What’s Going On In Church?

A lot happens in church that goes completely over my head. When I started attending a couple of years ago I was amazed at how strange it all was. Interesting rituals were taking place that everybody but me seemed to understand.

I became a Christian in Afghanistan and for my first 9 months I worshipped in tents in Army outposts in Helmand Province. Sometimes church was cancelled because the chaplain’s convoy got attacked or diverted. Sometimes I missed a service because I was out on patrol. At least out there I didn’t need to know anything about being an Anglican. I’m not sure I even knew that the word Anglican meant Church of England. I thought it was a window fitting company.

Does anyone else feel like me? Do you know your chasubles from your chancel? Do you know your charismatics from your cloisters? New Christians have a lot to learn. It’s a completely new vocabulary that often leaves us nodding along and smiling whilst inside wondering ‘Why does the colour of the vicar’s scarf keep changing?’

Just when I thought I’d got it, I realised that Anglo-Catholics have an entirely different vocabulary to Evangelicals and was back to square one. So I bought a Matt Redman CD, dug out my church dictionary, and began dropping in the word “fellowship” to sentences whenever I felt the urge.

But what if it’s not just new Christians who don’t always know what’s going on in church? Might there be people in our parishes who’ve been members of church for decades but couldn’t explain why we stand for the Gospel reading, why we do ‘the Peace’ or why the font is at the entrance of the church? Probably. And does anyone really understand what the offering is all about? This is a question I’ve been pondering myself.

Until quite recently, I had no idea that the money I put on the collection plate had anything to do with faith. I thought it was a bit like paying subs. It never occurred to me that I was taking part in an act of worship. Maybe that’s because in all the churches I’ve worshipped in, and that’s a lot as I travelled a lot in the army, this part of the service was…a bit…rushed? Awkward? Forgotten about?

I didn’t know that what I was actually doing when I fished around for the loose change in my handbag, was presenting to God a gift that said both ‘Thank you’ and ‘I love you’.

Then I realised that every week I’d been hearing a prayer which was key to this part of the service, but I’d never noticed:

“Yours, Lord, is the greatness, the power, the glory, the splendour, and the majesty; for everything in heaven and on earth is yours. All things come from you, and of your own do we give you.”

Maybe I wasn’t concentrating, or I’d put it in the ‘don’t understand’ pile (with all the other new things that I was learning). But those words “All things come from you and of your own do we give you.” It was a spiritual act. It was about faith. The offertory was an act of worship and I’d missed it.

Then, to my great confusion, I learned that not everyone calls it the offertory. Some call it the offering and some say collection. These differences reflect the different traditions and ways Christians worship. This variety is wonderful, but it can be confusing! For example some say the offertory is the moment in the service when we are simply presenting our gifts of money, which represents us (the offering of ourselves) to be used for the Kingdom of God.

There’s a direct link between what I give, and the continuing work of the Church. This works for me, as I think everybody should have the chance to hear about God’s love and who Jesus is. It makes sense, especially when I think of why we pay Parish Share.

And some believe that when the offering is brought up with the elements (bread and wine), it represents the idea of us sacrificing what we have, as during Holy Communion (the Eucharist) we remember that Jesus sacrificed everything for us.

No doubt, even within these two ends of the spectrum there will be Christians who hold different views. To try and simplify it, so as far as I can tell, some see the offering as an offering of themselves, and others see it as our response to Jesus’ sacrifice. And no doubt many think it’s a bit of both, and perhaps many more (like me until recently) haven’t ever really considered its representation at all.

So what does it mean to you? Is our offering an acknowledgement of all that God has generously and freely given us? Are we offering ourselves on the plate for God’s work? Is our money offering more about the sacrifice we’ve made, as we lead on to the Eucharist and remember everything Jesus sacrificed for us? Or is it something else? What does this act of worship mean to us?

As for me, what changed my mind about the offering, was the sacrifice bit. That’s what converted my giving habits.

When I paused and reminded myself that Jesus literally gave up his life for me, (I often have to do this), I felt ashamed when I thought of my own offering. That’s a strong word but it’s exactly how I felt. A slightly older and much wiser Christian friend assured me that God isn’t into the shame game. He just loves me and always desires the best for me.

That’s comforting, but nonetheless, my attitude changed and I started thinking differently about my offering. It was not generous, was not a sacrifice, was not a representation of how grateful I am, or how I love Jesus. What I’d been giving before was an amount that could easily get lost in my untidy handbag. Since deciding to give generously I actually feel that I’m taking part in an act of worship, rather than paying subs. Now what I give is part of my relationship with God. It’s saying ‘Thank you’ and ‘I love you’.

BEFORE YOU GO! You are very welcome (and indeed encouraged!) to use these blogs in parish magazines or as content for Home Groups etc. Please cite the website so others can find their way here. 

Cold, wet and penniless in Leeds

This is a true story about two people who were sent to a city for 24 hours by their lecturer, with only an envelope containing two return train tickets. They weren’t told where they were going, were given no provisions and had nowhere to stay. They had to rely on their faith in God and the generosity of strangers.

One of those people was me. It was part of a module I was studying called Mission and Evangelism, and the other lucky volunteer was my course mate Simon Grundy, who is training to be a priest. We are both studying Theology, Ministry and Mission at Cranmer Hall, Durham University. It was said that we were prayerfully chosen, but we think we were picked for being two of the few ‘locals’ at Cranmer, both being born and bred in the north East, and therefore would be well suited to the harsh weather conditions we faced. Simon considered wearing just a t-shirt as it was only November, but in the end we both went for jackets.

We opened the envelope and saw we were headed for Leeds and wondered what was in store for us. We had been given one bit of advice, “Find out what God’s doing and join in”. That was our mission. We were essentially to share something of God’s love and Jesus’ mission with the people we met in Leeds. We tried to steer clear of planning too much ourselves in case our own desires crowded out the inspiration and guidance of the Holy Spirit. So with excitement, curiosity and a fair amount of bewilderment, we stepped off the train at Leeds at 7pm into an almighty downpour, and looked at each other and thought, ‘Well this is it.’

The full story of what happened in those 24 hours, including being turned away three times from a homeless shelter, the many attempts to find suitable benches, and a very disturbing encounter with an aggressive man on drugs in McDonald’s can soon be found via this link to my personal blog site: https://frontlinefaithfulblog.wordpress.com/. What follows here is just one story of what happened on the mission.

The most profound and surprising thing we experienced on our mission in Leeds was the generosity of strangers. We had no food with us* and had both eaten our last meal at lunchtime. It was now the evening and we had no guarantee that we’d eat again until the following night. If we were going to eat or drink at all in between, we’d have to trust God and the generosity of strangers.

One of the first places we felt called, was to a bar in the centre of Leeds. Partly because it was raining torrentially, and partly because it was opposite the Catholic cathedral where we had just said a few shivery prayers and so was in our line of sight. Inside, whilst Simon ordered us two glasses of water, I spotted a middle-aged lady sitting on her own at a table of four. Rather than asking if I could take the chairs if they were free, I asked if I could sit at her table. A bold move as Brits like their personal space, but if we were going to get anywhere in the coming 24 hours we were going to have to step out of our comfort zones. She obliged and told me she was waiting for her husband. We got into a conversation and soon enough she asked what I was doing in Leeds. I told her that my story would sound strange, but would tell her if she wished. As I was telling her about our Christian mission and our situation, Simon and the lady’s husband returned. We got on to talking about religion, how we each came to faith, and the things we had given up to follow that faith (Simon’s well paid career in the private sector, my career in the Army) and how we came to be studying Theology together (Simon is training to be a Priest, and I’m trying to figure out if that might be what God is calling me to do too).

The couple were very friendly and engaging. They briefly explained why they no longer go to church; they had met a number of ‘so-called Christians’ who turned out to be hypocrites. They had lost their faith in the religion and didn’t have a relationship with God. They seemed very interested in our mission and asked us lot of questions, particularly about how we’d survive for 24 hours with nothing. When we explained that we were relying on our faith in God and in people, they immediately invited us to have dinner with them, there in the bistro/bar. They told us to order anything on the menu, and soon we were all eating enormous gourmet burgers and chips and sharing our life stories.

When it came to paying, we thanked them again and again for their generosity, feeling a mixture of deep gratitude and something else. What was it? For me it was the faintest whiff of embarrassment and awkwardness at our situation. This couple were spending a substantial sum of money on two people they had never met before. I had to keep reminding myself that it was a blessing for them to give, and that they did so freely and spontaneously. And yet, not being used to hand-outs, and being heavily influenced by my own Money Story, I found being in a position where I couldn’t offer to give them anything in return, really quite hard. But then Simon reminded me that there was something we could give. He leaned forward and, despite knowing their history with the church and their feelings about it, he quietly asked if there was anything we could pray for.

Nobody spoke. They just looked at each other for a long time and then the wife began to cry.

Her husband put his arm around her shoulder and they told us, through their tears, that yes there were some situations they would like us to pray for. It felt right for me to put my hand over hers and so I did whilst she shared with us a particularly sad situation in their lives concerning ill parents, and a recent death. The four of us sat there at that table, bonded together in our shared experience, knowing none of us would ever forget this night; the night we experienced the spontaneous and liberal generosity of strangers at the very beginning of our mission, and for them the night they met two Christians and felt moved to buy them dinner, and request prayer.

We didn’t share contact details. We didn’t need to. When we got outside into the cold and wet night, they walked with us for a while. I naturally fell into step with the wife, and Simon walked with the husband. They pointed us in the direction of the homeless shelter and we parted ways after a tearful but hope-filled embrace. Simon and I prayed for them when they left. We simply prayed that when they got home, when they went to bed and talked about their evening, that they would be moved by curiosity to start asking God if He was listening. We prayed that they would begin to pray.

*We were given £50 ‘danger money’ that we could use in the most extreme of 
circumstances. Such circumstances were not explained so we decided from
the start to act as though we didn’t have it at all.

BEFORE YOU GO! You are very welcome (and indeed encouraged!) to use these blogs in parish magazines or as content for Home Groups etc. 
Please cite the website so others can find their way here. 

Am I really a Disciple?

Welcome to the first in a series of blogs focusing on an important aspect of being Disciples of Christ; giving generously. But before we get on to that, we need to know what Discipleship is. You may not have known you were a ‘disciple’ until now. The word means ‘learner’ and we use it to describe but those who want to grow in Christ and in doing so model and teach other Christians about lots of things including the Bible, prayer, doctrine (what Christians believe), relationships, Christian living, service, and worship.

You might think that you’re not cut out for the job and your knowledge of the Christian faith is shaky. Don’t worry. God called you as you are and uses your skills, even ones you didn’t know you had. Every time you pray or you tell a friend that you’re going to church or you explain to a workmate what Lent is all about, you’re being a Disciple. Discipleship is about how we live a distinctly Christian way. It’s about action. God calls us to respond, and when we do, we are being disciples.

Sandal wearing completely optional

Following the teachings of Jesus, and trying as best we can to live like He did, makes us stand out from the crowd for good reasons, in all sorts of ways. When we live as Disciples, our lives are so much richer because we know we are loved deeply and unconditionally, no matter how many mistakes we make along the way.

We know we are never alone; we face the world safe in the knowledge that God is with us now, and always will be. As Disciples, when we are troubled or scared we can pray and feel a sense of peace from the connection with get with our Father. As Disciples, when we worship together we join in celebrating and praising the wonder of God.

As Disciples, we are incredibly blessed because we have a very generous God whose generosity knows no bounds. We love God because He first loved us, and we give because God first gave to us “immeasurably more than all we could ask or imagine” (Eph 3.20). Our whole lives are a response to a loving, generous God, who gives freely and without measure to the whole world. When we immerse ourselves in the character of God, we come to realise that all that we are, and all that we have, comes from God’s generosity. This concept can be quite surprising and challenging for some of us. We will look at this in more detail in the series.

The well-known Bible verse from John’s Gospel beautifully and simply sums this up:

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son,” (John 3:16)

John shows us that the Biblical concepts of “love” and “gift” are inseparable. In fact it is impossible to understand one without the other. Therefore, because God’s love is gifted love, our love must be expressed through giving back as well.

God gave Jesus to the world that through him we might have eternal life, and to have eternal life is to know God in a way that without Jesus it would not be possible. So, as we think about who God is and about His character, the call to be like our heavenly Father challenges us to emulate his generosity. Such love knows has boundaries and will challenge us as much as it will challenge and bless those around us.

Over this series of blogs about Generous Giving we will learn about this key part of our faith and how we respond to God’s call. We will look at ways we can change our lives to reflect God’s love, and in doing so, change the lives of others. It doesn’t matter how long we have been Christians or where we are in our relationship with God. It doesn’t matter if we already knew we were Disciples or if we learned that for the first time today. Being nearer God and trying to understand Him is something we all ultimately seek. Giving Generously is a central part of that and when we feel ready to take this step and rethink how we do this, we are changed. It is a beautiful thing. We will see our own lives transformed, our parishes and communities transformed and this special corner of God’s Kingdom in the North East of England transformed.

Let’s pray about this transformation and the exciting opportunities that are just around the corner.

God you know me and all my ways. You knew me before I was born and you gave me life. You are my guide, my shield, my strength. You are my best friend and confidant. You hear my prayers and you comfort me when I am alone. I am not worthy but you give me so much anyway. I thank you with all my heart for your generosity. Please help me, Lord, to consider how I can give more generously. Transform me God. Search my heart and guide me to be more like you. Fill me with joy and peace and love when I give, and remind me that I give because first you gave.

Lord, in your mercy, hear my prayer.

BEFORE YOU GO! You are very welcome (and indeed encouraged!) to use these blogs in parish magazines or as content for Home Groups etc. Please cite the website so others can find their way here.