One of my favorite episodes of the Sci-Fi series Babylon 5 is the final episode of season 4, a backwards looking analysis of events leading way into the future as viewed from different peoples perspectives, some factual (in a fiction sort of way, I know it's not real) and some misinterpreted.
One iconic aspect of Christian life for me in the 20th & 21st centuries has been and still is the intentional Christian community.
Disciples who had taken the call to have all things in common and literally done that and have moved themselves into some form of intentional communal living.
(Post Green Community/Community of Celebration, The Bruderhof, Jesus People USA, New Creation Christian Community, The Simple Way etc.)
We are at a time in history when many, but not all, of those communities are going through a period of deconstruction for various reasons.
Just like one of my favorite sci-fi series "Bab5" there will many who will take a backwards look at why this is happening, viewing it from different perspectives and often misinterpreting the signs.
One thing they won't be able to do is look back from the future, for unlike fiction that part hasn't been written yet, humanly speaking and possibly kingdom wise as well as I still have a somewhat open theology.
What we can do however is look at those who are deconstructing/reconstructing.
I read recently that deconstruction can be exhilarating at first but soon becomes boring, then the energy for reconstruction has gone, so some won't make it.
It's ok to be getting rid of bad practice, irrelevant practice, out of date practice and any other man made up damaging, abusive and even criminal practice but if you haven't the energy to listen and hear from the Holy Spirit you will just end up with much of the same... and off we go again not really learning from our mistakes and just saying things that pacify the angry and upset.
Happily there are some who are listening and they have the courage to try something different, learning on the way, prayerfully listening to God and prayerfully correcting mistakes before they become religious practices.
So what would we notice that's different if we were to encounter one of these groups?
Firstly the isolationism has gone, no more living in a massive property in the middle of nowhere but in small semi's and detached houses on estates, in cul-de-sacs, on streets in the middle of impoverished communities, knowing their neighbor, where feeding the neighbors cat or knocking for the loan of some sugar or milk happens naturally.
Smaller groups, some single, some married, some with small children, homes that look lived in and are comfortable and welcoming.
Projects like this have been pioneered before. Groups like the Message trust have established projects in needy neighborhoods and are continuing to this day.
These small extended families often find employment in the local community and are available to get involved in other projects in the area, they tend to be less diary orientated than the larger more institutional communities, allowing time to build real ongoing relationships with their neighbors.
Fire and Shaking
Often deconstruction involves some burning and shaking, after all our God is an all consuming fire.
The problem with fire that is not restrained is that it will consume everything, that means everything good as well as bad.
Yea I know, before you get on my case about God destroying the good stuff let me just say, Its not Him, its us, we do it.
Some times because we haven't prayed and listened, but mostly because the heady feeling of pulling something apart in the areas that have bugged us for years, remembering the pain and frustration we've felt while living it, gives us the motivation to say "it's got to go chuck it out".
This type of deconstruction is very shortsighted and comes from not being able to see what was good, what is good and what brings life and purpose.
There is almost a guaranteed time to come when the realization comes that something important is missing and the ability to get it back has gone (those who have ears to hear).
One of the new initiatives i'm aware of seems to have as one of it priorities the establishing of a prayer room in the house where they are based, it might not be the first thing they do but to them it is important to get it established for the benefit of their common life together, they also decided that on most Sunday mornings instead of trotting off to join a larger congregation they hold a gathering in their home, in the neighborhood where they live.
The spiritual life of the household is important to knowing what to keep and what should go and what should be started.
Other things are important too especially food, and fellowship along with regular bible studies. (Emphasis on food is mine... but one that is shared by many😊)
Having lived in the larger more institutional community i'm aware that some structural things were actually helpful, along with those structures that had a negative effect, mainly causing unhealthy co-dependency and over bearing abusive control.
The danger is getting rid of the good with the bad, because living a less structured lifestyle requires effort, you have to work at it.
The area of biggest concern will be those who are not living in the residential community but who live in their own homes and are intending to be a full part of the communities life.
The home being the castle and all that means that a real effort will have to be made to maintain the togetherness that was there in the more organised situation.
From our experience many will fail, gradually pulling back from meeting together and finding pleasure in their own company and the freedom that they feel they had been denied for such a long time, a common life will require determination on every ones part.
