Youth Pasta: Food for thought
Friday, May 4, 2012
Youthpasta has moved!
In case you aren't following me on Twitter, my blog has now moved to http://youthpastablog.wordpress.com/
Sunday, November 20, 2011
The Big Room 2 - Yes to adventure
Earlier on we saw a very moving video about some of the work that Compassion, the organisation Scott Todd works for, do across the world, through child sponsorship. See the video here:
This is quite a hard one to blog after the fact, mainly because a lot of what Scott said was in stories. However he did tell us that 1.4 billion people across the world live in poverty. That's over 20%! He also told us that if you ask the poor if poverty can be brought to an end they say yes, as do atheists. Yet Christians, the people who are supposed to live in eternal hope of salvation, when asked the question are more likely to be circumspect with their answer, at best! And Scott believes that part of that is to do with a misunderstanding of Matt 26:11 "The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me", that this has been used to sweep the idea of poverty under the carpet.
Scott then referred to Isaiah 58, pointing to how the passage points to the need for a deep, personal commitment between our actions and our beliefs. And then asked what it would take for the remaining 26% of the world that is currently in poverty to be removed from it. Scott pointed out that we are co-workers with God on Earth, that with Him anything is possible!
His final comments were that God reaches us at the right time, in the right place and in just the right way and that God blesses the simple acts of kindness. The first one on it's own is a challenge and a half. How many of us worry about whether God will show up to something we are doing? The second is also challenging, but in a different way as it means we need to step outside of our comfort zones and actually do something.
It's hard to say what the specifics of the challenge are from this blog, mainly because the stories that Scott told us were about times where he had stepped out and done something. But the overall theme of saying "Yes to adventure" was definitely throughout. God wants us to step out into the unknown because it means that we rely upon Him more. And when we do this we will tend to find that God works that much more powerfully and our meagre offerings are blessed many times over. But we should always remember that the size or number of things that we do does not matter. God blesses people who give from their heart, He blesses when we give not because we have to but because we want to.
So the question sitting there to be answered is this:
What can you give? What does your heart long to do?
This is quite a hard one to blog after the fact, mainly because a lot of what Scott said was in stories. However he did tell us that 1.4 billion people across the world live in poverty. That's over 20%! He also told us that if you ask the poor if poverty can be brought to an end they say yes, as do atheists. Yet Christians, the people who are supposed to live in eternal hope of salvation, when asked the question are more likely to be circumspect with their answer, at best! And Scott believes that part of that is to do with a misunderstanding of Matt 26:11 "The poor you will always have with you, but you will not always have me", that this has been used to sweep the idea of poverty under the carpet.
Scott then referred to Isaiah 58, pointing to how the passage points to the need for a deep, personal commitment between our actions and our beliefs. And then asked what it would take for the remaining 26% of the world that is currently in poverty to be removed from it. Scott pointed out that we are co-workers with God on Earth, that with Him anything is possible!
His final comments were that God reaches us at the right time, in the right place and in just the right way and that God blesses the simple acts of kindness. The first one on it's own is a challenge and a half. How many of us worry about whether God will show up to something we are doing? The second is also challenging, but in a different way as it means we need to step outside of our comfort zones and actually do something.
It's hard to say what the specifics of the challenge are from this blog, mainly because the stories that Scott told us were about times where he had stepped out and done something. But the overall theme of saying "Yes to adventure" was definitely throughout. God wants us to step out into the unknown because it means that we rely upon Him more. And when we do this we will tend to find that God works that much more powerfully and our meagre offerings are blessed many times over. But we should always remember that the size or number of things that we do does not matter. God blesses people who give from their heart, He blesses when we give not because we have to but because we want to.
So the question sitting there to be answered is this:
What can you give? What does your heart long to do?
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Blog - Future of evangelism 2
Ruth - How do we tell the Gospel message?
Incarnation:
As the Father sent me...
The Word became flesh
Living alongside people
Journey not arrival
2 ways of doing youthwork - Flatpack and mechano!
Flatpack is ready-made parts (the gospel), instructions (the way we do it) and the result is a ready-made Christian. Problem is that the results are more or less the same!
Mechano is ready-made parts (the gospel) put together in many different ways and the result can be different every time!
Do we continue doing what we have always done?
Gavin - Substance vs style
How would they do it? What if we said to the young people "Here you go, here's the resources. What would you do to reach the people of your generation?" Would your church accept it?
Problems for teens
At a football match when you want to start a chant you shout as loud as you can and people just join in. At church when you want to start singing you wait for someone else to start! What if we did it like at a football match?
Why are all morning services at 10:30/11 and all evening services at 6:30? We don't all have to milk the cows any more do we?
Time for reflection and discussion:
Think about some evangelism you have been involved in with young people:
Incarnation:
2 ways of doing youthwork - Flatpack and mechano!
Flatpack is ready-made parts (the gospel), instructions (the way we do it) and the result is a ready-made Christian. Problem is that the results are more or less the same!
Mechano is ready-made parts (the gospel) put together in many different ways and the result can be different every time!
Do we continue doing what we have always done?
