There is much that the inherited, established churches need to learn from the Emerging Church movement. My own analysis has led me to believe that, among other things, we must learn from them how to be faithful, creative, missional communities.
Being faithful …
We must learn to push the boundaries of our church traditions. Much of what we do in church, and many of the ways we do it, are simply one form, one expression of our faith. We have been conditioned by Christian-subcultures which can trace their roots back hundreds and hundreds of years, and there are things that are worth holding on to. But we must begin to discern which elements of our church lives are unneeded clutter, and which are necessary for the faithful continuation of our religious faith. We must ask ourselves to what we will remain faithful. Faithfulness to outdated, centuries old church traditions may well simply keep us locked in the past. But true Christian faithfulness is to the person and way of Jesus Christ. It is true that Jesus continued to go to the synagogue and temple, as did His followers in the early church. But it was Jesus’ whole life that witnessed to the love of His heavenly Father. One hour a week is simply not enough; Christianity is more about a lifestyle than a worship event.
Being creative …
Having said that, worship is important. But we must not use the worship event as an opportunity to slip back into language and ritual that none but the ‘insiders’ understand. The Gospel must be communicated in the language of the contemporary world, not just so that ‘outsiders’ can understand what we are talking about, but so that ‘insiders’ are able to relate their faith to what they face in the world outside of church. Worship should also provide space and opportunities for all people to reconnect with themselves, with other people, and ultimately with God. This is where some of the practices of the ancient church (meditation, silence, etc.) can help us by acting as a corrective to much of our modernist ‘churchy-ness’.
Being missional …
The cenripetal (outward) focus of the emerging church also acts as a corrective to much of the centrifugal (inward) forces in the established church. We tend to focus on ourselves and our needs first, and only secondarily (and if funds allow) do we consider those outside of our four walls. But this preoccupation with ourselves is a denial of the generous nature of the Christian Gospel. Arguably more time, more effort, more finances should be committed to connecting with those who are not yet a part of the church than to anything else, and where our buildings, our worship events and our preoccupations hold us back we must urgently reprioritise.
Being community …
Another corrective offered to us by these new expressions of church is their emphasis on community and relationship. We in the church are too quick to judge others, to fall out, to hold back from genuine openness with one another (the standard Christian response to the question, ‘How are you?’ is ‘Fine’). We must learn to ‘be’ Christian in our whole lives and in all our relationships, rather than ‘go’ to church.
A challenge to leaders …
Of course, for a church to operate in anything like this way will involve a re-imagination of the role of the leadership, from authority figure to facilitator, from controller to mentor. It is perhaps this that will present the greatest challenge of all – to our churches, to our denominations and to our ministers themselves.
But, surely, faithfulness to the Gospel of Christ, along with a passion to communicate it to all those whom God loves, compels us to begin to make a journey of change in all aspects of our Christian lives together. The Gospel is as relevant today as it has always been, and the Gospel remains the same. But the ways in which we communicate God’s love must change if we are to reach as many as possible with the Good News in this current culture and age.
Thursday, October 26, 2006
Friday, October 20, 2006
Learning from the Emerging Church: being community
Another corrective offered to the inherited, established churches by the Emerging Church movement is their emphasis on community and relationship. We in the church are too quick to judge others, to fall out, and to hold back from genuine openness with one another.
In 1991, David Bosch wrote these words: “The ‘me’ generation has to be superseded by the ‘us’ generation … Here lies the pertinence of the rediscovery of the church as Body of Christ and of the Christian mission as building a community of those who share a common destiny” (Bosch, Transforming Mission, p.362). Emerging Church groups agree: “Jesus was not a church planter. He created communities that embodied the Torah, that reflected the kingdom of God in their entire way of life. He asked His followers to do the same” (Gibbs & Bolger, Emerging Churches, p.61). And: “The term church (Greek ekklesia) is more a verb than a noun. It refers to the calling out of a people … The modern church has identified too closely with the centralised temple worship of the Jerusalem church rather than with the household basis of the Pauline model of church … a first- century Christian would have been puzzled by the question. ‘Where do you go to church?’ for church was a network of people to which one belonged. It was not a once- or twice-a-week association but rather a community of continuous interaction …” (Gibbs & Bolger, Emerging Churches, p.100).
So, those in the emerging church are convinced that church should operate not as institution but as family:
“Families consist of relationships that are not based on choice. Individuals typically do not choose their families and are connected to them whether they like it or not. One does not choose when to be a family member. People are part of a family when they are asleep, when they are at school, or when they are with friends. In addition, people do not even need to like their families. They are with them when the feelings are there or not. Whether a family meets one’s needs is rarely considered.