Some will need help and support, dependency will have crept in and the ability to function outside of the bubble will have diminished.
Many of the hurts and abuses that have plagued some of the larger intentional communities have been caused by the decisions made by leaders who have lived in the bubble so long that they no longer know how the world around them functions. Isolationism and a siege mentality that keeps the world out at all cost has been responsible for much of the pain and hurt that has caused some groups to deconstruct.
It's worthwhile saying here that much of the deconstruction has been forced upon them by the current social climate and had this not been the case they would have continued on in their merry blinkered, myopic way, a bit like the dwarfs in CS Lewis' Last Battle ( Chronicles of Narnia ).
One of the sad outcomes of this is to see and hear those who with the best of intentions have been serving the King of Kings for many years, suddenly come to the realization that in the name of Jesus they have caused hurt and pain while thinking they were moving in love. Deconstruction is messy, and reconstruction isn't for the faint of heart.
So respect to all who are building on the good of the old but moving forward in the new, may you impact your communities with the power of the Love that clothes the naked, feeds the poor, heals the sick and cares for the prisoner in His Name.
Wednesday, 31 January 2018
Tuesday, 16 January 2018
Living Community Pt2
After the decisions were made to live our lives as shared ones with other believers and so be able to impact the world around us more effectively we embarked on a whirlwind of house moves, new towns and cities and mission, all so we could try out ways of living a shared life. Some were more successful than others.
Our small family home was often bursting at the seams with Students from the local uni, or some guy we had met on the streets the night before, slightly intoxicated or heavily under the influence of some substance or other.
Looking back we probably appeared a little foolish to some of the folks from the local Church groups that we had attached ourselves to, especially as we had six small children of our own.
When we told folk that the morning after we had provided hospitality to some waif or stray and that some of our household goods had gone missing you could almost hear their thoughts of " well what did you expect?"
Interestingly we continued to bump into groups from the Jesus Army/New Creation Christian Community during our adventures, we felt that we were on a parallel path and received much encouragement from them.
It was a struggle to find other Christians to share our enthusiasm for the common life but as time went on a little band formed, eight or so adults, some who moved in with us and others who lived close by.
The excitement and enthusiasm was there but if I am to be honest we didn't have much of a clue as to what we were doing.
Nevertheless we muddled through and as we are all still on speaking terms today I would say we survived the experience.
As time moved on we decided that we wanted to be part of something bigger and slightly more organised. So eventually we all in one way or another joined ourselves to the Jesus Army / New creation Christian Community (NCCC), those radical, inspiring people that had triggered things off for me many years earlier.
The intent of these posts is not to meant to be an analysis of that experience, especially as NCCC is itself going through a reshaping and re-envisioning time but to look at whether big organised community is actually "Living Community" or if there really are ways of Living community without actually living in the same property, as a large organised group? (the reason I ask this question is that the community life of the Church is often spoken of and claimed to be active but often not very visible or even very tangible, the talk doesn't match the walk, from our experience)
Or is something more organic whats needed at this time?
And if it's possible what are the pitfalls, what are the advantages?
Just to finish this post I would like to go back to those early days, times when our home was bursting at the seams with students from the local Uni.
Both my wife and I feel that this was a successful part of the journey, we were able to provide a warm caring environment for many young Christian men and women who were away from family, some quite a distance for probably the first time, who although looking forward to some freedom also longed for the security of family and home. We feel privileged to have been able to be Mum and Dad to these young lives, as well as ourselves and our children benefiting from their friendship and the big contribution they made to the kingdom life as we shared the ups and downs of daily living.
So this post was a little bit of a blast into the past, but I felt it important to lay a foundation, albeit briefly, that we're not without experience on the subject of community life, nor shall I be talking out of the proverbial armpit on the subject. (That is a matter of opinion of course)
Coming up... Is the shared life the normal Christian life or is it a gospel add on?
Who's doing it and is it working?
How do you measure success?
Our small family home was often bursting at the seams with Students from the local uni, or some guy we had met on the streets the night before, slightly intoxicated or heavily under the influence of some substance or other.
Looking back we probably appeared a little foolish to some of the folks from the local Church groups that we had attached ourselves to, especially as we had six small children of our own.
