The Secret History of Our Streets

Soon I will be moving back to South London to work as an Assistant Curate in the Church of England. I have to admit that London was somewhere that we ended up through no choice or design of our own and, though my father was originally from Lambeth, I have often felt like a resident alien amidst the tumult of humanity. However, while on my sick bed this morning I watched this program on the BBC iPlayer:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/i/b01jt9bv/

If you can then I urge you to watch it, especially if you have a connection with London and its communities. It broke my heart to see what has been done to certain parts of South London in the name of progress, the fracturing of lives, families, communities and urban topography (yes I do care about geography, people and places are intimately linked). Hearing the stories of injustices suffered and inflicted, wounds that have never healed and scars that are likely to be with us for many years to come.

I thought it was a well made documentary, you hear from a number of different parties and, although the emphasis is placed on the community, there didn’t seem to have been an attempt to vilify the councillor involved. I was particularly impressed with the small coverage of a Christian pentecostal church where, through the art of good editing, there was an implied spiritual dimension to the consequences of the injustices acted on the community and, at the very end, a sense of hope restored for the future.

Man shall not live by video projector alone...

...nor shall he live by carpets, the removal of pews of the instigation of youth and Children's work!

Lots of people around me at the moment are finding out about their training posts in Churches around the country. I pray that this will be a fulfilling and rewarding time for all of them, but I have noticed that there is an odd correlation in the things that people say.

When asked about the Churches that they will be serving and served by people frequently reply with something akin to the following, "It's quite a traditional Church at the moment, but I know the minister wants to move things on. They are intending on installing a video projector soon." (Or for video projector you can substitute "start a youth group", "get rid of the pews", "install a sound system" etc.)

Other than the fact that it is not necessary for people to justify their choice of training opportunity to me I find it curous that a mark of life in a Church is not seen as a relationship with the Father, faith in Jesus or the moving of the Spirit. Instead of focusing on issues of the heart we appear to see life as a purely cosmetic issue.

I concede that a well ordered worship space, a vibrant youth and children's programme and a holistic mission to the spiritual, emotional and physical needs of the community are, amoung other thing, indeed outward signs of a healthy Church. However, I don't know that health can be gained through achieving these things.

I imagine that it's rather like good hair or clear skin. I'm told that healthy people, people who eat well, exercise and look after their bodies, do have a resultant positive effect on their outward appearances. Many of us try and achieve this healthy look through cosmetics, in the run-up to Christmas television is swamped with adverts promising "healthy looking hair" and "smoother looking skin". Not wishing to get into a discussion on the virtues of cosmetics it does occur to me that these solutions will not deal with the problem but cover is up, they do not make us healthy they merely allow us to give the appearance of health.

There is a problem in many Churches today that is we are trying to look like the healthy Churches (or even those Churches that appear healthy), instead we as Christians need to grow in spiritual health and pray for the spiritual health of our Churches. Then out of this health we might see the signs of life returning to our communities in both familiar and unexpected ways.

Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. (Ps 51:10)

Are you sitting comfortably?

Visited a Church last night... don't think it's helpful to use the patented Rylett Five-Star review strategy on people's acts of worship, but I do (of course) have some questions and some opinions...

Gen asked me how it was when I got home and my one-word would be "comfortable". This has nagged at me ever since, and this morning I remembered the welcome offered to visitors: "We hope you will be comfy".

Comfy... does Jesus call us to be comfy? He is the God who comforts those who mourn but I don't believe that there is a biblical precedent to be comfy? So why is the aim of so many of our Church meetings that we might be comfortable? Were the disciples comfortable as they saw demons cast out and outcasts welcomed in? Were the Pharisees comfortable as Jesus challenged and rebuked them? Was Paul comfortable as he moved across the empire speaking of Jesus?

Those who lead our Churches need to stop inviting us to be comfortable and start preaching the life-changing, transforming, healing, challenging, comforting, but never comfortable word of God.

Anyways... I was able to worship the God who is due all my praise and I thank him for speaking to me last night during the word, as a result I have had a rather uncomfortable day and I will worship Him more as a result.

Coincidence?

I was going to write a post about the fashion sense of a homeless chap I met in Richmond on Tuesday. He had been sat at the adjacent table to ours at a cafe talking to an evangelist, after they had finished he received a Bible and an invitation to Kentucky Fried Chicken that Sunday. We started talking because he noticed my Superdry Jacket and wanted to know if it was good for winter because he had just bought one for £170 which he was very happy with... which seemed bizarre to me, but after our conversation my wife pointed out that it was perfectly in keeping with his designer hat, glasses, jeans and shoes! Even the homeless people in Richmond dress better than I do!

I was talking to a member of our Church this morning about a homeless man about 3 miles away from Richmond, whom he had shared his phone and a conversation with on Monday night and how he had prayed for him. As he recanted the tale Rob mentioned the man he met had just had a stroke... "funny", I said "I met a homeless chap yesterday who had just had a stoke. What did he look like?" "Well", replied Rob "he was wearing a Superdry Jacket"!

So? Was it just coincidence? Is it perfectly normal or the current trend for homeless people to pay more for coats than I do? Or did God, by his grace, do an amazing thing in Jason's life this week and give Rob and me a huge encouragement to boot? God did amazing things at HT this Sunday evening, over half the congregation were moved to come forward for prayer to intercede and be bold witnesses... then stuff like this happens in the next few days. I can't wait to hear what other coincidences have happened this week...

Is Jesus Necessary?

I just want to stop and ask the question, "Is Jesus resurrection presence necessary at the Church meetings I lead?" The easy answer is "Yes", of course, but what I mean is if Jesus wasn't there, would it make any difference to us? I ask because the worrying thought is that maybe it wouldn't, we would worship, talk and pray but is that relationship or is that just form or religion?

Do we worship because he is there with us or is the fact that he is there incidental? What would be different if we knew that he was? When we speak do we speak of Jesus or do we speak of the things of Jesus? When we pray do we commune with the person and power of God or just fire them off in the hope that someone (or even something) might hear them and chose to do something about it?

I'm not sure that I have any answers at the moment; simply the passion and desire that Jesus is entirely necessary, but the nagging suspicion that in practice he is simply a desirable accessory to our forms of religion.