Friday, September 29, 2006

Learning from Rural Evangelism in Germany

Rural evangelism is vitally important, and must be kept high in the churches’ list of priorities. It is important biblically, because the journey of the Gospel reached into the cities and the countryside, from Jerusalem to Galilee, and from Galilee to the cities and rural regions of the world. It is important pastorally, because rural Christians and churches are very sensitive to any attitudes that seem to marginalize or devalue them. Rural and urban churches must be held together and seen as equally important if the unity of the church is to continue. And it is important statistically, because, despite the processes of globalisation, a very sizeable proportion of the world’s population is going to remain living in rural settings. In 2003, 12% of the population of Germany lived in rural areas, and that figure is projected to decrease to 9% by 2030 (the equivalent figures for the UK are: 11% decreasing to 8%; for Europe as a whole: 27% decreasing to 20%).

But rural churches and Christians are facing some very real difficulties. The decline of rural congregations, and the closure of rural churches, is a reality we cannot ignore, and forces us to think very creatively about mission in rural settings. For instance, in the rural parish of Altenhagen Germany:
- 2400 church members (53% of the population) in 1953 had decreased to 600 (35% of the population) by 1992;
- a second minister’s position was cancelled due to financial constraints, and one pastor is now responsible for 2 houses, 8 church buildings and 10 cemeteries;
- the church can no longer afford to employ anyone to assist the minister with administrative tasks;
- the number of funerals is now twice the number of baptisms;
- many young families and professionally trained people have moved to the western part of Germany, or to the bigger cities;
- those without any religious affiliation (the ‘Konfessionslose’) are now the largest and fastest growing group in the community.

Rural parts of Germany are no longer the solid, unshakeable foundation of safe church life they once were. On the contrary, rural church life is now under severe pressure, and the rural church cannot take its own survival for granted.

What is needed, therefore, is a new vision for rural life in general, as well as for the rural church. Rural settings present a huge richness in terms of the beauty of nature and close contact with the natural world. Rural settings are also places where many of those who are exhausted by the noise, pace and complexity of urban life like to withdraw for recreation (in the UK context, many ‘professionals’ work in the city but own second homes in the countryside where they reside at weekends). And it is in such rural settings that renewable sources of energy and low-cost marketing strategies for natural (organic?) products can develop. Urban society neglects and bypasses rural development only at the expense of its own survival and quality of life.

And how can the church fit into such a vision? Well, the rural church building is often the only symbol of local identity, the focal point of the community, providing historical memories as well as reminding inhabitants of the balance between life and death. Also, rural life forms an essential component of biblical imagery and language, reminding people of the fundamental dependency of human existence on the rhythms and energies of God’s creation. So, here are some suggestions for ways in which a church presence and active church life could be maintained in a rural setting:

- Church life must be re-organised to address the needs of the urban and semi-urban ‘immigrants’ to rural life (e.g. those with second homes in the countryside) as well as the traditional village inhabitants. Where there are increasing numbers of second-home owner, and the rural population has become migrant or transient, traditional patterns of belonging may no longer be appropriate.

- A physical and personal church presence (i.e. a building and a minister) needs to continue. Our denominations must make the decision to keep a presence in as many villages as possible, even where that decision is costly for the church as a whole. We must avoid any suggestion or impression that the Gospel can only be present and communicated where the money is.

- Church buildings must be maintained and used creatively in the service of the community. Involving secular people, and those not strongly associated with the church, in initiatives to ‘rescue the church-building’ can, in itself, have an evangelistic impact.

- Lay readers/preachers and/or elders (unpaid or on a partial-stipend) must be trained and allowed to perform some essential pastoral functions.

- Rural evangelism should have a focus upon creation spirituality, and a theology of care and protection of the environment.

- Rural settings are those in which the tensions and contradictions of modern life can be highlighted (and where our evangelism should include challenges concerning unsustainable consumption). (What does it mean for our understanding of development and quality of life and nutrition that only farms with hundreds of cows, and huge agricultural business centres, can survive economically; that the animals and their meat are transported 1000s of kilometres to be processed and marketed; that German wool is processed in Asia or Northern Africa, and then returns as cheap clothing for the European market?) Who if not the church is there to listen to the cries of animals and nature violated, and to reflect on unsustainable life-styles?

- Religious orders, Christian communities, and missionary cells could be planted even in those areas where the church has ‘died’ and regular and normal pastoral work have come to an end. (‘Rural Expression’ rather than ‘Urban Expression’?) Even in very remote rural areas, perhaps new forms of Christian service and witness can be developed.

- Perhaps it would be better to have one radiant Christian centre of spiritual life in a vast rural region to which people can travel some distance than to have dozens of slowly dying parishes. (And it is vital that ecumenism remain on the agenda!)

What do you think?

Thursday, September 28, 2006

Learning from Evangelism in India

The context of mission in India highlights the needs for a holistic approach to our proclamation, as well as illustrating some of the tensions that exist.

