8 BIG PICTURE REFLECTIONS - THE COVID EFFECT ON SCOTTISH CHURCHES

  

Last week I took part in a forum of church leaders from across the Scottish evangelical spectrum. Below are eight of the common themes and big take-aways that emerged from the feedback given and from chats I’ve had with others elsewhere

1.    The Mission remains the same.

Circumstances change but the call to make disciples is constant. The job of the church is to proclaim Christ (in season and out of season), and regardless of whether Covid-19 and Lockdown apparently helps or hinders us - that work must be our priority. 

 

2.    The opportunities are exciting.

Over the past few months new doors have opened for churches and Christians to serve and connect with their communities. People have come to faith through volunteering in church run social care activities. There is some evidence of a new openness to the Gospel with people joining online courses to ask the big questions about life. Local agencies and politicians have appreciated the work and prayers of churches for them and Scottish communities.

 

3.    The anxieties are real.

There are genuine fears for smaller fellowships dependent on facilities they no longer have access to (e.g. schools). How long can their viability continue? The big spike in online viewing has waned – one leader spoke of watching the website hits slowly fall week by week. The fringe of those more loosely connected to church feels increasingly frayed as their visibility and participation seems to diminish.

 

4.    The value of organic church.

Following on from above – the people who had strong connections with others in the church at the start of Lockdown are generally the ones who have survived it best. Going forward churches need to see afresh the importance of fostering organic (rather than just structural) and real-life relationships among members and attendees.

 

5.    Expect a refined church to emerge.

One leader spoke of the paradox of his church income being up – while numbers were down. In other words, the committed core people were stepping-up even as others were fading out the picture. The Gardener’s work of removing the dead branches while pruning back the healthy ones suddenly feels very immediate (John 15:1-2).

 

6.    Small is the new big

The absence of, and restrictions upon, large gatherings for the foreseeable future is forcing a re-calibration of ministry. Where there has perhaps been an over-reliance on larger events – churches will need to (re)invest in Small Group and 1-2-1 ministry in order to sustain connections, training and discipleship. One effect of this new reliance on smaller local groups could be the emergence of many embryonic church plants.

 

7.    Zoom is here to stay.

No-one is thinking that online church is going away anytime soon. Churches that start to gather again physically will do so with an ongoing online option – both to serve those unable to attend in person and to retain the new evangelistic opportunities this technology allows. Likewise, pastors will continue to utilize (where appropriate) the convenience of Zoom 1-2-1s (e.g. my desk to yours for a lunchtime Bible chat), leadership meetings and even some pastoral work.

8.    Wake-up Call

Many churches will survive 2020 by ‘the skin of their teeth’. The question is, would they have survived if Covid-19 had been as devastating as first feared or if the severe restrictions had gone on. If not, what radical steps might they take now to avoid closure ‘next time’ – e.g. new partnerships, investing in future leadership, reconnecting with their communities? There are, of course, no easy options or fixes – but not to do anything and just hope that something will turn up is not the lesson to take from 2020.

Being there.... (what's so good about physical church anyway?)

Is it really necessary to gather physically in order to have fellowship and worship God as a church?

Pyjama Church 
Over the past 4 months Christians have got used to online church and actually quite like some of its benefits - no stressful 10am rush to get out, no need to find a parking space, a comfortable seat (with coffee in hand) is guaranteed, and as soon as the service is over we can walk into the next room and have lunch. What's not to like?

Perhaps all those physical services were an anachronism - necessary before we had Zoom and YouTube, but like printed hymnbooks and pedal-organs can now be dispensed with.

Or is there something more profound about physically meeting together? Might there even be a theological basis for physically gathering even when the digital alternatives seem much more convenient?

Let me argue that there is. 

No proof text
The start of lockdown created what was often a furious debate as to whether it would be legitimate to have a Communion service online. Strong arguments were made on both sides - but neither were able to point to a ‘drop dead’ biblical text in order to seal their case. Both had to build from what they felt was the tenor of Scripture rather than explicit commands.

Similarly, in arguing the case for physically gathering together (where possible) - there is no single proof text to appeal to. Even texts such as ‘when you come together’ (1 Cor 11:18) and ‘not giving up the habit of meeting together’ (Heb 10:25) could be interpreted as not necessitating physicality if other ways of gathering were possible.

