Where we are up to....

A little while ago I wrote this for our first e-bulletin and thought I ought to include it on this blog....

Dear Friends,
I thought it was about time I shared some of my reflections regarding where we are up to at SMC especially in the light of our entry into a new pattern of gathering (consistent with) the direction we feel called to go as a church. The 9am Parish Communion service continues to develop on 3 Sunday’s per month – a traditional service with a warm and welcoming atmosphere. At 10.30am twice a month our central gatherings occur drawing together a larger group of people of all ages worshipping, encountering Jesus and responding to his word. Rachel Turner is beginning to get the measure of her task as Pioneer Children’s Leader and her creativity, openness to the Spirit and teaching gift is sure to be of great benefit to us. We have created exploration space for the development of a more significant change in the way we do church in MSC Sundays. These Sundays are the opportunity to search out the ways in which we can gather in groupings that are shaped by mission. Steadily things are taking shape for us; I expect we are going to learn an enormous amount over the months ahead.
Well done to all of you who are contributing to the process of MSC development already, to those who have ‘stepped up’ at central gatherings and have ‘stayed with’ SMC in the process of the closure of All Saints.
As we develop a new leadership structure for our new season, the leadership team has ceased to meet in favour of the creation of new structures. All those who have been involved in the leadership team will continue to serve as key leaders in this church. We all owe this group of people a big thank you for the way in which they have served and continue to serve.
One of the images I have worked with in thinking about SMC has been of this church as a tent community. Our recent and significant history as a church has been of the removal of ‘sacred’ buildings from our possession and the entry into a new way of being church that has a temporary, flexible and simple approach; a tent mentality. The way in which God’s people were organized and released to travel from Egypt to the Promised Land is of particular inspiration as well as the way in which the early church worked. Recently I have been struck by the need to make sure we have a ‘base camp’ that fulfills the purpose of supporting the missionary vision of the church. I believe that some of you will feel a call to the base to resource, pray for and support the work of those who are called to establish missional communities. Base camp, of course, is vital for the success of any expedition.
I think this is a really amazing place to live and serve and I am grateful for being with people who genuinely want to see God’s kingdom come in Harrogate. God has called us to something distinctive and special and I am looking forward to seeing what he will do in the coming months and years.
Thanks for your support and prayers,
Mark Carey

Fishing on the right side - creating new families

At the end of John's gospel we find the account of Jesus directing the disciples who had been fishing all night without success to put their nets over the other side and they will make a catch. They haul in 153 fish.

This passage has occured a number of times recently as groups of us have prayed.

For me it brings to mind that as a church we have been called by God to cast our net over the other side of the boat - the 'right side' for us. The process of moving into missionary communities will at times be uncomfortable if only because we have been so used to a certain style and way of doing and being church. For many of us church in a certain way is ingrained - the neuroscientists talk of the brain circuits we develop - often considered to be very hard, if not impossible, to change. Penny and I went on a day conference recently on adoption and the attachment issues raised for children who have truamatic start to life. One of the speakers gave the following quote;

"What is helpful about recent neuroscientific evidence is that change is certainly possible throughout the life span. We might never erase the old experiences and their related brain circuit but we can build new experiences and their related brain circuits, new expectations, new circuits in the brain" Miriam Steele. Creating New Families.

Our journey is one of building new experiences, new expectations and new circuits - it is about creating new 'families' - communities of disciples in mission. That is our kind of fishing.

Breakout - Revealing mysteries

A few of us went down to St Andrew's Chorleywood for a day conference called 'Breakout.'

We heard from them about how they have seen MSC's enabling them to breakout from the confines of a church building and consumerist attitude. They have seen many more people becoming Christians and many more Christians becoming disciples. I say that deliberately as it seems that most church growth produces Christians but being Christian isn't just about believing in Father, Son and Holy Spirit it is about following the Lord and having this Lord in our lives means our lives are to revolve around him not vice versa.

I want to the Chorleywood day knowing that to seek to release groups/communities of people in mission is the right direction to go in but reflecting on an ongoing struggle with the 'how to'. What is the process that releases people as the missionaries they truly are? I came back sure about the direction, helped and encouraged yet still challenged by the mysteries of it all.

I was reading the book of Daniel this morning and came to the part where Daniel has prayed and heard from the Lord what Nebuchadnezzer has dreamed and what his dream means. He is able to save the lives of many because he is able to here and receive from God. He stands in front of the most powerful king of those times and is able to say

"but there is a God in heaven who reveals mysteries."

I believe that we will see people's lives saved as we learn to trust in the God who reveals mysteries and I believe that the Lord is confirming that he will reveal the mystery of this current time.

Responding to Halloween

I was amazed last year at the number of people engaging in Halloween related activities here in Harrogate. Evangelical Christians tend to be suspicious about Halloween and over the years have tried to offer children alternatives on the night itself. I am, and have been for some time now, a bit disturbed regarding the lack of reflection and prayer that goes on amongst Christians to do with this. We need to know why we say no to Halloween and make our response a positive one.
Why don't we support Halloween?


