To stand on a boat and view the simplicity of The Abbey on Iona and then to stand in Goudi’s amazing unfinished church which seeks to emulate the shear awe and majesty of a medieval cathedral for me opened my mind to all kinds of questions. What do you say when you enter a building that has been under construction for over. Hundred years. The immense scale if this projects just cannot be taken in all at once.

Here is a sacred space in the making and it needs trucks and cement and noise and men in hard hats. And at least 2.8 million tourist every year all moving around in the very space that one day will be filled with worshippers to help complete this Herculean task. And whose to say that all the noise and glamour of this generation is less worthy to be called worship than that if the opening consecration service when ever it is. Gaudi was once asked how long it was going to take to complete. His reply was to the effect that since his client was God he didn’t operated within the same time constraints as we do. Moving round this amazing work site knowing it was started 100 years ago and it could take another 100 to complete it since it is only 50% complete got me thinking about the contrast all this is to modernity.

We live in a world of instant everything including instant church. Here is an amazing lesson for all of us . Some things take time to complete and it’s perhaps a challenge to all of us to be willing to start something for God that another generation will see through. Maybe we in the church have bought into the shirt termism of politics. Politicans often make decisions that are too short sighted because their thinking on the next election. Anyway I was moved to think that here was a project that is still under construction some 84 years after the main architect has died. And I was also
Challenged to continue to see that all of us are called to continue to build aspects if the Kingdom of God that we might never see. Here’s a thought what long term commitments will you support even if you know it might never be completely finished during your time on this earth? Is it the peace movement? Is it the whole ecology thing? Is it investing your financial wealth perhaps making it clear in your will that your money is going to serve God’s purposes even if you never see the final results.

People move around as though searching,
looking,
some leaning on sticks.
Some full of faith
Breathing in the worship space.

Candles lit in a circle of iron
Prayer requests
pinned to a cross.
Stone slabs neatly laid.

Stone crosses wooden beams
shaped and carved
by monks and masons
and men from Govan
Speak of human longing
to be forgiven.

And windows shaped in triune leaves
Speak of God the creator.
Light streams in
And the rain falls
upon the glass
And here we stand
In line from Columba

Engaged by the romance
are we tourists or traders
dsciples or devils?
Turning stone crosses to bread
Making holy symbols in to brands
Tourists and pilgrims
We make the cross
a touching place.
hands reach out to touch the pulpit
It’s message carved on wood
‘My word will not return to me void’

We visited St Andrew’s today. The town is getting ready for The Open which starts I believe on Thursday. I had a look out to see if I could recognise any famous celebrities – the thing is I wouldn’t know a celebrity anyway if I saw one on the street. St Andrew’s is usually full of all kinds of people who could quite easily be celebrities. It is really quite a cosmopolitan town. I suppose being a University community it attracts a wide range of people. Maybe every second or third person is a celebrity?

Anyway the weather was good and I was enjoying the sun streaming around me. I stopped at the corner where Holy Trinity Church stands and sat on a bench. Within a few moments a young woman appeared took out her guiltar and started struming. Could she be a celebrity – look closer, she was for me every bit a celebrity – totally brilliant!

Calvert argues that the way forward for the church is to engage with the broken parts of our societies and in doing so show that Christianity is not simply about sterile dogma and truth issues but it is about living these dogmas out in a practical way so that we reconstruct the Kingdom not simply through grand words but through postive actions that change the hearts and lives of communities. Well that’s how I’ve interpreted his contribution.

The dogma of secularity can be and often is overtaken by the pragmatic approach of secularists and Christians alike, who seek to subvert those who want to promote stereotypes when it comes to faith based organisations. The picture of the bread and the wine on the street is a subversive and converting idea. Offering communion on the street was enacting out in a powerful way the truth that Christ is reconciling the world to himself.

I believe the church has always been in a unique position to be the changemaker in our local communities. Surely, that is what the church was established by Jesus to do. Calvert points out that secularism is the result of the “Death of God Theology” As many of you know this kind of thinking can find its roots back to the philosophy of Emmanuel Kant. He sees us humans as disengaged,estranged from one another without relationship, he sees us humans as unwilling to except any law but our own, certainly no external laws from an external and eternal God.

Kant has had an enormous influence in the way that the modern world sees itself. There is little doubt that his philosophy has influenced the thinking behind social science and our religious studies, especially here in Europe. It means that human beings think they can find the answer from within themselves. This kind of thinking is prone to believe that the individual will always seek to establish himself or herself over against community. It is very Darwinian, the strongest always survives. Yet the paradox is that people are drawn to community yet feel and think community will always rob them of their freedom and perhaps their survival.

Now the Gospel of Christ proclaims a belief that you can only be totally free when you are in community and engaging in communion. The one and the many need not be mutually exclusive. The teaching of Jesus highlighted in John’s gospel is all about unity. The one and the many in Christ. Paul further explores this idea in Corinthians 12 when he speaks of the freedom of the different parts of the body within the unity of the one body.

It is this teaching that is at the heart of a new emerging church that I can see developing and making interesting subversive inroads into our secular society of the 21st century. Robert Calvert alludes to the fact that Orthdox Christians are now working in partnership with Christians from more Independent style churches. For me the miracle is that many more of the Independent Charasmatic churches are engaging with the more traditional or mainline churches. I was speaking to an Indian pastor who was staying with me last month from a small Independent church in Chemmai, he confirmed to me that many of the mainline churches in India are being influenced by the Indpendents and vice versa. This coming together to engage in acts of charity are all to my mind signs of the Kingdom. Often from this flows an exchange of worship styles and also the breaking down of barriers and walls that Paul speaks of in Ephesians.

It is not only a partnership with other churches that can change communities, it is also partnerships with local governments and other charitable agencies. The church can be truly ’salt and light’ when we work alongside others of good heart who want to bring about justice in the world. I can only talk for the UK but I am encouraged by the number of statuatary agencies and Charitable Foundations that are open and willing to help fund work of a social nature that is carried out by fgaith communities.

Firgive me referencing my own congregation but it acts as an example of engaging with the secualar world. We run four social outreach programmes out of our congregation here in Bo’ness as well as our international development work. A greater proportion of our funding comes from what we might call secular agencies. The BBC Children In Need fund our “Bounce Higher Programme, this is a programme that seeks to connect with children and families and offer them support and encouragement at various points in their lives where they might be feeling a bit vulnerable. Our programme supporting elderly people who suffer from dementia is partial funded by the Social Work Department, and our Christian Counselling programme is run out of the local Medical Centre. Our youth programme has developed and grown and has a not insignificant role to play in the local High School. Finally our not for profit media company is engaging with all kinds of projects and commissions both Christian and secular, including developing n online emerging church programme.

All this makes me aware of the great opportunities that are available to churches and Christian communities who want to begin to engage with the issues of our day. We may not start with handing out tracts and singing gospel songs but the reality is that sooner or later the topics of forgiveness and injustice guilt and truthfulness raise their heads and in the context of authentic relationship the gospel can be explored and received. Yes the Christian church needs to critically engage with the secular world and be shining examples of integrity and resourceful creativity. I am convinced that we need to reflect more upon what it means to be free in Christ and live for each other in community. To love God and serve the world and to also serve God and love the world. It has been my experience that very often it is Gospel and Communion that breaks open Dogma and Diversity. Communion holds diversity in unity and I think that’s not a bad piece of dogma.

Check out Robert Calvert’s Article

Of course when in London it is also an opportunity to take in a show. We managed to get tickets to go and see “Phanton of the Opera” now I must confess that I’m not a great fan of Lloyd Weber’s music to me much of it all sounds the same and it has a touch of the production line about it. But hey who am I to critise, one of the staff was telling me the show has been running for over 23 years in the same theatre and is played to packed audiences most evenings. So I guess there is a huge audience for musicals.

As I looked around at the packed theatre it got me thinking how many of our churches would be packed like this on a daily basis seven days a week? I began to wonder is their a story of faith that would engage people to the same extent. Any ideas? What would you make a musical about to engage people with faith issues? I’ve just read in the paper recently that the Vatican are promoting a three hour musical centred around the life and times of the late Pope John Paul the second. the musical is entitled ‘ Don’t Be Afraid” it would appear this was a phrase John Paul used a lot to inspire those round him to live lives of faith.