When we told folk that the morning after we had provided hospitality to some waif or stray and that some of our household goods had gone missing you could almost hear their thoughts of " well what did you expect?"
Interestingly we continued to bump into groups from the Jesus Army/New Creation Christian Community during our adventures, we felt that we were on a parallel path and received much encouragement from them.
It was a struggle to find other Christians to share our enthusiasm for the common life but as time went on a little band formed, eight or so adults, some who moved in with us and others who lived close by.
The excitement and enthusiasm was there but if I am to be honest we didn't have much of a clue as to what we were doing.
Nevertheless we muddled through and as we are all still on speaking terms today I would say we survived the experience.
As time moved on we decided that we wanted to be part of something bigger and slightly more organised. So eventually we all in one way or another joined ourselves to the Jesus Army / New creation Christian Community (NCCC), those radical, inspiring people that had triggered things off for me many years earlier.
The intent of these posts is not to meant to be an analysis of that experience, especially as NCCC is itself going through a reshaping and re-envisioning time but to look at whether big organised community is actually "Living Community" or if there really are ways of Living community without actually living in the same property, as a large organised group? (the reason I ask this question is that the community life of the Church is often spoken of and claimed to be active but often not very visible or even very tangible, the talk doesn't match the walk, from our experience)
Or is something more organic whats needed at this time?
And if it's possible what are the pitfalls, what are the advantages?
Just to finish this post I would like to go back to those early days, times when our home was bursting at the seams with students from the local Uni.
Both my wife and I feel that this was a successful part of the journey, we were able to provide a warm caring environment for many young Christian men and women who were away from family, some quite a distance for probably the first time, who although looking forward to some freedom also longed for the security of family and home. We feel privileged to have been able to be Mum and Dad to these young lives, as well as ourselves and our children benefiting from their friendship and the big contribution they made to the kingdom life as we shared the ups and downs of daily living.
So this post was a little bit of a blast into the past, but I felt it important to lay a foundation, albeit briefly, that we're not without experience on the subject of community life, nor shall I be talking out of the proverbial armpit on the subject. (That is a matter of opinion of course)
Coming up... Is the shared life the normal Christian life or is it a gospel add on?
Who's doing it and is it working?
How do you measure success?
Saturday, 13 January 2018
Living Community Pt1
I still remember the excitement we felt as my wife and I realised back in the early 80's that being part of the Christian Church was like joining an international, national and local family, and not belonging to some exclusive club and hobnobbing with those that were in and ignoring those that were out.
I had just returned from an outreach at the Glastonbury festival where the Youth for Christ team that I was a part of had just spent the weekend with a group from Bugbrooke in Northamptonshire called the Jesus Army, an experience that changed me forever both in regards to evangelism and Church practice.
It seemed that this JA (Jesus Army) group had found a way to be Church 24/7. They shared all things in common and regarded nothing as their own, they lived for each other and for the kingdom, which they called Zion.
This wasn't new of course, the model could be found in the book of acts and the history of the early Church. The difference was that they were actually doing it in the 20th century.
I had experienced some of this type of thinking before, my parents had always operated an open house policy. It wasn't unusual for me to arrive home to a house full of teenagers seeking some form of help or another or to find a gentleman of the road (commonly called a tramp) sitting in our kitchen eating a plate of food.
Mum and Dad later had a deeper shared lifestyle with a young man they befriended through Church where they pooled resources on a practical level, washing machines, car, meals etc.
So encouraged by this different way of doing Church we opened our home to any and all and were prepared to share our meager possessions with any who had need or felt the call to a communal lifestyle.
Of course the reality was different and we soon realised that those who saw an ongoing intentional shared life as part of their Christian calling were few and far between. This didn't stop us though and some time later after leaving our home town we spent some twelve plus years living in intentional Christian community.
But that experience is not what this story is about...
The question I want to explore is can you live community without living in intentional community, communally?
There is reason behind the question. As the years have moved on circumstances have changed, life in the UK has changed and community life at all levels both Christian or other is at an all time low.
Even the Jesus Army (New creation Christian community) is going through some serious changes in direction.
