Selah2020: Pause and Reflect

[Transcript of a midweek message published by Horley Baptist Church on YouTube^[1], May 2021]

If it ain’t broken, then don’t fix it! That’s how the saying goes, so is the church broken or are we changing for change’s sake?

On Sunday we were talking about making changes to the way that we do church, but the saying goes “if it ain’t broken then don’t fix it”. So are we saying that the church is broken or we’re just making changes for change’s sake? See, is the church broken? is Horley Baptist Church broken?

Well I guess that kind of depends on your perspective or really I mean, yeah, it’s a lovely church, full of lovely people; we’re growing slowly, people are attracted to us. But when you really get down to the nitty-gritty, can you say that we are seeing accelerated growth? Well no, not really. Are we seeing our Alpha courses full of participants? Well no, can’t really say that either. Are we seeing loads of baptisms? Well, we’re seeing a few but not as many as we would like.

You see, I think we’re a good church, we’re a relatively healthy church, we’re a blessed church, but we’re not as good as we would like; we’re not having the impact on our community as we would like. I was challenged the other night by one of our leaders who said: “You know when we go back to Sunday morning services, will there be a noticeable difference between what there was before and what we have now? Will people come in and there’ll be a different feel, a different atmosphere?”

I have to admit I’m not entirely sure, at least not how I had things planned because the tendency within myself, and probably the tendency within you as well, is to kind of steer ourselves back to those things that we are familiar with, those things which we find comfortable Even when I myself try and push the boundaries a bit, I still find when I stop and look back at my plans that they seem to be remarkably similar to what we had before. See, if we want to see real change then we need to change, if we really want to make a difference in our community then we have to do things differently. They say that the definition of insanity is to do the same thing over and over again and expect different results.

I remember a while ago I was preaching at Horley Baptist and I challenged the congregation: “I said, you know, if we were to redo our services so they were more attractive to the young church, to the people within our community, would they look like what we have now?” The answer was “No, not really!” Little did I know that in just a year or two we have that opportunity to make those changes, to really stop and think about our Sunday morning services and how we view church overall, to bring about real positive change. there’s a couple of things that we need to remember when thinking about change:

Firstly, we need to keep the main thing as the main thing. See, our purpose as a church, our reason why, our foundation, our mission is to know Jesus and make Jesus known. Everything that we do, the ‘what’ and the ‘how’ should be based on that foundation. The problem is that over time we forget that. We become comfortable, we become inward focused and therefore we start to do things that suit ourselves rather than the mission field that we are supposed to be reaching out to. So we need to keep the main thing as the main thing; keep it simple, keep it focused. Share the good news about Jesus Christ.

The second thing we need to remember is that we need to do everything possible to make that happen. I believe, as the minister of Horley Baptist Church, and I believe for the UK church as well, that requires a massive rethink, a massive overhaul of what we need to do. If things when we go back look suspiciously like they did before then we have failed to take that calling seriously. We have forgotten what the main thing is, what our purpose is as a church, and instead we have just settled back into a comfortable sofa that everyone thinks is lovely but anyone on the outside looks at it and thinks “that’s really old and tatty and should go down the dump”, but it’s so comfortable. We need to take a serious look at who we are and what we do in line with the mission that God has given us – ‘to know Jesus and to make Jesus known’.

If we are honest with ourselves then we’d admit that things weren’t working before – well, they were working, the church like a was like a well-oiled machine, but in reference to our primary purpose, then things were not working as good as they should have been. We have an opportunity to rethink, to overhaul, to change and to start afresh.

That will be unsettling, that won’t be comfortable, it will require sacrifice, it will require change. It will inevitably create mistakes, maybe even a loss of congregation, but none of that matters really. What we need to do is seek God first, his purpose and follow his direction in our lives and in our church and allow God to do the rest. As I said the other week: it is Jesus who builds his church, it’s not us. We are called to do what God has designed us and called us to do.

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[1] YouTube link: Is the Church Broken?
Bible references: ~
 

Bible quotations: Unless otherwise specified, quotations are taken from the resources of Bible Gateway or Bible Hub, in accordance with the licencing conditions outlined on our Site Policies page.

