Category: Magazine articles

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Peterborough Methodist Circuit of Churches: We love it when a Plan comes together. Worship, prayer for midweek services, whilst reintroducing the spiritual discipline of fasting.

Greetings everyone. This post is a copy of our plan letter, sent to local preachers and church leaders across the region, highlighting our plans for worship from December to January. We are encouraging prayer and fasting, with a particular focus on midweek worship. I share this mindful that the mnemonic we have produced might be helpful to others. We also include a download which provides some basic teaching on fasting as a spiritual discipline, produced by the Methodist Church.

Letter to preachers and church leaders:

Plan Letter Nov 2017

 

Mnemonic for praying with a focus on midweek worship:

prayer points-1

 

Fasting as a Spiritual Practice (published in 2012):

dd-explore-devotion-fasting-as-a-spiritual-practice-1212 (1)

 

Important: Please also consider this web article, which notes the importance of fasting as a spiritual discipline but also offers guidance as to when the practice of fasting that is not anchored on seeking God can lead to eating disorders:

https://www.premierlife.org.uk/Health/Mental-Health/Eating-Disorders/Fasting-and-eating-disorders

God bless!

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A Matter of Life and Death: Reflections from Peterborough on the prospect of local churches developing growth plans or end of life plans.

How should we as the Methodist Church respond to the not so recent Statistics for Mission Report that details how, despite reaching half a million people a week through our church activities, we are in a state of decline? Can the Methodist Church, as Mark Woods of Christian Today put it, ‘pull out of its nosedive?’ Will our training take over, and will we stay panic free whilst resisting the increasing G-force for long enough to make a difference? Is this really the end? Or could it be, as Damian Arnold writing for the Times intimates (despite some inaccuracies as to the contents of Loraine Mellor’s Presidential Address), that our youth, pioneer and fresh expressions focus, and our dogged efforts to meet need wherever we see it, might be enough to turn things around?

If fresh expressions and pioneer ministry were not challenging enough for those who would prefer to Keep Calm and Carry On, the Methodist Conference’s Notice of Motion whicht encourages local churches to develop growth plans or end of life plans will serve as a slap in the face to anyone who is at risk of falling unconscious. And besides, Keep Calm and Carry On, that phase made iconic with various additions; ‘You’re only 45‘, ‘Enjoy the Party‘, ‘Carry on Bellringing‘; emblazoned on a multitude of consumer goods, only works if you have a plan in place. Understandably, the idea that local churches might develop a growth plan or end of life plan has stimulated rather a lot of discussion.

Care when speaking of death

My first instinct was to forget about the concept of death. Not because I am frightened of it, nor because I don’t believe in resurrection (of course I do), but because it is not hard to convince small churches that they are dying. To compound matters, in my experience, as people tire they lose the energy and belief that something else is possible such as adopting a different pattern of worship, working in partnership with other community groups, or simply giving more of their focus over to fellowship and mission. Our challenge is to present people with a different narrative other than accepting closure as an inevitability. To push the point further, if you present a tired and small church with its age profile, low membership, and anticipated future cost, persuading them to close is not difficult. They may not like it. The surrounding community may be ‘up-in-arms’. But ultimately, they will see the (human) logic in it and accept it. The trouble is that human logic can be ungodly. Of course, the aim of the end of life plan (given the Spirit in which Elaine Lindridge spoke to this motion) is not to close churches, but to renew them. At the same time, I accept that some churches are financially comfortable, failing to engage in mission, and expecting an unwarranted level of circuit support. Could the end of life plan be the shock that resets the heartbeat of many of our churches back into the right rhythm again?

The key question is how we help churches move to a position of seeing life amidst death, rather than death amidst life? It is not so much that churches need to accept that death will occur at some point. Rather, they need to embrace change and movement if they wish to stay alive. It is not the local church that needs to go, so much as the traditions which we maintain that are no longer helpful or appropriate for our present contexts. Churches often place unreasonable expectations on themselves, fuelled by the fear of offending a ghost from the past who started this or that, but who in reality would have never expected them to have carried on regardless for so long. Perhaps that is another real-life Keep Calm slogan that we must disown.

Guarding against euthanasia

My overriding concern is that what has begun with deep missiological intent will be used unwittingly (or even deliberately) to sanction a form of ecclesial-euthanasia by the back door. How do we guard against this, particularly given that some churches may already recognise their frailty, be over-conscious about their inadequacies, and see themselves as a millstone around the neck of a wider circuit which may be struggling to resource the whole? I look forward to seeing the connexional resources; these will, no doubt, attempt to counter this. But the truth of the matter is that what we need is not only good resources but also determined leaders who are prepared to question why the rest of the crew might be preparing to bale out when they have not explored all the options. Superintendents take note: we set the tone for mission. This is happening on our watch. Of course, I say that as one myself, rather than assuming some ascendency that I do not have.

Two reflections and a powerful thought

Three reflections emerged on this theme at our recent Northampton District superintendent’s meeting. The first is my own – from my past experience as an NHS Chaplain and drawing from the difference between hospital and hospice care, and the fact that treatment options are never constructed in a vacuum as if patients are ever left to diagnose themselves: local circuits have a key role to play. The second follows input from Andy Fyall (Stamford and Rutland) who reminded us that just because we make a funeral plan does not mean that we expect to die tomorrow. The third, which I suspect will receive deeper attention from elsewhere, is that Jesus had an end of life plan. I will leave that hanging for your further reflection. It really is quite a powerful thought.

