Really sorry but I’m cancelling the Pilgrimage walk set for 22nd Aug. It seems that the holiday season is once again a bad time to try and do anything. I will re-think and maybe pick a date more suited to the church calendar.
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Category: Church
I have said for a long time that any ministry the church gets involved in starts and runs with having someone who is called to lead that ministry. Too often we sit in committees seeing needs (we can all do that) and then insisting we as a church address them. This usually results in new committees and already hard pressed people undertaking something that they are only doing out of duty (or because a persuasive Clergy person insisted they should – and they don’t like letting the Vicar down).
This article by Rick Warren (founder and senior pastor of Saddleback Church – a church now so big I’ve lost track of its size) says what I try to say very well:
http://pastors.com/never-start-a-ministry-without-a-minister/
Let’s let God do the leading for a change.
P.S. It is one of my bugbears about meetings that people turn up and think they are being helpful by making suggestions for all the things others (especially the clergy) should be doing. Sometimes God does prompt us in this way but my experience tells me that He usually doesn’t. We can all come up with a list of things we could do (I am often overwhelmed by the opportunities I see around us) the real work is in listening to and supporting those who feel called to undertake a particular work.
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Bridgwater Carnival
Another busy night with the church and hall full of people. It would be so good to see the church like this on a Sunday. If only we could make church as necessary as a trip to the toilet and a cup of tea on a long night of standing up then we will have cracked it.
I didn’t see anything much of the Carnival myself and neither did all those from the church who worked so hard last night. I am always very proud of them all when I see them working so hard. I left before it was all over and didn’t get home till 11pm (I’m preaching tonight so didn’t want to leave it too late to get to bed – I hope those who have to listen will appreciate this) so I dread to think what time everyone else got to bed. I look forward to hearing how much we have raised.
I heard lots of positive comments about the church. Some folks called the place a ‘lifesaver’, others – from other churches across the UK – commented on how wonderful it was to see the church open.
Well done to everyone who helped – you made the evening a really good one.
I have seen a report about the cost of social division within society, apparently it will costs us billions a year – enough to pay off the national debt no doubt.
Anyway, once again, it seems to me the answer is already there – church. Christianity has always had a belief in equality at its heart – “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.” Galatians 3:28. I find it very interesting that every now and then someone comes along and works out the financial cost of the lack of support for the church in the UK.
I’m not suggesting that the church has never been complicit in the divisions within society but I am suggesting that a good strong church can break down barriers that divide. If we are going to live and work together across all barriers then we have to a reason for doing so, you can’t just pass a law or pour money into the problem there has to be a reason for people of different backgrounds to come together. Maybe this problem is also made worse by the increasing gap between the wealthy and the poor – but that is a post for another day.
Once again the answer to this countries problems is simple – support your local church.
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Statistics and Census etc
I’ve been doing a little research lately for a project I’m working on and I found some of the statistics interesting (yes, I really did!)
Somerset has more Christians than the national average and is in fact one of the most Christian counties in the South West. Much has been made nationally by atheists on the falling percentages of those describing themselves as affiliated to a religion, however, the number of people who actually describe themselves as atheist is miniscule. In the whole of Somerset only 247 described themselves as atheist (1924 described themselves as Jedi Knights). If atheists are winning the debate (they aren’t by the way with many Philosophers now saying that they have actually lost it) then where are they?
So why do so many more people not describe themselves as Christian? Maybe it is not a falling away from anything but people being more honest about what they actually believe, as well as greater mistrust of any religion and growing ignorance of what Christians actually do believe. I’m beginning to think that the Census told us nothing more than we already knew.
Thanks to everyone who helped to makes Easter a great celebration of the resurrection of Jesus.
I’ve seen someone yet again trying to claim that Jesus just passed out on the cross – a popular idea amongst today’s atheists who can’t seem to cope with the historical evidence.
