www.eauk.org/idea
T H E M AG A Z I N E O F T H E E VA N G E L I C A L A L L I A N C E
The intergenerational Church
SURVEY RESULTS
The relationship between generations in Church
THEOLOGY
60 SECONDS
YOUNG AND OLD
Are we reaching all ages all the time?
GOOD QUESTION
BIG INTERVIEW
GOD OF THIS AGE
How the nativity teaches us the importance of age
CONNECT
The 9-5
JULY/AUGUST 2016
NEWS COMMENT FEATURES
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Amaris Cole: Marriage, mortgages and millennials vs
CONTENTS
boomers – read what evangelicals think about the relationship between generations.
idea-torial I’ve spent most of my life trying to be older. I couldn’t wait to leave school, get a job and spend my time in the big city. When I got there though, I realised the people I met thought I was too young to join them. I spent the first three years of my career trying to look, sound and act older than I was, fearing the question that followed me wherever I went: “How old are you?” Even now I get asked it. Age is just a number, people say, but if that number is too small, people presume you don’t know what you’re doing. If it’s too big, you’re past it, according to recent media reports about female newsreaders of a certain age. Our society is obsessed with age. Creams to look younger. Media personalities sacked for being too old. Girls having babies too young. Millennials getting married too late. First-time buyers becoming middle-aged. Children growing up too fast, wearing clothes meant for teenagers and searching for their identity in the grown-up world online. And the Church isn’t any different. We section generations off. Divide them physically on a Sunday morning, often. Different ministries for different ages. Age matters. We can never escape.
FIVE THINGS I DIDN’T KNOW UNTIL THIS ISSUE
50 per cent of Middle East is under 25
…and 24 per cent of young adults in the region are unemployed
3.3million 20 to 34-year-olds live at home
The oldest MP in Britain is more than four times the age of the youngest
The average age of the most frequent gym users is 67
But is this the right way to go about it? We explored. We have brand new research on page 14 and 15 from our intergenerational Church survey. Marriage, mortgages and millennials vs boomers – read what evangelicals think about the relationship between generations. We then also take a look at how the Church can cater for the elderly better on page 24 and 25, what children can bring to the Church rather than just receive on page 27, and look on page 18 and 19 at how retirement looks very different for today’s 50 and 60-year-olds. We love hearing from you about idea magazine, so please do connect with us on social media, with the hashtag #generationchurch, or send me an email. Amaris Cole Editor @AmarisCole
We’re on Twitter! Follow us @idea_mag
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FEATURES 18 – 19 What the sandwich generation means for the Church Today’s 50 and 60-year-olds are sandwiched with responsibility – often looking after elderly parents and accommodating grown-up children.
20 – 21 United voice in a divided region: how social media is evangelising the youth of the middle east SAT-7 not only unites presenters from different Middle East cultures, it connects viewers from 25 countries. Read more about the Alliance member’s work.
27 A Church for children that goes beyond Sunday school What are we doing to make sure that as children learn about God’s word, they are also learning how to serve His Church?
REGULARS 6-7 Connect News from across the Alliance
12-13 Theology What does the Bible say about an intergenerational Church? Respecting the old and favouring the young explored.
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14-15 Research results The results of our latest survey into the intergenerational Church. How do the generations relate to one another?
26 Good Question What does the Bible say about doping? Christians in Sport examine the real reason it’s a sin, ahead of this summer of sport.
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IN THE THICK OF IT.
Once upon a time, children did colouring and older people went to the WI. Now, it’s all changed. Check out the things you’re now allowed to do – whatever your age.
Head Office Evangelical Alliance has moved:
Email address changes to members@eauk.org
176 Copenhagen Street, London N1 0ST tel 020 7520 3830 [Mon – Fri, 9am – 5pm] fax 020 7520 3850 info@eauk.org www.eauk.org
Northern Ireland Office First Floor Ravenhill House 105 Ravenhill Road, Belfast BT6 8DR tel: 028 9073 9079 nireland@eauk.org
Evangelical Alliance leadership team Steve Clifford, Helen Calder, Gavin Calver , Fred Drummond, Elfed Godding, Dave Landrum, Peter Lynas, Chine McDonald
Wales Office 20 High Street, Cardiff CF10 1PT tel: 029 2022 9822 wales@eauk.org Scotland Office Evangelical Alliance Scotland, Blair Court, 100 Borron Street, Port Dundas, Glasgow, G4 9XG tel: 0141 353 0150 scotland@eauk.org
The Evangelical Alliance. A company limited by guarantee Registered in England & Wales No. 123448. Registered Charity No England and Wales: 212325, Scotland: SC040576. Registered Office: 176 Copenhagen Street, London, N1 0ST
JULY/AUGUST 2016
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CONNECT
Why should your church become a member of the Evangelical Alliance? The results are in from our reader communications survey, and we’re thrilled that the majority of our supporters are pleased with the way we communicate. We asked readers to tell us if their church was a member of the Evangelical Alliance, and the split between yes and no was even – with 46.3 per cent of respondents each way, and just over seven per cent saying they didn’t know. When we asked why these churches weren’t members, some said they weren’t sure why churches should join. Well, we have the answers. We’re a founding member of the World Evangelical Alliance, a global network of more than 600 million evangelicals. As a member, your church becomes part of this network, hearing the latest about what God is doing through His Church, and receiving resources and access to our members’ combined expertise. The Alliance believes the Church is key to long-lasting change in this country - and that by working closely with our amazing members, we can transform our communities with the good news of Jesus. BENEFITS OF JOINING THE ALLIANCE: • Representation on a national scale, as we speak on your behalf to government and the media • An opportunity for your church to respond to God’s call for unity • Use of the “member of Evangelical Alliance” logo for your website and letterheads • Three copies of idea to circulate in your church • A monthly Headlines email and a sign-up to all our e-letters, helping you build up your leaders and resource your church for mission • A direct line to our media team • Discounted media and advocacy training, helping your church engage with your local media and local government • Discounted membership of the Churches Child Protection Advisory Service (CCPAS) which includes access to their disclosure service, Safe & Secure safeguarding material and latest news updates • Priority admission of children from your congregation to some Church of England schools For more information, visit eauk.org/join
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News from the Alliance across the UK
Alliance appoints new director of finance and operations
Emrys Jones
The Evangelical Alliance has appointed Emrys Jones as the new director of finance and operations, as Helen Calder leaves the role after 17 years in the team. Joining from Alliance member organisation Care for the Family, where he served as director of operations, Emrys is a chartered engineer and business graduate, who has held a number of senior management positions. He said: “I feel immensely privileged to be joining the Alliance and its leadership team at a time when evangelical Christians are finding new opportunities to join together in mission, develop a greater confidence in the gospel, and to become more effective catalysts for a better society. “I’m looking forward to helping the Alliance deliver the greatest impact from the resources with which it has been so graciously blessed.” Emrys has also been a trustee of many Christian charities and is a member of his local church, part of the Salt & Light family, and lives in rural Leicestershire.
And we’re live! Are you following us on Twitter? Have you liked us on Facebook? If not, you’re missing out on exclusive content. The Evangelical Alliance is now using Facebook to broadcast to our followers live, using a new function released recently on the social media site. Interviews with our staff, member organisations and big names have all been streamed live to Facebook, giving you the chance to not only interact with the Alliance, but also ask questions of people like Gavin Calver, director of mission, and evangelist and author Rico Tice. If you’re on Facebook, search for us and make sure you click Like. To be alerted when we go live in future, go to the Like button, look at the drop down list options and ensure it’s set to On. We also share exclusive material and break news of our latest work via our Twitter account. Search: @EAUKnews if you have Twitter.
Five prayer points for the Alliance We are so encouraged by your prayers for this work – thank you. Join with us in July and August for these five things: 1. Praise God for the success of the London Church Mayoral Hustings, which the Alliance held on 19 April at Kensington Temple, in partnership with Churches Together in South London. It was a wonderfully engaging and informative evening, with the five major parties represented, and the opportunity for Christians to bring faith to the foreground in the mayoral election. 2. Please pray that the Church will truly be a home for Christians of all generations; pray that believers young and old will find a sense of belonging and community, and that we would all learn from one another, no matter the stage of life we are in. 3. Join us in praising God for the work of Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland Evangelical Alliance, who worked hard, through hustings events, resources and speaking engagements, to help Christians engage in the recent Northern Ireland Assembly and the Scottish Parliament Elections. 4. Please pray for the UK and Europe in the wake of June’s EU Referendum. Please pray that our leaders will demonstrate wisdom and clarity in all their decisions, and that we as the Church would have opportunities to respond to the challenges of this time in a faith-filled way. 5. Please pray for our newly-appointed director of finance and operations, Emrys Jones, who comes to us with the encouragement and blessing of Care for the Family, with whom he worked for a number of years. Please also pray for the outgoing director of finance, Helen Calder, please pray that she would be blessed in all her future endeavours.
CONNECT
Waleswide: ground-breaking book to change Welsh evangelism A significant conference is being held in July at two venues in north and south Wales on the state of Christianity in the nation. At the conferences a new book will be launched. Written by David Ollerton, A New Mission to Wales is a detailed analysis of Christian mission in the nation, both from a historical and current perspective. The book’s findings will be discussed and every delegate attending will be given their own copy. A New Mission to Wales builds on the findings of Waleswide’s 2012 survey, which sought to explore the reasons why some churches are growing in the nation despite steep decline in others. In particular, it identified so called 5:2 churches. These were churches that had seen at least five conversions between 2000 and 2010 and at least two in 2010. The survey argued that these conversions were symptomatic in churches that engaged in their communities in seven different ways. These were often through mercy ministries, work with children and young people and also evangelistic endeavours. David’s latest work contains the same rigorous approach adopted in 2012, featuring more than 300 questionnaire responses and more than 80 interviews with leaders in Wales. In addition, A New Mission to Wales contains an array of charts and graphs plotting spiritual growth and decline. At its heart is a recognition that the churches experiencing the greatest
growth are those that embed the gospel of personal reconciliation through the cross in all they do and say. The book is a plea for greater missional imagination, with less emphasis on attractional models of mission with Christians living out the gospel in their communities. The book says: “Churches that are relational, not formal, in their life, contemporary in their style, and centrifugal in their mission are the churches that are growing both numerically and in their influence. It is also worthy of note that more than two-thirds of 5:2 churches were Pentecostal or new church/charismatic in expression, whether independent or of Baptist affiliation. Expectation of the miraculous and the Spirit’s present work would seem to be a key ingredient of mission.” David Ollerton said: “The distinctives of Wales’ religious, geographical, ethnic, cultural, social and political contexts call for a careful understanding and adjustment to the missional needs of Wales. People often look back to halcyon days of revival, full chapels and celebrity preachers without realising that modern Wales is now a largely secular nation. “With its own devolved government and institutions, there is a growing sense of national identity; an identity that is increasingly multi-lingual. The Welsh language remains strong in many parts of Wales, but modern mission must reflect the
What kind of Church? The film
After the success of the “What kind of Church?” booklet, the Evangelical Alliance in Scotland produced eight three-minute films looking at the connection between Church, mission and culture. The films have been had a huge response, with more than 25,000 people watching them and hundreds of churches sharing and showing them. The feedback has come from all over the UK, along with other parts of Europe and the US. Many churches are now using both the booklet and films as a basis for a teaching series. If you haven’t seen the films yet, have a look at the Evangelical Alliance website and the Alliance Scotland Facebook page.