End of life plans and the NHS

In my last post, I also worked as an on-call chaplain for the NHS. It was enjoyable. However, rarely was I called upon to celebrate good news. Most of the time I was asked to pray with those who were dying. Sometimes they were on their own. At other times I arrived to find a cloud of witnesses (or relatives) by the patient, with some family members having travelled long distances to be alongside them. My first move when checking in at the nurse’s station was to ask what requests had been included on the Liverpool Care Pathway (LCP) plan. The idea behind the LCP was to make patients as comfortable as possible. It allowed a comfortable, dignified and pain-free death when the time came. It also included details about what patients had requested in terms of spiritual support.

By 2013, attitudes to the care pathway had changed. Whilst there were good examples of its implementation, a government review found that in some cases there were significant failings. In some instances, communication between patients and families was poor. There were concerns about treatment decisions being made without relatives being informed, family members not being told their loved ones were dying, and doctors communicating hurriedly and inappropriately. One major difficulty rests in how it can be difficult to diagnose when someone is about to die. Furthermore, in some cases, patients recovered despite their relatives being told that death was approaching. In 2014, the LCP was phased out, usurped by the One Chance to Get it Right report. This highlighted five priorities of care. The concept of a ‘pathway’ was dropped – a patient’s final days and hours are now viewed as a ‘continuum’. Staff should be proactive rather than reactive in their communication with patients and families. The dying person decides who else to be involved in discussions about end of life. The needs of families are explored and met as far as possible. The care plan (which includes food and drink, symptom control, psychological, social and spiritual support), is agreed and delivered with compassion. End of life plans are personalised and not generic. (Reference; ‘What happened to the Liverpool Care Pathway?’ Produced by Compassion in Dying.)

Consequently, If there is a parallel to be drawn between churches and people in terms of how they decline (and that is a big ‘if’), the failures of the LCP serve to remind us about the dangers inherent in pronouncing that death is inevitable. It also challenges us to ensure that the local church is in control of what is happening, rather than its relatives. Come to think of it, Gareth (my presbyteral colleague) and I are even beginning to question whether we can in fact talk of a local church going through death and resurrection. People die and will be resurrected. But churches? Whilst I realise that the death and resurrection motif is an easy one to grasp when a church faces closure, I find myself questioning whether this is a step too far in our extrapolation. Where does it say in scripture that a local church dies? In our own polity we do not use this term: we speak of ‘ceasing to meet.’ Moreover, Ekklesia describes the people of God who are called out to form a body of the faithful. And just as God can call people into this, God can call them out of it to gather together with others elsewhere. Taking this line then, the crucial issue for us to explore with people is not when they anticipate that their death will come. The focus needs to be on where and how they feel God is calling them to serve. Another issue is that just as hospitals exist as a place where all of our medical resource and expertise can be put into action to improve someone’s condition, circuits can do the same for struggling churches. They have the power to turn on the oxygen and monitor what is happening. How will circuits discern who is for the hospital and whose future days might be best lived out in a hospice?

Funeral plans

A funeral plan is not quite the same as an end of life plan. Some funeral plans come with a free pen, should you be persuaded by the smiley-face presenter on the television. Thinking seriously, I am still shocked, and continue to pray for a lady in one of our churches whose son died tragically from a heart attack at the age of 45. My initial thoughts combined two facts together. The suddenness of it all, and the fact that her son was my age. There comes a time in life when you accept the probability that you have less time ahead of you than you have spent.

At our superintendent’s meeting, Andy Fyall helpfully pointed out that just because someone creates a funeral plan does not mean that they are expecting to die tomorrow. Whilst the end goal is to ensure that those who are left behind are not left with the cost of the funeral fee, or feeling duty-bound to curate our steamroller collection, it will invariably focus the mind back to what you want to achieve in this life. This is, without doubt, what the church end of life plan will intend to do.

To close…

One thing that has been a constant surprise in my own ministry has been how older members of my congregations have in fact been surprisingly open to new mission initiatives. The reason for this? They know that they are in their twilight years and are desperate to leave something behind for the next generation. So, will growth plans or end of life plans help local churches? Concurring with Rachel Deigh (Church Growth Plans versus End of Life Plans – http://www.seedbed.com/church-growth-plans-vs-end-of-life-plans/), I think we need both. I think that the end of life plan feeds the growth plan. However, one thing I am sure of, whatever the future holds, is that talk of end of life (which inevitably conjures up images of death) will need to be discussed with great care, and the outcomes will depend on our how we approach this as church leaders.

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A ‘Network of Networks’ for Fresh Expressions: What might this mean for Methodism? (Reflections from the Peterborough Pioneer Hub)

This report was originally compiled for the Discipleship and Ministries Learning Network East Central Region,  and has been adapted/expanded.

Over the next five years, Fresh Expressions wants to avoid becoming anything more of the mission organisation that it is already. They want to release rather than control what is happening by developing deepening their local networks. Fresh Expressions want to create a movement that is ‘releasing, connecting, and enabling’. At the recent Hub conference in September, Phil Potter encouraged its leaders to be driven by two maxims; ‘Your success is my honour’, and ‘Partnership without ownership’. (In the case of the latter read, ‘Partnership without control or manipulation.’) Fresh Expressions do not want a monopoly. They are striving to promote unity whilst encouraging diversity. Fresh Expressions do not want a top down leadership. They do not want to form a community of their own. They do, however, want more to be than a list of names but less than a centralised organisation. Amidst this they are asking, ‘What do we stop, what do we start, and what do we enhance?’ I must confess that as I write this I am slightly confused as to whether I should say ‘they’ or ‘we’. That is precisely the point. Fresh Expressions are looking for more local leaders to own what is happening. Having been invited – and accepted the offer – of becoming a Fresh Expressions Associate – I should feel entitled to use the word ‘we’. This does not quite come naturally to someone like myself who is wary of misrepresenting what the movement or its leadership is saying. Nevertheless, be in no doubt that this paradigm shift is exactly what Fresh Expressions is calling for.

