Church Identity

Happy Ascension Day!

Last week one website pointed me to another – let me explain.

I was reading the weekly update of the Baptist Times on-line and it recommended a glance at a blog written by David Murrow entitled: How a traditional church can grow again. (For techno wizards out there this is the web address: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/afewgrownmen/2013/04/how-a-traditional-church-can-grow-again/)

The author, David Murrow, described a situation which is increasingly familiar, namely that many Christians travel miles to a big church with a professional standard music group and informal style which ‘does’ so called contemporary worship well.  Such a journey will take them past dozens of smaller ‘traditional’ churches en route.

Murrow says he and his wife do this most Sundays in America and they enjoy it and are glad to be part of their regional church congregation.  But some Sundays they pop into their local Episcopalian church with a congregation of about a hundred, a set liturgy, thoughtful sermon and traditional hymns.  They have found such visits deeply stimulating, provoking and heart warming.  They have been refreshed by the sermon, touched by the ancient words of the hymns and stirred by the discipline of the liturgy.  All to the good.  For them that sense of contrast underlines the value in both styles of worship and instead of saying one was intrinsically ‘better’ than the other Murrow affirms the experience that God was honoured in both.

However,  the other Sunday he went to this smaller church and came away tremendously disappointed.  For that particular service the church had tried to adopt a contemporary style – so the liturgy had been dispensed with, hymns were not on the menu and a scratch band attempted, but failed, to cope with the syncopated rhythms of the latest worship songs.  It was all less than satisfying.

That experience prompted David Murrow to write his blog article encouraging traditional churches to realise afresh the value of the liturgy, hymnody and sermons that fit so well into such a well honed structure and not ditch all of this for a style they cannot, in truth, adequately deliver.

‘Change’ has become something of a holy word amongst so many of my ministerial colleagues and I sometimes think it’s their only raison d’être for ministry.  Yet change isn’t a neutral word because it can either result in a better or worse outcome.  The issue is surely about what we’re moving away from, and then what we’re moving towards in that process.  I don’t think Murrow was advocating traditional churches shouldn’t ever change – but rather in that evolutionary process we need to value what has worked well in the past and continues to be a blessing in the present and not throw it all away because that bigger church twenty six miles down the road does it differently. 

I think there is rarely a short cut and easy  route to growth  - not one with honour anyway.

For me it’s all about ‘identity’.  When I read the profile of Amersham Free Church I was so impressed by the sense of identity that came through the document.  It wasn’t strident or unbending – indeed the sense of being open to new possibilities was peppered throughout – yet it made the point that AFC has thoughtfully, prayerfully and intentionally developed a particular liturgical style which has been, and is, much valued by those who come week by week.  The message was clear – come and join us, travel with us, develop and grow with us slowly – but if this style of worship isn’t your cup of tea - look elsewhere!

So, six months in, what do I think? 

Well I believe that sense of identity at AFC is a really significant part of our life together.  It doesn’t mean change won’t come – there will always be the need for us to constantly reassess what we do and how we do it. Indeed the introduction of new elements within worship is often both stimulating and refreshing.  Yet it can, I believe, all be accommodated within, and even shaped by, that enriching liturgical style which is central to our church’s life.

And in all of this – we pray – may God be honoured.

With best wishes,

Ian

Singing the Faith

Last month The Royal School of Church Music published the results of its questionnaire ‘Church Music: Sound Ministry?’.  Over two hundred churches sent in their responses; some were unsurprising such as the growing lack of new organists alongside the increased use of music groups.  Perhaps one of the most enlightening sections dealt with the choice of music at funerals.  Requests included the theme tunes from Star Wars, Doctor Who and The Benny Hill Show!  However, clergy said they turned down the song ‘Combined Harvester’ by The Wurzels – seems to me that might have been appropriate for a Somerset farmer!

The music we share together in church is important.  It has the power to unite a congregation in a sublime moment of corporate worship.  It can also lead to division and heart ache with faithful members feeling disenfranchised as newer material sweeps away deeply cherished and formative hymns.  That search for balance between traditional and contemporary is a central task for anyone who leads worship now a days.

Only last week I had two comments about songs and hymns after the service.  One person told me she knew all the actions to the Sunday School song I quoted in the sermon and another shared her love of the hymn we had sung, ‘What a friend we have in Jesus’, because it had meant so much to her during her nursing days. 

So often the faith that has developed in our lives has found itself rooted and expressed in the hymns we sing.  For many of us they become our creedal statements.