- Needs of people not of programmes
- Talking a common language
- Principles not packages
- Reflection, evaluation and adapting
Gavin - Substance vs style
How would they do it? What if we said to the young people "Here you go, here's the resources. What would you do to reach the people of your generation?" Would your church accept it?
Problems for teens
- Who gets to do everything?
- How long do we have to be passive for?
- Why is everyone old?
- Why do we sing?
- Why does it have to be at that time?
At a football match when you want to start a chant you shout as loud as you can and people just join in. At church when you want to start singing you wait for someone else to start! What if we did it like at a football match?
Why are all morning services at 10:30/11 and all evening services at 6:30? We don't all have to milk the cows any more do we?
Time for reflection and discussion:
Think about some evangelism you have been involved in with young people:
- What lessons could you draw from it's effectiveness or ineffectiveness?
- Are there principles you could apply in the moving forward with those young people?
- Giving young people a chance to make a difference is a good way to boost their confidence
- We don't necessarily need to look for the effectiveness of our youth work because God sees what's going on and is in control. We just have to keep on loving them.)
Gavin - Thing's that work are:
- Experimental
- Participative
- Image rich
- Connected
How EPIC is your youth work? How EPIC is your outreach?
(Delegate comments:
"To be connected you need to be open with your programme"
"How can we give young people an experience of Jesus without manipulating them?")
Ruth - Recommended resources:
The most EPIC leader we can find is Jesus.
Let's not lose evangelism from youth ministry!
(Delegate comments:
"To be connected you need to be open with your programme"
"How can we give young people an experience of Jesus without manipulating them?")
Ruth - Recommended resources:
- "ASBO Jesus" by Jon Birch
- "Christianity Rediscovered" by Vincent Donovan
- "The art of connecting" by Youth For Christ
The most EPIC leader we can find is Jesus.
Let's not lose evangelism from youth ministry!
Blog - Future of evangelism 1
Session led by Gavin Calver and Ruth Wells:
Gavin - Do we have confidence in the gospel?
Are you still excited about what Jesus has done, is doing and will do in your life?
Are words enough? No! Actions are equally important. However it's important that we don't go too far the other way!
Cheap grace is dangerous as it may mean we forget the cost of The Cross.
The message with form you, shape you and cost you. But it is the greatest thing!
Ruth - The next question being asked is "Why should evangelism be a part of our working with young people in the future?"
We need to work out why we work with young people and why evangelism is important.
Objections to evangelism:
Gavin - Do we have confidence in the gospel?
- What is the message?
- How do we articulate it?
- Are words enough?
- Cheap grace?
Are you still excited about what Jesus has done, is doing and will do in your life?
Are words enough? No! Actions are equally important. However it's important that we don't go too far the other way!
Cheap grace is dangerous as it may mean we forget the cost of The Cross.
The message with form you, shape you and cost you. But it is the greatest thing!
Ruth - The next question being asked is "Why should evangelism be a part of our working with young people in the future?"
We need to work out why we work with young people and why evangelism is important.
Objections to evangelism:
- It's unnecessary (good youth work already happens)
- It's unethical (we manipulate our relationships with young people)
- It's ineffective (the church is still in decline in this country)
Why ask these questions?
- The future means meeting Jesus!
- The future involved co-operation.
- The future requires investment.
- The future will always be demanding.
- The future is ever changing.
We need to have a core understanding to return to at the end of the day. If we are not sure then what are we doing it for?
Why should our work with young people include evangelism?
(quotes from the floor:
"It's our mandate"
"We do it because we love these young people"
"God doesn't have grandchildren"
"One day we will die and where we spend eternity matters"
"Young people's lives are hard enough...that they need that relationship")
Gavin - No better time for the Church to share it's mandate with the world. The fear used to be that persecution was coming and the worry was what we would lose.
The Gospel is as relevant today as it was yesterday and will be tomorrow.
Gavin leads us in an impromptu prayer for the evangelising of the world over the next 10 years. Quite a challenging idea, and one that we don't see enough of in Church on a regular basis.
A Biblical example:
Ruth - Keeping the gospel central to you
The gospel is not a "one hit wonder". How is it continuing to impact you and your walk with God?
New roles of a new evangelist
"It's our mandate"
"We do it because we love these young people"
"God doesn't have grandchildren"
"One day we will die and where we spend eternity matters"
"Young people's lives are hard enough...that they need that relationship")
- There has been a calling (Incarnation)
- There is life (Life before death)
- There will be a future (Hope)
Gavin - No better time for the Church to share it's mandate with the world. The fear used to be that persecution was coming and the worry was what we would lose.
The Gospel is as relevant today as it was yesterday and will be tomorrow.
Gavin leads us in an impromptu prayer for the evangelising of the world over the next 10 years. Quite a challenging idea, and one that we don't see enough of in Church on a regular basis.
A Biblical example:
- Must be compassionate
- Have a ministry that crosses cultures
- Believe in the demonstration of the Spirit's power
- Must be involved in personal evangelism
- See the importance of church-planting
- Are committed to mentoring
- Are called to obedience
Ruth - Keeping the gospel central to you
The gospel is not a "one hit wonder". How is it continuing to impact you and your walk with God?
