Introduction
This is a very personal contribution. It is based upon my work and ministry in
Like many other urban congregations Crumlin Road Presbyterian, on the west side of
This report[3] estimated the cost of policing and security as well as the provision of separate housing and schools for Catholics and Protestants: segregated housing has increased costs by £24m; greater collaboration between schools could lead to savings of between £16m and nearly £80m. Reconciliation in
At the same time there is a whole new community of people emerging within the old community which was demolished by both social conflict, directly and indirectly, and by government policy of regeneration. This is a community which has largely been alienated from church and the institution of church but who have so many needs that they will look to whoever has some answers. The problem for the
Pilgrimage
A wise man told me a long time ago that truth comes to people in different ways. For some it hits like the wall to a marathon runner but for others it dawns like the morning sun. For these people the penny finally drops. We live in a sub-culture which expects and teaches the former. The idea of a pilgrimage is a foreign and suspect idea held by the more theologically liberal thinkers. In our culture we seem to emphasize the
Another person told me the other day that the church “spends too much time telling me I am a sinner”. The majority of people here are well aware of what the middles classes think of them. Without knowing it he was touching on the controversy between Augustine and Pelagius. When people “hear” the gospel they hear the preacher telling them they are thoroughly bad. They do not appreciate the nuances of “depravity”. There is good reason for telling the story of Jesus Christ from a more creationist than redemptive slant. I think it better to tell people how to restore the image of God than increasing their sense of guilt and robbing them of any hope. All too often in our society when a person experiences “salvation by grace through faith” they then retreat back to a religion of good works: so they do the very thing they did not want to do![9] The pilgrim walk also lessons the chances of people imagining that if they do not decide immediately they will miss the boat, the “kairos” moment will have gone. In my own life I can identify a journey of faith but I used to feel under pressure to make my conversion experience more like the norm. If we need to be reminded of the importance of pilgrimage we need look no further than Abraham and outside the bible there is the classic Christian tale told by John Bunyan, Pilgrim’s Progress. Michael Mitton says, “Now is surely the time to become open again to the Spirit of God who desires to come to the most intimate places of our lives, praying, healing and transforming us, that we may be released to a new sense of pilgrimage and divine restlessness”[10] For the Celts a place where the presence of God was palpable was called a “thin Place”: in communities like ours we need these places which have become so because of the prayer that goes on in them. We need places like this.
People Matter to God and so does culture
Bill Bright used to say that evangelism was to be Christ-centred but people –oriented. In the Church of the Isles Ray Simpson[11] speaks of the place of culture. Quoting Martin Wallace he says “true evangelism always happens from within the culture. To adopt a new faith does not imply adopting a new culture” Yet all too often church expects people to do this in matters of dress and lifestyle. Simpson tells us that the Celtic way was “culture-friendly”,[12] David Bosch[13] says that “The Christian faith never exists except as ‘translated’ into culture”. Here’s the challenge to take the gospel and translate it into working class culture. This was highlighted on our urban walk in
Empowerment [Jesus built people up]
This brings me to another issue, that of empowerment. Incarnational theology has to mean that we live in the community. Dietrich Bonhoeffer held that “the church is only the church when it exists for others…the church must share in the secular problems of ordinary human life, not dominating, but helping and serving”[15]. Social solidarity is a crucial part of working class culture: very frequently people in our community are left feeling they are less worthy than other communities. One reason for this is the exodus of the community of those who were in a position to leave; those who could leave did leave. Some left the area altogether but some kept attending church on Sundays and this has created more alienation: the commuter church where the people and pastor travel in each week to do their bit “for” the community without profaning themselves by association with the common people. The Celtic monastic community was their way of being with the people. They set up learning, praying and hospitality communities. Our church policy of placing ministers in big houses and allowing the richer congregations to pay big salaries clearly removes them from the “secular problems” Bonhoeffer was talking about. My experience and that of others has been that spending time with people outside the church and identifying with them as much as possible is greatly rewarded and rewarding. Ray Simpson says that we should allow people to teach us before we seek to teach them. I spend some time in the local pub talking with people and with then parents in the local school as well as taking an active part in the community life just because I believe this is what Jesus would do and because I believe it is the right thing to do. I want to hear what they have to say and to listen to their views of the community. Without much effort I find that people open up when they are relaxed and in their own safe territorial space. People also come and talk to us when we are in the market place across from he church on Sunday mornings. I do not think the success model has done anything to help to empower people. When I think of Jesus I do not think of one who was the great professional who succeeded at everything he touched. I think of one who was crucified and who poured his life into others. I think of one who made himself vulnerable. Presbyterian ministers are not taught to be vulnerable, we are taught to be professional, detached and omni-competent. Vulnerability is an important key for ministry and can sometimes even be an important protection. To many people a real minister is one who is not only professional but big and strong and able to handle himself. Jesus turned this on its head when he spoke of the blessedness of the poor and the weak and Paul agreed in his definition of wisdom. In the urban context women have a vital part to play in any team, precisely because of their vulnerability!
