Loving the Church of England…

Ambition

I think it was Nicky Gumble who said at the conference, ‘be ambitious as Christians’ because otherwise we are selling God short. Nothing is too great for God, scripture tells us that, but so often we sell ourselves short and as a result we sell God short. If we believe we are made in God’s image, if we believe that through salvation Christ lives in us, if we believe as Paul says ‘I can do all things through him who gives me strength’ then what are we waiting for? Think big, dream high, be led by God and the sky is the limit.

Transformation

One of the Anglican ‘Five Marks of Mission’ is ‘To seek to transform unjust structures of society, to challenge violence of every kind and to pursue peace and reconciliation’. So taking that a step further, I wonder, do we, as The Church or as the churches, actually seek to transform society? I still believe that the Church of England has a privileged position in society and a role to play in shaping that society. That role is fast waning, but let’s do something about that, let’s do something to help people believe in the church again, as a force for good in society. I heard a lot at the weekend about the William Wilberforce Trust and rehabilitation of ex offenders, addicts and the homeless, and it was an absolute joy to see people whose lives were broken beyond all imagination, now, clean, healed, restored, happy.  What if the whole church, and by that I mean all of us, not just the ‘powers that be’, actually worked together to see transformation happen?

Frustration

As I have said, I love the church but I also get frustrated with it and I know I’m not the only one! This morning when I was praying I had a real sense of God saying that we need to help people through their frustration. It seems so simple but often people get cross about things, or are particular about something within the church because they have a frustration with it. Whether that is the bureaucracy – needing a faculty which takes months just to put in a loo, or whether it is a lack in enthusiasm from within the congregation, or the dwindling numbers in the church, or the judgemental attitudes of some people, or the finger pointing… whatever it is, I think that most people in the church, have the good of the church in their hearts (and hopefully the love of Jesus too!). But people get wound down by the rules and regulations, the disappointments, the pain and so on, and as leaders within the church we have to enable people to see past that and to really to focus on why the church is there and what it can do to serve its parish or the community around it. 

So for me, all that is hopefully influencing what I do in my role, and where it takes me in the future I don’t know, but my dream is to see a Church of England that is playing a big part in transforming our society, seeing God’s Kingdom come and showing the love of Christ wherever we are… 

“For nothing is impossible for God” 

(Luke 1:37)