IMPORTANT DAYS

 

Hi everyone.

Not many of us may care so much that it’s a new football season but for those of us who meet at the House of Football it’s becoming a little more all-consuming all over again. It can be like this with church life too – our interest and connection ebbing and flowing as time passes by – some of us loving it – being engrossed in it – others less so, less connected. Well, in church terms it definitely feels like the beginning of a new season. My sense is that these are important days for us as a church family and there is so much going on and so much needing prayer right now that I have felt that I needed to get in touch with you all – by video, by facebook, by email, by letter… whichever was the best way for you to connect with you about it all…

A few Sundays ago I handed out a flyer with a vision of what the church would be like in 2019 – five years from now – I hope that you have had a chance to read it. It’s not a fixed thing – it’s not a prophecy – it’s not a manifesto – it’s just what I can imagine and what I can hope for… It tells a story of how we have grown – in number and in strength and in maturity. It tells a story of how we have joined together around a shared mission and how everyone has played a part to bring it about… a story of new families, new men and new young people and children. A story of new people of all ages who have found a way back to the father that created them. It’s a story of salvation and forgiveness and healing. It’s a story of rescue. It’s what I live for.

If I am honest it’s been a challenging summer for us. Summer is great for a break but it can also fragment our community life for a while as numbers fluctuate on Sundays and mid-week meetings and activities take a breather. With Barrie and Ruth leaving Rose Cottage after an amazing four and half year stint we have had to regroup and take stock. With me making the decision to cut the number of early morning services back to one a month I know that there have been feelings of sadness about it all. With changes to the building needing to become firmed up anxieties can grow about the changes that are going to take place. With people being taken ill and needing hospital care, with anniversaries of loved ones having to be faced, and with the ongoing challenge of doing life and mission in Twerton we have felt stretched and vulnerable. Behind the scenes many of us are facing major decisions, important life choices and difficult personal challenges.

All this has left its mark on us and we have had to hold on. Which we are doing… just…

What is God saying to us in all this? What is he wanting to remind us of?

We know that God knows it all. And that he is utterly interested in it all. There isn’t a moment of our day, a hair on our head that he isn’t concerned with. He loves more than the sparrows – this we know. And we know that he has called us here – not to die in the desert but to find life – life in all its rich fullness. We know that he aches for our community, for the locality and we know that Bath will not be healed until Twerton is healed, Bath will not be free until Twerton is free. We know this. He has not forgotten us. He is ahead of us. He is providing for us. He is fighting for us and he who began a good work in us is faithful to complete it…

And it is with this hope that I want to invite you to join me in praying for the churc, for the community, for each other once again. Of course we already pray for each other but let’s recommit ourselves to this task. Let’s recommit ourselves to interceding and for digging deep into God’s storehouses of grace and seeking God for his blessing on us and our community. My goodness we need it.

Can you pray for Rose Cottage?

I am so excited about the future of Rose Cottage as we make it a St Michael’s Hub – all freshly painted upstairs and down – ready for hospitality and welcome, for prayer and ministry, for serving and listening, for discipleship and worship. Pray for the new kitchen manager being appointed this week – and for the team they will need to draw around them. Pray for the staff team relocating the office to the upstairs which is going to be so great for us – connecting us to everyone and everything. Pray for the other ideas we have – for family days, for youth groups, for the art group, for ‘house groups’ using the centre.

One exciting thing we are doing is to turn one of the rooms upstairs into a prayer space – open for everyone to use – to connect and to reach out – right in the heart of the High Street. Of course you are all welcome to come and use it!

Pray for Mark and he oversees the work and for the new Mission Committee that we are drawing together in October to shape and bless the church in its mission and disciple-making. Pray a blessing over the Rec House and all that happens there.

It’s been a great Summer at the Rec and with Andrew Lawrence appointed for 6 months as a Community Musician it looks like the place with continue to buzz. Pray for the resources to come to expand and extend his work.

And pray for the young people. Luke and the team have built up incredible life-changing relationships with them and it has been so amazing to see the work mature and develop with the creation of the two new chaplaincy posts – Laura and Gwen. Luke’s passion to see these families and young people find life in Christ is so infectious and it really is amazing that the school has contributed to funding part of a post for the next two years. Do pray for the new team as they get their feet under the ground and begin to make connections. Do pray for Luke, Mark, Louise and myself as Governors at St Michael’s Junior school – looking to build on the success of last year’s SAT’s results and deepen the Christian ethos of the place.

Of course it’s also a new term at the infant school too so pray for – George as deputy and for Kate and Nathan as governors and for Ann and the team at First Steps.

Any day now the city will be swelled with thousands of new Students returning to the city or arriving here for the first time. We may not have had many Students join us in the past but with so many of them living locally I am sure that God is going to bring a number to us this year. There is an organisation called Fusion that we are connected to that helps student’s get rooted into local churches. There are over 50 on the list who we are inviting to a come and taste our community and hospitality on the last day of Fresher’s week on Sunday 28th September when we are having a church lunch after the service. Pray for the new students moving into the area and that God will protect and enliven any young Christians as they take their first steps away from home.

