Journal: And breathe!

Amazing day, both up and at 'em before the streets were fully aired today with one of us heading for Brum and the other off to Stafford as we were engaged in pastoral and evangelism stuff. I had the Stafford ticket and so found myself in the diocesan Evanagelism and Outreach Team meeting where we discussed so many cool things it made my head spin and my heart pump little faster.

People often quote what they think is a Chinese curse: "May you live in interesting times," but it seems that this is actually a Western creation. The same is true of the supposedly African saying, “If you want to go quickly, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” The latter popped up in connection with the refugee crisis in Sudan and can be found in a number of places relating to it and appears by many to have been assimilated into their nation's wisdom.

Both sayings are valid in their own right; each conveys something of value even though their source is not that billed. The problem with Christianity is that when it comes to the corruption and/or misquoted words of Jesus there are so many that have been taken up and assimilated into Church culture by well meaning folk.

I recently heard someone offer that great saying of Jesus, "God helps those who help themselves!" But of course this pickpocket's charter of a saying has no biblical source to give it warrant and is in a par with  friend's "You'll be stronger if you get over this by yourself!".

Seems to me that the Church is slowly rewriting the words of Jesus (who is possibly the most misquoted person ever) and whilst some might do it consciously, the majority are doing it out of ignorance and it is merely an attempt to paraphrase a passage or give the gist of something in the Bible. But it's damaging and needs to be addressed. This is a call on those of us who teach to do so with integrity.

That said, the way for the Church to be what it is meant to be is for us to set off together in the direction that leads to the Son. Too often we spend so much time in the planning that we never get round to setting off and actually doing it. Too often we wait for everyone to be ready before we set off and so are found dead at the meeting point having never left! For the things that need to be done quickly, where speed is of the essence, we need to get out and do it with but a few but for the important things, such as preaching the Gospel, we need to go together: think I've the 2017 church direction sorted :-)

Ministry is full of contrasts and yesterday was no different for later in the day I swung from a funeral in a graveyard to overhauling a church hall boiler in the space of perhaps an hour and then straight into a music practice which, almost seamlessly, went into a bishops certificate course. Variety is the spice of life (another thing Jesus never said) and I, for one, am thankful for it.

Every now and then, people challenge me to consider where I should be and the role I should be doing. As an 'almost average' cleric in the CofE I can guarantee a life of living below the radar and doing the stuff and being left in peace to do what I believe I'm called to be, I usually shrug off suggestions of bigger, better and different. That said I realise that I am called to listen and respond to God's voice and perhaps have let the background noise drown Him out. So during Lent I've decided to listen to see what I should (and shouldn't) be doing along with the questions Kipling's working men provide.

Now that could lead to interesting times indeed.

Lord, here I am - send me: A response I have made many times and reiterate today.
I know you have eternity settled for me, help with the day ahead!
Give me my daily bread.
Forgive my many sins.
Help me to forgive those who sin in my direction.
Help me not to become sin and to out you to the test.
Bless those I encounter and give me ears that hear and lips that speak Your words of life.

Everything was going so well, and then . . .

Being Mr efficient, I purchased the Advent Candles months back and had them all ready and waiting in the church, all that was needed was to to walk in and plonk them in the candle holder. So, an hour and a half before the service I pop into run through the music and do the candles - where's the Advent  wreath thing?

Bottom line is that at 10:25 everything is ready and I've used an alternative candle holder as ours is nowhere to be found! I didn't get to practice the songs and I hate this as it is always good to have a play and get into a bit of personal prayer and reflection before the service and without my getting lost in playing and removing myself from people I feel dragged into the places rather than entering ready to meet with God - and today is Advent Sunday! Aaargh!

So we start and it's a day of missed cues and muddled messages - I'm not down to preach (thank goodness for the 'Can't make it to church'  bit on the blog which allows me write a sermon in my head and post it regardless). Meanwhile the wife is doing a service elsewhere and I pray that she is being a blessing and is blessed (and it seems that she and it were - Thank You Lord).

The joy of having so many people take part in a service (there were eleven people involved in some aspect of the service yesterday (13 if you count the Sunday school) is immense - I go to places where everything is done by the person taking the service and that makes for a contiguous, polished (at times), performance from a one man band - but where are are many, the potential for interesting things is infinitely before us! Still, no one other than me did the absolution, there were missed bits (which we studiously also ignore on the PowerPoint) a final song with at least three different version (but we ended in the right chord and laughed as a family at the mayhem), somehow I ended up doing the intercessions (which was an amazing privilege as always) and by the time the day was done.

I struggle at the art of performance that I encounter in some places. The 'Worship' band (I think they mean 'Music Team' because surely the whole service is 'Worship') which is so polished and needs to be marched through the service as if it were a drill display and woe upon them should a note be wrong or a beat missed (which is odd because both are usually present despite somewhere despite their practising!). I rejoice in the bumps we encounter on the road that is our service; sometimes it's the things that fall off the wagon that remind us of the reason we are in the place as Church.

I'm wondering about the places where the service is a one man band - is this making church a spectator sport: worse still, is this something that supports the increasing sadness that is consumerism in the church? Some things for prayer and reflection (with loads of potential conversations too, which has to be good)?

But back to St Francis' and the encounters, the opportunities for fellowship. And the like. I love us still hanging around for so long after the service - its always, "No!" when people ask, "Don't you,wish they'd go home?" 

Last week a couple of visitors remarked that 'weren't church'. They unpacked it by saying that it was relaxed, there were no masks and there was so much else in the place. That's my persistent prayer; that he church might contain true Church - people who can open themselves to one another in safety and in the knowledge that there would be love - if we have that then it can't be bad, can it?

As much as I like to be collegial and share the ministry, there are times when I wish I was more so. Yesterday was one as I cut and folded 1,000 cards to stick through the letterboxes of a neighbouring church. Problem is that The printing wasn't 'edge to edge' and so needed multiple cuts and a crisp fold. Talk about practical evangelism of a different sort, but as I cut and folded I prayed that each seed would bring forth fruit - so, as ever, there was a silver lining. Next year, if they do it again, there will be a more accurate print run with the prayer  and but one fold and one cut still needed!

So here we are - bed beckons and Advent has arrived - even so Lord Jesus, come soon :-)

The privileges of ministry

It's just after one in the morning and the day has come to a close - and as Wednesday makes its appearance I have to say that I can't express the joy and gratitude I have in my heart for an amazing week thus far.

Sunday rocked - an early communion with a bunch of faithful people saw us celebrate 'Christ the King'

The a change of venue and the amazing privilege of baptising someone and being part of the beginnings of their journey into the Christian faith (doing the START course with them being a joy indeed) and breaking bread with another wonderfully diverse bunch of people.

On to another service elsewhere before gathering in the town centre to do three performances of a  'Living Nativity' as part of the town's Christmas lights being switched on. The rain fell but the people stopped and in the midst of so much secular, Jesus was given space to remind people who the Christmas thing is all about - priceless opportunity or what?

And then another church and the final Communion of the day. 

