Here's some of what I'm working up for Sunday...
We have been focusing the last few weeks on the changes in the early church where they discovered that the Spirit was calling them across some of the divides in their culture. Peter finds himself meeting a disciple of Jesus who is female, he accepts an invitation to stay at the home of Simon the Tanner (who touches the carcasses of dead animals and is therefore unclean) and then in a dream he is challenged to cross the greater divide – to go to the home of a Gentile – a Roman Officer, and there discover that God has been at work – and it is OK. All through these accounts is the common thread that the followers of Jesus were being called out – called out to go to where God was working. I have been arguing that these stories are important for our time in that it is no longer enough to expect people to have to come to us and fit in with us – we too are being called to be the ones who go to where others are – to cross the lines and cut across the boarders and boundaries that we have so often constructed and hidden behind.
There are all kinds of ways we might then follow these provocative texts up… the temptation is to come up with a list of what we can do now… 10 steps to a more effective church – 5 things that you can do to make a difference tomorrow… I can see the book titles already… I might even get asked to go on a lecture circuit!
But this is not a programme. Church is not a programme. Relating to people is not a formula and it is manipulative of people (and thus diminishing of them) if we just employ a tactic to get them in. Where is God leading us? I think the answer isn’t too difficult… love your neighbours. Be the person in your street who takes an interest in people. Be the one who invites people in for a cuppa. Be the one through whom others see that to be a Christian is ok, that to worship God is a good thing… be hospitable as God is hospitable… One thing I have come to learn is that the Christian faith has almost always been a thing passed on from person to person. Occasionally a big event happens – Pentecost Day, a Billy Graham rally – but most of the time, it is person to person. We don’t need fancy books and super-duper programmes… we just have to cross a few of the lines in our neighbourhoods. A bit of hospitality here and a bit of generosity there… not far behind there will be people’s deep questions and their innate thirst for God awakened… not far behind the loosening up of the defences is the fertile ground for God’s Spirit to speak and be heard.
1 comment:
"cutting across the boarders" Mart? Methinks you haven't entirely left Highgate behind...
But seriously.
The Early Church (capitals to acknowledge our reverence of the time) went from a few thousand at Pentecost to around 30 million , or half of the known world, at the time of Constantine. Sounds miraculous? It is, absolutely. A guy called Rodney Stark did the maths a few years ago and it works out to 40% a decade, or 4% a year. For a congregation of 100 people, that's a grand total of 4 miraculous converts a year. If you take into account the Billy Graham moments, then I think we're just a little too addicted to instant gratification these days.
How did the Early Christians do it, when they were universally reviled and ridiculed? They were the ones who cared when an old widow died, or when their neighbour's kids cried because they didn't have enough food.
I think you're right. I think we need to worry less about being hip and worshipping with coffee tables and candleabras, and more about loving God, loving one another, and letting that love spill over into our neighbourhoods.
Do I get my sermon merit badge yet?
R
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