The other week a small group of us at AFC devised a LunchBreak programme under the title ‘Sing a New Hymn or Song’.  For twenty minutes we sang five newish pieces – including a Peruvian Gloria and Townend’s lyrical version of Psalm 23.  There was a buzz afterwards as people talked about the ones they liked and didn’t – most seemed to go away with smiles on their faces glad to have shared together in song.

Three reactions from that LunchBreak programme have stayed with me – perhaps this is my equivalent to the RSCM survey! 

One – we sang a contemporary song with a great tune, in fact one of my favourites.  Yet it was pointed out to me that although written within the last decade and sang at events such as Spring Harvest the words had a real Victorian feel about them.  I wonder, do we like hymns and songs more for the tunes than the words?

Two – we used a super hymn expressing our longing for ‘inclusivity’ in the church – each verse ending with the statement ‘All are welcome’.  Afterwards in discussion it became clear that some of us felt this was too idealistic a statement and they felt uncomfortable singing something they sensed wasn’t entirely true.  I value such integrity.

Three – many commented on how much they appreciated an Iona hymn we sang.  The combination of a sing-able folk tune to new, provocative, beautiful and yet honest words seemed to encourage many of us.

I love hymns and songs and can’t imagine worship without them and am deeply grateful for hymn writers old and new for giving us such a wonderful tool with which we can express our faith. Long may we continue to sing both old and new songs together.

With best wishes,

 

Ian

 

The 7.32am to Marylebone

It was, for me at least, an early start this morning.  As I pulled back the bedroom curtains mist was swirling around the garden as the sun tried to burn through.  I was up early because Amersham Free Church was ‘hosting’ the monthly Bucks Baptist Ministers’ Breakfast.  I left the Manse at 7.20am to walk to church and meet up with folk who had got up even earlier to help prepare the food.

My route into town normally takes me over the red footbridge at the station.  By the time I got there it was about 7.30am and I was surprised to see the platform crowded with commuters ready to start their daily journey ‘up to town’.  The car park was frantic as people were being dropped off.  ‘A different world’ from mine I thought.  This is a side of life here in Amersham I rarely see and never take part in.  If I go up to London I always catch a train after 9.15am because it’s cheaper!  Not so these folk – everyday up, out and catching the 7.32am. 

The other evening walking home from an Elders’ Meeting lots of people were, this time, coming out of the station clutching their brief cases and bags looking totally exhausted.  It was 10.30pm – what a time to be returning home from the office.

For many who are now retired at AFC this was a daily way of life and for a smaller group it remains so.

It’s never easy ‘to walk in someone else’s moccasins’!  My world is very different from a city commuter’s, a doctor’s or a shop assistant’s.  The challenge for me is that all sorts of people with all sorts of Monday to Friday professions come to church to listen to my sermons on Sundays!  It makes me wonder if we have got the balance quite right and how we might ‘hear’ more from those in the world of work during a service; because it’s important to make that connection.

That’s the reason I was impressed by a colleague's Sabbatical arrangements recently.  We ministers often use this leave of absence to go on theological conferences or spiritual retreats – which is fine.  Yet my friend shunned all of that and spent his three months away from his church routine working as a voluntary porter at the local hospital.  He simply wanted to become re-acquainted with the world of work because he believed it would enhance his ministry.

Perhaps our time together on a Sunday is a bit like that central, overlapping point of a Venn diagram.  We have other spheres we inhabit: be they at work or out in our communities.  Yet we share this moment of weekly worship together – bringing our whole selves to it praying that something about the fellowship, liturgy and sermon will touch a chord with us and resonate, giving us some of the strength we need to get back on the 7.32 to Marylebone on Monday morning!

With best wishes,

 

Ian

Celebrating Life

The other Saturday I spent the morning at The Chiltern Child Contact Centre.  It was good to be there and see how this organisation supports estranged families through the provision of a safe and comfortable place in which children can meet up with a parent who doesn’t currently live at home anymore.  It was truly moving to see this interaction and witness the quiet and gentle practical support being offered by that morning’s helpers.  I came away with a real sense that something positive and life-giving was being experienced even though the overall context was that of significant struggle and pain. 

I suspect we could think of numerous other examples of such human support and encouragement given either by individuals or collectively through clubs and societies.   Wherever these sorts of opportunities occur I believe something of the breath of God, the breath of Life is being experienced in our world.

