No hope no harm, just another false alarm

We were in Big church yesterday. The theme for the month is ‘hope’. This is to coincide with the Hope 08 intiative.

I don’t have anything against things like Hope 08, I don’t really have very much against big church, whatever floats your boat and all that. The problem I have is with the complacency that can sometimes accompany them both.

I was discussing yesterday’s worship with my good lady at home yesterday and I pointed out where I thought the major difference between BCLC and BC was. At one point in the service the issue of people getting into debt around Christmas came up. This is a real issue for a lot of families at this time of year, people get carried away with the festivities and before they know where they are they have a massive credit card debt to pay off in January. It happens to us. Now if we had brought that up on a normal Sunday we would have had something of a discussion about it and looked closely at how we behaved and whether that measured up with our ideals. It’s easier to ignore those awkward questions when, to be frank, you don’t actually have to answer them.

I hope that ‘Hope 08′ will allow people to engage with the issues they are trying to tackle in a way that, perhaps, previous ‘programmes’ have failed to do.

This is not my expectation though.

My expectation is that churches that are already active on their communities will become more so. The churches that currently struggle to to ‘find their mission’ will continue to do so.

There is a tendency in churches to hope that the ‘next big thing’ will trigger some sort of revival of their fortunes and return us all to some cosy bygone time where the churches were full and kids kept their hoods off so the local bobby could clip their ear for them.

This isn’t going to happen. People need to develop their faith and allow that to inform their actions, this in turn will bring about some changes in the way members of our society conduct themselves towards one another.

The ancient out-dated model of church that we continue to hang on to will not deliver that, it allows us to remove ourselves sufficiently from the hard truths that we must confront if we are goine to effect any real change both in ourselves and in those around us.

Harvest for the World

Yesterday was our harvest festival. My wife did the service and a very good job she did too.

I do have a problem with the whole harvest thing, especially when we sing ‘We plough the fields and scatter’. Apart from the obvious fact that 99.9% of us don’t, that hymn is so full of holes I could write a whole blog entry about it.

Harvest, to me, is just another example of how out of touch with the rest of the world the church is. It is trying to maintain its cosy little existence in which God paints wayside flowers, lights evening stars and sends us soft refreshing rain.

For a lot of people the world is a grey, dark place and when it rains it pours.

What does our harvest say to them?

You’ve gotta serve somebody

Title today is taken from Bob’s dodgy christian period. It’s on the better of the 3 albums he released at this time, Slow Train Coming, but nonetheless, compared to most of his work, it is decidedly dodgy.

So why did I choose it? Well in the past few days I have had 3 separate conversations on what shape a church of the future should take. This has me thinking what the shape is now and why it’s not working.

I think the basic problem is that the model we have (not yet) inherited from our parents generation is one where the organisation is at the centre and it is that which we serve. This leads to problems. The main one is that we don’t really know what we are doing things for. Questions such as ‘what are we here for?’ and ‘what is our mission?’ are very common in churches and have been for some time now (though probably not in the higher churches). It also leads to restrictions being placed on those working within the organisation where creativity is stifled as it gets in the way of the organisers. The organisation rules and must be preserved so we can do nothing (like interacting with children in a healthy normal way) that might endanger it.

This is why it is imperative that the organisation of the church has to undertake an absolutely radical change. We need to divest ourselves of all but the barest minimum of structure. I have suggested in the past that current church structures could be preserved to provide some training and administration, I’m not even sure we need that now. We need to get rid of buildings. They are a drain on us in both time and money. I know some people feel called to mow the lawn but there are plenty of lawns they could mow (like mine) instead that would be much more of an out reach than doing the one at church. (that is an example, I have nothing against gardeners). We need, we simply must, start building ourselves and our faith/spritual communities around the activities we undertake in our geographical communities. In the parks, the pubs, the community centres, the restaurants. As long as we have a safe haven we will stay there.

So sell your church and go find Jesus, he’s out there somewhere, and start to serve someBODIES!

He not busy being born is busy dying

I have always liked that line. It’s from one of my favourite songs of Dylans off one of my favourite albums. I remember as a youth that it was the tag line to one of those athena posters that used to be everywhere, this one had an image of a dandelion.

It came to mind after a conversation with our new soon-to-be-minister last night. Anne and I went round to their house to  enjoy a very pleasant evening of beer, curry and chat. They seem to be a very nice family and I am sure we will be friends for many years to come (just as long as he doesn’t read this:-)

We were talking about the future a bit and moving up to the Meths buildings and he said something like “we have to make sure we keep BCLC when we move”. I know exactly what he meant by this, BCLC is a very positive part of our church and as such needs to be nurtured, cherished and enjoyed. BUT anyone who has read this site extensively will also realise that  BCLC works because it is of it’s time and place. Remove the place or the time and it potentially becomes something else.

