Circles

I have been reflecting with a few people in recent days about the changing face of our faith community as it moves forward. When I first arrived here I was asked by some about the vision that I had for a new congregation in this district. My vision I am sure disappointed some because I was unable to nail down a specific plan. You see old church mission planning means you start at Point A and move along a nice neat flow chart to Point whatever at the end. I have this strange theory that God does not quite work like that. Vision grows from local soil, not imported, and I see my task as identifying where God might be at work and perhaps encouraging others to join in the story.

One of my clues on the journey has been to watch the shifting centres of influence within a community. Don’t check out whose name is on the top of the list as boss; but see where the influence flows from. For instance while my business card says Team Leader, I am nowhere near as influential as I once was. I used to be a generator of things while nowadays I tend to be more of a facilitator or a leader of the cheer squad. I am sometimes asked by older people how they can be of assistance to younger adults these days. I usually say that it is handy to be nearby in case help is required but often the best tactic is to hone your skills in getting out of the way! It isn’t that we are not required but to accept that it is a new day and we might have to make way for new things.

Over recent years I have seen our circles of influence move from being older church people, to younger church people, to younger adults who are not as influenced by church process as previous. Many Uniting Churches are influenced by long time UCA people who are the wrong side of 60. Most of our adults have little or no idea of how the Uniting Church operates and indeed many are operating from a base that has little understanding of the church at all! Please don’t hear this as a whinge. I think that it is terrific!! Challenging, but terrific!

For those who like position or control, or even predictability, our present status is very threatening. Stuff tends to happen quite spontaneously and we need to be alert to God doing great things under the radar in unexpected ways.

We have tamed Jesus to be this nice church friendly man who spoke in King James English and depending on his mood sang 18th Century hymns or contemporary Hillsong music, wore flowing white robes and never dribbled in his beautifully clean well combed beard.

The centre of influence in Jesus’ time was the temple so God shifted it to a young woman and a carpenter! There was a child born out of the temple culture; but God shifted him to the desert and turned him into a radical prophet called John the Baptiser. When Jesus moved into ministry he didn’t apply for the High Priest’s job but went instead to a wedding and quietly turned water into wine.

Jesus wasn’t always quiet. He got ticked off with religious hypocrites and once turned over the money changers tables in the Temple courts. He accused the hierarchy of turning what should be a house of prayer into a den of robbers. At a key moment in his ministry we read that:

‘On the last day of the festival, the great day, while Jesus was standing there, he cried out, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink. As the Scripture has said, ‘Out of the believers heart shall flow rivers of living water.’”

It strikes me that while the religious of the day had their spiritual radar tuned for the coming Messiah; God sneaked under it with Jesus!? He moved the centre of influence so shockingly that according to Matthews’s gospel, at the time of Jesus’ crucifixion the earth shook! The church keeps trying to drag Jesus back into the Temple; but there is always a remnant silly and courageous enough to join him where he does his best work.

Cheers - John

Changes

Apologies for missing last week but I was otherwise engaged going through my pre-ordination course at Theological College. I did succeed and on Friday night the Parramatta Nepean Presbytery gave final approval to the process. So sometime soonish we will be able to have a special service to celebrate the occasion! Stay tuned.

I have been reflecting with a few people in recent days about the changing face of our faith community as it moves forward. When I first arrived here I was asked by some about the vision that I had for a new congregation in this district. My vision I am sure disappointed some because I was unable to nail down a specific plan. You see old church mission planning means you start at Point A and move along a nice neat flow chart to Point whatever at the end. I have this strange theory that God does not quite work like that. Vision grows from local soil, not imported, and I see my task as identifying where God might be at work and perhaps encouraging others to join in the story.

One of my clues on the journey has been to watch the shifting centres of influence within a community. Don’t check out whose name is on the top of the list as boss; but see where the influence flows from. For instance while my business card says Team Leader, I am nowhere near as influential as I once was. I used to be a generator of things while nowadays I tend to be more of a facilitator or a leader of the cheer squad. I am sometimes asked by older people how they can be of assistance to younger adults these days. I usually say that it is handy to be nearby in case help is required but often the best tactic is to hone your skills in getting out of the way! It isn’t that we are not required but to accept that it is a new day and we might have to make way for new things.

Over recent years I have seen our circles of influence move from being older church people, to younger church people, to younger adults who are not as influenced by church process as previous. Many Uniting Churches are influenced by long time UCA people who are the wrong side of 60. Most of our adults have little or no idea of how the Uniting Church operates and indeed many are operating from a base that has little understanding of the church at all! Please don’t hear this as a whinge. I think that it is terrific!! Challenging, but terrific!

For those who like position or control, or even predictability, our present status is very threatening. Stuff tends to happen quite spontaneously and we need to be alert to God doing great things under the radar in unexpected ways.

We have tamed Jesus to be this nice church friendly man who spoke in King James English and depending on his mood sang 18^th Century hymns or contemporary Hillsong music, wore flowing white robes and never dribbled in his beautifully clean well combed beard.

The centre of influence in Jesus’ time was the temple so God shifted it to a young woman and a carpenter! There was a child born out of the temple culture; but God shifted him to the desert and turned him into a radical prophet called John the Baptiser. When Jesus moved into ministry he didn’t apply for the High Priest’s job but went instead to a wedding and quietly turned water into wine.

Jesus wasn’t always quiet. He got ticked off with religious hypocrites and once turned over the money changers tables in the Temple courts. He accused the hierarchy of turning what should be a house of prayer into a den of robbers. At a key moment in his ministry we read that: ‘On the last day of the festival, the great day, while Jesus was standing there, he cried out, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink. As the Scripture has said, ‘Out of the believers heart shall flow rivers of living water.’”

It strikes me that while the religious of the day had their spiritual radar tuned for the coming Messiah; God sneaked under it with Jesus!? He moved the centre of influence so shockingly that according to Matthews’s gospel, at the time of Jesus’ crucifixion the earth shook! The church keeps trying to drag Jesus back into the Temple; but there is always a remnant silly and courageous enough to join him where he does his best work.

Cheers - John

The gathering

One of the great privileges of ministry for me is being able to preside at the time of Holy Communion. Last Sunday was a typical occasion. We were small in number due no doubt to families celebrating Father’s Day; but looking around as our church family gathered at the table I was struck again by the depth of this service.

In other times and other places I have seen people slip into automatic pilot when the words of institution of the meal begin to be spoken. Not with the NWUC crew! We seem to have found a way of celebrating Holy Communion that allows for smiles – or even laughter – as we see our children ‘do’ communion their particular way and yet this does not detract from the clear depth of thought from others. There is rarely a Communion Sunday goes by where some among us are not clearly deeply moved by this awe filled time.

I think I may have shared before that if I visit another place and am asked to share in Communion I am occasionally asked if I would like the loaf pre-cut. A loaf can sometimes be hard to break on the spot so it might be more convenient to put a surreptitious cut through the base to give you a flying start! From my limited knowledge this is a practice not all that uncommon. I’m sorry; I don’t get that at all. When Jesus said, ‘This is my body given for you’ it wasn’t something gift wrapped with pretty ribbon! There was a cost. Holy Communion is not designed to be convenient for us. If the loaf is hard to break well .. deal with it!

The church is not a club that is handy to belong to for what ever reasons. It is a family who commit their lives to each other under God. I am aware of people who have been a part of us and then for any number of reasons spend a significant time away. On their attempted return they have shared that it is difficult to fit back in and this of course is unfortunate; but I think it is also a spin off from the family stuff.

Whenever Ronnie and I return to our family in Ballarat, it takes a while to settle back in to feeling a part of things. Indeed sometimes we are simply not a part of things anymore! The family has moved on and in that moving forward they have celebrated minor wins and losses along the way that we know little or nothing of.

We are different from the local footy club or service club. We are not motivated by the thrill of a win or the eagerness to see our kids do well, not that there is anything particularly wrong with that. We enjoy doing community stuff but don’t hang out to be recognised or be given pats on the back, nice as that is. We are a part of something that is so much deeper and bigger and the glue that holds us together is recollected and made visible as we gather and share in a sacred meal.
Yes, we can be Christian without being a part of the church gathering; but for all of its flaws – and being full of people like me it has plenty – the church is still the vessel of hope that God continues to bless. Like it or not we belong together. We need each other.

Church is a powerful place. We do a lot of good work in a variety of situations across our community. During the week we find ourselves scattered all over the place; but it is in our gathering together that we can find strength, hope and meaning for all of that scattering.

Cheers - John

So many names

This past couple of weeks have been very encouraging and exciting for me as preparations have moved into place for my ordination service this Sunday afternoon. As I was preparing for the day this morning a verse from Isaiah jumped out at me: ‘See, I have engraved you on the palm of my hands.’ Isaiah 49:16. The reading is referring to God having written our names on the palm of his hands; but it struck me how many names are special to me and how many have my name written on their hands. These days are turning into very humbling and yet very confirming ones.

I write things on my hand occasionally in desperation as I can’t find a piece of paper! I put it there so I don’t forget; but we have a habit of washing our hands fairly regularly in a day and sometimes the message is lost. God doesn’t write with a biro; he engraves things – they don’t wash off!

Sometimes I think myself a fairly ordinary friend. I get caught up in the things of today and tend to forget to acknowledge the gifts of yesterday that have brought me to this place. Christmas comes around and the cards go out and you realise that 12 months have gone by without picking up a phone, sending a note or travelling the extra kilometres for a meal.

This Sunday is a big moment for me; but it has been made that way because of good friends who have been my encouragers, exhorters, rebukers and comforters over many years. Many people say that they can live out a Christian life without bothering about being a part of a group of people called a church. Well, I guess you can; but golly you miss a lot!

Many can tell you of the stories of pain that a church has caused them and I could easily knock together a fair list of hurts. I like the story of Jabez in 1 Chronicles 4:9,10:

Jabez was more honourable than his brothers. His mother named him Jabez, saying, “I gave birth to him in pain.” Jabez cried out to the God of Israel, “Oh, that you would bless me and enlarge my territory.”’

Poor old Jabez was designated ‘a pain’ at birth! Making a decision to enlarge our territory can be a risky business. It means trusting ourselves to others and those others very often look a lot like us and we know our ability to cause pain.

Over the past 25 years I have been privileged to be a part of three incredible faith communities. One I joined with many doubts and pre-conceptions and that congregation loved me – not only into the church – but into a life changing conversion of faith. The second accepted a green, naïve leader and allowed me space to make some glorious mistakes and together we re-invented our church and powerfully touched the local community. It was quite a ride! Number three has been different again. I sometimes say that we started from zero; but you never start from there if God is with you. Over the past six years I have been blessed to share with a new, young and vibrant community that has probably put me on the biggest learning curve of all!

Which was the best? All three have been great. I have so many names written on my hands that I consider myself the most blessed of individuals. Sunday afternoon is a gift to me from God and the church. I hope that you might see yourself in the giving and receiving also.

Cheers - John

Location, location, location!

Time flies when you’re having fun and on Monday Ronnie and I celebrated our sixth year here in ministry at Rouse Hill. That means that Kath has knocked over five years and that we have been meeting as a worshiping congregation for about five and a half years. Like I say, time flies!
When we arrived I knew the seven people who were a part of the committee that appointed me and Ronnie didn’t know one solitary soul. We used to fight over answering the phone because for the first six months it hardly ever rang!

Now of course – and thankfully – things have changed greatly. It is rare to go shopping and not bump into someone that you know and a visit to Rouse Hill PS for Kath and I is a highly sociable occasion! Orange Go MAD caps, Kath and Pastor John are probably some of the better recognised figures – for better or worse - in the immediate community.

When planning was moving along for our possible move to Annangrove Road one of the concerns given was the lack of visibility. It was thought we would be out of the centre of town and also how would we handle the issue of having enough signage. This concern was voiced both locally and from the wider church and I think illustrates that while we like the idea of doing church a new way, we are still struggling to embrace it.

Eugene Peterson, in his paraphrase of the Bible called The Message gives a beautiful translation of John 1:14:

‘The Word became flesh and blood, and moved into the neighbourhood. We saw the glory with our own eyes, the one-of- a-kind glory, like Father, like Son, generous inside and out, true from start to finish.’

Bible speak for this is incarnation or in plainer English, embodiment and in very real terms that is what we are about.

Last Saturday a small team from NWUC hosted our second annual ‘Live with Passion’ Women’s Conference. The organising team plus several others on the day ‘became flesh and blood and moved into the neighbourhood’. Who knows, perhaps in some way the ladies might also have seen a little bit of that ‘one-of-a-kind glory’ that embodies what followers of Jesus would seek to be a part of?

I have said before that many churches live with the 1960’s expectation that if you put up a sign with your name on it and have a building with good visibility and all the lights shining then people will come. Sorry, I don’t believe that to be true anymore. More importantly I don’t even believe that it is a true Biblical model of what we as Christ followers should be about.

We are the signs that people need to see. We are the buildings that will impress with our light and our stature. As with the team last Saturday people saw something that was ‘generous inside and out, true from start to finish’. That is the kind of advertising that I believe in.

Of those seven people that I got to know before coming here I am in occasional contact with just two of them nowadays; but it sure isn’t lonely anymore.

Cheers - John