For many Indian Christians, the very term ‘proclamation’ has come to mean speaking out or speaking about faith and belief particularly to those who are not Christians. For others, though, the concept has led to feelings of uneasiness about what that sort of proclamation might look like.

1. The Christian Youth Fellowship (KTP) of the Mizoram Presbyterian Church has as its motto, ‘Saved to Serve’, and they follow four objectives:
- to lead young people in the faith and likeness of Jesus Christ
- to prepare young people to be the instruments of the church
- to fulfil the tasks of the church
- to proclaim the Gospel of Christ.

However as 99% of those who live in Mizoram are already Christians, evangelism is understood in terms of spiritual renewal or revival of those who are already believers, as well as bringing back those who have ‘strayed’ from the church. Open-air preaching is a primary feature of their proclamation, accompanied by music, singing and offering prayers in the homes they visit.

2. The Student Christian Movement of India (SCMI) also engages in evangelistic work, but takes a rather different approach. They are concerned to address some of the issues faced by young people in their society and nation (globalisation, global warming, deforestation, women’s issues, etc.) and invite members of other faiths to gatherings which present a Christian perspective on these issues without propagating Christianity or trying to convert anyone! The meetings do, however, begin with prayer and Bible study, and a small number of young people have begun to attend church as a result of this initiative.

3. Campus Crusade for Christ, based in Bangalore, believe that evangelism is about fulfilling the Great Commission of Matthew 28.19. They focus their efforts on those who are college students because, apart from anything else, they see these youngsters as the greatest source of manpower for spreading the message of the Gospel across the nation. But, in small groups and short, 20 minute presentations (involving games, drama and testimonies) they encourage the non-Christian students to ‘give Jesus a try’ and emphasise a relationship with Christ rather than a ‘conversion to Christianity’. CCC also put together seminars on issues such as HIV/AIDS, or discussions of films such as The Da Vinci Code. In this way they are able to reach 600-700 students each year, of whom 10 or 20% become Christians.

4. The Youth Fellowship of Wilson Garden Methodist Church, also in Bangalore, encourage college students to visit villages on the outskirts of Bangalore to share the Gospel message with the non-Christians there. Interestingly, however, of a group of 20 young people who engage in this ministry, 3 are Hindus! The villagers with whom they have interacted have shown some considerable interest in the message they have shared.

5. The Youth Department of the Karnataka Central Diocese of the Church of South India primarily sees the need for its young people to be encouraged in their spiritual lives, and sees it as important that they meet together with youngsters from other churches in order to be spiritually ‘re-vitalised’. They also encourage the youngsters to visit hospital patients, old people’s homes and orphanages.

Interestingly, the concept of ‘Freedom of Religion’ causes some tension for all these groups (we may not agree with other faiths, but we must defend their right to hold their beliefs)! However, each one of the groups has a strong sense of ‘mission’, although their approaches and contexts are very different: holistic mission, evangelism, and the explicit proclamation of the Gospel are all emphasised (and defended!) by different Christian organisations working among the youth of India.


Unfortunately, in engaging in her study, the researcher who presented a paper on this subject at the Bossey Seminar (see earlier posts) discovered that it is sometimes easier to be polite and respectful to those of other faiths than it is to our fellow Christians. In this context, there is an urgent need for an effective ecumenism, understanding and respecting the contexts and approaches of other Christians as they engage in mission.

Kindness, consideration, thoughtfulness, courtesy and the ability to be non-judgemental must play a vital role as the church considers ‘Mission as Proclamation of the Gospel’ in this new century. After all, there is no single correct approach to mission or evangelism; no one church or tradition is ‘right’. Rather, in order to reach the variety of cultures that exist in all our communities, a variety of strategies are needed. There is a place for explicit evangelistic preaching to non-believers, as well as a need to meet the needs of those in society who are marginalized and suffering. There is a place for engaging in dialogue and debate with members of other faiths, as well as presenting Christian perspectives on issues that affect all people.

This is exactly why an effective ecumenism is vital if credible mission is to take place. Where one church or tradition is seen to be criticising or undermining the mission strategies of another, the Gospel message is discredited and almost certain to be rejected. But where Christians and churches can work together, supplement one another, and respect the diversity of gifts and approaches to mission, a holistic, effective, credible proclamation is possible.

Tuesday, September 26, 2006

Evangelism in Theological Education (University of Greifswald, Germany)

In 1999, the Federal Synod of Leipzig ‘rediscovered’ Mission and Evangelism as the major purpose of the Christian church, and challenged its congregations to set priorities for Mission & Evangelism on their agenda. They realised the urgency of developing a theology of Evangelism, and of providing practical support for churches (e.g. evangelistic strategies and events). Evangelism must become a permanent dimension of local (open and inviting) churches. “[The church] needs cultural diversity [in order] to tear down the cultural walls which separate unchurched people from the Gospel.”

