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Looking at your church – Christians in action today
Signs & Symbols: Repair Work Discipleship in Today’s World: ‘The Great Divide’ Shadow Minister for Shipping commends the work of The Mission to Seafarers Ecclesiastical offers £1,500 prize for most inviting local church Driving the gospel home New monasticism is a better balance for church, claims Church Army research The World Cup comes closer… GIVING – just think about it
Signs & Symbols: Repair Work Every so often in some church across the country, there is a small ‘fall’ from the ceiling. Fortunately most of them land on the floor and not near any person; but even so it means one thing: that part of the building needs to be CLOSED until the ‘fall’ is fully investigated.
There are financial implications of looking after beautiful old buildings – some of them dating back to the twelfth century. Just raising the scaffolding to get close enough to look at the problem needs a lot of money. So, while the scaffolding is up there, it makes good sense to ask the surveyor to have a good look around at the surrounding area.
Sometimes the original fall is a minor repair job, but often major work is needed urgently in area just to the side. It can all take a couple of months to get finished before the scaffolding is removed.
On the inside of the building you can’t see any difference – let’s face it, you couldn’t see where the fall had come from in the first place. But on the outside – wow! There’s five new pieces of pale yellow stone within the large South wall made up of original stones which have been there over 800 years. They hit you in the eye when you approach the church.
Have you ever wondered if that’s how we look to God? If we start off well, but there are inherent defects or likely problems… and given poor conditions then things can go wrong. Things can start really small, perhaps a bad habit, just white lies or a few pennies here and there, and unless we notice ‘the fall from the ceiling’ and catch it in time, they can grow and get so much worse, until whole stones need to be replaced.
Sometimes as we work on things in our lives we get overwhelmed and the temptation is to just leave them alone. Like the buildings we worship in, we need to pay attention and remember that left alone things are unlikely to get better, in fact they’ll probably get very much worse – and cost us a lot more in the future.
This month Have a look round a church building and see if you can see the marks of repairs or perhaps the signs that work needs undertaking. What about in your life too? Ask God for his help to tackle those things he shows you that need making good.
Discipleship in Today’s World: ‘The Great Divide’ In a recent poll of church members, 47% said that the teaching they receive on a Sunday is irrelevant to their daily lives. In another survey, 50% of those polled said that they had never heard a sermon on the subject of work. Contemporary Christians are simply not being equipped for life where they spend two-thirds of their waking time. Alongside of this, we have to acknowledge that Christianity seems to have little impact in the public sphere of our society, whether it be work, the media or politics.
All of this is simply an expression of the sacred-secular divide which pervades our modern discipleship; the false but pervasive belief that some parts of our life are not really important to God, including work, school, sport, TV; but anything to do with prayers, church services, church-based activities is.
It is well illustrated in our home groups when we will pray for a missionary’s contacts overseas, but never think of praying for our friend’s contacts at work! Or we pray publicly for our Sunday school teachers who teach for 40 minutes a week, while neglecting to pray for our teachers who teach for up to 40 hours a week!
This divide is one of the greatest challenges we face as a church today, as we seek to make a genuine impact on our society and culture. Our discipleship is not 24/7, whole-life Christianity. Instead, we promote a leisure-time Christianity; evenings and Sundays belong to God, 9-to-5 is the world’s. In Matthew 5: 13-16, Jesus compares his people to salt and light in the world. He presents a balance (not a divide) between the people of God scattered in the world and gathered together.
Spend some time reflecting on this picture and listen to what God is saying to you about his claim on the whole of your life and discipleship.
Shadow Minister for Shipping commends the work of The Mission to Seafarers The work of The Mission to Seafarers over 150 years was commended in an Early Day Motion recently put down by the Shadow Minister for Shipping, Julian Brazier.
It was on March 28th, the day that the society held its service of thanksgiving in Westminster Abbey for its 150th anniversary.