- In the every day
- In the one-off
- Alone
- With others
New roles of a new evangelist
- Creator (creating opportunities to explore the gospel)
- Translator (making connections)
- Curator (re-framing experience in the light of the gospel)
Keynote speaker - Jason Gardener
So our keynote speaker this morning was Jason Gardener, speaking about the future of youthwork. First Jason pointed to the invention of the internet and what they predicted it would be used for. However it is clear that they were so wrong that it should point to us not being able to predict the future from where we are now, particularly in that we are only about 10 years into the freely available access of the internet.
The question then became how technology impacts young people and also how it affects our work with them. Are they falling under the waves of information and games or are they making good use of it and being a part of what's going on?
Jason then pointed to how we can take hold of the future, shaping and moulding it. He pointed us to 4 British "trailblazers" - Winston Churchill, Ellen MacArthur, Ranulph Fiennes and Ray Mears. All 4 went where few, if any, had gone before. They took control and created their future, rather than letting it control them.
He then showed us clips from the start of Fellowship Of The Ring, and asking the question "Have we forgotten things that we shouldn't have?" Are there ways of doing things that the modern world has removed from our understanding?
This then led to a frightening comment that apathy has become normalised in society. This may seem strange given that it's only a month or so ago that the Occupy campaigners started their camps in America and outside St Pauls, but maybe part of the reason that it has got so much press coverage is because it is such a rare thing to see? Maybe we are all a bit too apathetic?
Jason then pointed to something that I have noticed in my own young people and as a result of my involvement with the gaming world: the growing cultural remoteness that people exist in. People don't feel like they have a connection any more. Which can lead to a complete lack of interaction with society.
But Jason pointed to a glimmer of hope, the fact that as the internet has evolved it has gone from just being a place to go and get information to a place where people look to get involved, either with movements or actually creating the information. And the fact is that many young people are involved in this aspect of technology. The challenge to us is not to just sit back and absorb stuff but to influence our surroundings and enable our young people to do the same. That means creating leadership structures that are low control and high accountability!
Jason then referred to Dallas Willard's book The Divine Conspiracy and how Western Christianity has become stunted, commenting that young people often don't know the true cost of being a disciple of Christ because they are so focussed on self.
Jason then showed us a mosaic of inspirational film clips (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtube_gdata_player&v=d6wRkzCW5qI&gl=GB) and ended with the prayer of St Brendan (http://tinyurl.com/7knutb8):
The question then became how technology impacts young people and also how it affects our work with them. Are they falling under the waves of information and games or are they making good use of it and being a part of what's going on?
Jason then pointed to how we can take hold of the future, shaping and moulding it. He pointed us to 4 British "trailblazers" - Winston Churchill, Ellen MacArthur, Ranulph Fiennes and Ray Mears. All 4 went where few, if any, had gone before. They took control and created their future, rather than letting it control them.
He then showed us clips from the start of Fellowship Of The Ring, and asking the question "Have we forgotten things that we shouldn't have?" Are there ways of doing things that the modern world has removed from our understanding?
This then led to a frightening comment that apathy has become normalised in society. This may seem strange given that it's only a month or so ago that the Occupy campaigners started their camps in America and outside St Pauls, but maybe part of the reason that it has got so much press coverage is because it is such a rare thing to see? Maybe we are all a bit too apathetic?
Jason then pointed to something that I have noticed in my own young people and as a result of my involvement with the gaming world: the growing cultural remoteness that people exist in. People don't feel like they have a connection any more. Which can lead to a complete lack of interaction with society.
But Jason pointed to a glimmer of hope, the fact that as the internet has evolved it has gone from just being a place to go and get information to a place where people look to get involved, either with movements or actually creating the information. And the fact is that many young people are involved in this aspect of technology. The challenge to us is not to just sit back and absorb stuff but to influence our surroundings and enable our young people to do the same. That means creating leadership structures that are low control and high accountability!
Jason then referred to Dallas Willard's book The Divine Conspiracy and how Western Christianity has become stunted, commenting that young people often don't know the true cost of being a disciple of Christ because they are so focussed on self.
Jason then showed us a mosaic of inspirational film clips (http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=youtube_gdata_player&v=d6wRkzCW5qI&gl=GB) and ended with the prayer of St Brendan (http://tinyurl.com/7knutb8):
Shall I abandon, O King of mysteries, the soft comforts of home? Shall I turn my back on my native land, and turn my face towards the sea?
Shall I put myself wholly at your mercy, without silver, without a horse, without fame, without honour? Shall I throw myself wholly upon You, without sword and shield, without food and drink, without a bed to lie on? Shall I say farewell to my beautiful land, placing myself under Your yoke?
Shall I pour out my heart to You, confessing my manifold sins and begging forgiveness, tears streaming down my cheeks? Shall I leave the prints of my knees on the sandy beach, a record of my final prayer in my native land?
Shall I then suffer every kind of wound that the sea can inflict? Shall I take my tiny boat across the wide sparkling ocean? O King of the Glorious Heaven, shall I go of my own choice upon the sea?
O Christ, will You help me on the wild waves?