Monday saw what must be one of the most joyful and complete funeral services I think I have conducted and to find yourself in a Crematorium with a bunch of happy, smiling people, in that setting, as final farewells are made and the word 'celebration' is made real in the light of the realised hope that is Jesus. That's something you cannot fail to smile at  and praise the God with whom I work for!

Today saw one of the most enjoyable, and energetic, school assemblies I have done for ages and as the buzz from that still echoed in my being I found the mood change and had the privilege of standing with one who has been bereaved and looked with them to the love of God and the hope that is made real in Jesus.

And as for today? Bed beckons and tomorrow (now today) will be another day of challenge, meeting new people, taking Communion into care homes and the homes of those who can no longer leave their own four walls, and much more besides I'm sure. There will be divine appointments and the opportunity to minister God's love made real in Jesus, the Christ, and His amazing sacrifice for us.

Ministry: A privilege and a joy - more than a job, it's a gift to those who do it and (I pray), a blessing to those on the receiving end of it.

Hallelujah or what?

Goodnight Lord, and thanks for an amazing day!

Can't make it to church? 28th December 14

Today we have remember the 'Holy Innocents' - the children who were put to death by Herod in his quest to ensure that any competition to being king was quite literally 'put down'.

If we looks at the Gospel reading (Matthew 2.13-18) we find the following:

"Now after they had left, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream and said, ‘Get up, take the child and his mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him.’ Then Joseph got up, took the child and his mother by night, and went to Egypt, and remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfil what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet, ‘Out of Egypt I have called my son.’

When Herod saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, he was infuriated, and he sent and killed all the children in and around Bethlehem who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had learned from the wise men. Then was fulfilled what had been spoken through the prophet Jeremiah:

‘A voice was heard in Ramah, wailing and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be consoled, because they are no more.’

Thus says the Lord:
A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping. Rachel is weeping for her children; she refuses to be comforted for her children, because they are no more.

The Passage in Jeremiah to which the Gospel refers is our Old Testament reading for today (31.15-17 15):

"Thus says the Lord:
A voice is heard in Ramah, lamentation and bitter weeping. Rachel is weeping for her children; she refuses to be comforted for her children, because they are no more.

Thus says the Lord: Keep your voice from weeping, and your eyes from tears; for there is a reward for your work, says the Lord: they shall come back from the land of the enemy there is hope for your future, says the Lord: your children shall come back to their own country."

The commemoration today recalls the children who were put to death on the orders of Herod to ensure that Jesus was found and killed and this serves a couple of purposes for us in that first and foremost we realise that we are some two years into Jesus' life (which is why those boys who were up to the age of two were put to death) - a nice reminder that the Hallmark card moment of the Shepherds and Magi crowded into the stable is merely a nice image rather than a reality!

The second purpose is to remind us of the sort of bloke Herod was, for this puppet ruler was not averse to killing people who got in the way, especially if he thought they might be out to take his crown; and Jesus really fitted that bill from the description the Magi used of Him when they encountered Herod!

Herod had put to death his own children and so his actions were indeed in keeping with the story. Interestingly, outside of the Matthew account, we have little to add weight to the story until the late fourth/early fifth century when a Roman writer, Macrobius Ambrosius Theodosius. mentions it in one of his writings, the second book of 'Saturnalia' (chapter 4):

'When the Emperor Augustus heard that among the boys in Syria under two years old whom Herod, king of the Jews, had ordered to kill, was his own son, he (Augustus) said: it is better to be Herod's pig, than his son.'

The problem with the account from Matthew and the reality surrounding it is that whilst some have hundreds, thousands even, as the number of those boys put to death, the reality would have been (due to the size of Bethlehem) something around one or two dozen! This is such beer that it wouldn't generally be worth a mention outside of those people who had been directly affected by the event!

That said, historical accounts of the time (and the man) do appear to indicate that this is not out of character and would have been rather likely rather than something fictitious designed to support the claims of a bunch of 'religious nutters' (my words)!

So just as we found in Mary the first follower of Jesus; the first to put their life and their ambitions on the line for the Messiah - Today we are looking at the first to have their lives taken from them because of Jesus having come into the world. Stephen might have been the first to stand for Jesus as the Christ and so lose his life for it - but the male children of Bethlehem were the first to lose their lives because of the opposition to Jesus.

This is a tough call because whilst we recall the death we do so with an air of sadness that innocents were killed and remember that today, across our 'civilised world', they still do. Today should cause offence at those who use their power wrongly; who take life because they can and do so to meet their own ends. As the light comes into the world the response is for the wicked to turn up the darkness! Herod did it then - other continue to do it now.

So today is a call for us to take up the challenge and oppose the darkness - bringing the light that is within us into the world 'so that all may see by it!', and the New Testament reading (1 Corinthians 1.26-29) is of assistance here:

'Consider your own call, brothers and sisters: not many of you were wise by human standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth.

But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise;

God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong;

God chose what is low and despised in the world, things that are not, to reduce to nothing things that are, so that no one might boast in the presence of God.'

Christians are not called to 'leave their brains at the door; neither are they called to engage in self-serving cleverness to be something. No we are called to be salt and light and peace to the world - it's about humility not being one of the proud. It is about serving rather than being served!

So today the call is upon us to be everything the world isn't. It is a call for us:

To celebrate people rather than self-promoting wisdom.

To seek truth rather than being subjective and puffed up with clever egotistical tosh!

To seek peace and engage in dialogue where others will merely stuff fingers in their ears and ignore everything that they choose to ignore.

And so from this we pray the collect (and the Post Communion prayer)for today:

Heavenly Father, whose children suffered at the hands of Herod, 
though they had done no wrong:
by the suffering of your Son and by the innocence of our lives
frustrate all evil designs and establish your reign of justice and peace;
through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.

Post Communion Prayer
Lord Jesus Christ,
in your humility you have stooped to share our human life with the most defenceless of your children:
may we who have received these gifts of your passion rejoice in celebrating the witness of the Holy Innocents to the purity of your sacrifice made once for all upon the cross;
for you are alive and reign, now and for ever. Amen.

Now there are that many songs or pieces of  music that I could offer you for this day and yet one that fits the bill is the 'Coventry Carol' which has within it references to the 'Holy Innocents' and their death:

Christmas Eve

The traffic has stopped and the people they flocked to the stores for to spend all their lolly
'twas Christmas you see but they weren't filled with glee and few of the poor souls were jolly.

And the churches were empty, for no one was flocking to celebrate God at this time,
and uttered the Vicar, the Bishop, and even the Choir:
'how terribly shocking, how terribly sad, we've sunk it the mire - How did it get so bad?

'Do you remember the time when missing church was a crime - A time when all (high and low) flocked to visit?
But now (holy cow!) when they gaze at our crib and most passing by ask, "who is it?' '

Is it 'pro-Palestinian' they ask, and then say, 'In these modern times shouldn't the couple be gay?'
And they wonder, appalled at the ox and the stall, 'Isn't that unhygienic a new baby in hay?'

But why would they think that - What on earth have they heard?
Because I'm sure that we've told them - we've read them the Word!
Made sure that they know and made sure that they've heard!

