do and is obviously somewhat tongue in cheek!

While I understand the last picture I really can't relate to the first one, partly because I really don't see myself in that way at all, I prefer these images:

 and   or

Today I led to services where we opened the word, drank coffee and shared communion! We sat around tables, prayed and sang (though only two hymns/songs), the discussion was on the inclusive Christ, both were very different, both were transformative for those involved!

of course there are lots of other images like this one of Tim's:

I could go on and on, but I see ministry as helping to create an opening, sharing with others, opening myself ,opening a door, openly sharing, opening God's word, and creating an opening through works, service and sacrament. I don't always get it right, but when I don't I hope to have the humility to say so and apologise.

This afternoon, with glue and glitter, tea and cake we gathered to hear the story of Zaccheus there were folk of all ages, from 70's to babies, families, singles, couples, all having fun and learning together...

As for my friends, some of them jokingly tell me I only work for a few hours one day each week, but they know that is nonsense! 

So may the door remain open, and may I encourage others to offer the same welcome we have received from Christ, no matter who they are....

 

More than anything I am encouraged today by someone saying, I have learnt such a lot from you because you are normal, approcahable and normal! 

On integrity and grace...

Well I have to admit that the whole Twitter explosion regarding Rob Bell passed me by, and in many ways I am grateful. It has also made me think again about using this media and the way that it is easy to become drawn into making hasty statements without any real knowledge of the basis for the original remarks...

I am concerned and saddened by the way that Christians have behaved towards Rob Bell and one another in this starting with John Piper's flippant "farewell" tweet to the raft of other condemnatory comments. Add to this the fact that the whole things was conducted on a public forum in a public way which goes clearly against Biblical counsel on disagreements.

Scott McKnight's words of wisdom should not have been needed, but we would do well to heed them, responding to a question from Christianity today he said:

" I want to wait to see what Rob Bell says, read it for myself, and see what I think of it. Rob is tapping into what I think is the biggest issue facing evangelicalism today, and this fury shows that it just might be that big of an issue.

The publicity approach of HarperOne worked perfectly. They got huge publicity for a book. They intended to provoke -- and they did it well. I think it is wiser to wait to see the real thing than to rely on publicity's provocations. Justin bit, and so did many of his readers.

Frankly, John Piper's flippant dismissal of Rob Bell is unworthy of someone of Piper's stature. The way to disagree with someone of Rob Bell's influence is not a tweet of dismissal but a private letter or a phone call. Flippancy should have no part in judging a Christian leader's theology, character or status."

Wait, read,  become informed, then consider, and act with grace and integrity!

What a shame that the twitterer's were not able to do this, and in fact still aren't because the whole explosion continues, some are "praying" for Rob Bell, whilst others continue to defend him and are slinging mud at John Piper. Add to that the fact that Piper himself was linking to a blog post by Justin Taylor, and that Taylor freely admits that he has NOT read all of Bell's new book but is responding to a part of it and to the promotional video and the whole thing becomes frankly absurd.

Like Scott McKnight I will not comment on Bell's book until I have read it, and given the initial controversy I will probably read it twice and prayerfully consider it before commenting. I will say that I have enjoyed Bell's work so far, and the video that has caused such divisions is attractive and compelling but does not offer any answers- it raises questions- and that I suspect was the publishers intention.

Here for those who have not seen it is the video...

 

 

Also twitterer's you might like to spare a thought for the web-designer from West Yorshire who is currently amused by his sudden fame, but the insults and messages of suppoer that keep coming his way via twitter may begin to wear thin. His twitter name is robbell, if you want the other Rob Bell, you'll find him at realrobbell!

robbell has said:

Dear Christians, I am not @realrobbell although I hear he does really great things. Please at least look before you 'quote' me as him

oh dear, my namesake is now a Trending Topic worldwide on Twitter, best get ready for fresh lunacy! What else is gonna go mad today?!?

@bethbeutler lol thanks Beth. Not as bad or as many as I expected when other Rob trended. I don't mind, I hear he's a thoroughly good bloke

@reverendjohnson do they? Why would an entire religion want to bash a simple Englishman like myself? I'm quite concerned...

@theonetruemyles who is this @johnpiper and why is he denouncing me? Did he not like a website I designed?

Dear Christians- please at least look!