I've been reflecting a little on an article published in the Daily Telegraph recently: When churches go woke, they die by Michael Coren. Coren, who has long enjoyed controversy and has moved through both religions and denominations, was ordained to the Anglican Church of Canada in 2019, reflects on his breadth of experience.
Certainty
The click bait headline caused a flurry on a couple of the corners of social media that I lurk in and drew me into reading it. His argument is that churches that merely reflect a replica of secular society with a holy veneer offer nothing to the world beyond their doors. It is not social values he seeking to critique but a lack of robust theological engagement. Coren’s point is that groups that have a solid understanding of their faith and a worship structure that creates a sense of ‘other’ in which to encounter God are more attractive to those who encounter a world of constant changeability and uncertainty.
Clarity
Christianity is not about being a 'good person' earning one's way to heaven (or out of hell) by doing good things. Neither is it about an iron-clad set of rules that shackle us to a way of life that alienates us from those around us. Nor is it about being able to dazzle or confuse people with blinding rhetoric. Nor is it a cosy blanket to hide in from the world around us.
In truth, Christianity is not about us at all. Christianity is about so believing what the Apostle John so succinctly stated in John 3:16-17 that it becomes intrinsic to all that we do, say, and are.
‘For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish but may have eternal life.
‘Indeed, God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
John 3:16-17
Central to the understanding of Christianity are the incarnation, crucifixion, resurrection, and ascension. That is that God so loved us that God became like us so that we might share the Divine life.
This is not a certainty that can be learned or earned. This is the Grace of God that is beyond all understanding, that is shared with us not that we might show it off - but that we might share it to.
Confidence
Going beyond the loaded language of the headline and first paragraph, there is a really important point in the article. If we cannot articulate what we believe and why we believe it with confidence; how can we share our faith with clarity - as we are bidden to do. This is not about academic theology or an arrogant dismissal of other viewpoints.
The core of Christian confidence is not about being armed with arguments to defeat our opponent, or treats to lure people in, or platitudes to the outsider. At the core of Christian confidence is a humility that takes its lead from Christ, which is encapsulated in the hymn Paul quotes in his letter to the Philippians:
Let the same mindset dwell in you as was in Christ Jesus:
Though He was in the very nature of God,
He did not consider equality with God
something to be used to His advantage.
Instead, He emptied Himself,
taking on the very nature of a servant,
and being made in human likeness.
And being found in human form,
He humbled Himself
and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross.
Philippians 2:5-8
That is, to so love and serve God that it is God that shines through our lives. That is not a belittling of self it - is an active not getting in the way! There is a quote flying around the internet attributed to C. S. Lewis, although it is in fact from the writing of Rick Warren: humility is not thinking less of yourself. it's thinking of yourself less. (There is some background on this and what C. S. Lewis actually wrote of which the Warren quote is a fair summary in this piece by Aaron Armstrong.)
The confidence that Christians often lack is the confidence in themselves to adequately share the Gospel. "What if my arguments aren't good enough," "what if I put them off," "I'm nothing special why should they listen to me?" The point is that it is not about you! The simple confidence that our faith makes a difference is our lives is enough.
Churches that encourage people to engage with their faith and build up confident believers do well and grow - whatever their worship expression.
#misc
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