If a church begins to look like a family, then all its institutional practices will undergo change. Church as family is primarily about relationships. It is not about meetings, events or structures … People are part of [the] kingdom community even if they don’t get their needs met and often whether they feel like it or not” (Gibbs & Bolger, Emerging Churches, p.97).
Local Ecumenical Partnerships (LEPs) like Trinity Church, Rawdon, have long realised that true Christian community is about respecting and learning from one another, acknowledging the brokenness of our church communities, and seeking reconciliation in diversity. However, despite this undergirding of all they do, many LEPs still have much to learn from the emerging churches in terms of the practice of a community committed in relationship above all else. Because we will most “resemble the kingdom when [we] contain many differing perspectives yet remain committed in relationship” (Gibbs & Bolger, Emerging Churches, p.122).
In 1991, David Bosch wrote these words: “The ‘me’ generation has to be superseded by the ‘us’ generation … Here lies the pertinence of the rediscovery of the church as Body of Christ and of the Christian mission as building a community of those who share a common destiny” (Bosch, Transforming Mission, p.362). Emerging Church groups agree: “Jesus was not a church planter. He created communities that embodied the Torah, that reflected the kingdom of God in their entire way of life. He asked His followers to do the same” (Gibbs & Bolger, Emerging Churches, p.61). And: “The term church (Greek ekklesia) is more a verb than a noun. It refers to the calling out of a people … The modern church has identified too closely with the centralised temple worship of the Jerusalem church rather than with the household basis of the Pauline model of church … a first- century Christian would have been puzzled by the question. ‘Where do you go to church?’ for church was a network of people to which one belonged. It was not a once- or twice-a-week association but rather a community of continuous interaction …” (Gibbs & Bolger, Emerging Churches, p.100).
So, those in the emerging church are convinced that church should operate not as institution but as family:
“Families consist of relationships that are not based on choice. Individuals typically do not choose their families and are connected to them whether they like it or not. One does not choose when to be a family member. People are part of a family when they are asleep, when they are at school, or when they are with friends. In addition, people do not even need to like their families. They are with them when the feelings are there or not. Whether a family meets one’s needs is rarely considered.
If a church begins to look like a family, then all its institutional practices will undergo change. Church as family is primarily about relationships. It is not about meetings, events or structures … People are part of [the] kingdom community even if they don’t get their needs met and often whether they feel like it or not” (Gibbs & Bolger, Emerging Churches, p.97).
Local Ecumenical Partnerships (LEPs) like Trinity Church, Rawdon, have long realised that true Christian community is about respecting and learning from one another, acknowledging the brokenness of our church communities, and seeking reconciliation in diversity. However, despite this undergirding of all they do, many LEPs still have much to learn from the emerging churches in terms of the practice of a community committed in relationship above all else. Because we will most “resemble the kingdom when [we] contain many differing perspectives yet remain committed in relationship” (Gibbs & Bolger, Emerging Churches, p.122).
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Some Definitions
Mission (Christian) broadly means any activity in which Christians are involved for the purpose of world evangelization. But the church’s mission “is a matter of identity before it is ever a matter of activity” (Colwell, ‘Mission as Ontology: a question of theological grammar’, in The Baptist Ministers’ Journal (July 2006), p.10). What we do is not as important as who we are and how we relate to others.
Ecumenism refers to the movement towards unity among Christians, based on the idea that there should be a single Christian Church, a single Christian faith.
The Emerging Church is a diverse movement within Christianity that arose in the late 20th century as a response to the declining influence of Christianity as a cultural force in the West. Proponents of the emerging church embrace the reality of postmodernism and seek to deconstruct and reconstruct Christianity in order to meaningfully engage with Western society which is pre-dominantly post-Christian.
Hope that helps!!
Ecumenism refers to the movement towards unity among Christians, based on the idea that there should be a single Christian Church, a single Christian faith.
The Emerging Church is a diverse movement within Christianity that arose in the late 20th century as a response to the declining influence of Christianity as a cultural force in the West. Proponents of the emerging church embrace the reality of postmodernism and seek to deconstruct and reconstruct Christianity in order to meaningfully engage with Western society which is pre-dominantly post-Christian.
Hope that helps!!
Learning from the Emerging Church: being missional
For many in the emerging churches, their presence, or witness, is much more important than their worship events. They know that “nonchurched people can pick up the gospel from us as we form relationships, as the gospel is a holy virus that is spread from person to person (the most effective means of transmitting anything). We are carriers of Christ. In our very bodies we are carrying the life, death and resurrection of Christ both in and for our world” (Karen Ward (Church of the Apostles, Seattle, USA) quoted by Gibbs & Bolger, Emerging Churches, p.109). And they claim that, “if we are not bringing justice and transformation to the world, we should ask if we have a right to exist … Our mission defines us more than our worship” (Andrew Jones (Boaz) quoted by Gibbs & Bolger, Emerging Churches, p.58).
