Shared Values & Shared Hearts

I was talking to someone the other day who is thinking about joining one of the MSCs. Our discussion centred around shared values and a shared heart. You have to share values - for instance the Wanderers group demonstrates a high value on getting out amongst other people, Outnumbered highly value family life - it seems to me that there is an hierarchy of values - some are higher than others.... and you need to agree to walk in these values with others. The Wanderers value family life of course - but it just isn't their defining value. But shared values aren't everything.... you need to share a heart as well. This is much harder to quantify - maybe the person of peace teaching of Jesus helps... if someone is open to us, welcomes us, if we feel a similar welcome and openness in our lives - if we are able to think 'I can do and want to do business with that person' then probably we share the same heart as well as values. But eventually we have to do it to see it - the more time we spend UP & IN & OUT together the more we'll clarify whether indeed we share values and share a heart.

Agreeing to walk together

"Do two walk together unless they have agreed to do so?" Amos 3:3

A little gem of a verse as Amos brings the word of the Lord to and against Israel. Here is God's chosen people - the covenant people who have entered knowingly into covenant... agreed to walk with the Lord. They have instead chosen to try to walk in disagreement - not sensible.

There has got to be buy-in and that is what the Lord calls for in his chosen people.

Here, as we choose our new church name, as we continue in the process of living the vision that I have cast for the church we will increasingly find that the heat is turned up on our commitment. We need to walk in agreement together and where we find ourselves trying to walk in disagreement (a very uncomfortable place to be in) we must seek to address this with integrity, honesty, love and without fear.

There needs to be buy in. It is interesting watching the development of our first MSCs - they are so dependant upon a group of people agreeing that they will walk together - sharing a vision, deciding on a convergence of paths and a making of space for each other. In these agreed walks we will need to find ways in which to break open and apply the scriptures, ways of worship, ways to support and disciple each other all united under a common vision, purpose and missionary task. I think in the first instance we often understimate the challenge of agreeing to walk together. In a fragmented culture we are being counter-cultural to share our lives in the kind of agreement that MSC implies. It is worth persevering because the community we build is an amazing gift to the world around us.

Mission from anywhere to anywhere

We had a great day with Bob and Mary Hopkins recently. They are amazing people in terms of experience and connections meaning they can speak wisely in regard to church planting and mission in these days.
The morning with them consisted of great input about the two realities of christendom and post-christendom both clearly represented in a town like Harrogate and a Diocese like Ripon and Leeds.
There are clearly still ways in which the church functions as a unifying central point - Christ Church on the Stray, St Mark's and St Peter's all function in this kind of way quite effectively. However the other reality is that the church in many ways is off-centre because of the enormous influence of secularisation and pluralism - thus many people won't necessarily be attracted back to the 'christendom churches'. The attractional church has to have 2 main things in place to be successful 1) a good welcome 2) good teaching that relates to everyday life. It is event centred and the challenge is to ensure the event doesn't stop discipleship. Thinkers in this field will also talk about Emerging Church as the church going out in listening mode - out amongst those who don't yet know the Lord. They would also talk about the Engaged Church which is somewhere between attractional church and emerging church. I think increasingly larger churches are seeking to be engaged churches - making the most of attractional opportunities but seeking to go out and engage. At a church I recently preached at I felt the Lord giving me a phrase that describes something of this engaged model: "Build at the centre, release at the edges". It certainly seems to me that the chief leadership skill that is necessary in these days is that of 'release' - not command and control but rather an 'authoritative and confident release' of disciples.
I guess St Mary's is emerging and engaged because of this extraordinary thing that we are doing taking a parish church into network I am finding working out which style of leadership to use at particular times is quite difficult and also that being released for many is quite scary because this hasn't been how many people have been led before. We still do elements of attractional church. For instance this Christmas we are holding a contemporary crib service and a candle-lit carol service on Christmas eve but seeking to make these relationally focussed with personal invitation as the key method of advertising. The candle-lit carol service is part of the 9am Holy Communion service - a community in its own right doing something that is OUTward in its approach. Outnumbered MSC have been expressing their main OUT as Messy Church so this Saturday (12th Dec 2009) they are doing Messy Christmas. We will have a family communion service on Christmas Day.
A memorable phrase that Bob and Mary used was "mission from anywhere to anywhere" - that is worth thinking about... we so often define our starting points which then has a controlling influence on the rest of the journey. To be given over to the mission of God is to be a bit more flexible and open - anywhere is fair game as a starting point just as long as the starting point is where the Spirit is at work already.... then it could lead anywhere - what an adventure!