As a part of this Evangelistic strategy, they are seeking to understand how unchurched people communicate in the postmodern context. They are developing more and deeper contacts with unchurched people, learning to communicate with them. They realise that preaching must no longer be like an academic talk, but more like narrative story-telling. And they are trying to make more use of the Biblical stories (as people don’t know them!).

But Michael Herbst, of the University of Greifswald, in the Eastern part of Germany, has suggested that none of these strategies will be effective unless we deal first with some major problems in the way ministerial students are trained:

- students are trained to be scholars, but they have to act as leaders/managers in their churches;

- students are trained for Christendom, but they have to develop church life in a mission context;

- students are trained to preach and teach for regular attenders, but not for unchurched people;

- students are trained to understand, but not to trust (they must be able to lead a personal spiritual life as academic theologians);

- students are trained to understand and act in a kind of one-man-show.

Michael concludes that evangelism has to become a major part of theological education, and so established, as a part of the university’s Theological Faculty, ‘The Research Institute for Evangelism and Church Development’.

I am probably not qualified to comment on the state of theological education in the UK. It is true, though, that I can identify some of the deficits noted above in my own experience. Much of my reading and study since leaving college has been on emerging church, the post-modern context, etc. (perhaps as an attempt to ‘plug the gaps’).

I am struck again, though, by the many similarities between the East German and the UK contexts. It is imperative that we talk to one another, share experiences and insights, and co-operate across our national boundaries.

Central to Michael Herbst’s convictions is that, in order to engage in meaningful mission we must at the same time re-imagine/re-think the way we do church. I think that is SO important. It is all very well to be more cultural aware when we talk about (and do) mission. But if we are simply inviting not-yet-believers to join us and do the same ‘churchy’ things that we have always done, they will certainly not stay with us. We HAVE to find ways of making our churches attractive and relevant for outsiders, stretching and challenging those who already attend, as well as meeting the spiritual needs of our members.

Saturday, September 23, 2006

Do you like Big Bibles?

This got a mention on Sean’s blog (http://seanthebaptist.blogspirit.com/) and made me laugh:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EobF2TM9Fig&search=Bible

Labyrinth


In the post this morning came a pack of material from the Methodist Church, including a poster advertising a new online labyrinth.

It's not quite finished yet, but you can visit the first few 'stations'. Give it a try ...

www.lostinwonder.org.uk

Friday, September 22, 2006

Learning from Multicultural Ministries (USA)


As a result of globalisation, migrant communities are springing up in every major
city in the world; this is as true of the UK context as anywhere else. And migrant churches are increasingly being established. Growing numbers of urban churches hold their own service on a Sunday morning, and then allow (e.g.) a Nigerian congregation to use their premises later in the day. These ethnic congregations are generally lively and missionary, reaching other members of their own community.

However, segregation is surely not appropriate in the kingdom of God. What is needed, surely, is for the inherited, established churches to find ways of integrating members of other cultures, languages, etc. Initially, this may mean regularly worshipping together with the migrant congregation. But the goal must be the establishment of one church with a diverse membership. That is quite a challenge, and will not necessarily be an easy task. But it is essential for the credibility of our message.

The multicultural church movement in the USA uses three images to speak about different types of church in a multicultural context.

The ‘melting pot’ refers to a traditional attitude that expects outsiders (from diverse cultural backgrounds) to attend American churches and fit in with American ways of worshipping.

Many immigrants are unhappy with such an approach, and are beginning to form their own congregations, and the ‘salad bar’ image refers to these separate, segregated ethnic/racial groupings.

But the multicultural church movement rejects both of these in favour of a third image. The ‘salad bowl’ type of church sensitively mixes a variety of individuals and cultures in a way that respects and values everyone.

The conviction of this movement is that many churches in the USA are declining precisely because, where their communities have become multi-cultural, the churches have not: “… while most of us experience cultural and racial diversity daily, the majority of our churches remain racially and culturally homogenous … Sunday at 11.00 a.m. is still the most segregated hour across America.”

It is evident that, as social patterns change and ethnic populations shift, churches need to be creatively embracing their neighbours. The Office of Evangelism and Racial/Cultural Diversity of the US Presbyterian Church (http://www.pcusa.org/diversity/index.htm) seeks to assist congregations as they welcome all people in a diverse society. And they find a biblical mandate for multi-cultural church:

"When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place (Acts 2.1),
no longer Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female (Galatians 3.28),
a house of prayer for all peoples (Isaiah 56.7b),
a great multitude that no one could count from every nation, tribe, people and language (Revelation 7.9),
all are one in Christ (Galatians 3.28).
Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28.19)."

A (unified) multicultural church will therefore intentionally recognise, celebrate and incorporate a diverse membership in all areas of church life. The congregation will worship using different arts and languages, spiritual practices and theological expressions. The church leaders will ensure that the different cultures and ethnicities who make up the congregation are equally represented on church boards, in committee meetings, in executive positions, and in all aspects of power-sharing. And when the church engages in evangelism, it will ‘provide Good News in a cup that people recognise’ with great sensitivity and respect to their cultural and traditional backgrounds and needs.