Those in emerging churches have long realised that “some of [our] most cherished church forms may be more a hindrance than a help in regard to creating space for God” (Gibbs & Bolger, Emerging Churches, p.91), and that “nineteenth-century (or older) forms of church do not communicate clearly to twenty-first-century cultures” (Gibbs & Bolger, Emerging Churches, p.17). But they believe that worship should not be foreign to their friends. Indeed, they have realised that, often, “witness [can take] the form of overheard praise” (Gibbs & Bolger, Emerging Churches, p.184). Therefore, the emerging churches seek to include outsiders in their worship and their way of life. They do their best to create safe places where anyone can worship and connect with God, offering sanctuaries and sacred places where healing and reconnection can take place. Some would argue that one of the key missions of today’s church is “to be a playful space, providing the images, the spiritual ‘colored pencils’, and the space for people to make connection between God, themselves, others, and God’s world” (Taylor, The Out of Bounds Church?, p.72).
However, the ‘whole life’ spirituality of emerging churches leads them to more than simply including others in their worship events. They realise that the church’s mission is far more holistic than that. Yes, the “church gathers to praise God, to enjoy fellowship and to receive spiritual sustenance” (Bosch, Transforming Mission, p.386), but then it “disperses to serve God wherever its members are” (Bosch, Transforming Mission, p.386).
So, emerging churches seek to “empower [their] members to engage more effectively in the ministry and mission that God has already entrusted to them in the world” (Gibbs & Bolger, Emerging Churches, p.142). They encourage members to “serve the world through their vocations rather than through church-administered programs” (Gibbs & Bolger, Emerging Churches, p.142). They do not “want to pull people away from their life but push them farther into it, [challenging them to consider] if they, through their work, are participating with what God is doing in the world” (Gibbs & Bolger, Emerging Churches, p.152).
If, in this way, the church becomes a network of Christians who serve the world through their vocations and everyday lives, then the church service / worship event will effectively be de-emphasised as the primary expression of church!
Those in emerging churches have long realised that “some of [our] most cherished church forms may be more a hindrance than a help in regard to creating space for God” (Gibbs & Bolger, Emerging Churches, p.91), and that “nineteenth-century (or older) forms of church do not communicate clearly to twenty-first-century cultures” (Gibbs & Bolger, Emerging Churches, p.17). But they believe that worship should not be foreign to their friends. Indeed, they have realised that, often, “witness [can take] the form of overheard praise” (Gibbs & Bolger, Emerging Churches, p.184). Therefore, the emerging churches seek to include outsiders in their worship and their way of life. They do their best to create safe places where anyone can worship and connect with God, offering sanctuaries and sacred places where healing and reconnection can take place. Some would argue that one of the key missions of today’s church is “to be a playful space, providing the images, the spiritual ‘colored pencils’, and the space for people to make connection between God, themselves, others, and God’s world” (Taylor, The Out of Bounds Church?, p.72).
However, the ‘whole life’ spirituality of emerging churches leads them to more than simply including others in their worship events. They realise that the church’s mission is far more holistic than that. Yes, the “church gathers to praise God, to enjoy fellowship and to receive spiritual sustenance” (Bosch, Transforming Mission, p.386), but then it “disperses to serve God wherever its members are” (Bosch, Transforming Mission, p.386).
So, emerging churches seek to “empower [their] members to engage more effectively in the ministry and mission that God has already entrusted to them in the world” (Gibbs & Bolger, Emerging Churches, p.142). They encourage members to “serve the world through their vocations rather than through church-administered programs” (Gibbs & Bolger, Emerging Churches, p.142). They do not “want to pull people away from their life but push them farther into it, [challenging them to consider] if they, through their work, are participating with what God is doing in the world” (Gibbs & Bolger, Emerging Churches, p.152).
If, in this way, the church becomes a network of Christians who serve the world through their vocations and everyday lives, then the church service / worship event will effectively be de-emphasised as the primary expression of church!
Monday, October 16, 2006
An Apology
Thanks to Rodd, Ross and Anonymous (even though I know who you are) for your comments on the 'Learning from the Emerging Church: being creative' post from last week. It just goes to show that those of us who are ministers in the established church are so fixated with our own context that we can't even talk about anything outside that context without slipping back into 'Christianese' (and I thought I was doing so well)! I apologise. Perhaps terms like 'mission', 'ecumenism', and 'the emerging church' need to be more clearly defined, and I'll try to do that soon(ish).
