How's church in the UK?

A friend in Florida just asked me this in an email; I thought I'd answer the question for everyone. In context, the question means, 'How is church life going on for you personally', not, 'How is the church doing in the UK as a whole'. So this post answers the first, personal question, not the second, general one.

The fact is, things are going well, very well.

Am I happy with the state of affairs? Yes I am, I have a sense of peace about it all, like the peace in the scene in this post. Can I see where it's all heading? No, not really. Does that mean I lack a vision for the way forward? No, not in the least!

Let's unwrap that a bit.

It all depends on your point of view.

Let's start with the premise that church growth depends on running the church efficiently day to day, planning for the future, building up numbers, bringing in the necessary funding, putting up buildings, and growing people in maturity through teaching and discipling. That is the standard institutional model that most of us work by. In that case church growth can be measured in the same way that success in business can be measured. Set some targets, aim at them, and then measure success as achievement against those targets.

But there is a problem with that approach. Nowhere in the Bible do we find anything that looks remotely like the 'standard business model'!

If we begin with the premise that church growth depends on Jesus living in his people and guiding them individually and together, we get a very different definition of success. Success must now be measured in terms of the quality of relationship we have with Jesus and with one another. If we are rightly built into the body we'll see that Jesus does indeed build his church. Paul understood this when he wrote Romans 12:1-13. We are to work together in a new way, a totally unexpected way, and it's assuredly not the way of the world or of business.

Paul writes several times and at some length about life in the body and how we should expect to be built as a natural outworking of love. This 'building through loving' requires Jesus' love towards us, our love towards him, and finally our love towards one another. It couldn't be simpler. Does Paul ever (even once) write in terms of setting targets or having goals for building the church? No he does not.

So, in the light of all that, how's church been going for me recently?

Well, I've met some new people in the last few weeks and it seems to me we're likely to be keeping in touch and meeting together as and when we have the opportunity. I suspect we're going to find ourselves built and encouraged in unexpected ways.

At the same time we have a friend who was ill, had no reason (medically) to expect to survive, yet has been told he seems, remarkably, to be in the all clear.

Then there's the difficulty explained in an earlier post. I haven't had a reply yet, so I'm continuing in prayer and will keep thinking about the various issues involved. What I can say is that through some of my new friends I'm now aware of a man who is seriously interested in contacting the young people involved, and has the faith, the personality, and the experience to engage their interest. And I also know other friends on the edge of town who might be keen to help with that.

All of this is encouraging and exciting, so I think the answer to the original question is, 'Oh yes, things are going along very nicely thank you. Jesus is in control, and I have no specific targets because I have no idea what he will do next. But it will be good!

My personal targets are to get to know Yahshua better day by day, and to grow increasingly in relationship with my brothers and sisters.

Memories of Horsecastle

Horsecastle Chapel is a free evangelical fellowship in Yatton, North Somerset, England. It has its own building, a modern, purpose-built structure.

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But before the new building was constructed, Horsecastle Chapel occupied an older building on the corner of Horsecastle Road (now Horsecastle Close) and Wemberham Crescent. The image shows that original building, now in alternative use.

When Judy and I first joined the group of Christians meeting there, the old Brethren origins were still evident. Something we loved right away were the 'Open Meetings' held once a month on Sunday mornings.

We would gather in the large, square meeting room, the raised platform at the front was unoccupied, there was no invited speaker, nobody presided over events. We arrived, said 'Good morning' to one another, sat down in our seats, and quieted our minds. After a while someone would pray or read from the Bible, someone else would say, 'Let's sing hymn number 128', someone else would teach from a Bible passage.

These meetings were always orderly and respectful. There were no prophecies, no tongues, such things were unheard of in these circles and the accepted view was that they had passed away for good after the Bible was completed.

But in every other way the old 'Open Meetings' allowed the Holy Spirit free access to prompt any man to share (eyebrows would have been raised, I think, if a woman had presumed to speak in the meeting). Nonetheless the Holy Spirit was present and active and we had such amazing times, knowing in our hearts that things were moving along the right lines even if they were not quite as 'open' as we would have liked.