Wednesday, September 20, 2006

Practising Christians

Great Tom Wright quote from Hopeful Amphibian:

"Christian ethics is not a matter of discovering what's going on in the world and getting in tune with it.

It is not a matter of doing things to earn God's favour.

It is not about trying to obey dusty rule-books from long ago or far away.

It is about practising, in the present, the tunes we shall sing in God's new world."

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

Learning from Evangelism in Germany

In recent decades, the German church has suffered a painful experience of loss. Many members have left the churches, the public and social face of the church has declined, and the financial resources of the denominations have diminished. An increasing process of ‘unchurching’, secularisation, individualism and pluralism of religion is at work. Christian influence on families, schools and society in general are declining, and the proportion of the population with no connection to church is increasing (many of those from the former GDR, who grew up under atheist communism, have no religious education at all). In some of the cities in the Western part of Germany about 50% of the inhabitants belong to a Christian church, but in Eastern regions that proportion falls to around 10%, and the rate of infant baptism is falling rapidly. Church is no longer a constitutive element of life.

As a result, the ‘Folk Churches’ of Germany have been forced to restructure their work and re-assess priorities. Church buildings have been sold, more and more parishes have been combined, and the institutional future of the German church is uncertain. (On the other hand, some migrant workers in German cities have formed their own churches, which are very active and missionary by nature. But a working ecumenical relationship with them has not yet been established.)

Since the 1990s not only the evangelical free churches (which are usually mission-oriented) but most of the established church traditions in Germany have been engaged in a process of dialogue under the slogan “towards a missionary oikumene”, and with the programmatic statement “The most important task of the churches in Europe is to proclaim in word and action the Gospel of salvation for all people.”

As the churches have worked together toward this end, they have found that conflicts and disagreements between traditions have been avoided, and the focus of discussion has been more and more on those areas of agreement and convergence between churches. (Despite this ecumenical co-operation, though, many churches still focus on themselves. Critics have claimed that the new interest in mission is no more than a self-interested, self-saving programme of action, and it is true that the missionary aim of many of the German churches seems oriented towards consolidation, pragmatism and re-organisation.)

However, a number of significant initiatives are taking place:

  • The Roman Catholic church has responded to falling rates of infant baptism by offering courses introducing the Christian faith to adults, awakening interest in baptism and integration in church life. This process of ‘catechumenate of adults’ is growing in popularity, especially in urban parishes, and is becoming a catalyst for congregational development.
  • The Protestant churches have tended to focus more on those who have been baptised, but who have left the church for a variety of reasons. Many churches are beginning to offer informal ‘locations for rejoining the church’, providing information, counselling, prayer, special services and social projects. This approach is also growing in popularity, especially in urban areas. And, in many places, the project is planned as a regular ecumenical event.
  • Some of the free churches have begun establishing new congregations, church-plants from existing congregations and fellowship groups, which are missionary in character and informal in form and liturgy.

For the German church, it is becoming more and more apparent that mission and ecumenism must go hand in hand. All of the churches are facing the same challenges, and adjusting to the same cultural changes. In their post-Christian society there is an urgency to reflect together on the meaning and practice of contextual mission, and to encourage and inspire one another in the proclamation of the Gospel.

The German cultural context has many parallels with the state of the church in the UK, where nearly 80% of the population want to describe themselves as ‘Christian’ but only about 7% attend church. Many of our denominations have been engaged in church-planting projects, and there is still some impetus for such strategies, but the rate of church-planting has been declining. There are also available in the UK a wide variety of courses offering an introduction to the Christian faith, and this process of ‘catechumenate’ has, in the last few years, had quite some impact (look at the effect of the ‘Alpha’ course). However, interest in such courses as ‘Alpha’ seems to be declining, most of those who attend the courses are already on the fringes of the church (or the ‘de-churched’ in society),and many churches are realising the urgency of reaching those who are totally ‘un-churched’ (a rapidly increasing proportion of the population).

While church-planting and Alpha-course styled initiatives may not exactly have ‘had their day’ in the UK context, it is becoming apparent that other approaches are needed. I am taken with the German concept of “locations for rejoining the church”, and I wonder if a strategy along those lines might be appropriate here? But I am also convinced that even more creative thinking must take place in their context and in ours if our proclamation of the Gospel is to be effective.

Shiver me timbers, it be Talk Like a Pirate Day!


On one glorious day a year, we resign all forms of proper speech fer that of the pirate. It be International Talk Like a Pirate Day! Mateys, if ye not lookin' to spend eternity in Davy Jones' locker, ye best brush up on yer pirate talk!