Mr Brazier said: “… this House salutes the Mission to Seafarers in its 150th anniversary year; notes the many travails and traumas suffered on a regular basis by merchant seafarers and is especially concerned at the dramatic increase in piracy and crew abandonment on the High Seas; commends the Mission and its chaplains for their sterling work looking after the physical, mental and spiritual welfare of seafarers, be they British or foreign, of any faith or none; recognises their efforts in improving the lot of seafarers through work at the United Nations, the International Maritime Organisation and the International Labour Organisation and wishes them every success in the coming century.”
The society, which was founded in 1856, now works in 230 ports around the world.
Ecclesiastical offers £1,500 prize for most inviting local church How inviting is our church? Would we win a prize for it?
Ecclesiastical Insurance, the UK's leading insurer of church property, is running a national competition to recognise those churches that have been most successful in adapting to a modern society and changing local communities.
Figures from the Church of England show that church attendance is holding steady, so Ecclesiastical wants to know what churches are doing to address the changing needs of current church members and how they're attracting and keeping new people with very different expectations.
Specifically, the competition asks how churches are: · changing and adapting patterns of worship · communicating with their local community · providing facilities for community groups and incorporating them into the life of the church.
The Rev Lynda Barley, Head of Research & Statistics for the Archbishops' Council, said: "Patterns of churchgoing are changing. Although weekly Sunday attendance has dropped, levels of both weekly and monthly churchgoing have remained steady and attendance at church services outside Sundays continues to add a significant number to local congregations. There are signs in several areas of the country of more sustained growth beyond special occasions. This is tremendously encouraging news for local churches as they seek to meet the increasingly evident spiritual needs of their neighbourhoods."
The competition is offering cash prizes for the best entries - first prize is £1,500, with second and third prizes of £750 and £500 respectively. The top 12 finalists will all feature in Ecclesiastical's 2007 calendar with a national circulation so that the best ideas can be shared among churches all over the country.
The competition is open to churches of all denominations and the deadline for entries is 30 June 2006.
Driving the gospel home Premier Christian Radio has decided to spread the gospel across London by designing its own taxi. The single hackney cab will tour around the central London area, with its radio securely tuned into Premier 1305 MW.
A Christian has been selected to drive the cab, offer literature and attempt to answer questions on Christianity and the station’s output. There's no chance customers will not realise the taxi's theme; the bright blue and green cab carries Premier's frequencies and their slogan ‘Inspiring, uplifting, rejoicing radio’.
So far the taxi has proved popular with several Members of Parliament, and various singers and musicians. Dubbed The Holy Cab by locals, the Premier taxi appears to be gaining attention. One of the cab's regular drivers, Ian, enjoys driving the only Christian taxi in London. "A ride in the Premier taxi is just that little bit special. Often our customers comment how relaxing the radio is or ask how they can keep listening to the station at home. It's a great conversation starter. I've even had customers tell me they've chosen to flag down the Premier cab rather than a boring plain one."
New monasticism is a better balance for church, claims Church Army research “Are we entering another dark age?” asks George Lings in the latest issue of Encounters on the Edge, as he reflects on the more hostile environment Christians sense they are living in.
With the power, influence and self-determination of Christendom crumbling, Lings, Director of Church Army’s research unit The Sheffield Centre, claims that the number of emerging monastic Christian communities is on the increase as a response to these darker times.
This ‘new monasticism’, identified as one type of fresh expression of church in the best-selling ‘Mission-shaped Church’ report, is challenging the church to re-examine those areas of congregational life where there is a “weak sense of community, narrow attitude of enquiry, anaemic worship style and disconnection from issues of life.” Lings thinks it could even be of greater significance than most other fresh expressions because it invites us into a deeper life in Christ.
Lings observes that most Anglican liturgies do little to nurture the calling of pioneers and evangelists.
The World Cup comes closer… What would it be like to win the World Cup? Can anyone put into words what the experience would be like? Lucio had that experience with Brazil in 2002. When the final whistle went he knelt down and prayed with team-mates, Edmilson and Kaka. “I believe that the emotions there ran high, but the important part for us was to kneel and give glory to God”.
He first became aware of the World Cup in 1990. “I was watching it but I wasn’t that much into it yet, but for me it was memorable because Brazil lost and a lot of people put the blame on Dunga. But for me the most memorable World Cup was in 1994. It was great to see the team win and to see Dunga raise the Cup, as if to say ‘OK, I have paid back what the people think I owed them for not winning in 1990’. From that time on I began to watch the games”.
