thinking

Having had a great time at Greenbelt, met some brilliant people and saw some interesting things, I find myself troubled and strangely sad about the church. There are so many messages, so many groups, and so many followers of so many different ways. I struggle to see what kind of Kingdom we are expressing.

It’s like there is a mass of people creating all sorts of band wagons for doing church this way and that way, with a whole host of disillusioned people running and jumping on them. Some carry with them suitcases full of old baggage, and photo albums of a sentimental past. Others throw all they have out of the window along with their lessons learnt, friends made and important life experiences. There are also a fair number of natives surrounding them firing arrows, and in their struggle for survival they all end up shooting at each other, travelling in different directions.

However, in the middle of this crazy mess, Christ is renewing his church.

There is, there has to be, a growing, subversive and meek band of brothers and sisters obsessed with Jesus who are slowly and inadvertently becoming the authentic church of Christ.

They love one another, and love and respect the Christian traditions. They hold onto and own the heritage of the church both with joy and with sorrow. Yet they will not let it stay unchanged and they will not let it become watered down into the ebbs and flows of the fashions and trends of society around them.

Within them, post modernity, fresh expressions, involvement with the poor, house churches, other new forms and other communities are contained like buttons and accessories in a car, but they do not form the car. They are not the driving force. They are not the direction the car is moving.

This people are relevant but radical; inclusive but not lenient; easy going but intentional. They welcome an uncompromising overhaul of every aspect of life – not just in style or acceptance of others, but also in holiness, discipleship, accountability. They love enough not to reject anyone but not to omit discipline, they receive correction humbly, and use encouragement as the method for change with eyes set on the example of Christ - not using a legalistic or militant enforcement of moral obligations. They recognise equality, not for the sake of liberalism, but for the sake that ‘all have fallen short’ and all are in need of God’s grace; that all are in need of his spirit to guide us, to speak through us and to be active through us – that we cannot be his people without him.

And as they lose themselves, and as Christ lives in them and permeates through their every look and every breath; they become the church. They become the prophetic people of this generation. Their goals and targets of yesterday become the natural consequences of their one goal being Jesus himself. To worship him, to serve him, to reflect him in every way they live out their lives.

I’ll have to be honest – I didn’t see much of this at greenbelt. The closest I got to it was probably the organic beer tent – in the ‘Jesus Arms’.

But it was a lot of fun. Seeing Brian Mclaren speak was a bonus, and being involved with setting up the worship spaces with Feig was more than excellent…they’re wonderful people and Friday night especially was inspired.