The opposite is equally true and so we lament the life draining tragedies of the Syrian refugee crisis or the recent Boston bombings.

All of this has come into focus for me this week as I prepare to preach on the lectionary passage on Sunday about the raising of Tabitha by Peter in Acts 9.  In many ways it asks difficult questions about ‘resurrection in real time’ – but looked at in another way the message of the passage couldn’t be clearer:  God’s gift to us is a participation in His Life – a life of joy, of peace and love.  Tabitha shared in that way of living before her death because we are told she ‘spent her days in acts of kindness and charity’ – what a lovely epitaph. 

In this Easter Season – which now even feels like the season of spring – I think it’s important for us to re-affirm that the God at the centre of our worship is the God who offers us life – life in all its fullness.

With best wishes,

Ian

Leadership

As we were packing on Monday before travelling down to Somerset the news came through that Lady Thatcher had died at The Ritz hotel in London.  I ran downstairs and turned on the telly catching the opening of the one o’clock news and the start of the many tributes and critiques which we have heard and seen this week.

The reaction to her death has been interesting to say the least.  She was the Prime Minister of my early adult years. Indeed the election at which she became Prime Minister in 1979 was the first one in which I could vote.  My family owned its own business and we lived in the south of Britain so Mrs T was something of a hero to my parents and grandparents and the 80’s for us seemed like a ‘boom’ time. 

There are so many ‘myths’ about Baroness Thatcher and it’s hard to know which ones to believe.  Ken Clark, who served along side her, said in a TV interview this week that she was very different from the media image presented about her.  Perhaps we need to refrain from too quick an analysis and take the ‘long view’.

Whatever we think of Mrs Thatcher she has her place in twentieth century history as one of its most significant leaders. 

Leadership can be defined in many different ways and needs many different qualities.  A leader needs vision and courage, has to have insight and the ability to ‘stay the course’ even in the loneliest of moments.  I guess the Baroness knew a thing or two about this kind of leadership.

Yet, in my view, leadership also involves the ability to listen and the willingness to learn from one’s mistakes.  Now that’s the hard bit for any leader.  John Humphreys or Jeremy Paxman would eat any political leader alive if they admitted too often that mistakes have been made.  Yet we all make them and one of the best bits of our humanity is that often mistakes, once we learn from them, make us into far better people.  That’s the theme of the tome the AFC Book Group is currently reading (Falling Upwards by Father Richard Rohr).

An American preacher on New York’s 5^th Avenue was going through domestic difficulty at home and would regularly give updates of this marital struggle to his church Sunday by Sunday.  During that period the congregation swelled to unprecedented proportions.  Apparently they loved hearing about their minister’s mistakes!

Now I’m not for one moment saying that example gives us a good role model. A far better one might be the humility with which Justin Welby took up his position in Canterbury Cathedral last month.  Standing at the great West Door and being asked ‘Who are you?’ he responded by saying he was a disciple in need of God’s grace.  Later in March he was interviewed on Songs of Praise and said ‘of course I will make many mistakes, I just hope and pray they won’t be on the really big issues’. 

The Bible doesn’t really go in for hagiography – the art of writing an uncritical biography in a near reverential tone.  Even Israel’s greatest leader and King, David, is given an honest account as his mistakes are all too painfully recorded during his days of adultery.

No leader is ever perfect – nor should we expect them to be.

For me ‘collegiate leadership’ is a great blessing and strength.  Parliament models it in the Cabinet system of government and the rigorous passage of a Bill through its various stages in both Commons and Lords.  Such a system is the benefit of living in a democracy rather than a dictatorship.

And we, especially in Free Churches like AFC, also have this kind of leadership structure.  The minister SERVES alongside the Elders and Church Meeting as TOGETHER we seek the mind of Christ.  One of my tasks is to seek to bring vision and encouragement but that is always done in the realisation that any ideas I have will be refined and developed as they go through Elders and Church Meeting; and I’m truly grateful for that.

Our country owes a debt of gratitude to all its Prime Ministers and the service they have given our nation.  We know they have all made mistakes yet I sense every one of them gave of their very best in the democratic system we value.  Their office of national leadership merits our ongoing prayers.

With best wishes,

Ian

'How was the water?'

That’s the question a lot of folk asked me after last Sunday’s baptism – ‘How was the water?’  Well it was fine – rather like the church at Laodicea (Rev 3.14) ‘neither hot nor cold’ -which made it just right!