Big Room 1: Yes to fulfilment - reflections
Well, first thought is wow! Two amazing speakers, both with very powerful messages and both delivered in ways that pulled in the listeners.
First up was Zach Hunter, speaking about getting stuck in and looking to get others stuck in. The most powerful point, for me, was when he played a clip from Amazing Grace where William Pitt is talking to William Wilberforce about how he intends to become Prime Minister. Wilberforce tells him that no one their age (20's) becomes PM, to which Pitt basically says that it's BECAUSE of their age that they can go for it, because the world hasn't wearied then to the point of giving up yet.
Zach pointed out that whilst we might get angry or sad about something, it's only when we do something that it actually means anything, so encouraged us to let our emotions motivate our actions. As we read in James chapter 2, it's all very well to have faith, but it is meaningless if you do not act upon that faith (v14-26).
Zach's final challenge was simple and to the point. You don't have to wait around for the person who's going to bring change, YOU can be that person!
After a brief interlude of worship, we then had Rob Parsons come and speak to us. Taking his lead from Revelation 7:9-17, Rob spoke passionately about people who are a supportive influence on others. He told us a story about the man who influenced his life from the point of wanting to give up at school and church to becoming an international preacher. Rob reminded us that it is the little things that are important, doing things to spend time with people, giving yourself to them out of love.
Rob made the point that so often the Church tries to make people fit into the Church mould, rather than accepting them for who they are, faults and all. He pointed to how Jesus accepted his disciples even though they were a bit odd at times, particularly Peter, who Rob said could have been described as having "ruined the transfiguration with a silly comment". And yet Jesus ended up declaring Peter as the Rock on which He would build His church.
Both speakers had an amazing message for us as youth workers. From Zach we heard how we should look to make things happen rather than waiting and from Rob we heard that when we do something we can make a huge impact, no matter how small the thing we do. Looking at that in terms of our own youth work, I wonder what things we could do that could make a change for the better?
First up was Zach Hunter, speaking about getting stuck in and looking to get others stuck in. The most powerful point, for me, was when he played a clip from Amazing Grace where William Pitt is talking to William Wilberforce about how he intends to become Prime Minister. Wilberforce tells him that no one their age (20's) becomes PM, to which Pitt basically says that it's BECAUSE of their age that they can go for it, because the world hasn't wearied then to the point of giving up yet.
Zach pointed out that whilst we might get angry or sad about something, it's only when we do something that it actually means anything, so encouraged us to let our emotions motivate our actions. As we read in James chapter 2, it's all very well to have faith, but it is meaningless if you do not act upon that faith (v14-26).
Zach's final challenge was simple and to the point. You don't have to wait around for the person who's going to bring change, YOU can be that person!
After a brief interlude of worship, we then had Rob Parsons come and speak to us. Taking his lead from Revelation 7:9-17, Rob spoke passionately about people who are a supportive influence on others. He told us a story about the man who influenced his life from the point of wanting to give up at school and church to becoming an international preacher. Rob reminded us that it is the little things that are important, doing things to spend time with people, giving yourself to them out of love.
Rob made the point that so often the Church tries to make people fit into the Church mould, rather than accepting them for who they are, faults and all. He pointed to how Jesus accepted his disciples even though they were a bit odd at times, particularly Peter, who Rob said could have been described as having "ruined the transfiguration with a silly comment". And yet Jesus ended up declaring Peter as the Rock on which He would build His church.
Both speakers had an amazing message for us as youth workers. From Zach we heard how we should look to make things happen rather than waiting and from Rob we heard that when we do something we can make a huge impact, no matter how small the thing we do. Looking at that in terms of our own youth work, I wonder what things we could do that could make a change for the better?
Friday, November 18, 2011
Youthwork Conference 2011 Retreat
Well, just over an hour since we left the retreat, I am still left wondering quite what I learned from it all. Then again, I have a shocking memory so it may take some time to process it all.
Looking back at my tweets (the sensible ones) the thing is that taking time to just be is important. Finding the time to let go of the baggage of normal life and spend it with God it not an easy thing for a youth worker, as we often find that we are working twice our allotted hours (if not more!) and when we're not working our minds are still whizzing through everything that has gone on and how we will deal with particular issues that have arisen from it.
Once we have the time set aside we need to remember where we are in our life and also, importantly, that God knows all this already. So no matter what we have gone through, thought, felt or done He understands and still loves us unconditionally. Taking this can be very hard, but when it finally sinks in it is such a release to know that we do not suffer, struggle and strive on our own. Having the time for this thinking is sometimes the only way we have a chance to grasp just how awesome God can be.
And finally, above all else, I have realised the importance of being able to let rip and have fun with friends. The joy I have experienced from 2 meal times with a group of like-minded individuals who are all just having fun in each other's company has been the biggest blessing I could have hoped for.
My advice to everyone who has not made it to the retreat day this year, do come next year if you can. Fellowship and relationship are right at the heart of our Faith and to spend time just doing it because we can, not because we "have to" is a real joy!