Have we packaged the Christ-child as a Christmas card motif?
Have we made our observance something that's votive?
Have we made Christ a campaign - not really the reason - and missed the whole point of this odd Christmas season?

Are we caught up with campaigns and positions and rights
 such that our celebration this special of nights
rings hollows and empty and facile and trite?
Have we forgotten it all, that God's love made flesh is the point of tonight?

So to all Bishop and Vicars and Pastors and Leaders,
To laity all - and especially lay Readers!
To all Christians who sigh and bemoan, this affair with twists in their knickers, removing their hair!
To those who will point to decline and not growth - a plea to remember as carols they sing:
It's us that make others aware of the King!

So don't sit in your huddles and quail at the sight of less congregations this wonderful night
But make the Christ real in the way that we live and celebrate Jesus

God's Christmas presence - His gift!

Listen - stop - sit - recline

If we were to look at Psalm one we would find the path to sin in that when it comes to engaging with the wicked:

First you LISTEN to those who are sinful and ACT on what they say

Then you STOP and become part of the gathering of the sinful sitting around with them and giving them your ear and your time - time that should be spent listening to God and using your time wisely

And then, as one of them, having thrown caution and that which is right to the wind, you RECLINE in their company.

This 'Rake's Progress' is the path to becoming a sinful person.

But it also works for those who would bring others into relationship with God for first we speak SOUND and efficacious WORDS and the wisdom of what we say and the balance that is to be found in our words (and our lifestyle) resonates with those who are far off from God and causes them to STOP and engage and soon they are to be found as part of our company, RECLINING, with believers and in a place whereby they can be introduced to someone who can tell them everything they ever did and lead them into healing and holiness despite who we have been.


Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked,
        or stand around with sinners,
              or join in with mockers.

It is a good thing for us to be able to engage with 'the world' in such a way as to be found acceptable to those who are distant from God but there are some pitfalls in that whilst it is good to find favour with those outside of the Church, it is wrong to become like the world to do so.

Yet this is something I am consistently being challenged with by some that I meet as in their quest for popularity they put off holiness -  a great danger for us all.

I see the same in some who would have us revise (and even remove) some of the things contained within the Bible because (and I quote them accurately here): 'It's no longer relevant in this day and age -it just isn't popular!'

Being Christian has never been a path that would win many popularity contests for it contains a good many DON'Ts (usually relating to the things we like to do) and even more DO's (which urge us on to do things we don't really want to do!

It's all well and good being someone who can, by looking like the world, find favour with those who are outside the Church BUT the thing is that however hard we try, we come to a place where regardless of the words we utter - the fruit of our lips and the seeds that we sow speak of the enemy rather than the Christ.

We must work at keeping our walk straight and our talk edifying - something that appears to be a struggle for all of us - because if we do not possess that 'otherness' that being a follower of Jesus, the Christ, commands, then how can we lead others into that place?

I am reminded of the words of the Godspell song 'Alas for you' which go thus:

'After you've got your converts you make them twice as fit for hell!

As you are yourselves!

So today the choice is ours - who are we going to serve?

Balancing the books - Mixed Economy Church

Over the weekend I found myself engaged in a number of conversations, all of which ended up on one of two issues: Leadership and money - two areas where, if what I heard was true (and I have no doubt it was an accurate portrayal), the Church is lacking!

When Rowan Williams introduced the term 'Mixed Economy' - that wonderful world where Church (established and new) stood side by side as ONE:

The vision was a bunch of believers who saw each other as family; a source of celebration and collaboration: The reality is (for many) something quite different.

The intention was that new communities of believers (AKA 'church') created by those who otherwise would not be 'doing Church' coming into relationship with Christ in new, vibrant and accessible 'Fresh Expressions of Church'.

BUT (Yep, there it is, there's always one somewhere) the reality of the whole situation is (in my humble, perhaps naive and uniformed opinion) that, reminiscent of that when Saddam Hussein was removed from power, the next step hasn't been properly thought through and this is where the problems are beginning to bite.

The problem is that many of these Fresh Expressions (FE) have come into being and when the celebrations stop and the fireworks are but distant memories we find ourselves facing a few real, and yet not show-stopping (but potentially fatal) issues unless we stop, draw breath, and work out how we might make it all work. To do this we need to deal with expectations, assumptions and what prudent management really looks like - and here's my thinking on it:

'Bringing them to church' Four little words that highlight much of the discontent that exists within the traditional churches where a Fresh Expression has been established. The problem is that the idea of a Fresh Expression is to create a new fellowship not 'bring them back' (a rather silly expression that reflects on what never was regarding a people who have never been Church) and so many in PCCs are wondering why they spend money on something that doesn't add numbers to their local expression of Church. This is perhaps best seen in the area of Messy Church - for far too many (including clergy) are really seeing this as Messy Evangelism, a means of bringing them in to our church congregation - the key is in the word 'church' for it implies that those who become part of the Messy thing will form a new congregation. Now this might be in the same building but it's not, as a colleague said, "An introduction to the building and some of the people in it so that they get comfortable and transfer across to the proper services,"  but the establishment of a new expression of Church that celebrates diversity and sees a peer, not a child (and how often do we use the term 'church plant' or 'daughter church' as a  statement of superiority and as a possessive? and the growth of the Body of Christ.

This frustration finds its voice in the minutes of a friends Church Council meeting, "We keep paying the bills for the phone box plant* and yet we see no benefits for us here at St Bogsplats* so why should we keep paying when we have our own challenges and needs?" What many see is a modified heading 'Bringing them back to our church' and this thought leads us nicely on to the next area.

Finances
Perhaps the biggest threat to the whole mixed economy model is the reality that many traditional churches are struggling (which is why Fresh Expressions came into being) in terms of attendance and finances. Now, when money gets tight PCCs seek to conserve spending and this means that some Fresh Expressions are finding their support cut or even stopped. Change the lens on the microscope to focus at the diocesan level and you'll find that the same is true again; many diocesan Treasurers are also struggling and so, in order to pay their bills, expenditure is reduced and Fresh Expressions (and other areas) are finding themselves with less (or no) financial support. This means that some are finding themselves without a 'paid for' leader, a situation which although very New Testament is also interpreted as abandonment by those within the FE and as prudent by those on the corridors of power.

The Poor old Bishop is faced with more going out than coming in and so, Micawber like, looks at the budget and opts for the path of institutional happiness rather than misery. The problem is that, as sad as it is, the cutting (or removal) of funding for an emerging church that meets in a pub is a simpler and less visible (and therefore contentious) option than that of removing the dogcollar from St Bogsplats,  merging benefices or closing churches.

Prudent (Biblical) Financial Management
I am a firm supporter of the practice of getting people to pay for whatever it is that is being launched as a Fresh Expression. I think it is right for Church (at all levels) to 'cast its bread on the water' - to be generous in funding the start up needs of a group such that capital costs are met and to fund the minister for a set period - because this is what we're called to do in the book of Ecclesiastes. It is a call to prudence and a stand against inactivity; a call to do something that will, in the end, bring rewards that other will consider 'lucky'!