In a few weeks’ time the PCC are meeting and this month we will be hearing back from the Architect who we have commissioned to produce some outlying plans to take forward. Considerable time has gone into thinking everything through and together we will need to begin to discern the right steps forward. This will include all of us and will require us to discern from God a vision for his future for the church here. Prayer will be fundamental to this.

For a number of years we have had the idea of being a ‘house of prayer’ and have encouraged one another to convene ‘houses of prayer’ in each other’s homes and at the church each week. If you are free on Tuesday’s at 7-8pm then join us in the church each week to pray and seek God together. If not, consider forming your own ‘house of prayer’ for an hour each week to join with others in circling all these concerns in prayer.

In all these things, especially after the disruption of the summer months, I am particularly mindful of the importance for us to meet together – on Sundays as a larger gathering and midweek in smaller home groups or formation groups. I believe this is vital for us as a church family and I would like to encourage everyone to recommit to these times together. We not only miss out on being blessed ourselves when we are miss out on these but we are unable to be a blessing to others who need us. Part of our purpose for gathering together is to pray for and minister to one another. I long for us to grown in confidence in doing this for each other each week as I know just how much stuff we all carry. Can I encourage you to make the most of any opportunity to receive or to offer prayer when it comes. I am convinced God will act the more we ask.

Lastly – a couple of other more random points…

The first is having a new bell ringer group. Over the last few years Sharon Bradley has been pulling together a group of novice bell ringers who have been ‘learning the ropes’ for ringing at weddings. Recently they offered to ring on Sundays and am delighted that a new group will be ringing every fortnight at 10am to call Twerton to church… Just to say, when you see them in the tower the best way in is through the porch door instead!

And lastly I am grateful that the Diocese have offered me the opportunity of having a three month Sabbatical. Vicars are usually only offered a sabbatical once in their ministry so it is an important time for me. Their purpose is to give a minster the chance to take a step back, to rest, to reflect and to recharge their batteries – spiritual, physical and emotional – ready for the next phase of ministry. It is a good time to take one when there is a Curate in post and I am delighted that Kate has been so encouraging to me about it all as she will be taking up much of the weight of my absence. But, of course, I am by no means indispensable and I am excited not only of the idea of seeing how I will grow through this time away but also how the church will grow without me being around. I am going to be taking mine in November and coming back in February which means that you will be celebrating Christmas without Tory or I. Kate, the church wardens, the PCC and the staff team have all begun preparing for my time away and I value your prayers for me, and Tory, as we take the time to go deeper into the life of Jesus and rest in him for a while.

In all this I am more and more aware that everything we do as a church is a community thing. Christianity is often presented as it’s about God and me – about us individually. It is but it is about far more than that. What really matters is how we live as a community. This is what will be what matters most over the next five years.

Let us recommit to picking up the towel, sharing meals centred on Jesus’ own last supper and loving one another as Christ has loved us.

These three remain. Faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.

A NEW SEASON

The summer is almost over… not quite… but we can feel it ebbing away. Autumn is on its way and the nights are getting colder and conversations are beginning about the heating.

We are used to this rhythm of change each year and yet we still in some ways find it hard. Coming to terms with the fact that nothing stays the same for ever is one of life’s hardest tasks. September (my birth month) always brings new beginnings. Every child and young person moves up a year at school or college and everything from new pencil cases to new uniforms to new friends are acquired. It can be an exciting time of change.

Here in our community, just like nature, we are entering into a new season of life together and while daunting there is much to anticipate. Luke has been able to fund, recruit and appoint a new team to join him in the work of LIFE365 deepening our connection with families through the children and young people of the area. We are excited about the new chaplaincy posts that have been created and pray for Laura and Gwen. Mark has helped us evaluate and plan for the next stage of life at Rose Cottage and we are looking to appoint a new Kitchen Manager from October. Over the last few weeks work has begun on redecorating the upstairs of Rose Cottage in readiness for us to relocate the staff offices there and for the centre to become a stronger hub for us as a church. Connections and relationships through the Rec House are blossoming and Andrew Lawrence (Mark’s brother) has run an amazing project this summer helping young people write, perform and record their own songs.

As we look further forward we know that we need to complete the redevelopment and renewal of the building that we have been gifted. Much has been happening behind the scenes on this regard and we are going to be entering a new season of fundraising and development as we finalise our plans together and take our next steps.

In all these areas of life we can see that we are entering a new season of life as a church. Exciting. Daunting. New. Like the feeling you get at the beginning of a new term.

All new things bring loss with them too. A new child takes away those evenings when it was ‘just the two of us’. A new house means new problems to solve, new decorating to take on and new neighbours in exchange for old. A new job means leaving your old familiar workplace and embracing a new team, a new task, a new community.

