008 : Colour, variety and balance

It was one of those events I really wanted to be part of and so I went along to Arnold Methodist Church for the Lent Retreat Day led by Liz Babbs. It is a church I am very fond of and have led and shared in fellowship with the people on a number of occasions. I must admit, I didn’t know what to expect, but having worked with Liz over a number of years, initially producing visuals for YouTube based on her Celtic Heart book, I greatly value the meditative work she has done. One piece of work which has always made an impact on me was taken from Celtic Heart and focuses on the theme of Journey.

Journey

My life has recently taken a new turn and I am deeply into discovering the next phase of my journey. Having completed over 10 years in an evangelism role, I am now waiting on God to discern what lies ahead. Interestingly, one of the lectionary readings for next Sunday is the start of Genesis 12 where Abram, the Father of the Faithful, sets out on his life-changing journey and, like me, not sure of where God will take him. The word comes to Abram, ‘Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you’. When we think that Abram was a sprightly 75 years of age, we may feel a completely new start in life needs to come sooner than that – not so in God’s mind. Of course, a journey need not simply be geographical. For Abram it led ultimately to the Promised Land. But a journey could be taking you to a new way of life, a new set of friends, a new way of believing and, most of all, a new way of understanding who you are. I read with interest my wife’s calendar which contains daily reflections. Today’s was ‘In order to be someone, you must first be yourself’. Do we really know who we are or are we pressured into being the person that fits into the mould created by other people, our job or our circumstances?

Colour, variety and balance

At the start of the retreat day, Liz asked us to reflect on how close we felt to God and what hinders our relationship with him. Well, we were not short of answers to reasons why our closeness to God is hindered in this frantic, technological and materialistic world. Then we reflected on what would make for a better life and we were asked to draw a picture. My picture was staring me in the face – it was the display of flowers on the table at the front of the church (see the picture at the top of this bulletin). For me, the things I desire most in life are colour, variety and balance. My thoughts went to the ivy we have in our garden at home which, sadly, has taken over one part of our garden. We now find the crocuses we planted some time back are struggling to make a show through the ivy leaves. It can be like that in life – some things take so much time and effort, they choke out the beauty of other things. Getting a right balance in life is one of the greatest challenges we face. Variety prevents us from becoming blinkered. Colour is what makes life beautiful. It’s so easy to get into a rut and finding that life becomes monochrome – doing the same things day after day in the same way. And, do you know what – that can even be true of our faith and church life!

Take time to reflect

And so, I really valued being a part of the day, even though I could only stay until lunchtime. It certainly made me think and pray more creatively about where God may be leading me next. In this time of Lent, we are, as Christians, encouraged to join Jesus in the wilderness, seeking God’s wisdom and direction. That means setting aside the normal rhythms of life and letting God’s Spirit speak deep within, revealing what’s wrong and what needs to change. It’s far more than just giving up chocolate!

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Liz Babbs (MEd) is a dynamic keynote speaker, writer & professional performer known for her wit & wisdom & for Communicating Christ Creatively. She’s author of 11 books & 6 CDs, has written for Zondervan, CWR & The Bible Society & performed at the Edinburgh Fringe. Her ministry is endorsed by the Archbishop of Canterbury & J.John

For more information on Liz Babbs, visit her web site

007 : Paul the Midwife

It really shows Christianity in a positive light don’t you think? I’m talking about the BBC programme ‘Call the Midwife’. It depicts Christian people as compassionate, sensitive and caring – not the usual negative stereotype we see in the media.

I reflect on St. Paul’s missionary endeavours. He went across the northern Mediterranean region planting new churches but he quickly appointed local leaders to be responsible for the on-going running of the church. He would act as advisor, mentor and sometimes critic when they went astray but he recognised that what he was developing was not for his benefit, but for the benefit of local Christians and the Kingdom. In a very real sense he was acting like a midwife – bringing to birth something that would be someone else’s child.

But have you ever thought that as Christians, we are called to be midwives? More and more people in our churches are getting involved in the formation of Fresh Expressions of Church. These range from Messy Church, through Café Church to various kinds of community gatherings and children’s activities, all with the aim of creating genuine, viable and sustainable Christian communities in their own right.

To be fair to those doing this, although they are involved in their formation, running and even financing, the form of church they are involved with may not be their church, nor would they necessarily want to be part of it long term. In a sense they are acting like midwives who bring other peoples’ babies into the world. They may be passionate about the new birth but they recognise that what they is for someone else and they must not develop an emotional attachment to the newly born baby.

Some are suspicious, if not critical of Fresh Expressions of Church fearing that the new, trendy form of church is going to replace the traditional model which they know and feel comfortable with. People have been predicting the demise of traditional church for decades and it simply hasn’t happened, neither do I expect it to. However, we need to accept that in some places, the traditional model, although not dead and buried, is on a life-support machine. Having said that, not all Fresh Expressions of Church will survive into the future in this fickle, consumerist society which we inhabit.

We live in a country where church-going is off the agenda for the majority. However, the need for the gospel is higher now than it has ever been. The survival of the Church will require self-sacrifice and total commitment by people who may never see the fruit of their labours. I have no idea what the ‘Church of Tomorrow’ will look like but I believe it will be very different from today’s model. Just to give you one example – Sunday School. These flourished in an era where church-going parents were Christian and their children needed a basic grounding in the faith while Mum and Dad went to the main church for solid and deeper teaching. Today’s parents are not in that position and they are as much in need of basic teaching on the faith as their children. This partly explains why Sunday Schools have seen a sharp decline in attendance while Messy Church, where children and parents worship and learn together, is flourishing. We need more initiatives like this, especially for people who value a church where they can participate rather than being preached at. These models are emerging but more resources, human as well as financial, need to be applied.

So, it’s time to ‘Call the Midwife’ and start missionary work that will bear fruit for tomorrow’s generation of Christian.