Bible dates: Where appropriate, the dates given for Biblical events are based on the Bible Timeline resource
and are subject to the constraints defined on the corresponding webpage.

[This is one in a series of mid-week devotional reflections prepared for Horley Baptist Church during May 2021]

How can we sing the songs of the Lord while in a foreign land? [Psalm 137 v4 NIVUK]

In the conclusion of his talk with Angie a few days ago, Martin posed some questions about our feelings about the potential for re-launching ‘church’ rather than just reviving what had existed before. In this Tuesday Challenge I want to revisit those questions. As one who has been ‘doing church at a distance’ for over 10 ten years, my experience is rather different from that of someone who thinks of lockdown as an interruption to normal activities. Nevertheless, perhaps my comments will provide some stimulus for further thoughts.

Are you looking forward to returning to physical church, or are you quite happy accessing online church at home?
For me, returning to physical church is not currently an option so my vote would go to continuing to provide access to church activities online. There are many categories of people for whom physical attendance at a conventional service is difficult; the online option allows them to sustain the contact. In addition, it is not a betrayal of HBC to suggest that there are other choice morsels available elsewhere on the internet menu. If I prefer more classical singing, it is there; if I want in-depth teaching on a particular topic or passage, it is there; if I want to see how other denominations practise their faith then that is there too. A varied diet stimulates the appetite and we may well learn something new that will benefit our own worship times.
That is not to say that everything we see is wholesome or helpful. We need to emulate those in Berea who heard Paul’s teachings and then tested them against the Scriptures. Perhaps one of the most important roles of a physical church or home group is to teach us how to make sound judgements about what we see and hear.

What have you missed most? What were you glad to do without?
What I have missed most has been the home group – the detailed look at the Scriptures, the focussed prayers, the discussions, the prolonged debates after hours, the handed-down wisdom of those who have travelled ahead of me.
Notwithstanding a degree of envy towards those who can use their talents to praise the Lord in song we should remember that ‘worship’ is more than a musical interlude in the service. The whole service should be an integrated act of worship, leaders and congregation alike, and that is more difficult to achieve online.

Does change excite or worry you? Does it even make you angry? Why?
Change is not necessarily progress. There is an old saying which has been widely ignored during this century, in many aspects of life: ‘If it ain’t broke don’t fix it’. How have the things that we want to change come about? They were themselves the outcome of change but why? We need to examine the reasons for the proposed changes, to ensure that they are indeed changes for the better. Change for a valid reason can be honourable; change simply for change’s sake is not.

Even amongst the disruption, have we felt that God has been shaping and working in us, our community, and our church?
Throughout history, God has used disruption to work his purposes out. He disrupted Noah, he disrupted Abram, he disrupted Jacob, he disrupted the Hebrews in Egypt. In fact, one gets the impression that disruption is God’s ‘modus operandi’; it is through contentment and complacency that his people tend to lose touch with him. We should not be surprised when God allows the boat to rock, be reassured that he still controls the storm.

Psalm 137 is a lament. The author, possibly Jeremiah, describes the sadness and despair of those who are unable to enjoy the worship if the Lord in the ways that they remembered from before their exile. But, is a lament for the ‘good old days’ appropriate for us? We have seen God at work through the new technologies; they are neither new nor a mystery to him. For various valid reasons, some churches have decided that modern means of communication are beyond them. Such decisions must be respected but perhaps God’s words through Isaiah are more appropriate for us:

See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. [Isaiah 43 v19 NIVUK]

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Bible quotations: Unless otherwise specified, quotations are taken from the resources of Bible Gateway or Bible Hub, in accordance with the licencing conditions outlined on our Site Policies page.

Bible dates: Where appropriate, the dates given for Biblical events are based on the Bible Timeline resource
and are subject to the constraints defined on the corresponding webpage.

[This is one in a series of devotional reflections prepared for Horley Baptist Church during May 2021]

In Rudyard Kipling’s epic story ‘Jungle Book’, Mowgli is the man-cub, an orphan boy who is brought up by a pack of wolves in the Indian jungle. He encounters a variety of wild animals, both friendly and otherwise; there’s his bumbling friend Baloo the bear, the somewhat aloof panther Bagheera, the duplicitous snake Kaa and his arch-enemy Shere Khan the tiger. Later in the story we encounter Colonel Hathi with his parade of elephants and King Louie who leads a colony of apes that lives in an abandoned temple.

