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Bulletin 125 Date : 18th Feb 2008
All I once held dear

God said to Abram, “Leave your country, your people and your father’s household and go to the land I will show you” (Genesis 12:1). When the first disciples were called by Jesus to be His followers, they had to leave behind their fishing boats and nets in order to become ‘fishers of men’ (Matthew 4:19). It seems to me that Christians in the UK are being called to let go of things they once held dear in order to become effective followers of Jesus. Here are just some of the notions we, as church people need to let go of:-

1. England is a Christian Country
At last year’s ‘Hard Questions’ seminar, I asked Rev. Dr. David Wilkinson what the Church has to let go of before it can be effective in mission in the 21st century. After some thought he said, “The notion that we are still living in Christendom”. The term Christendom relates to a country where everyone is (theoretically) brought up as a Christian and Christianity is the accepted faith of the nation. If ever this situation existed in Britain, it certainly doesn’t today.

When the majority of today’s churchgoers were children, at least 40% of all children in the country attended Sunday School. Today that figure is down to around 3%. If, as the Archbishop of Canterbury recently suggested, the introduction of certain aspects of Sharia law into Britain is ‘unavoidable’, then surely this will further reinforce the erosion of Christian values and the status of the Church within our nation.

2. Society speaks the same language as the church
I sometimes cite the example of Hymn 417 in the old Methodist hymn book which says in verse 2, “Here I raise my Ebenezer”. Thankfully those words were changed in the new hymn book to, “Here I find my greatest treasure” (I Samuel 5 and 7 will illuminate the significance of this verse). But it isn’t simply the choice of words which divides the church from society. The church views the world through biblical eyes, recognising the importance of the teachings and example of Jesus, the Servant King. Society is increasingly secular and motivated by materialism and instant gratification. Society also views religion with suspicion but affirms what I would call a ‘creedless form of spirituality’.

3. Evangelism is only about words
I was brought up in the era where evangelism was seen through the lens of Billy Graham missions. Without doubt, Billy Graham’s legacy is a host of brilliant church leaders but it also includes the false notion that evangelism is only seen through the lens of big rallies and crisis moments. Today we are learning that relationship building and sharing the gospel in words go hand-in-hand and that different people will excel in different parts of the process.

The mission of the church is also about making the Christian faith relevant to a nation which sees Christianity as one of many offerings in the spiritual marketplace, and discovering new ways in which God is reaching out in mission into society. However, we must not confuse ‘making the Christian faith relevant’ with ‘making the Christian faith popular’. The challenge Jesus set in the Gospels is just as demanding today as it was then.

Back to the Future
The challenge for the Church is to let go of the notion that we live in an era in which the Church is thriving, respected and powerful and learn from the first-century apostles who took the gospel to those who had no knowledge of it. As Archbishop John Sentamu writes in the latest edition of ‘Expressions’, “How, when the needs of their members can become all-consuming, do [churches] maintain their focus on looking outwards, serving their communities and sharing the gospel day by day?”