The tour Replying to the demand to chat more about church and mission, the Alliance team went on a tour, taking in Inverness, Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow. The team met more than 100 church leaders and shared the vision of a Church that is confident in the gospel, understands the times we are in, and lives to honour Jesus and transform community. To see real change, risk is needed, along with passionate people who love Jesus and long to see the kingdom come. It needs to be done together. JULY/AUGUST 2016
needs of the local population. Mission must not be tied to nineteenth century solutions that presume that Wales is still a nominal Christian nation that will come to church if asked.” Elfed Godding, Evangelical Alliance Wales’ national director, said that this is a gamechanging book. “There is now an urgent need to create a new and sustainable missional future for Wales, where the unchanging good news of the gospel meets the rapid changes all around us. I believe that A New Mission to Wales could provide a road map for leaders and others seeking God’s kingdom to come in our nation.” A New Mission to Wales is published by Waleswide and Cyhoeddiadau’r Gair and will be made available in Welsh and English to delegates at its conferences at Brackla Tabernacle, Bridgend on Tuesday, 5 July and Kinmel Bay Church, Rhyl, on Thursday, 7 July. Waleswide is a church planting and strengthening network, working in cooperation with evangelical denominations and groups.
Get even more from idea magazine Did you know you can read the entire edition of idea online? If you love this issue and want to send it to your friends or family, or want to read it on the go without taking the physical edition with you, log on to eauk.org/ idea. The main features and articles of the edition are also online as web pages, making them easy for you to share on your own Facebook page or Twitter, or to email to friends. More articles and features also go up throughout the month, so go online to find more content before the next idea lands on your doorstep. Our recent communication survey shows many supporters don’t realise we post news stories and features daily on the Evangelical Alliance’s main website, eauk.org. It’s the best way to keep in touch with all our work, so do make sure you go online regularly if you’re able to. Twitter: @EAUKnews Facebook, search: Evangelical Alliance Website: eauk.org IDEA MAGAZINE / 7
AROUND THE WORLD EVANGELICAL ALLIANCE
ALLIANCE CONTINUES TO SERVE REFUGEES IN EUROPE
WEA GRIEVES DEATH OF ENOCH SIRIKUL Enoch Sirikul, chairman of Thailand Campus Crusade for Christ and the Thailand Evangelism and Church Growth Committee, has died after a sudden heart attack on 29 April. Enoch was a key leader of the evangelical movement in Thailand, being part of the Evangelical Fellowship of Thailand.
Enoch Sirikul
Bishop Efraim Tendero, secretary general of the World Evangelical Alliance, said: “We’re saddened by the unexpected departure of our dear friend Enoch, who was a faithful servant of Christ and the great visionary leader who has mobilised the evangelical Church in Thailand to have significant growth and progress. “We’re comforted to know that he is now with the father in heaven who has called him home, and we pray that God’s peace and grace will be with his family.”
US PASTORS KEEP SILENT ON FINANCIAL PRESSURES Research released from the National Association of Evangelicals (NAE) has revealed that many evangelical pastors in the United States serve in small churches with significant personal financial challenges, which they don’t share outside their own home. Leith Anderson, president of the NAE, said: “The vast majority of pastors faithfully serve in small churches and face financial challenges stemming from student debt, low salaries and medical expenses. And sadly, they often feel they have no one to turn to for help.”
Many US pastors do not receive financial training.
The poll, conducted by Grey Matter Research in July 2015, found that of the 4,249 pastors surveyed 80 per cent serve in congregations with fewer than 200 people, and 55 per cent have fewer than 100 people in their church, with half of the pastors serving churches with annual budgets under $125,000. More than 85 per cent of pastors said they didn’t receive financial training from their seminary and 37 per cent are not familiar with what resources their denomination offers for personal finances. “The NAE is committed to developing solutions for the financial pressures pastors face,” said Brian Kluth, NAE project director. “We are excited to help pastors move to a place of greater financial health — freeing them to lead their congregations well.”
The European Evangelical Alliance is continuing to build its store of resources for Christians supporting refugees. Partners across Europe have been contributing through using their expertise and networks to encourage Christians as they engage with refugees.
Refugees walk along Budaorsi Street on their way out of Budapest.
The resources include information on getting alongside Muslim refugees. The EEA says: “While many Europeans are fearful of Islam, we know that God is doing amazing things among Europe’s Muslims. “On the resource list, you will find guidance and training, courses to help Christians overcome fear, have faith conversations with Muslims and to welcome believers of Muslim background into the Church. There’s a great discipleship course and also links to various literature – apps, radio, film and books – for Muslims themselves.” Find out more at europeanea.org CHANGE OF RELIGION DISPUTED IN MALAYSIA The Christian Federation of Malaysia (CFM) has reacted with dismay that a Christian was challenged in his right to change his religion. Roneey Rebit, The CFM is part of the National who was born into a Christian family Evangelical Fellowship of that converted to Islam when he Malaysia. was a child, now wishes to practise his Christian faith, but the National Registration Department (NRD) appealed a Kuching High Court decision, which ordered the NRD to allow Rebit’s official conversion. The chief minister of Sarawak stepped in to obtain the assurance of the Malaysian prime minister that the NRD would not be appealing Roneey’s case. CFM are concerned that the NRD is not upholding the constitutional right of individuals to change their religion: “The CFM urges not only the NRD but all government departments to understand and to abide by the sacrosanct constitutional provisions in our Federal Constitution which provide for and protect the basic rights of the citizens of our nation. “There should be no perception of bias by government ministries, departments and agencies that deal with all Malaysians and their racial and religious diversities.”
ALL SYSTEMS GO FOR NEW AFRICAN HEADQUARTERS Building work on the new headquarters for the Association of Evangelicals in Africa (AEA) is well underway as planning and approvals work is completed. The building in Nairobi, Kenya, is expected to provide a base for a vibrant and sustainable AEA which is able to speak with credibility and effectiveness for Christians across Africa. Rev. Dr. Aiah Foday-Khabenje, general secretary of the AEA, said: “We have just received the certificate from the architects, stating the assessment of the quantity surveyor’s report for work done and subsequent payment to the contractor. We can now see the budding stages of the building coming out of the ground.”
Engineers discuss progress at the AEA headquarters site. IDEA MAGAZINE / 8
The AEA continues to fund raise for the project, inviting Christians across Africa to contribute to the project. Please visit their website, aeafrica.org if you would like to find out more.
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POLITICS
Politics
across the generations The oldest MP in Britain is more than four times the age of the youngest. When Mhairi Black won her seat in Paisley and Renfrewshire South in 2015, the political commentators went rooting through the archives to work out whether she was the youngest ever MP. Certainly no one younger has been an MP since 1832, and her candidacy was only possible since a change in 2006 allowing 18 to 21-year-olds to run for parliament. Politics affects people of every generation, so we took the chance to talk to a few politicians of different ages to hear about their experiences and political priorities. Fiona Bruce was first elected to parliament in 2010 after a successful career setting up and running a law firm in Warrington. Her time is now devoted to her work as an MP. She told idea: “I came into politics in my early to mid-40s, I had two children and I looked at the world they were growing up in and I felt that it could be better. We have a choice, we can stand on the side-lines or we can get involved and try to make a difference, so I thought I would get involved.” Bruce went on to comment on her motivation to get involved in politics: “As I practised law, there were laws that I felt could be fairer. There’s a huge amount of family breakdown in this country and I believe that government should invest more in strengthening family life, so helping young people when they start off together, or having children, to understand the skills
Godfrey Olsen
that are needed to have a strong and longlasting family life – to have parenting skills, because many families as I saw as a lawyer don’t have good role models now, they perhaps haven’t had a strong family life that they have grown up in.” New to elected politics this year is Kate Forbes, who this spring became the MSP for Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch. Despite only being 26, Forbes has almost a decade of political experience behind her, beginning with delivering leaflets for the SNP when she was 17. When asked about her proudest political achievement to date, she didn’t hesitate but responded with her recent success: “Winning my first election with a 9,000 majority!” As she gets settled into Holyrood, Forbes told idea that her priorities would be focused on “anything to make the Highlands thrive, particularly, reliable broadband to every home and business and upgraded trunk roads in the Highlands.” Another young entrant into politics was Godfrey Olsen, who first ran for election to the local council when he was just 22, in 1952. Olsen explained what happened next: “In 1955 I was offered a seat to represent Chandler’s Ford, the ward in which I lived. I was 25 and continued to represent the people of Chandler’s Ford throughout my service on Eastleigh Borough Council. After 61 years I decided this year not to seek election. For most of my time on the Borough Council I served as Conservative group
Politics affects people of every generation, so we took the chance to talk to a few politicians of different ages to hear about their experiences and political priorities. IDEA MAGAZINE / 10
Fiona Bruce
Kate Forbes
leader, and served in many different roles including Mayor and Leader of the Council.” With such a lengthy period of service, Olsen looks back with some pride at some of his accomplishments: “Among the achievements that gave me pleasure and satisfaction was opposing a plan to demolish up to 1,000 houses in the Eastleigh town centre and instead give owners money by way of improvement grants, so that they could bring houses built in the late 1800s up to modern standards.” Fiona Bruce also suggested a couple of achievements from her time so far in parliament that she was proud to have been involved in: “One of the things I’d seen as a lawyer was the problem that unmanageable debt caused to individuals and families. I felt that if they had a better understanding of how to manage their money through education earlier on in life they wouldn’t have got into some of the problems that they had. During the last Parliament, after I first entered it in 2010, I spent many years looking with a group of other MPs at how this issue could be addressed, holding meetings with experts, with organisations who deliver financial education in schools – many of them voluntarily – and then we wrote a substantial recommendation to government. In the autumn of 2014 it was made part of the school curriculum that every child in our education system would have financial education as part of their school life. “In this parliament, championing life and protecting the vulnerable at the beginning and end of life, and in particular defeating the assisted suicide bill was something that I will always look back on as a great privilege to have been involved with.”