The story has had the ‘Walt Disney’ treatment, introducing phrases and snatches of songs that have, perhaps, become more familiar than the original story. We can identify with the quest for the bare necessities of life, the need to control the power of man’s red flower and the allure of the king of the swingers. Some can see a spiritual dimension in the serpent whispering “trusssst in me” and the devilish intentions of the tiger, whilst the eventual return of Mowgli to the man-village is likened to the arrival of Pilgrim at the Celestial City.

What is the relevance of this story in the context of a devotional reflection? What can we learn that might be of value in our day-to-day circumstances and our walk with God? Does God’s own survival guide offer any advice?

The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.^[1]

As we awake each morning, whether to the trumpets of the dawn patrol or the shrill call of a smart-phone, our Shepherd knows our needs for that day, and he knows just how to satisfy them.

Mowgli would not have survived without his friends – that’s what friends are for. Even if we live as a hermit or the sole believer in a secular situation, we are not without a friend. The Holy Spirit will be a guide and comforter, if we allow him.

Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

It is a jungle out there. Life is beset with temptations, trials and traps. There are people who would gain great satisfaction from making life difficult for us. Generally, God places us in communities of both believers and non-believers. Some will help us, some will hinder us but in both cases God can use them to realise his plans for us, and they are all for our good.

Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever.

Life in the jungle will not last for ever. There is a home at the end of the road; a village with many mansions awaits those who trust in Jesus Christ as saviour and faithfully follow him.

Is your name in his book of invitees?

[1] All quotations from Psalm 23, NIVUK

Bible quotations: Unless otherwise specified, quotations are taken from the resources of Bible Gateway or Bible Hub, in accordance with the licencing conditions outlined on our Site Policies page.

Bible dates: Where appropriate, the dates given for Biblical events are based on the Bible Timeline resource
and are subject to the constraints defined on the corresponding webpage.

[This reflection was published in the weekly news bulletin of Horley Baptist Church, 16/May/2021]

I’m quite aware that not everyone sees things as I do! But I’m also quite sure, based on the observations of up-to-date Christian writers and private conversations I’ve had, that many of us are secretly thinking things we don’t dare speak about openly. So … here goes!

Very recently, while in group prayer, I had a mental picture of a bus at a stop. The driver was standing outside the bus calling out, ‘All change!‘ His passengers were getting off his bus and boarding another which had just pulled up in front of it. I immediately had what I think is a prophetic interpretation of the scenario: Bus 1 had apparently achieved its purpose – it had taken people so far. What wasn’t clear to me was whether, 1) this change of bus was a normal part of the route, or 2) this was an emergency caused by a breakdown of the first bus.

I think option 2 is correct. No-one expected to have to change buses to complete their journey. BUT THEY WOULD NEVER BE ABLE TO GET WHERE THEY WANTED TO GO IF THEY REFUSED THE ‘ALL CHANGE’ CALL! Bus 1 had not really served its purpose, but the passengers couldn’t have realised that before getting to this stop.

Here’s where things get really challenging. Greta Thunberg, the teenage climate change activist, says that when we find ourselves tackling a life-or-death catastrophe, small adjustments to our lifestyle are FAILURES; only radical change will make the necessary difference!

I apply that to church. If we’re going to complete our journey, to fulfil Jesus’s ‘great commission’ (Matt 28: 19-20) we need to wake up to the truth that our traditional ‘means of transport’ has failed to get us where Jesus wants to take us. We need the courage, the DESPERATION, to get on that next bus. We’ll be surprised to see who’s driving it!!

Bible quotations: Unless otherwise specified, quotations are taken from the resources of Bible Gateway or Bible Hub, in accordance with the licencing conditions outlined on our Site Policies page.

Bible dates: Where appropriate, the dates given for Biblical events are based on the Bible Timeline resource
and are subject to the constraints defined on the corresponding webpage.