Nationally, a ‘network of networks’ is emerging, whereby multiple denominations and church groups are connecting with each other because they are geographically close (For example, For Starters in Peterborough), draw from similar traditions (such as new monasticism), share identical training needs (in developing pioneers), or serve particular mission fields (‘rural’ as opposed to ‘city’). Nationally this is patchy, and messy. In some cases, people from across different denominations align themselves to Fresh Expressions, whilst in others, there is a direct denominational link. Across the whole, some groups are more robust whilst others are more fragile. Unsurprisingly, Fresh Expressions has given rise to web-based forms of information sharing and support that can transcend local boundaries (for example, the Cumbria Fresh Expressions Facebook Page). Within the Church of England, there are some particularly striking examples of networked leaders; a bishop’s hub (incorporating some 30 bishops), and DDO hubs (incorporating Diocesan Director of Ordinands) who have a crucial role in assessing and forwarding people for ministerial selection.

As I reflect from a wider Methodist Church perspective, I sense that Fresh Expressions has done two things. First, it has spoken prophetically in a way that has encouraged local churches to modify and adapt their worship and mission, bearing in mind the needs of those who have little or no previous experience of ‘church’. Second, it has given Church leaders the warrant and confidence to call for change.

Some observations that might relate to us:

‘Slippage’ in the language around fresh expressions

Over the past three years, I have observed subtle changes to the language used by Fresh Expressions, or by its adherents in local settings. One example is the shift away from talking about ‘church’ to using the term ‘congregation’, or speaking of ‘new ecclesial community’. In my view, this reflects two issues. First, I suspect for free church denominations, the word ‘church’ is troublesome. For Methodists, a ‘church’ has a distinct legal definition; a church is formed only when twelve Methodist members unite. Local churches form a church council which oversees mission and ministry across the whole and are required to appoint key individuals: secretary, treasurer, stewards. Second, if the aim of a fresh expression is to create a ‘new form of church’, why would we constrain ourselves to this single model? Personally, apart from the challenge of making members, I think that the model we have is a good one; everyone is accountable to each other; decisions cannot be made in quiet corners; children and vulnerable adults are safeguarded from harm; those who hold office are properly vetted and approved; the teaching of the church is preserved; no one exists in a bubble – we want to form new churches and not cults. The problem is the language that we use switches some people off. In my experience, if I asked people to fill these positions I would receive a stare which questioned what century I thought I was living in. But if I asked a group who held the contact details of those who attended, or who looked after the money, or who liaised with visiting speakers, people saw sense. Nonetheless, talk of ‘church’ is troublesome. To talk of an ‘emerging ecclesial community’ has double appeal in that it honours the idea of creating ‘church’ without using the word. Talk of creating new congregations is helpful because a congregation (such as a new worship service) can be held by the wider church and as such, is less of a threat. It can, in theory, sit as a new church within the old, where newcomers can make it the primary local for their discipleship. The second issue – married to some of the above, and for other reasons that I will outline later, is that I suspect we are lacking confidence in ‘C(c)hurch’ as we know it.

Another concern is how the term ‘pioneer’ is being used in multiple contexts; fresh expressions are at ease in calling all fresh expressions leaders ‘pioneers’, whilst the Anglican and Methodist Churches have different pioneering pathways, and local circuits are free to appoint ‘pioneer workers’ at their own discretion. The challenge how we encourage one without disenfranchising the other. Here in Peterborough, we see ourselves as a Pioneer Hub rather than a ‘fresh expressions hub’, or a ‘mission hub’ because we recognise that the core of all things new is the apostolic dynamic of the Holy Spirit who brings openness, creativity, innovation, boldness, and even a measure of entrepreneurship. Not convinced? Remember that the apostle Paul was a tentmaker who supports himself and is, therefore, free to minister. Consider how the Holy Spirit leads him into unchartered territory.

What are we creating through fresh expressions?

In the 2014 Statistics for Mission Report, The Methodist Church stated that 2705 projects self-declared as fresh expressions. 548 churches stated that their projects were intended for those who do not attend church at all, whilst 304 stated that they were for those do not attend church regularly. The amount of independent research is limited, but to date, this suggests that very few have the intention of becoming a new church: they are fellowship groups or mission projects. Nonetheless, they are significant because they (i) retain people whose needs are not entirely met by traditional worship, (ii) provide a space and context in which personal evangelism can take place, and (iii) allow people to use their gifts and grow as disciples. Even so, given the 2017 Methodist Conference’s Notice of Motion 102 (which encouraged local circuits and churches to pray, promote acts of personal evangelism, nurture new disciples, and plant new societies), an examination of just how many fresh expressions might have the potential to become new churches would be well justified. Perhaps the broader question (if we are looking for an approach that could encourage both congregational development and church planting), is how we enable groups to become self-determining, self-financing, self-theologising, and self-propagating. (Drawing from insights in Indigenous Church Mission Theory).

One difficulty is that even if some fresh expressions do possess this ecclesial potential, comparatively few circuits will be able to draw from previous experiences of church-planting. (Most new societies are formed by merging declining churches, or by a declining church merging with a stronger ecumenical partner.) Granted, there are examples of church plants that are not a consequence of decline, but finding clear and detailed accounts of this is difficult.

