Comment from Langley…
Last Sunday marked the first meeting of our Pioneer Hub, and I was left with a deep sense of awe as I began to sense what God was doing. Along with the awe was a sense of privilege of being able to journey with others of like mind. it was as if there was already a sense of holding each other before we had even started journeying together.
Worship was simple. Whilst it was Ascension Sunday, there were no formal prayers, no written liturgy. The only thing we used for worship was four videos incorporated into a Powerpoint presentation, and the understanding that we would move into a time of open prayer, and then Helen would lead us in a period of reflection on ‘What is Church’. Helen’s approach was somewhat refreshing in that rather than start with the pre-packaged definitions of Church, we would give everyone a Bible, and a prompt sheet (we are not quite that cruel), and ask us to tell us, by looking at scripture, what ‘church’ is about. I attach a copy of those resources here. The description which resonated most, was that ‘church’ was a community of believers who centred their lives around the person of Jesus. Church is of course about more than that; we turned to Acts Chapter 2 and considered what the early Christians actually did. We looked at the kind of Church with which the Apostle Paul wrestled with in Corinth (or rather the kind of behaviours in church that are less ideal.) Nonetheless, the consensus was that whatever church looked like, it began with a community which both individually and corporately looks to Christ.
I wonder what, amidst all of the things that we feel we ought to do, or more than that, are legally obliged to do, would happen if we challenged ourselves as to whether we were, genuinely, a community that looked as it should to Jesus. Sure, we will aspire to this, and for much of the time, we may well be faithful, but I suspect that there are moments when Jesus has ceased to be the centre of what we are doing.
I once had a disagreement with my father about his beliefs. For him, I think church-going was just as much, if not more a community activity rather than a faith driven one. I remember saying that Christ was at the centre of the Church, touching and transforming lives. He argued that Church was about faith, hope, and charity (and he used the word charity, rather than love). In the end we agreed to differ, but without wishing to sound conceited or arrogant, or make any kind of judgement about the depth of his faith – I leave that up to the Lord, it seemed to me that he was more in it for anything other than a relationship with Christ. He was direct and transparent about this. He did not embrace the concept of receiving Christ as Lord of his life. I remember how to him, my becoming more involved in the Christian faith was a phase that would blow over. He simply did not appreciate that for me, attending church was so much more than being a member of a social club. And when I shared how I believed that God had done a work within me – of how I felt at peace, energised, and full of hope for the future, he remarked that this was ‘just a phase’ that I was going through. Years later, when he attended my ordination, I remember standing before they lay hands on me and thinking to myself, ‘This is some phase!’ It turns out that what he thought was a phase has now lasted over twenty-five years.
Dad died over a decade ago. Towards the end of his life he struggled with guilt and yearned for forgiveness. I remember talking to him at one point: he had tears in his eyes. Without going into details, he was certainly burdened with shame from some of the poor decisions he had made. I do not judge him for that. I know that he found it a relief to confess. How I still do not know to this day where he was in his journey with God. I do remember feeling sorry for him that he had not found some relief earlier. Perhaps it was fear that had kept his soul locked up. I remember thinking that this kind of release, this kind of deliverance, was the very thing that Christ came to offer. And yet, to go through the process of receiving this is risky because it means being honest with those around you, and I dare say, not losing face. Once you present yourself as calm, composed, and assured in what you believe, it can be difficult to admit to others that you were wrong.
My point is that whatever church is, it is so much more than a social club. I think I made some people think (including myself) when I said during our discussion that for me, church is a bunch of messed-up people who centre their lives on Jesus, and find healing as they journey as disciples together. The truth is that we are all imperfect. We are all messed up. But to this day I wonder, just as Wesley did (see his Second Sermon, The Almost Christian) whether we all need to be on our guard against slipping away from being an Altogether Christian and becoming more like an Almost Christian who has all the trappings of the religious life but lacks that inner spark which comes from accepting Jesus as Lord of our lives, and being changed and sustained by the Holy Spirit as we look to our Father in heaven.
I include in this post a handout that Helen produced. This may give further insights for reflection, and a piece of artwork by Murray, who was reflecting on the nature of the church. All art is subjective of course, but Murry’s upper image is of the Church going beyond its walls (and all that which constrains it) as it seeks to honour God in its mission. The lower image is that of how God has a path for us, which sometimes we follow, and at other times we deviate from. The dark markers are the milestones that so often surface as we make a change in direction because the Holy Spirit convicts us. Often these times are turbulent but we look back on them with thankfulness. The early church was a place where the ministry of God’s Holy Spirit was taken seriously, as was the task of taking the gospel beyond the immediate community. This was no pub darts team. And it was no phase.
Discussion starters 13_5_2018 (1)
