David Cameron, Jesus and the Big Society

This morning I had the privilege (and pleasure) of talking to the extremely nice Michelle Dawes on BBC WM radio regarding David Cameron and his comments on Jesus and the 'Big Society'.

Here's the broadcast:

It Ain’t what you Do . .

It the way that you do it and the person you’re doing it for!

All too often I come across people who regard the Church as a bunch of ‘do gooders’. The current government’s ‘Big Society’ looks towards the Church as a source of pastoral care and concern and social action. The Church itself speaks of ‘being missional’ (that is taking its members out of the church buildings and engaging with those who aren’t Church) So how do we consider this and more importantly, how do we respond to it?

In Matthew Chapter twenty-eight, Jesus tell those who bear the name ‘Christian’ that they should go into ALL the world, which means to everyone, everywhere! Not just those whom we choose where we’d like to choose them, but everywhere and for everyone.

Whilst we are out there, we are to tell people about God’s love and the ability to live in peace with God and with one another that is won for us through the Cross of Christ.

Then having told the people and having made them aware we are to lead them to the waters of baptism (baptising once and once only and that in the name of the father, Son and Holy Spirit) and into a life of faith.

From this life of faith we help each other to grow and become the people we’d like to be and whom our society needs us to be. People who keeps God’s (and man’s) laws and live according to them. The fruits of this are a society that cares for others because this is what God calls us to do, look after our neighbours; forgive those who act against us and bind up the broken.

This is the way that we live as ‘Big Society’ but we can’t do it without the God bit! To act in the right way, doing the right things and living for others without God in the mix is to become the ‘do gooders’ the worlds sneers at the Church for being! Church as ‘Big Society’ is something I long to see, but I don’t believe you can have it without mentioning, and living, the love of Jesus, the Christ (and recently I have come across more than a few church projects who are doing just this - which makes it a great social project but my question is 'Is it really Christian'?)

If we want to make a difference to your street, town or County (or nation or world) we need to come to God and ask Him to fill us with His Holy Spirit; put aside the things that separate us ofr God and neighbour and get stuck into:

Caring for the weak, the poor and the hungry.

Standing against wrong, no matter who it is that is doing it!

Acting to see right that the things are done to stop oppression, prejudice and cruelty.

Praying to see God’s hand at work and to make sure that we do what God is calling us to (prayer means listening too).

Reading our Bibles to understand what is required of us and to see the many ways in which God has acted and bless this world and its inhabitants.

Meeting together to be family and to share what we have in terms of gifts, abilities and possessions.

So there it is – it’s not what we do, it’s our motives and the person we are doing it for (and with).

Can people see Jesus in the way you live and the ways in which you touch the lives of those you meet? If the answer is ‘No’ then talk to one of your fellow believers, lay minister, clergy and get them to help you get on the right path.

Pax

Cameron and a 'Christian' Country

Despite those who will undoubtedly continue to tell me that being a 'Christian Country' is something that is no longer I have to say, faith position not withstanding, that indeed it still is. But only by its fingertips.

If our nation were to eschew the values and standards of Christianity like many of those in mainland Europe we would see intolerance, lack of social action an increase in extremely stupid court rulings and worst of all, the demise of religious freedom. Of course this is the road we are on and many of those who proclaim secular or humanist values do in fact seek the demise of 'religion' for the ascent of their own non-religious religion, a place that will benefit none, not even themselves if it were to become the dominance they so desire.

It's ironic that Rowan speaks out on so few issues and yet manages, as a rule, to say even less about faith issues. Advice to investors, bankers and an inaudible lead to those camped outside St Pauls and a strong lead to those who reside within. More ironic is that Cameron has indeed given the whole Christian community, Anglicans in particular, a challenge to maintain and even recapture the position of faith communities when not that long ago Rowan was accusing him (and his coalition) of acting without a mandate and yet here we are with the tables turned and Rowan being accused of having a mandate and failing to act!

A Christian country supports the right fr people to believe other than Christians.
It supports the right to live as one choses, within the law, but also reserves the right to not be forced to bless it and to show 'better' ways.
It protects the weak, enriches the poor and comforts the broken.
It is the 'Big Society' and always has been.

So here's a gift for Rowan from the Prime Minister of our nation - let's hope (and pray, you do pray don't you?) that he and the Christians of this land take it.

