Why are we doing what we are doing, and how do we rebuild our local movement post-pandemic?
This article was compiled in September 2022, originally for a Churches Together group in one of the villages where I serve. Here, Churches Together were looking to re-establish itself post-pandemic but questioning how our local movement might find renewal. Why should people in churches be attracted to Churches Together?
When our Jewish brothers and sisters celebrate their Passover meal, they begin by priming the youngest child to ask a question to the oldest adult present. This question is, ‘Why is this night different from all other nights?’ It is, arguably, one of the most important elements of the evening. It marks the beginning of the storytelling as the family recount God’s faithfulness in delivering His people from slavery and leading them to the promised land. It prevents the true meaning of Passover from being lost, and it reinforces the tradition.
The danger for us as Churches Together is that we assume that our congregations and even ourselves as leaders understand our purpose. And so, as we stand on the edge of something new (and it is clear already that God is doing a work among us – you can feel the fellowship, playfulness, and delight around the table), it is worth us stepping back and asking the question, ‘Why are we doing what we are doing?’ This is helpful because there are many good reasons that churches should work together. Some are scripturally based. Others surface from our practical experience of how God can do great things when Christians lay aside their differences and work together. But some are better than others.
The main reason for our questioning, ‘Why are we doing what we are doing?’ is to strengthen ourselves as we draw strength from the consensus that we hold. The second is to help us think realistically and strategically about how we grow ChurchesTogether, locally, as a movement. The word ‘movement’ is key. I put it to us all that our Churches Together groups are not so much a committee or an organization seeking to ensure that churches play together nicely (and if possible avoid clashing with each other’s events). We are a movement; a group of people who believe that churches through Christ change lives, and that this outworking of the gospel cannot be contained within our walls. As Jesus reminds us, you cannot fit new wine into old wineskins. Or, to use another gospel reference, we are going to need a bigger boat. Crucially, the more that we are able to support each other and work together, the more growth we will see in our churches.
Why do we do what we do?
Looking to scripture:
Whilst there is a scriptural warrant for Churches Together, I would suggest that this is not always the most helpful starting point because it is open to interpretation. It is however possible to investigate the context and background of Jesus’ words and penetrate the surface. In John 17:21, Jesus prays with the disciples that they, ‘may they all be one… that the world may believe that you sent me…’ What are we to make of this?
The word ‘One’ has been interpreted by some to mean ‘One Church’ (with the schism that has given rise to Eastern Orthodox, Protestant, Methodist, Baptist, Reformed, Pentecostal etc being viewed as sinful). The vision here is that we should all be part of the One Holy Catholic Church (‘Catholic’ here meaning ‘universal’ or ‘all-embracing’ rather than Roman Catholic of course). However, this thinking is difficult because it infers that somewhere within our mix of denominations is the ‘one true church’ that Jesus would have us follow. So then, which one of us has it all right, and who is going to concede that they are wrong? As for me, I always think that if I find the perfect church, I am going to get out as soon as possible, lest I make it more unholy by being there in the first place. Therefore, whilst the idea of calling people to be One Church might appeal in the first instance, it highlights the division that exists, within seconds.
What then can we say? Well, perhaps the most insightful and least contested statement would be to recognise that Jesus here is not speaking to the Church, or anything like the Church as we know it. (Arguably, the origins of the Church as an institution are closer to the 4th Century when Christianity was adopted as the state religion of the Roman Empire). Rather, Jesus is speaking with passion to a band of disciples who need to stay together and support each other lest they be scattered by the conflict and persecution that is to come. The call to be ‘one’ is woven into a prayer that the Father would protect them, and that the Holy Spirit will be their advocate and help them discern the truth as they journey on.
If then there is a scriptural warrant for Churches Together, it is that we should help Christians support each other in their discipleship. Our task is to set the tone and provide spaces in which people can form mutually supportive relationships with each other. And our role as leaders is to model this ourselves and to point and celebrate where this is happening in others. Since Jesus comes declaring that the Kingdom is both here and coming (as opposed to the Church is here and coming), our task, surely, should be one of breaking down the barriers that prevent people from across different churches relate well to each other. There are significant gains to be had from people in one church supporting the work of another, and vice-versa. This said, there is some danger in people calling themselves Christians and yet not being anchored to one particular church. We would therefore be wise to encourage people belong to one particular church and to serve others from there. One of the best ways in which we might appreciate the contrasts of another tradition may well be to know our own well enough in the first place. There would appear to be no contradiction in making a spiritual home in one place and yet visiting the house of another to support them, and be supported by them.
Creating a Missiological Juggernaught rather than an Ecclesiological nightmare.
‘Ecclesiology’, in its crudest sense, is a term that refers to, among others, how we ‘do Church’. It is a heady mix of culture (‘the way we do things round here’ or ‘the way we do things when we are not consciously thinking about what we are doing’). It is influenced by a blend of the tradition in which we have been raised, our view of scripture, our experience, and our reason (God gave us a brain for reason), to refer to what is known as the Methodist Quaderilateral. Our Ecclesiology determines, among others:
- Who leads? Minister, vicar, priest, or pastor?
- Who has the (real) power and how this is balanced between leader and congregation?
- When does worship take place? Morning, evening, or beteen when the cows need milking?