Yet many still long for that shared existence, that life that is interdependent , the desire to live simply and open with others and to be able to share with the lonely and needy that are around us.
Can this still happen without the communal living of a large household in one or more large properties? Does it need the rigid structure that some put in place, structure that would eventually strangle life and spontaneity and cause decline.
I believe it can and there are examples of something new, something organic, happening around us now.
Is this new? how will it work? is it more like what happened in the book of Acts than the previous incarnation?
part two coming soon.
I had just returned from an outreach at the Glastonbury festival where the Youth for Christ team that I was a part of had just spent the weekend with a group from Bugbrooke in Northamptonshire called the Jesus Army, an experience that changed me forever both in regards to evangelism and Church practice.
It seemed that this JA (Jesus Army) group had found a way to be Church 24/7. They shared all things in common and regarded nothing as their own, they lived for each other and for the kingdom, which they called Zion.
This wasn't new of course, the model could be found in the book of acts and the history of the early Church. The difference was that they were actually doing it in the 20th century.
I had experienced some of this type of thinking before, my parents had always operated an open house policy. It wasn't unusual for me to arrive home to a house full of teenagers seeking some form of help or another or to find a gentleman of the road (commonly called a tramp) sitting in our kitchen eating a plate of food.
Mum and Dad later had a deeper shared lifestyle with a young man they befriended through Church where they pooled resources on a practical level, washing machines, car, meals etc.
So encouraged by this different way of doing Church we opened our home to any and all and were prepared to share our meager possessions with any who had need or felt the call to a communal lifestyle.
Of course the reality was different and we soon realised that those who saw an ongoing intentional shared life as part of their Christian calling were few and far between. This didn't stop us though and some time later after leaving our home town we spent some twelve plus years living in intentional Christian community.
But that experience is not what this story is about...
The question I want to explore is can you live community without living in intentional community, communally?
There is reason behind the question. As the years have moved on circumstances have changed, life in the UK has changed and community life at all levels both Christian or other is at an all time low.
Even the Jesus Army (New creation Christian community) is going through some serious changes in direction.
Yet many still long for that shared existence, that life that is interdependent , the desire to live simply and open with others and to be able to share with the lonely and needy that are around us.
Can this still happen without the communal living of a large household in one or more large properties? Does it need the rigid structure that some put in place, structure that would eventually strangle life and spontaneity and cause decline.
I believe it can and there are examples of something new, something organic, happening around us now.
Is this new? how will it work? is it more like what happened in the book of Acts than the previous incarnation?
part two coming soon.
Monday, 5 June 2017
Surprise surprise continued.
One last thing, over the years we have been on a search around the Uk for less organised and more organic expressions of Christian community and have often been disappointed with what we found.
Frank Viola made this statement in a recent blog post...
"In discovering what is often described as an organic expression of Church is almost always a small-is-beautiful version of the institutional church. And some of them are highly-legalistic, highly-toxic groups"
This is sadly what we have found, not in all cases and it's probably a bit unfair to say that everyone was highly toxic, but most had not given the headship over to Jesus and were often lead by Mr and Mrs Pastor who even with the best of intentions shape things according to their own agenda.
Anyway back to my original reason for posting, "How then shall we live and how shall we sing the Lords song in a strange land" ?
There is much to learn from those who have gone before and as I/we journey on with the dispersed community from Northumbria, structure our day around the daily office, make ourselves available to God and each other, leaving space to give hospitality to the stranger and being Church without walls we will find ourselves on a new adventure, the next part of the journey, Further up and Further in.
By the way being Church without walls is an inclusive thing, we feel comfortable with all of the community of saints regardless of labels and distinctives but our roots are firmly with those who intentionally live a shared life, who regard nothing as there own and who exist in genuine koinonia community.
Frank Viola made this statement in a recent blog post...
"In discovering what is often described as an organic expression of Church is almost always a small-is-beautiful version of the institutional church. And some of them are highly-legalistic, highly-toxic groups"
This is sadly what we have found, not in all cases and it's probably a bit unfair to say that everyone was highly toxic, but most had not given the headship over to Jesus and were often lead by Mr and Mrs Pastor who even with the best of intentions shape things according to their own agenda.
Anyway back to my original reason for posting, "How then shall we live and how shall we sing the Lords song in a strange land" ?