Brazil won the 2002 World Cup, but the irony is that they almost did not made it into the finals. In the qualifying competition, Brazil finished 3rd equal with 4 teams qualifying. This was a difficult time. Brazil had always qualified for the World Cup and Lucio recalls the fear that his team “would go down in history as the only Brazil team that didn’t qualify for the World Cup. So we had a real anxiety and fear of not making it. It was not until we beat Venezuela in the last game, that we qualified. Then there was great happiness, satisfaction, and also a great feeling of relief from the pressure that we had been under”.
Many readers will remember England’s epic quarter-final against Brazil where we took the lead, only for Brazil to score twice and win. Lucio remembers that game well too.
“To me the England game was our hardest one in 2002. There is always a huge rivalry between us. It was a hard game for me as England scored first through Michael Owen and it was my fault. I sought strength and today we can clearly say that it was from God, and that it was one of my strongest games in the World Cup. The game went back and forth and England defended very well too.
“Winning that game strengthened us because after we beat England, the world began to believe that Brazil could be the champions, and that also gave us confidence. I see that it was God’s work and for the second goal that Ronaldinho made, God was present for sure”.
Lucio has been a Christian for most of his adult life. Why does he need Jesus and what difference does it make to him? “A total difference. Today I go out onto the field and instead of having a strong temper and aggression, thank God I have found a balance that I never had before. Previously I would be quick to get irritated with others, to fight with them. It happened so easily, when I didn’t have this balance. I am sure that having Jesus in my life has made a huge difference. Jesus has helped me with my family off the field, in my marriage etc. It has been a real transformation.
“Despite everything that I have - success, fame, money, house, car, I have had moments of loneliness and difficulty and family problems but it was Jesus who helped and still does, help maintain peace in my house, happiness in my marriage. Without Jesus - even with everything - you have nothing because the main triumph in life is to have Jesus by your side”.
Lucio plays his club football for Bayern Munich, the outstanding team in Germany at the moment. He was in the Brazil team that won the Confederations Cup in Germany in 2005. Many people feel that the Brazilian team of 2006 is a lot stronger than the 2002 team. If they are right, Brazil could be unstoppable and Lucio will be on his way to a second World Cup winner’s. medal.
By Stuart Weir, Christians in Sport
GIVING – just think about it Giving is an issue that can make us all feel uncomfortable. Here are some thoughts to reflect on:
Giving to a church or needy person is charity. Giving cheerfully to the Lord is worship.
Giving is NOT God’s way of raising money. It is God’s way of making us more like Jesus who gave everything for us.
Giving is not so much about an amount. It is more about our attitude.
Giving is in any event not about what we give but rather what we keep for ourselves. So an elderly person who puts £1 of her pension into the collection may, in God’s eyes, be giving more than a successful businessman who gives £100.
Tithing [the giving of ten per cent of one’s income] was widely mentioned in the Old Testament. Christians often say to me that Jesus changed that. Sadly they never say it because they want to give MORE than ten per cent! Surely living under grace should mean a raising of standards rather than a decline.
Giving is meant to be sacrificial. If you feel comfortable about your giving you probably need to be giving more! Therefore, often our giving of used clothes, for example, is not giving but merely discarding. Sacrificial giving involves giving away money and things we’d much rather keep.
A true disciple would not ask “How much can I keep?” but rather “How much more can I give?”
We need to remember as we go through life that God’s extra provision to us is not to raise our standard of living but rather our standard of giving.
Here are some disturbing words spoken centuries ago by Augustine. “The bread that you keep belongs to the hungry, the coat that resides in your wardrobe to the naked….the gold you have hidden to the needy. Whenever you are able to help others and yet fail to do so you do them wrong.”
We are not responsible for world hunger but we are responsible to do whatever we can to alleviate it. Therefore we should not wallow in guilt because God has given us so much rather we should use his money wisely and compassionately to help the less fortunate.
Please spend time this week praying through your levels of giving.
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