It will be the same for us in our changing situation. It is inevitable. We won’t be able to avoid it. Entering a new season will inevitably mean some old things will be left behind. Over many months I have been reflecting and praying about our Sunday services (I’m always doing this actually) and I believe it is the right time to draw us back together to one main service each week and only having one early morning service a month. I know that this is hard, that it is a loss, but am convinced that we need each other more than ever at this time of change.

What matters in all this is us having a shared goal, a shared vision. ‘Being united with one heart and mind’ – just as the early church were. Jesus has always been the glue that holds us together as a church rather than social background or age or class but in these days ahead our unity will be challenged even more as we walk together into a new season. We will have to work hard at being united around him. We will be tempted to give up on each other.

As well as Jesus, it will be a shared sensed of mission and purpose that will hold us together through this time. I am unashamed about reminding us all that the reason we exist as a church community – the reason St Michael’s exists – is to participate in God’s mission to the people who live here. As a church we are caught up in God’s story (HIS-story), not ours, and we have been commissioned by Jesus to make disciples, embodying, proclaiming and demonstrating his message of good news.

Our context is Twerton and our goal is to see more and more men, women and children in Twerton find Life in Christ. This is our mission, our purpose, our reason for existence.

We are mindful that we are an Anglican Church and this gives us a history, a liturgy, and a tradition to start from, it gives us a specific role in the community and offers us numerous opportunities. It also brings with it various obligations, expectations and responsibilities, and it also brings with it a number of challenges.

All this is good. It is who we are. Who God has called us to be.

I believe God is leading us into a new future – linked to the past, but different from it. Our future is to be a church of new Christians, to be a growing church, and a younger church. Our future is to be a church that is rooted in the locality with a mission to the locality. Our future is to be a church of small groups, a church of deep relationships and strong connections. Our future is to be a church that is outward looking, reaching out to 100’s of people every week whether through LIFE365, the REC HOUSE, ROSE COTTAGE or through our own natural relationships with our neighbours.

I believe our future is to be a church that trains and equips people – interns/students/new Christians/future leaders. I believe it is to be a church that expresses itself in vibrant, charismatic and engaged worship with a deep spirituality. Our future is to be a church that models reconciliation and forgiveness, a maturing church that is committed to supporting one another in our discipleship, and which communicates strong and relevant teaching. Our future is to be a diverse church of wounded sinners – open to all but seeking transformation of all. A community of both invitation and challenge.

In all this I believe it is important to know that it is God’s desire for this to happen through us. Not despite us, but through us. God wants to grow his church here in Twerton through us, small and vulnerable though we are. His desire is to grow his family through his family. He wants to use us, the poor in spirit, the weak, the vulnerable, the broken. He wants to grow his family through us, his family here. Brothers and sisters, we are entering a new season together, a new term. Of course we are feeling the mix of emotions that come with any new season – trepidation, excitement, nervousness – all mixed together.

Let us hold firm together, walk together, re-unite ourselves around our shared Master and around our shared vision. Let us recommit ourselves to build, to work, to pray, to give, for this vision to come about. Let us enter this new season with hope and confidence. For God is with us. We may face challenges on every side, but the one who has overcome the world is with us and will never leave us or forsake us. And in him we are more than conquerors.

Living out of grace and peace

Christmas is one thing, New Year is quite another.

Which one do you prefer?

This year, with Gus home for Tory’s birthday on a surprise visit, I loved putting up the tree and watching the kids hang their memories and treasures on the tip of the branches. We went to bed late that night but happy. That was the 16th December – still over a week to go – and there was much to do, much to get ready for, much to organise.

And on the day itself, for us as a family, with Tory’s mum down to stay, finding it hard to ‘say no to a crisp’ and commenting amusingly on ‘call the midwife’, we took our time and let things emerge. Of course, now Angus and Hebe are older, the pace has changed and the conversation has deepened.

The weather’s been variable and it’s on days like this that it’s both good and bad to have a dog. They get you out – no matter what the rain is like – and it’s not unusual to find the walks strangely refreshing.

For me, I find praying, listening and sitting still hard at Christmas. At other times too, but especially at Christmas. Too many things to do, conversations to have, miles to travel. In my ideal version of Christmas I find God again and again, I rest in him, I read about his son, I still myself. In reality I find myself distracted by countless things – mostly screens.

Christmas is one thing but as the week passes and we approach New Year a whole new set of issues arise. Already tired from the getting ready for Christmas, I find myself staying up a bit later than I ought and I find it hard to refresh myself. And then, ‘Crash!’, in comes New Year – not just another late night but a whole set of concerns and thoughts and resolutions.