There is much to learn from those who have gone before and as I/we journey on with the dispersed community from Northumbria, structure our day around the daily office, make ourselves available to God and each other, leaving space to give hospitality to the stranger and being Church without walls we will find ourselves on a new adventure, the next part of the journey, Further up and Further in.
By the way being Church without walls is an inclusive thing, we feel comfortable with all of the community of saints regardless of labels and distinctives but our roots are firmly with those who intentionally live a shared life, who regard nothing as there own and who exist in genuine koinonia community.
Surprise, surprise.
I think the surprise is on me, this is my first post since sometime in 2011... six years of silence.
Recent health issues have meant time at home, time to read, time to think, time to catch up, basically time.
My wife and I have just stopped working for the charity we set up some six years ago and have realised how much time the project took up, in fact nearly all our time was consumed by it.
So it all happened at once, I retired from St Judes, and developed some health issues almost immediately. I guess they were already there but I didn't have time to notice.
I was reading a book by Paul Wallis on new monasticism recently where he commented that during his time as an Anglican vicar he realised that his life was so busy that he didn't have the time to meet the needs of those who came to him outside of his scheduled program. Often missing the opportunity to feed the hungry clothe the naked etc.
Just recently I have realised the benefit of having a Rule to live by, you know what I mean a monastic rule not a set of rules, but a statement of purpose, an answer to to question "How Should We Live".
Not being one to reinvent the wheel or any other component for that matter, I have become very thankful to the Northumbria Community who many years ago asked the same question and have ever since been on a Journey of discovery. The wisdom that they have discovered is available via the good old WWW. or in printed matter available from all good book sellers.
I have been using the daily office for some time and have found the discipline of the liturgy freeing and releasing, which for those who know me of old will be a great shock. I guess age really does change perspective and bring wisdom, perhaps the wisdom is a bit of a stretch but there is no doubt that I am comfortable with things that at one time I wouldn't have touched with a ten foot pole.
I have again been reminded that busyness is not the same as Godliness and that activity that consumes all your time can easily take you away from the one thing that is important, or the one thing that is necessary see Lk10:42.
So in my 59th year I am rediscovering the beauty of genuine koinonia community, of journeying with others of a like mind, of spending time in quiet reflection and rediscovering that the Jesus I follow is still there. I/we were just to busy to realise.
Recent health issues have meant time at home, time to read, time to think, time to catch up, basically time.
My wife and I have just stopped working for the charity we set up some six years ago and have realised how much time the project took up, in fact nearly all our time was consumed by it.
So it all happened at once, I retired from St Judes, and developed some health issues almost immediately. I guess they were already there but I didn't have time to notice.
I was reading a book by Paul Wallis on new monasticism recently where he commented that during his time as an Anglican vicar he realised that his life was so busy that he didn't have the time to meet the needs of those who came to him outside of his scheduled program. Often missing the opportunity to feed the hungry clothe the naked etc.
Just recently I have realised the benefit of having a Rule to live by, you know what I mean a monastic rule not a set of rules, but a statement of purpose, an answer to to question "How Should We Live".
Not being one to reinvent the wheel or any other component for that matter, I have become very thankful to the Northumbria Community who many years ago asked the same question and have ever since been on a Journey of discovery. The wisdom that they have discovered is available via the good old WWW. or in printed matter available from all good book sellers.
I have been using the daily office for some time and have found the discipline of the liturgy freeing and releasing, which for those who know me of old will be a great shock. I guess age really does change perspective and bring wisdom, perhaps the wisdom is a bit of a stretch but there is no doubt that I am comfortable with things that at one time I wouldn't have touched with a ten foot pole.
I have again been reminded that busyness is not the same as Godliness and that activity that consumes all your time can easily take you away from the one thing that is important, or the one thing that is necessary see Lk10:42.
So in my 59th year I am rediscovering the beauty of genuine koinonia community, of journeying with others of a like mind, of spending time in quiet reflection and rediscovering that the Jesus I follow is still there. I/we were just to busy to realise.
Tuesday, 14 June 2011
The Rise and Demise of intentional Christian Community or Finding The Cure for Spiritual Myopia.