Here be the official site: http://talklikeapirate.com/

Authentic Church

Interesting piece on Mark Berry’s blog: http://markjberry.blogs.com/way_out_west/

It finishes with a comment on what he would hope for out of the Emerging Church movement:

“More authentic Christ followers, more followers of God not Men, more commitment, more peace activists, more intercessors, more lovers, more bringers of Good News, more holy people, more sacrificial hospitality, more love of scripture, more people who give their lives to walk with others and with God, more honesty, more humility, more spirituality, more creativity, more integrity, more generosity, more wisdom, more Shalom!”

Absolutely! Lots of us in the established churches want to see the same. But there’s lots to learn from the EC about how to get there!

Monday, September 18, 2006

The Doomsday Code

Did anyone else watch the Doomsday Code with Tony Robinson on Saturday night and find themselves shouting at the TV? Fascinating insight into (US) American foreign policy in the Middle East, and seriously terrifying! How can the 'end-timers' speak of so much bloodshed with so much glee? I thought Tony did a great job of showing how damaging these un-Christian beliefs are proving to be for the rest of the world. Just wasn't so convinced by his attempt to dismiss the book of Revelation as a magic-mushroom induced hallucination that doesn't belong in the Bible.

Friday, September 15, 2006

Wear a Blue Hat for Darfur

On September 17, let the world know that we must take immediate action to protect the people of Darfur. Thousands of people at events around the globe will call on their governments to pressure the U.N. Security Council and the government of Sudan to deploy U.N. peacekeeping troops to the region.

Check this link.
http://www.dayfordarfur.org/blue_hats/default.aspx

Wear a blue hat on the day to symbolize the blue berets that U.N. peacekeeping forces wear.

Church in a Bottle


During my sabbatical I have taken part in some wine-tasting classes run by my good friend Dave Lawson from Chez Vin, Otley. Great fun, and I’ve discovered some gorgeous wines.

The other week, Dave was telling his class about French wines from Bordeaux and Burgundy. The red wines of Bordeaux are traditionally a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Franc grapes, although each maker has their own ‘recipe’. And anyone who grows wine in the Bordeaux region has the right to call their wine ‘Bordeaux’ (and charge a lot of money for it) regardless of the quality of the wine itself. The red wines of Burgundy are predominantly Pinot Noir and, again, anyone who makes wine in the region can call it Burgundy.

However, the traditional Bordeaux and Burgundy wine makers are beginning to lose out to the New World Wines, and this is at least in part due to the fact that they refuse to label their wines clearly, and they refuse to change the way they have always done things. They would consider that, if you do not know what’s in a Bordeaux blend, or a Burgundy, you shouldn’t be drinking it anyway!
Don’t get me wrong. There are some gorgeous Bordeaux wines out there (although the expensive Burgundy we tried at Dave’s class was horrible). But it strikes me that there are some parallels here with the state of the church in the UK. Sometimes we are so hung up about the way we have always done things, that we forget to consider the people we should be trying to attract to our ‘product’. (I know that the Christian faith is NOT a consumer product, and I want to resist anything that looks like consumerism in church. But you get my point!)

Learning from Evangelism in South Africa

Historically, the South African cities were places where apartheid held sway. However, in the post-1994 democracy, many white inhabitants have fled the cities or relocated from the city centres to the suburbs. The inner cities are now settled by the poorest Africans, and have become multi-racial, multicultural, and multi-religious. A rise of individualism is eroding any sense of community values, and there is an increasing gap between rich and the poor. The AIDS infection rate in South Africa is the highest in world, and many youngsters have grown up without a parent figure or any corresponding discipline. Poverty, unemployment and crime are at an all-time high, and South Africa has unacceptable rates of murder, rape and other forms of gender-related violence. Many South Africans (especially in the cities) are homeless and landless, and levels of corruption in government are appalling.

It is this very difficult cultural context that such Christian groups as Pretoria Community Ministries (PCM) are attempting to evangelise, and central to their approach is an emphasis on a ‘Ministry of Presence’. They have recognised that long-term relationships are essential for evangelism to be effective, and they have a vision for “restored, whole, empowered inner city communities where people flourish in God’s presence.” As a result of this philosophy, Pretoria Community Ministries are involved with many of the marginalized in South Africa’s inner-cities, aiding them with housing and economic development. They believe that, in their context, they “cannot proclaim Jesus without responding to the needs of the people around [them]”.

For PCM, evangelism is a process of becoming present alongside people. It is about listening to others as much as it is about proclamation, and being respectful to their views and beliefs. Evangelism is concerned with the real lives of those who need to receive the Gospel, and with engaging in real conversations with them. Evangelism must include addressing issues of injustice, and participating in projects to relieve hardship and suffering. As the South African Christians do evangelism in this way, becoming companions and friends to those whom God loves, they trust that non-believers will experience the Good News of Jesus for themselves.