Jesus Christ may not be at the centre of our cultural life but we find it hard to completely shake off the religious and spiritual behaviours that seem hardwired into our DNA. At Christmas time countless thousands find themselves contradicting their normal belief and behaviour, singing ‘Glory’ to the son of David and, ‘Hosanna in the highest heaven’. At New Year the talk is all about resolutions, making a new start, turning the page. Every paper, every radio station, every magazine has something to say on the subject. We are all longing for more, for better, for thinner.

The Christian word for resolution is repentance – thinking again, rethinking everything, turning around – and although that is not such a popular word, that is what we all engage in.

At New Year everyone has a go at reviewing their lives. We can’t help it. We rethink our eating, our bodies, our time management, our goals, our ambitions, our money, our relationships, our work. And of course, all this thinking is hard for any of us whose life is hard, or bleak, or difficult, anyone whose life is unlikely to ‘just improve’. Christmas covers over our concerns but New Year brings back into the light all over again and sometimes this can be as overwhelming as coming out of the cinema one afternoon. It is no wonder that doctors report that depression is highest in January, because January is the month of honesty and review, and when things aren’t all that good depression can be a natural response.

For some, I guess, New Year is a moment of freshness, newness and optimism. This year, they hope, things will get better. This year I live the way I want to. This year I will lose a few pounds, make a few pounds, lift a few pounds. This year I will get the balance right.

How is New Year for you? Have you been caught up in the narrative of reflection and renewal once again? And if so, how has that left you feeling?

As Christians, as beloved children of God, as followers of Jesus, as Spirit filled sons and daughters, as disciples, we live our lives in a good story, a story that gives us much hope, much joy and much peace. And it goes like this.

I am loved
I am chosen
I am forgiven
I am filled
I am equipped
I am safe

God has loved us, chosen us, forgiven us, filled us, equipped us, and saved us. As we approach a new year we must let this story fill our minds and hearts. We must let this worldview direct our thinking and dominate our feelings and emotions.

In response to every worry, every dream, every doubt, every fear, every task, every conflict around the corner, every plan, every complexity, every hope, every turn, God says to our hearts the same things, again and again.

You are loved I love you
You are chosen I choose you
You are forgiven I forgive you
You are filled I will fill you
You are equipped I will equip you
You are safe I will protect you

Why do we find these things so hard to hear?
Why do we find it hard to rest into this story?

The world around us tells us another story. It tells us, again and again, that we will not be loved unless we succeed, be beautiful, achieve, win, or impress. It tells us that only the best are chosen, only the slim, only the good, only the perfect. It tells us that only the good are forgiven, only the deserving. It tells us that there isn’t enough to go around so we’d better take stuff when it comes past, grab it, drink it, eat it, spend it, indulge it. It tells us that we need to work harder, train harder, push more, rest less. It tells us that we are vulnerable, in danger, that a crisis is just around the corner.

Jesus’s existence, his birth, his life, his death, his resurrection, his ascension, his spirit sending and his return all tell us that there is another place to live from – a place of acceptance, of calling, of forgiveness, of plenty, of blessing and of security. The New Testament calls living in this place, “living in Christ”. In Christ we have everything we need for living joyful, peaceful, anxiety free, content, loving, beautiful and fruitful lives. Everything. Everything.

If you don’t believe this you will know. You will be searching for the answer somewhere else. Searching for love, for significance, for forgiveness, for satisfaction, for strength and for refuge, somewhere else, someone else, something else. It may be your work, your role, your family, your money, a relationship, a place in church life. It could be anything. For we are desperate until we find these things.

The good news we have to offer, the good news we have the chance of experiencing, is that this life is available to us in Christ.

Repentance isn’t just feeling bad about the old way of doing something, it is about feeling attracted to a completely new way of living. That’s why Jesus always linked repentance and belief. “Repent and believe the good news,” he said. Because to live in Christ means believing that Christ really is the source of all grace and all truth. Living in him means completely trusting him with everything. Seeing him as the source of all good things and the end to which all good things point.

This is what we have on offer to us every day! Life in Christ.
Again and again and again and again.
Every new year Christ comes and offers us this life once again.
His love is endless, his forgiveness complete, his desire is limitless.

Of course trusting Jesus means rethinking everything. Everything.
It means letting him be the way, the truth and the life. It means letting him direct our behaviour, our language, our emotions, our way of thinking, our approach to food, to sex, to money, to power, to relationships. It means really letting him shape us, mould us, hold us, define us. It means letting his will be done on earth, in us, as perfectly as his will is expressed in heaven.

This New Year, Jesus comes and stands in front of us and offers us himself – completely. He offers us his life, his hope, his peace, his love. He offers us his strength, his courage, his determination. He offers us his power in weakness, his contentment in poverty, his joyfulness in the midst of pain. He offers us his life. Right here. Right now. No matter the circumstances, the present reality of your life, Jesus comes and says I can offer you life, my life, right here, right now. You don’t need to go anywhere, say anything, do anything, pretend anything, look good, act good, sound good. You don’t need to do anything other than believe. Rethink your life again this year! Yes, rethink it, resolve to live differently – but not out of fear, but out of grace, out of love – my love for you. Repent and believe the good news which is available for you, and your family, and your heart, right here, right now. Rest. Stop. Trust.