This led me on to think more generally about how churches (and this is not exclusively their problem) still persist in judging the success or failure of something by either numbers or longevity. A church group or event is successful if they geta ‘large’ number of people there or it lasts for a billion years (if it does the latter then the numbers can go down to single figures, you only need to satisfy one set of success criteria). We did the holiday club last week and the first thing I was asked was how many people came.

If, as is inevitable one day, BCLC ceases to be when we move churches then so be it. There is no shame in it. It will have served it’s useful purpose and died allowing something else to be born in it’s place (or another place).

And you may ask yourself, how did I get here?

In my post earlier today I alluded to a second reason why the church has brassed me off this weekend. I don’t want to go into detail because I know that some of the people involved do occassionally read this humble blog and I really don’t want to cause offence.

The thing is that being a part of a dwindling organisation gets harder and harder. As the people go the jobs get allocated to a smaller workforce so, consequently, each person has more to do. The work reduces a little but only down to a point. Beyond that there is just stuff to do that has to be done regardless of the number of people left.

In addition we are also still trying to move in with the methodists, a process that has slowed down to a vitual standstill. This is frustrating for everyone involved but when we try to move it forward, well I don’t want to get started on that as a) I will get more and more angry and b) consequently I will offend someone.

Yesterday I didn’t go to church at all, I took the dog for a walk and Dylan to the park. This, despite the weather and nearly losing the dog, was a lovely way to spend the morning. Coming home though I went past a church and I actually felt guilty, like I had been skiving off. It wasn’t even my church I went past. How ridiculous is that? I think I seriously need to examine my motives for going to church…. Right now, I hate the organisation and I hate the local situation. I love BCLC and I love nearly all the people that I see on a Sunday morning.

I will give it until Christmas and then I will make a decision, feeling the way I do is not good for me, it’s not good for my family and it can’t be good for the church. Nothing will significantly change if we just trundle along with it having a moan here and there. If, as I fervently believe, the church really has to die to be reborn then is it up to me to help kill it? Certainly it doesn’t make any sense to be artificially keeping it alive.

Time to pull the plug?

Are You Experienced?

I should be feeling chippier than a chip shop owner who has just made an excellent batch of chips. My football team, Manchester City, beat the current champions and bitter local rivals, Manchester United, and are now sitting proudly atop the English Premier League. This is a wholly unprecedented occurrence on many levels and one which should have me whistling all week, however, as usual the church comes along and knocks the wind completely out of my sails.

I heard this morning that there is something called ‘come back to church sunday’ or something equally lame taking place at the end of September. This is a day where people will put aside their past experiences of church, you know; cold buildings, uncomfy seats, boring songs/prayers/sermons etc. and come back to find that everything is completely the same only with power point. In addition to this, one church in Coventry (no offence) has been consulting with the local John Lewis to work out how they can make the ‘experience of church’ more appealing, presumably as appealing as an hour in John Lewis.

Where do I start? I always thought that as christians we were trying to bring people to encounter God. I am pretty sure that the head of John Lewis is more keen on parting people from their money and he does that in the most palatable way possible. That is what it is though, a purely commercially driven relationship intended to make one of the parties more wealthy and the other less so. That is why they want to get as many people through their doors as possible.

Is that what the head of the church wants? Well if you take God as being the head of the church (sorry God, I know, I know) then quite obviously not. He really doesn’t care where or when he meets people. However if it is the moderator of the URC or the Archbishop of Canterbury then quite clearly they do want more people sat in their churches every Sunday. More people means more money, more people means a successful organisation. Is this at odds with what God wants? I don’t know you’d have to ask him, but I know where my money would be.

We can’t bring people back to church, we shouldn’t even be trying. People have done church and don’t want to do it again. Heck, I don’t want to do mainstream church again. The future is not the past, leave nostalgia for the telly. Look forwards and try to work out how the church can facilitate encounters with God wherever and whenever they may occur and forget, once and for all, this notion that one day everyone will go ‘blimey, do you remember church it was crap but now it’s got power point so let’s get back in there’ and rush back. It isn’t going to happen, get over it and get on with something new.

We can be heroes

Greetings from sunny sunny spain. I have just enjoyed a very pleasant G&T and some tapas and before I tuck into my tea I thought I might share something that has been on my mind the past few weeks.

Like you I am an avid fan of both the tour de france and Coronation St and like you I have watched in horror as my heroes have been tempted, fallen and been totally found out.

First there was Vinokourov, pre-tour favourite to win who was found to have had an irregular blood transfusion (irregular in that he hadn’t bumped headlong into a truck whilst out training and lost a number of limbs and a great deal of ‘claret’) then we have Rasmussen, the leader of the tour at the time, ‘guilty’of missing a test and not being 100% honest as to his whereabouts at the time. Enough shocks, I am sure you will agree, but then we find that Ashley, in the absence of his wife, succumbs to Casey’s charms and gives her tonsils a good work out with his tongue.