On the mysticism thing - my understanding is that many in our (postmodern) culture (oops, do I need to define that, too?) are very interested in spirituality indeed, but they are not looking to the Church for answers to their spiritual questions. Rather, they are consulting astrologers, playing with Tarot, doing Bhuddist meditation, etc. I have heard that the Pagan Federation in the UK is now bigger than the Baptist Union of Great Britain! These practices are all, arguably, 'mystical'. Or perhaps it would be better to say they are 'contemplative'.
I agree that some of this stuff (lectio divina, meditation, drumming, chanting) is unfamiliar to us, incomprehensible and even frightening. But they are part of a long-neglected Christian contemplative tradition. I have found that, not only in my personal spiritual life, but also when I use some of these techniques in leading worship, that they are a very powerful way of connecting with God.
But let me know what you think?
On the mysticism thing - my understanding is that many in our (postmodern) culture (oops, do I need to define that, too?) are very interested in spirituality indeed, but they are not looking to the Church for answers to their spiritual questions. Rather, they are consulting astrologers, playing with Tarot, doing Bhuddist meditation, etc. I have heard that the Pagan Federation in the UK is now bigger than the Baptist Union of Great Britain! These practices are all, arguably, 'mystical'. Or perhaps it would be better to say they are 'contemplative'.
I agree that some of this stuff (lectio divina, meditation, drumming, chanting) is unfamiliar to us, incomprehensible and even frightening. But they are part of a long-neglected Christian contemplative tradition. I have found that, not only in my personal spiritual life, but also when I use some of these techniques in leading worship, that they are a very powerful way of connecting with God.
But let me know what you think?
Thursday, October 12, 2006
Blessing
Lovely prayer of blessing. Thanks Fernando (http://www.fernandogros.com/).
“May God bless you with a restless discomfort about easy answers, half-truths and superficial relationships, so that you may seek truth boldly and love deep within your heart.
May God bless you with holy anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people, so that you may tirelessly work for justice, freedom, and peace among all people.
May God bless you with the gift of tears to shed with those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation, or the loss of all that they cherish, so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and transform their pain into joy.
May God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you really CAN make a difference in this world, so that you are able, with God’s grace, to do what others claim cannot be done.
And the blessing of God the Supreme Majesty and our Creator, Jesus Christ the Incarnate Word who is our brother and Saviour, and the Holy Spirit, our Advocate and Guide, be with you and remain with you, this day and forevermore.
AMEN.”
“May God bless you with a restless discomfort about easy answers, half-truths and superficial relationships, so that you may seek truth boldly and love deep within your heart.
May God bless you with holy anger at injustice, oppression, and exploitation of people, so that you may tirelessly work for justice, freedom, and peace among all people.
May God bless you with the gift of tears to shed with those who suffer from pain, rejection, starvation, or the loss of all that they cherish, so that you may reach out your hand to comfort them and transform their pain into joy.
May God bless you with enough foolishness to believe that you really CAN make a difference in this world, so that you are able, with God’s grace, to do what others claim cannot be done.
And the blessing of God the Supreme Majesty and our Creator, Jesus Christ the Incarnate Word who is our brother and Saviour, and the Holy Spirit, our Advocate and Guide, be with you and remain with you, this day and forevermore.
AMEN.”
Learning from the Emerging Church: being creative
Christianity is more about a lifestyle than a worship event. I’m not suggesting that worship isn’t important! But we must not use the worship event as an opportunity to slip back into language and ritual that none but the ‘insiders’ understand. The Gospel must be communicated in the language of the contemporary world, not just so that ‘outsiders’ can understand what we are talking about, but so that ‘insiders’ are able to relate their faith to what they face in the world outside of church.
Unfortunately, most forms of (modern) Christian worship demand very little from most of the congregation, reducing people to passivity or to routinised responses. Often, congregations are made to watch in virtual silence because they can’t play the guitar and they can’t preach. These are often the only two gifts that seem to be acceptable as worship. Which seems such a waste.
But congregations of emerging churches are not an audience watching the people at the front as the principal performers. Rather, the entire congregation is actively and creatively engaged in offering worship. They consider that “unless every person makes an effort to use his or her gift, the community is not healthy, and as a result they see participation and involvement as key: “In a consumer culture it’s all too easy for worship to be something else we consume. So … we consciously want to get people involved in worship creation rather than in worship consumption” (Jonny Baker (Grace, London) quoted by Gibbs & Bolger, Emerging Churches, p.159).