We in the UK church can learn much from the experiences of the South Africans. Personal relationships with unbelievers are very important for them, and they seen that proclaiming the Gospel must go hand in hand with practical demonstrations of God’s love, as well as a witness to God’s concern for the disadvantaged and marginalized. They do not hold Evangelism and Social Concern in tension, but rather allow each one to authenticate the other. Neither can we, in the UK, “proclaim Jesus without responding to the needs of the people around us”, and without entering into real, personal, friendships with non-believers. It is sad that so many in the UK’s churches have few, if any, friends outside of church at all.

The end is nigh!

It's nearly the end of my sabbatical. I'm beginning to think about being back at (proper) work on Monday. But I have had a really good three months, and I'm looking forward to sharing some of my reflections with the people at Trinity Church. I'll keep posting them here, too.

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

Learning from Evangelism in South Korea


Between March and May 2004 a research project was undertaken among 1,500 non-believers in nine provinces of the nation of South Korea. The conviction of the (Pentecostal, evangelical) Christians in South Korea is that evangelism is essential for church growth. However, despite a passion for evangelism among the churches, church growth seems to have ‘stagnated’. It has recently been realised that mission to different contexts, settings, and even personalities, requires different strategies, and the purpose of the research was to identify which evangelistic strategies suit which personality-types.

The age, gender, level of education and income of each participant was noted, as well as the region in which they lived. Then the survey asked questions of each, such as: what they felt important in their life, what concerned them, what their past experiences of church might have been, what their reactions were to being ‘evangelised’, and what they might be looking for in a church. (The results of the survey suggest that poor, uneducated females over the age of 50 are the most open to the Protestant Gospel, and that this presents to the church an enormous challenge.)

One response to these statistics is a strategy devised by Joshua Young-Gi Hong, president of the Institute for Church Growth and a pastor of the Yoido Full Gospel Church in Korea. He calls it the Diamond Evangelistic System, and in it develops a customised witnessing strategy. Non-believers are classified into four types, evasive, negative, neutral and optimistic, according to their likely response to the Gospel. A ‘tool-kit’ of evangelistic strategies is also identified, ranging from the distribution of Gospel booklets, through the writing of personal letters of invitation, to involving the non-believer in a small group. A table shows how effective each strategy is likely to be is reaching each type of non-believer. One of the main tenets of the whole strategy is personal relationship, as the witness must get to know the non-believer personally in order to identify which strategy will be the most appropriate and effective.

Significantly, though, the strategy does not end with the act of evangelism. The Korean church has recognised that a large proportion of new believers do not settle in a church. Research states that at least 10 million Koreans have visited a church at least once, but the church is not able to encourage those people to continue to attend and grow in their faith. In response to this, the Diamond Evangelistic System implements a three stage ‘new-believer’ settlement strategy. First, the new believer must be in regular contact with church members, by letter, phone call, or visit (continuous contact helps newcomers to settle). Second, regular meetings (or classes) must be held where the newcomers can feel free to ask questions about their faith and learn more about Christ. Lastly, the church members must be encouraged to make friends with the newcomers (the more friends a newcomer makes in his/her first few months in the church, the more likely he/she is to stay).

The study concludes that a change of mind-set in the churches is needed, the churches must give more priority to the activity of witnessing and evangelism: “Church growth is harder to achieve but we must still have vision and hope for the salvation given to us by God … We should [know and] understand our target non-believers and pray to the Lord for help …”

It would seem, then, that the Korean church faces some of the same difficulties we do in the UK. Their members are reluctant to engage in evangelism, claiming a lack of time and/or experience. But, in response, many churches are training their members in evangelism, and providing them with small-scale, creative ways to witness in their communities (e.g. handing out Easter eggs). Through such schemes as the Diamond Evangelistic System evangelism is being put back at the top of the Korean Church’s priorities. In this way, the Protestant Church in South Korea is committing itself to effective evangelism in their context.

I believe that the UK churches can learn from the single-mindedness, the emphasis on prayer, and the very practical approach of the South Korean Christians.. We must take note of their emphasis on the need for personal relationships (as individuals and in small groups) with non-believers, and the imperative to start where they are at rather than beginning our conversations with abstract religious questions. Those of us who lead churches must also consider how we can train and inspire our members to make their whole lives a ‘witness’, and place evangelism at the heart of all we do as God’s people.

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

Night Church in the UK?

Those involved with the Night Church project in Cope]nhagen believe that their Mass has the ability to awaken people from their passivity toward God and their own spiritual life. Through the use of signs and symbols, through the use of music and movement, the service is able to convey a real sense of God's presence and grace, is able to speak to the deepest part of a person's life and let them know that “all is well.”

Most people in the UK are not necessarily antagonistic toward God, but neither are they moved by the sterile rituals of our churches. We, too, need to move away from traditional, inherited patterns of worship, experiment with our liturgies, and invent forms of words, rituals and movement that enable postmodern people to connect with stillness, space, and (ultimately) God. Unfortunately, however, the task of the churches of Denmark is more about drawing existing (albeit nominal) members back to their churches. The challenge facing the UK church is to connect with the many who know nothing of Christianity or the Gospel, and who are seeking spiritual answers in other places than the church.

