3) A blend of the two

To all you dedicated followers of my ramblings can i offer my profound apologies for the lack of input. My job - as a Methodist Minister - has been causing me (and others) a lot of stress recently and so any thought of discussing or thinking about the future of the church has made me want to run away yet alone blog about it.

In my previous two posts i have continued this idea of the church as a work of cross-stitch. I have suggested that one option for the future of the church is to unpick the old design and completely replace it, another is to just keep things as they are, close our eyes and hope for the best - this incredibly innovative option the Methodist church appears to have adopted - but there is perhaps a third way.

As i consider my own working context and the churches that i minister with i am struck that neither of the previous options is workable. To leave things as they are fails to address the varying and transient needs of our community and the culture in which we live. Also though, to ditch everything without reserve will only seek to alienate another section of our community not to mention the people in the congregations without whose contribution anything new won't be possible.

I favour an option which i viewed in Utley, just outside Bradford in Yorkshire. This is a multi-congregational church without being massive. There are four separate congregations meeting (i think) on Sunday morning, Sunday eve, Fri eve and Tues morning. These congregations are individual, separate entities within the life of one church. They all are part of the one parish church yet exist as independent congregations. People are asked to buy into and commit seriously to one form of church - and one form only yet to view it all as part of the building of the Kingdom through this one umbrella local church community.

Sunday morning is fairly typical of British churches, the evening more contemporary and relaxed. Friday eve is totally different aimed at young adults and centred around food, film, discussion and Tuesday morning at parents and toddler bracket.

Within my own structures of the Methodist Church - it would be possible to release people for service and ministry within the context of their own congregation only. It perhaps frees people from the obstructions of wanting to progress and be creative and other people stopping that.

Surely this is one way in which the old pattern can continue as long as it does and the new is able to thrive and grow without the restrictions of traditional church but with the safeguards and experiences that comes from being rooted in an established church.

As the old pattern remains, new patterns are able to be stitched over. This will probably mean that in years to come the old pattern will be unable to be viewed - although glimpses of it may poke through from time to time, but is that such a tragedy. If God moves us to another phase of church and ministry which happens to look different surely that is OK?

I guess though some will be impatient. To unpick everything and re-stitch a new pattern is cleaner, more slick, and probably quicker than trying to stitch a new pattern over the top of an older one. There will be times in when new stitch is being sown over the old where it will be difficult, where the blend of old and new colours clash, times when the needle will find it easy and hard to get through the gauze. But isn't it far more in the nature of God for him to stitch a pattern that is eclectic and even at times looks completely random only for it to contain the genius of His innovation, creativity and planning.

If any of my church leaders at Wheatley Lane are reading this, then what do you think? If anyone else is reading what do you think? If God is reading - what does He think?

Come Holy Spirit, stitch something new in our midst and help us to work out something of what you are doing.

2) away with the old and in with the new

One of my friends said to me yesterday the church as we know it is dead. There was a sense of passion, conviction and certainty in his voice. It was in many ways a bit like a death-nell in the coffin in the church as people like me have inherited it.

A week before this i was talking to another wise woman in the faith and said to her 'if we were doing church from scratch - the way we do it in the Methodist Church would be the last way we do it.' She agreed and i then asked why on earth we continue to peddle this out-dated, out of shape way of being church.

One of the options then for the church is surely to ditch all the baggage and cumbersomeness we have inherited and start all over again. One option has to be to scrap the old patterns faithfully woven and displayed and replace them with more modern more vibrant designs and patterns of church that look contemporary, attract younger more driven people and generally reflect the energy and vitality of God more closely and clearly. One option is to move our resources in a heavily imbalanced way towards the emerging church for surely there is no hope or future in the current mould. To continue the imagery of cross-stitch church the time may well have come to unpick the current design and start all over again. Practically that means the closure of chapels and congregations with no purpose and vision and whose values and ethos reflects little of the DNA of the church as expressed in the New Testament. If people are going to be left astray or not come to church anymore then it simply confirms their lack of commitment or vibrant faith anyway. Something which seems all to obvious to me as a pastor all too often but which is never said for fear of upsetting people.

If the church is to be relevant, fresh, closer to Jesus and a better reflection of God the Great Artist's nature then the quickest and most efficient way is to agree NOW that the old has indeed gone and the new is come.

This IS an option for the church. Maybe someone will be brave enough to run with it someday soon. Maybe someone will be brave enough to unpick a cherished design and ask God what He wants to stitch now in 2009.

The Cross-stitch church - what will happen to the pattern? 1) Leave it as it is?

I'm reading currently Martyn Atkins' book Resourcing Renewal and have found it surprisingly optimistic in its view of traditional church or 'inherited church' as Martyn calls it. He tells tales of inherited churches that have found renewal and have therefore made strides towards actually living and breathing something of what 'real' church is about. For me, reflecting on the image of church as a peice of cross-stitch there are three main options for what could possibly happen next. Remembering the concept of the church being the pattern and design woven by God the Great Artist the first option is to leave the pattern as it is.