Looking back at my tweets (the sensible ones) the thing is that taking time to just be is important. Finding the time to let go of the baggage of normal life and spend it with God it not an easy thing for a youth worker, as we often find that we are working twice our allotted hours (if not more!) and when we're not working our minds are still whizzing through everything that has gone on and how we will deal with particular issues that have arisen from it.
Once we have the time set aside we need to remember where we are in our life and also, importantly, that God knows all this already. So no matter what we have gone through, thought, felt or done He understands and still loves us unconditionally. Taking this can be very hard, but when it finally sinks in it is such a release to know that we do not suffer, struggle and strive on our own. Having the time for this thinking is sometimes the only way we have a chance to grasp just how awesome God can be.
And finally, above all else, I have realised the importance of being able to let rip and have fun with friends. The joy I have experienced from 2 meal times with a group of like-minded individuals who are all just having fun in each other's company has been the biggest blessing I could have hoped for.
My advice to everyone who has not made it to the retreat day this year, do come next year if you can. Fellowship and relationship are right at the heart of our Faith and to spend time just doing it because we can, not because we "have to" is a real joy!
A fallen church?
At a recent diocesan youth workers meeting, we discussed the way that the Church is at present and how we can look to influence change for the future.
As part of the discussion, we pondered over the words of a reading (Dallas Willard - The Divine Conspiracy) where it suggested that the Church had been bowing to societal norms for the last 1500 years. When thinking on this, I took it to mean that it was a reference to when Constantine made Christianity the state religion of the Roman Empire.
And as I thought about it I started to remember what I learned from Latin classes and what I read about the classical world, about how many temples they had to all the various gods, shrines for the household gods and so on. And then I started to think about the change we see in the way the Church ran before and after.
Before the Church became established as the state religion the services are thought to have been quite short, mainly because the weekend didn't exist so they had to work most if not all days of the week. They may well have met every day and services would regularly have included prophecies, teaching, singing and reading from the Scriptures (or Old Testament to you and me).
The early Church also didn't have it's own buildings, with the earliest designated church buildings only coming after 200 AD. This also meant that church sizes were generally under 30 as most houses were not particularly big.
All of this makes me wonder where the idea of a church building came from and the only conclusion I come to is that the Church got the idea from the surrounding pagan religions and a complete misunderstanding of what Jesus' death meant for the Temple in Jerusalem.
On the first point, as I have already said the Roman gods all had their own temples. The practice of worship was to go to the temples and make sacrifices there. Then when you got home you made sacrifices to the household gods at their shrines. Everything was set in it's place, including these supposedly all-powerful gods. They could all be worshipped when people felt like going to worship them and could all be influenced by actions done to and for them.
And now we see that with the advent of the Church being adopted as the official religion of the Roman Empire they decide that they need to start making buildings to go to to worship God, rather than continuing to meet in homes. We see the Church start to be a source of persecution through the state as Roman citizens are told they must change their religion. We see the Christian Church not so much breaking the pagan faith as merely supplanting it.
And as a result of this building obsession we also see the Church completely missing one of the key aspects of the Cross: the tearing of the Temple curtain. With this one act God makes it clear that He was the one that did it (it was torn from top to bottom, not bottom to top) and that the old understanding of God's relationship with the world was wrong. Rather than a curtain being used to separate God from His people, He removes it and shows the world that He is everywhere and can be worshipped anywhere, not restricted to any buildings or geographical locations.
So we see that the continued church building can lead to the hallowing of geography, again, instead of realising that worship is independent of it. With this we start to see that worship becomes more focussed to a particular day (Sunday), rather than meeting every day in people's houses. And the impact of this can be seen in how people in Church relate to each other. This is not to say that all churches get it wrong, but how closer and more intimate would our relationships be with others in our church is we were meeting in houses and sharing a meal every day? How much more would we share our troubles, worries and fears? How much easier would it be to invite people to church if it was at someone's house, rather than some cold, lonely building?
And here, I believe, is a key aspect of where the Church struggles today. Evangelism to bring people to a building just doesn't work to building relationships, which is what the Christian faith is about. But invite people to your home to share a meal and have a chat and a sing (well, maybe the singing would be a bit strange nowadays) sounds far more friendly and accessible. And, if churches are based in homes it means that planting churches simply needs people to open up their home to a new group, working in the same way that the Cell model works today.
Just think how that might look! A church that is reaching out to it's (very) local community and growing through close, personal relationships. Can you imagine what the world would look like if this was how the Church had remained?
But instead all we have are the remnants of pagan worship practices, blended in with Christian theology. I do not want this to be the legacy that I leave to future generations. I want to see the Church growing and loving and building relationships, not worrying about getting to church on a Sunday. I want the Church to be seen as something for all the community to be a part of, every day of the week!
As part of the discussion, we pondered over the words of a reading (Dallas Willard - The Divine Conspiracy) where it suggested that the Church had been bowing to societal norms for the last 1500 years. When thinking on this, I took it to mean that it was a reference to when Constantine made Christianity the state religion of the Roman Empire.
And as I thought about it I started to remember what I learned from Latin classes and what I read about the classical world, about how many temples they had to all the various gods, shrines for the household gods and so on. And then I started to think about the change we see in the way the Church ran before and after.