JULY/AUGUST 2016
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THEOLOGY
by David Hilborn, principle of St John’s, Nottingham
Respecting the old and favouring the young David Hilborn explores key theological issues in the debate about intergenerational church. Generations make headlines. Media pundits and marketers routinely subdivide society into builders, boomers, X-ers, millennials or generation Z, and make much of each group’s supposedly distinct habits, attitudes and needs. Christian commentators follow suit, devising whole church structures and mission strategies around such divisions. Movements like Emerging Church and Fresh Expressions have formed on the premise that younger generations have been alienated from models of witness and worship devised by their elders, and require something radically different. But does segmenting society and Church into generational sub-groups like this have any theological warrant? Well, up to a point. But above all God’s mission is intergenerational - entrusted to a Church He has called to be one. The tendency to divide Church and mission into ‘generationally’ specific categories in fact has a quite recent history. As Charles Kraft observes, most Christians today have
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been influenced by a peculiarly modern assumption of ‘intergenerational antipathy’. In 1904 Sigmund Freud was placing unprecedented emphasis on the role of sexual development in human experience. In the same year the psychologist G. Stanley Hall highlighted puberty and its aftermath, and coined a term that we now take for granted: adolescence. For Hall, adolescents were shaped by hormonal “storm and stress” as they struggled to assert their own identity over and against their parents’ expectations. By extension, emerging generations were cast as inevitably rejecting the generation that had gone before. In the 1950s this analysis found expression in the rebellious screen performances of James Dean and Marlon Brando, and in the rock and roll of Elvis Presley. Films, records and fashion were tailored to a new target market: the teenager. Soon, intergenerational antipathy gained deeper traction in the hippie movement and radical student politics. Indeed, the now-familiar phrase ‘Generation Gap’ itself dates from the late 60s. No doubt, scripture recognises that young people and their elders might experience life somewhat differently, and display different traits. So age is associated with wisdom, and commands respect. In Proverbs 4:1 sons are urged to “gain understanding” by listening to their fathers, and in Proverbs 20:29 grey
hair is a mark of splendour. While older folk dream dreams, young people are in turn commended for their “strength” and “vision” (Psalms 71:17; Proverbs 1:4, 20:29; Joel 2:28; Titus 2:6). Yet these are highly generalised distinctions, and scripture focuses far more on their complementarity than their divergence. Hence Joseph, Elisha and Timothy all fruitfully respect their seniors, whereas Absalom and Rehoboam wreak havoc from youthful arrogance, and bear out God’s earlier warnings about rogue nations who fail to “respect the old and favour the young” (Deuteronomy 28:50). In the Nativity we properly focus on the child Jesus, but his birth also features a teenage mother, a middle-aged father, and – in Anna and Simeon - two faithful elderly disciples (Luke 2:25-38). At the very moment God comes to dwell with humanity, He shows that all generations matter to Him. Family – Jesus’ as well as others’ - is intended by God to harmonise generations, not amplify their differences. It’s no accident that the Church of the New Testament develops around multigenerational households of extended families. Yet God does come to earth as a child. Jesus does begin his public ministry while still relatively young, and as far as we can tell, gathers an inner circle around him who are younger rather than older. Paul,
THEOLOGY
likewise, invests in mentoring Timothy and encourages him not to let anyone denigrate his youthfulness (1 Timothy 4:12). So there is some justification in paying special attention to the nurture of young people in the Church. In the mid-20th century, Karl Mannheim showed how rising generations of younger people tend to set the course of social, political and religious change over the ensuing 20 to 30 years. Being typically more open to new ideas and approaches, they most commonly become the key agents of transformation – what others have called the ‘lead generation’ in society. Not more important in God’s eyes than older generations – just more likely to be influential. Yet in the end, age is only part of the story. The Hebrew and Greek words translated ‘generation’ in our English Bibles can signify different levels of a family tree, and can refer to all those born around a similar time, as in the ‘generation’ of those who had been contemporary with Joseph (Exodus 1:6). But when Jesus speaks of his own generation as “wicked” (Matthew 12:39) or
JULY/AUGUST 2016
“adulterous” (Mark 8:38), he is not interested in biology or chronology so much as in a prevailing worldview and moral mood that has affected everyone in his era – old and young alike. When he says: “This generation will not pass away until all these things have happened,” (Mark 13:30) he is at least partly thinking of a momentous historical event that will redefine the whole of society – the imminent fall of the Jerusalem temple. To divide Church or culture too rigidly according to birth-years is to forget the diverse effects that philosophies, personalities, wars, natural disasters, cultural movements and technological advances can have on particular groups of people, and on all people. It’s also to risk stereotyping those whose shared age may be far less significant than their class, gender, economic status, nationality or ethnicity. As Christians we are certainly called to heed these differences, and churches may even be formed as homogeneous units around them – sometimes, no doubt, out of discriminatory exclusivism, but sometimes as genuine ‘mission stations’ dedicated to
stimulating growth in the wider Church. That, certainly, is the approach of many youth congregations I have encountered in the Evangelical Alliance constituency – a latter-day expression of what David Bebbington calls the “grand strategy” of evangelicalism, namely concentrating on young people to secure the future. Yet in the end, however precisely we define generation, mono-generational churches can only represent what Peter Wagner calls an “interim strategy”. As those called to one faith, one Lord and one baptism, we should be wary of generational distinctions that foster more sub-division than scripture allows, and critical of mission plans driven more by assumptions of ‘intergenerational antipathy’ than by faith in the God whose new-born Son was cradled by an older man close to death, and blessed by a widowed prophetess aged 84. Rev Dr David Hilborn will succeed Dr Steve Holmes this autumn as the chair of the Evangelical Alliance’s Theology Advisory Group (TAG).
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F
TURE
Millennials to boomers: is the Church really one body in Christ? by Joanna Wright
Boomers = those born before 1960 Millennials = those born since 1980 In terms of marriage and family differences, we found that 93 per cent of our boomers – those born before 1960 – say they have been married at least once, compared with 89 per cent of our middle aged group and 59 per cent of our millennials – those born since 1980. Also 84 per cent of boomers were married before the age of 30 along with 57 per cent of millennials. In comparison to the general
81% agree that millennials have
more freedom than boomers had in terms of their moral lifestyle choices… population, a recent Guardian article called Marriage problems: more than a third of people are single or have never married, states the following: “Harry Benson, research director of Marriage Foundation, a thinktank that promotes marriage, said: ‘On our own current estimates, 90 per cent of 60-year-olds have married IDEA MAGAZINE / 14
at some stage, whereas only 50 per cent of today’s young adults will do so. If we want more of our young two-parent families to succeed as couples, the older generation have got a lot of encouraging to do.’” It seems that evangelicals are more likely than the general population to marry and to do so by age 30, but there is a similar generational decline in early marriage down the generations. Looking at the economic issues between the generations, 60 per cent of those surveyed said that millennials are more likely to end up in poverty and debt than boomers ever were. This is significant; again referring back to the Guardian series, another article entitled Revealed: the 30-year economic betrayal dragging down Generation Y’s income states: “A combination of debt, joblessness, globalisation, demographics and rising house prices is depressing the incomes and prospects of millions of young people across the developed world, resulting in unprecedented inequality between generations.” The article goes on to say that: “Millennials interviewed by the Guardian said they felt their generation was facing far greater hurdles to establish themselves as independent adults than previous generations did.” There is a reflection of this in our survey where 69 per cent of those surveyed overall said that life will be more precarious for millennials than for the boomer generation.
68%
agree that millennials are more concerned about the environment than boomers ever were.
57% agree that millienals are less likely to achieve a stable and happy family life than boomers did.
F
TURE
There’s been a lot in the news recently about the widening gap between the generations. To understand how this issue affects the Church, the Evangelical Alliance surveyed 1685 evangelical Christians about intergenerational relationships.
where this is already happening in churches, successful connectedness is occurring across the generations.
63%
agreed that it’s a problem that today’s graduates need to take up unpaid or low paid internships before they can get a “proper” job. While considering the generational relationships within the Church, 72 per cent said their church runs a crèche and 71 per cent have classes and groups for primary school age children, as opposed to 14 per cent saying there are ministries for frail, elderly/ dementia support. Could this highlight a gap in the way we are caring for the elderly in our churches, placing more importance on the younger generation? Many of those surveyed agree, as 76 per cent agree that “a church can’t really be healthy unless there is a good mix of generations”. 47 per cent of the evangelical respondents agree that “older people in our church are very good at sharing their experiences with children and young people”, illustrating that JULY/AUGUST 2016
Our consumer culture clearly sees big gaps between age groups as marketing opportunities. However, the issue of generational differences is important for the integrity and the witness of the Church. Although the Bible clearly recognises and celebrates the young, the old and everybody in between, it also describes God’s people as a unit or ‘one body’. At the Alliance, we are driven by the last prayer of Jesus for unity: “that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have
92% agreed that we should honour and respect the older people in our churches.
sent me.” (John 17: 21). It seems that a united Church is an effective Church, and we all have a responsibility to play our part in supporting each other. We hope that this research will encourage different generations of the Christians to connect more closely in order to provide a counter-cultural model of heaven to our lost and divided world.
55% agree that the older
generation have consumed resources without much concern for the future of the planet.