Weight and tone
Nonetheless, there seems to be a weight and tone in Scripture that pushes towards God’s people being together in the closest possible ways. John craves ‘face to face’ over ‘pen and ink’ (3 Jn 13). Paul is constantly frustrated that he can’t close the gap between himself and fellow-Christians but has to communicate with them remotely. In both cases it’s a recognition that physical distance inevitably creates some measure of relational distance.

Now of course, in the absence of being together physically the apostles used the other means available - and those weren’t ineffective. Today Zoom clearly closes that relational gap significantly beyond letter-writing – but it doesn’t entirely. Which is why for all the usefulness and benefits of online meetings they often leave us with a degree of dis-satisfaction.

From the dust of the ground
The reality is that human beings were not created virtually but as physical and embodied creatures. We are tangible, multi-sensory, only wholly functioning and fully experiencing life when all five senses are in play.

In the image of God
Coupled with our physicality is the divine image of a Trinitarian God imprinted on us. That is, a God who has relationships at the core of his being. It is what gives us our instinct to be in community and connected with others.

Put both of those physical and relational components together – and we understand the desire to be with others in the flesh.

God with us
The Incarnation is another powerful signal to us in all this. It was of course, a necessity that in order to be an authentic substitute able to secure our atonement, that Jesus shared in our humanity (Heb 2:14).

Nevertheless, the fact that Jesus became flesh and blood opened up a way to relate to God that is profound beyond words. God the Son touched the leper, children sat on his knee, John leant against him, he took Jairus’ daughter by the hand. As John later put it, almost bursting as he did so, ‘our hands have touched [him]’ (1 Jn 1:1).

Expression & Experience
Distance as noted, even with the best will in the world, creates some measure of division. Apart from each other physically we will lose some degree of empathy, of solidarity, and of feeling. That is not to say that non-physical connections can’t be good – but they can never be the best.

When we gather physically (in the same spatial location) it is an expression of our unity – ‘look, here we are together!’ But it is also to experience that unity as embodied and relational beings. It's the reason why people still want to go to restaurants, the cinema and football grounds despite the fact that Just East, Netflix and Sky can provide the content more cheaply in the comfort of your home.

Differences in a time of Covid
Now of course in a time of Covid there can be no touching, handshaking or hugging - whether physically together or not. Does that mean that Socially Distanced church services are no better than FaceTime? Well no, because physical connectedness is more than just physical touch – it’s about proximity and reality.

It’s the difference you feel between seeing a picture of the Queen and being in the same room as her. It’s the difference to you and your bereaved friend between being at the funeral service and saying you watched it on the livestream. It’s the difference between watching the baptism on an overflow screen in an adjacent room as opposed to sitting beside the tank.

The question 
So the question is not: is it ok to watch church services online? But would it be better, if safe for me to do so, to be at them with my brothers & sisters – to give physical expression to the unity of God’s people and to experience it in the fullest possible way that I was created to do?

HATE CRIME & PUBLIC ORDER (SCOTLAND) BILL - FIEC SUBMISSION

The Convener

Justice Committee

Scottish Parliament

Holyrood

Edinburgh

EH99 1SP

justicecommittee@parliament.scot 

Dear Convener

HATE CRIME & PUBLIC ORDER (SCOTLAND) BILL – CALL FOR VIEWS

I am writing on behalf of the Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches – a network of churches across Scotland (stretching from Dumfries to Lerwick) and representing over 50 local church leaders.

We would be grateful if the following comments and concerns on the above Bill were taken into account by the Committee.  

Shared values

The desire to protect the dignity of every Scottish citizen is one that we wholeheartedly support – indeed the value and sanctity of every human life is one of our core Christian convictions. In this regard we support the Bill’s intent to guard individuals from abuse, harassment and any diminution of their basic human rights through malicious communications.  

Concerns

However, we are very concerned that the Bill as currently drafted could have detrimental effects on the most fundamental human right of all – Freedom of Speech.

The Committee will be aware that this concern is shared by both religious and non-religious people across Scotland– including the National Secular Society, many in the media, the arts, academia and politicians on all sides. In adding our voice to these many others, we would highlight the following…

1.      The omission of a Free Speech Clause on Transgender issues.

We welcome the inclusion of Free Speech clauses to protect ‘discussion or criticisms of religion or religious beliefs or practices, proselytising, or urging of persons to cease practising their religions’, and the ‘discussion or criticism of sexual conduct or practices or the urging of persons to refrain from or modify sexual conduct or practices’ (Sections 11 & 12).