The menace effect
There is a degree of menace at times to do with Halloween that goes beyond 'mischief'. Even though most trick & treater's will not respond by doing something nasty - there is a threat in the air, some fear sown into people's lives. To some people (not all) there is a fear of harm at Halloween.


The overemphasis on darkness & the celebration of the representation of evil
We are familiar with the contrast in the Bible of light and darkness. We are not supposed to have anything to do with things that are dark - we are children of the light. We don't need to be afraid of the dark because light overcomes darkness (John 1) but we can't be found to be relating to or colluding with things that represent darkness (that which is not God). Halloween continually overemphasises things that can only be associated with darkness.
Lets take the previous thought one step further... the 'fruitless deeds of darkness' - things that are evil are not to be celebrated. We need to focus on good things, on the giver of all good gifts.


What to do?


Look for the opportunities of Halloween as well as the threats
We need to recognise that there have to be times and places of connection with good and evil - people are continuously telling us, and indicating that they are spiritual... but they have less time for religion. If we have a religious response to Halloween it will come over as negative and unhelpful but if we can engage with the issues of good and evil, have a good theology and practice of the kingdom coming and invading people's lives and a dark world and some creativity then lots could happen.


Earn the right to speak into people's lives
Back to the danger of being 'religious'. People do not want us to be telling them that they are wrong, bad or sinful. They see these things in our lives anyway - they know that we are not perfect and believe that in many ways we are hypocrites. Through relationship and consistency of contact and authentic effective Christian living we will earn the right to speak into people's lives.


Hold a gentle but firm, principled line
We always need to be prepared to give an answer on where we stand and why we stand there regarding Halloween - work out what you are going to say. Don't condemn someone elses thoughts or responses. I think people respect principled stands they don't respect hypocrisy or flakiness.


Develop a ministry and not a hit and run event

An event without connection to good ongoing kids and youth work is not useful. What happened to engaging with whole families? All our events at Halloween seem to be primarily children based? Things to do with good and evil, the right approach to death and thinking about death, light and darkness are all things that we need to equip young and old to deal with throughout their lives not occasionally at Halloween.


Final thought
Over the last couple of years we have bought a pumpkin and carved it with the children and put candles in it. Shock horror! We have always carved christian symbols as well as faces in the pumpkin and it has always proved to be a good way of discussing Halloween with the children.

A quote I am thinking about

"...there exists in every church something that sooner or later works against
the very purpose for which it came into existence. So we must strive very hard,
by the grace of God to keep the church focussed on the mission that Christ
originally gave to it". C.S. Lewis

Cheer up!

I love the way in which people spoke to Bartimaeus the blind man when Jesus told them to call him. They said "Cheer up! On your feet! He's calling you".

What a great combination of attitude and action. We can cheer others up from the basis of our faith and trust in the one who has called us and will call them. We can enable them to get on their feet so they can move towards Jesus - you can picture people hauling the beggar up and ushering him towards Jesus.
It strikes me that this is all we are asked to do - Jesus does the rest. With Bartimaeus he interviewed him about his need and then met it and he will do the same with those that we cheer up and help towards him.
So if you are feeling a bit gloomy or despondent today... cheer up! He's calling you! Get on your feet and draw near to him.

Giving is...

I'd better explain - we are in the midst of our regular vision and commitment process.
We cast the vision for the coming year with vision targets and seek to prayerfully respond. We believe that where God calls he equips, but also understand that often we are the answers to our own prayers. So we have to ask questions, with the Lord, about what and when and how we give. We certainly need to revisit the key principles of biblical giving. I work on the basis of 'tithe & offering' as I am a simple soul that needs a framework and I find this in the Bible. I seek to give a minimum of 10% (tithe) to the part of the body of Christ that I belong with and I seek to give 'offerings' over and above what I am already giving.

Our vision targets for this year are:
BASE - to build up our 'base camp' - the church centre with appropriate admin and communications to be able to support the mission of the whole church. Building development, staff costs, practical things like the website.
COMMUNITIES - to build up and invest in the development of MSC's, releasing at least two MSC's in 2009
PIONEER - to fund the employment of Rachel as a pioneer to build up and develop work amongst children and families

While thinking about giving the following thoughts occurred to me.

Giving is....
... devotion. Our hearts, our worship, our love for him not of money
Jesus said something about treasure and hearts. When I give I demonstrate devotion - where my heart is.

Giving is....
... discipline. Martin Luther talked about people needing two conversions, one of the heart and the second of the pocketbook(wallet). Finances that aren't submitted to God get in the way of my relationship with him. Jesus said 'when you give' - in other words it is part of life - a discipline. It is something we have to learn and develop in our lives. It is good training to give.

Giving is....
...development. Our relationship with the Lord will develop and grow at times through the exercise of trust and faith to do with finances. Sometimes I will be stretched in my finances in order to help me grow in faith – he may ask me to give, to sacrifice as a loving act that releases more blessing and more trust in him. Furthermore God doesn't need us to give - he doesn't need money - but he does want us to exercise the kingdom principle of 'freely you have received, freely give'. In the exercise of giving, of sometimes being broken in this area we find that other breakthroughs come.