Sat 30 Jan: New creation (6:15)

1/29/2010

3 Comments

 
“Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is a new creation.”  (Galatians 6:15)

God’s making a new world, where suffering’s no more,

and when your spirit groans, that’s what you’re yearning for. 

One day it will come down – like a city, like a bride.

God’s people, in new bodies, will be there – his joy and pride.

Meanwhile, the church is supposed to be a foretaste of God’s new world, embracing the future with hearts full of hope; not a backward-looking body taking refuge in the past.  What counts is a new creation; imagine Paul’s frustration with the Galatians, then, when they started to forget that they were the future’s people and decided to worry about circumcision, one of the covenant signs of the Old Testament!

Facing change is easier for some of us than others, but for all of us there is at least one area where we tend to resist change and concentrate on the past.  An archbishop’s words hold enormous challenge: “We love the unchanging God and the unchanging Gospel only as much as we are willing to change everything else”.  Today would be a good day to confess areas where we are unwilling to change, and embrace new creation.

And thank God for Church at the School – 35 years old today!
3 Comments
Steve Mack
1/29/2010 05:14:00 pm

A new creation is a good title.
This is where we need to be - a new creation, not a restructuring.
Although OUR Church has a mission statement, which I think is right for our village, THE Church has a mission statement, which we can find at Matthew 28 v19 "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations......"
It says "go" - active not passive.
The more I think (prayerfully) about the choices facing us, the more I become both excited and concerned.
Excited, because I feel that we need to take a bold step in terms of style and content of service, and concerned, because I fear that we may take a step back in terms of place and times.
I am going to use business terms, with which I am familiar, to talk about this. Many people don't like this, yet they apply to the Church just as they apply to businesses. Human beings act in similar ways - Jesus knew this, and used it.
Our Church has a great "product". All of us who have come to faith know this. It is the pearl of great price.
People still seek the divine, we can see that all around us, even if we only look at the various new age movements that abound. The problem is not in the "product" its in us, the "salespeople".
We need more "market penetration", and to achieve that we need to increase the number of "distribution channels" we use. To use my own industry as an example, banks use branches, the internet, telephones, and personal contact to make contact with their customers. You can believe me when I say that if we thought we could make pigeons and paper aeroplanes work, we'd use those too.
Jesus knew this - although the communications possibilities were less varied in the time He walked the earth, he didn't preach in the synagogues and wait for His people to come to him, he went out and found.
We have many more ways to achieve that, and therefore our challenge is different. We should make use of every method we have in our time and place to reach the people of Galleywood. ALL the people of Galleywood.
So the problem isn't the message, or the opportunity - it's us! What's wrong with us? Are we shy? Well yes, frankly, I am. So what I'm going to say next is a long way outside my personal area of comfort.
Jesus said (Matthew 10:34) "I did not come to bring peace, but a sword". We are all going to be outside our comfort zone if we take this on board.
We need more than one service. We might need 3 or 4. They do not all have to be on Sunday.
They have to be different in nature - different songs, different preaching, different style, same message.
We need to reach out in every way we can - personally, through the press, via the internet, in whatever way we can message.
We must be more prepared to give our time - all of us, not just a few. The Lord requires us to serve, and there is no retirement age. Every last one of us can pray.
Who are we reaching out to? Everyone, including the people who are not like us, we don't understand, and, maybe, we don't like.
For some time I was attracted by the idea of "fusion", but, after thought, I have become afraid of it. In my mind, it has gone from a merging of talents to a retreat to a bunker.
Our place of worship is important. I love our Church building, a part of my heart is always there, and we must maintain it. But, I also recognise that it is cold, offers too few facilities, is difficult to alter, and is in the wrong place for the present day Galleywood. This isn't what I want, it just is.
The school in Barnard Road offers better facilities, is usually warm, and i in the heart of the community, both in terms of what it does and where it is.
The Methodist Chapel in Well Lane may be another place to consider.
My views summarised:
Maintain both centres at least.
Change service styles so that we range from traditional, to very modern.
Simplify the method of teaching in some services so that people are more easily able to come to understanding from what I would regard as a "cold start"
Update our methods of reaching out to people in every way we can think of.
Trust in God, and experiment.
I no longer believe that we will have a tidy outcome to the 40 days - I hope and pray we will have identified a series of paths along which we can all move with joy.
It's a bit like a Pepsi Max advert I remember, involving a hang glider.
It scares me, but give me a Pepsi Max (figuratively speaking) and point me at the cliff.

Reply
Catherine
1/30/2010 05:22:21 pm

If this were facebook there would be a 'like' button that I would click!

Thanks for this Steve - this is where my heart is - and you have expressed it so much more clearly than I can.

Reply
tory burch outlet link
5/3/2012 05:10:53 pm

its a great place to buy cheap tory burch outlet ... Because now a days medicine is need for all home.. so it is very easily way to purchase medicine at home... wonderful article.

Reply



Leave a Reply.