Fresh Expressions are raising sharp questions about how local churches help those who attend local projects understand that they are part of the wider church, and vice-versa. My own experience of working in fresh expressions has been how some newcomers are skeptical of the Church as an institution, and therefore resist becoming members. This may be due, in part, to Fresh Expression’s argument that the inherited Church is failing in its missionary endeavours and therefore must change and adapt. Whilst this is helpful on one level – in calling people to action, it also asks people to trust a denomination that has a track record of sustained decline. Another issue is that whilst Fresh Expressions clearly defines what we mean by C(c)hurch – with reference to how ‘church’ emerges in the New Testament and the Four Marks of Church – we do not stress enough the importance of belonging to a denomination. This is key for Methodism, because connexionalism guards against insularity. And the question of how fresh expressions are incorporated into local churches is our business.

In terms of what resources we need, I would develop the following for my own context, if I had the time.

  • We might create an audit tool to help churches assess their fresh expressions. Is their project a separate congregation, or is it a stepping-stone to the inherited church. Much more clarity and honesty around these areas will help churches discern their vision for the future, and deploy their resources accordingly. Strictly speaking, a fresh expression is not a stepping-stone to something else, but that is not the point.
  • A separate issue is that for some reason, the most recent Statistics for Mission reports have focused less on fresh expressions. Is this because we lack the data, or because we consider them less important? The difficulty for those who are sceptical of fresh expressions, is that there is no clear alternative response to addressing church decline (apart from ‘keep calm and carry on’ or ReImagine Church with the challenge of encouraging re-imagination rather than cloning something and reproducing it at a different time, with less crappy biscuits – acknowledgement to Trey Hall for the ‘crappy biscuits’ reference). There may be theological objections around how we understand ‘Church’, whether we are pandering to consumer demand, the theological breadth of fresh expressions (are they top-heavy in their conservative-evangelicalism, are they too narrow in their understanding of church etc)…but in Fresh Expression’s absence there is no real alternative to what we are already doing.
  • We might develop a resource to help fresh expressions use Methodist membership as a means of evangelism and deepening belonging. (This could be of used by the wider church, and would outline for those who have experience of other denominations, why membership is important). This might need only to be a conversation starter, but it would need to counter a skepticism towards the Church as an institution, explain why Methodism has membership (whereas the Church of England does not), and outline the benefits and expectations of membership. Is there a resource that could be used or adapted?

One possibility might be for us to develop of highlight training for ‘Class Leaders’. This might be ideal for fresh expressions and allow us to refocus our efforts on promoting prayer, evangelism, mutual accountability, and discipleship within projects. It could also revive our pastoral system wherein the notion of a class leader – in contrast to a past

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Opinion piece on Jimmy McGovern’s TV drama, ‘Broken’; to be Holy is to remain committed to discipleship whilst enduring no-win situations. Despite our frustrations, our integrity will shine through.

I don’t know if you had chance to watch the BBC series ‘Broken’ on television? Written by Jimmy McGovern, it tells the story of a Catholic priest who battles his own personal demons as he ministers within a parish that is battling low unemployment and is poverty-ridden. What makes McGovern’s work unique is the grace and gentleness in which he treats the central character, played by Sean Bean. Rather than taking the lazy option of presenting Roman Catholicism as an ancient and crumbling historic tradition, or as a hotbed from which nothing but sexual abuse arises, McGovern presents us with a priest who has been abused in the past, tries to be loyal to his sense of call, but experiences post-traumatic stress. This intensifies whenever he stands in front of the congregation and recites Jesus’ words over the bread and the wine. As he stands in this most holy of places his mind is interrupted by flashbacks, and he battles to finish the liturgy. As the story unfolds, McGovern sensitively demonstrates how the priest’s ministry is filled with extraordinary pastoral demand and no-win situations. The priest is wracked with guilt; for the time when he did not answer the phone because he was too tired, giving way to a string of events where a young man was shot by the police; when he could do little to prevent a suicide; when, despite his best efforts to address the homophobic abuse suffered by a neighbour, he faced the wrath of a gay man who was deeply critical of the Church and everything it stood for. Ultimately, the priest believes that he is unfit to hold office and is ready to resign, until the point that he leads his own mother’s funeral. However, in the closing episode, knowing that the priest is struggling, members of the Church address his insecurities by responding, ‘Amen, you wonderful priest’, as he distributes the bread at the Eucharist. It is a poignant, tear-jerking scene which marks what is truly holy – one’s devotion to discipleship – whilst accepting that life often presents us with no-win situations in which we do our best.

This speaks volumes to me, but what might this mean to our churches? The wonderful thing about McGovern’s writing is that we can all be just like the priest, trying to do the best in sometimes very difficult circumstances. And what releases us from our struggles is the ability of others who are around us to recognise that we are struggling, and who then offer simple words of encouragement that shake us to the core and wake us from our doldrums. Who have you done that to recently? Is there anyone who you feel needs to be encouraged? If so, do it. At our time when Circuits and churches have been called upon by Conference to encourage acts of personal evangelism, we would do well to remember that this can begin with the simplest words of encouragement that lead people to feel recognised, acknowledged and valued. Remember how Jesus said that people would know that we are His disciples by the way that we love one another.

Another aspect of McGovern’s writing is how he builds so much around the simplicity of certain actions that are repeated at times of confession or prayer; ‘We light a candle to remind us that Jesus is present amidst our suffering.’ Our faith is not a complex affair, it is simple, but at the same time, it is profound. It is the simple things that can sustain us when we are challenged. What are the simple things that you do, which remind you of the presence of God? God does not so much expect us to read great theological tomes, or to pray though the night for a week, or to castigate ourselves for our failings. He simply invites us to remember that he is present, and to not lose faith when everything around us appears uncertain.