Once the initial costs are met there needs to be a sliding scale of support as the new church begins to take upon itself the running costs (which includes some contribution towards the Parish Share/Common Purse payments from the start). It looks a bit like this:

It is important that we don't give birth to new communities that are parasitic in that the expectation that they can do the stuff at the expense of others and yet I have met many who complain that they have been 'dumped' by the funding agency (church, diocese or other body) because funding has stopped without any warning, something that has resulted in:

+ Disenfranchisement from the body who used to fund them

+ People leaving the plant because they felt unloved and 'done to'

+ Negative perceptions of the Church as greedy, uncaring and money-grabbing hypocrites

+ All involved being rendered bitter, broken and impotent as a result of being associated with failure

The reality is that we (local church, diocese and Archbishop's Council) need to be planting and funding things that expand the Kingdom of God in a balanced and business-like manner.

We need to have plans in place with financial and spiritual models (that's why the Mission Action Planning (MAP) is so very important) considered and firmed up.

We need to understand that every plan looks great until the enemy is engaged and then lines, goals and plans of action need to be revised and changes implemented - and that this is not failure but proper and prudent behaviour.

We need to realise that prayer is not reserved for the times when it's all going wrong - it's the action we need to have at the beginning and at every step along the way - it's the covering fire and the means by which we advance.

And so, twenty-five minutes into this splurge, I leave you with some food for thought and my brain slightly quite as I rush off to do visits, funeral stuff and engage with wonderful people on the way through today.

This is not a subject that is finished I'm sure (and we never got anywhere near the leadership issue, did we?)

Pax

PRAYING - PLANNING - PAYING - PRAISING - PROCLAIMING - PROSPERING

*Apologies to any FE that is a plant in a 'phone box and if there is a St Bogsplats :-)

One of those 'deja vu' moments: non-Christian friends

Life, it seems, is |a funny circuitous old thing and this has been brought home to me as, oddly, I have had a 'repeat conversation' with someone along the same lines as one I had some twenty-five years ago - and, being brutally honest,  it was all a bit surreal and just a little unsettling!

The conversation at the tail-end of the last century was taken up by the fact that the person on the other side of the conversation didn't have any non-Christian friends; they'd been to a conference and had been challenged as to how many 'unsaved' people they counted as friends. "Well, errr,you see, well, I don't actually have any," was the reply, "All  my friends are Christians you see!"

This response brought gasps of shock and derision  accompanied by tutting, head shaking and general acts of disapproval from those around the room. The speaker, a real 'soul winner' who is still going strong (and using the same jokes and stories they'd lifted from others then) today asked how they thought their ministry, "Could ever be valid when they lived in a Christian ghetto!"

Lunch saved the poor soul from further accusation (although not from the withering gazes of many of the obviously 'much more Christian' delegates around them) and, me being me, I decided to befriend them - something that proved a little difficult because they'd been on the wrong end of the many zealous soul-winners and were just a little wary (mind you, that might just have been because it was me) - and soon had them laughing (much to the disgust of some around us).

The bloke started telling me of the work they were engaged in and how when he started he was the only Christian in his group of friends. Then, one by one, they got saved and now, with a dozen or so in the fellowship he was helping to pastor, there were none left. The fellowship now numbered around sixty people and they were looking for inspiration as to how they might disciple those who came and spread the net further.

Seeing one of the assembled delegates looking at my new best friend with what can only charitably be called sneering contempt I decided to emulate the Mars Hill model as best I could and moved off to engage with them; and immediately it was obvious that I had picked a winner. My companion was part of the leadership team of a church plant from one of the names in 'being Church' and those standing with them were all on first name terms with many of the great and good in the Ghetto that can sometimes be called 'Church'. 

We chatted about how many new believers they'd seen during the first few months ("None, but we're hopeful!")

We chatted about how many friends they'd seen come to faith ("None, but a prophet is always without honour in their own land aren't they?)

The conversations continued and it soon became obvious that this little team were not only a team, but they were all friends too. In fact it soon became obvious that this little group were in fact the ONLY friends they really had (well them and the some of the others involved in the 'plant') every one else they referred to as friends were in fact acquaintances of the most cursory kind - but that's how friendships start so well done them (and I mean that in the best sense).

The bell rang and in true Pavlovian sense we rushed back in to be further enlightened as to how we might best build Church and then, sufficiently enabled we were asked what was the most exciting or enabling thing we'd learnt during the day. There were a few people who stood up and said nothing much about nothing much and then it sort of trailed off and one of the people on the team, knowing me, looked straight at me and said, "No one with anything more to add?"

And that's where it all went a bit downhill for some I guess as I stood up and told how I'd learnt how it was more apparently acceptable to have loads of non-Christian friends rather than loads of friends who had become Christian! I went on to point out that a bloke who'd been quite sorely treated over having no non-Christian friends needed in fact to be applauded for having introduced them to a new way of life. Not only that but the 'successful' among us were apparently not seeing the very growth that we had come to learn about (and to be honest I wondered whether the 'experts' really knew about it themselves - after all they were generally people who came, spoke, 'saw that hand', prayed and moved on!).

So the conversation I've just had with someone who has seen neighbours, friends and others come to faith through relationship (anyone else remember 'Friendship Evangelism' and Leonard Albert - a great chap?) and yet feels 'got at' because they've no non-Christian friends left!

Now that demands a pat on the back, a free meal and a reminder that it's about 'one telling another' and lives on the premise that unless we make real relationships with people and tell them then how will they know and where is authenticity in the Church.

A great conversation that left me praising God for people who bring growth and one that rekindled the passion for the lost in a more direct and dirty manner - a real wake-up call that made me hearken back to a time when I was an evangelist first and foremost and not a peddler of ersatz cobblers and shuffler of meaningless paperwork - anyone out there fancy having a new friend (or two)?

The Sinner's Prayer - It's not enough!

Talking with someone about their experiences I began to realise that the same old thing that troubled me many years ago regarding people being converted still runs rampant through any parts of the Church here and in the mission field.

My issue is with the (mis)use of the 'Sinner's Prayer'; that little prayer which talks of repentance and turning away from sin, sorrow for keeping God out of our lives and a commitment toward right living from that point onwards.

'I see that hand ... let's pray!'

I have been in many services over the years where I have seen someone up the front ask those who have been convicted by what they have heard to stand up and commit themselves to Jesus. I have watched as friends and family praise God for the loved one (or at least the person they brought to the service) as they stood and repeated the prayer that was said, line by line, by the person at the front. I too have been grateful for the lives that have been committed to God and felt a sense of joy . . .

As time went on I found that joy turn, slowly at first, before it became, contractionlike, increasing in intensity and pain until I really struggled at the sight before me. Struggling because I knew that the reality was that for many who were saying the words of the prayer would progress no further in their journey of faith; what was before me was the pinnacle and conclusion of their Christian walk. We were celebrating scalps and not the beginning of a faith journey of exploration, growth and deepening discipleship. In fact, to put it rather graphically, we were effectively spawning (in the right sense of the word) 'bastard children' - for they, generally, would be left alone, untended, uncared for and undisciplined the very next day after their 'new birth'; left alone to continue as they had under the impression that they were Christians. No one would be assigned them as mentor and guide - they would just be left to their own devices and unless brought to church (any church) the following Sunday (or to a midweek service) then they'd be effectively lost and the window for effective discipleship was soon gone too!