Listen to Paul’s words to his precious family in Ephesus. Written from a prison cell Paul is not confined by the walls that surround him. Instead he is caught up in what it means to be alive in Christ.

14 For this reason I kneel before the Father, 15 from whom every family in heaven and on earth derives its name. (chosen) 16 I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen (strength) you with power through his Spirit in your inner being (filling and equipping your heart and mind), 17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith (trust). And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18 may have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ (loved), 19 and to know this love that surpasses knowledge – that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.

20 Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us (filled and equipped),21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.

We need to live our lives out of this love, out of this place of acceptance and forgiveness and calling and security and purpose. We need to live our lives out of the life of Christ.

And as we do this individually we will do this collectively, communally, corporately. We will be the body of Christ, the bride of Christ. Together we will be a sign and agent and a foretaste of the kingdom of God that is coming.

Jesus is not dead. He is alive.
And he offers alive-life to us today, right here, right now.

He calls us back out of fear and into a place of love
Out of work into a place of grace

How shall we respond?
Let us believe. Let us trust. Let us relax again into this love. Let us remind our souls that we are indeed loved, chosen, forgiven, filled, equipped, and safe. Let us agree with these truths.

And then let us co-operate with these truths.

We are saved by grace, not by works, through faith – trust. But faith without works is dead. Faith that doesn’t express itself in some kind of action lacks meaning, lacks reality. After we believe, we need to co-operate with the life of Christ in us, with the Spirit of God that lives with us. We need to let him rule over our thoughts, our actions, our words and our beliefs. We need to let him renew our minds. We need to let him determine the shape of our lives.

This means submitting to him, relaxing into him, letting him own us. Becoming his slave, not out of fear, but out of choice, out of love. Letting him govern us. This is repentance. Not resolution, but repentance. This is letting him have everything.

These two things are needed for us to have his life.
Repentance and belief.

Why not let’s give that a go, not just today, but every day this year.

Seven Sacred Spaces

Over the next few months our church is going to be exploring our community life together by reapplying lessons learned in the Monastery.  The idea was inspired by a time of prayer we had together as a church at the end of the year and by a retreat day where i found myself reflecting on the monastery as a way of thinking about the various ways we express ourselves as a church.

Here are some initial thoughts:

The Cell is a personal, private space. It reminds us that our personal relationship with Christ is vital. In our cell we participate in personal disciplines of solitude, secrecy, silence, prayer and rest

The Chapel is a communal, social space. It reminds us that our life in Christ is always as part of a wider body. In the chapel we pray together, listen, learn and reflect together, worship and sing together.

The Cloister is a place of transition. It is the space in between others where we journey with others, meet, chat, walk, befriend. It is a social space where we are connected to others.

The Garden is a place of work, of production, of labour. It is a place where we solve problems, work in teams, steward our resources, sow and reap. It is a place of growth.

The Refectory is a place of sharing, of hospitality, of eating and celebrating. It is a communal space where we are human together, equal.

The Chapter is a place of decision making and discussion. It is where the community come together to find a common mind and to listen to each other. It is a place of unity, planning and organisation

The Library is a place of study, of reflection, of learning and exploration. It is where the community go to deepen their understanding of things.

Disciple, disciple, disciple

We hear the word but miss the point…

Looking for a definition that works..

Here’s one to start with:

Discipleship means living in union with Jesus Christ, growing in conformity to His image as the Spirit transforms us from the inside out, being nurtured within a community of disciples who are engaged in that lifelong process, and helping others to know and become like Jesus.

Developing a Discipleship Vision for Children and Young people

Vision Statement: Creating a strong and vibrant discipling culture around our children and young people and inviting everyone to participate in the life of the Kingdom

Jesus made disciples by:

• Demonstrating the reality of the Kingdom : making an impression
• Calling people to follow him : offering an invitation
• Teaching through words and actions : giving instruction
• Drawing people into apprenticeship : encouraging imitation
• Sharing life with them : immersing them in the Kingdom

I believe that this is exactly how we should go about making disciples of Jesus today.  We need all five aspects of discipleship – impression, invitation, instruction, imitation, and immersion.  Making disciples is not simply about instruction or teaching, it requires us to live life with others and to enable them to share this life with us.  It requires showing others how to do things, how to think, how to act.  It requires apprenticeship and modelling and mentoring and coaching.  It is a whole life activity and it happens in real life not in a class room or in a church building.  It happens at the personal scale and it happens at the large scale.  All of this was needed by Jesus.  How could it be any different with us?