So why the photo? Where is the Guard? Well having a look around the Palace I thought there was milage in the idea of a Phatom of the Palace. But don’t be afraid. If you look closely you’ll see the guard is still on his horse its the way the photo has been taken.

Finding ways to connect with people is at the heart of the Gospel and of course the biggest connection of all is when a man or a woman discover the presence of God all around them. The thing is when this happens its “a God incident” its not something we can generate it happens in God’s time. I also think it happens when the Church is practicing what it means to be an everyday church. The truth is the church has to be an everyday church because its all about people living their everyday lives. Too often we still think of church as the building as a set of programmesas an organised identity. Church is not really like that at all. I think its a lot more messy than we’d like to believe. Jesus in his parables iis continually surprising people who want things to fall into a neat solution. he tells stories and parables that stretch our ideas of fairness and justice. He tells stories that often put the people who ae on the outside of religion more at the centre of true religion than those who are at the centre of religious organisations. It might even be that some of the organisations and structures and trappings of past religious experience may have to wither on the vine to allow the new branches the new grapes to begin to grow.

I’m becoming more convinced that God is working where he has always been working in the hearts and lives of individual people drawing them together by his Spirit to fulful his purposes in the world. Those of us who are used to thinking of church being church in a set way, we need to change if we are going to be part of the church of the 21st century.

Look into our building these weeks when the young people are off school and you’d think it was building site. There are just so many bits and pieces lying around the place. I’m ever thankful for our long suffering church cleaner who takes is all in her stride. Its also a parable the people and relationships are there to bring glory to God. the building has to be made to fit round the needs of the people not the people fitting around the building. Now that is our problem. We have an old building no longer fit for an everyday church. So here is the question what does a building being used by an everyday church look like? Do we need one building, do we need many buildings, do we need to use more technology? What is the 21st century church building to look like? let me hear your comments

I guess one of the things we want to be is authentic. We’re not trying to compete with the mega churches. Indeed we’re about trying to help local congregations see the advantage in them being local and streaming out their services. The thing we’re not doing it to get more people to come to church on a Sunday that might be an out come, but its not our primary reason. We all know there has been a shift happening in the UK and else where in the Northern hemisphere regarding church attendance on a Sunday. Many churches are praying for a revival that people will come back to church at 11.00am on a Sunday. I’m not sure that is going to happen.

I pray for the revival but we need to be open to see it happening in different ways. I just think we need to be open to the Spirit and ride some of the long waves and see where we end up. What we’re trying to do meantime with our church services on the net is to try and keep all kinds od people connected with their faith.

We’re doing it to help people who cannot attend church services because the time won’t work, or because they are miles away from a church with which they might connect. We’re doing it to serve.

Now if others can do the same thing and we have more churches streaming out worship who knows what effect that is going to have? One thing I know is that we had more people looking in on the internet than at church. Was that a bad thing. No, it was helping people engage where they were. In fact they too were at church or should I say at worship.

Here is a quote from an email from a person who looked in on our evening service last Sunday. ” The Communion service was inspirational. We four celebrated Communion with you and it was one of the most profound things we have ever experienced. To share such an event with family in one’s home brings one closer to the early church experience. No need then for black ties and silver vessels – and so it was for us as we joined your congregation on Sunday. Thank you ! ”

“So it was for us we joined your congregation” They joined because they felt they could belong around the Lord’s table in their own home. I think there is much more for us to think about here. Can we truly engage with communion over the internet? let’s here your views.

This was one of the themes picked up by Archbishop John Sentamu as he issued a reminder at the closing worship service of “Edinburgh 2010” in the Church of Scotland Assembly Hall. Alluding to the gospel account of Peter’s denial of Christ, Sentamu added: “Jesus today is on trial in the court of the world by our lips and lives. Jesus and his gospel are being judged.” Sentamu continued, “Human activity only begets human activity. The prophetic Word and the Spirit make us live.” His voice echoed with an evangelising passion that recalled preachers of the past who spoke in the same space. It was also reminicent of his recent visit to the CWW National Gathering in Edinburgh in 2008 when I had the privelege of introducing him to the 8,000 audience gathered at Ingliston. Archbishop Sentamu has been such an inspiration to many of us in Scotland and he was the ideal peron to bring the conference to a close.