The next survey will be on evangelicalism. Look out for that in the next edition of idea magazine. To keep up to date with all our surveys and to take part yourself, visit eauk.org/snapshot IIDEA MAGAZINE / 15
IN THE THICK OF IT
Counselling victims of a war that doesn’t discriminate between generations by Hazel Southam
It’s a bright, sunny morning in the Jordanian town of Madaba. Parents are taking their children to school. Bread sellers are pushing their carts, laden with wares, along the dusty roads. And the first of the day’s tourists are arriving at St George’s Church. It’s a significant stop on the pilgrimage trail as it contains a sixth century mosaic map of the Holy Land. It’s the oldest map showing this part of the world still in existence. Time and weather have fragmented its edges. There are blank spots where there were once towns, mountains and rivers. It’s a metaphor for what’s happening in the Middle East today, as war forces millions of people to flee their homes, obliterating cities, communities and lives. Some 1.6 million people have fled the wars in Syria and Iraq and headed to Jordan in recent years. The population has risen by an estimated 20 per cent. But what do you do if that number of traumatised people – young and old –
arrives in your country? I spent a week with the Bible Society of Jordan to find out part of the answer. For the last three years, Christian volunteers, trained by Bible Society, have helped refugees to talk about their experiences, face the horror and think about questions such as: ‘where is God in my suffering?’.
For the last three years, Christian volunteers, trained by Alliance member Bible Society, have helped refugees to talk about their experiences, face the horror and think about questions such as: ‘where is God in my suffering?”
They do all this using a counseling scheme devised by the American Bible Society after the Rwanda genocide. It’s now used in 70 countries and 174 different languages. In Jordan, over three years, tens of thousands of people – both adults and children, Muslims and Christians – have received the trauma healing.
“My brother died. He was killed in cross fire. They just left his body in the street. He didn’t have a proper burial.
And I’m here in Madaba to meet one such family. Wedad is 37 and the mother of six children. The family fled their home in Damascus in 2014 when their home was bombed.
Indeed, the children were the biggest concern for Wedad and her husband Khaled.
“We stayed for three years of war,” she says. “Bombing destroyed half of our home. We left after the chemical bombs.
“Whenever they heard fireworks or planes flying above the house they would get very scared.
“It was emotionally exhausting. We got to the point where we didn’t have food and my littlest child had a rash on her arms because she was so afraid of the bombing.”
‘They were all traumatised and none of them could sleep,” says Wedad. “When we came here, fear had overcome the children.
Photography: Clare Kendall
Wedad Al-Mei’dani, 37, with her children from Damascus, Syria, in their new home in Madaba, Jordan. IDEA MAGAZINE / 16
IN THE THICK OF IT
of flowers and love hearts. They sing a series of their favourite songs, ending, somewhat strangely, with the Arabic version of Jingle Bells, which is a trifle dislocating on a warm, sunny day in the Middle East. But no matter, presumably you can’t sing it if your heart is gripped by fear, so it’s an indicator that the children are beginning to recover from their terrible experiences. Six-year-old Rawand is fascinated by the contents of my rucksack. “Are there any sweets?’” Sadly no. But I show her my voice recorder, we muck about with my notepad and pencils, I haul some lipstick out of a pocket and she gets a daub of that. Normal stuff. Abnormal childhood.
Wedad’s children opening their box of food supplies from Bible Society.
“They would start crying and they wouldn’t sleep at night. Some of them had allergies on their skin from the fear.” Then, they were introduced to a local vicar, Pastor Amjad. He and his wife are also the trauma counselors for Madaba. All six children went on the specially-designed trauma healing course for children. “Now all of that has changed,” says Wedad. “He drew the feelings out of the children. “It was amazing that they could go through that trauma healing and come out of the misery that they were in.” The children are indeed bright-eyed, friendly and engaging. They draw pictures
Rawand then adds to the poignancy by reading some sentences she’s learning in English. “I jump on the bed,” “I played with my cat in the yard,” “I talked on the phone with my friend.” Not: “I saw people shot dead in front of me,” “I had terrible nightmares,” “I had to flee my home.” And there isn’t a dry eye in the house when 12-year-old Amal recites a poem that she’s written in Arabic. “No-one knows what I went through,” the poem goes. “I pray for God to protect Jordan and for Syria to go back to its former glory.” Wedad, Khaled and the children now attend a church established by Pastor Amjad for refugees. Two hundred people go every week. Eighty per cent of them, like Wedad and her family, are from a Muslim background. But Pastor Amjad is dying of cancer. He is painfully thin. “Why,” I ask him, “are you offering trauma healing to refugees in your dying days?”
“This is the heart of Christ,” he says. “God put them on my heart. God brought the Syrians to me so I can serve them. “I hear so many stories. They come with very negative thoughts, with hate in their hearts. They want revenge. But with the Spirit’s work, we have made a difference. “We focus mainly on the children as they are damaged from the war. If we work hard on them, they will grow up to be a new generation. “I’m not doing it with my own strength,” he adds, “but with the Lord’s. If I’m not serving, what am I doing?”
JORDAN’S REFUGEE CRISIS IN NUMBERS 1.6 million refugees from Syria and Iraq 20 per cent increase in the country’s population Tens of thousands have received trauma healing from Bible Society over the last three years Between 33,000 and 35,000 people each year receive practical aid and support from Bible Society, including mattresses, nappies, clothes and basic food supplies As a member of the Evangelical Alliance, Bible Society is one of 600 organisations supported by the Alliance. If you would like your organisation to become a member of the Evangelical Alliance, visit eauk.org/join
The Triumphant Mercy refugee camp, Zahle, close to the Syrian border, in Lebanon. JULY/AUGUST 2016
IDEA MAGAZINE / 17
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by Amaris Cole
What the sandwich generation means for the Church
The journey to adulthood has changed. It’s no longer assumed that your children will grow up, perhaps go to university, get a job, find a spouse and settle down in their own home to start a family. Even within the Church, that route is becoming increasingly difficult to achieve. Amaris Cole explores what this means for the Church. There are many terms given to today’s millennials, such as the boomerang generation, returning back after university, and the Peter Pan generation, living at home, not saving, having a lot of fun and apparently therefore not growing up. The Office of National Statistics estimates that there are 3.3million 20 to 34-year-olds in this situation, living at the Hotel of Mum and Dad, and sometimes even relying on the Bank of Mum and Dad, which was this year classed as a top 10 mortgage lender. Our own research for our latest survey goes on to show that 57 per cent of respondents agree that millennials are less likely to achieve a stable and happy family life than boomers did. We are also living longer than ever before, with UK adults now expected to live until 81.5, and the number of those living until 100 increasing by 73 per cent in a decade. IDEA MAGAZINE / 18
It leaves those in the middle in a difficult position. There is a generation of boomers who now have to work longer than ever before, as the retirement age has increased with life expectancy, but who also are sandwiched with responsibility. For many, gone are the days of retirement meaning long golf days and trips to the Costa Del Sol. Millions of grandparents are now taking on the role of nanny in more ways than one. The sandwich generation, typically in their 50s and 60s, are taking care of their own aging parents, while still playing a significant role in the lives of their child and perhaps even grandchildren. This has a knock-on effect for the Church. Two fifths of older people volunteer some of their time, yet with the expectation being on grandparents to help out with childcare, and their own parents living far longer, it’s becoming increasingly hard for them to find the time.
Helen Davis, who is retired and lives in London, had to give up two leadership roles in church to look after her elderly parents. Every eight weeks she drove to their home in east Anglia for a couple of nights, and found she could no longer commit to her leadership responsibilities. Neither Helen nor her husband Stephen believed that when they reached retirement age they would also have their grown up children living with them. “I expected that their lives would follow a long-established pattern of jobs and families. How wrong can you be?” commented Stephen. Theirs is a familiar story to many boomers. Stephen said: “My mother lives in her own home and is determined to stay there. She is able to manage at home, but not able to go out without assistance. I visit twice a week to take in shopping, collect washing etc.”
F The couple enjoy their caring role, but it does have its drawbacks: “Without these supporting roles we could travel more,” Helen said. “We also might have time and energy to be more active in church or the community.” More millennials are living back at home with their parents today than at any time since 1940. Thankfully, Helen and Stephen are glad to have two of their children still at home with them: “Having our daughters at home, and still in the same church as us, keeps us in better contact with their contemporaries. “I think this keeps me younger, and gives me a wider outlook on life. I find this a positive experience.” The gas and electricity bills may be a little higher with while they’re in the house, Stephen joked, but both parents believe the girls keep them young. “Supporting elderly parents is much more challenging, “ Helen said. “I have no doubt it’s a good thing to do, but it is work, and there is more of it to do as the years go by. Having our adult daughters at home is probably a good antidote.” Kim and Brenda Arnold agreed. While their parents are only a slight burden on their
JULY/AUGUST 2016
time – “they do their shopping online!” – they enjoy the time spent helping their children with their own childcare: “Our grandchildren are a real joy to us. One is nearly three. He is great fun and it is a privilege to help look after him, when both parents are at work. Particularly special are times when we read books together, including Bible stories. His parents read a children’s Bible and pray with him every night and this is a joy to see.” This ability to help in the spiritual development of children is a unique opportunity. “It seems to us that life would be much less fulfilling if we had no children, daughtersin-law and grandchildren. God sets the solitary in families (Psalm 68:6). He is good!” While retirement has changed for many people, all those I spoke to believed it was for the better. They are able to do more and be involved in the lives of their family far more than they dreamed possible. Rather than consider the cost of this to the Church, perhaps we should instead think about the lessons we can learn: family values, servant-heartedness, stewardship of resources and maybe even the importance of having fun.
TURE
Millions of grandparents are now taking on the role of nanny in more ways than one. The sandwich generation, typically in their 50s and 60s, are taking care of their own aging parents, while still playing a significant role in the lives of their child and perhaps even grandchildren.”
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by Rachel Fadipe, executive director of SAT-7 UK
United voice in a divided region: how social media is evangelising the youth of the Middle East
Essam AKA Mr Know in Erbil Iraqi Kurdistan.
Bombed out cities, terrorist atrocities, and a ceaseless tide of young and old pouring over borders in search of shelter. TV images of the Middle East constantly hammer home its deep and chaotic divisions. But one TV network is bucking the trend of conflict and despair - uniting Arabs, Iranians and Turks for the sake of making Christ known in a troubled region. SAT-7 is a family of Christian satellite TV channels that began sharing God’s love 20 years ago this May. In two decades, its output has grown to five 24/7 TV channels in Arabic, Farsi (Persian) and Turkish, with an audience of more than 15 million viewers. Its diverse programming - from Bible teaching to music, worship, drama and current affairs - has made the good news and witness of Christians available in corners of the region where viewers are unlikely to have ever met a Christian in person.
