Exclusively Inclusive?

The big driver for me in being a Christian is following someone who modelled the most inclusive lifestyle I have ever see; and that is Jesus. He included prostitutes, Tax collectors, Romans (who were considered to be the enemy of the Jewish nation), lepers, social outcast, both male and female and the list goes on.

He proclaimed the Kingdom of God had arrived and also the promise that the fullness of the Kingdom of God was also yet to come. He spent time with all the marginalised and hard to reach groups and said good news is here! In Matthew 5-7 he proclaimed a message of hope and played jazz with the Law because he understood the Law and Gods intentions. So he was able to say to the Scribes and Pharisees, you have heard it said, I say to you.

Jesus re-applied the Law of Moses into the current context and offered hope to all groups of the community, and was scathing to those who wanted to follow the letter of the law. He said to those who thought they did not have any place in the Kingdom that they had a place and to follow him and his manifesto and they would be ok with God.

Does our behaviour Look like, Sound Like and Behave Like the love and message of Jesus?

There have always been disagreements about doctrine and theology. However the message has always been,’ we are one body united through love’. So, if God is faithful, merciful, full of grace, the source of peace and love. Should how we look, sound and behave against this plumb line not be our main concern?

Should this also not make us more sensitive to how we respond to everyone?

Do we stop often enough and reflect how our actions measure against what Jesus modelled?

Do we look like, sound like and behave like Jesus in all things?

Perhaps we need to look at our language, what and how we communicate and what the shape of Church should be so that it does look like, sound like and behave like the love and message of the most inclusive man who has ever walked this earth.

Ephesians 4:3
Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.

Colossians 3:14
And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

Time to Talk?

Having gone to the C Of E ‘Transforming Presence’ conference on Saturday, which was sub-titled ‘Time to Talk’ I had been asking myself if it is really time to talk or time for action. For some of us we tire of talking and for others the need to talk about the new shape of Church is equally important.

Jesus encouraged us not to give up talking or striving for honest conversations and not to avoid confrontation. The example of conflict resolution that Jesus gave is a powerful message for us and not always easy to follow (Matthew 18 v15-19). Each of us will be in a different place on the issue of what should the Church look like and what shape we should be, to be able to bring the fullness of the Kingdom of God. The challenge of Matthew 18 is, can we continue in dialogue and can we find a place of resolution and can we come to an agreement.

If we are to be ‘One Body with One Voice’ we have to not only make time to talk, but make time to come to agreement.

The Bishop of Chelmsford, The Right Reverend Stephen Cottrell, took a brave stance on Saturday and stated that he and his colleagues would not be offering a strategy to what the new shape of Church should be, but wanted to start a conversation on what was needed to serve our communities and to be that Transforming Presence.

If we are to arrive at a new shape there will be those who need to lead the way and this can only be done by doing something new and modelling what this new shape needs to look like.

As with the initial Charismatic movement those that lead will be criticized and miss-understood. However, if we do not watch and listen to those that need to break new ground we may miss what God is trying to bring. Undoubtedly, as with anything new, there will be frustration and misunderstanding.

Is it therefore, not important to keep the dialogue going?

Should we not keep short accounts with each other and seek to resolve conflict and continue to broaden the discussion to resolve conflict?

Our debate should be open and honest, not behind closed doors snipping at those we do not understand or disagree with. Whether we like what the charismatic movement brought or not, it did lead to a change in the way most thriving Churches do meetings. Perhaps now it is time for those that pioneer to show us how the Church needs to change to bring the fullness of the Gospel of the Kingdom and to become that ‘One body with One Voice’.

www.transformingpresence.org.uk

Swing the pendulum

The two scriptures below where given to me by someone yesterday who had read my blog. One supporting the view that we need to discover the fullness of the message of Jesus and seek opportunity to transform society and the other the need to preach the gospel. This was offered by someone who knows me well and loves to challenge things, which is great. But in jest lives what is often not jest. Fortunately I know the person who offered the scriptures well and we are likeminded on the fullness of the calling Jesus gave.