Perhaps we too can re-invent worship as evangelism?

(Drop in to Trinity Church, Rawdon between 5.00 p.m. and 8.00 p.m. on Sunday 29th October for an experiment in 'spiritual space'!?)

Monday, September 11, 2006

Bossey Seminar #3

All the presentations through the week were of a very high quality, and it was good to hear stories from contexts very different from what we face in the UK. But some of those I found most stimulating came from cultural situations not so very far removed from the context into which we seek to do mission in the UK.

The Scandinavian countries and Germany, for instance, are beginning to see similar levels of apathy and disinterest from the un-churched in their communities – especially in the larger cities where postmodernity and capitalism have taken a strong hold. However, much of their mission is still to the ‘de-churched’, as many if not most of the members of the population have some significant church background. In Denmark, for instance, the state church is financed by a church tax, and 85% of the population are baptised as infants and confirmed (even if they go on to leave the church in adult life).

At the Lutheran Cathedral in Copenhagen an evangelistic project, ‘Night Church’, has had some success in reaching these de-churched (not un-churched) people, and re-connecting them with God and with the church. A phrase written in the visitors’ book at the Night Church reads: “It’s unbelievably beautiful to meet this quietness, this space in the night. I will put the Cathedral high on my agenda in the years to come”. Right in the middle of the city’s noise, the project provides an opportunity for “outsiders” and for the “seekers” to meet, to have a cup of tea or coffee together, to write, to walk around, or simply to kneel and pray.

The Night Church is an effort to do mission and evangelism in the context of a Western, postmodern and secularised society, providing a light in the middle of the night, not only at the end of the day, but also in the darkness of the people’s lives, thirsty for the good news of Gospel of Jesus Christ. It is a project involving twelve different churches who are struggling to be faithful to the Lord, and attempting to find new forms of being the Body of Christ, in a meaningful way, in the midst of a meaningless society.

Frequently Cathedrals have been used for performing concerts and this is also the case in Copenhagen, but what makes the experience unique is the way that art is used as an instrument to share the good news. Furthermore the regular church activities such as worship, Holy Communion, reading and interpreting the Bible, prayers, etc., are developed in an innovative way, enabling people to feel welcome and embraced. But perhaps the most meaningful characteristic of the project is sharing in the love of Christ “doing nothing”, just being in calm, in silence.

Those who plan the Night Church services are keen to combine holiness with the everyday life and language of the city. Both forms of speech are necessary , because modern people often fail to understand what the church is talking about: religious matters must be spoken about in everyday terms. They believe that God is already in our everyday lives, but that church can function as a refuge from the demands of the world, and a place where our connection with God is renewed. And so the Night Church functions as just such a place, and embraces all people (rich/poor, old/young, drunk/sober, new/traditional church-goers).

Sunday, September 10, 2006

The Monster


Here's another pic of the Ducati. Enjoy!

I've just done an oil and filter change on it, and got oil all over the garage floor. The aftermarket exhaust system is badly situated - remove the sump plug and oil drips onto the manifold! There's a clever magnetic bit on the end of the plug, though, that collects the tiny bits of metal shavings that sink to the bottom of the sump.

more multi-faith thoughts

A couple more quotations on the multi-faith thing. These are from Walter Winks, 'Engaging the Powers':

"... out there in the world, also, there are others ... who have seen some of the same lights. They have taken other routes than that of the Wise men. They have gone the way of renunciation, or of loss, or of outrage, or of unbelief. They too have suffered for their truth at the hands of the reality police. They too have seen revelations of an alternative. They have called it different names. They have embraced different faiths, or none at all. But the truth they serve is one with the truth Jesus served."

"In Matt 25.31-46, those who are declared 'blessed' of the Abba are not necessarily Christians, but people who actually behave lovingly toward the hungry, homeless, refugees, and prisoners. They do not act this way because they have been taught that in so doing they do it to Christ. Indeed, they are surprised to learn that their acts of compassion were in fact done to Him. Nor do they do it out of duty, or to earn a reward. We do not, in fact, know why they do it, or who they are. They may be atheists, Jews, Muslims; they may be addicts, convicts, whores ... Apparently, Jesus' God is interested in one thing only: whether we behave in a way consistent with the divine order that is coming. Our religious preferences, practices, and affiliations are, next to that, a matter of indifference."

Makes you think, doesn't it?

Bossey Seminar #2


As I wrote earlier, at the beginning of June 2006 I attended a seminar - organised by the World Council of Churches - titled: 'Mission as Proclamation of the Gospel: towards a new ecumenical agenda for evangelism in the 21st century'.

42 of us took part in the seminar. Lots of churches around the world had identified the subject matter as a highly important priority, and many of them had sent their ‘top’ theologians and bishops to be present. One German denomination had even appointed their General Secretary as a delegate.