As I reflect on how we have journeyed as a circuit I am encouraged by how we have both discerned the Lord’s will for us, and refused to panic when challenges have surfaced. I see this when I think about how we have recruited new paid staff, or become anxious about the need for us to fill offices. The age-old lesson from experience would seem to be that to have faith in God is to also have faith in God’s timing. Our task is to hold on to the basics of our faith, and the vision that God has given us, rather than lose our bottle because we cannot see a way ahead ourselves, or we grow tired of waiting. Christ is always there, present among us. And whilst I acknowledge there is some logic in not continually knocking on doors until our knuckles bleed, the gospel still urges us to knock, and keep on knocking, until God says ‘no’ or points us in a slightly different direction. ‘Right route, wrong door’ one might say. I suspect that many a Christian initiative throughout history has collapsed because believers have lost sight of the basics – they have yearned for a level of certainty about what the future will hold so they end up living by circumstance rather than by faith, or have simply bottled it.

Praise God for all he is doing among us!

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On the Wireless: News from the Peterborough Methodist Circuit of Churches, late August Edition. Read all about it.

August on the wireless final

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Reflections on Cafe Worship and how it can improve the depth of teaching and quality of engagement for those who attend.

At our last Local Preachers and Worship Leaders meeting we talked about alternative worship, and in specific café worship. But what is café worship, and how might we prepare for it? I have some empathy with this, since I think I have only attended one or two different cafe worship services myself. Thankfully, there is plenty of information on the Fresh Expressions website outlining how café worship can be a valid expression of worship and church. As I reflected on how I would plan my own cafe worship at a local church, and what worked in practice, I am minded that there are some things that can be done in this environment that would be harder to achieve in our usual settings.

I began preparing by questioning how the layout of, and activity in café worship might improve the quality of engagement and depth of teaching that we aspire towards on Sunday mornings. This is not to say that one is better or worse than the other. It is to say that each has their own strengths. I began to suspect that, done well, café worship might provide:

Planning Café worship – linking with a worship leader

It has been some time since I have led café worship at Brookside Methodist Church, but I was able to offer myself on Easter Sunday. Brookside offered a worship leader to assist. She shared earlier in the week how she had been thinking about the ‘stone from the tomb being rolled away’, and what ‘stones’ might symbolise for those who would be present. She had already thought about how café worship could use a prayer activity which symbolised how, by the power of the Holy Spirit, God could remove that which burdened us. I think that this is significant; café worship began with a member of the congregation who was already thinking about the theme. This naturally matched the Easter story in the gospels. We agreed that I would lead the opening worship and the teaching, and she would select the songs and lead a prayer activity.

Planning Café worship – thinking about teaching

Introduction

I was mindful of Hope Revolution and their link with Guvana B, a Christian Gospel/Rap Artist who has won major awards. As part of his ministry, Guvna B has produced a music video entitled ‘Cannonball’ that incorporates powerful sketch/art cartoon illustrations, and some stunning lyrics. I asked the Church to prepare and play the video by passing the internet link to them. Anyone who uses a PC or a tablet can search and find material (but I appreciate that not all local preachers are skilled in doing this, or that all churches are able to do this – but I am sure that there would be help available provided you plan in good time). I printed the lyrics out separately – because they flowed so quickly.

Teaching

I have been studying John’s gospel as part of the Lent Course – and I found myself naturally comparing John’s version of events with the other gospel writers. In terms of where the teaching might be headed I thought it would be useful to focus (a) on the ‘supernatural’ signs of God’s presence that were present in each account, and (b) to ask people the question, ‘In spiritual terms, what might the ‘stone’ represent?’ This would be the core of the teaching and reflection.

Café worship at Brookside takes place around tables, and as I thought things through I realised that it would be easier to (a) print out different gospel accounts in different colours and cut away all margins – this simply makes life easier, and (b) each table could have a different account and work through these questions independently, in two stages; so we took the first question; people discussed on their own; then we collated all of our thoughts from each table. We then repeated the process with the second question.

This is a good example of where we allow the congregation to feedback, and our job as preachers is to ‘fill in the gaps’ that are missed.  In my case I also wanted to set the second conversation on the right trajectory by pointing out what John in his gospel omits; no earthquake, no temple curtain split, no guards (I drew from my earlier preparation for morning worship here, where I had noted that in Matthew, the resurrection miracle begins the minute Jesus dies, with the earthquake opening the graves and the dead being raised to new life). I make the point that whilst these things are significant, John omits them because he does not need them to put his argument across – and that indeed, if he did include them they may well have complicated his presentation. John is interested in telling us that Jesus is the Son of God (we remembered the ‘I am’ sayings), and that he wants us to do four things; recognise Jesus, accept Jesus, make our peace with Jesus, and follow Jesus’ calling. This then leads nicely into the second section, where we question what the stone might stand for – what prevents this from happening? I was also able to show how the fact that Jesus has been resurrected slowly dawned on some of the characters in the story (note how in Luke, the apostles did not believe the women – although the story is told slightly differently elsewhere. In John, Peter and the beloved disciple believed when they looked into the grave, but there was no evidence that they believed Jesus had been resurrected, they just believed Mary’s was speaking the truth when she said that Jesus body had gone!)

It may be worth noting that as well as the teaching having depth because we were looking and comparing four different gospel sources (this is something that instantly beings a level of maturity to our reading, treatment and interpretation of scripture), I was also minded link with the Old Testament as particular themes surfaced. For example, the concept of having a ‘heart of stone’ is within Jer 32 (and we also remembered how God transforming our heart of stone is a key lyric in ‘I The Lord of Sea and Sky’). If the theme of ‘oppression’ were to surface there are multiple entry points, but the most obvious is the release of Israel from slavery. As I spoke of John’s focus on the ‘I am’ sayings of Jesus, I referred to Moses experience of the burning bush.

