Today we move away from the sermon topics list a focus instead on some of the important issues that face us as a church.  The most important being how we engage with the future God would have us move towards.  I said a few weeks ago that the dry rot situation here isn’t something that should fill us with fear and dread as it can be seen as an opportunity to focus even more intently on where God is leading us as a church; it can be seen as a positive challenge.

The opening of Paul’s second letter to Timothy I think can give us some words of encouragement at this stage.  Paul opens the letter, as he does all his letters with a greeting that we now use at most services, and then goes on to hint at what the rest of the letter is going to be about, particularly that Timothy is going to need courage, faith and boldness to face all that lies ahead as he continues in the mission God has set before him; but Paul reminds Timothy, that he, Paul, has faced hardships too without giving up; and Paul assures Timothy of his constant prayers for him.

For us there will be many hard decisions to make as a PCC and congregation; for us there will be difficult and painful times ahead; but like Timothy, we face them with courage, faith and boldness in order that we may continue in God’s mission in this part of his kingdom.  God knows where he wants us; and he will equip us with everything we need to fulfil that mission.  But we need courage and faith to move forward with boldness – and by God’s grace it will be possible.

The first thing we are doing to discover where God is leading us is to have a PCC residential to think about: Where we are, where we are going and how we will get there.  And Joyce Humphries from the diocese will help us in this task.  The first thing Joyce will do is come here next Sunday to give everyone in the congregation the opportunity to feed comments into our discussions on the 19th and 20th October.  Then the PCC will try to discern where God is leading us.

As we begin this task in earnest, Joyce and I thought it would be of use to do some thinking today about change.  Like most people, change is something I don’t like too much of.  I feel happy and content in a world that has routine and familiarly.  I guess this has as much to do with my personality type as it does with some of the basics of our human nature that we all share.

As I began to reflect on change in terms of ecclesiology and faith something quiet profound surfaced.  As a community of faith we always have both change and constancy.  As a community of faith God is always leading us forward to new and exciting things; but there is always the constant and unwavering mission of God.  So as a church, in a sense, we should be well used to the idea of change and constancy.

Looking back through the history of the church, and back into the earliest stories of our faith we see great change.  In a sense Abraham is the father of change, as he is also seen and the father, the patriarch of the faith.  Abraham went through enormous change, leaving behind the stability of his homestead to wander through desserts with all he possessed.  Yet he was willing to leave security behind and be bold enough to follow where God was leading.  Even though he himself did not see the promise of God fulfilled in his lifetime, he lived by faith, and faithfully embraced the change before him.

Change has been a feature of the life of God’s people from the very beginning and continues through the history of Israel and beyond to us.  In the period of the judges to Kings change happens (and God says to Samuel, go with the change, they have asked for a King, so a king they will have).  In the various times of exile God’s people had to change; in rebuilding the community of faith changes were made; in Christ we see another call for change – to do things differently that God’s mission and purpose may remain constant.  The early church had to deal with many issues that involved change, and eventually lead to the formation of a new sect which has continued to grow and develop through the centuries (with and without conflicts, through reformation, schism and debate) to where we are now as the church. 

And change is still happening today.  The church has many debates to engage with nationally and internationally, and each will bring about change in one way or another.  And thank God that the church can and does change.  For faith is not a static thing.  Faith is vibrant, it is alive, with the very spirit of God; and everything that is alive changes.  Take me for example, or think of yourselves.  I have changed over the last 40 years.  If I hadn’t changed then I would still be an infant who was totally reliant on my parents to do everything for me.  Everything living changes and develops over time, it is the natural order of things in God’s creation to grow, to change and develop. 

St. Luke’s has changed over the years too.  And thank God it has, otherwise it would be a stale and static church that was buried in the past.  Now you will know from experience and from all that faces us that change can be uncomfortable, frightening and painful – no one can or should deny that.  Part of the task ahead of us is to think about this beautiful church building that many people have poured a lot of time and effort into – in a very real sense they have poured themselves into it, and it is therefore painful to see the dry rot and consider its future.  Change is painful at times, but without it growth is not possible.  When we were on holiday Hannah kept saying her legs hurt.  When we put a pair of cropped trousers on her we knew why – her legs had grown by a good inch – she’d had growing pains.  Through the pain Hannah had grown.  I know the pain we face isn’t in the same league as growing pains, but I mention it to remind us that change can be painful, but it is worth it for the growth that can come about.

Now we are at another point of change in the life of this church – and we are asking “Where, Lord, are you leading us?”  We have an opportunity to enter the next exciting phase of ministry here in this part of Chadderton as we ask that question and allow God to reshape us.

The necessity of change comes about through the constancy of God’s mission – this remains unchanging and at the heart of all we do in our prayer and worship and in proclaiming Christ – or to put it another way the continuing mission of God is: His relationship with his people and our mission is to be a blessing to others.

How we worship and how we engage with the world to proclaim Christ has over the years changed, and rightly so, as the world in which we live is a very different place now than it was 30, 50, 100, 2000 years ago.  But the heart of what we are about remains the same – having a living, vibrant relationship with God, and being a blessing to the world around us, that others might encounter God too.

So, as a church we have before us some decisions.  They are not decisions that will be taken lightly or without much prayer and discussion.  The first and most important task (prayer) has already begun, and I would encourage you to keep praying throughout this whole process; the next thing to do is engage with the material Joyce presents us with next week, so that your thoughts and feelings can be taken on board.  Then at the PCC residential we can begin to see where God is leading us.  After that we can have further discussions with everyone here before taking any resolutions. 

Change is not easy.  It can seem frightening, it can be painful; but change is always with us, and we know that if we follow where God is leading it is also exciting.  We therefore go forward in God’s grace; and to use the words of St. Paul, we do so “relying on the power of God, who saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works but according to his own purpose and grace.”  “God did not give us a spirit of cowardice, but rather a spirit of power and of love and of self discipline.”  Therefore we go forward with Him into the future, by faith.

Creation date : 13/10/2007 - 21:24
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