A recent visit to a promotional evening for a UK based intentional Christian Community (ICC) has prompted me to write this post. I write from the perspective of someone who has been part of ICC, in one form or another, for most of my Christian journey.
During the evening we were asked to make comparisons between the early days of this particular community, around the beginning of the 1970's and the present period, 2011.
I assume that the intention was to discover (although this was never made clear) the things that inspired those early pioneers of this ICC in an attempt to find a way to recruit members to this slowly fading group.
It became evident to me through the feedback, and it's subsequent interpretation by the person writing on the white board, that in this, and probably other ICC groups there has developed a form of Myopia, possibly brought on by past long term disengagement from the world outside.
Although there was an attempt by some of the more progressive members of the group to look at reasons within, it became clear that those who had organised the evening attributed the current lack of popularity for ICC, to reasons without. The current cultural climate and the selfishness of a consumerist society being the general headings.
It is my intention in this and following posts to try and discover how what was once a very switched on group of people, have managed to become dysfunctional and out of step with the Holy Spirit.
It would seem from the feedback received that night, that the Remainder of Christendom, who don't exist in ICC (probably about 90% of the Church worldwide) are selfish, gadget orientated, money lead, and messed up in their souls, unable to see the benefits of ICC.
Sadly this myopic approach does little to attract, and does more to reinforce, the many prejudices that are aimed at Christianity and the shared lifestyle of Intentional Christian Community which is found in some of it's more radical expressions.
It is also my intention to highlight some of the I/C Communities that have managed to avoid this and are making a major difference to those around them and to society in general.
In posts to come..
Living Community vs living in community.
New Creation Christian Community.
The simple way, Philadelphia PA USA.
Rutba House, North Carolina USA.
Church communities UK (Bruderhof)
Plus other ICC groups in the UK.
During the evening we were asked to make comparisons between the early days of this particular community, around the beginning of the 1970's and the present period, 2011.
I assume that the intention was to discover (although this was never made clear) the things that inspired those early pioneers of this ICC in an attempt to find a way to recruit members to this slowly fading group.
It became evident to me through the feedback, and it's subsequent interpretation by the person writing on the white board, that in this, and probably other ICC groups there has developed a form of Myopia, possibly brought on by past long term disengagement from the world outside.
Although there was an attempt by some of the more progressive members of the group to look at reasons within, it became clear that those who had organised the evening attributed the current lack of popularity for ICC, to reasons without. The current cultural climate and the selfishness of a consumerist society being the general headings.
It is my intention in this and following posts to try and discover how what was once a very switched on group of people, have managed to become dysfunctional and out of step with the Holy Spirit.
It would seem from the feedback received that night, that the Remainder of Christendom, who don't exist in ICC (probably about 90% of the Church worldwide) are selfish, gadget orientated, money lead, and messed up in their souls, unable to see the benefits of ICC.
Sadly this myopic approach does little to attract, and does more to reinforce, the many prejudices that are aimed at Christianity and the shared lifestyle of Intentional Christian Community which is found in some of it's more radical expressions.
It is also my intention to highlight some of the I/C Communities that have managed to avoid this and are making a major difference to those around them and to society in general.
In posts to come..
Living Community vs living in community.
New Creation Christian Community.
The simple way, Philadelphia PA USA.
Rutba House, North Carolina USA.
Church communities UK (Bruderhof)
Plus other ICC groups in the UK.
Tuesday, 22 February 2011
I remember when...
Just recently my wife, teenage daughter and I walked around the village where I was born. Although my family moved to a nearby town at an early age, this is where I spent a good deal of my childhood, staying with my paternal grandmother.
As we walked familiar views conjured up warm feelings of long hot summer days fishing in the brook that ran alongside my grandmothers cottage and the smell of the countryside drifting in through the open gable end, attic window, which was my bedroom for the duration of my stay.
At the end of the street is the building which housed the Methodist Church youth club where I would spend hours running around the maze of corridors and rooms stopping occasionally to roll a ball on the snooker table or bash the ping pong ball. Further along the street, past the the "White Horse" (the local watering hole) is the village playing field, or probably better described as a field that you can play in. Where I could see in my mind the beaten up, crunched, burnt out car wrecks, the remains of the latest stock car meet as memories of climbing over the bonnet of the nearest car in the vain hope that it had some life left in it and that the engine would magically spring into life allowing me to drive at breakneck speed around the track, came flooding back.