Pax

Re Re-motivating Church

Following on from my post yesterday, and answering some of the points made regarding it, I thought I'd continue with it for a bit longer.

It has been pointed out that the church was active in this land when money was forthcoming from the endowments and the (not always popular) system of tithes, and this is true. Not only that, but the parishes were generally stable entities which meant that the people within were known.

This is a fair observation, but it was also a time when the church was acting out of a legacy of pastoral care too and this was more often than not funded by the 'ordinary' people even if the initial idea, funding and motivation came from the nobs or the clergy. When there was nothing else, the Church was generally all there was and reading on this area I find that some embrace their legacy cheerfully and looked for ways to be involved and engaged, some however discharged their duties legalistically and grudging. Obviously it is the former group I would like to see being revived. Wonderfully, I can see places where this is true.

The next consideration was that the clergy were part of the Oxbridge, ruling class which rubbed shoulders with the aristocracy and the gentry.

Not only that but it was a time when, "The church acted paternalistically, assuming that everyone should be grateful for their (sometimes grudging) favours, and when it acted triumphalistically, assuming an easy right to be involved in everything."

As Revsimmy words so rightly point out, the old days of 'first son inherits title, second son joins the army, third son goes into the church' have long gone. He also points out that the old system was such that many of those ordained in the recent past would never have been under the old 'ruling class' system. Which reminds me of an encounter when I was Potty training.

Our POT group was visiting and establishment when the Chief Executive brought an old chap in to meet us. It transpired that the old gentleman was a retired bishop. After a few niceties and introduction he said something along the lines of, "Well done for getting ordained. So and so has just taken over my old diocese, the son of N you know. People think that we're letting anyone in you know, but the CofE is still one of the greatest gentlemen's clubs in the world!"

Appalled? We were!!!

I am glad we have opened the doors to those who seek ministry and am glad we have lost the 'Conservative party at prayer' label, but do fear that we are perhaps heading towards being the "Trendy, New Labour Party at prayer," instead. Still, back to the topic in hand.

RevSimmy continues, "I'm afraid I don't share the rose-tinted view of the past that some seem to have. The church squandered its opportunities because it spent too much effort cosying up to those in power at the time and has still not properly adjusted to our late/post-modern times. I for one am thankful for the welfare state .. and do we want to return to the attitudes of Father/Parson knows best?"

I also meet many who long for the good old days when we were all and everything, when the Vicar was also a member of the ruling or gentrified classes and the people knew their place. But I am not one of those, thankfully, but one who sees that the heritage we have walked away from (for it was just taken, the church volunteered it) perhaps all but gone. Yet the 'Big Society' and the chaos caused by the greed of those looking to make a quick and easy profit, the naivety of the bankers (who thought it could just keep on going upwards) and the ineptitude of the government (Labour as incumbents and Tories because they helped set the condition for the banking crisis) give us one last chance to regain some of the ground.

Where I am, I see Christians responding to need through a variety of works and we come alongside those with addictions , pregnancy issues and soon to come, a foodbank too! The Church needs to be doing the same, and the time has never been better - we just need to get people out of the church buildings and into the community!

Like UKViewer, I don't see the church can become what it once was in some places like the East End in the last century, but this is more about demographics and the people groups who now populace those parts rather than the effectiveness or opportunities. We have the opportunity, and are taking it,to be the voice of concern and care in our inner-city areas. The 'Big Society' will only increase the potential.

The welfare state, although coming from altruistic motives, has in many ways begun to mirror what happened when the Church was the welfare state and this is perhaps another benefit of the current cash crisis in that it will see itself de-institutionalised and the opportunities for Multi Agency Groups (MAGs) with Church leadership (or involvement) will be the turning point of a sound and financially effective response to this nation's needs.

When UKV says, "In these days of less stipendiary ministers and falling incomes, I don't see the church doing that much more than it is managing now. I would love to see it differently, but I sense that I would have to a wild optimist to believe that this situation will improve in the short or medium term."

Where I am, I am seeing those who have retired taking the lead and the ministers, whilst active (well, some of them!) the lead is the members. This is what gives me such hope for the future.

So, what are the needs where we are? What is being lost due to cuts and how can the Church (that means churches) respond and meet those needs?

PAx