Church Leaders - Be the difference!

I have just returned from a secular training course. A bit of a different experience for me these days as I usually only find myself training in 'Christian' setting as and more often than not these are full of leader or 'go for it' enthusiastic types so it gave me an opportunity to canvas, examine and most of all, enjoy, being in the 'world'.

Seems to me that since leaving the world for the realm of believer nothing much has changed out there, the hopes, fears, challenges, aspirations and life all seem the same. As I thought, the world is full of really nice people just doing what they need to do to keep their families fed and their lives on track for whatever it is that they want to achieve. You know the things, the kids growing up happy and as part of the family, managing to pay the bills and having a 'quiet' life, planning and working for those two weeks abroad every year and watching TV (I obviously don't do enough of the latter as I didn't have a clue about the latest TV celebrity reality extravaganza 'Britain's got disabled people in wheelchairs dancing on ice' (or something like that!).

What was even more interesting from my social experiment (I'm a Vicar, get me into here?) was the fact that I was approached and engaged by a few of those on the course with stories, views and questions regarding 'Church'.

The first of these was a lovely young woman who exuded energy and fun. She told me how a hospice chaplain had arranged for her to be married in the hospice and how the chaplain had been accommodating, friendly and engaged with her, her needs and the family. For her, 'Church' was a positive and affirming experience.

Another came to me and was a equally lovely, intelligent and obviously capable young woman (did I mention the course was eighty-seven percent female by the way?) who told me that she'd been a member of a church and how she'd given up her faith because of the limp and ineffective minister who lead it. 'The Church has no balls," she told me. "Rather than stand for what it believes it tries to offer this grey, weak, anything goes face to the world in the hope it will offend no one!" I probed a bit more and found that this woman, engaged in the toughest areas of a tough city wasn't some hard-line evangelical but some one who realised that truth has to be truth even when it becomes unpopular truth. That 'Yes' needs to be 'Yes' and that 'No' cannot be allowed to become 'Possibly'.

We discussed some of her recent experience from a family church event and she'd found it as equally weak and limpid as her previous experience and was happy she'd made the journey into watching TV and doing other stuff on a Sunday rather than suffer such pale and placid waters.

Seems to me that those in leadership of the Church need to realise that people want certainties and direction and to be lead by people who are sure of their faith and how it engages with the world and all its ailments, needs and challenges. Seems to me from the other couple of conversations I had this week that how Church was perceived and engaged with was all about the way the local clergy engaged and responded and how definite they were about their faith and where it came into contact with the world (even when they didn't agree). Out of eighteen other people training two that I knew of were churchgoers. (11% of the population)

So a thought for those of us who consider ourselves (or who are considered) to be leaders. For goodness sakes lead! We need to realise that we have a Calling (and a duty) to preach the Gospel in and out of season, where it is welcome and where it's not. The Gospel needs to be preached openly, honestly and without fudging or weakening it in case we offend - it's supposed to be offensive! We need to learn to say 'Yes' when people ask us if we can do something (and then struggle to work out how we do it) rather than issue lame excuses and bland ineffectives and present the Church (and therefore Christ) as unengaged and uninterested.

And a thought for those who don't see themselves as leaders but rather as led. Dear sheep, grab your shepherds and get them to realise what it is you need from your church and from them in leading it. Don't settle for a second-best of weak platitudes and limpid excuses for life's errors, trials and demands - You, the Church and Jesus demand and deserve much, much more than that.

Pax.