PRAISE GATHERING 2010
All the good things were not just happening in Edinburgh, through in Glasgow, the Praise Gathering, under the leadership of Ian Watson was packing in thousands to the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall over a three night stint. I had the privelege of attending on the Saturday evening. It turned out to be a fantastic evening. What I like about the Praise Gathering is it lterally does what it says on the tin. Its about praise to Almighty God, and its not about celebrities. in many ways it seeks to pick up the theme of Hope and Humility.

The Director and Conductor Ian Watson has been a wonderful friend to all of us involved with Church Without Walls events. Over the last few years in Aviemore. His inspirational leadership in worship was quite outstanding. Ian has put together an extensive programme of praise music, for the Praise Gathering, in doing so he seems to be able to find the balance between a participatory element to allow his audience to engage with praise themeselves allowing them to become producers of praise, while at the same time offering everyone the opportunity to become a consumer listening to an amazing 400 voice choir sing a variety of pieces ranging from traditional gospel to more contemporary songs.

For me the highlight of the evening was an arrangement of the well known hymn “How Great Thou Art.” How they did it I don’t know but they moved from a lyrical ballad to a rockous gospel sound in less than a minute, greatly assisted by Gamu.

Now I said there were no celebrities but there was one outstanding star! Once again for me the evening highlight was the young Glasgow singer Gamucharai Nhengu (aka Gamu). She is a seriously talented young woman. The truth is the she brought the whole Concert Hall to life. She has amazing stage presence and for someone so slight one wonders from where does the voice come? To hear Gamu sing again it would be worth any Glaswegian brave the elements and venture east and attend the next Praise Gathering which takes place in the Usher halls Edinburgh on Saturday 19 June.

Over the past few weeks I’ve been talking to a number of people about Norman’s lecture. Helping people see the “Magic” is an important aspect of mentoring and encouraging leaders and even friends.

I know we don’t always succeed but I’m sure we all agrree that it is so important to try to bring out the best in the people we work alongside. Its so easy to be negative but there is a real joy that comes from connecting people to the “Magic” that Norman Drummond talks about. Encouraging people to rise to their real potential. I also liked one of Norman’s memoralble phrases when he spoke of our culture that is so often all about “valuing targets rather than targeting values.”

Norman’s theme was of special interest to two young teachers with whom i met up with last week. We had arranged a meeting to talk about ways in which we can help contribute as a Church, to the Curriculum for Excellence in our local Secondary School.

Both of the teachers were really passionate about what they were trying to deliver in their classrooms. They were also enthusiastic about the opportunities Curriculum For Ecellence will bring them giving them the freedom to create much of their own material.

It was good to work along side Lilias our Youth Worker as together we were able to make a contribution to the way christianity will be taught in the school. We’re hoping to use the Jesus Manifesto as reported by Luke at the end of Chapter 3 and the beginning of Chapter 4 as the starting point from which to introduce Christianity to all the first years.

I think its going to work. It will also allow the RE Department to engage with all kinds of links across the curriculum and also the community. While we were talking about all this the ‘Magic” appeared and it wasn’t long before we could also see the wisdom we wanted to share appear.

Using the words of Isaiah, Jesus tells his listeners, in the Gospel of Luke, that he has fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah. He suggests to them he will “bind up the broken hearted, set prisoner free, heal the sick, and give sight to the blind.”

Using this quotation from the Gospel, we will be able to make links for the school to the local prison, and connect the children with our various Church Outreach programmes, which are all connected in some way with healing.

In the school there are lots of connections with other subjects that can be formed. The history of Art, will allow the Art teachers if they so desire to see the importance of the parables of Jesus as retold by many of the classic painters. What I’m realising is that there are many opportunities available to share the gospel in schools through these creative educational opportunities.