Here’s what some of them do:
- “We pray a lot … do a confession, the Eucharist, and have incense every Sunday. We have a … candle stand for people to use to light candles in prayer after communion” (Debbie Blue (House of Mercy, St. Paul, USA) quoted by Gibbs & Bolger, Emerging Churches, pp.224-5).
- “… communion each week … pray an abbreviated office … silence and antiphons … lectio divina, chanting, a discussion of what they have read, and the reading of Scripture (not necessary teaching)” (A description of worship at Vine and Branches (Lexington, USA), Gibbs & Bolger, Emerging Churches, p.225).
- “We read the book of common prayer together … and we read the Psalms …” (Jason Evans (Matthew’s House, Vista, CA, USA) quoted by Gibbs & Bolger, Emerging Churches, p.225).
- “… drums start … call everyone together … sing one song … light the Christ candle as a poem is read … congregational drumming …pray … prayer of confession … We listen and pray, and we imagine that Jesus comes. Sometimes the sermon is art … read Scripture through lectio divina … The room is dark, relying on candlelight for the whole service … We gather everyone for communion, the words of institution. We use wine, pass the cup around, and say the Lord’s Prayer together. After a benediction, we bring food in and everyone eats together” (Rebecca Ver Straten McSparran (Tribe, Hollywood, USA) quoted by Gibbs & Bolger, Emerging Churches, p.225).
- “… soup, bread, wine, an Irish blessing, and a communion prayer” (A description of worship at Thursday PM (Seattle, USA), Gibbs & Bolger, Emerging Churches, p.225)
- “… communion and prayer techniques such as the Jesus prayer and body prayers (prayers through gestures rather than through words)” (A description of worship at Sanctus1 (Manchester), Gibbs & Bolger, Emerging Churches, p.226)
- “We have a stations of the cross service on Good Friday … We use the traditional Catholic liturgy to walk the stations” (Debbie Blue (House of Mercy, St. Paul, USA) quoted by Gibbs & Bolger, Emerging Churches, p.226)
- “… lectio divina … times of silence … meditate with PowerPoint images” (Gibbs & Bolger, Emerging Churches, p.226)
In these ways, their creative worship provides space and opportunities for all people to reconnect with themselves, with other people, and ultimately with God.
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
What goes wobble, wobble, nee, naw, nee, naw?
Must have been confusing!
Check out this great news story: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/6035821.stm
Monday, October 09, 2006
In the Church but not of it!
Thanks, Maggi, for this:
http://emergingchurch.info/reflection/maggidawn/
You're scratching just where I'm itching!!
http://emergingchurch.info/reflection/maggidawn/
You're scratching just where I'm itching!!
Learning from the Emerging Church: being faithful
As we move into a new era the established, inherited churches are facing a number of huge challenges! It is not even slightly far-fetched to suggest that the Christian church in the West has never before faced a context and a missional challenge like that of the early 21st Century. However, we are surrounded by some pioneering practitioners of a new Christianity. They are too often ignored or even maligned by the rest of us. And even they would recognise that they do not have all the answers. But they are asking some of the right questions, questions many of us in the established churches fear to ask. And there is much we can (and must) learn from them if our faith is to continue to be relevant for a new generation.
For a start, we must learn to push the boundaries of our church traditions. Much of what we do in church, and many of the ways we do it, are simply one form, one expression of our faith. We have been conditioned by Christian-subcultures which can trace their roots back hundreds and hundreds of years, and there are things that are worth holding on to. But we must begin to discern which elements of our church lives are unneeded clutter, and which are necessary for the faithful continuation of our religious faith. We must ask ourselves to what we will remain faithful.
Faithfulness to outdated, centuries old church traditions may well simply keep us locked in the past. But true Christian faithfulness is to the person and way of Jesus Christ. It is true that Jesus continued to go to the synagogue and temple, as did His followers in the early church. But it was Jesus’ whole life that witnessed to the love of His heavenly Father. One hour a week is simply not enough; Christianity is more about a lifestyle than a worship event.
Those in the emerging church
“have come to see that it is all about Jesus and not just a methodology. It s not about mission, not about church, but it’s about Jesus and His glory, His life. To know Jesus is not an event, a ritual, a creed or a religion. It is a journey of trust and adventure. [They] don’t believe in any religion anymore – including Christianity – but [they] do believe in following Jesus. [They] no longer need religion with its special buildings, dogmas, programs, clergy, or any other human inventions that displace genuine spirituality. Why do [they] need a name and address to be church? [They’ve] come out of religion and back to God.” (Jonathan Campbell (Seattle, USA) quoted by Gibbs & Bolger, Emerging Churches, p.47)
We in the established church, too, must learn again to be faithful to Jesus, rather than to church structures or traditions. We must recognise (to borrow some words from one of Brian McLaren’s books) that Jesus is the Saviour. Christianity isn’t. The church isn’t. Jesus is.