Before the Church became established as the state religion the services are thought to have been quite short, mainly because the weekend didn't exist so they had to work most if not all days of the week. They may well have met every day and services would regularly have included prophecies, teaching, singing and reading from the Scriptures (or Old Testament to you and me).
The early Church also didn't have it's own buildings, with the earliest designated church buildings only coming after 200 AD. This also meant that church sizes were generally under 30 as most houses were not particularly big.
All of this makes me wonder where the idea of a church building came from and the only conclusion I come to is that the Church got the idea from the surrounding pagan religions and a complete misunderstanding of what Jesus' death meant for the Temple in Jerusalem.
On the first point, as I have already said the Roman gods all had their own temples. The practice of worship was to go to the temples and make sacrifices there. Then when you got home you made sacrifices to the household gods at their shrines. Everything was set in it's place, including these supposedly all-powerful gods. They could all be worshipped when people felt like going to worship them and could all be influenced by actions done to and for them.
And now we see that with the advent of the Church being adopted as the official religion of the Roman Empire they decide that they need to start making buildings to go to to worship God, rather than continuing to meet in homes. We see the Church start to be a source of persecution through the state as Roman citizens are told they must change their religion. We see the Christian Church not so much breaking the pagan faith as merely supplanting it.
And as a result of this building obsession we also see the Church completely missing one of the key aspects of the Cross: the tearing of the Temple curtain. With this one act God makes it clear that He was the one that did it (it was torn from top to bottom, not bottom to top) and that the old understanding of God's relationship with the world was wrong. Rather than a curtain being used to separate God from His people, He removes it and shows the world that He is everywhere and can be worshipped anywhere, not restricted to any buildings or geographical locations.
So we see that the continued church building can lead to the hallowing of geography, again, instead of realising that worship is independent of it. With this we start to see that worship becomes more focussed to a particular day (Sunday), rather than meeting every day in people's houses. And the impact of this can be seen in how people in Church relate to each other. This is not to say that all churches get it wrong, but how closer and more intimate would our relationships be with others in our church is we were meeting in houses and sharing a meal every day? How much more would we share our troubles, worries and fears? How much easier would it be to invite people to church if it was at someone's house, rather than some cold, lonely building?
And here, I believe, is a key aspect of where the Church struggles today. Evangelism to bring people to a building just doesn't work to building relationships, which is what the Christian faith is about. But invite people to your home to share a meal and have a chat and a sing (well, maybe the singing would be a bit strange nowadays) sounds far more friendly and accessible. And, if churches are based in homes it means that planting churches simply needs people to open up their home to a new group, working in the same way that the Cell model works today.
Just think how that might look! A church that is reaching out to it's (very) local community and growing through close, personal relationships. Can you imagine what the world would look like if this was how the Church had remained?
But instead all we have are the remnants of pagan worship practices, blended in with Christian theology. I do not want this to be the legacy that I leave to future generations. I want to see the Church growing and loving and building relationships, not worrying about getting to church on a Sunday. I want the Church to be seen as something for all the community to be a part of, every day of the week!
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Death to the enemy?
Osama Bin Laden is dead, killed by American special forces. "The world is a safer place" and "We are better off without him" are oft repeated phrases, along with the very much clichéd "U-S-A" chants by members of the American public. But where does God lie in all this? Sadly He is getting a lot of misrepresentation by a lot of people who have been interviewed. The saddest I have seen was an American man, who had lost his wife in the 9/11 attacks, saying that his wife was in Heaven looking down with satisfaction as justice was done and Bin Laden was sent to Hell.
Nowhere have I seen people remembering 2 key parts of Christian theology:
- Matthew 5:39 & 44
- Deuteronomy 32:35 (repeated in Romans 12:19 and Hebrews 10:30)
In Matthew's gospel, we see it as part of what has been called the most important sermon ever spoken. Jesus sets out how we are to live, from the attitudes we should seek to have to behaviours on a wide range of issues, Jesus pretty much covers the lot. And as part of that, we see 2 passages that the general populace of America seem to have forgotten whilst declaring that God is on their side. The first, verse 39, Jesus tells the people (and therefore us also) that we should turn the other cheek. And then just 5 verses later, in verse 44, he tells us that we should "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you".
Ok, so the message seems fairly clear here that we are to take what we are given when attacked and that we are to pray for our attackers out of love for them. Sadly, with a world as messed up as ours is, things are never that simple. We, as flawed human beings, cannot accept the idea of not retaliating. This is particularly true in young people today, not least the young people I work with in East London. Here the attitude is that if someone hits you, you hit them back and then some! I was recently chatting with 1 young person who told me that if he was hit he would hit back "10 times harder". I asked him what that would mean would come back to him and we eventually went through to about 10,000 times the power before I asked him "Do you see where this is going?" I think he got my point, but sadly I doubt it will change his attitude the next time he is insulted or attacked because this attitude is so deeply ingrained into the psyche of people.
