The Beaker Folk have been on at me. Apparently my statement that "there are no passengers in mission" has been dissected, digested and deliberated and the results are in.
It has been suggested that in fact the following people are entitled to be passengers in mission:
- People too old
- People too tired
- People too ill
- People who were just too ill and haven't really got over it
- People too sad
- People too confused
- People too young.
In fact, it has been suggested to me that maybe we should regard the people who really should be passengers as the mission field. Trying to bring in all the people that won't be passengers, so they can pull in others that are not going to be passengers... I mean, it's a bit Ponzi-ish isn't it? Are we, I have been asked, a hospital for the spiritually sick or a sales techniques training centre?
To which I can only say, get me some decent sales people. We haven't met our targets.
The hype of the new proposals about Mission in the CofE pushed by an elitist group who are based through HTB has dazzled those with the power to throw money around like confetti, all with the vain hope of convincing the test criteria of "The reasonable man or women in the street" that they too could join in with the great job of making HTB the centre of a national Church institutions. People are running scared that the CofE will be de-nationalised and will be subjected to a huge loss of privilege in the nations affairs, due to the national attrition of loss of worshipers will mean less money to pay for Bishops and Senior Clergy. If we all subscribe to the HTB Gospel, we will be guilty of deliberately alienating the few paying parishioners we have left and marginalizing many faithful members of the CofE, making the natural progress of loss even higher. I for one do not have enough room to host one of the thousands of new churches in my home, even building over the small garden. I keep reading of those "failing churches", which rely on a few faithful to keep them going, the arrogance of those using this language is breath taking. I volunteer at my parish, because I love God and love the people that I worship with. I don't need those who are directing all of this momentum telling me that I am a potential leader of a new Church Plant, I am not eligible as I am one of those grey haired people, who apparently are the problem, resistant to change of my culture. What I do know is that our parish is thriving, despite the pandemic, and will be thriving when I am long gone, because people value us as we are and are coming in a tiny trickle to actually become followers. Not in crowds, but as individuals who explore what we offer and stay because it is welcoming and attractive. Not a brisk cutting edge ministry, but a humble, loving demonstration of God's love in the community. Rant over.
ReplyDeleteThat’s a statement of faith, not a rant.
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