And the point is, if we need to do all this for adults how much more do we need to do each of these aspects for children and young people.  Recognising that our children are being actively discipled by the world in all sorts of ways we have to work hard at creating another culture into which they can learn about how to live in the Kingdom of God.  It will require us not only to create moments of instruction and teaching, but an environment which shapes every part of their understandings of themselves and of God.

What is becoming increasingly clear is that if we are going to effectively disciple a whole number of children and young people over the next few years our church life, our community life together, will need to provide a stronger and more robust discipling culture for them to experience.

Not only this, but when we think about the ways that the lives, attitudes and beliefs of children and young people are shaped we quickly realise that they are influenced by a whole number of people in a whole number of different ‘spheres of life’ and if this is true for how they think about technology or sport or clothes it is also true for how they will think about God.

It is useful for us, therefore, to set out the various spheres of life where they are influenced and to ask ourselves if we could as Christian disciple-makers interact with them in these various spheres of life in the hope that some (perhaps many) will choose to join us in being disciples of Jesus.

Different spheres of life for a child/young person

Personal scale	Individual – One to one
	Close friends
Family scale	Peer group
	Family – Parents/brothers/sisters
	Wider family
Community scale	School
	Social group
	Local community
Macro scale	City
	Region
	Nation
	TV/Internet/Advertising
	Wider Culture

Interestingly, ‘Church’ has traditionally functioned at the community scale and assumed that the smaller scales (personal and family scales) were influenced by church life (which was also seen as central to ‘community life’).  Church, however, is increasingly irrelevant on the lives of children and young people.  Not only has the church failed to influence children and young people, it has also failed to influence their families and their close friends, further decreasingly it’s influence on them.  It is no surprise at all to find that more and more children and young people have no understanding of or relationship to Christ in any meaningful way.

Importantly, it is also worth noting, as Mark Sayers has pointed out, that over the last 100 years of so the communal scale of life has become less and less powerful at influencing the way we think, act and behave for all of us whether we are religious or not.  There was a time when the village, and then the local guild or society or community was a significant influence on our personal behaviour, ethics and beliefs.  This is no longer the case and instead, whether as adults or as children, we are increasingly influenced by our close friends and peers way more than our local community, and we are influenced way more by the wider culture (massively influenced by TV and the internet) than we are by our school, church or our social group.

This new reality requires us to radically rethink how we make disciples in local churches.  Doing things in the way we have done them in the past will simply not work.

Clearly we want to be a part of turning this situation around so how might we address ourselves to it?

My belief is that we need a robust and vigorous approach to influencing children and young people at EVERY sphere of life – from personal, though the familial, through the communal, right up to cultural spheres of life – and that we need to draw them into discipleship at each scale in the same way Jesus did – by impression, invitation, instruction, imitation and immersion.

Personal scale	Individual – one to one	Befriending/Mentoring God parenting Adopt a granny
	Close friends	Trips Hospitality Inclusion
Family scale	Peer group	Youth groups Rec House Children’s groups Kids Clubs
	Family – Parents/brothers/sisters	Dads Mums Parent support/advice Family friendly services Sunday Live! Rose Cottage
	Wider family	Weddings/Thanksgivings
Community scale	School	Engagement in school Assemblies Prayer rooms Breakfast Clubs Reading with kids Supporting teachers Rose Cottage
	Social group	Pubs Clubs
	Local community	Social action Parties/Community events
Macro scale	City	City wide events
	Region	New Wine
	Nation
	TV/Internet/Advertising	Facebook, Twitter
	Wider Culture

The task facing the new Archbishop

So, we have a new leader for the Church of England, a new hand on the tiller, a new Archbishop of Canterbury. We all know that this is an impossible job and that the C of E is unmanageable organisation and so we pray all the more for him and his family as he sets off, with a rather lovely and attractive enthusiasm and optimism, into his new vocation. But what, in honesty, are the chances of success? What are the odds that not just Justin Welby, but the whole Church, can turn this thing around?

Small, I would guess…

Of course, this is not the worry it ought to be because we believe in a God who holds things together and works all things together for good. We believe that the church is the Bride of Christ and so we are convinced that God has his eye on us. But even so, this does not guarantee much. Church history is littered with little deaths and renewals and who is to know whether the time for the CofE is up and that, just like ‘Comet’, our days are numbered. The temple in Jerusalem at the time of Jesus may have been the nation’s greatest pride, and the most significant marker of Jewish identity, but that didn’t make it sacred. When its managers and priests lost their way it too came under the judgement of God and Jesus ripped up the tables, cursed the fig tree and condemned it to death. Our institution is no more special to God than the massive Jerusalem Temple. Perhaps our time is up too?

It seems strange to be talking like this on the first day after the announcement about Justin Welby and perhaps a little unkind. Especially as he has suggested that the ‘tide is turning’ and that we live in an age of ‘spiritual hunger’. But I make the point because I believe that, if truth be told (as it must surely be), we need to realise the extent of the crisis we are going through.