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Each Friday a live show in Dari brings Christian perspectives to bear on everyday issues for people in Afghanistan. A dedicated Arabic children’s channel – SAT-7 KIDS - is a favourite with many parents and children in Saudi Arabia.
Christian discipleship. The channel received thousands of comments. One Iraqi viewer said: “My brothers attended and told me that they came to Christ and were born again; they also felt the joy of heaven through the messages.”
SAT-7 not only unites presenters from different Middle East cultures, it connects viewers from 25 countries. On its live programmes, both adults and children call in to pray or offer encouragement to other viewers in tough situations or in more troubled parts of the region.
Essential to the network’s popularity is that its programmes are made mostly by Middle East and North African believers and are filmed, wherever possible, in the region. Christians of all denominations feel the channel belongs to them.
Shortly before Christmas 2015, SAT-7 staff travelled with leading Egyptian church leaders to the Iraqi capital of Baghdad, and filmed three nights of prayer, encouragement and challenge to
And not only Christians. The network never criticises other faiths, but simply explains Christianity clearly, as most of its viewers come from non-Christian backgrounds. They value its respectful, life-affirming approach. One person living in Saudi Arabia said: “Truly you are a school of love and peace”.
In the Middle East, 50 per cent of young adults are unemployed and the glass ceiling for women is set at ground level.” Filming SAT-7 KIDS art show Scribbles with Uncle Mounir.
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the heart that they hear Middle East people making. These range from the cry of young men for meaning – in a region where 50 per cent are under 25 and 24 per cent of young adults are unemployed, the cry of women for worth in societies where the glass ceiling is often set at ground level, and the cry of children for peace and security when all the talk – and often reality – is of war.
Upper Egypt packed street for Star in a Village.
“Together, our channels broadcast to 25 countries and they are all different,” says Nikoo Ordodary, the programming manager of SAT-7’s Farsi language channel, SAT-7 PARS. “But it’s true to say that many of our viewers live in divided societies. The fault line may lie between Shia and Sunni, between Christians and Muslims, or between those who long for freedom and restrictive religious groups or governments, as in my homeland of Iran. To all these, SAT-7 offers an alternative: the good news of peace with God and with one another.” For five years, Nikoo has been the presenter of Dandelion, a weekly live show for young Iranians. Each episode tackles a different life-related topic – anything from drug use, which is endemic in Iran – to fashion. Whenever she goes on set she remembers the peer group she mixed with during the 13 years she lived in Iran before returning to Cyprus where her parents had emigrated. “I keep thinking of young, bright and capable women who are searching for God and His calling. My friends in school were just like me - searching - and I can’t imagine them going through life not knowing about Jesus and his love for them. I can’t imagine them not coming to know how God sees
JULY/AUGUST 2016
them and loves them as beautiful and valuable creations.” Although creativity and prayer are essential to SAT-7 programmes, presenters never forget that the most important ingredient is the viewers themselves. SAT-7 viewer support teams in the countries where SAT-7 has studios – Egypt, Lebanon, Turkey, Cyprus and England – and partner teams elsewhere receive thousands of messages every week via social media, email and telephone. In Iran viewers who contact us risk receiving government warnings. But after SAT-7 PARS began receiving messages on the encrypted Telegram service, it has seen messages pouring in at a rate of 2,000 a day. Nikoo says all live programmes for Iran are used to taking calls from people who are crying out for help. Some are in difficult or abusive marriages, others enslaved to drugs or depression, and many are desperate to know the Jesus who can give them true freedom. To mark its 20th anniversary, SAT-7 is inviting churches and individuals in the UK to help it address the heartfelt needs of the viewers of all of its channels. Under the title Answer the Cry, it’s highlighting seven cries from
SAT-7 addresses these with life-related preaching, uplifting broadcasts from 10,000-strong gatherings of young Christians at evangelical festivals, with practical shows that mentor and encourage, with testimony programmes and series that equip emerging Christian leaders. For children, lively, fun shows bring joy, wonder, and often surprising depth. When the host of ever-popular SAT-7 KIDS show visited refugee children in Northern Iraq, his interview with Myriam, a nine-year-old from Mosul, went viral on social media as she spoke of forgiveness for so-called Islamic State (IS) and sang of faith in God despite losing her home, school and friends. SAT-7 has produced powerful Answer the Cry resources - including a DVD - with inspiring stories of how God is changing lives in the Middle East and how you can be part of this exciting movement. Visit answerthecry.org to learn more. As a member of the Evangelical Alliance, SAT-7 is one of 600 organisations supported by the Alliance. If you would like your organisation to become a member of the Evangelical Alliance, visit eauk.org/ connect/join-us/
IDEA MAGAZINE / 21
BIG INTERVIEW
by Amaris Cole
Pastor Agu on Lagos, leadersh We are very aware of the significance of making Church a place in which anybody can be comfortable…”
Pastor Agu Irukwu.
If you haven’t heard of Pastor Agu Irukwu, it’s really time you did. He is the senior pastor of Jesus House, part of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, which is the fastest growing church in the UK. He oversees more than 600 parishes and is chair of the Festival of Life, a prayer gathering that 45,000 people attend. Pastor Agu is also a key member of the Alliance’s One People Commission. Voted Britain’s most inspirational black person in 2012, his church hosts multiple Sunday services, a radio station, counselling service, prayer ministry, CAP group and youth work – and a whole lot more. Amaris Cole caught up with the church leader to ask about how a ministry of this scale can be relevant to all generations.
IDEA MAGAZINE / 22
How did you become a church leader? I was born into a Christian home, but never took the faith seriously until 1991 when I committed my life to Christ at a young, thriving church in Lagos, Nigeria – the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Apapa Parish. I was appointed to the leadership and threw myself into serving, and in a short time I went through a series of leadership, training, and mentoring programmes in faith, and acquired leadership skills. After about two years of serving in leadership I was appointed the pastor of the church. I served in that capacity for about six months before being asked to come and pastor a one-month-old church in London, Jesus House, where I still serve as senior pastor. What do you think makes a healthy Church? I think a healthy church requires a number of things to work together, such as a community where people can build healthy relationships and grow to love each other; an environment at gatherings where people can experience God; deep and sincere worship and authentic and relevant sermons. A healthy church also needs to encourage people to serve, help them identify their God-given gifts with which they can do so and ensure that people are clear and committed to the vision so they give generously of material resources and their time.
BIG INTERVIEW
ip and the life of the Church Do you think a church needs to be made up of all generations to be healthy or can a church thrive when it targets one specific age group? I think a healthy church should have a representation of all generations. While one generation may form the majority, it should have a representation of all the age groups/generations. What is Jesus House doing to engage their congregation? The key is relevance. The congregation should feel that their church is relevant to them and can equip them to live out their faith in 21st century London. How can a church be relevant to a particular generation? • You are relevant to a generation by meeting the needs of that generation
pushing an environment that is not Church friendly – aggressively secular humanism – is being created. The Church has to be intentional, more strategic, more prayerful in equipping the saints to live out their faith, not just in this environment. What’s your prayer for the UK Church? That the Church would be prayerful and more committed to evangelism, that God will raise bold leadership, and most importantly, that the Church will be more strategic in advancing the kingdom of God. Jesus House is one of 3,800 member churches of the Evangelical Alliance. The Redeemed Christian Church of God is a fast-track denomination, meaning its churches can join the Alliance without having to provide references. If your church would like to enjoy the benefits that membership brings, visit eauk.org/join
• By creating avenues for that generation to be involved in church – especially in the areas of service and leadership
QUICKFIRE QUESTIONS
• Then by profiling that generation to others within that peer group, showcasing them as an integral part of the church
A lawyer because most of my family are lawyers, but as I got older I wanted to be a politician because I saw that as the way to serve and help people.
Does the Church do enough to engage older people when it is so focused on attracting young people? We probably need to do more. We are very aware of the significance of making church a place in which anybody can be comfortable. However, like most churches across the land, the generation that we need to reach out to in larger numbers is the millennial generation and so there will be a bit more of a focus in reaching them, but we mustn’t ignore the other generations that are there. Otherwise, it could pose a problem in the future for the Church. Do you think it’s becoming harder to live out faith in the UK?
As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?
What age did you become a church leader? Aged 28. What’s on your bucket list? To see revival in the UK. To see a charity Bright Futures For African Children set up by my wife and I. To build a school in Africa that will offer the kind of education I was privileged to have to children from a poor background who have no access to that kind of education.
I think it’s not just a UK problem, it’s a problem in most parts of the western world. A combination of materialism and those who are
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IDEA MAGAZINE / 23
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by Alexandra Davis
How old is elderly?
When I started researching for this article, I thought I’d better check in with Betty from my church. Betty’s an 80-plus powerhouse who gets around like she’s about 60. You know the kind of lady I’m talking about… I gave her a few questions about ministering to the elderly in church and Betty’s simple reply was: “When do we become elderly?” She’s right – what does it mean to be elderly? Is it an age? Is it a capacity? Is it a state of mind? The truth is, being elderly these days is not the same as it was when the elderly were young – 75 isn’t a grand old age anymore, and 90 won’t necessarily restrict you to the arm chair all day long. In the same vein, the body will always deteriorate and those who are relatively young can still struggle with poor physical and mental health. Elderly just isn’t a neat question of retired or not, in a care home or not, still driving or not; quite often we find that ‘old age’ is defined by attitude and motivation rather than a number, and that people’s capacity to continue to live, work, serve and contribute continues and changes at very different paces. Church shouldn’t be a place where the ‘old’ are pigeon-holed, we’ve got to work within their uniqueness. While old age might be less easy to define, there does however inevitably come a point when older people simply can’t do what they once did. It’s a double trauma: not only is physical deterioration a challenge, but so is the mental and emotional change that comes with old age. Put that in the context of a rapidly changing world, one in which many older people struggle to keep up with social and cultural change and technological advancement, and it’s no surprise ageing can be a real trial. IDEA MAGAZINE / 24
So, with all this in mind, how can the Church minister to a group in flux, negotiating physical, mental, emotional, and cultural challenges? How can we best be not only caring for our elderly, but using them too? How do we create a space where a fiveyear-old and an 85-year-old can meet God together, grow in their knowledge and love of Him, and serve one another? Churches must avoid the habit of writing off our elderly. Some of the older people in our churches will have been serving the Church for their entire lives, only to hit 80 and suddenly find there is no space for them in their church family any more. Someone else is more physically able to stand up on the welcome team, a once strong voice can no
longer hold a note, or, worst of all, it’s time to surrender the driving license. Maureen O’Neil, CEO of Faith in Older People (FIOP), a Scottish charity focusing on ageing and spirituality, notes a tone that often filters through our cultural conversation around ageing that largely assumes that older people are a burden to society, especially as we hear headlines and scare stories
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How the Church can re-think ministry to older people
As a church family, we need to make a joined up concerted effort to help older people find their new gifting.” greater emphasis on community outreach, less emphasis on Sunday mornings, changing styles of teaching and sung worship. For many older people it’s a real challenge to continue to understand how they fit into a structure that’s so different from what they were once used to. As a church family, we need to make a joined-up, concerted effort to help older people find their new gifting. How do we recognise the skills, experiences and hopes of our elderly and find a new space for them? Can the welcome team member transfer to the less physically strenuous prayer team? Maybe the tenor can’t sing any more, but can he read the lesson? And can the former driver discovering a new skill of drying up the coffee cups?
about the ageing population. She says the Church has a really important role to play in countering this story of “burden” and instead creating a culture where the gifts of the elderly are recognised and utilised. We need to help older people find their new place in church, especially taking into account that church now might be very different from the church they’ve experienced for most of their lives, with JULY/AUGUST 2016
We should certainly be listening to the older generations in our church families as they work through the changes going on around them. While it can be tempting to write off a complaint about the drums being too loud, we need to remember that for many older people, the church was a place of peace and sanctuary. That doesn’t mean we should chuck out the drum kit, but valuing older members of our church community means listening to them, and hearing and understanding their concerns. Understanding their contributions, and experiences is a really important way to acknowledge the many years of service that our older church members have put in. Of course, one of the biggest challenges to wider society, churches, and other faith
organisations, is the increasing number of older people suffering from dementia. FIOP is working to train churches to be able to meet the needs of those with dementia. Maureen O’Neil says making people with dementia welcome, training churches to be confident to support them, and adapting how we do church goes a long way to providing an inclusive space for older members of our community. The real value in adapting our church spaces to be accessible to older people, and especially those with dementia, means that churches can help maintain the continuity that is so important when so much else around them is changing. Maureen O’Neil urges the Church to “make sure that something that’s been really important throughout someone’s life is not removed from them because we don’t understand how to cope with it.” Let’s get creative as we seek to give older people a vibrant and visible place in our church communities. Let’s hear from them, give them opportunities to share the long story of Jesus in their lives; let’s work with them to discover their new outlets and gifts in their changing circumstances; let’s take our young children to sit with them during our services, teaching the young to hear from the old; let’s train and challenge our communities to make space for those suffering from dementia, so that we can minister without fear.
CHRISTIAN ORGANISATIONS MINISTERING TO THE ELDERLY FIOP is working hard to help churches adapt and include older people, Alliance member Livability is doing similar work, and Christians on Ageing have brought together churches across the UK to work together on issues of ageing in the Church. Other charities involved in reaching older people are Pilgrim Homes, Outlook Trust and The Gift of Years.
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GOOD QUESTION
by Pete Nicholas, Christians in Sport and vicar at Inspire Church, London
Why is doping a sin? As this summer of sport gets underway, Christians in Sport explore an issue that has dominated the headlines recently. While sport has the ability to unite, seeing young and old get together to cheer on their team and hope for victory, the questions around morality in the industry are a concern for many. So what does the Bible say about doping? Turn to the back pages at the moment and it’s difficult to get away from doping scandals. Kenya faces fresh anti-doping crisis (12 May 2016). New Russia doping coverup alleged by Whistleblower (9 May 2016). Maria Sharapova: anti-doping panel to hear Meldonium case (18 May 2016). We won’t be exploring the specifics of any of those cases here, but we will be looking at what the Bible says about doping in general. At a basic level of course, doping is cheating and cheating is both lying – claiming something that is not true – and disobeying the sports governing authorities and rule makers. Both of these are clearly prohibited in the Bible – Colossians 3:9: “Do not lie to one another”, Romans 13:13: “Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities”. But can we go any further in understanding the pathology of doping other than just pronouncing it a ‘sin’? Well first it’s important to understand that there is nothing inherently wrong about sport. At various points in history sport has been declared inherently ‘bad’ or ‘idolatrous’ by the Church. But as the Christians in Sport blog What does the Bible say about sport claims, sport is a good part of God’s creation, a gift from Him. Doping happens because sport has been affected – and infected – by humanity’s fall into sin. Secondly, what is it that makes doping so prevalent? Partly it’s the time we live in and a heady mix of professionalism in sport and drug innovation. Amateur players cheated – and still do – but it’s still true that the huge sums of money involved in sport and the availability of drugs to enhance performance are factors encouraging doping. But what is it that makes athletes want to take performance enhancing drugs in the first place? Partly it’s a timeless desire in human beings to push the boundaries of what we can achieve. The Olympic motto Citius, Altius, Fortius (Faster, Higher, Stronger) sums it up well. A key aspect of sport is a good desire to see what we can achieve; how fast can we go, how high can we jump, how well can we play? This is part of our creatureliness, rejoicing in our talents and exploring what it means to be made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27). IDEA MAGAZINE / 26
This desire becomes distorted though when it extends beyond exploring our creatureliness and becomes about wanting to become more. The original temptation of the serpent was to be “like God” (Genesis 3:5) and so often the motivation behind doping is a desire to be more than we are, more than God has made us. When Lance Armstrong made his comeback in 2009 and won the Yellow Jersey again, he stood on the Champs-Élysées with people questioning whether he had doped and said: “I’m sorry that you can’t dream big. I’m sorry you don’t believe in miracles.” Do you hear the narrative? He was claiming to be more than he was. We sometimes use the hyperbole, “that was a superhuman effort”, and it was often used to describe Lance Armstrong, but the truth is that the very best achievements in sport show us
not something ‘superhuman’ but the best of being human. God has given us great ability and also creaturely limitations. Sport at its best is a mutual exploration of those abilities within God’s good limitations, but sport at its worst is when we seek to transcend those limitations and buy into the lie that we can be more than God has made us to be. To read more about the theology of sport, and to find out how your church can get involved in this summer of sport, visit christiansinsport.org.uk As a member of the Evangelical Alliance, Christians in Sport is one of 600 organisations supported by the Alliance. If you would like your organisation to become a member of the Evangelical Alliance, visit eauk.org/join
F
TURE
A Church for children that goes beyond Sunday school As Whitney Houston once sung: “I believe the children are the future, teach them well and let them lead the way.” She was right – the children are the future, so Alexandra Davis took a look at how today’s Church is equipping tomorrow’s Church to love Jesus and serve his family. The Sunday school in my church is one of my absolute favourite things about being part of God’s family. I love the way the noise level goes right up as soon as they come crashing back in to the main sanctuary from their groups, covered in glitter or holding up posters, wearing paper crowns and home-made technicoloured dream coats. But how do we move our children from recipients of teaching and creators of playdough lion’s dens into active servants of God’s Church? What are we doing to make sure that as they learn about God’s word, they are also learning how to serve His Church?
1: listen Asking children what they’ve been doing, what they think about what the church has been learning, and letting them share with the wider church family is a simple but important way to show children that they are valuable members of God’s family. When they know they are seen and valued, they will often be quicker to serve. Paul Adlington, church leader at Alliance member church The Bear in south-east JULY/AUGUST 2016
London says: “The best way for people of any age to feel at home in church is for them to have some responsibility, to feel they somehow own it. We already see many young people leave the Church because of cultural and faith issues, we don’t need to add to their reasons to leave because they don’t feel useful, trusted or valued.”
2: teach There’s nothing more powerful than the word of God, so teach your children what the Bible says about being an active participant in God’s family. Look at how Jesus modelled serving and about what it means to be great in God’s kingdom. Teach on the power of youth, look at the classic example of the work of Timothy and Paul, then follow that model and establish mentoring relationships between older members of your congregation and the children and young people.
3: model Children follow the example of those around them – children who see their parents committed to serving God and His Church will often follow that example and learn to serve themselves from an early age, while those whose parents attend and promptly leave church on a Sunday morning will do the same. And while parents are usually the most significant examples to children, the community of adults that a church family provides is also an important example for children to follow.
4: identify Start working with children to identify their spiritual gifts early on and seek out training opportunities as they grow. When your children show skills in hospitality, send them on cookery courses or as they develop musical abilities, send them to worship leader workshops. Tessa Chapman is responsible for children and youth at The Bear. She says: “It is so valuable to
bring children up with a sense of corporate responsibility, and to find them a place in which they can serve. For many, they have the opportunity to learn skills, to meet people, to give and to receive in church – opportunities which they wouldn’t get otherwise.”
5: ask Giving children the opportunity to serve in a regular church service is a great way to start training them up in the ways of active church engagement. Paul Adlington says: “Children and youth often lead worship at The Bear and we also ask them to lead services and speak/prepare short sermons, about twice a year. The children’s groups are also asked to prepare presentations in their groups to share with the whole church – in practice this usually means a song, drama or video as part of a Christmas service.” Invite children to share their own stories or to interview an older member of the church, take part in the worship group, join the tech team, or help out with the younger children.
6: expect Paul Adlington remembers an African proverb quoted during the London riots in 2011 and thinking how relevant it was for the Church too: “If you don’t initiate your young people into the tribe, they will burn down the village just to feel it’s warmth.” Sometimes we just don’t expect enough of our children, or we expect the worst from them. But children will often meet and then exceed our expectations of them – let’s expect them to be active participants in the life of our churches so that as tomorrow’s Church leaders they will be equipped to serve Christ and his family. For more information about helping children develop a life-long resilient faith, read an exclusive online interview with Alliance Council member Kay Morgan-Gurr on eauk.org/idea IDEA MAGAZINE / 27
Our regular look back through the Alliance archive by Kim Walker, research and information officer for the Evangelical Alliance
Singularly Significant Singularly Significant was an Evangelical Alliance campaign that ran during the early 1990s. The aim of the campaign was to encourage churches to think more about the needs of the 35 per cent of churchgoers who were single. A regular newsletter, Spiritually Significant, was sent out to Alliance member churches. It included stories from churchgoing single people, resources and ideas for churches who wanted to serve their single people better as well as some amusing cartoons like the ones reproduced here. The campaign also developed a group Bible study booklet that the Alliance sold for 75p each.