I have spent a lot of time over the last year trying to get Churches to work together in practical ways and the biggest fear that seems to emerge is that, as we increase our social action to transform communities that we will be compromised in some way and not able to preach the gospel.

My challenge is what is the Gospel?

Is it the Gospel of the Kingdom?

Is it to offer good news, that there is Hope?

That as we work together so tomorrow can be different for all of us?

For me increasingly over the past years I am concerned that we have narrowed the message of Jesus to just be about evangelism and Church life/meetings. I think Matthew 7 is a clear manifesto, which has breath that we will struggle to fulfill as single congregations. Can we not look for bigger and greater opportunities to be that radical people that will strive to bring the fullness of this manifesto?

I would love 2012 to be the year that we swing the pendulum with a massive push. As we do this we may bring the wider perspective that is needed to bring hope and a just society.

Are we prepared to swing the pendulum to find out what the real centre is?

And do we need people who exist on the extremes to bring balance?

James 2:14-26

Faith and Deeds

¹⁴ What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? ¹⁵ Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. ¹⁶ If one of you says to them, “Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? ¹⁷ In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

¹⁸ But someone will say, “You have faith; I have deeds.”

Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds. ¹⁹ You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder.

²⁰ You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? ²¹ Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? ²² You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. ²³ And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. ²⁴ You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone.

²⁵ In the same way, was not even Rahab the prostitute considered righteous for what she did when she gave lodging to the spies and sent them off in a different direction? ²⁶ As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

Romans 10:14-15

New International Version

¹⁴ How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? ¹⁵ And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!”

The question remains

I think there is a ground swell of movement from the body of congregations looking for ways to live out their faith in practical ways. Increasingly, members of churches across the country that I speak to are growing tired of the church being marginalised to Sundays and being seen as only relevant 2% of their daily week. There is a growing revolution amongst congregations to take back the radical message of Jesus and create the just society that he preached on every opportunity to the masses.

Social action is no longer seen as the territory of the liberal churches. Many streams are rising up to cease the moment as the infrastructure of support to the marginalised groups of people falls away due to cutbacks.

The question which remains is, can single Churches create a revolution?

Can single Churches transform a neighbourhood, a town, a city, a nation?

The answer can only be no.

Individual lives can be changed through any Church which takes a holistic approach to the message of Jesus and looks to see, spiritual, environmental, physical, emotional and economic renewal. However, a single congregation cannot sustain this across an area and cannot have the resources to meet the need of an area.

If this is the case then why do so many Churches ignore key scriptures that call for us the act as ‘One Body with One voice’?

Why do we end up focussing on doctrine that separates rather than doctrine that unites?

I believe there is a wind of change blowing in the land and congregational members are picking up on it. They are breaking old barriers. There is a window of opportunity for Churches to respond and look for ways of seizing the moment and working together. This will not last for more than a couple of years.

Is this not the time to see how we can become ‘One Body with One Voice’?

What is our response to 1Corn 12 and Romans 12?

Ponder on these and ask yourself, where does this start?

The message of Jesus and the words of the Apostles were not an aspiration, but a reality to be seized hold of.

How do we become, ‘One Body with One Voice’?

New beginnings

OasisHubs

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The Church, one body and one voice?

Like many people over recent years I have been on a journey. This journey was promoted by becoming increasingly bored with the limited vision of Church meetings; and concerned with the lack of focus on how the transformation of communities can be achieved in the way Jesus describes in passages such as Matthew 7.

Over the last 8 years this journey has required me to rebuild my Christian world view and my understanding of what the message of Jesus means for us. Like many I am hungry to see passages such as Revelation 21 become reality and to see the Church take a lead in transforming our communities into safe places to live, where everyone can thrive and social justice is the norm.

There are obviously many things that need to happen to see this vision become a reality, such as re-thinking our theology in the light of the message of Jesus, releasing Church members to fulfil dreams they have had of helping those in need, even if it just seems like social action. And for me a key is Churches working together.

Can we become that ‘One Body with One Voice?’

Perhaps if we can grasp this then we really can change the world.