For a start, we must learn to push the boundaries of our church traditions. Much of what we do in church, and many of the ways we do it, are simply one form, one expression of our faith. We have been conditioned by Christian-subcultures which can trace their roots back hundreds and hundreds of years, and there are things that are worth holding on to. But we must begin to discern which elements of our church lives are unneeded clutter, and which are necessary for the faithful continuation of our religious faith. We must ask ourselves to what we will remain faithful.
Faithfulness to outdated, centuries old church traditions may well simply keep us locked in the past. But true Christian faithfulness is to the person and way of Jesus Christ. It is true that Jesus continued to go to the synagogue and temple, as did His followers in the early church. But it was Jesus’ whole life that witnessed to the love of His heavenly Father. One hour a week is simply not enough; Christianity is more about a lifestyle than a worship event.
Those in the emerging church
“have come to see that it is all about Jesus and not just a methodology. It s not about mission, not about church, but it’s about Jesus and His glory, His life. To know Jesus is not an event, a ritual, a creed or a religion. It is a journey of trust and adventure. [They] don’t believe in any religion anymore – including Christianity – but [they] do believe in following Jesus. [They] no longer need religion with its special buildings, dogmas, programs, clergy, or any other human inventions that displace genuine spirituality. Why do [they] need a name and address to be church? [They’ve] come out of religion and back to God.” (Jonathan Campbell (Seattle, USA) quoted by Gibbs & Bolger, Emerging Churches, p.47)
We in the established church, too, must learn again to be faithful to Jesus, rather than to church structures or traditions. We must recognise (to borrow some words from one of Brian McLaren’s books) that Jesus is the Saviour. Christianity isn’t. The church isn’t. Jesus is.
Friday, October 06, 2006
Specks and Logs
“Satan was the original sinner. It was his pride that led him to be cast out of heaven. He thought himself superior and sought to proclaim his own authority. He did not and will never willfully submit to God’s authority. In his refusal to submit to proper authority, Satan is a theological liberal.”
So theological liberals are, by definition, sinners … even Satanic? Seems rather sweeping, as well as a bit strong. (Don’t want to be offensive, but I am offended. And I’m not even sure I want to label myself theologically liberal. Even so, check out the Giant Redwood in your own eye, fundamentalists!)
Thursday, October 05, 2006
worship songs
My answers to a questionnaire on Fernando’s blog (http://www.fernandogros.com/):
1. One worship song that has changed your life. Without a doubt, this is ‘And Can It be’ by Charles Wesley. Memories of my early Christian life are dominated by versions of this song with six-part harmony (at least) and the sound of the organ rattling the fixtures. Verse four, in particular, still raises the hairs on the back of my neck and a lump in my throat: ‘My chains fell off, my heart was free, I rose went forth and followed Thee.’ Awesome!
2. One worship song that you rarely get tired of playing. ‘Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise’ by Steve McEwan is a ‘modern’ worship song that I think has stood the test of time. I love the words and the music (and it’s one of very few Christian songs that manage to rhyme ‘love’ and ‘above’ without sounding really naff).
3. One worship song you wish had never been written. Can’t remember exactly what it’s called or who it’s by, but I think it went something like: ‘I get so excited, Lord, every time I realise … I’m a gibbon.’ Awful, awful song.
4. Best worship experience you’ve ever had. This summer, on sabbatical at the Bossey Ecumenical Institute in Geneva, worshipping with 42 others from 20 different nationalities, singing simple English children’s choruses (‘cos they were pretty much the only things we all knew) and saying the Lord’s Prayer in a myriad of voices and laguages. Amazing!
5. Worship songs you wish there were more of. I always struggle to find appropriate music for my services, generally ‘cos my sermons don’t fit into the neat categories listed in the index of the worship book. I’d love to see some songs that are more narrative in nature than ‘I love you, Jesus, oooh yeah’, and more too that address contemporary issues without reverting to biblical jargon.
6. Pass it on. Your turn!
1. One worship song that has changed your life. Without a doubt, this is ‘And Can It be’ by Charles Wesley. Memories of my early Christian life are dominated by versions of this song with six-part harmony (at least) and the sound of the organ rattling the fixtures. Verse four, in particular, still raises the hairs on the back of my neck and a lump in my throat: ‘My chains fell off, my heart was free, I rose went forth and followed Thee.’ Awesome!
2. One worship song that you rarely get tired of playing. ‘Great is the Lord and most worthy of praise’ by Steve McEwan is a ‘modern’ worship song that I think has stood the test of time. I love the words and the music (and it’s one of very few Christian songs that manage to rhyme ‘love’ and ‘above’ without sounding really naff).