We are living in a period of change seismic in proportion. That change is happening is unquestionable. And it is unstoppable. There is only one thing that is certain and that that is that change is here to stay. Everything is already changing. Of course there are two changes possible for us – the change of decline and the change needed to lead to growth. Staying the same will protect nothing. Change is unavoidable for us. Staying the same will be impossible for us.

So in this time of inevitable change what are the main things that Justin Welby and his colleagues up and down the country need to focus on? What is his main task?

The press have helpfully given us a lead on it all. Few journalists are insiders and so when they write about us they are giving us feedback on how we come across to the rest of the nation. They act like mirrors. Unemotionally and with a certain objective and critical distance everyone from the BBC to the Telegraph has been saying the same thing.

Of course they talk about sex, about the issues of women bishops and gay relationships, two issues that Justin obviously finds in his in tray, but these are not the main thing they mention. No. What they tell us is that the biggest issue is decline.

The images that accompany pictures of Justin Welby are instructive. We see a bishop dressed in robes banging on a door with a ling stick. We see the inside of dark barn like buildings with seating facing the front and a smattering of grey haired women in. We see people engaged in the rituals of weddings and christenings. The impression you get is old, dry, traditional, fixed, and fading. Of course there are others images cut in for balance – images of life and movement – but these are overwhelmed by the static ones of buildings and synods (what kind of word is that?!) and people sitting in rows.

When Jesus came he told us that God’s kingdom was at hand and that life in all its fullness was available to anyone who put their trust in him. The words and the images no longer match. The impression Jesus made on people is miles from the one the church has. Sinners were drawn to him while they avoid us like the plague. The poor and the broken swarmed around him for healing, release and hope while our estate churches lie empty. The invitation Jesus made was direct, honest and potent while ours is watery, thin and obscure. People don’t know what we stand for or what we believe. They don’t even know if we are Christians. The very things that Jesus battled against, idolatry, sin, hierarchy, judgement seem to have found their way back into our lives and while we laugh out loud at ‘Rev’ the underlying narrative behind it all is that we are scheming, untrustworthy and anxious (at worst) and although well meaning, irrelevant, weak and out of touch (at best).

The first thing we need to be is honest. For years the Anglican church has, I believe, lived in denial about the state of things. I can understand why, and I am not judging anyone for this, just saying that it’s now time for us to move beyond denial and start seeing things as they really are. Mr Tesco (Terry Leahy) has ten words for success and this is what he says,

“If I have to choose which of my ten words is the most important, I’d say it’s ‘truth’. Seeking and speaking the truth is not only morally right but the bedrock of successful management. Root out the truth about any problems — then don’t hide what you’ve learned. Find the truthful answer to the question: ‘What’s the purpose of this organisation?’ Not least, you must be true to yourself and those around you. The best source of the truth is often those you serve: your customers. Listen and learn from them, heed their advice — and you stand a greater chance of success. It’s that simple.”

Truth. That’s the first thing we need Justin Welby to tell us. Not the truth of the gospel or the truth about God (those will come). No, we need him to tell us the truth about ourselves. We need him to tell us the truth in love.

It seems as if he is already keen to do this and it was this truth telling that he started in Durham. Durham has a very low church membership and money is drying up too. There was no point denying it. The first task was talking about it. Which is what he did in his first months as Bishop.

So, just as he has done for Durham now Justin Welby must do for the national church. The temptation will be for him to feel he must say something political, or social. That he must make a comment about the news or sound engaged about this or that social issue. He must avoid these temptations and let the phone ring. Instead he must focus his attention, and his church’s attention on our core business – being and making disciples.

Our structures are creaking and our resources are dwindling and the reason for this is a lack of discipleship. The Church of England may well be cherished as a national treasure but it is not known as a movement of disciples imitating Jesus. And this is what must change.

It was this kind of Christianity – a discipling one – that Justin Welby was converted into and it is this faith that has been tested by the fire of tragedy. Through it all he has understood that learning to walk with Jesus, to learn from him and to submit everything to him (including your job, your money, your family and your vocation) that makes you a Christian. This is what he wants to invite others into and it is the core discipling task we, as a church, must learn how to do more and more.

I am sure that God has his own way of speaking and leading Justin Welby and that what I write matters little in it all. Who am I after all to speak as if I know what he ought to do?! And yet, in humility, I would like to encourage my new leader to do two things:

To speak the truth about how much we need to change, and
To encourage and inspire us in the task of being and making disciples

The other stuff can wait.

The 3 I’s of Enculturation

I’ve been thinking about how we disciple children and started thinking about ‘enculturation’.