Thus, when I have led café worship, I both respond to what the congregation are saying by providing further explanation, and steering the conversation towards a focal point in prayer.

Café Worship: Enabling encounter

In a sense, the entire act of worship is designed to encounter God, but for the prayers, people were invited to hold a stone (originally people were going to write on a stone or paint it and to perhaps mark it with the symbol of an experience or feeling that was holding us back from God). As we remembered the opening theme of ‘Cannonball’ (that Jesus is like a cannonball from heaven who crashes to earth and destroys death and all that oppresses), people were invited to take their stone and place it on a bowl of water. The worship leader walked everyone through this activity, and shared how the stone was symbolic of the shattered (or moved) stones of the cemetery, and of how God cleanses us and removes the blemishes that are upon us.

The sample order of service

The service lasted about an hour and a quarter. I noticed how, rather like Messy Church, the adults helped the younger children to take part – and how their input at times was enthusiastic and profound. The order, with the songs interspersed, looked like this:

Intro to theme: Jesus as a cannonball/God longing to release us from all that oppresses. The stone was rolled away. Today we will think about how God was present in power, and we will also think about what the stone might symbolise for us

Cannonball video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jI-ZtaSOGkA 

Langley highlight the lyrics (which will be on the table)

Resurrection reading from Luke’s gospel

2 Songs on Video – God sent his Son (Because he Lives); Up from the grave he rose

…..eating cake and drinking tea is possible from now – note however, everyone munched all the way through, but I do not think that this limited discussion/engagement.

Encourage people to look at other passages (printed out) and discuss – Matthew 28:1-15; Matthew 27:50-54; Mark 16:1-20; John 20; 3-29 (Each can fit on a single sheet).

What are the supernatural signs from God?

Feedback and dialogue

What does the stone stand for?

Feedback and dialogue

Prayer activity – Worship Leader

Song – Rejoice Rejoice

Repeat of Cannonball video.

 

Refection: What was prominent and what was less so?

Whilst the teaching and reflection elements of the service were strong (I am not sure of any regular services where we have been able to present all four accounts of a single gospel event), prayer was focused, albeit concentrated, in one area. If I were to do this again, I would probably incorporate a prayer of confession and the Lord’s Prayer towards the end of the prayer activity. Even so, there were aspects of penitence in the stone exercise. Prayers for each other, or the needs of the wider world were also not particularly prominent. This said, the service would have been ideal for people who were exploring faith. In its current form the service is for leaders and churchgoers who are seeking worship that engages them differently. The service was also very strong on fellowship and avoided any notion or pretence that could get in the way – about wear people should sit, how they should behave etc.

Perhaps one of my ongoing apprehensions is how you lead worship, and perhaps work though some important teaching point whilst everyone is eating cakes. This said, my experience was that this did not detract. I did however have to think about how I minimised movement during the worship – because movement distracts when you are trying to prevent, and also makes noise. I did this by suggesting that people loaded up on coffee/tea at the beginning of the table exercises.

What surprised me?

I was most surprised by how the children engaged and how the adults enabled this, with the children highlighting the signs from God. I was encouraged (but not surprised) by the depth of analysis that came from each of the tables. There was a depth of contextual understanding which people had gathered from TV programmes – about for example, how the gravestones were designed. I was really pleased to be asked some direct questions; ‘Did the Jews believe in the resurrection’? I was not expecting (but welcomed) a sustained focus on how God brings healing – especially from past hurts, which came from one of our local preachers. This was particularly useful on the lead up to the stones exercise.

Closing remarks

This experience, and my subsequent thoughts, reminds me of the critique made by the Church Army (which is a mission arm of the CofE) about how established Churches have the tendency to overplay the importance of ‘function’ and underplay the importance of ‘relationship’. To put it simply, whilst I can ask myself questions about what the worship included (as if we need to complete all items in some checklist for an act of worship to be ‘proper’), this rather misses the point.

Café church, as it unfolded for me, was all about relationships. It begins with the relationships and fellowship that people have with each other. People reflect both individually and together. They gather (just as the first believers did) around the person of Jesus, sharing, and doing life together. There is a clear intent (as should be the case in any form of worship) to bring people to a moment of encounter with God. This raises an interesting question for all our worship preparation – how are we bringing our congregations to this place of encounter? When we share in communion, this focus is clearer, but what about how we move people to a point of encounter and response in our preaching. I must be honest and say that in my own services, the encounter is presumed and sits somewhere after the sermon and before the prayers of intercession.

I think that another important difference between how I approached this café worship service, and how I approach preaching services, is that often in my services (apart from all-age worship) a lot of the focus is on me – or rather (I hope) on God speaking through me. However, in café worship the role of the preacher seems to be to facilitate conversation, with a much greater emphasis on what God is saying through the congregation. However, to prepare for café worship, preachers will need to prepare just as hard (if not more) than they would if they were preparing a regular service. They will also have to be confident with their material to the point that they are comfortable answering questions.

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What’s with the Clownfish and why we should love our anemone.

If you look carefully you will see that the clownfish is at home in the tentacles of the sea anemone. They live in a mutual relationship; in symbiosis. The clownfish protects the sea anemone by feeding off predators and emitting a high-pitched sound. Meanwhile, the sea anemone protects the clownfish as it is immune to its stinging tentacles. There is something in this relationship which reflects the balance of independence and mutuality that must be present in churches and fresh expressions (as new forms of church) in order for them to mature. This thinking can be extrapolated to include New Places, New people projects that sit within the Methodist Church’s God for All strategy.

One has to be honest and say that there is a point where the beautiful image breaks down – and that is in that what the clownfish does not need (and excretes away), nourishes the anemone! Nevertheless, this remains a powerful example.  As my former presbyter colleague, Rev Gareth Baron put it at a circuit meeting, we need to learn to ‘love our anemone’. (Let’s face it, everyone loves Nemo, but whilst many people are attracted to fresh expressions, the wider church has a crucial role.)