Such freedoms should not and need not be detrimental to any individual but are hallmarks of a free society in which all ideologies, viewpoints and truth-claims are open to reasonable challenge, critique and questioning.

We are therefore puzzled and concerned that a similar provision is not included in the Bill to cover such discussion or criticisms that may arise around Transgender issues. This is a subject of potentially enormous consequence for many people (including children) and thus one where expression of alternative viewpoints is all the more important to allow.

We would therefore request that a clause to protect ‘discussion or criticisms’ in this area is put into any legislation going forward.

2.      Use of vague terminology

The Bill seeks to criminalise ‘stirring up’ or the likelihood of stirring up ‘hatred’ (3.1.b.ii.). Such wording seems very hard to define especially in a culture where disagreement is all too often branded as intolerance or even bigotry. Thus there is real potential for such ‘open’ terminology to be misused by groups or persons simply wishing to close down the rights of others to express opinions.

We would therefore request that such vague and subjective wording is removed from the Bill.

3.      Creation of a new ‘Blasphemy’ Law

We have no issue with the proposed abolition of the redundant Blasphemy Law (unused since 1843). We believe in the free expression of opinion and ideas – even where those opinions and ideas might be disagreeable to our own beliefs.

Legislation already exists to protect every citizen from harassment and personal vilification. It is right that those are applied and that the Police and Courts protect people accordingly.

However, the current Bill seems in danger of creating categories of ‘secular blasphemy’ in which certain beliefs and their adherents are privileged with special protections. As a consequence we fear that many aspects of the proposed legislation will become not a tool to protect vulnerable people – but a tool to oppress and silence unpopular or inconvenient viewpoints in society.

Conclusion

As Christians know all too well (often having been the ones at fault) you cannot bind the human conscience or supress the voices of fellow citizens without great cost. It is good, although not always comfortable, to live in a society that allows every belief-system (however cherished) to be openly and robustly critiqued. History has shown that the alternative, however well intentioned, does not ultimately soften hearts or attitudes but instead leads to the incubation of fear and resentment.

Thus we would ask that every effort is made to revise the Bill in order to ensure that Freedom of Speech is robustly upheld for all citizens.

With grateful thanks for the work of the Justice Committee.

Yours faithfully.

Andrew T. Hunter

Scotland Director, FIEC

Understanding our times - Judgement & Care

The beginning of the 10^th century BC was a tumultuous time in Israel’s history – a raging battle between two rival dynasties. It was decision time for the people – how would God want them to respond? Step forward the men of Issachar…  

…who had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do (1 Chron 12:32)

Throughout the Bible it’s a mark of godly wisdom to stand back from temporal events and see God’s hand at work – to be able to discern the bigger picture and to act accordingly. Conversely, not to do so is a sign of spiritual dullness and inattention (Matthew 16:1-3).

God working at every level

So what might be God’s lessons for Christians and the Church as we start to take stock of 2020 and Coronavirus? Now some might think even to ask such a question is a little parochial. Surely a global crisis of this magnitude is, if anything, God working at the macro and historic level of human activity – so isn’t it a little arrogant to think it should mean something to me personally or my local church?

But God is big enough to be working at all those levels simultaneously. Yes, there are aspects of Covid-19 that are clearly bigger than any individual or local church, but that doesn’t mean that God can’t also be speaking into our micro-situations too. The events of Solomon's life and kingship, for example, were in so many ways much bigger than him – but that didn’t stop God meeting him personally and probing his heart's desires (2 Kings 3:5).

PRUNING

So how might we understand our times? What might be the bigger picture or spiritual reality behind our churches being closed and having had our activities so severely restricted.

One possible way to think about it – is through the Biblical metaphor of pruning.

Pruning is an image used throughout Scripture – the picture of the gardener cutting back the tree, the bush, or the vine. It’s used to illustrate a number of aspects of God’s work.

Judgement

Isaiah in his judgement speech against the people of Cush writes…

For, before the harvest, when the blossom is gone
    and the flower becomes a ripening grape,
he will cut off the shoots with pruning knives,
    and cut down and take away the spreading branches. (Isaiah 18:5)

In other words, God is going to cut this haughty and arrogant enemy of God’s people down to size. It will be humbled.

Care

Conversely, however, pruning is also presented as a picture of care – that is, a lack of pruning could, in some circumstances, be a sign of judgement.

Throughout Scripture one of the pre-eminent pictures of Israel is that of a vine or vineyard planted by God Himself. In Isaiah 5 God’s care of this vineyard is described – its lovingly planted in fertile soil and guarded. It has everything needed for it to flourish and produce an abundance of good fruit.

Yet tragically its fruit is bad, sour and useless. It is, of course, the story of Israel and its failure to love and obey God. The result is the uprooting and destruction of the vineyard…

    it shall not be pruned or hoed,
    and briers and thorns shall grow up (Isaiah 5:6).

Thus the gardener’s care is withdrawn and the vineyard is left uncared for - abandoned to the weeds and thorns.

Gardener still at work.

Fast forward to the New Testament where both of these pruning images are brought together in John 15.

In fact, and let’s not miss this, Jesus’ take-up of the Vine picture is nothing short of startling, because he immediately states that he is now ‘the true vine’ (v1). That is, it’s no longer Israel - the locus of God’s people has shifted to Jesus! Which means to be part of God’s people now – you must be connected to Him!

God’s true and ongoing people are all in Christ – BUT the Gardener’s work goes on. The Father will continue to prune (v1). He will continue to judge - removing the fruitless branches (v2a). He will continue to care – cleaning and trimming the fruitful branches (v2b).

Gardeners will, of course, understand both these actions – stripping off the dead husks and rotten branches, while pairing back healthy growth and removing excess foliage.  All so that the plant can flourish and bear an even greater harvest in future seasons.

A time of pruning

Whatever else Lockdown has been – it has surely been a period of pruning. Christians and churches have been paired back and trimmed in a whole host of ways. At church level, so many activities suspended and cancelled. Personally, we’ve been paired back in our activism with many of our outputs and plans reduced or grounded.

Perhaps our very Christian identity has been pruned – public worship forced back to private devotion. Faith needing to become personal and individual again, our Christianity needing to be rooted in something deeper than being on a church rota. If what was ‘keeping us Christian’ was more duty than Jesus – then we can thank the Gardener for snipping us back.

Let me finish with two final questions to ponder.  

1. What has the Gardener being trimming that we ought not to try and re-attach?

Has there been excess foliage in our lives and/or churches? Where might old growth have been hindering healthier future growth? What good activities need to give way if new and better ministry is to flourish? Don’t rush to try and restart everything just as it was – there may be a reason the Gardener cropped it back.

2.  How can we ensure that going forward we remain connected and fruitful branches?

It seems that most of us and our churches will survive Coronavirus and escape the potential catastrophe feared just a few months ago. But what if it had been worse – or gets worse in an unexpected way? What if the casualty rates had been much higher, what if a total lockdown had been extended for months to come, what if our numbers and finances had been truly decimated?

The point of the question is not to be sensationalist – but to remind us that if our lives and churches are spiritually unhealthy and fruit-less now then we may have escaped complete removal this time – but next time we may not.  

So let’s abandon any policy of hoping that something will just ‘turn up’ to sort moribund spiritual lives or churches. Rather let Lockdown be a spur for renewed prayer, repentance, mission, and where necessary radical changes.

And may our experience of pruning now be the precursor to an even greater harvest in the years ahead for the Gardener’s glory.

Leaving Lockdown - Church Leadership Considerations

15th June 2020 
As of today churches in Scotland are still in 'Phase 1' of the Scottish Government's plan to ease Coronavirus lock-down restrictions. The move into Phase 2 is anticipated soon - and with that phase and those following (subject to the control of the virus) churches will have increasing freedom to resume some of their physical activities. 

An outline of how the different phases of lock-down might be particularly relevant to Scottish churches was circulated to FIEC leaders - with the following points of consideration attached....

1.  Don’t be a ‘rule-bender’.  ‘Private Prayer’ is not a cover for holding small meetings. Don't be tempted to hold a socially distanced get together under the guise of ‘private prayer’. Rather let’s be people of integrity and remember, as recent events have shown, even if we think our ‘exception’ is harmless or justified it can result in massive reputational damage.

2.  Do it properly. That is, have a thought-out plan that ensures seating keeps people a safe distance apart, insist on masks, cleaning, one-way systems, a cap on numbers etc. It’s how we love our neighbours and respect the civic authorities. It would be a tragedy if a church became a new Covid-19 hotspot because of the sloppiness or arrogance of Christians.