Sadly, we arrived at a time when these meetings were already dwindling away. After a year or two of this wonderful first taste of organic, participatory meeting, the decision was made to close them down completely and invite preachers from other assemblies to come and speak instead.

We recognised even then that these meetings were wholesome. We sensed that the freedom, even though incomplete, was all the Spirit needed to deal directly with us. We also knew that his active participation in the body was missing when an invited speaker brought a prepared message and a list of hymns to be sung. It wasn't that the Spirit was absent from the preparation or delivery of the message, nor from the singing of the hymns, just that he wasn't leading that sort of meeting because we were leading it. A meeting cannot have two leaders - either we do it, or he does it.

And today, the truth remains the same. Men and women were not made to be head of the church, nor head of a church meeting. That is the Messiah's place and his alone. If we want to run the meetings he won't prevent us, but he will not be fully present either - not because he chooses not to be, but because we don't let him.

It remains as true now as it was in the '70s. When we choose to give him the freedom to do what he wants we will experience his awesome and glorious presence. It's true of our individual lives, it's true of our lives shared in community. The choice is ours - do we want him to make the decisions or do we prefer to make them ourselves? I choose him - how about you?

Additional note - Brethren assemblies had many things right, if you are part of the current move towards organic church you will find this interesting. There's little in this world that is truly new.

Living in fear in St Neots

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I've just read a distressing news report about a local family that are having their lives ruined by thoughtless, cruel, young people throwing stones at their home, calling out abusive remarks, and even breaking windows. The news report is online, take a look for yourself.

Let's list out a few basic facts about the situation and about me. After all, I live in St Neots, I am involved whether I wish to be or not, I'm part of this community.

• The young people doing this are probably bored, perhaps they have nothing useful to keep them occupied. They probably get swept along in the moment, they each want to outdo the others. It's cool to do this stuff. There may be one amongst them who leads them into stuff they wouldn't otherwise do.


• The police are only able to respond to crimes that are committed, they don't have the remit or the people to deal with any underlying problem.


• The church will feel sorry that this has happened, but will think, 'What can we do?'


• The people being victimised can do little to help themselves.


• The neighbours will feel, 'I'm not getting involved otherwise I'll be next.'


• I'm thinking hard about what I should do...
  

Mallard Lane is not the most prosperous part of town, hardship is a reality for some and local people are struggling with issues which include vandalism. Here's a map of the area (you can also view a larger map). The pin in the map just marks the street, not the position of the household under attack.

So what can I do? What can anyone do?

Here's what I propose, I will begin by praying.

I'll share this story with the friends I meet with on Thursdays, we can pray together.

If you're reading this and would like to pray too that would be great. The main things I'm asking as a start are

• That I'll be shown clearly what, if anything, I am to do.


• That the trouble will stop and the pressure be lifted.


• That the woman in the story will be healed.

That's a start. But in practical terms here's what I'm thinking.

• Make contact with the people who are being victimised.


• Invite them round for a BBQ some time soon.


• Send letters to the local church explaining the background and asking for prayer and any practical input they feel led to offer.


• Consider encouraging a meeting to include the victims, the police, young people from the area (if possible), the church, neighbours, other organisations that might be able to offer support, help, or advice.

So far I have little idea where the Lord will lead me in this, but I know it would be wrong to 'just forget'. I'll post to the blog again to let you know what happens next.

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Reimagining Church

I've just finished the preface and introduction of Frank Viola's book 'Reimagining Church'.

It's a good start so I'm much looking forward to reading the rest of the book. Here in the summerhouse at the end of the garden it's shady and cool and conducive to reading but there are other things waiting to be done - maybe one more chapter then I must put the bookmark in.

So why am I excited to be reading this book?

There are several reasons.

1 - It's the sequel to 'Pagan Christianity' that Frank wrote with George Barna (a book I could hardly put down). This examined the origins and history of the church and describes how things changed until what we think of as church today is barely recognisable as a descendant of what Christ started almost 2000 years ago. The source of the rituals, buildings, emblems, practices, structure, management - it's all there.

'Reimagining Church' picks up where 'Pagan Christianity' left off and considers where (and how) we might move on from here.