Speaking with one from the missions fields in distant places I learnt that some might have prayed the sinner's prayer a dozen time in their lives but never been discipled. A situation that I've personally witnessed in the UK on a number of occasions.

So here's a simple plea:
If you're not willing to invest the time into help people become disciples of Christ then don't deny them the joy of a real relationship with Him because you want to win a scalp - encourage them and pass them on to a church (or person) who takes conversion and those who come to Christ seriously!

Leading someone in the sinner's prayer means that you are committing to:

Disciple them (or making sure that they are introduced to someone who will)

Be available for them (and that means being contactable and willing to spend time with them)

Pray for (and with) them (and this means teaching them to pray and to discern God's voice)

The sinner's prayer is the first step into a new way of thinking and living. You wouldn't leave a newborn to fend for itself so why on earth would you leave a spiritual newborn to do exactly that?

I have to admit that during my journey I have been part of churches who 'saw that hand' and led people n the sinner's prayer and yet never discipled those who stood and said it. I am grateful for the journey and sad for those who have passed by and fallen in their walk because of my unwillingness to make more noise about the situation or have remained silent through fear of attack from the leadership (says something about those who were leading I guess)!

There is a great temptation for us all to want to score a scalp but we must put that temptation aside and look to making disciples - anything else denies the love of God and acts detrimentally towards the life of the Kingdom.

Pax

Eternity - Where will you spend it?

Here's a little discussion starter (number one in a series of three):

This is, for most people, the pivotal question  - yet sadly it is a question that I find is increasing asked less and less by those who consider themselves to be 'Church'. The reason for this is often because we ('Church') fear that we might be regarded as judgemental should we challenge the attitudes, lifestyles and behaviour of others.

I am increasingly being told that we ('Church') don't have the right to challenge others - and not all of those doing the telling are to be found outside of the Church or the walls of the buildings that house them. And you know what? Those who tell me that I 'don't have the right ' to challenge are absolutely correct, for we ('Church') don't - we have the duty and that's more compelling.

But the problem is that we want to be popular - you remember 'popular'? This is the mechanism by which we refrain from admonishing behaviour that stands opposed to that which God tells us is the best option for us. We applaud 'choice' even when we can see that the logical outcome of that choice is something less than the best for them that take it. We retreat into an impotent faith that meekly proclaims that, 'God wants everyone to be happy' (regardless of the path taken or the place that it leads) and avoids passing any opinion that might be unpopular.

If confronted, this Christianity merely smiles, changes the subject or nods and says nothing at all! It works on the premise, 'If you can't say nothing popular then don't say nothing at all*!'

After all, as another minister recently told me, 'Saying nothing condemns no one.'

The problem is that my colleague (not an Anglican) and their words are wrong because in fact they and the person they failed to warn both stand condemned. Let's put it another way:

If a car mechanic knows that the brakes are potentially dangerous and send the car out with your family in it and the fail, killing them all, would you consider the mechanic responsible for the deaths?

If you considered the mechanic to be guilty would you consider them to be even worse because they knew of the potential for loss of life and did nothing about it, allowing the passengers in the car to continue on their way with the potential for death hanging over them and yet doing nothing to even warn them?

If you answered 'Yes' to either (or both) of those questions then you know how God views us when we sit and smile or nor and say nothing. He will view us in the same way you've just regarded our fictitious mechanic!

And taking it a step further: If the mechanic told you (in their defence) that they didn't warn them of the potential for something fatal because they didn't want to upset the passengers, would you consider this to be a viable defence or merely something that condemned them further?

When we see people with the potential (or even the reality) for death, perhaps not immediate but at some stage, yet we do nothing about it - and when they end up dead (because of the situation we did nothing to warn them about, that's how God will regard us too!

* a corruption of the words of St Thumper of Bambi - it's not just the Bible that gets rewritten I'm afraid!

Use Words

This Pentecost the Archbishops of Canterbury and York are calling on the Church to pray for those who have not yet encountered the love of God in Jesus Christ. They are calling on us to:

USE WORDS           (click on link)

It's a great initiative because so many people tell me how concerned they are about new people coming and yet they are rarely seen acting upon this concern. Some will tell me how they just can't share their faith and get all wound up with self-condemnation and guilt. The response to this is always that the most important thing is the desire to see people come to faith and see this combined with intelligent, persistent prayer.

So I can't tell you just how pleased and excited I am that the 'Use Words' initiative has hit my screen especially because (and I quote):


The word ‘evangelism’ means sharing good news.

For Christians, it means sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ – what he has done for us, and what he continues to do in our lives.

What does that mean in practice? 

It means introducing the people around us to Jesus. We do this by how we live our lives and how we relate to one another. But we can also do it by how we express our faith in conversation.

Jesus did all of this so well, and he invites us to share the gospel not just in actions but in words too.

The website (http://www.usewords.org/) has been created to help Christians find those words.  It’s being launched with a call to prayer for evangelism by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York – please find out more and think about joining us.

But this is not a one-off, or a campaign, or a PR stunt.

It’s about praying continually that more and more people will become followers of Jesus Christ – and asking God to work among us to bring about this transformation in other people’s lives. If you’ve never prayed for evangelism before, there are so many ways you can.

Whether you’re praying alone, with a small group of friends, or with your whole church, you’ll find prayers for asking God to bring the knowledge and reality of Jesus Christ to all kinds of people.

How amazingly cool is this?

According to many* around me, St Francis' of Assisi told us to go and evangelise - using words if necessary, and whilst I have tried to live by this principle words I am aware that many around me have taken them to be an excuse for silence rather than as a spur for less words and more action. Hopefully and actively engaged AND praying Church will come out of this exciting move from the blokes at the top of the tree.

Pax

* he never did by the way!

Being Collared (6) - Building the Church

One of the challenges, especially in a Church setting, is for those who run things to become a little myopic and selfish and yet consider this to right and proper. I'd be immensely rich if I had a fiver for every leader, minister and member who has, in discussion over church, used a variation of the following words:

'Not bothered about the wider church, my job is to build the church where I am.'

Now, as much as I try I have never shifted a single one of them from this position and yet, rather ironically, not one of the proponent of this isolationist approach has been in a church that was flourishing. In fact the reality was the complete opposite in that they were diminishing and even floundering!

If you have a leader (pastor, priest, minister, parson or elder - it matters not what you call them) who is devoting, or much, of their energy into building up the wider church to the detriment of their own cure (meaning the place where they have responsibility for souls - not indicating illness of any sort*) then I can understand this will bring about some concern. But the reality is that we are to work to build the WHOLE Church (capital 'C' church = universal: lower case 'c' meaning the local manifestation in this context). We cannot live in isolation and we must bless the work, and members of the churches around us, because this is our calling. Parochial is a system of providing local gatherings of Christians, not a lifestyle or mindset!