Such a great Quote!

I posted this on my fb status the other day but thought it ought to have a slightly longer shelf-life and more reflection. I think it comes from Brian McClaren.
"It's not about church meeting your needs; it's about joining the mission of God's people to meet the world's needs."
Ours is a risky strategy - it is to take a simple parish church Church of England way of doing things and say 'that's great - but it isn't working for us here... the church is dying slowly... it isn't really making any impact - reorganising probably isn't the answer... lets undertake a RE-ORGANISM. We will choose to exercise faith that as we go so we will see fruitfulness, we'll see people coming to faith and loads of other good stuff happening. We'll seek to put our own needs below the needs of a thirsty, hungry and broken world."
We are still doing a lot of working out - we have to overcome the lack of faith that lurks in us that God can do it not just in our lives but in the world around us... as we go.

"Fewer Services, More Service"

I'm just finishing a book called 'New Monasticism - what it has to say to today's church' by Jonathan Wilson-Hartgrove. A challenging read, though unashamedly American in context, at one point he talks about wanting to introduce a new slogan to churches "Fewer Services, More Service." He is drawing on Jesus' washing of feet and points out that we often remember that Jesus said that others will know we are Christians by our love but we forget that the context for this showing love was in the washing of feet. It is good to have ministries that are focussed on showing love, it is great to have inspiring worship services, it is good to have rituals of foot-washing but we forget that footwashing was something that had to be done, that was need based because feet in those days became filthy. Footwashing was the daily job of a servant tending to the basic needs of a household and we are told to function like this. How much do we pay attention to the care of each others needs? Do we turn up at a Central Gathering or any service of worship with the attitude of 'how am I going to serve the needs of others today?' Do we even know the basic needs of those we worship with? How far, anyway does a worship service permit the genuine serving of need?

One of the things that MSC allows us to do is to grow in this sense of each others needs, to provide opportunity for needs to be met. MSC provides us with fewer services and more opportunity for service. It takes time to form relationships that can meet needs as needs must be disclosed and will only be disclosed where there is trust and trust has to be earned. But there is something deeply attractive about Christians genuinely serving each other because from the overflow of such love others are served and cared for also. I love the quote that David Day had in his fantastic little book about Jesus called 'Pearl of Great Price' "She built a bridge of friendship to my heart and over that bridge walked Jesus." Wow!

Now of course if you are after a church that is focussed on merely on providing services of worship then our vision and practice is not for you. We are making it quite difficult to be part of this church because our times of gathered worship are not seen as the 'be all and end all' but merely part and parcel of a whole life of being a 'follower and a fisher'. We are serious about discipleship, leadership and that being a Christian is supposed to be an adventure for us all not just a select few who relish change.

Tabernacle People

Are we going to be a tabernacle people willing to give up the comfort of the fixed abode certainty for the uncertainty of pitching a tent wherever the Spirit leads us?

The Feast

I am preparing for our celebration weekend - The Feast. Our take on a harvest festival -using the feast of tabernacles and Jesus' interaction with this feast found in John 7.
We are going to look back over the last year of significant development since launching into MSC exploration and development and all the other decisions and events. Lots to give thanks for. We will also be looking forward - expecting to see God move in and through us more. In faith we are expecting a harvest of salvation and committing ourselves to this in our way through MSCs and in our workplaces, families and friendships.
On the last day of the feast of tabernacles a key passage from Isaiah 12 would have been used as water was processed from the Pool of Siloam to the temple "With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation" - here is the expectation and understanding that the water of God is for more than just for our life - it is salvation water.
Jesus proclaimed loudly at this solemn moment at the pool of Siloam "if anyone is thirsty let him come to me and drink, whoever believes in me, as the scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him". John 7:37-38
We need to keep drinking of Jesus and live with the expectation that a constant flow of living water from within is more than just theoretically possible (if I am good enough etc etc) but actually guaranteed. Drink of Jesus and what comes out of you is salvation water. Fact.

And for the preachers among you.....As I was thinking about this I was reminded of DL Moody's teaching on the Holy Spirit. A good 3 point sermon...
The Spirit Irrigates, Illuminates and Invigorates.