From what I recall this never happened but that I was content to scramble in and out of the cars, pull on the steering wheels and and imagine the noise and the smell of the local demolition derby.
As I was giving my daughter a running commentary of these things whilst snapping away with my idiot proof camera the memories faded and the stark realism of the present day knocked into me with enough force to wind me and jolt me back into 2011.
The brook water was dirty and full of weed, no sign of fish only a couple of coke cans. The attic with its gable end window now belonged to someone else, the Methodist Church buildings looked derelict with the little bridge across the brook blocked off because it is unsafe and the playing field now has two goal posts and a rotting set of portacabins that were once changing rooms, with no stockcars in sight.
Now, I am not in the habit of drifting off into sentimental daydreams, in fact I have often taught that trips into nostalgia are the products of a mind that is unable to cope with the reality of living in the present. So what was this all about.
I had been giving a lot of thought just recently to some Christians from a UK Church who are constantly wishing that the movement they are a part of (that was once a living organism now more an organisation) recovers the values and ways of the past. This type of regressive thinking is dangerous and doesn't bring about growth. It can cause movements that were once radical (meaning from the root) being unable to interpret those radical values in the light of the new day.
For those who are part of this particular Church and others like it, this is reflected in the structure of their Church life, especially in the administration where keeping the system running smoothly takes precedence over caring for the people, where loving the people becomes secondary to the facts and figures of administration and where the administrators are so out of touch with the present that their application of the system falls short of peoples needs.
Often evangelism is carried out using tried and tested outdated methods, with the usual lack of response being quickly covered up with phrases like "well we sowed some seeds today" or "this is a really hard area" or my all time favorite "we met lots of old friends". Surely the purpose of outreach is to make NEW friends, old friends are taken care of within the pastoral structure of the Church/group, although sadly they had probably voted with their feet a long time ago.
I have no doubt that God is alive, well and active amongst His prime creation human beings and is about the business of building His Church. I have serious doubts however as to the life and well being of parts of His Church or called out people who have become as organised as the institutions they left behind when the Holy Spirit gave them a wake up call so many years ago.
What is it about humans that so desperately want to box up the creator, give Him a label and tell Him how he should be running His Church?
We see His power, which is spelt LOVE, at work amongst us. We then design a system for that power to function within and expect Him to perform within our own prescribed boundaries.
As CS Lewis once penned "Aslan is on the move" whilst reminding us that "He isn't a Tame lion" (Chronicles of Narnia)
The creator is not responsible for the lack of growth in the parts of His Church that are less than they ought to be, it is our responsibility, so we must stop trying to tame the lion.
This is not a problem that just happens in some of the older groups or denominations, some of the so called new Churches have succumbed to the problem of administrators and administration, and in doing so have lost the ability to interpret the values, that caused them to be so radical in the first place, in the light of the new day.
This is a time to let Aslan roam free among us, to be open to fresh ways, to flow with the Holy Spirit. To deal once and for all with the fear of change and to sack, get rid of, kick into touch (or alternativley pray for them and counsel them) dominant administrators and their administrations.
It is interesting to note that administrators don't appear in the list of the people gifts that Jesus gives to His Church (Eph4:11-12). It does seem that the Church was meant to be able to train, minister and be built up without their input. In the light of (1Cor12:) and (Rom12:) the administrator may come under gifts of service but is still to be subject to the Apostle and Prophet, an apostolic administrator is the invention of a very fertile imagination and would come under the heading of extra biblical, but then so would a lot of things.
Administration is sometimes necessary, should never be controlling and should never determine faith and practice.
Memories can be good and if so should be filed away for those special moments when we are allowed the luxury of them. The bad memories are to be handed over to the King of Kings who renews our mind.
Jesus is Lord!
As we walked familiar views conjured up warm feelings of long hot summer days fishing in the brook that ran alongside my grandmothers cottage and the smell of the countryside drifting in through the open gable end, attic window, which was my bedroom for the duration of my stay.