And the sad thing is that I am pretty sure that the reason why Jesus said to pray for your enemies was because prayer can make a difference. Otherwise, what's the point in doing it! And the fact that we human beings so often resort to our own strength, whether that's our fists, knives, guns or bombs, and we only go and make the situation a whole lot worse. You just have to look at books written by former gang members (my favourite is still Run, Baby, Run by Nicky Cruz) and how revenge can escalate into something horrific.
Look at what happened as a result of 9/11:
Afghanistan invaded and lots of people die (and are still dying!) during the conflict.
Iraq invaded and lots of people die in the conflict.
It is believed that over 30 times that many people died from the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, even if you don't include the deaths of Coalition troops. How's that for an escalation! And all because we do not follow Jesus' teachings and pray for our enemies, rather than attacking them back. And interestingly, Jesus finishes off the Sermon on the Mount by saying "...everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand." (Matthew 5:26) I'm sure you remember what happened to him!
And so what are we to do if we don't have our revenge? Well, this is where the twice repeated passage from Deuteronomy is key. "It is mine to avenge; I will repay. In due time their foot will slip; their day of disaster is near and their doom rushes upon them." is part of a song by Moses, speaking of what God will do to those who do not follow Him. It very clearly tells us that God will deal with them "In due time". That's not necessarily hen we would like them to be dealt with, but it is when God will deal with them because he has said He will. And if there's one thing we know about God, it's that His timing is perfect. Now whether they are dealt with during their lifetime or whether it's at the day of judgement, it is not for us to decide. To do so is to play at being God, and Exodus 20:3-4 tells us that that is not an option as far as God is concerned.
The hard thing for us to grasp, something that I regularly struggle with understanding, is that in order to live as God calls us to we must not only take our attacks without retaliating but we must be prepared to continue to do so. And this is especially hard for those of us in the Western World, because we generally do not have to live with persecution on the same scale as Christians in Muslim countries or places like China have to deal with on a daily basis. And yet I am pretty sure that those who do live with it are far closer to living out this teaching than we are ever likely to be, because for them it is a living reality.
It's quite a scary thing to consider, that rather than do anything in our own strength we must imply lay it at the foot of the Cross and pray that God's will be done. It means that we are making ourselves vulnerable, as nothing, and resting on our faith in Christ Jesus and His power to do what is right. It is something that I am not sure we will ever truly be ready to do.
But what if we did...?
Nowhere have I seen people remembering 2 key parts of Christian theology:
- Matthew 5:39 & 44
- Deuteronomy 32:35 (repeated in Romans 12:19 and Hebrews 10:30)
In Matthew's gospel, we see it as part of what has been called the most important sermon ever spoken. Jesus sets out how we are to live, from the attitudes we should seek to have to behaviours on a wide range of issues, Jesus pretty much covers the lot. And as part of that, we see 2 passages that the general populace of America seem to have forgotten whilst declaring that God is on their side. The first, verse 39, Jesus tells the people (and therefore us also) that we should turn the other cheek. And then just 5 verses later, in verse 44, he tells us that we should "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you".
Ok, so the message seems fairly clear here that we are to take what we are given when attacked and that we are to pray for our attackers out of love for them. Sadly, with a world as messed up as ours is, things are never that simple. We, as flawed human beings, cannot accept the idea of not retaliating. This is particularly true in young people today, not least the young people I work with in East London. Here the attitude is that if someone hits you, you hit them back and then some! I was recently chatting with 1 young person who told me that if he was hit he would hit back "10 times harder". I asked him what that would mean would come back to him and we eventually went through to about 10,000 times the power before I asked him "Do you see where this is going?" I think he got my point, but sadly I doubt it will change his attitude the next time he is insulted or attacked because this attitude is so deeply ingrained into the psyche of people.
And the sad thing is that I am pretty sure that the reason why Jesus said to pray for your enemies was because prayer can make a difference. Otherwise, what's the point in doing it! And the fact that we human beings so often resort to our own strength, whether that's our fists, knives, guns or bombs, and we only go and make the situation a whole lot worse. You just have to look at books written by former gang members (my favourite is still Run, Baby, Run by Nicky Cruz) and how revenge can escalate into something horrific.
Look at what happened as a result of 9/11:
Afghanistan invaded and lots of people die (and are still dying!) during the conflict.
Iraq invaded and lots of people die in the conflict.
It is believed that over 30 times that many people died from the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq, even if you don't include the deaths of Coalition troops. How's that for an escalation! And all because we do not follow Jesus' teachings and pray for our enemies, rather than attacking them back. And interestingly, Jesus finishes off the Sermon on the Mount by saying "...everyone who hears these words of mine and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand." (Matthew 5:26) I'm sure you remember what happened to him!
And so what are we to do if we don't have our revenge? Well, this is where the twice repeated passage from Deuteronomy is key. "It is mine to avenge; I will repay. In due time their foot will slip; their day of disaster is near and their doom rushes upon them." is part of a song by Moses, speaking of what God will do to those who do not follow Him. It very clearly tells us that God will deal with them "In due time". That's not necessarily hen we would like them to be dealt with, but it is when God will deal with them because he has said He will. And if there's one thing we know about God, it's that His timing is perfect. Now whether they are dealt with during their lifetime or whether it's at the day of judgement, it is not for us to decide. To do so is to play at being God, and Exodus 20:3-4 tells us that that is not an option as far as God is concerned.
