Friday, April 25, 2014

Reflections on essay reading

Roxburgh  affirms that christian formation happens through practices… he charts some early church practices hospitality; marriage; caring for widows and sick; needy… in effect this is in large part the love of others… rather than simply the love of family, this perhaps illustrates why Jesus’ who are my mother etc was so important..  he then goes on to dismantle what he calls the prominent formational practice of 20th C church life.. the small group… he is dismissive....
‘such groups, by and large, have nothing to do with forming people in practices of Christian life. …small groups usually exist to for people to connect on a personal level to find forms of intimacy in a lonely world. The Bible serves as little more than a springboard for conversation about each other’s lives.’   Self actualization groups and individualism…. Wow some attack fellowship group leaders out there take note! 

Alan Roxburgh then goes on to say....
'Too much of our current of our current church life is focused around meeting the needs of expressive individuals. Those who argue that meeting needs is a strategy to get people into the church miss the point. If we communicate a Gospel that says at the front door that Jesus is all about meeting my needs (remember, most of the time we are talking about middle class expressive individualists who are already the most pampered generation of earth), then at some point we are going to have to tell  them that in fact the opposite is the case. Jesus actually came to call them into a life that requires them to let go of their needs. We created congregations full of little Hobbits who crave nothing more than their comfort and having their needs met. Some of those Hobbits have discovered that the world beyond their narrow range of vision is in terrible distress, and they have to go on a journey that will take them far away from every want and need they ever had. The rest of the Hobbits are still in the dark.'

Well don't hold back Alan, say it as you feel! Pretty challenging stuff... no wonder my head hurts!

Wednesday, April 9, 2014

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.” The second is this: “Love your neighbour as yourself.” There is no commandment greater than these.’


Summary 1:        Wow thank you for a great year!


            I think the scripture above is my “scripture of the year.”  I realise our main activity this year has been the building of the beacon and the refurbishment of our premises, but if we don’t love God and our neighbour then really there is little point in our activity. 
            I would like to thank all those involved in our recent Open Doors celebrations, it was a tremendous weekend, culminating in six young people committing their lives to love God, and starting with a Saturday of activities that made it extremely easy to love our neighbours, there were just so many of them here! For those who planned, who cooked, who baked, who poured, who cleaned up, who invited and those who laughed: thank you and well done. It certainly goes down for me as one of the best weekends in my ministry. If you weren’t involved pop across to www.zuchurch.co.uk and watch an excellent video collage that one of our young people prepared. It was a fitting celebration to mark both the hard work that had gone into the Beacon Project, and also the sense of God leading us through this process.
            When something goes very well, there is always the question of how to build upon this success. You may well be extremely glad that I am not planning any further building work! However the challenge was set during the renovations that we are to “become beacons in order to build the Beacon.”  This phrase challenges me; it resonates with Jesus’ most foundational teaching where he instructs us to be salt and light. If we think of the scripture I begun with, we can understand that we are loved by God in order that we love those around us. God’s love is like the salt and light that bring colour and flavour into the world. As Jesus came to love the world, so we are sent to love our neighbours. Matthew puts it well, he tells us to announce that ‘The kingdom of heaven is near,’ for we have ‘freely received’ so we should ‘freely give.’ (Matt 10:7-8) Being generous and gracious followers of Jesus is in my view the only way to respond to the events of the last year. We have built a beacon, now we must help one another to shine, or as I often say, we are blessed in order to be a blessing.  
            Of course every church, indeed every community has people who already shine; this is because all are made in the image of God. The real question for me is how should we help one another shine? In essence that is a large part of my ‘job’, to encourage people to live in a more Christ like way… in essence to have the ‘cure of souls’. Frankly the problem is that I don’t do it very well. I may preach the occasional good sermon (even if a bit long!), when we worship it is as if sometimes the veil of heaven is being removed, but my ability to support you, nurture you in your families and indeed at work or in society is limited. I do pray for you, but prayer is an area where I am growing, it is not yet a strength! We need something more than just a Pastor, we need a family who will support us and challenge us in our conviction to grow more like Christ. That is why fellowship groups have been so important for us at Zion. This year however we are highlighting an even smaller and more intentional unit of support, the Inspire fellowship band. This is a group of no more than four people who usually meet monthly to encourage, support and challenge each other, specifically about whether we are living a way of life that is growing in God’s love and expressing this in love for those around us. It sounds very simple, but in my experience it is profound.  A good number of people have already expressed an interest in these groups. I realise many of us live busy lives, and we may need to stop something before we take on something new. However I am convinced that together we really can shine brighter.  Please contact us if you are interested in these bands, or the way of life that lies behind them.
Summary 2: An amazing foundation has been laid, how will we each build on the foundation of love that we have been given?
Stephen

