Monday 23 August 2010

Edward the Confessor and 21st Century Christianity

I caught up with the BBC's The Normans on iPlayer. I hadn't realised that the Normans were descendants of the Vikings. Nor had I realised that the invasion of England was due to a dispute about who was England's rightful king in the wake of Edward the Confessor dying without children.

Edward the Confessor's reign was very successful. A flourishing economy and a very organised, efficient system of government (and taxation) made England a leader in Europe. Hard to believe that it had all fallen into enemy hands within twenty-five years.

Edward also had a reputation for godliness; the Catholic Church eventually beatified him. Unfortunately, his childlessness, was it seems, a direct consequence of the spirituality that made him a candidate for sainthood. Rumour had it, that, though married, he remained a virgin. His spirituality, which undoubtedly at least partially accounts for his success as a ruler, robbed him of a successor. Ultimately, the lack of a natural successor not only undermined the achievements of his reign, but was central to the fall of England into the hands of the Normans. Edward the Confessor, to the detriment of Anglo-Saxon England, didn't have an Edward the Successor.(For our Scottish readers, the Scots decided to partner with the Normans, with the result that Scotland became a cosmopolitan economic powerhouse in the 11th century).

And my point? Well, it's quite simple: the church can enjoy success and have a reputation for being deeply spiritual, but completely forget that unless we have a "next generation" we're only a few decades away from decline and possibly even oblivion.

I do get concerned when I attend conferences or meetings that are considered "cutting edge" and there are only a handful of teens and twenty-somethings present - and sometimes none at all. I worry about the impact of time heavy, programme dependant discipleship approaches and approaches to spirituality and how this impacts young parents with young children. I have to ask myself continually "Are we presenting discipleship and Christian commitment in a way that is setting people up for failure?" Is it possible to be so caught up with our revelation of what we think the Holy Spirit is doing that we don't even notice that most of the people at the party - like me - are mid-life plus?

I know that there are lot of good things happening amongst younger people today. However, I do have this feeling that if we don't frequently remind ourselves of the need for a next generation, the topic could easily drift of the agenda.

So there you have it. Edward the Confessor made me think on my day off. Perhaps his celibacy within marriage will be of some profit after all.

Wednesday 11 August 2010

Letting down the drawbridge of our heart

Some stories are real life tragedies that have all the ingredients of a morality tale and really do need to be told.

There was a tragic story about the deaths of an elderly mother and her severely disabled daughter in the media a few days ago.

A person delivering leaflets noticed that when he pushed his flyers through the letter box of one home, he was met with flies escaping through the open letter box. He called the police and they discovered that both mother and daughter were dead. It is more than likely that the mother died and her daughter had no way of calling for help and starved to death.

This tragedy had its roots in decisions that were taken many years back. In the late 1990's the mother refused further help from the local authorities after wheelchair ramps and rails had been fitted.

Consequently, no panic alarm was fitted. No-one was keeping an eye on this family. And the neighbours were kept at arm's length. This lady had pulled up the drawbridge of her heart, not realising that what appeared to make her secure in her own castle exposed her to a danger she might never have imagined.

"We don't need your help" can seem like a very courageous, stoical approach to life and the difficulties it sometimes brings. However, the pride and determination that it produces can leave those that we love - as well as ourselves - very vulnerable.

It might be argued that those who knew about this mother and daughter should have been more intrusive, but that is unfair. It is unfair to lay blame at the door of those who have a lesser duty of care, especially in such instances when the primary carer has the moral and mental capacity and legal right to make decisions that affect the future of those in their charge.

When people isolate themselves they are in no position to blame others for not trying to get in touch or for not looking out for them.

Tragically, this elderly lady actually had placed a banner on her roof about three years ago with "Help" written on it. We don't know if anyone took any notice.

Unfortunately, even our cries for help can be overlooked or unheard if we have insisted for so long that we don't need help from others.

Jesus didn't just come to save individuals. He came to form a community of redeemed people who would serve each other in love. We do need each other! Why not let down the drawbridge of your heart and allow some traffic across?

Thursday 5 August 2010

How we receive a person God sends affects what we receive from God

If you're a regular follower of this blog, my apologies for the lack of posts for a month or so now. Work and holidays and not having anything "fresh" to say have kept me silent.

On reflecting on the last few weeks, however, I've a few things to share that I think are worthwhile. The posts might not be as long as the last few, but hopefully they'll help to give you a flavour of how the Holy Spirit has been leading me.

John Bevere's ministry isn't one I've followed closely in years gone by, though he is very highly spoken of in charismatic circles.

I happened to turn on God TV just recently, and John Bevere was speaking at the Audacious conference in Manchester. He was speaking about honour and the four main areas where we are to extend honour - church, family, government and work. It was a thorough Bible study. He pointed out that Jesus' ministry was restricted in His home town because people saw Him as "just the carpenter's boy". He then went on to explain that how we receive the people that God sends or sets over us in authority in any of the four areas mentioned above, effectively determines what we receive from God.

This is, as he pointed out, a hard saying for people brought up in a democracy. And it is a hard saying for me. However it is something I have been cheweing over for a long time. My difficulty is not so much to do with the authority figures in my life; it's to do with me being an authority figure.

Let me explain. My personality make-up is such that I don't like too much structure and, if truth be told, have a bit of an aversion to a "top down" style of leadership. I like discussion. I want you to feel I am your friend. However, if Bevere is right - and I think he is -people are going to receive more from me if they receive me as someone sent by God than if they manage to become my friend. Why? Because the spiritual dynamic at work in honouring the gifting and anointing of God is more powerful and produces more godly results than becoming more intimately acquainted with and connected to me as a person.

For me, that doesn't mean that I cease to be personable! Nor does it give me the right to demand blind obedience from my congregation. But it does deliver me from any illusions about where the real spiritual connection takes place with people.