Just read this from Wikipedia

Enculturation can be conscious or unconscious, therefore can support both the Marxist and the hegemonic arguments. There are three ways a person learns a culture. Direct teaching of a culture is done, this is what happens when you don’t pay attention, mostly by the parents, when a person is told to do something because it is right and to not do something because it is bad. For example, when children ask for something, they are constantly asked “What do you say?” and the child is expected to remember to say “please.” The second conscious way a person learns a culture is to watch others around them and to emulate their behavior. An example would be using different slang with different cliques in school. Enculturation also happens unconsciously, through events and behaviors that prevail in their culture. All three kinds of culturation happen simultaneously and all the time.

The three ways seem to echo the three I’s of Instruction, Imitation and Immersion.

Nice

Dedicating our lives to Christ

My dear Lord Jesus I come to you now to be restored in you, to be renewed in you, to receive your love and your life, and all the grace and mercy I so desperately need this day. As your disciple I renounce all other gods, all idols, all behaviours, attitudes and actions, and all ways of thinking that do not fit with your Kingdom. I give you the place in my heart and in my life that you truly deserve. Search me and know me. Grant to me the grace of your healing and deliverance, and a deep and true repentance. Forgive me for my every sin as I forgive those who have sinned against me.

In particular I repent of:

Jesus, thank you for coming to ransom me with your own life. I give myself over to you, to be one with you in all things. And I receive all the work and all of the triumph of your cross, death, blood and sacrifice for me, through which I am atoned for, I am ransomed and transferred to your kingdom, my sinful nature is removed, my heart is circumcised unto God, and every claim made against me is disarmed this day. I now take my place in your cross and death, through which I have died with you to sin, to my flesh, to the world, and to the evil one. I take up the cross and crucify my flesh with all its pride, arrogance, unbelief, and idolatry (and anything else you are currently struggling with). I put off the old self and I ask you to apply to me the fullness of your cross, death, blood and sacrifice making me clean, new and holy. I receive this new, holy life with thanks and give it total claim to my spirit, soul and body, my heart, mind and will.

Jesus, you have chosen me. You have made me new. You have cleansed me and forgiven me and declared me righteous. You have made me a child of God who has adopted me into his family. You are my Saviour, my Life, and my King. I honour you as my Sovereign, and having been bought with a price, I willingly surrender every aspect of my life totally and completely to you. As a temple of your Holy Spirit, I give you all that I am and all that I have. I give you my spirit, soul and body, my heart, mind, and will. I dedicate my life to you. I set myself apart for you. Everything I have is yours.

Father, as your child and as a temple set apart for God, I ask you to fill me once again with your Holy life-giving Spirit. I completely surrender myself to you and I ask your Holy Spirit to fill me and to renew me. Fill every part of me and baptize me in your Spirit. Let your living water flow through me.

Thank you for proving your love for me by sending Jesus. I receive him and all his life and all his work, which you ordained for me. Thank you for including me in Christ, for forgiving me my sins, for granting me his righteousness, and for making me complete in him. Thank you for making me alive with Christ, raising me with him, seating me with him at your right hand, establishing me in his authority, and anointing me with your Holy Spirit, your love and your favour. I receive all this with thanks and give it total claim to my life—my spirit, my soul, and my body, my heart, my mind and my will.

May grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with all, now and forever. Amen

The 5 I’s of Discipleship

Right across the church people are hearing God say something very simple and very familiar.  “Make disciples.”

Of course these are the words of Jesus that have given the church it’s vocation and calling right from the off but once again, especially in our British context, the word/task/concept is resonating in ways that it seemed not to have done for ages.

Mike Breen has recently written a book called “Building a Discipleship Culture” and there is some fab stuff in it.  Based on some of his material and mixing it with some insights from others I have come up with the 5 I’s of Discipleship – 5 aspects of Disciplemaking.

Here they are:

• Impression
• Invitation
• Instruction
• Immersion
• Imitation

Jesus did each of these and so did his disciples.  It’s how things work.

In Matthew 28:16 Jesus commissions us to ‘make disciples’ and to ‘teach them to obey everything that Jesus taught’.  The first two I’s are about making disciples (Impression and Invitation) while the last three are about teaching people to obey Jesus and to follow through on their discipleship decision.

Jesus made an impression by presenting the kingdom of God in tangible ways that whetted people’s appetite and thirst for it in their lives.  Then he invited them to follow, to enter, to receive.  Repent, he told them.  Believe.

Baptism followed as a marked of people’s decision and the disciple would enter into a period of apprenticeship.  The nurturing and growing of the disciple took three forms:

• teaching (Instruction),
• participation and experiment (Immersion),
• and apprenticeship and copying (Imitation)

Jesus did each of these with his followers and he encouraged them to repeat the process ourselves.

As a church leader I am increasingly keen to make sure that our life as a church organically produces the right kind of fruti – namely that we are increasingly good at making and growing disciples.  I will use these 5 I’s to evaluate and review my own life and the life of the church family to make sure that we model our discipleship-making on Jesus.  Surely if we do our chances of success are stronger than if we miss out some aspect or other.