Last weekend I decided to do a straw poll. I asked a selection of my friends a simple question: why did you leave church as a teenager?
There was a range of answers. Boring services, lack of peers, pressure of studies all reared their head. But there were 3 others factors that loomed much larger:
Faith wasn't shown to be rational
"I had questions. Lots of questions. I was being bombarded with science and secular philosophy at college and it didn't fit with what the Bible was saying. I wanted to understand why. I asked my youth leaders to explain how I could be sure that the Bible was right and the teaching I was getting Monday to Friday was wrong (or of less importance). They simply told me to believe. I guess it wasn't a heretical answer by the church's standards but it wasn't a helpful one. It left me with the impression that Christianity was a blind faith rather than a faith based on reason and facts. And so I walked."... continue reading
"But I don't want to sit down... I want to be out doing something..."
A familiar cry during the Easter break. Children liberated from the structure of school, and fueled with more chocolate than might be ideal, want to bounce. And why not? They are children after all!
But how can parents (and grandparents and aunts and godparents and friends) harness some of that boundless energy and creativity and use it this week to help their children understand the gospel better?
One way is to encourage them to tell the Easter story not just listen to it. A drama, a puppet show, a powerpoint presentation, a collage or painting, a photo story, an acted scene videoed and edited by them, a song written and performed all engage children (and adults for that matter) in the Easter story in new ways.... continue reading
After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb.
There was a violent earthquake, for an angel of the Lord came down from heaven and, going to the tomb, rolled back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow. The guards were so afraid of him that they shook and became like dead men.
The angel said to the women, ‘Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples: “He has risen from the dead and is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him.” Now I have told you.’
As they were going out, they met a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross. They came to a place called Golgotha (which means ‘the place of the skull’). There they offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, he refused to drink it. When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots. And sitting down, they kept watch over him there.Above his head they placed the written charge against him: THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS.
Two rebels were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, ‘You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!’ In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. ‘He saved others,’ they said, ‘but he can’t save himself! He’s the king of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, “I am the Son of God.”’ In the same way the rebels who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him.
Matthew 27:32-44
On the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread, the disciples came to Jesus and asked, ‘Where do you want us to make preparations for you to eat the Passover?’
He replied, ‘Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, “The Teacher says: my appointed time is near. I am going to celebrate the Passover with my disciples at your house.”’ So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them and prepared the Passover.
When evening came, Jesus was reclining at the table with the Twelve. And while they were eating, he said, ‘Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me.’... continue reading
I had such hopes, such dreams for this prophet from Nazareth. I had thought that he would make the world a better place for me. And last Sunday, just a few short days ago, I thought my dream was coming true. I followed him into Jerusalem. He was hailed as a king. Palm branches were waved, hosannas rung out on the breeze. I've never experienced anything quite like it.
After three years of wandering from one desert town to the next, finally his hour had arrived. Conquest, power, status, wealth were in his grasp. And I would be there - at his side - reaping the rewards of my faithful service over the last 36 months. I could almost smell the riches in my future.... continue reading
So, how is your prep going? Easter is nearly upon us and quite a few of us have a talk to give ... the kids' club session, the youth group Easter get-together, the lunch club for the retired with the pause for thought at the end or, of course, the Good Friday reflection or Easter sermon itself.
Is it going well?
Somehow life in the run up to a big church celebration can feel a little out of control. The kids are running riot. The commentary on Matthew has mysteriously disappeared. The glue for the visual aids is proving bizarrely ineffective (except when accidentally applied to one's forehead). Inspiration on how to tell the Easter story slightly differently this year is pretty non-existant. All those good intentions to get ahead with the talk prep are fully out of the window. 16 people have decided to call you with a pastoral crisis just as you were about to start typing. The washing machine has decided the kitchen floor would look so much better if it were under 2 inches of water. Your prayer life has become about as vibrant as a bunch of watercress a week past its sell-by date. And in the middle of all this, we have to find the strength to tell people the most important thing they will ever hear ...... continue reading
We all know butterflies. Some of us may be butterflies. Those people who flit from church to church on an annual, monthly or weekly basis - constantly shifting spiritual family. I'm not talking about those people who travel for work (never ideal but not necessarily a sign of spiritual ill-health!) but those who can get to the same church consistently but simply don't.
They have their reasons, of course. Some of them may be spoken: a desire to be more ecumenical, a passion for hearing different perspectives, a keenness to avoid people who have wounded them in the past. Others unspoken: a fear of commitment, a desire to avoid accountability or a deep-seated suspicion that no-one would love them if they showed their true selves week by week.... continue reading
I don't wish to make you squirm. I certainly don't want to make you feel guilty. But let me ask you a question: When was the last time you prayed for your congregation? I don't mean praying for specific individuals or events within the congregation but prayed for the congregation as a whole? If you're anything like me, it's the sort of thing that can easily fall off our prayer-lists ... or not even make it on to them in the first place. But our congregation is our family. It's full of the people who the Father has deliberately chosen - the people who God is using to make us more like Jesus. We are called to learn together, share together, encourage together and grow together. And they, without doubt, need prayer! So, why not take a moment now to pray for your congregation as a whole? You might like to use the wonderful words of Paul's first letter to the Thessalonians as a basis:... continue reading
Do you want to get your church reading more? Do people pass by your bookstall (if you have one) without a second glance? Do your brothers and sisters struggle to find the time or motivation to read?
The Good Book Company is here to help…
I am a member of a church that wouldn’t consider itself a reading church. Yes we have had a bookstall for many, many years, but it isn’t in a prominent position and can be easily overlooked. Once upon a time we also did regular book reviews from the front but that too dropped off.
So how do you get a non-reading church like that to a place where books and resources are of interest? Well, this is how my church did it.... continue reading
