The other evening I arrived
on the premises at my church a little early for a meeting. In our hall was a
Zumba class, a group of ladies moving very fast to tracks such as “Moves Like
Jagger” by Maroon 5 and “Born This Way” by Lady Gaga. The walls were vibrating
as the music was so loud and there were smiles as the minister knew the words
to these songs and was attempting to dance along the corridors! Movement and
enjoying movement is what a Zumba class is all about. Movement does you good.
When I was at infant’s
school, I remember “musical movement” in the hall, where we were invited to use
our bodies to be creative, to pretend, to make shapes, to move freely, until
the teacher told us to freeze and stay still, to not move anymore. We didn’t
like being told to stop moving. It was contrary to what we wanted to do.
Movement is exciting, inviting, to not move leaves us extremely weak. My Mother
is building up her strength, not simply from major surgery, but from lying
still in bed for over three months. Not moving leaves us vulnerable. But, so
many churches today don’t seem to want to move anywhere. They want to stand
still, or repeat a familiar programme that is safe, with no risks. I understand
this. Many people in churches are overloaded, tired and frightened as numbers
drop, as congregations age, and as resources get scarce but there is the same
amount of work to do. Many churches have become not movements anymore, but
monuments. The pressure of life has left them with no energy to move on and
they are unable to move anyway because they do not have the confidence.
Over the next few years, the Methodist Church is being invited as a denomination to revisit what it is for. Methodism was raised
up, our history books tell us, to “spread Scriptural holiness throughout the
land.” Wesley formed the Methodist societies as revival movements within a
structured Church. He was frustrated that the Church of his day was not on the
move enough, not reaching people where they lived and worked, not relevant in
worship and concern to a local context, not exciting and radical enough. I
don’t think he ever wanted to form another Church; he wanted to shake his own
up. However, another denomination is what we are but with a distinct purpose
and life. We need though to discover what that life is.
The General Secretary of the
Methodist Church, Rev Dr Martyn Atkins, presented a report entitled “A Discipleship
Movement Shaped for Mission” at the Methodist Conference last year and local churches are now to begin to
study it. Many Circuits are beginning to review their life in the light of it.
We are beginning that in our Circuit this month at staff level, and I know the folk in Hastings, Bexhill and Rye
Circuit are beginning a process of honest review which I shall pick up in
September. One of my churches to be has an enormous building once full, now
perhaps too big, and another one, doing some wonderful outreach to families,
has voted to come out of their building by 2015 as they are wasting money
patching it up.
The report, which was adopted
by Conference asked what sort of Church we want to become in the next few
years, and what is our mission? Also, what sort of disciples will we be? There
is an urgent need to encourage one another, Dr Atkins says, to have
conversations about our discipleship. This will have a different conclusion in
every church.
Methodism today is extremely
diverse. Some churches have elderly congregations, who need care. This is true
of our churches locally here, we need a good pastoral system, and we need to provide
activities that are appropriate for a senior age group. We are trying hard at
this. Younger congregations may have much more energy to grasp opportunities to
serve their community, but we need to find something that together we can work
on to show we are a movement moving out to people rather than waiting for
people to move towards us. We do not ever retire as Christians!
We also need to remember that
some followers of Jesus may not be in churches at all. How will this alter our
priorities in years to come? Will there be more need for chaplaincy work in our
shops, offices, factories, how will we minister to those suddenly unemployed?
How do we maintain relationship with elderly folk who can easily be forgotten
once housebound or with families too busy to come to church on a Sunday? Will
we need to go to them more or provide some sort of multiplex church model where
people come when they can, at times we might think are silly? But will we have
the energy to do more, and if not, will we be brave enough to stop some things
to enable this necessary moving out? There are lots of questions!
I believe there will always
be a need for a church to meet in, and this article is not to criticise what we
are doing here. All of us work hard to keep our buildings going. I am just
wondering what sort of church I will work in say towards my retirement in 20+
years time? Many people are now saying if it doesn't move, Methodism will not be here as
a denomination. I do not believe that, but I think we need to be honest about
what the needs are, how we can respond, what is tiring us out, and what needs
to stop.
If Methodism is to “spread
Scriptural holiness throughout the land” then every little thing we do needs to
centre on the Bible, on relationship with God, and out to our community so we
respond appropriately, and we need to help one another go out and move, if we
are to be equipped so we may need some training!
Long term, are we brave
enough to move and enjoy moving, or would we rather the teacher (Jesus) allow
us to stand still, for ever? Remember he says, “Follow me.” One new initiative
is a thing called “Tell, Show, Be” – we will be judged on how we share our
faith, how we live it both in church buildings and out of them, and how we are
as a disciple, our attitude to life. I challenge you if you have the internet
to look at this site and let me know what you think – www.tellshowbe.com; and also perhaps this
film on You Tube called This is Discipleship – www.youtube.com/watch?v=rk8ERxqCqQ
I have just put these thoughts into our church magazine. I wonder if I will get any response? How will our churches
be in a few years? Does movement in the Spirit of God scare you, or excite people?
I take courage that Jesus promises I will not be alone, when I try, even if I
fail. And most of what I do, I think, will not be done in a church building, which people may not like. I remember that old quip - "he calls us to stand on his promises, but all we do is stand on the premises." Movement or monument?
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