I have to say thatVino and Rasmussen were shocks in the way that yo uknew something like that was going to happen but why those two? Both had the talent and the experience to win the tour but ultimately lacked something of the self-belief that someone of Lance Armstrong or Miguel indurain had. (Incidentally, I head that Bjarne Riis’ win that ultimately ended Indurain’s tour career has been found to be drug assisted, we have heard no outcry over this, a terrible shame) And that is what the drugs gave them, an edge, something that made them feel they could perfrom better than the next rider, weven though they probably could anyway. They have been called cheats and I guess they are but in a country where the national sport (football) is habitually played in such a way as to try to eliminate ones opponent by any means, fair or foul, that seems a bit harsh. The tour de france is one of the few sporting ocassions where you see each competitor have the utmost respect for the other men in the peleton, where bitter rivals have all but stopped on a hill when their main adversary has been unexpectedly unsaddled. This is the context in which we should consider accusations of cheating.

And then we come to Ashley, ok so he finds out his uncle is his dad and his first wife gets killed by the local serial killer and his child is fathered by the local doctor (who wants him back) and then his dad dies on his wedding day and then his new wife tries to kill their new child in and act of post natal depression, ok but does he really have to snog the face of the deranged woman who tried to burn down his house and family and is now working her way between him and his lovely wife? Should we cut him some slack? No way, Ashley you are a hero to all men, don’t fall for her!!!!

I appreciate that I have missed a few episodes since I  have been away but I am sure Ashley is holding out…..so there’s hope for all of us.

Want One?

I have been busy lately. I still am and I have had to resort to blogging this on a Sunday. One of the things I have been doing is listening to Rufus Wainwright. I have been a fan of Martha for some time but have avoided Rufus because I didn’t think I would like all that Judy Garland inspired gay angst. No offence to angst-ridden gay people, I would like to say that some of my best friends are but alas that is not the case. I saw Rufus on Johnathon Ross recently and thought what a thoroughly decent chap he seemed. Tom then bought me Want One for Father’s Day and I have listened to very little else since. Check out Go or Go Ahead - brilliant.

On the subject of Music another thing I have been doing is watching the very excellent 7 Ages of Rock. Last night’s was a masterpiece, not lease because it contained a lot of Smiths references and interviews. The programme placed the Smiths as the champions of the UK indie music scene, inspiring The Stone Roses, Suede, Oasis and The Libertines. Interestingly from a musical perspective all these bands had very strong guitarists (with the possible exception of Oasis) and somewhat charismatic singers (with the possible exception of Oasis).

As with most things I was able to parallel this to the ‘emerging church’. Watching the series as a whole we find that the record industry, far from leading music in each of the 7 directions covered by the programmes, is was constantly reacting to what was happening, trying to package every innovation so that it could be replicated and exploited.  All invention and imagination came from the people making the music.

Take a look at Fresh Expressions and try to tell me that that isn’t what the established church is doing with new ideas and initiatives in its midst. Some might try to claim it is sharing ideas around enabling organisations to try things in their locality that have worked elsewhere. I would say they are desperately trying to justify their role in a movement in which they have no place.

I have my guitar, I just need some Johnny Marr cool and my own little Morrisey.

Whole Lotta Love

Continuing the theme of change we got our Bible out on Sunday. You may recall from a previous post that I got a rather snazzy metal Bible for Christmas this year. The trouble with it is that the print is very small so I have to wear my reading glasses to read it.

Anyway the first thing I read in it was from Acts (chapter 5) where Peter and John are brought before the council for healing someone. When I was planning Sunday this came back to me along with other parts of Acts. So we read these bits, there is a part of chapter 2 where the apostles are told that only God will appoint the time and place for stuff to happen and then there is another bit where they describe how they met in each others houses and shared the lords supper every day. There is also the bit about pentecost where the spirit changes them and everyone thinks they are drunk. The bit that appeals to me most though is where the council describe them as ordinary men who have no special training and yet here they are doing stuff in the name of God and according to what Jesus had shown them.

There are lot of people living part of their lives. Jesus came to show how we can live life to the full.

God decides when (a Sunday of course).

The spirit empowers us.

Jesus has demonstrated all we need to know.

Sounds so simple and  yet how hard is it to do?

This Sunday is our response to what we have heard, I will, of course, keep you all posted.

In the meantime, those of you in the UK, have a fine bank holiday and, given the weather forecast, enjoy the Carry-On/James Bond/Great Escape type films they are bound to show on the telly.

Like a Virgin

I watched this programme last night.

I thought this: