A simple job made complicated.

I was taking a school assembly this morning about Pentecost. We began by recalling the Ascension of Jesus which a colleague had taught the children about last week. I then asked them what job Jesus had left the disciples to do. They responded straight away: 'Go and tell everyone about Jesus'. That was it. Of course doing it is another matter and that's where the Holy Spirit comes in.

A few days ago the Church of England published its attendance statistics for 2011. There has been a mixed response to the figures and the stats have been spun in different ways; viewed by some as encouraging and by others as evidence of continued decline. The British Humanist Association sought to use the figures to bolster their argument for disestablishment.

David Keen has done an excellent job on his blog of analysing the figures in a post entitled Church of England: Not levelling out. David injects some hard headed realism into discussions, challenging some of the complacency that was doing the rounds when the figures were initially presented. He has continued to post related articles on the issue of church growth and strategy including one today about Archbishop Justin Welby's address to the Diocesan Church Growth Strategies Conference. ++Justin's priorities are summarised as:

• prayer and renewal of the church's spiritual life 
• reconciliation, within the church and as an agent in the world
• evangelism

As I read this straightforward summary, I think back to this morning's assembly and the children's summary of the task Jesus has given his followers: 'Go and tell everyone about Jesus'. How have we made it so complicated?

h/t anglican memes for the picture.

The Screwtape email

Wormwood,

What on earth is going on? How could you be so stupid? Did I not tell you that the best way to defeat the enemy is to stop talking about him and avoid drawing attention to him? Apathy and ignorance are far better weapons than any overt assault.

For a while the enemy’s agents were doing our work for us. Don’t you remember the successes of the last century? We didn’t need to do a thing, just sit back and watch as his supporters did their best to undermine his work. They were tripping over themselves to get into the media to debunk every aspect of belief.

But now, thanks to your incompetence, he’s back in the game. People can’t stop talking about him, even Prime Ministers are saying what a good thing he is. What possessed you? (O.K. I know what possesses you but that’s not the point). Thanks to your recruitment policy there are a few very vociferous people, destroying all our good work. Every time one of your agents opens his/her mouth, or puts fingers to keyboard, a whole new round of discussion and debate opens up. These ‘new atheists’ as they’ve become known, simply do the enemy’s work for him and I seriously suspect they are double agents so effective have they been in raising the enemy’s profile.

The enemy’s supporters have never been so motivated and engaged in the battle: demanding public debates; churning out books putting forward the argument for belief; speaking his name at every opportunity and never out of the media. There are intense discussions going on all over the place and that is not helpful to our ambitions. It’s true some of them overreact and a few make fools of themselves by their aggressive responses and I’d encourage you to play that for all it’s worth. Nevertheless, serious damage to our cause has been done.

As for that bus campaign! What made you think having his name on the side of the Number 23 to Tooting was a publicity coup for our side?

And encouraging our supporters to go to Carol Services to enjoy the singing but ignore the religious stuff, how was that ever going to work? Haven’t you read what’s in those carols? The only saving grace is that the enemy’s supporters are often too stupid to read and act on the words themselves.

I want the whole operation closed down before you wreck our mission for good.

Your seriously hacked off uncle,

Screwtape.

Not me guv’.

I received an enquiry from a Twitter friend, Ronnie, asking if a newspaper story referred to me. The story was about a Rev Phil Ritchie who had come up with an idea to increase his congregation. The Argus reported as follows:

A vicar saw his Sunday congregation go up by half after warning on Facebook he would give it all up and become a window cleaner if he didn't boost numbers. The tongue in cheek threat made by Reverend Phil Ritchie turned out to be a holy success when 207 people turned up -seven more than his target.

Rev Ritchie normally sees up to 140 people at All Saints Church in The Drive, Hove, but wanted to get the numbers up on the national annual Back to Church Sunday. As well as telling parishioners at the church to ask one at least one other person to come and join them, he also posted a message on Facebook. He said: “I urged people to come along and then said if I don't get at least 200 I would give it up and become a window cleaner- during the summer months only of course!"

“At first I was quite confident and sure that enough people would come along but when it got closer to the day I started to think I was going to end up with a lot of egg on my face. In all seriousness, I would not have gone for a change in career although obviously I've nothing against taking up window cleaning. It would be a great job and I love being in the outdoors. I'm certainly used to cleaning the lead windows of the vicarage so I've had some practice. I also told the congregation about the window cleaning comment and I thought some of them might think that was a good idea and stay away but everyone came along.”

Rev Ritchie, who has been at the church for three years, says he is keen to get the wider community involved. He said: “This was obviously a little bit of fun but there is a serious message behind it. The church is an important part of the community and I would like to reach out to as many people as possible.”

There are a couple of simple reasons for ruling me out of being the brains behind this wizard wheeze. Firstly, I don’t live in Hove and secondly, and more significantly, I don’t like heights so window cleaning is one of the last jobs I would consider. I urge the good folk of our parish not to get any ideas.

By the way, we still haven’t contracted the services of a window cleaner for The Rectory so if Rev Phil Ritchie, All Saint’s Hove, fancies supplementing his stipend…

Faith in the surgery

A young man was riding pillion on a motorbike one evening in Belfast. The bike was hit by another vehicle and the rider on the front of the bike was killed instantly. The passenger was thrown into a petrol station and landed on his head. So serious were his injuries that those attending him expected he would die, in fact the medics did not think there was any more they could do for him. A nurse,  quietly and gently, asked him if he knew Jesus. The young man lived and remembered the question he had been asked by the nurse.

That young man celebrated his 80th birthday this year. He is my father and if it had not been for that nurse’s willingness to share her faith and hope in the Lord Jesus Christ I doubt he would have spent the last fifty years serving God as a missioner, vicar and prison chaplain. I also doubt I would be doing what I am doing today if it had not been for his love, witness and encouragement.

I wonder whether that nurse would have felt able to share her faith so readily today and if she had would she expect to find herself in front of a medical disciplinary council?

I’ve written this brief post as I’ve been reflecting on the issues raised by the latest case of a Christian doctor facing disciplinary proceedings for offering to speak to a patient about his faith. You can read more about the story over at Church Mouse’s blog.

The cards you’re dealt

There’s been a bit of a kerfuffle in the last few days about a Spirit of Life festival taking place in Manchester Cathedral at the beginning of May. The usual suspects were in full cry, led by the Daily Mail with its ‘Church of England row as cathedral opens doors to tarot card readers and crystal healers in 'new age' festival’ headline. When you read what the festival is about then it is a lot less controversial than desperate journalists in search of a story would suggest.

Contrary to media reports, the Spirit of Life is a Christian festival offering a balanced programme of different spiritual traditions including Taize, choral evensong and contemporary spiritualities. There are workshops which will discuss spiritualities outside the Christian tradition. There will be no tarot card reading or fortune telling at the event. All contributors are Christians and have undergone a rigorous application process.

Doug Chaplin has raised an interesting question on his blog: Would St  Paul read Tarot cards? and he goes on to discuss the merits and concerns about the use of Tarot cards and The Jesus Deck in Christian outreach. I’m interested to know what others think of the Jesus Deck as a colleague of mine, Penny Horseman, is seeking to get it produced in this country. Penny has set up a website and Facebook page and describes what the deck is about:

The Jesus Deck is a set of 52 + 2 (the Jokers) cards originally designed as a Christian education tool in the 1970’s. It has been published by a US games manufacturer, and was available on the internet.

In the 1990’s some Christians realised that for many people outside the church the reading of tarot cards has enormous interest. While they could not in any way condone the use of tarot cards as future telling , they did see opportunity for talking to people and using them  as a starting point.   Using regular tarot cards they began to engage with people to share the Good News of Jesus Christ.

As an alternative to using the regular tarot cards some of us started to use the Jesus Deck cards. They provided a useful tool for speaking to people about Jesus Christ in a flexible and accessible way in one to one situation. People who were seeking to find out more about Jesus  could have a conversation based around the cards.

I confess to a certain ambivalence about the enterprise and I am not sure how big the market is, however, I do know that Penny and others have found The Jesus Deck to be an effective outreach resource in their work at exhibitions and festivals.

It is amazing to see some of the things people will engage with when it comes to matters of spirituality. At last year’s Greenbelt festival my favourite stall was The Gong Shower. This comprised of a large gong (didn’t get the make) in front of which the punter sits while a chap bangs the gong. His partner sits cross legged by the gong and seems to be chanting during the process. I was most impressed with the way that this couple managed to get people to part with £20 for the ‘shower’. Simon Parke describes his experience of The Gong Shower at Greenbelt in 2008:

For the Gong Shower, I sit upright with my eyes closed behind a large shiny gong, which Colin beats repeatedly and in different styles. He says it is a pioneering work which cuts out the head. This is my experience, as the noise passes wonderfully though me. I have the sensation of walking around the vast hallways of my inner self – caverns of possibility.