3. One worship song you wish had never been written. Can’t remember exactly what it’s called or who it’s by, but I think it went something like: ‘I get so excited, Lord, every time I realise … I’m a gibbon.’ Awful, awful song.
4. Best worship experience you’ve ever had. This summer, on sabbatical at the Bossey Ecumenical Institute in Geneva, worshipping with 42 others from 20 different nationalities, singing simple English children’s choruses (‘cos they were pretty much the only things we all knew) and saying the Lord’s Prayer in a myriad of voices and laguages. Amazing!
5. Worship songs you wish there were more of. I always struggle to find appropriate music for my services, generally ‘cos my sermons don’t fit into the neat categories listed in the index of the worship book. I’d love to see some songs that are more narrative in nature than ‘I love you, Jesus, oooh yeah’, and more too that address contemporary issues without reverting to biblical jargon.
6. Pass it on. Your turn!
Learning from Pentecostal Evangelism in Africa
The African universe is a spiritual universe, one in which supernatural beings play significant roles in the thought and action of the people: a worldview that assumes the effective presence of numberless spirits, and regards all life as one with no clear distinctions between the material and the non-material, the secular and the religious, or even between man and the other beings. And Pentecostal spirituality is popular in Africa because its interpretations of and responses to evil are not discontinuous with these traditional African religious ideas.
In this context, Pentecostal evangelism refers to the conscious attempt to proclaim ‘Christ as Saviour’, trusting the Holy Spirit to convict the hearers of sin and to convince them to accept Christ as their Lord. Personal testimonies are very important in Pentecostal evangelism. And evangelistic crusades often include prayers for the sick and the casting out of demons: affirming the power and credibility of the message.
Thus, the ministries of healing and exorcism are important hallmarks of Pentecostal/charismatic evangelistic activity in Africa. Healing and exorcism take place in the context of what Pentecostals call ‘spiritual warfare’. Satan, demons, principalities and powers are all considered sources of evil in life and in existence. But the Name and Blood of Jesus are powerful instruments for the conquest of such evil.
Like Paul in Athens, our evangelism must be appropriate to the mindset of those with whom we engage. There is certainly a place for signs and wonders accompanying and authenticating the proclamation of the Gospel. Perhaps there's a lot we can learn from African Pentecostals, particularly with regard to their openness to spiritual realities, their acknowledgement of the power of evil, and their conviction that Christ’s power is even greater.
In this context, Pentecostal evangelism refers to the conscious attempt to proclaim ‘Christ as Saviour’, trusting the Holy Spirit to convict the hearers of sin and to convince them to accept Christ as their Lord. Personal testimonies are very important in Pentecostal evangelism. And evangelistic crusades often include prayers for the sick and the casting out of demons: affirming the power and credibility of the message.
Thus, the ministries of healing and exorcism are important hallmarks of Pentecostal/charismatic evangelistic activity in Africa. Healing and exorcism take place in the context of what Pentecostals call ‘spiritual warfare’. Satan, demons, principalities and powers are all considered sources of evil in life and in existence. But the Name and Blood of Jesus are powerful instruments for the conquest of such evil.
Like Paul in Athens, our evangelism must be appropriate to the mindset of those with whom we engage. There is certainly a place for signs and wonders accompanying and authenticating the proclamation of the Gospel. Perhaps there's a lot we can learn from African Pentecostals, particularly with regard to their openness to spiritual realities, their acknowledgement of the power of evil, and their conviction that Christ’s power is even greater.
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
Some Everyday Prayers
A Celtic prayer from the Carmina Gadelica:
I make this bed
In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost,
In the name of the night we were conceived,
In the name of the night that we were born,
In the name of the day we were baptised,
In the name of each night, each day,
Each angel that is in the heavens.
A prayer by Michael Leunig, cartoonist and writer of prayers in The Age, an Australian daily paper:
We give thanks for the invention of the handle.
Without it there would be many things we couldn’t hold on to.
As for the things we can’t hold on to anyway, let us gracefully accept their ungraspable nature and celebrate all things elusive, fleeting and intangible.
They mystify us and make us receptive to truth and beauty.
We celebrate and give thanks. Amen.
And a prayer (adapted slightly because our bins are green and black, not purple) from the end of John Davies’ article ‘Reading the Everyday’ published in Third Way magazine, but downloadable (free!) from http://urblog.typepad.com/urblog/files/john_davies_3rd_way.pdf. We could even make this one responsive (!):
We give thanks for the wheelie bin
Receptacle of all our rubbish
Carrier-away of our cast-offs, unused goods, undigested foodstuffs, nappies, wrappers, broken electrical items and all the discarded clutter of out cupboards and our lives.