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As part of the campaign a survey of 282 member churches, who had a total congregation of 36,895, was conducted. The results were printed in an edition of Spiritually Significant. One of the key statistics was 20 per cent of churches had a regular organised programme for single people. In 1992 there were 10 million single people in the UK, figures from the 2011 census give us a much increased figure of 15.7 million single adults. So has the way the Church serves this growing group of people improved since 1992? Have a look at the results of our most recent survey on page 14 to see some up to date statistics on singles in the Church.
LEADERS’ QUESTIONS
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How do we build an intergenerational Church? Intergenerational relationships are one of many characteristics that separate the Church from other institutions in society today. But many of today’s churches are aimed at one specific generation, or else splits the church into various groupings based on age, offering different ministries to each. So we asked some church leaders and other experts their views on the best way to create a truly healthy, intergenerational church. In my view, genuine relationships are built on listening; the humble process of opening your ears and your heart to the stories of other people. I think deep listening is crucial to developing churches that are intergenerational. If we want communities that honour older members and nurture younger ones, we need to create spaces where people can share and listen to stories including peoples interests, past experiences and future hopes. Selina Stone, community organiser and researcher at The Centre for Theology & Community It’s been said children are the Church of tomorrow however, they are very much an integral part of Church for today. Due to economic, social and demographic changes, in more recent decades,
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intergenerational relations in terms of extended family structures continue to grow. By adopting this shifting extended family context model, I believe our churches can benefit individuals by establishing links with educational institutions, local communities and church intergenerational learning. Michael Lovejoy, Baptist minister in training at Spurgeon’s College It was very common for the early Church to have people of different age groups. This understanding of congregational composition however seems to be changing with the way we are running church services. Having separate services for children, young people and adult may have its merits, but growing the whole church together seems to be more logical way for us. We believe that the Spirit and his blessings are freely given to all. And since God doesn’t have grandchildren, each generation has something to offer to one
another through the help of the Spirit. Therefore, we encourage participation of children, youth, young adults and adults. Children recite memory verses learnt in the previous week. Each age group also participate in Bible reading while all age service is led by youth and young adults. Youth and young adults each have a slot once in a month to lead evening service. Youth and young adults Bible study groups meet each week, but are conscious in building the next generation of leaders, hence we are very deliberate in encouraging young and old interactions. Our women’s conference this year focussed on building the next generation of leaders. We engage everyone in using their gifts “to equip God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” Ephesians 4:12-13
An intergenerational church is more than a shared space between different age groups. It is about fostering relationships so that spiritual formation takes place intergenerationally and each person learns from other members of the community. We need to cultivate intergenerational values and shift from focusing on creating an intergenerational service to nurturing intergenerational communities. We can reverse generational fragmentation by strengthening families so that they can share their spiritual journeys together. We can foster the mutual contribution of spiritual maturity between various age-specific ministries (e.g., kids-youth, youth-uni students, uni-students-adults, etc) and allow older members to mentor the younger ones. We also need to nurture mutual understanding and the accommodation of differences.
Rev Paul Akinola, senior minister Willesden Green Baptist Church
Wien Fung, pastoral worker at Chinese Church in London
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CULTURE Edited by threads. For more posts like this, visit threadsuk.com
by Cristine Edusi
Why I’ve stopped praying for a husband… Okay, maybe I sometimes do still pray. You hit 21 and suddenly everyone is screaming marriage – and by everyone I’m referring to your mother, your mother’s friends and other church folk. “Cristine, do you have a boyfriend?” “No auntie, I don’t.” “Don’t worry, God’s timing is the best timing.” “Amen, auntie.” You never asked for the unsolicited advice, but you take it anyway because you’ve learnt that the only way to avoid lengthy conversations about your non-existent love life is to simply feign interest and then sign off with an amen. You didn’t need to be told that God’s timing is the best timing because you knew that already, but again you’ve realised that defending your single status or justifying it in any way is a fruitless exercise. Watching paint dry might be better use of your time. I always find this level of interrogation amusing, but also unusual. Amusing because although you are being asked a series of questions, you are actually not being given any room to answer; and unusual because a few years ago you were being warned against boys, sex and teenage pregnancy. Now, the auntie who used to warn you against men is the one advising you on ways to be more approachable, how to catch and keep a man. It’s brilliant. You’re considered ripe for marriage and so every conversation, at least the ones you are having with older women, seem to be steered towards that direction. Even your conversations with your girlfriends are tied to marriage and understandably so, given that we all want to be wanted and for the Christian single, marriage is the only appropriate context to unleash that desire. It’s not that you don’t have a desire for marriage; it’s just that everyone else’s desire for you surpasses your own. What’s more significant is that your mother never ceases to express that desire. During family prayers, she adds: “And Lord, let her find the bone of her bone and the flesh of her flesh,” which translates to: “Find her a man ASAP.” She also replies very loudly whenever she is asked about your single status, especially when she knows you’re in close proximity. You hear her say: “I’ve spoken to her about it but you IDEA MAGAZINE / 30
know children of nowadays… They don’t listen, but like I always say, there is nothing prayer can’t do.” She’s right. When Hezekiah prayed over his illness, he was delivered. When Jesus prayed over the five loaves of bread and two fish, he fed an entourage of 5,000. But praying for a husband? I don’t know. My pastor’s wife used to encourage us to pray for our spouses and when I remembered to, I did pray. I can’t remember my exact prayer points, but I definitely remember praying. It made sense to pray for a man, but I don’t think I realised what I was praying for. I think that’s a common theme with humans; we pursue things without actually questioning our intentions or considering if we actually want what we say we do. I was praying for a husband without asking why – without assessing whether I was even in a position to love someone in that way, or whether I was asking amiss. I should have been praying to become a better follower of Christ, which in turn would make me a better daughter, a better sister and a better friend, but my adolescent self was busy praying for a husband. There is nothing wrong with the desire for marriage – I hope to be married in the foreseeable future – but there is everything wrong with obsessing over another man who isn’t Jesus and then
putting that obsession to prayer. I want to obsess over being Christ-like; I want to obsess over being impactful in whatever capacity I find myself; I want to obsess over teaching; I want to obsess over loving, but I don’t think I want to obsess over my dream man anymore. I’ve curbed my obsession – although sometimes I can’t help but remind the Lord that the dream guy should hopefully come packaged with a beard and muscles – because I do think we run the risk of turning our desires into idols when we obsess. So I’ve changed my prayer point to: “Lord, my love life is in your hands,” and then keep it moving.
We need your help to ensure the “missing generation” is no longer missing. threads is reaching out to the missing generation, young adults in their 20s and 30s who are leaving the Church in droves as they see faith as irrelevant, out of touch and side-lined from the very real issues they are facing. For as little as £3 a month, you could become a supporter of threads and play your part in ensuring this generation is no longer missing – visit eauk.org/supportthreads or call 0207 520 3848
MUSIC
CULTURE
The idea-playlist Our list of the best things to read, do and listen to. We all know they’re supposed to be for the kids, but here are our favourite action songs that we secretly love to join in with. Have you got another worship song that’s fun for all the family? Tweet us by tagging @EAUKnews with the hashtag #generationchurch Jesus you’re my superhero – Hillsong Kids Our God is a great big God – Vineyard Records UK He’s got the whole world in His hands
REVIEWS
Children’s Books Special
THE CHILDREN’S BIBLE by Sally Ann Wright and Carla Manea SPCK This beautifully illustrated collection of 101 favourite Bible stories is the perfect bedtime accompaniment. Each story is carefully told in just one or two pages, with a charming illustration alongside the easy-to-read text. This book will captivate both children and adults alike, and would make a lovely gift for a baptism or birthday.
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OUR FATHER The Lord’s Prayer for Children by Rainer Oberthur and Barbara Nascimbeni SPCK A wonderful prayer book to introduce children to the idea of devotional times. Starting by answering questions like: why can’t I see God? This book goes on to teach readers the Lord’s Prayer, even expanding on each line with separate, more developed prayers later on in the book. Aimed at those aged four to eight, this is an accessible start for young readers.
THE STORM THAT STOPPED by Alison Mitchell and Catalina Echeverri The Good Book for Children This is the true story about who Jesus really is, so the book’s cover tells us. Opening up the beautiful hardback reveals fantastic illustrations and beautiful storytelling. The story of Jesus calming the storm is used to show not only a little about Jesus’ life and how much he cared for his friends, but also that he was, and indeed is, God. Through wonderful imagery and illustrations, this book clearly explains to children Jesus’ place in the Trinity. One of the most creative children’s’ books we’ve seen. IDEA MAGAZINE / 31
IDEA-LIST
5 ways not to act your age! Once upon a time, life was pretty straight forward – or so it seems from reading Jane Austen and watching Disney. You went to school, you fell in love, you got married, had a few children and then settled into domestic bliss. Even hobbies seemed to be largely determined by age and social class. But now, Iris Apfel is the 94-year-old fashionist a who has fronted campaigns for fashi on, make-up and technology brands. She’s campaigning for the fashion industry to stop “forgettin the lines are blurred, as so people, as well as older people. g” about middle-aged are the things that each 1. COLOURING generation is allowed to If you’ve been to any newsagent, supermarket or airport in the last year, you will have had to try very hard to dodge colouring books, pencils and felt tips. No longer is this a hobby do. Here’s our list of the to keep children quiet. It was four years ago that the industry first noticed an increase in top five activities that it’s sales, but it’s during the last 12 months that the trend has gone global – even sparking an international pencil shortage. Fancy combining the new trend with your quiet time? Now now acceptable for any you can! Our favourites are The Heavens and the Earth by Stu McLellan (Hodder) and Patterns age group to enjoy. in the Psalms by James Newman Gray (SPCK). 2. SPORT
So there have always been some die-hard fitness fanatics pounding the pavements into their 80s, but data from healthcare provider Nuffield Health from their 77 gyms across the UK reveals that the average age of their most frequent gym user is 67. Members in this age group were shown to visit the gym an average of eight times a month, whereas those aged 27 visited an average of five times a month in comparison. Baby boomers are beating millennials, which is having huge benefits on their overall wellbeing. Research shows exercise can increase life expectancy by 10 years and even keep the mind healthy – with sport increasing the size of the brain.