In a number of the homes of people in my congregation there are cross-stitch designs hung up on the wall, or propped up on the mantle peice, my own grandparents have many in their living room. They are of country scenes, maybe churches, maybe trains or other vehicles, but one thing is for certain the design has always been what the design is. It is no doubt an expression of creativity, a work of art, but once it has been created that is it - it will always be what it will be - a dormant, inactive work of cross-stitch. I guess this is the first major point as to why this image of the church as cross-stitch breaks down. God is consistently longing to remake and remould what He has created, it His plan for individuals and surely is His plan for communities of faith also. A peice of cross-stitch cannot be remade or remould, its exists as it is. Or does it? (i will reflect on this next time).

So we're left with the question - does God want to leave the church like those cross-stitch designs in old people's homes - left to gather dust, never changing or evolving? It is my firm conviction that to answer 'yes' to this question is to misunderstand the character and personhood of God fundamentally as revealed in the Scriptues and revealed in human experience. Surely churches that are content to let things be as they always have been will end up gathering dust, will decay and continue to function detached from an experience or understanding of who God is and what He is like. One option for the church is to leave things as they are, ignoring signs of decay, but surely this isn't really an option.

Also PS to Joe Hildred, i shamefully forgot again! But have put a reminder on my phone for sunday eve. PPS i stuffed Lincoln on Football Manager.

The Cross-Stitch Church - The Great Artist

Of all the great images of God in the Scriptures, in poetry or in fiction the one that appeals to me most at the moment is of God as the Great Artist. I love CS Lewis' portrayal of God as Aslan with all that that comes to mean for the Narnia parables, i love the Old Testament pictures of God as the 'Ancient of Days' or 'Fountain of Life' but at the moment the idea of God as the Great Artist is really appealing to me - maybe because much of my thinking is around the idea of the church as a peice of creative expression.

Following on with that theme, if the gauze is the world, the church the beautifully expressive design within that world or the thread, the needle the church leaders who pull the thread into position then there can be no other place to go than to view God as the designer par excellence - the Great Artist.

I have hope for the church, not based on it's beauty, not based even on its people (you should see some of the one's i have to deal with!!). My hope for the church is based in my hope and belief in a God who is creative, a God who loves to design, a God who loves to weave exiting and interesting patterns all over the place therefore reflecting His own image of beauty and dynamism. My hope for the church rests soley in my hope in the Great Designer. In the metaphor of the church as a peice of cross-stitch i believe the arist who holds the needle, who weaves the pattern onto the gauze is the the Ancient of Days, the Fountain of Life, the Living God mysteriously and wonderfully Three wrapped up in One.

Perhaps though, even though i am blantantly stating the obvious in what's written above, it serves as a challenge to each of us who are followers of Jesus and therefore a part of the church. If God is weaving a design, do i trust the future of the church to Him or continue to fret? If God is the Great Designer, do i as a church leader need to continue to run around in a mad panic subconsciously believing that the whole future and ministry of the church rests on me or do i relax and try to let the design unfold before my very eyes? If God is stitching the pattern what is it to be?

I guess its the last question - 'what is God doing?' that consumes so much of our thinking. Surely all of us in ministry - which means all followers of Jesus - have the task not of trying to drum up some action for God to bless, but to see where He is already at work, weaving His expressive and wonderful design and attempting to find ways to be a part of that. The question still remains though 'what is God doing?'. Again, i remind myself (even if no-one cares!) that i started this blog to attempt to try and unravel for myself some of my thinking about the church. Is the church of Jesus Christ in its traditional western form coming to an end? Is God doing a new thing? I hope to explore that more and more in the days and weeks to come. If you have an answer, me and i guess thousands of other church leaders would love to hear it.

The Cross Stitch Church - the needle

as i sit at the keyboard and write this my wonderful wife is sewing my coat pocket back on, using needle, thread but no gauze. The sewing is more out of necessity than creative design and very much appreciated i have to add. It is a mark of my complete incompetence that i am unable to repair my own coat! Sadly, i expect that this bit will get more comments than anything else i write below!

I have thought about the gauze, the pattern and thread, all in a very pretentious way and so now i continue the theme by thinking about the needle. In my metaphor of a cross stitched church, the needle stands for church leaders, those wonderful, dedicated, inspired, anointed breed of which i am one (please note the irony).

In my own denomination we have been somewhat wary of leadership i think. In an effort to avoid personality-focused ministries and authoritarian and domineering leadership styles we find ourselves lacking in leadership. This is both at the national level and the local. This is not to denigrate the work of my own District Chair who currently occupied the throne of 'President of the Conference. He has (and I'm sure will) do as good a job as any in his Presidential year. The problem is that it is a merely representative and even 'PR' role rather than any that exercises leadership and direction.

In the local church the same is true. The local minister has no more say than anyone else about church mission and policy because legally he or she has one vote along with others at church meetings. This often (not always) leads to a lack of leadership 'on the ground' within the local church. Something we miss to our cost as a denomination.