Now hear what I'm saying - not what you think I've said!

We must witness to those around us and seek to bring them into relationship with Jesus, the Christ, and those who follow Him. But we do it with integrity, seeking to build the Church first and our own piddling little expressions of it (for in comparison every local gathering is minuscule - even if there are hundreds of people in it) second. If we did this then perhaps we'd send people to a church that fits the bill for them rather than try to cling on to them.

Now before you suck air in through your teeth and start shaking your head, let me tell you that should you arrive where I am and want church that offers:

• choirs and organs
• high church
• low church
• traditional
• contemporary
• evangelical
• liberal
• charismatic
• self-serving
• isolationist
• grumpy
• flaky
• shaky
• big
• small
• caring
• sharing
• chocolate biscuits
• something else

I'd know exactly where to send you - and send you we would**.

After all when we do this we are helping to build the Church and are displaying the reality of Church as a bunch of people in relation to each other rather than competing outlets of the Christian franchise.

When we do this I believe God sees that integrity and honours it and let's be honest here:
Should you have someone visit and attempt to cling onto them, even though they're not truly comfortable, you have won yourself someone who will never quite fit and making more work for yourself. Pass them on, get people who are the right fit for your outlet and then, as a happy little band of brothers and sisters, worship the Lord in the beauty of having a church that runs like a sewing machine rather than a jackhammer.

And those you have sent, because they are happy where they have landed have a warm feeling towards you and yours for having had the kindness to assist them in their search.

And those who lead the churches around you will be warm and friendly because what you say is what you are (WYSIWYA) and that makes unity a reality rather than a forlorn hope.

And God (who, even though I'm an Anglican, I am convinced exists) will bless and enable and quicken and inspire to do even greater things. For being faithful in the ones and twos when they come a looking will demonstrate how you can be trusted with the many (and if we have few - can we assign that totally to the place we're in without considering the people that we are?).

So here's a bit of a tough one today - one that (as a friend said recently) is probably 'rather rude'!

If it is - I'm afraid I can't apologise for it - because it is, I fear, also 'rather true' too!

So let's end on a. Lighter note shall we.

A Vicar walks into an opticians saying they think they need glasses. The optician takes them to the window and says, 'Look up at the sky, what can you see?'

The Vicar replies, 'Absolutely nothing at all!'

The optician responds, 'Yeah, I've been to your church and I didn't see the Son either!'

Happy Monday - let's go build Church

* Although come to think of it there are some for whom the illness bit might apply in some form or other

+even when it transpires that some have policies never to do the same for anything outside their walls - you know who you are and should repent before God comes done and has a chat: or is that why your numbers and fellowship is failing perhaps?

**Sadly of course that doesn't necessarily mean that they'd stay - but at least we've tried :-) The key is that we've done the right thing.

Cleric or Pub Landlord?

There's not a great deal between them really!

So said someone I was chatting to today and you know what - As the conversation progressed the 'I think they might be onto something' light came on and I began to think and this has turned into the quick checklist (feel free to add and/or suggest other categories and areas) which I include for you consideration here:

Now I have been careful not to enter text into the boxes above (in case you'd like to use it yourself) but here are a few of the comments I've had with it thus far make me think that we're not perhaps as good as many of the pub landlords) as they include:

'Quick to serve drink and nibbles' - takes our Vicar 45 minutes!'

'Nobody knows where to find him/her - why do you think they're known as 'the Pimpernel' or 'Lord Lucan'?'

'Never leaves the vicarage - easy to find them - harder to get to spend time with them!'

'Wouldn't know - not one of their inner circle.'

'Never has an opinion - a permanent 'fence sitter.'

I came to realise that we (clergy) do need to have the skills that make for a good pub Landlord and if we don't, perhaps we need to look at our customer facing skills. Pubs that struggle do so because of the 'look and feel' of the pub and the ethos that the Landlord creates.

Community pubs thrive whilst those that fail to attract, welcome and keep clientele are destined to follow the trend which sees them become McDonalds, Indian restaurants and the like (although with churches it's carpet warehouses, heritage centres and the like). There is, at many levels, no difference with churches and those who act as 'mine host' in them.

Now, as with all parallels, there are sure to be inconsistencies and errors and yet I think there might be some value in comparing the two roles and the way their premises operate. Who knows, it might just shed some light and help us to modify the way we do business.

let's hope so :-)

Some days it's a Struggle . . .

You know what it is like when Sunday comes around - you're faced with those difficult choices:

Sundays

How do you do yours?

What is 'Engagement' in a Christian World?

Engagement is one of those 'in' words at the moment and like 'impact' it's not only overused but wrongly used too! The problem is that they, and so many other buzzwords and trite statements means that many of the Christian in missional settings especially that I encounter end up communicating using what one of the clergy I know calls 'testiculations'*! 

Recently, whilst I had reason to watch three video interviews relating to missional church and Fresh Expressions: They were peppered with the word 'engagement' and many other  buzzwords and yet they communicated nothing and this got me thinking about the words we use and what we think they mean and what they really mean.

The reality is that 'engagement' is more than just talking to people or getting them to agree to come, sign-up or wear a badge and in a church setting there is much that we need to think about. Here's a starter on this issue and what it means for us in the wonderful world of church:

To 'engage' someone is to draw them into something (a conversation, cause, campaign and the like) and win them over such that they become part. For me this is best found in the Psalm One path to taking up wrong company in that first the person stops, then sit and finally, comfortable with the company, behaviour and values, they are at ease and recline.

One of the things that 'engagement' demands is the Benefits element - and this isn't all about them. It's about the thing you have before them having some form of validity and meaning and this often manifests as desirable when it serves others and/or gives meaning to their own life and society. Too often we try to engage people over Church with the 'get out of hell free' card and the problem is that what we are really bringing into the awareness of others is the second element to be considered:

Belonging - the realisation that you not only agree, and have some affinity, with the group but also fit into it. Finding that you have a place and that place is pleasing is a large part of the 'being engaged with' thing. After all, belonging is (so I've read) 90% of the whole relationship thing and even when you're at odds with the group, feeling you belong can overcome and cover a multitude of conflicts and heal them too.

Being like them - is a tough part because some of the things that 'Church' values are different from that which the world likes and worse still, there is an expectation that you will become more like the bloke they follow as you get further into the group. This can be a real problem when you realise that you, and they, all have:

Baggage - that needs to be dealt with and this is usually stuff that makes life interesting (in the negative sense) at times. The problem is that we pack our bags with loads of stuff that we have found difficult to have in the open and so this is a place where rather than be drawn in, people are likely to be finding themselves repelled. A potential for weakening bonds and even being set free into the world and away from the Church setting if this is not picked up and dealt with sensitively.

