Rewilding The Church Pt 2
‘Proof is easy, faith is hard…work.’
Code Black
I watched an episode of Code Black (an American hospital drama where destruction and despair hit every few minutes) last week and the above line really stuck with me and made me think of our 6 week journey and Rewilding The Church. As Steve Aisthorpe says, it is really hard to follow someone you can’t see, or even believe in something that isn’t tangible, but that is the role of a disciple. We are called to follow Him, to put our trust in Him. It was hard in Biblical times for those who actually met and spent time with Jesus, yet alone for us who are so far removed from being in His physical presence. And yet it is what we are called to do. Follow Him. Therefore church shouldn’t be about belief and behaviour but more centred around the fact that we all have that one thing in common: discipleship.
“‘Come, follow me’, Jesus said, ‘and I will make you fishers of men.’ At once they left their nets and followed him.”
Matthew 4:18-20
We need to shift focus from piety and being in control, to reintroducing Jesus into our lives and being the focus of church. Jesus needs to be at the centre of everything that we do.
For this to occur, we need to stop and listen to what He is calling for us to do and in order to do that, we need to take time out of our busy days to pray and to listen to what He is putting in our hearts. Not only do we need to do this individually but we also need to come together as a congregation, as brothers & sisters in our discipleship of Christ, to see how He would like us to move forward together, here. Only then can we really put into practice what he wants from the church.
As with the Parable of the Sower, the church needs to be aware of the environment we are working within. With Jesus as the farmer, we know the seed itself is good and the climate He is sowing is good, we just need to be aware of the environment. That is the only variable. Looking at what is actually happening in UK church, there seems to be 3 types of soil:
- people shaped by Christian narrative and transformed by it
- people shaped by it and reject it
- people don’t know enough to have made a decision
The 3rd type currently seems to be the biggest segment within the UK. We as the church and disciples, have the chance to provide people with that knowledge, with that love and guidance to help them make a decision. But we need to focus on Jesus at the heart of everything.
That is why we are continuing on our listening journey as a congregation to really understand what it is God is calling us to do but also who it is He is asking us to become connected with.
So, please do try and set aside some time for Him in your day to listen to what He is calling for you to do. If it helps, you can find resources here to create manageable habits to cultivate your relationship with Jesus, or join in here with our new rhythm to create space for Jesus in your day to day.
If there is something that you would like us to bear in mind along our listening journey, please don’t hesitate to get in touch here, or feel free to share anything you would like us to pray for as a church. If you’d like to find out more about us as a church, check out our socials or get in touch.