Rev Dr Rowan Williams, a former Archbishop of Canterbury, once coined the phrase, ‘a mixed economy of Church.’ At the time he was responding to tensions within the Church of England between what had been inherited and what was emerging. His response was to argue that leaders should strive to develop a mutuality between the two. Whilst fresh expressions –  or any kind of venture involving new Christians – have much to learn from the inherited church, the inherited church would do well to heed the lessons that originate from the honest appraisal of those who view the church with fresh eyes. This extends to other areas of Church mission and matters of policy in general where questions of orthopraxis grate so clearly against our orthodoxy. Herein, those of us who should be wiser need to guard against a degree of paternal arrogance that assumes that we know best. As repeated 3Generate Manifestos produced by the Methodist Church so clearly highlight, whilst we recognise that we have a responsibility to nurture our children and young people, we must not overlook that God can and is already speaking prophetically through them. The danger is, of course, that rather than being part of the body, children and youth are seen as an addition that we attend to occasionally, where we assume that our ‘adult’ way of seeing the world is always right.

Rev Graham Horsley, former Churchplanting Secretary of the Methodist Church and latterly Fresh Expressions Missioner has suggested the phrase ‘mixed ecology of church’ might be more useful. It speaks of a living relationship and encourages us to understand that this is characterised by dependence on each other, where our very existence is in the balance, rather than a one-sided relationship, where what is new-born exists at the good intention and well-meaning of what is mature and growing older.

The literature survey that I carried out for my doctoral research shows that whilst the wider church needs to reflect on its attitudes towards fresh expression, some fresh expressions leaders – and beyond that, commentators within the emerging church movement, seem to favour the idea of jettisoning the tradition of the Church, and starting anew from ground zero. Significantly, one of the points I made in my thesis about Fresh Expressions is that it risked becoming a victim of its own rhetoric. On the one hand, Fresh Expressions makes the case that the inherited Church is failing in its mission, and therefore there is a need for a novel approach. On the other, it has to convince people to remain within the institution. If you are a clownfish you need the anemone – and vice-versa.

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Letter to a little devil: Reflections on how we focus on what is not important in Church

This entry has been inspired by C.S. Lewis’ book, The Screwtape Letters, wherein a senior demon, Screwtape writes to his nephew and junior devil, Wormwood.

Dear Wormwood junior

Lovely to hear from you. We are proud to know that you are settling so well into the churches to which you have been assigned. There are plenty of weaknesses to exploit. In the main most of your people are so worried about decline, driven by guilt and working so hard that they have become slaves to the very faith that is supposed to give them life. Engineering conflict her is easy. It is like sowing weeds, sitting back, and letting nature take its course. It is much easier now than it was in my day. We are convincing the world to think that they are saying more, whilst they are in fact communicating less. We are managing to separate the message from the messenger. People do not even talk face to face anymore, and so it is easy for us to generate misunderstanding and suspicion. The battle is over before they even gather in the same room.

We hear that you have already managed to create a couple of skirmishes. Well done you. We loved the argument in the kitchen about whether the tea should be served in mugs or cups, and how you managed to convince that person to feel put out because someone else had brought the milk. There is nothing like raised voices and an argument to distract people from their real task. As for creating that ‘disaster’ mid-way through, when the milk ran out and someone had to go out to the corner shop – well that was a lovely piece of work.  There is nothing like making a drama out of a crisis that is not really any problem at all, especially when after all that seething tension and outward display, people put it down to a ‘personality clash’. The very term seems to suggest that no one is to blame and nothing can be done. Meanwhile the resentment rises….and the grace and goodwill that these Christians talk about simply evaporates. As you will find, most of them are pretty useless at being straight with each other. Or if they do they go completely overboard. Either way, it is child’s play. Underneath things are simmering. This is the way we like it.

We don’t want to quell your enthusiasm but whilst you might be able to trap some this way, undermining churches is a subtle affair. Not everyone is this weak. Whilst some people are easily misled, others – those who know their Lord well – will be more resistant.  You can’t come at them quite so directly. These are the ones who believe that our enemy, their crucified God, still have the power to transform lives. Some of them have been groomed by their parents and grandparents, and have seen it happen in their own lives. Sometimes it happens thought literature or conversation, and they find their way to church. Thankfully, not of them will be open about this (being ‘reserved’ for some is a typically British trait) – but in a way this makes it harder to spot the danger. Be careful not to be too full-on when trying to discredit these witnesses. Fortunately, the lie that secular is best, that reason is all that matters, and that spiritual experience (let alone revelation) is suspect, still works for us. It is much easier to debunk someone by saying that they struggle with their emotions, or that they are reading too much into how God might be at work around them. As for scripture, try to tempt preachers away from the idea that people can be transformed by just reading the words. Get them to present scripture as ‘story’, rather than ‘truth in poetry or account’. Try tempting them to focus on its history – something from which they are detached, rather than something that they are a part of. If truth is mentioned, steer them to what is true for one person not necessarily being true for another. On no account let it be known that the congregations that they address can experience God in the same way as those in the book. Whatever you do, keep the focus off Christ. Major on churches being a centre for community, rather than worship and faith. And whatever you do, don’t allow people to dwell on the resurrection. Once the Holy Spirit moves upon them, and they believe that they can experience the power of God, there is little we can do. Don’t lose heart though. If you do the simple things well, you will honour our cause.