And then there are the ministers themselves. So many of my colleagues, it seems, are reticent to see themselves as leaders. Yes presbyters, are to be pastors and teachers, but they must be leaders also. It is part of the authentic role of presbyteros, elder - to watch over those in their care in love, but also to lead them as a shepherd leads their flock.

In the metaphor of the church as a piece of cross-stitch - where the gauze is the world, the pattern and thread the church, the needles that display the pattern are leaders. Leaders are necessary, leaders are important, and we need to rediscover the position and place of leaders within the church. It is through authentic leadership, modelled on Jesus' leadership that the pattern of the church gets threaded. Without leadership the thread is not completed, it is haphazard, random, at sometimes beautiful, but mostly chaotic. The pattern of the church is woven by the artist, using leaders to shape the edges and colours etc. Lets not forget that in the sewing analogy it is actually the needle that pulls the thread. The needle leads the thread through the holes, through the material, back over itself etc to complete the destined path for the thread. Why is it we are so afraid to let leaders lead? Why are we so afraid in Methodism to be led?

I believe in the church and i believe in church leaders who are humbly submitted to God but confident in their God-given mandate to be apostolic and lead with due diligence. I believe in needles that pull the thread, but always surrendered to the hand of the great artist.

The Cross Stitch Church - a pattern

Seasons greetings one and all. I had some hassle from a few people recently about the lack of update to my blog - hassle that has been justified i have to agree. Christmas is a crazy time for clergy - a strange breed of which i am a part- and i've just not made the time to write. Not though due to lack of desire! There is much in my little brain that i have wanted to express not least on the theme of the church as a piece of cross-stitch.

I mused last time that in my little metaphor the world in which we live is like the plain gauze waiting for the artist to weave His great and creative pattern upon and within it. Perhaps then the next stage is to think about what that pattern is and consists of. My suggestion is that the Church of Jesus Christ is the thread weaved by the hand of the artist upon the gauze. We are the thread. We are the church, people who are connected and committed to Jesus whom God is weaving into a beautiful and distinctive pattern that others might stand in amazement and wonder at. We are God's workmanship, God's design, the church Jesus died to bring about, the people He loves, a community being prepared like a bride for His return. And i believe it is the church that God longs to renew and restore to be an obvious sign of God's life and love in the world. I believe in the church. I don't think i believe in our western expression of it much (although i am still exploring it) but i do believe in a church that has values mirrored in the book of Acts. I believe in a church that is a gathering of people connected and committed to Jesus. I believe in a church with prayer and worship as its lifeblood. I believe in a church that loves the poor and includes the outcast. I believe in a church that believes in itself and believes that it can change the world from the inside out as Jesus did. That sort of church i believe in, not one defined by structures, committees, buildings, power, mindless ascent to tradition. But conversely maybe i can believe in an institutional model of church that reflects the values i mentioned above? Who knows. I don't as yet.

Whatever the pattern may eventually look like, whatever the artists design is going to be, the pattern in thread on the gauze is the church of Jesus Christ, the people of God. All of us who are a part of that community can find ourselves part of the pattern that God is weaving in the world, a pattern that people stop and stare at with amazement, a pattern that is attractive, a pattern that reflects the brightness of God, a pattern and design, God-conceived, God-made, and God-sewed. in my metaphor of the church as a cross stitch, the world is the blank piece of gauze waiting expectantly for a grand design, the thread that makes the pattern, and indeed the pattern itself is the church, the people of Jesus.

Cross stitch church - gauze

Before i launch into another tirade about the future and purpose of the Church a few people have pointed out my lack of delivery over the whole giraffe issue. I had promised to post a picture of my painted pottery giraffe, of which i am very proud. Sadly i managed to leave it at my parents house, but fear not, it has been returned to me! Any comments welcome, but keep them clean and constructive....

But i also want to return to the over-arching meta narrative of this blog, the purpose and practice of the church. I am still thinking around the metaphor of the Church as a piece of cross stitch but feel that the metaphor's symbolism may require some symbolism.

From what i can ascertain after conversations with cross stitch enthusiasts, there are four main elements to the cross stitch. Firstly, some gauze is needed. Nothing can be done, nothing can be created if there isn't a place to create it. An artist cannot paint unless there is a surface of some kind - wall, paper, easel, car... and so a cross stitch-er needs material to stitch their design upon.

For me, in the context of the cross stitched church, the gauze, the surface on which the grand design of the church is stitched is the world in which we live. By the term 'world' i could mean the globe, the wider universe, or the local community in which we live. But whether we like it or not, the Church expresses itself among the community in which we live. Even if we meet in secret, and there is just a few of us, still it makes some small mark on the world at large whether we know it or not. It is to the world that the church is sent, it is within the world that the church exists, it is by the material of the world - people and their ingenuity and creativity (combined with the Spirit of God) that the church is formed. Wherever we sew the pattern of God's church it is in and around the world that we inhabit with us seeking to display to our community the potential friendship and excitement of being in relationship to God and playing a part in the grand design of His church.