Being listened to - I remember a person who was always wanting to be listened to and yet, when they were, they not only had nothing to say but were aggrieved that they were 'being put on the the spot' and invited to put their point of view. Eventually I realised that they merely wanted a voice rather than to say something and the problem was solved. But most of us want to feel that we have a valid voice and are taken seriously and respected. One of the best ways to bring people into the group is to make them aware that they have a voice from early on - after all the only stupid questions are those which are left unasked and the only stupid points of view are the ones that we are not willing to dialogue over. Two-way, fully engaged traffic from the very beginning is the route to engagement and relationship.

Engagement is not a buzzword to thrown in to conversations but is a multi-faceted reality that we, as Church, are called to make a reality. It stops, takes time, gets to know, enthuses, encourages, enlivens and enriches. How are you engaging with others?

ps. I hope you notice that I've managed to keep it in proper preaching style with all the points beginning with the letter 'B' - not sure what preaching class lecturer would make of it though ;-)

*What me dear old Dad used to call 'talking cobblers!'

What's the point of putting on a carol Service?

If you're not going to talk about Jesus?

Because I have to be honest here and say that the fluffy 'baby Jesus' stuff and the provision of that Hallmark™ moment when the tea towels, wings, stars and blue dress are donned and we have the tiny tots standing around the crib singing and the adults sniffing and snapping is actually something I heartily approve of. But if that's all we provide during the run up to Christmas than I have to say that we are not doing enough!

I'm going to try and lay it out for you as succinctly and clearly as I possibly can:

Jesus is indeed the reason for the season - BUT - if you think that using that trite little phrase means you're doing it right, then think again because people need to know the WHY that goes with the WHAT that you've presented to them! 

It is not enough to get them into the building (even if it does have a Christmas tree).

It is not enough to dress them up and do the Nativity story (I know that might be a shock!).

It's not enough to put up a Poster and blow the dust of the Nativity set either!!

What we need to be telling them goes like this (but is probably sounder than what I is!).

Are you sitting uncomfortably?

We were separated from God by the things we call sin (shorthand for all the wrongs we commit) and these wrongs not only destroyed the relationship with Him but with family, friends and neighbours too.

‘If only God would come down here and sort it all out,’ people cried. And so God heard and did just that - Jesus is God made visible.

 ‘If only God were one of us so He could understand the pressures and trials that being human bring,’ they cried – Jesus is God made man.

 ‘If only God would wipe the slate clean and set us free from everything that separates us from Him and those around us,’ – Jesus came to wipe the slate clean, to remove from us all the problems that being wrong brings and to set us free.

I don’t know about you but if Argos has something in their catalogue this Christmas that offered those three things ---

Wouldn’t you want it for those you love?

Of course you would – and that’s the good news – the tidings of great joy because as we celebrate His birth in Bethlehem some two thousand years ago, that is exactly what is on offer to you today!

Jesus is the invisible God made visible; made man; coming to bring peace:

Peace with God

Peace with family and friends

Peace with that neighbour or workmate (you know who I mean)

So this Christmas, why not come to a church building and engage with the living stones that are Church to welcome Jesus, the Christ, into your life (and the lives of those you love – bring them too)

And get the ultimate Christmas present (for free) this year?

That's what we need to be telling them ;-)

We don't need cute - we don't need gimmicks - we don't need numbers

Growing Church - something to consider

I meet so many people who bemoan the fact that they are a 'welcoming church' and yet they have no one to welcome! 'What's the point of being ready for newcomers when they never come?' they cry. 'It's just not fair!' (they add petulantly :-) )!

The problem is that you can have the food laid on and everything nice of those nice people to enjoy but if they don't know you're open for business and ready, willing, able and desirous of visitors, how will they know to come?

And why should they? After all, most of the people outside our doors don't have a scooby what we're doing and less idea of any reason why they should want to get into the company of a bunch of 'Bible-Bashers' (as one of my funeral customers so kindly put it this week!).

Thus chastened they, the church members, decide that they will scuttle off out and take me at my word and invite people to their church so the people who were sitting inside the doors waiting to welcome them could be fulfilled. So they went door to door and stuck leaflets through the letterboxes telling the inhabitants that they, the church, were really keen to be their friends and laid out the many benefits like eternal life, friendship, love, forgiveness, eternal life, acceptance and eternal life (have I mentioned that?).

But still no one came. The residents knew they (the church) were there at the end of their road but they didn't really know who went into the building (and it could be a trap, couldn't it?) and so they decided to give it a miss!

Then the people who were waiting to welcome the people and the people who'd gone out to invite the people to come so that the people who were waiting to welcome them could welcome them all came and had a moan because there they were: Waiting to welcome and having invited and no one had responded. 'What are we supposed to do now then (clever clogs*)?' they asked.

So I told them that they needed to get the members of the church to get to know the people in their streets; the next door neighbours and the grumpy old goat with the Mondeo who played Saga radio far too loud when he set off for work in the mornings (of course, he's blinking deaf so what you you expect?). 'Get out there and make friends and then, when you have, invite them to something at the church and the people who are waiting to welcome people will have people to welcome and they will be happy!'

So, reluctantly (after I persuaded them that they wouldn't have to 'share their faith') they did that and eventually they invited some of their new friends to come to church with them and, amazingly, come to church they did! And the welcomers welcomed and the church grew a little and yet still the church (for church is a cognisant entity like nature isn't it - clever bricks that make up a building we meet in) was not happy - so again they came to me and said:

'Why have we only had a few of the people in our streets come? We made got to know them and we made friends. gave lifts, moved lawns, mended cars and even did their shopping. Why haven't they ALL come?'

So I asked them what they thought their building looked like to people outside of it. I asked them how hard it was to get to the place - was there a car park? Did the buses run past the door? Was it a safe and friendly area? What was it like where they lived and was that a problem?

So they looked at the places the people they were asking to come lived in and realised that they were stuck in areas where Church (that's the whole of the Christian body) were never really seen and then they realised that there were so many needs and so much going on that the people were stuck in their own environment and so ....

They decided to 'do' church in the community rooms on the estate where they lived and set up youth projects and arrange stuff for the young mums (especially the single-parents) who were trapped in their homes and put on tea and chat sessions for the older folk (I always said I'd never use the 'f' word!!!) - and still no one came to their building in town.

They didn't need to!

Church was being lived out where the people were :-)

Just like it was supposed to be all along!


*of course they were far too polite to actually call me that, but I know what they were thinking!

Evangelism - it's just telling people they're sinners!

I have had the most entertaining email from someone (who will remain anonymous) who wanted to 'put me straight' on the 'twaddle' (their word) I have written recently (something I always welcome) on the issue of evangelism.

Apparently (and I quote) the lifestyle evangelism methods (servant and friendship evangelism) form 'part of the pathway to hell' and by my sponsorship of them I am merely making people believe they are Christians and 'setting them on the path to hell!' The reasons for this thinking finds its roots in the belief that: 'The only true evangelism is that which tells people that they're sinners and bound for hell... It is this that brings people into the kingdom, for it is the righteous fear that the Bible speaks of!'

I have to be honest and say that whilst I understand the writer's concerns I do think that they are just a little misguided for I know of people who have become Christians because of relationships with Christians that caused them to stop and rethink their attitudes. They were in the company of people who spoke about Jesus, prayed in His name and sought to live in the way the Bible commanded.