Let’s face it, people die when they are crucified. There is only two recorded incidents of anyone surviving the cross (they were friends of Jospehus a Jewish historian) and they were taken down shortly after crucifixion and given the best medical treatment of the time but neither of them survived for very long. This, of course, says nothing about the spear in Jesus’ side or the fact that we are supposed to believe that someone who had been crucified could get up three days later and start walking around as if nothing happened. And doesn’t it seem something of a coincidence that that the only person who survived and who seemed to have fantastic powers of recovery is Jesus. Also, surely his friends would know the truth and so why did they concoct a story about him rising from the dead? They did not benefit from being a follower of Jesus. It would be a much better idea to return to families and old jobs (which is actually what it seems they did after the crucifixion). By maintaining a story about Jesus rising from the dead (this includes James – Jesus’ own brother) they subjected themselves to hardship, persecution, rejection and finally death.
The truth is Jesus rose from the dead.
It’s a complicated question to answer and one without a definitive answer. There is always the general church stuff, of course: meetings, worship, bible studies, pastoral work, etc. Then there is the stuff that no one ever sees like the prayer and study, vital but hard to quantify.
What else? Well, I believe that ministry should be done outside the church as well. Time spent with those who have no faith but maybe some questions. What about those who may never respond? Is time spent with them worthwhile? Is it still part of being a minister? I say yes. A minister is uniquely placed to be the church in our communities, not to get bums on pews but to take God’s kingdom outside the confines of the church. Of course this is a role that every Christian should fulfil in some way, and yet there is something very vital about a churches chosen and appointed representative just being out with people.
I wonder how many people get this?
I’ve come to the conclusion that actually everyone wants to come to church, they just don’t understand they do. I don’t mean this to sound arrogant but just that what everyone talks about as being what the world needs is the church.
One of the major problems is that people think the church is boring services and pressurised sunday schools. Although most churches don’t have boring worship and pressurised sunday schools these days.
People are often saying stuff like the world needs: more love; more practical help; somewhere people can feel valued; a sense of purpose; to get away from celebrity culture; more community; etc. This is all stuff that the church stands for. What people are saying is that the world needs church. What people are really saying is that they want to be part of that better world and so what they really want to be is part of a church. Most people even admit to believing in God.
So why doesn’t everyone just get off to church?
Do you remember that old saying: “I’m a Poet and didn’t know it.” Well it turns out that I was a pinoeer minister and didn’t know it. It seems that a pioneer minister is a minister who is trying to see church in a different way and reaching out to those outside in new ways – poor definition but it works for now. I’ve been trying to do this all my ministry and didn’t know it had a title.
My concern is that somehow whenever the church gets its hands on something and tries to define it they end up squeezing the life out of it.
The thing with this kind of ministry is that it requires the church to be open to new things and new ways of doing things and once you define something others start to see if it fits the definition. The definition becomes what it is rather than what it is being fluid enough to break out in new directions.
I wonder if this is what happened to ministry in the first place? Surely, all ordained ministry should be in some way pioneering in that it concerns an individual responding to God’s call. If God wanted us all to be the same he would call people who are all the same – but in my experience he doesn’t.
Maybe the biggest challenge is to the churches expectations. I am in a good situation because the churches are very understanding of what I am trying to do – but I sometimes wonder how long that will last. It’s easy to be understanding when the sun is shining but if it means me being somewhere else when they want me to be doing the more normal expectations of ministry, will they put up with it forever? Pioneer ministry is also hard to measure and the Methodist church seems to be obsessed with statistics – how long will they tolerate a ministry that cannot be quantified? Even the new ‘assessment’ system, sorry I mean guided reflection, for ministers is predisposed to very traditional ministry – whatever those in high office tell us.
Only time will tell.
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Jesse Tree Ornaments
Here is a useful list of sites offering stuff about the Jesse tree and Christmas tree decorations:
http://www.crivoice.org/symbols/ornaments.html
http://www.catholicculture.org/culture/liturgicalyear/activities/view.cfm?id=545