The hard thing for us to grasp, something that I regularly struggle with understanding, is that in order to live as God calls us to we must not only take our attacks without retaliating but we must be prepared to continue to do so. And this is especially hard for those of us in the Western World, because we generally do not have to live with persecution on the same scale as Christians in Muslim countries or places like China have to deal with on a daily basis. And yet I am pretty sure that those who do live with it are far closer to living out this teaching than we are ever likely to be, because for them it is a living reality.
It's quite a scary thing to consider, that rather than do anything in our own strength we must imply lay it at the foot of the Cross and pray that God's will be done. It means that we are making ourselves vulnerable, as nothing, and resting on our faith in Christ Jesus and His power to do what is right. It is something that I am not sure we will ever truly be ready to do.
But what if we did...?
Monday, November 22, 2010
What is it to surrender?
This weekend I was at the Youthwork Conference, the theme being about Surrender.
The retreat day, whilst not exactly a retreat, was something I found useful. The main meetings were very good on the whole with some very good and thought-provoking talks and a lot of Spirit-led worship. The seminars I attended were also very good, especially by Cris Rogers on Sunday morning about new forms of church.
However, I had some rather large misgivings about the final main session. The theme for that session was "Final surrender", which seemed fine in the verbal content of the session. However, at the end we had a "practical" element added, where delegates were encouraged to take part in an act of surrender whereby they would lie on the ground, have a black sheet lain over them, some words said about surrendering and rising to new life and then getting up again. As someone tweeted about it, it sounded just like baptism. Whilst the majority seemed to be happy to go along with it, I found myself feeling very wary about taking part.
My biggest problem is that the idea was about surrendering everything, but what does that mean? We were given examples such as Mother Theresa and Francis of Assisi, both of whom really did give up everything, but I am not convinced that hundreds of youth workers are called to be that extreme in their walk with God.
For example, I am a keen online gamer who regularly plays World of Warcraft in his spare time. I also enjoy watching series such as House and NCIS and I have a very large music collection that I really enjoy listening to. Does surrendering everything mean I should give up these things and use my time saved for God? I struggle with the question because I am sure I could be doing better in living out my faith but I am also convinced that God gives us interests and things that we enjoy so that we are able to spend some time relaxing so that we are able to work for Him to the best of our ability.
Yet none of this was really covered in the main meetings (it might have been covered in the "Surrendering Stuff" seminars, but not everyone would have been to those) and all we had to go on was an emotional response to the stories of some of the big Christian heroes and how they lived their lives for God. It's very similar to the criticism that Soul Survivor has received in the past about their altar calls and is no better when it's used with adults either.
So where does this leave me, and indeed us? Well, I am still struggling with the various thoughts running through my head. And I don't think that so soon after the Youthwork Conference is the best time to start forming definitive answers. I guess time to process all that I've heard over the last few days is the most important thing and to see how things progress.
I know I want to give my all to God in my life, I just have to formulate an understanding of how that looks and then get on with living life for Him.
The retreat day, whilst not exactly a retreat, was something I found useful. The main meetings were very good on the whole with some very good and thought-provoking talks and a lot of Spirit-led worship. The seminars I attended were also very good, especially by Cris Rogers on Sunday morning about new forms of church.
However, I had some rather large misgivings about the final main session. The theme for that session was "Final surrender", which seemed fine in the verbal content of the session. However, at the end we had a "practical" element added, where delegates were encouraged to take part in an act of surrender whereby they would lie on the ground, have a black sheet lain over them, some words said about surrendering and rising to new life and then getting up again. As someone tweeted about it, it sounded just like baptism. Whilst the majority seemed to be happy to go along with it, I found myself feeling very wary about taking part.
My biggest problem is that the idea was about surrendering everything, but what does that mean? We were given examples such as Mother Theresa and Francis of Assisi, both of whom really did give up everything, but I am not convinced that hundreds of youth workers are called to be that extreme in their walk with God.
For example, I am a keen online gamer who regularly plays World of Warcraft in his spare time. I also enjoy watching series such as House and NCIS and I have a very large music collection that I really enjoy listening to. Does surrendering everything mean I should give up these things and use my time saved for God? I struggle with the question because I am sure I could be doing better in living out my faith but I am also convinced that God gives us interests and things that we enjoy so that we are able to spend some time relaxing so that we are able to work for Him to the best of our ability.
Yet none of this was really covered in the main meetings (it might have been covered in the "Surrendering Stuff" seminars, but not everyone would have been to those) and all we had to go on was an emotional response to the stories of some of the big Christian heroes and how they lived their lives for God. It's very similar to the criticism that Soul Survivor has received in the past about their altar calls and is no better when it's used with adults either.
So where does this leave me, and indeed us? Well, I am still struggling with the various thoughts running through my head. And I don't think that so soon after the Youthwork Conference is the best time to start forming definitive answers. I guess time to process all that I've heard over the last few days is the most important thing and to see how things progress.
I know I want to give my all to God in my life, I just have to formulate an understanding of how that looks and then get on with living life for Him.
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