Letter from The MinisterRevd Bruce Waldron - December 2004
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| I received a letter today from the District Evangelism Enabler, Jane Loades. She is looking at ways that we help people to know about the Christian message and at the ways we might miss opportunities. She writes ... | ||||
| “This year I have been visiting coffee mornings, looking at them and asking a few questions, e.g., If I was someone who wanted to find out more about Christianity, would this coffee morning tell me that ‘God is good and Christians are OK?’ I hope to present my findings from the coffee mornings at the next District Synod.” | ||||
| A couple of thoughts occurred to me. Most of the evangelism (that’s a scary term to use in our church) is usually done through relationships. We sort of assume that people know what the Christian faith is about. What’s necessary is to bring them back to the church where they came from. | ||||
| That sort of thinking might be appropriate to many people but it is certainly a long way from reality. Many people haven’t a clue what Christianity is about, except that Jesus was a good man who might or might not have lived and Christians are religious and believe in God. Most people have never looked inside a Bible. They are a long way from even a basic understanding of what the Christian message is and would feel as alien going into a church as I would going into a Mosque. Jane has a point, but I think perhaps I would want to ask a slightly different question about coffee mornings “What is there available that would tell me something about the Christian faith?” | ||||
| I mean, we do believe that it is Jesus who attracts people, that the Christian gospel is at the heart of what people need to hear. Christians sometimes slip into the perception that its all about what a nice place a church is to come to. I would hate for anyone to feel it’s a nasty place but there needs to be a balance. The Christian Church is not a nice social club with a religious belief. It is always the messenger of Christ Jesus. If we lean too heavily on that we might ignore that our lives and how we relate is the proof of the pudding: faith makes a difference to how we live and how we relate. | ||||
| If we lean too heavily on relationships, all we offer people is how nice we are - and forget that sometimes what is needed is a way into understanding what the Christian faith is about. | ||||
| So next time we have a coffee morning, lets ask two questions ... | ||||
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If I was
someone who wanted to find out more about Christianity, would this coffee
morning tell me that ‘God is good and Christians are OK?’ |
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| I suppose we could start asking that question about every activity we engage in. It might be very helpful to people who come to our doors with a question in their minds. | ||||
| God
bless and keep you. Bruce |
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