Reconciliation
Against all this alienation reconciliation is a big issue. The “r” word has very negative connotations for the Protestant community both within and without the church. A pamphlet called “Reconciliation: A false goal?”,[16] illustrates the community view, which is not all that far from the evangelical view of the matter. This is a real struggle for me personally. I see it as a non-negotiable part of the message of salvation, as Christ died for the ungodly, so I am commanded to be reconciled to my enemy. I see the dividing wall of partition destroyed so that I can come into a personal relationship with Christ and that behooves me to extend that reconciliation to my neighbours who are just across the street living behind the “peace wall” of west
Team approach to Ministry
For twenty years I have ministered in a “lone Ranger” way. I have experienced the need for pastoral support. In the reading I have done for the Celtic trail it is obvious that team work was important to them. It was important to the New Testament Church. It is encouraging to see how in a pagan culture the Christians of the day saw the need to work together and were ready to pay the price to do so. There have been many casualties in church life because of social exclusion and today that is made worse by the cult of individualism. We need structures to support those in ministry. The Celtic monastic way was a good way for ministers to be in the world and yet take time out to revive the batteries and inspire them by spending extended time with God. We have merely paid lip service to both team ministry and pastoral support. In our denomination only the rich can afford this model of ministry: we speak of team ministry but we make the possibility as difficult as possible. It is said that Patrick prayed up to 100 times a day because he valued being in the presence of God. In all of this we are reminded by the Celtic gender blindness of the position of women in our traditional church structures. In Celtic times men and women were both given leadership positions: Bridget is a good example. I believe that an urban ministry cannot be effectively carried out without some women involved with the team because their vulnerability is more of a strength than a weakness.
The Holy Spirit
For the reformed family this is an area of controversy. The Apostle Paul is clear in his teaching that every believer is to be “Filled with the Spirit”[17]. In Acts 19 the story of the “believers” who had not even heard of the Holy Spirit is set alongside signs and wonders. While the story of the extraordinary miracles is difficult to explain it does, for me, highlight the ministry of the Holy Spirit as the “Wild Goose” as well as the dove. It is a clear demonstration that no one can box in the Spirit of God: no one can make God predictable.