BUT Alistair Cook (a Church of Scotland ordinand) and I were the only two from the UK. We had made our own applications and arrangements to attend the seminar. Neither of us hold a position of any authority within our denominations, and we were both extremely disappointed not only that our own denominations had not seen fit to appoint any official delegates, but that NONE of the UK churches had done so.

I now have some very serious questions about how committed the UK churches actually are to this sort of international ecumenical dialogue!

Friday, September 08, 2006


I like this bit from Evangelism without Additives by Jim Henderson. Perhaps I'll buy the book. It's quoted at http://johnsmulo.typepad.com/:

"I resigned from witnessing in 1996. I knew I could never go back to the same old programs, the contrived joviality, or the fake evangelistic caring. But what would I replace them with? ...


"... The church has spent enormous amounts of time and energy planning programs for reaching the unchurched. We've redesigned church parking lots, reprinted our brochures, repainted our Sunday-school rooms, and even gotten flashy Web sites up and running, but the battle isn't happening in our buildings. It's in our backyards."

Thursday, September 07, 2006

Julie said: "... any conclusions about multi-faith situations ... ?"

We didn't touch on the multi-faith issue at the Bossey seminar, although I have been doing one day a week - as well as weekend cover - for the Bradford Hospitals (multifaith) Chaplaincy Department. That has been nothing but a positive experience!

I've been reading some of Brian McLaren's stuff over the last couple of months, though. One of the characters (in 'A New Kind of Christian') makes these assertions:

"... in the long run, I think the world is better off for having all these different religions – better than having no religions at all, or just one (even if that one was ours). It makes me wonder if these other religions might have a role much like Paul described for the Old Testament law in Galatians – they serve as teachers or caretakers that preserve a culture until Christ can come to it with His Good News. They aren’t the enemy of the Gospel, in my mind, any more than Christianity is the enemy ..."

And:

"I believe that Jesus is the Saviour of the world. I believe that one day every knee will bow to Him and every tongue will confess that He is Lord. I believe that He really is the Way, and that if we believe in Him and follow Him He’ll bring us to the Father. But, too often, when we quote the verse about Jesus being the way, it sounds like we’re saying He’s in the way – as if people are trying to come to God and Jesus is blocking the path and saying, ‘Oh no you don’t! You have to get past me first.’ I really don’t think that’s what Jesus meant when He described Himself as ‘the Way’."

And:

"My understanding of the Gospel tells me that religion is always a mixed bag, whether it’s Islam, Buddhism, Judaism or even Christianity. Some religion reflects people’s sincere attempts to find the truth, but some of it represents people’s attempts to evade the truth through hypocrisy. Some of it reflects glimpses of God that people get through nature, through experience, through the fingerprints of God in their own design and in the design of the universe – like Paul talks about in Acts 19 or Romans 1. But some of it represents our own ego, our own pride, as we try to suppress the truth and look holy while we do it. Even the apostle Peter had to be told by Jesus – once – that he was the mouthpiece of Satan! And I don’t think that Christianity has, on the whole, proved itself much better than Peter. But that’s the whole point of the Gospel, isn’t it – that we’re all in a mess, whatever our religion, all in need of the grace of God ... Jesus is the Saviour. Christianity isn’t. The church isn’t. Jesus is."

I don't know if that helps. But it's worth thinking about!

Sabbatical Ravings


The main reason I set up the blog was to share some of the thoughts and reflections arising from my sabbatical. I have just one week to go before I return to work, and I'm beginning to pull together some of the threads, etc.

I began by attending a seminar at the Bossey Ecumenical Institute in Geneva, Switzerland, titled: 'Mission as Proclamation of the Gospel: towards a new ecumenical agenda for evangelism in the 21st century'. There's a mouthful, eh? And a subject to get your teeth into.

Of 42 participants, on the seminar, just two of us were from the United Kingdom. Other European countries represented were Switzerland, Germany, Denmark, Norway and Italy. From Africa: Benin, South Africa, Ghana and Burundi. From Asia: India, Korea and Pakistan. From the Americas: Cuba, Jamaica, the West Indies and the USA. The South Pacific Cook Islands and the Island of Kiribati were also represented. In other words, there were represented at Bossey at least 20 different cultures and contexts in which mission is seen as urgent and imperative.

During the course of the week, we shared a spiritual life (morning prayers and Bible Studies, as well as attendance at the English-speaking Lutheran Church in Geneva on Sunday), and significant fellowship (many friendships began that will be maintained at least by e-mail, and a WCC online community, the ‘Ecumenical Network of Evangelists’, was established), as well as the opportunity to receive and discuss papers from a number of contributors. And it was fascinating to hear stories and reflections on mission from different churches and Christians around the world.

Watch this space for some of my reflections and conclusions that came out of that week.

Posting #1


Hi all! This is my first post on my first blog. Just trying it out for starters, but stick with it and I'll try and be a bit more interesting in future.

Bye.
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