2 - This has been my own journey for more than thirty years, much that Frank writes in the early pages of the book ring true in my own experience. He provides quotes from others whose experiences are also much the same. Take this short extract as an example...

As we loved Christ together our hearts were knit with each other. True change was being made in our lives as we were learning of the Lord's eternal purpose. I saw that the church really is Christ's body, and He is the Head. Only as we allow Him to have His rightful place will we experience His life as we were meant to. Church life in this way is the Christian's natural habitat where we grow and flourish, being nourished by all the riches of Christ. I could go on and on because there is so much more!

Wow! Yes! This is absolutely what I feel myself.

3 - It has the loud and persistent ring of truth about it. More than that (here comes some Christian jargon, please excuse me), the Spirit of Christ witnesses with my spirit that truth is being shared. These are things that nobody could invent. They are things that have always been revealed to a few, but now they are opening up in the hearts and minds of many. This is exciting!

4 - It's a practical help and an encouragement to those who are already meeting simply and organically as well as to those who feel something is missing or awry in institutional church.

And finally...

5 - It might open the eyes of some who haven't yet realised there is an alternative to institutional church.

Eaton Ford - People we know

We didn't take full notes on this meeting. However we did pray specifically for particular people.

Jim mentioned a young colleague who was tragically killed in a road accident, we prayed for the family and for Jim as he meets with them.

We prayed for Sean's brother, for John's continuing recovery, for Kayleigh, and for our families.

The 'Eagle and Child'

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The 'Eagle and Child' is a famous old pub in Oxford, often known to the city's students as the 'Bird and Baby'. It serves the usual range of beers, ciders, wines, and spirits along with typical British mainstays like bangers and mash, steak and ale pie and so on.

Its main claim to fame is that it was the meeting place of 'The Inklings', a group of writers active before, during and after the Second World War. 'Who were 'The Inklings'?', I hear you cry! Ah, you will already know some of the names. The pub and the writer's group may not be widely known, but the members included CS Lewis (Narnia) and JRR Tolkien (Lord of the Rings).

We visited Oxford on 28th July and paid a visit to 'The Eagle and Child'. It's a bit like Dr Who's Tardis, far larger inside than you expect. The street frontage is quite modest, but the pub goes back and back, room opening into room after room. It seems the Inklings met in a sitting room towards the back of the building. But we picked a little snug near the street entrance and ordered ice creams.

What a delight to sit in this place, so full of history and atmosphere. Looking around, it was quite easy to imagine Lewis and Tolkien coming round a corner deep in conversation about a proposed character for a new story.

Those two wrote such good stuff!

Tolkien's great series of books ('Lord of the Rings') about the hobbits and other characters describes a classic struggle between powerful forces for evil and weak, humble, sometimes foolish, homely country folk. The hobbits had no idea at first what they were up against, they had help along the way, mostly unlooked for. In the end they succeeded, not because they were powerful, clever or cunning but because they were weak, honest, and open. The enemy was looking for guile and strength, he overlooked simple folk without power. In the end they slipped through unnoticed, too small for the enemy to trouble with. They were courageous, selfless, and focused.

Lewis' books about Narnia are even better in my opinion. They are direct parables, written for all who will listen - children and adults alike. Tolkien's tale expresses great truths in a rather general way. But Lewis wrote much more specific stories, direct parables in which Jesus is portrayed appropriately as the great lion, Aslan. The evil queen thinks she can carry the day by killing him, yet to her astonishment and dismay he returns to life; death can't hold him, she has misunderstood the ancient law. But Aslan gave his life to rescue the condemned, knowing that everything would be put right and made new as a result.

How fascinating that these two great writers walked these floors, sat in these rooms, ate, drank, and discussed. Their other works are considerable and important. JRR Tolkien was part of the Bible translation team that created the Roman Catholic version known as the Jerusalem Bible. CS Lewis wrote many great books such as 'The Problem of Pain', 'The Four Loves', and 'Mere Christianity'. Both great scholars, both great story tellers, and both knew 'The Eagle and Child' almost as well as they knew their own homes.

It's a privilege to have been there. It's an even greater one to have been there with close friends.

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