Out of the Box Theology [creativity]
This is discussed by Simpson in relation to some comments made by Bishop Richard Harries of
The Prophets
Jeremiah was living and preaching at a time of spiritual decline. He kept preaching even though he saw no positive results. He believed that those who preached only good news were wrong and he said so. Despite his apparent failure he believed there would be better days and it was out of those bad days that he gave us chapter 29. Nehemiah and Ezra came to their work at a time of reconstruction. Nehemiah began his ministry in tears and confession and a long period of prayer. If he were living today he might well have involved himself in the 24/7 prayer room. In Nehemiah we have a prophet just for the West and north side
The man Jesus
I have kept this to the end because he is the main man. Unfortunately the man Jesus Christ has been made in the image of man. We have made him into the gentle Jesus meek and mild of the infant room. He was a real man, a man of strength yet gentleness. He was a man who behaved like a man. In the wake of this man made in the image of man we have the loss of masculinity in our contemporary world. We need to rehabilitate the real Jesus: we need a Jesus who is God and we need to understand that we were made in the image of God and will not be complete and real men, or women, until that image is restored. For many years now I have preached against the Christian tendency to look for clones and cardboard cut outs of the latest Christian icons. For years I have tried to preach the need for real men but now I realize that there is a name for this theological approach. Now I know that this is creationism as against redemption. I have not thrown redemption into the dust bin but appreciate, in a community which struggles so much with guilt and loss of confidence that this is a more appropriate model. In this model the work of Christ, which is, of course redemptive, is also intended to restore the image of God in us. On the Celtic trail and in the reading I came to the conclusion that my theological thinking has been developing in this way and for that I am very grateful.
Reservations
Yes I do have some reservations: the main one is that I would do exactly what I have been warning against, namely to take a system or theological framework and make everything fit it. I have reservations about the place of creation. Not that we should love it or care for it but that a form of pantheism would take root and lead us into error. I have reservations about the theology of place and the modern monastic institutions: while they are not intended to take people out of their ministry context I think that can happen. I think those who live and work there permanently can very easily become separate and find they too are living in an ivory tower. I wonder how a place like
.Lessons for me:
Peter Neilson discovered, during his time in parish ministry that he needed to be a minister to the unchurched. If these alienated people will not come to church we will have to go to them. In the past that meant visiting people in their homes and the belief was that if the minister did that they would respond by attending church each Sunday. This is no longer the case. In
Last week a petrol bomb was thrown into a house by some Republican Crowds. No one seems to know why that happened but our clergy group made a statement to say that we would do whatever we could to help in negotiations if that would be of any help. By doing this we were trying to stand with the people in a time of trouble. Working for peace means getting along side the people and speaking up when they are wronged. Harvey Conn tells a story which illustrates a view of sin which includes being sinned against.[19]. He talks about the failure of a congregation to address the legitimate grievances of some factory workers in an industrial dispute. He illustrates the problem by looking at the issue of prostitution: most churches have spoken out against prostitution but have failed to speak out against the social and economic conditions that have led the girls to take such drastic steps to feed themselves and their families. I love the story that Tony Compolo tells of giving a party for a prostitute in a local bar.
I think we need to consider the development of a prayer room which can be open to allow people to spent time there: to recharge their batteries; to give more time to be in the presence of the Lord; to make available a safe place for people at those awkward times when churches are not open; for people at a time of need; and to provide opportunities for people to talk. Practicing the presence of Christ [Brother Lawrence][20] and maybe even encouraging modern monastic equivalents[21] to come and stay among us has to be a good dream
Conclusions
A theology of decline, where the recognition of weakness, presents us with opportunities, need not lead us to surrender. While the institutional church is in decline, it is not all that surprising given the decline in the population of the area from 70,000 to 15,000. At the exact same time many more people are looking for spiritual answers. This is supported by the work of David Hay and Kate Hunt[22] who says that people are 60% more likely to speak of a spiritual experience than 15 years ago. People are 50% more likely to speak of answered prayer and want a ‘church for beginners’ because they are more confused by church. They go on to say that today church tends to close people out of the faith instead of helping them in. While all this is true this is still not the time to run home with our tails between our legs. John Wimber[23] is quoted by Ray Simpson as saying “Never trust a leader who walks without a limp”. The theology of Paul was about vulnerability rather than resistance, weakness rather than strength, poverty rather than riches and foolishness rather than wisdom. Prophets like Jeremiah knew all about the need to preach faithfully in season and out of season and of seeing little or no apparent success. We need to realize that the idea that we will always make progress is , quite simply a myth to be exploded. Under the title “A Theology of Decline” I came across a very interesting blog and I quote a substantial part of it here[24]:
The great risk with pessimism is obviously despair and resignation in face of the inevitable. This is the problem one has to try to solve. This is an area where I believe a religious faith can be immensely helpful.