Tuesday, April 8, 2014

“ I.. make known the end from the beginning” Isa 46:10


NEW ELDERS, new WORKERS and a NEW APPROACH
It is with real sadness that I tell you (who may not already know) that my friend and colleague Peter Wilson has decided that it is time for him to retire (again!) I am a massive believer in teamwork, and frankly Peter and I have been a team that has worked really well, for us personally at very least. He has supported me, encouraged me, challenged me and simply been there for me whenever I have needed. `I often wonder how other colleagues in ministry cope, as it can be a lonely task, but I can honestly say I have had the privilege of working alongside one of God’s saints.  He will be a very hard act to follow, but I know he will keep supporting us and offer his successor every help asked for. 
[It may be of interest to readers to know that both the Methodist Circuit, who ostensibly employed Peter as a Circuit Pastoral Worker, and the eldership here at Zion are all of the opinion that we should seek a new appointment, and we are in the process of facilitating this.. so watch this space, and please pray, both for Peter and for the right person to take the new post. Peter will retire in May. We wish him and Florence all the blessing that they have so freely shared with others over the years.]
It is my firm belief that working with others is what the whole church is called to do.  If you are part of Zion United Church, I hope you feel that you have a team who support you as you live out a life that: pleases God and is good for those around you. This teamwork occurs at different levels, we need co-workers, people who work alongside us, as well as leaders in the team. I hope you can identify some co-workers perhaps people in your fellowship group, or just simply friends!  The leadership we immediately recognise at Zion are elders. 
A new approach we are investigating at present is called INSPIRE. This is a way to embed some co-worker teamwork. Small groups of three or four people agree together to help each other. INSPIRE bands do not “do anything” accept try to help the members of the band develop character as Christian men and women: to grow as disciples. Inspire is not a course or an activity, in effect it is simply a commitment with others to grow into a way of life.  Personally I have been in one of these bands for about four years now and I have found this to be the most helpful innovation I have ever experienced, real honesty and support.  If you are curious please come along on 1st April 7.30pm to an open discussion about how we may proceed and support each other with this initiative.
LEADERSHIP: is vital. It is that time of year when new elders are discerned at Zion. Perhaps you wonder what eldership is. I think if you put the words, Christian alongside leadership and teamwork, you are approaching the truth. Technically the elders are local trustees, but we do not want to see our role with that materially driven language. The elders have a role to help us grow in Christian maturity this is a core leadership role: to grow up and then of course to grow out, after listening, watching and discerning what God is whispering around us.  They are involved in many diverse activities, but I hope these are all infused with the development of Christian character and are carried out through teamwork which advances God’s kingdom.  I do want to challenge one typical misunderstanding. We do not elect elders. Our structure is not about democracy. Rather we want to “discern” who God is calling into this office.  Each one of us can have a part in this discernment, particularly in the early stages. Who encourages and supports your Christian faith? If they are a member of Zion then they have just passed the first test for leadership, you respect them!  Perhaps God is whispering to you that you should nominate them. Alongside Peter, the elders have been a great support to me over the years. We would not have been able to build the beacon without a supportive leadership. I believe the next task that faces us, is for us to become beacons… to live lives that SHINE! So the leadership we need for the next phase of God’s call will be those whose love SHINES. Please pray about this, and if you see someone shining, please do not hide their light under your bushel, approach them and nominate them. 
God bless you this April… a month to discern new leadership, a month to say thank you to those whose leadership has enriched us and of course a month to celebrate Easter. The true mark of leadership: the Cross.

Stephen