At the end of the street is the building which housed the Methodist Church youth club where I would spend hours running around the maze of corridors and rooms stopping occasionally to roll a ball on the snooker table or bash the ping pong ball. Further along the street, past the the "White Horse" (the local watering hole) is the village playing field, or probably better described as a field that you can play in. Where I could see in my mind the beaten up, crunched, burnt out car wrecks, the remains of the latest stock car meet as memories of climbing over the bonnet of the nearest car in the vain hope that it had some life left in it and that the engine would magically spring into life allowing me to drive at breakneck speed around the track, came flooding back.
From what I recall this never happened but that I was content to scramble in and out of the cars, pull on the steering wheels and and imagine the noise and the smell of the local demolition derby.
As I was giving my daughter a running commentary of these things whilst snapping away with my idiot proof camera the memories faded and the stark realism of the present day knocked into me with enough force to wind me and jolt me back into 2011.
The brook water was dirty and full of weed, no sign of fish only a couple of coke cans. The attic with its gable end window now belonged to someone else, the Methodist Church buildings looked derelict with the little bridge across the brook blocked off because it is unsafe and the playing field now has two goal posts and a rotting set of portacabins that were once changing rooms, with no stockcars in sight.
Now, I am not in the habit of drifting off into sentimental daydreams, in fact I have often taught that trips into nostalgia are the products of a mind that is unable to cope with the reality of living in the present. So what was this all about.
I had been giving a lot of thought just recently to some Christians from a UK Church who are constantly wishing that the movement they are a part of (that was once a living organism now more an organisation) recovers the values and ways of the past. This type of regressive thinking is dangerous and doesn't bring about growth. It can cause movements that were once radical (meaning from the root) being unable to interpret those radical values in the light of the new day.
For those who are part of this particular Church and others like it, this is reflected in the structure of their Church life, especially in the administration where keeping the system running smoothly takes precedence over caring for the people, where loving the people becomes secondary to the facts and figures of administration and where the administrators are so out of touch with the present that their application of the system falls short of peoples needs.
Often evangelism is carried out using tried and tested outdated methods, with the usual lack of response being quickly covered up with phrases like "well we sowed some seeds today" or "this is a really hard area" or my all time favorite "we met lots of old friends". Surely the purpose of outreach is to make NEW friends, old friends are taken care of within the pastoral structure of the Church/group, although sadly they had probably voted with their feet a long time ago.
I have no doubt that God is alive, well and active amongst His prime creation human beings and is about the business of building His Church. I have serious doubts however as to the life and well being of parts of His Church or called out people who have become as organised as the institutions they left behind when the Holy Spirit gave them a wake up call so many years ago.
What is it about humans that so desperately want to box up the creator, give Him a label and tell Him how he should be running His Church?
We see His power, which is spelt LOVE, at work amongst us. We then design a system for that power to function within and expect Him to perform within our own prescribed boundaries.
As CS Lewis once penned "Aslan is on the move" whilst reminding us that "He isn't a Tame lion" (Chronicles of Narnia)
The creator is not responsible for the lack of growth in the parts of His Church that are less than they ought to be, it is our responsibility, so we must stop trying to tame the lion.
This is not a problem that just happens in some of the older groups or denominations, some of the so called new Churches have succumbed to the problem of administrators and administration, and in doing so have lost the ability to interpret the values, that caused them to be so radical in the first place, in the light of the new day.
This is a time to let Aslan roam free among us, to be open to fresh ways, to flow with the Holy Spirit. To deal once and for all with the fear of change and to sack, get rid of, kick into touch (or alternativley pray for them and counsel them) dominant administrators and their administrations.
It is interesting to note that administrators don't appear in the list of the people gifts that Jesus gives to His Church (Eph4:11-12). It does seem that the Church was meant to be able to train, minister and be built up without their input. In the light of (1Cor12:) and (Rom12:) the administrator may come under gifts of service but is still to be subject to the Apostle and Prophet, an apostolic administrator is the invention of a very fertile imagination and would come under the heading of extra biblical, but then so would a lot of things.
Administration is sometimes necessary, should never be controlling and should never determine faith and practice.
Memories can be good and if so should be filed away for those special moments when we are allowed the luxury of them. The bad memories are to be handed over to the King of Kings who renews our mind.
Jesus is Lord!
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