One can gather this from the fact that throughout the history of the Church periods of decline and crisis have often coincided with very creative periods in the development of theology. For example, Augustine wrote The City of God in response to the decline of the
A more recent example is the blow to our own culture that was the First World War. The period after the war, that effectively broke off the optimism of the 19th century, produced the best theology of the 20th century: Tillich, Bultmann, Brunner, and this other guy, yeah, Barth. ;) All this so called “crisis theology” was a reaction to the feeling that the Church could not go on as it had before.
Decline implies weakness, but it is also strength in God’s economy because we then should need God more and then we are strong. In the spirit of creativity we need to go to where the people are and not continue to flog the dead horse of “come to church”. We need to teach people to “be church”[25], being willing to be ex-centric instead of normal. We need to help people to leave the church by being in the church but also with the community and for the community, getting our hands dirty. Oscar Romero, who spoke of taking a step back and taking in the long view puts ministry in the best context in one of his prayers in saying:
The kingdom is not only beyond our efforts, it is even beyond our vision. We accomplish in our lifetime only a tiny fraction of the magnificent enterprise that is God's work.
Nothing we do is complete, which is a way of saying that the kingdom always lies beyond us. No statement says all that could be said.
No prayer fully expresses our faith.
No confession brings perfection.
No pastoral visit brings wholeness.
No program accomplishes the church's mission.
No set of goals and objectives includes everything.
This is what we are about.
We plant the seeds that one day will grow.
We water seeds already planted,
knowing that they hold future promise.
We lay foundations that will need further development.
We provide yeast that produces far beyond our capabilities.
We cannot do everything, and there is a sense of liberation
in realizing that. This enables us to do something,
and to do it very well. It may be incomplete,
but it is a beginning, a step along the way,
an opportunity for the Lord's grace to enter and do the rest.
We may never see the end results, but that is the difference
between the master builder and the worker.
We are workers, not master builders; ministers, not messiahs.
We are prophets of a future not our own.
Amen.
[1] Annual reports of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in
2007
[2] Dunlop Report and The Missing Generation are but two
[3] Deloitte Report reported by BBC news
[4] This was brought to our attention by David Stephens at our get together in
[5] see report on the congregation which draws from research by PCI and CCC 2000 and 2006 respectively
[6] Ray Simpson, Church of the Isles, Kevin Mayhew [20030 p 25ff
[7] John Finney, Finding Faith Today 1992 p24 says that 31% claim a datable
experience but most people [69%] come to a living faith through a gradual
process.
[8] Walking The Edges” SPCK
[9] Romans 7
[10] Michael Mitton, Restoring the woven Cord [Darton, Longman & Todd, 1955
[11] Simpson, op.cid p 78
[12] Simpson, op.cit. p78
[13] David Bosch, Transforming
[14] Jack Weir, formerly Clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church
in
[15] Bosch, op.cit. p375
[16] Reconciliation: a false goal? Compiled by Michael Hall 2000 [
Pamphlets]
[17] Ephesians 5:18
[18] Simpson, op.cit. p29
[19] Harvey Conn, Evangelism: doing Justice and preaching Grace Zondervan
[1982] p47
[20] Brother Lawrence, Practicing the Presence of God Hodder & Staughton [1981]
[21] Perhaps groups like InnerCHANGE
[22] Understanding the Spirituality of People who Don’t go to Church,
Nottingham 2000
[23] Simpson., op.cit. p114
[24] Blog by Patrick Hagman August 2007
[25] You’re an Angel, Peter Neilson and David Currie, Covenanters [2005] p175