A blessing on those who make it their work to collect these bins together and pour their contents into a waiting lorry, labouring through soaking rain and stinking heat on behalf of the rest of us wasteful citizens.
A blessing on those who wheel out the bins for their forgetful or frail neighbours, and wheel them in again afterwards.
A blessing on those who brighten up their wheelie bins by painting on them pictures of flowers, favourite TV characters or cartoonish self-portraits.
We give thanks for the wheelie bin
Receptacle of all our rubbish
Give us patience with those who use our wheelie bins as playthings: climbing on them, racing down the road in them like plastic chariots, setting them on fire;
Give us strength to push our full and heavy bins to the roadside when we are feeling feeble on bin collection morning;
Keep us clam if in a moment of panic we should think our bin has gone, wheeled away up the road or into oblivion.
Help us to recycle, and bless those who want to help us to recycle more.
Help us to use less packaging, and bless those who want to sell us things with less packaging on them.
Give us grace to care about our waste and the way it affects our city’s space.
We give thanks for the wheelie bin
Receptacle of all our rubbish
I make this bed
In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost,
In the name of the night we were conceived,
In the name of the night that we were born,
In the name of the day we were baptised,
In the name of each night, each day,
Each angel that is in the heavens.
A prayer by Michael Leunig, cartoonist and writer of prayers in The Age, an Australian daily paper:
We give thanks for the invention of the handle.
Without it there would be many things we couldn’t hold on to.
As for the things we can’t hold on to anyway, let us gracefully accept their ungraspable nature and celebrate all things elusive, fleeting and intangible.
They mystify us and make us receptive to truth and beauty.
We celebrate and give thanks. Amen.
And a prayer (adapted slightly because our bins are green and black, not purple) from the end of John Davies’ article ‘Reading the Everyday’ published in Third Way magazine, but downloadable (free!) from http://urblog.typepad.com/urblog/files/john_davies_3rd_way.pdf. We could even make this one responsive (!):
We give thanks for the wheelie bin
Receptacle of all our rubbish
Carrier-away of our cast-offs, unused goods, undigested foodstuffs, nappies, wrappers, broken electrical items and all the discarded clutter of out cupboards and our lives.
A blessing on those who make it their work to collect these bins together and pour their contents into a waiting lorry, labouring through soaking rain and stinking heat on behalf of the rest of us wasteful citizens.
A blessing on those who wheel out the bins for their forgetful or frail neighbours, and wheel them in again afterwards.
A blessing on those who brighten up their wheelie bins by painting on them pictures of flowers, favourite TV characters or cartoonish self-portraits.
We give thanks for the wheelie bin
Receptacle of all our rubbish
Give us patience with those who use our wheelie bins as playthings: climbing on them, racing down the road in them like plastic chariots, setting them on fire;
Give us strength to push our full and heavy bins to the roadside when we are feeling feeble on bin collection morning;
Keep us clam if in a moment of panic we should think our bin has gone, wheeled away up the road or into oblivion.
Help us to recycle, and bless those who want to help us to recycle more.
Help us to use less packaging, and bless those who want to sell us things with less packaging on them.
Give us grace to care about our waste and the way it affects our city’s space.
We give thanks for the wheelie bin
Receptacle of all our rubbish
Tuesday, October 03, 2006
Dear Lord …
I’m going to print out this prayer and stick it up over my desk.
Dear Lord,
Thank you for this day.
Hold my hand
and give me courage to carry the cross You have chosen for me.
Let me never complain.
Let me smile and give strength to my family and friends
and to all I come in contact with …
(my daily prayer - betty mcelwee – 1984)
Thanks to http://markjberry.blogs.com/safespace/
Dear Lord,
Thank you for this day.
Hold my hand
and give me courage to carry the cross You have chosen for me.
Let me never complain.
Let me smile and give strength to my family and friends
and to all I come in contact with …
(my daily prayer - betty mcelwee – 1984)
Thanks to http://markjberry.blogs.com/safespace/
Post-Sabbatical Report to Trinity Church
We had a busy day on Sunday, but good fun. Morning service (10.30 a.m.), Church Meeting (4.00 p.m.), Shared Tea (5.00 p.m.), All Age Worship (6.00 p.m.). In the Church Meeting I made a presentation to the church about my recent sabbatical. An edited version of My Post-Sabbatical Report can now be found on the church website: www.trinity-rawdon.org.uk (or see the link on the right hand side of my blog). Look for the section titled "Marcus' Message"!
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