One area where we have had great success is in limiting people to thinking that things cannot change. We have ground them down so hard that the story of decline is within them. There is very little prospect that they will stand again, or believe that something new will come about. Some even talk openly about the Church just being there for them when they die. More than this, we are still seeing great success with the idea that Church is just for a Sunday. If we carry on in this way, we might be lucky and create tension between those who are new and exploring faith and attending midweek, and those who have been there for much longer. If you listen carefully enough you can hear them cry, ‘When will we see them come to church on a Sunday.’ Our best option is to return back to that art of building up resentment again. There are places where we are losing the battle – in other parts of the world, but in Britain the battle is certainly not lost.

From Screwtape junior.

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New Year Reflections – and a leading questions for Church Councils – ‘Got any new candidates for confirmation?’

Greetings all

I think it must be true. Time really does fly when you are having fun. Or is it that time flies when you are busy. At any rate, it only seems like yesterday that we were immersed in a blend of Christmas services, as we welcomed relatives and new people to the Church. Of course, like most of you, I did not make everything, but what I saw was good and wholesome. I remember the children at the preschool nativity, who were simply amazing. Asking a pre-school child a question in a semi-formal setting is always a bit risky, but from the moment I asked, ‘Who are we here to remember today?’ and I got the answer-back, ‘baby Jesus’, I knew we were in for some wonderful banter. I remember the crib service (which was styled on Messy Church), where we had new people – and so many of them that we had to bring in more tables. I remember the rapid change of approach when we opened up the craft box we had ordered and saw that the cut-out nativity figures weren’t there, meaning that plan B and plan C (yes there was a plan) came immediately into action. I also remember Ro cleaning half a pot of glue that went up in the air, turned around, and landed on the floor (apparently, this seemed like slow-motion), whilst all the adults were helping the children. I remember the Christmas Day service where I was able to sit in the congregation with my Mum and Father in law, apart from a brief stint of modelling hand actions. You will have your own memories but thank you to all who came, and all who attended.
We now find ourselves in January. Night Shelter is in full swing – and this was in operation over the Christmas period of course. Covenant service and the commissioning of pastoral visitors will soon be upon us – and may well be gone by the time you read this. The MET weekend has been and gone – and this was a great success in how it brought people together from across the circuit, with the Saturday session being here at Brookside, and the Sunday at Southside. It looks like there will be a number of prayer groups starting across the circuit. Look out for these, and for the healing service which takes place once a month. If you are interested in the teaching that is behind healing, Paul’s slides are still available on the circuit website (if you are online, go to www.peterboroughmethodistcircuit.org and click on the red MET notice at the top of the screen. There is a link on our own website as well. If you would like a copy, let me know.  Most recently we had the PE4 Churches Together service, which was something that I really enjoyed. From my perspective, it was good to join together with other ministers, show a united front, and share in worship. There are some really interesting moves afoot within PE4, particularly around getting to understand each of our needs, and praying for each other.
As I reflect, I am continually questioning how we as a church can capitalise from all this energy. Formally, one of the first questions we should ask at Church Council, is whether there are any new candidates for confirmation. The language is slightly archaic in my view – confirmation is not an exam! However, the underlying premise is really helpful. How do we invite people into the life of the Church? How do we encourage them in faith? How do we help them to reach the point where they make a Christian commitment? In some ways, the covenant prayer (which many of us will have already spoken) is an opportunity to recommit our lives. But perhaps it would be good for us all to think about how we as individuals and groups invite and encourage newcomers. This goes beyond advertising services: it is about developing our relationships with people. If there is anyone who is interested in becoming a member of the Church, I would welcome a conversation. It is quite surprising how when we look back, God has brought us new people – I have some of them in my pastoral ‘I will look after and encourage’ group. I am convinced that God is sending us more. I look forward to being surprised by God this year.
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In Light of Christmas: Religion versus Faith

Someone from my Church has encouraged me to explore the question ‘Why religion?’ in this letter from the pulpit. It came from a position of wanting to encourage people to discover the difference that faith in Christ can make, and becoming part of the Christian community. He was also concerned that the usual arguments against religion are out there. What should we say in response? He is right. It is easy to take a shot at religion. It is easy to borrow arguments from other people; religion is out of date; is full of hypocrisy; is the basis for conflict and war; has no basis in rational thinking. I sense that he was concerned for those who saw the shallowness of these arguments – that they would not feel isolated, that they would find some reassurance in a world of scepticism, and that they might find a space, where they can reflect more on the difference that faith can make. A space where believers, rather than sceptics generate a community that is filled with the conviction that things can change for the better. Where, whilst we accept that bad things happen, that evil is present in the world, we nevertheless refuse to lie down. It is not religion per se that is the problem. Those who long for power and have evil intent are the problem.

I prefer the word ‘faith’ rather than ‘religion’. Religion speaks of what people see on the outside – which is not always helpful. Faith speaks of what transforms us on the inside. At Christmas God creates a special space where, just for a moment, the world is hushed and people gather recognise how there are forces far greater than the human powers that surround them. There is a space where people look up at the familiar inky-blackness of the sky, punctured by stars and realise that they are living their lives on a far larger canvass than they had previously imagined. We call that space, ‘the manger’. Things were arguably worse back then than they are for us today. I live in Peterborough and serve you in Elton. However, there is no brutal Roman rule. We are not at risk of living through a campaign of genocide to achieve ethnic cleansing, the likes of which Herod was planning. Few of us are refugees, as Jesus and his family were, escaping to Egypt – although I hope that our country will have welcomed more refugees by Christmas. Despite all of these calamities, there is still hope. God invites people to journey with Him in following the example of the Christ-child. God offers people hope and the promise of change, and begins to fulfil it. Therefore, as Christmas passes and New Year arrives, can I encourage you to have faith?

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