3.  Keep it sustainable. Many were exhausted having to set-up online ministry and changing to a whole new way of working at the start of the lock-down. However, that will probably be as nothing compared to rushing into having multiple socially distanced services on a Sunday in a hasty desire to try and get things back to normal. Remember until we get back to full normality things just won't be normal.

You’ll need to make a careful assessment of whether multiple and/or partial gatherings are a sustainable next step. It may be that your current online ministry will actually deliver more (sustainably) than what might prove to be exhausting but actually quite sub-optimal physical gatherings (e.g. it is not yet known whether congregational singing would be allowed?).

4.  Be understanding. Remember those who are particularly vulnerable and fearful – people who will be reluctant to be anywhere that heightens their risk of infection. They may not want (or in some cases be able) to gather anytime soon even as restrictions are eased.  So be mindful of them in weighing-up what and when to restart - and consider maintaining online ministry for them alongside any resumption of physical gatherings.

5.  Avoid criticism and competition. As more options open-up we will see different churches move at different speeds re: restarting their physical activities. These decisions will depend on a range of factors that only local church leaders can fully assess (e.g. make-up of congregation, size of building, geographical location etc).

So we should avoid any temptation to either criticism or competition.

On the former let’s refrain from passing judgement on others who we may think are either too quick or too slow in resuming activities. On the latter don’t be pressurised into making decisions that are not right for your situation just because of what others are doing elsewhere. Guard the flock God has entrusted to you!

For a more detailed consideration of planning for ‘Church while Social Distancing’, see the FIEC ‘Leaders in Lockdown’ Webinar slides & discussion at:

https://fiec.org.uk/resources/webinar-leadership-in-a-lengthy-lockdown

Life after Lockdown (Romans 8:18-25)

Throughout Romans, Paul highlights some of the tensions faced by Christians living in the world. 

For example, the tension between having new Holy Spirit given desires but still having an unredeemed body afflicted by sin, famously leading to the anguished cry:  

I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out. For I do not do the good I want to do, but the evil I do not want to do (ch.7).

Cosmic Lockdown

In chapter 8, he highlights that such tensions extend even to the level of the Cosmos itself. So even though the new age of freedom & liberation in Christ has broken into the world through the Gospel - the Universe itself remains in bondage & decay. The consequence of which is felt in our lives every day.

One of those effects can be to generate a huge sense of frustration in us. Christians ‘taste’, through the Holy Spirit, something of Christ’s good rule in their lives. Yet the ‘full meal’ and the complete satisfaction that would bring remains elusive.  So we live, all too aware (painfully at times), that our greatest hopes are yet to be fully realised.

God’s Lockdown

The middle section of Romans 8 paints a very vivid picture of that strain. We continue to inhabit a creation, including our bodies, that is still subject to decay & death. It’s a creation where things go wrong, malfunction and fail. It’s a universe longing to be free but is held back & suppressed under the ongoing ‘lockdown’ of God Himself (v20).

It is a state of affairs, Paul is very aware that can be particularly testing and wearisome for Christians. Indeed, it can even cause them to doubt their faith. Is the Gospel really true in promising new life and blessings? Why do my greatest hopes often seem so out of reach? Am I really a child of God when life seems such a challenge and feels so messy?

Which, of course, is why Romans, supremely ch.8, is written - to encourage & reassure us as we wrestle with this tension.

Our current ‘Covid-19 Lockdown’ is a microcosm of such frustration. It’s a living reminder of how tiring it is to live in state of limbo and restriction. Even after just a few weeks and despite the relative comforts many of us enjoy – many are getting bored by the smallness of life, its limitations and restricted routines. Many feel fatigued and worn-down by the confinement and lack of stimulation. Others are understandably anxious about the constant threat lurking out there to their security and health.

Getting back to normal

Not surprisingly then, most of us are longing to get back to normal. For the day when we’ll be able to go further than the local park and visit somewhere more interesting than Aldi - whether that be the thought of climbing some remote hills, or walking along a beach, going out for meal or flying abroad and exploring a foreign market.

We want to be able ‘to do life’ without the worry of harming others or being harmed. Of getting back to work without the inconveniences and worry of financial loss or economic calamity.

And oh! – to have the physical human company again of separated friends and family. To sit around in the same room, to share a meal, and greet each other with a hug.

The lifting of our Covid-19 lockdown will be a great day but, as Romans 8 reminds us, the greater Cosmic Lockdown will still be in place. Our lives will still be restricted by our frail bodies and we’ll continue to contend with a cursed and dysfunctional world. Our work and best efforts will still be subject to uncertainty and decay. And those we love will continue to be separated from us (death is not reliant on Covid-19).

Life after Cosmic Lockdown

So, as we long for the lifting of our Covid lockdown it’s a reminder to keep longing for Christ and His Return. Because only then will there be the final liberation from all that binds and frustrates us. Only on that day will there be complete:

Liberation: freedom from sin, no more hurt and no more hurting;

Restoration: the reversal of decay & decline, no more loss;

Reunion: no more tears, no more separation.

But best of all, we will see Jesus and be like Him. We will experience, finally and fully, life lived in the inexhaustible joy & blessing of God. The ‘full meal’ - satisfied forever!

This is our true hope, so wait patiently for it (v25) - the great and ultimate lifting of all Lockdown.

Psalm 20 - Praying for Leaders

"Praying for Leaders" Psalm 20 (Psalms for the isolated) from Greenview Church on Vimeo.

Psalm 8: Pt.3 - Jesus (4 min Reflection)

Psalm 8: Pt.2 - Humanity (5min Reflection)

Psalm 8: Pt.1 - God (4min Reflection)

A message in the mess (Joel & the Coronavirus)

The Prophet Joel & Coronavirus 

Strange Days! Unprecedented!

‘Has anything like this ever happened in your days…? [1]’

The mess

A huge shock to the system, coming out of the blue and leaving a whole nation reeling and bewildered. All the more disconcerting for God’s people, already a faint shadow of their former glory. The last thing this already depleted people needed was another assault on their viability and religious life.

Yet there they were – engulfed in an unfolding social and economic crisis. The cause 2,500 years ago was a plague of locusts – an uncontrollable and devastating force [2]. Tiny creatures, able to lay 60,000 eggs in 40 square-inches of soil, whose young could crawl in their millions up to 600 feet a day – leaving absolutely NOTHING in their wake.

The effect was to shake the very foundations of society. Even the normally most oblivious and cushioned were compelled to take notice of it [3]. From top to bottom no-one could escape its far reaching consequences.

Most perplexingly of all for the people who called themselves ‘God’s people’ was the impact on their worship. The economic ramifications struck at their ability to make Temple offerings and maintain the structures of regular (indeed God commanded) ministry [4].

The message

In 2020 the books explaining the story of Covid-19 and its effects are doubtless already being written. They’ll be full of medical detail, analysis of governmental responses, reflections on globalization and predictions about its future social impact. There will be many practical lessons to be learnt – but what about the spiritual ones?

For ancient Judah, the prophet Joel was adamant that there was a message in the mess – a message from God Himself.

Now we are not ancient Israel, so we must be wary of ‘going all Old Testament’ in times of crisis. The health and well-being of the ‘land’ is not a direct barometer of the Church’s spiritual condition and we must be very careful not to simplistically conflate the two.

Nonetheless, just as God was the commander of the locusts [5], every virus is his foot soldier and he determines their paths. His ways are never arbitrary but always purposeful. He is the God who speaks in every circumstance if we have ears to hear him.

So what might the message be….

1.     Life is fragile and you are not in control

The practical blessings of our C21 ‘Western’ world are many and obvious. Technology, medicine and prosperity have given our generation a freedom from fear and suffering unrivalled in history. The danger, however, is that this lulls us into a sense of invincibility or hubris, all the more if we enjoy decent health and stable employment.

Covid-19 is a stark reminder that the tipping point between calm and chaos is very finely balanced. Just as the locusts came seemingly from nowhere – so our lives and even society can be quickly overturned. It’s a reminder to be humble, to remember our creatureliness, and to remember who is really in control.   

2.     You need a bigger hope

We can be thankful for government and those God-ordained structures able to mobilise resources and help mitigate the effects of a threat like Covid-19. Yet for all the effort and billions of pounds spent many individuals are still going to lose their jobs, lose loved ones and even their own life.

If our hope is anything less than God, it will let us down. There is nothing in this world, we can anchor ourselves in, that circumstances can’t sweep away. If your ‘security blanket’ is your money, the financial system can beggar you overnight. If your comfort is your abilities or status - then sin, crime or circumstances can take them all. If your ‘life back-stop’ lies in any other person then death will ultimately crush it.

Only God is big enough to guard your soul in this broken and afflicted world. 

3.     Stop, and start seriously engaging with God

Joel’s people were no doubt confounded by the idea that God might be behind anything that would stop their religious activities. After all, surely that’s the one thing God would want to continue.

But what if those activities had become a surrogate for real heart relationships with God? Maybe not for everyone, maybe not even the majority – but for such significant numbers that God was moved to press the ‘pause button’ on his own people.

Joel’s message was a call to return to the Lord, not outwardly but inwardly– ‘rend your heart and not your garments [6]’. The coming weeks will be a test of this – will we take the opportunity to seek Jesus afresh in our lives? Will we have a sense of urgency to engage with God personally, pushing beyond a reliance on inhaling the prayers of others and living off third party devotions?

Will we see the coming weeks as a holiday from church or will we mourn its loss? Perhaps this is a God given moment for us to repent of all the ways we have taken our fellowship for granted.

May our response be to plead with God to restore us again, and to be renewed in our love for Christ and our dependence on Him.    

Return to the Lord your God,
    for he is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and abounding in love,
    and he relents from sending calamity.
Who knows? He may turn and relent
    and leave behind a blessing [7]

---

[1] Joel 1:2

[2] 1:4, 6-7; 2:6-9

[3] 1:5, 16-17

[4] 1:13

[5] 2:11

[6] 2:13

[7] 2:13-14

The Creaking on the Stairs - 4 Reflections

The Creaking on the Stairs (Christian Focus, 2019)

Mez McConnell

It wasn't a book that I wanted to read - I'm the kind of person who changes channel when the News reports on an abuse story. But I did read it for a number of reasons - firstly I know Mez (so thought it would good to be able to say I had), secondly Safeguarding is such a huge issue for churches that no-one in ministry leadership can side-step it, and thirdly because the prevalence of abuse begs a Christian response.

I won't try and summarise the book, others have done that and reviewed it helpfully elsewhere (see links below). My purpose here is simply to add my recommendation and in doing so outline four big impressions the book made on me.

1.       The Reality of Human Depravity: there is no shortage of examples of cruelty and wickedness perpetrated by one human being upon another in our world - so I guess we should be used to it. Nonetheless the book brought home again just how broken and inexcusably sinful humans can be. It was the gratuitous nature of the abuse that was most shocking, people weren't acting under orders - it was needless and unprovoked. But more frightening, as Mez points out, is the fact that everyone of us sits on that spectrum - whether it's petty selfishness or barbarism – if the potential of our sin doesn't scare us we haven't understood it.

2.       The Resilience of Human Beings: victims of abuse are often horribly damaged by the experience. Mez’s story of his descent into drugs and crime is one such example. Yet there is also the amazing capacity of victims to function despite the abuse – I don’t mean without effects – but despite the abuse they do what they need to do in school, when the visitors come round, they get on with the ‘normal stuff’. Victims, Christian and non-Christian, hold down jobs, look after others, get on with life – despite the wound in their souls. There is something extraordinary about this - and a reminder that even the most sorted people might be carrying a terrible burden inside them.

3.       The Nihilism of a World without God: the book is very honest about the mystery of such suffering in this world and avoids any cliched or trite responses to it. But as perplexing as it can be for a Christian to respond to abuse, the alternative - that this world is essentially a meaningless merry-go-round of arbitrary events with no meaning and no purpose – is surely the final insult to victims of abuse. The ultimate conclusion of such a worldview is that you have no point, your suffering has no point – in the final analysis you don’t really matter and your experiences are worth even less than that.

4.       The Vastness of the Gospel: in the face of the worst human suffering and loss it's common to say that nothing can ever make up for it and there can be no complete recovery – and of course in this life that is undoubtedly true. But as Mez points out, it's not eternally true - there is something bigger than even the worst human suffering, there is something greater than even our greatest losses. In Jesus there is someone who looked full-on at all the unspeakable horror of abuse - who took it upon himself and swallowed all its deadly pain and consequences. It sounds too good to be true, too good to believe – but that is the vastness of the Gospel – there will be no victims in heaven.

I’m grateful for Mez and for a book I didn’t want to read. It disturbed me and challenged me, but in the end made me even more grateful for a Saviour who suffered abuse, who understands abuse and who alone can provide eternal healing for the abused.

Reviews 

https://fiec.org.uk/resources/the-creaking-on-the-stairs 

https://www.challies.com/book-reviews/the-creaking-on-the-stairs/
https://www.9marks.org/review/book-review-the-creaking-on-the-stairs-by-mez-mcconnell/