- How do people worship? Do they cross, kneel, crouch, stand, sit, raise their hands, or swing incense?
In short, we would be unwise to mess with culture. We are all different. Whilst we can be refreshed by being exposed to a different tradition, it can also be a struggle, for deep reasons.
‘Mission’ is a term that is easier to describe. It is less to do with worship and more to do with how we serve. There are some interesting definitions:
- Mission is about loving our neighbour.
- Mission is about working out what God is doing and joining in.
- Our mission as well as to serve others is to make disciples.
- To make disciples, we need to evangelise (invite people to commit to Christ and take the first steps in their Christian journey).
- Disciples are always connected in some way to a local church.
Speaking candidly, the Spirit moves differently in different contexts, and I have never seen any two Churches Together groups take the same form. I have seen quite a few iterations of Christians from different churches working together, local churches working together, and Churches Together. (They can vary significantly in their outworking and affiliations). Even so, Churches Together in Britain and Ireland seems a good starting place. Whilst some colleagues from other denominations are close behind me in terms of the number of churches they serve, our Methodist stationing system places us frequently across multiple congregations and therefore, working with multiple Churches Together groups.
Joint Worship
We should not give up on joint worship. However, we should concede that apart from where congregations from say two or three different local denominations have unite permanently, the quest for joint worship has always been difficult. This is because people are a product of their culture. For example, a morning joint service means that every church in our context apart from one must move its congregation. An afternoon service suggests that meeting for worship is an optional extra. Across the board, however, acts of worship that are in open spaces, and on high seasons and holidays, are supported by congregants. Perhaps this is because everyone sees the value in public witness, and this is something that we can do better together than alone.
The second starting point is often the much more fruitful one, because whilst individual Christians from local churches may well have hurt each other (sadly) to the point of struggling to co-exist in the same space, and whilst churches might differ theologically over key issues such as baptism and communion, any resistance to work together and alleviate the sufferings of others, is a total anathema to the gospel. It is inexcusable. Neither is there any room for protectionism as if one church should be wary about supporting another because they might ‘poach’ members – the answer to this is to be better at our invitation and evangelism. There are more than enough people in our villages, towns, and cities to fill all our churches.
Our country is experiencing an increase in the cost of living that we have not seen for decades. Our national conscience has been moved to the point of everyday people taking in Ukrainian refugees. There is now much focus on local churches providing warm spaces. Meanwhile, we as Church leaders are failing Jesus if we cannot, by cultivating supportive relationships between members of different churches, alleviate the suffering that some people are going to experience. To turn this argument on its head, why would we not do all we can to work together and do even more good? And why would we not do it when in the very act of serving others and being an instrument from the Lord, members of our congregations will discover life in all its fulness? (John 10:10)
I am not sure how I ended up writing an essay! This may well be a helpful document for other church leaders as we reflect. Whilst people have an inkling that working as part of Churches Together might be good, and plenty can see that Churches Together can provide an overarching and informative view of what the needs are in our context, I am not convinced that people have grasped the reasons as to why churches should work together. Its a classic, ‘We just do this because we have always done this’. Perhaps there might be an element of doing it because it is fun and we enjoy being together. However, I am not sure that we are doing it because in by being faithful in this way, we are showing our unity for the love of God, and we are demonstrating our love for our neighbour that is so much more powerful than words.
Some simple truths
Perhaps the points below might be helpful as a simple reminder to those who attend our churches about some of the core truths that lead us to work together, wherever possible:
- We may worship differently but our core beliefs are the same, and we share the same calling; to make disciples and to show God’s love to the World.
- God calls us to be one as Christians first (never mind our denominational affiliation), supporting each other as disciples. Through Churches Together we encourage people to be there for each other when the worst happens. Equally, we celebrate with our brothers and sisters when we experience the best that life has to offer.
- As Church Leaders there is an obligation on us to model this ourselves; it is in and of itself, an act of witness to the presence and power of God across our churches.
- There are more than enough people in many villages, towns, and cities, to fill our churches; it is the Lord who builds our local churches by the power of the Holy Spirit. Therefore, whilst it might be tempting to preserve our own numbers and to limit our efforts to support our own congregations, it is in fact counterproductive. Our task is to simply help people find a church that is right for them. We care more about them than what church they eventually attend.
- Churches Together provides a way of helping churches coordinate their efforts so that in their individual efforts they do not undermine what each other is doing.
- Churches Together can take simple steps to permission give and remove the invisible barriers to mission that can so easily impede us; through sharing information about what churches are doing and what help is available to those who are in need; by celebrating and highlighting examples of where a member of one church finds fulfillment in supporting a mission project in another; of discerning what additional needs exist in the town and encouraging joint projects between churches, or a single project under the umbrella of Churches Together.
- And yes, our united acts of worship, particularly those that are in public (in the form of gatherings for worship, and times of reflection and prayer) will provide a visible witness to a world and can therefore be the first steps in evangelism from which people can invite to find a home in a local church. However, the danger is that they will end-up being constrained to within the (literal) walls of the church, where newcomers will rarely venture, and they will cater for those who are committed to church unity rather than pressing the argument home amongst those who may well be asking the question, ‘What is the point of Churches Together?’