The very best person to tell someone that they are caught up in sinful thoughts and acts is that person themselves. Prompted by the example of others and the move of the Holy Spirit, this is the self-discovery that leads to the discovery of a new self in Christ.

But this is, as my correspondent tells me, not the way to 'save souls'. What is needed is to, 'Get them so petrified at the thought of damnation and hellfire that they come running to Jesus and a place of safety.' Whilst I do believe that we need to warn people of the effects of their living outside of that which God calls them to be, I find the idea of getting people to come to Christ as a life raft rather unappealing. After all, I want them to come to Jesus as a Saviour and friend - not a means to a better end.

I have often struggled, as I have said before, at those who come to Christ because of the benefits that such a decision brings. There are places around the world where the profession of faith brings housing, jobs, schooling, health care and the like; bit there are places in the world where becoming a Christian spells the very opposite and invites oppression, persecution and death too!

I don't want people to come to Christ because of fear: Not fear of God - Not fear from God - Nor fear for eternity and hell.

Jesus brings a perfect love and this love, we are told (1 Jn 4.18) 'Casts out fear!'

I don't want to stand out there on the streets telling people that they are doomed and destined for hell (and why is it that the person who wrote to me, like those who often push this view, used the KJV?). I want to stand out there on the streets and tell people about how they are loved. Loved so much that they were considered worth dying for - what a thought, Jesus thinks that each of us (individually) is truly 'to die for!' - and this makes Him worth living for.

Evangelism is (in the words of Charlie Spurgeon) merely 'One beggar telling another beggar where there is bread!'. It takes the words of Galatians 6.1:

'Fellow Believers, suppose you find someone who is caught doing something wrong. You who have God's Spirit should set them right, but in a spirit of humility, keeping an eye on yourselves so that you won't be tempted to use righteous anger, condemnation or pride. For after all we all sins and can compound the sins around us by joining in and treating others wrongly'

Evangelism - it's done and dusted with that statement and the subsequent reading:

Evangelism = love, example, humility, acceptance (to them and from Him)

It really doesn't get any simpler than that does it?

Evangelism - do they have to come to our place?

The final of the three evangelism questions and it's probably the most potentially interesting/challenging/controversial of the three. So here we go:

Have they got to come to our restaurant, or can we just keep telling how good the bread and the wine are there and how good the maitre d' is?'

Splitting it into a few parts means we have first of all to address the 'Where do we signpost them' question - a real toughie for many reasons.

When I meet people who are looking for a church I send them to the church that meets the following criteria:

i. Is a fellowship that will serve the style of church that the person will be most comfortable in.

ii. Is the nearest 'comfortable' place to where they live.

iii. Is a place where they will be loved, nurtured and blessed.

I have often had people come to me and tell me that they've just moved into the area and are looking for a church. When this happens I ask what they church was like where they came from and form an understanding of who they are. This done I will point them to the choir and 'grown-up' church if that's their bag, or invite them to ours if they like small, send them to another if they want to be somewhere 'important' and so on.

The 'nearest acceptable' church is an important criteria because I think one of the greatest sins in today's Church is the commuter Christian. Church should be a local affair building community and making relationships. I think the NT model was one of people living in community not spending ages travelling in cars!

It's pointless sending people to a place where they will not be happy and sometimes the nearest church is also the wrong place because of denomination, churchmanship and the like. This means that you have to be honest about the places around them (in love) and realistic about the chances of them staying and being sustained and growing the church. I've had people come to our church and told them to try somewhere else because we'd be a curse to them and the places they have ended up have been right because they're still there.

There is this niggle in people's heads that tells them they have to bring them to their church regardless - after all, evangelism is all about growing OUR church isn't it?

And so, having laid out some of my principles, we move onto the 'Have they got to come to our restaurant?' question.

The answer is, in my opinion a resounding 'No' and I give it safe in the knowledge that many will disagree with this. Evangelism is about bringing people into relationship with God and we are looking to build the Kingdom not our our particular church or denominational entity.

The problem here is that many people, once they get into doing evangelism, engage in it to build the Church but they fail to understand (and the leaders fail to communicate) the fact that we are looking at more than merely adding numbers to our own gatherings. It seems that all too often church members are encouraged to bring people to their church without being told that sometimes it would be better for that church and the person  concerned to be guided to another place, denomination or brand. 

It would also be good if we could be just a little honest about how we 'market' our churches too but that's a discussion for another day perhaps!

So there we are - a simple answer to the first part of the question, 'NO'!

The second part of more difficult because the reason people go to a church often comes down to one, or more, of a number of factors (but let's narrow it down as this is a ten-minute 'tea and type' posting):

a. It's local,

b. It's 'lively' or 'not lively' or 'has a choir' or 'has a band' or 'has great teaching' or 'has a name (or personality) leading it' or 'the people are great' or '.........'!

c. It's a particular brand (which should make a difference for theological reasons - not that many 'do' theology)

d. It meets my needs, expectations and wants.

Telling people that they need to come to your church rather than the church up the road because 'we're better than them' or 'we have better worship' or any other reason that puts them above the others is (sorry if you disagree) 'Just Plain Wrong!'.

You can extol the virtues, skills and benefits but you have to do it realising that evangelism is about more than bringing them to 'our church' and there's too many churches out there who talk ecumenism but in reality are seeking to undermine, belittle and diminish the other churches in the area for their own benefit - and those who do are in fact a curse to the Kingdom of God, not the blessing they assume themselves to be!!!

When you talk to people about God, introduce them to Him and them get to know where and who they are before dragging them off to your church.

I met someone a while back who was in a church in our area and they were talking about their problems with the leader and the way the place ran. Discussing it further I realised that they were from a church background and having 'come to faith' had been taken to the church the evangelism team member belonged to where, sadly they weren't finding it to be easy. I asked if they'd talked to anyone and having found out that they had and the response implied that the church of their youth wasn't 'proper' church (like the one they'd joined) and so they'd kept on regardless!

We talked a bit more and the upshot is that they went away to think about it and a couple of weeks later visited a couple of outlets representing the denomination of their youth and found one that was nearer and more comfortable than their 'new' church. So they binned the new place and changed it for somewhere else - where they are still a member - that's Kingdom thinking - And  that is what we need:

Sing the praises of your church but don't diminish the Church by doing it!

The Mâitre d' might be good and if so, there's nothing wrong with telling people but it's all about Jesus and His people not the big fat movie star up the front.

The bread and wine might be good (we use a regimental port) but there's more to it than that!

The band might be able to play all the new stuff (and the old to tunes no one recognises) but it's about more than coming to see the show (well it should be - sometimes I wonder).

We come to worship the Father alongside the Son enabled by the power of the Spirit. We are not a personality cult (well not all of us) and we're not out to have our ears tickled by views that tell us everything we do is right (or that everything everyone else does is wrong either).

As long as that's what we're working for - then crack on and build the Kingdom.

So that's another 'NO' then and hopefully that has seen all the parts of the original question adequately answered.

Pax