I don’t have a gong but I do have a drum kit with some glorious sounding cymbals. Is there still time to book a stall at Greenbelt for this year? Must be worth £50 a go to sit in front of my bass drum as I deliver a version of Cozy Powell’s Dance with the Devil.

Beer and Bible mats

After a fair bit of hassle the Beer and Bible beer mats have finally arrived and are ready for distribution to parishes sharing in this diocesan initiative. In the Diocese of Chelmsford we have a whole range of events to celebrate Bible Year 2011 and through Beer and Bible we are encouraging the public reading of scripture in pubs around the diocese. Any parish participating in Beer and Bible will receive a pack of free beer mats for distribution in their local pubs. Here’s what they look like front and back (the purple border denotes the actual shape of the mats). The Bible is open at Ephesians 3.





The local press have been very interested in Beer and Bible and are planning to run some stories in connection with the initiative. We are hoping that +Stephen Cottrell, Bishop of Chelmsford, will be reading in various hostelries during Holy Week. One of the hardships of my job is that I had to meet a press photographer to set up a picture for an article on Beer and Bible. Here I am with Dave Chesney, curate of Holy Trinity Springfield in Chelmsford, and the pub is The Oddfellows Arms!



Someone commented: ‘I can see what version of the Bible you are reading but what is the ale?’ The answer is a very pleasant Adnams Broadside.

I have a dilemma, for I shall be giving up alcohol for Lent. Should I not be excused abstinence when my work demands I down a pint in the cause of Beer and Bible?

Now a Christian

Came across this interesting resource from the Church Army. Now a Christian is an email-based course aimed at helping new Christians as they begin their journey of faith. The course involves a daily email for five weeks, with a link to an interactive website on the fourth day of each week. It is designed to encourage discussion about what being a Christian means and to get to grips with some of the issues new Christians may want to explore.

The Church Army also runs Make Jesus Famous with links to useful resources and ideas including videos like this telling of The Good Samaritan from UCCF.

h/t Charlie Kosla

sign of the times (2)

I came across this interesting installation in the foyer of Chelmsford Library yesterday. Don’t know why it is there or who created it so I Googled the phrase ‘leave your anxiety at the door’. 8 out of the 10 listings on the first page were about separation anxiety in dogs! Now that really is a sign of the times.

A colleague of mine attended the Mind, Body, Soul exhibition in Essex at the weekend and one of the most advertised sessions was for animal healing. The blurb invited people to bring their pets along and my favourite phrase in the programme was this:

‘On this occasion due to health and safety reasons please leave horses/farm animals at home. We will be able to offer distant healing instead.’

On a more serious note I am told the place was packed out and in the past I guess it’s the sort of event that Christians would have campaigned against rather than attended. However, Christians ran a stand at the exhibition as an opportunity to speak about Jesus using something called The Jesus Deck. The deck of cards is made up of four suits corresponding to the four Gospel accounts of the life of Jesus Christ. People are invited to explore their reaction to the cards depicting events from the life of Christ and to engage with the Good News of Jesus. The cards look like tarot cards (originally people used tarot cards and the Jesus Deck was developed as an alternative), however, it is made very clear to those participating that it is in no way connected with fortune telling but is about the life of Jesus. The popularity of the stand meant that an appointments system had to be put in place.

The Jesus Deck stand was organised by Journey into Wholeness and supported by churches from the local area.

Anyway, to return to the theme of anxiety, Google may not have been much help but Jesus said:

Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

Matthew 11:28f

parris converted?

Matthew Parris, former Tory M.P. and journalist for The Times, has written an article in which he argues that what Africa needs is Christianity. What makes this piece so surprising is that Parris is an atheist and yet he declares:

Now a confirmed atheist, I've become convinced of the enormous contribution that Christian evangelism makes in Africa: sharply distinct from the work of secular NGOs, government projects and international aid efforts. These alone will not do. Education and training alone will not do. In Africa Christianity changes people's hearts. It brings a spiritual transformation. The rebirth is real. The change is good.

You can read the full article here. Parris puts forward a convincing case, however, the question I would like to ask him is this:

If Christianity is the answer for Africa then why isn't it the answer for Great Britian and why isn't it the answer for Matthew Parris?