Every baptismal service I’ve had the privilege of being involved with has been special and Sunday’s was no exception.  Jamie had started his preparation for baptism with Andrew, my predecessor, so it felt great that such firm foundations were now being built upon.  It was my ‘first’ baptism at AFC – so that felt ‘special’ too – and having it on Easter Day was a real joy.

However, there were other moments of delight in last weekend’s busy Easter schedule. 

On Maundy Thursday after the communion at St John’s Methodist I was shown around the church by one of their members.  She just took it upon herself to give me not only a ‘guided tour’ but a warm welcome which I really appreciated.

Many folk from AFC have commented how much they appreciated the service Erna devised for us on Good Friday.  Her opening reflection on the two bowls – one used by Pilate for washing his hands, the other by Jesus for washing the disciples’ feet was profoundly moving as we considered what bowl we might be using.  And then there was that bitterly cold – but genuinely warm-hearted – walk of witness with other Christians form the town.  What a long procession!  It all ended with a short and wonderfully audible service at St Michael’s Square.  Ecumenism seems real on Good Friday – together we gather around the cross – what better place for Christians to find their commonality.

On Easter Saturday a small, enthusiastic group of children, parents and helpers gathered at AFC for a craft morning and Service of Light in the Sanctuary.  We lit the cross ‘lights’ they had made as we stood around the Communion Table and shared a prayer together – sometimes the simplest things are the most moving.

And then Easter Day – a full church with loads of visitors, wonderful singing, sharing baptism and communion together – wonderful!

All of this proclaims life and community – the themes of Easter and our everyday identity - can’t wait to do it all over again next year!

Best wishes,

 

Ian

Passover

With Rabbi Danny Rich,
Chielf Executive of British Liberal Judaism

This week has been holy for both Jews and Christians as both Passover and Easter is celebrated.

On Tuesday I accepted an invitation from The South Bucks Jewish Community to be a guest at their Passover Meal being held in our church hall.  It was a wonderful evening!

I was welcomed with great respect and friendliness and soon introduced to Rabbi Danny Rich, the Chief Executive of Liberal Judaism, who was leading the Seder that night.  I had hoped to blend into the background but it was insisted upon that I sat at the top table – with Danny’s wife graciously helping me through every part of the proceedings with whispered explanations.

Much of the Seder is about storytelling and with quite a few children present it was obvious from the start that it was all about passing on this cherished tradition to a younger generation.

There was also an obvious sense of ‘connectedness’ about the evening.  Folks told me how much they were aware that these same words were being said every hour around the world on Tuesday – and how touched they were to remember that their parents and grandparents would have used them in their day. 

All of this was accompanied by an informality that just doesn’t happen at a Christian Communion service.  The Rabbi cheerfully dealt with, and even encouraged, cheeky interruptions.  This was an evening to be enjoyed, it had something of a ‘family party’ feel with good humour and gentle banter.

Of course it has to be recognised that Rabbi Danny is the leader of British Liberal Judaism.  So I was fascinated to talk with him about his take on tradition and interpretation.  He holds very flexible and provisional views and displayed, it seemed to me, a great willingness to approach the texts with questions whilst at the same time sensing their relevance for every age.

At one or two moments during the Seder liturgy Danny looked over to me and almost winked – this usually occurred during references to the coming Messiah.  On this issue, inevitably, we hold different theological views.  However, I came away with the conviction that I had gathered with fellow seekers after truth, men and women of enormous good-will and spiritual integrity.  So I, for one, had no trouble in joining them in giving thanks to God for the liberation he offers us all and praying for peace in our world.  Tuesday was my chance not just to read about a Seder meal but actually experience it in all its joy and kindness.

This event in Holy Week has made a deep impression on me that I think I will never forget – it has made me realise afresh just how much our Christian story has its origins in the Jewish one.  And it seems to me we still hold much in common – I felt on Tuesday that I was sharing company with good friends.

It strikes me that part of the richness of the Jewish tradition is its use of language which, even in translation, puts things so eloquently – just think of the Psalms.  Well on the tables was a ‘bluffer’s guide to Seder’ (for which I was very grateful) that had this rather beautiful saying on the front:

‘There are only two lasting bequests we can hope to give our children.  One of these is roots; the other, wings’.

And then there was a line from ‘A Song of Passover’ – Danny pointed it out in his sermon – it read:
‘Slaves are those who stop searching for the way’.

At Passover, on Tuesday night, I felt God was very close.

Shalom,

Ian