3. BAKING
Thanks to the Great British Bake Off and young stars like Martha Collinson, who we featured in idea magazine last year, baking is cool. No longer the preserve of nanas, bread, cakes and biscuits are back in vogue. Guaranteed likes on Instagram and popularity in the office, feel free to feel very smug next time you’re knocking up a Victoria sponge, safe in the knowledge that you’re bang on trend.
4. THE WOMEN’S INSTITUTE
Its popularity across ages is now nothing new, but it may still surprise you that it’s boom time for the WI. Jerusalem, jam and knitting have taken a back seat, with many meetings now taking place in the pub and focus on campaigning on issues concerning women and offering community to many who can’t find it anywhere else. There are more than 215,000 members in roughly 6,300 WIs across Britain. The first WI in London was opened in 2003 in Fulham and there are now 50 in the capital. Many existing branches have long waiting lists, including the East Dulwich WI. Ladies, it’s time we joined the club.
5. BEARDS
Humans have a long and complicated history with facial hair. The Marmite of grooming, beards have enjoyed both popularity with some and hatred from others across the ages. Now however, it’s never been cooler to have a little stubble and 52 per cent of men are apparently sporting it. Along with the increase, beard oil, which claims to moisturise the skin and make the hair soft and shiny, has become big business. IDEA MAGAZINE / 32
LETTERS: HAVE YOUR SAY
In your words
We love hearing from you, so have your say on any of the issues raised in idea or make any comments about the Evangelical Alliance by emailing idea@eauk.org EDITOR’S NOTE I was really proud of the last edition of idea, as I feel the team did an excellent job at clarifying the complex issues around the European Union referendum. I was therefore very upset to hear that some of you received copies of the magazine with two pages misprinted with a thick, grey line through the articles. We wrote to some of you who we believe were affected to apologise, and were grateful for your feedback so that we could offer you a replacement, but if you too were involved, do let us know by emailing idea@eauk.org. Please again accept our sincere apologies for any inconvenience caused by this printing error. The only positive we could find in this misprint was the huge volume of comments we received from you, our valued readers, saying how much you enjoy reading idea. It’s fantastic to hear your views, so please do consider sending a letter to the editor in the future if you enjoy the magazine, or have some thoughts on how we can make it better. Amaris Cole Editor BIBLICAL INERRANCY – CONTINUED While biblical inerrancy is a broad subject, a couple of points in response to Steve Allen’s letter in the May/June magazine.
This view of scripture is the historical church view and it was primarily to counteract (19th century) error that the doctrine of inerrancy developed. The Lord Jesus himself quotes scripture, in this case from the Old Testament, in such a way as to imply that he viewed it as true. If he took this view, and after all he is called the Logos, who are we to take a different view.. Neil Campbell
NESTLE NEED TO DO MORE I was glad to read of the different ways we can take a stand against consumerism in the last idea, and pleased to read Thomas Horton’s tale of sending wrappers to Nestle. Nestle’s two most famous Fairtrade brands are KitKat and Partners Blend. Most recent estimates are that 2 per cent of the cocoa purchased by the company is fair-trade and 0.02 per cent of the coffee. However, Fairtrade should mean 100 per cent. Everyone, by definition. Otherwise it’s not really fair at all. Readers of Ethical Consumer have ranked Nestle the most unethical company of the last 25 years. Furthermore, zmescience has many articles about their questionable practice.
If God is as revealed in the Bible and the Bible is the word of God, then the Bible is by implication inerrant. God is the God of truth and cannot lie, so He is not going to give us as His revealed word something that is untrue. Editor Amaris Cole – idea@eauk.org
Director of media & communications Chine McDonald
Consulting editors Chine McDonald and Peter Lynas
idea is published bi-monthly and sent free of charge to members of the Evangelical Alliance. Formed in 1846, the Alliance’s mission is to unite evangelicals to present Christ credibly as good news for spiritual and social transformation. There are around two million evangelical Christians in the UK, according to a 2007 Tearfund survey.
Advertising manager Candy O’Donovan c.odonovan@eauk.org Design & Print Cliffe Enterprise JULY/AUGUST 2016
Steve Nisbet @Nibb Liked: Poirot, prayer and the faith of David Suchet eauk.co/1XUKyl0 via @idea_mag || fascinating article,much truth and honesty Alistair Wearring @Wearring The @idea_mag #EUref edition is a very good read well done @AmarisCole and all @EAUKnews Jubilee Centre @JubileeCentre How does the European Union work? Great infographic from the EA bit.ly/1rmS2CN via @ idea_mag Bob Northey @BobNorthey @idea_mag Thanks so much for an informative, brave edition #EAspecial #BREXIT pic.twitter. com/6GGvPxE6ph Sailors’ Churches @SailorsChurches Love being a member of @EAUKnews not least due to regular deliveries of @idea_mag !!! pic.twitter. com/Qzj2fMxtbA Tim Rowlands @TimRowlands Good to catch up with @ElfedGodding at today’s @ EAUKnews Cymru/Wales Council Meeting. Ian Mayer @ianrmayer Our special lunch guest is @MayorRos Ministers & Leaders Day, Wed 22nd June 2016 with @ stevemclifford @EAUKnews missiondoncaster.org.uk
Via email
The coordinators of the Nestle boycott are Baby Milk Action, an organisation with ethics that all Christians can admire, though they are not themselves explicitly Christian. Their aim is clear in their title and it is not to make money. Nestle’s position is perhaps best summed up in their own code of ethics,
Contributing authors Alexandra Davis, Cristine Edusi, Danny Webster, David Hilborn, Hazel Southam, Joanna Wright, Rachel Fadipe.
HEARD IN TWEETS
idea is published in accordance with the Alliance’s Basis of Faith, although it is impossible in every article to articulate each detail and nuance of belief held by Alliance members. Articles in idea may therefore express views on which there is a
TWITTER TALKS: DOES A CHURCH HAVE TO INCLUDE ALL GENERATIONS TO BE HEALTHY? We asked Twitter whether single-generation churches can be healthy, or should all ages should be represented in the house of God? The results are in: 74% Yes, all ages are needed 5% No, all churches are unique 5% Specific mission works 16% It depends on the leader Follow us on Twitter to answer the poll for the next edition @ @idea_mag
which you can read on their website. It states under the conflicts of interest that they “will always act in the best interests of Nestlé”. I would urge readers of idea to join Baby Milk Action and/or write to Nestle about any concerns. Dr MG Reed, general practitioner Via email divergence of opinion or understanding among evangelicals. Letters and story ideas from members are welcome, and will be considered by the editorial board, which reserves the right to edit letters and stories for length and style. We regret that we are unable to engage in personal correspondence. Unsolicited material will only be returned if accompanied by a stamped, selfaddressed envelope. idea accepts advertisements and inserts to offset printing costs. Advertising in idea does not imply editorial endorsement. The Alliance reserves the right to accept or refuse advertisements at its discretion. Articles may be reproduced only with permission from the editor. IDEA MAGAZINE / 33
LAST WORD
Steve Clifford the general director, writes…
I have been radicalised There’s been a lot of talk in recent months about the danger of radicalisation, indeed the government seems set on bringing forward legislation to protect against radical extremism. Now, while I understand the government’s motivation, I have a confession to make – I hope it doesn’t mean I will be arrested – I have been radicalised. I was brought up in a Christian home, attended church through my childhood and participated in Scripture Union camps, but by my early teens, there wasn’t a lot of faith in my life. However, at the age of 17, something profoundly life-changing happened. I had a summer job at what turned out to be a Christian conference centre, Capernwray Hall, and while there, I heard the life changing message of Jesus’ life, death and resurrection. As I accepted the message, everything had to change. I was ‘converted’, ‘radicalised’ for Jesus. Everything changed, not overnight, but in the weeks, months and years that followed, my aspirations for life centred around being a radical follower of Jesus. It seemed Jesus had something to say into every area, not just what happened on Sunday. He was interested in my finances, my relationships, my attitude to the poor, the environment and perhaps most seriously, my plans for the future. How I viewed my life and indeed the world around me had been radicalised. Of course, my experience is true for millions upon millions who have chosen the path of Jesus - from those fishermen invited to join the team, down through the centuries to women and men who were willing to lay it all on the line, even to the point of death, because of their encounter with the master. I love how those who opposed our evangelical forefathers, Whitefield, Wesley, Edwards, chose to insult them, calling them “enthusiasts”. I guess that’s an 18th century equivalent to ‘radical’. Throughout the centuries, the followers of Jesus’ relationship with the state has been problematic. In the early years of the Church, it was the powerbase of the temple, those who feared they would lose their authority, who opposed them so vigorously. The ‘chief priests’ of our modern, secular-humanist society react strongly to the ‘enthusiasts’ who challenge their powerbase. For them, all is fine as long as we keep our faith private, restricted to Sundays and perhaps have an occasional foray into some social action project. But woe betide us if we challenge the prevailing world views. God forbid we might suggest the Church may have something to say beyond our private individual faith; that God is concerned about the growing divide between rich and poor, the environment, how we conduct our relationships including marriage, corruption wherever we may find it – I could go on. The ‘chief priests’ get particularly concerned when we want to make clear the Christian faith’s claims about Jesus. Peter speaking to the rulers, elders, teachers and high priests of his day in Acts 4:12 put it like this: “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name IDEA MAGAZINE / 34
Everything changed, not overnight, but in the weeks, months and years that followed, my aspirations for life centred around being a radical follower of Jesus.” under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” This is a shocking message which the 21st century mind-set finds hard to hear - there is no other way. The other great world faiths or philosophies can’t do it. Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, humanism just won’t do. So let’s be clear, whatever pressure might be put on us, whether by legislation, the media or just social norms, this message can’t stay within our church buildings. It has to break out. It’s for everyone to hear and for everyone to have an opportunity to accept or reject. So let’s ask for God’s help to be carriers of this message wherever He would take us. That as we speak what the early Church called the ‘good news’, we do it as Jesus spoke, not discrediting our message by our attitude or lifestyle, that we live and we speak full of grace as well as truth.
At the Alliance, we remain centrally involved in scrutinising government counter-extremism plans. We are deeply concerned that legitimate fears about security are being used to reduce our freedoms to proclaim and live out the gospel. In partnership with others, we will continue to press the government to clearly define what it means by ‘extremist’ and to recognise that freedom of religion is a foundation that underpins all our other freedoms and rights.
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