also inside:
An LICC Resource A LICC Resource
Edition 32 March 2012
Not another book on the Bible Antony Billington
Life on the Frontline Rory Keegan on a new resource
A Few Home Truths Mark Greene
Tıme for some Home Truths Mark Greene pitches his tent. His challenge applies to every area willingness of a few Christians in the of society – not just the media and the City to raise their voices, as some did as financial sector. Still, the reality is that, early as 2005. The real issue is whether while there are literally thousands of Christians are ready and willing to make a highly committed, Bible-believing transformative difference to their society. Christians working in the City, it was Simply put, the salt will lose its not they, or we, who drew attention to the saltiness unless our theological colleges moral directionlessness of our financial and church leaders and parachurch systems. It was the diverse group of organisations focus on creating church people, including a communities in which number of disciples of leaders and people alike ‘John Stott yearned Jesus, out in the tents. commit to helping one not only for the The salt has not been another to work out the doing its job. conversion of medics, implications of the Gospel “Why?” I asked one lawyers, and factory in every area of life. very senior, professionally We all have our part to workers, but for the brilliant, Christ-devoted play. In John Stott’s case transformation of banker. He replied he knew that most lay humbly, “It is very hard Christians were not being medicine, law and to see the issues when biblically envisioned or manufacturing.’ you are in the middle of equipped for their mission them.” in their daily contexts. His Our church communities have not response was to change his preaching been enabling the salt to do its job. and then to change his job. Indeed, Yes, we applaud those in senior church when he founded LICC, John specifically leadership who have spoken forcefully chose to invest his time, year by year, in about the hollowness in our nation’s soul personally training and discipling the that engendered both the riots on our 40 or so people who came to LICC from streets and the meltdown in our markets. all over the world, from all kinds of jobs, But the real issue is not the ability of to be salt in their day-to-day world. He Christians to comment, or indeed the yearned not only for the conversion of medics, lawyers, and factory workers, but for the transformation of medicine, law and manufacturing. Similarly he met monthly for 25 years to study the Bible and pray with a group of business people, and he met regularly with a group of graduates to engage with social and cultural issues. Yes, John wrote 50 books and spoke on the biggest platforms, but that work was shaped by his personal engagement and friendship with lay disciples. He saw the huge daily mission potential of the 98% of Christians who are not clergy. By contrast, the church’s understanding of mission has, as I have written before, essentially been: Mark Greene speaking at John Stott’s Memorial Service, St Paul’s Cathedral
The problem with the familiar is that you can come to accept it as normal – the broken tile in the bathroom that never gets fixed, the acidic cynicism in an office team, the discarded needles in the playground… But every now and again we gain a rare moment of clarity, a God-given glimpse of ‘normality’, when we realise: ‘Enough! It shouldn’t be this way.’ As I was preparing to speak at John Stott’s memorial service at St Paul’s, I glimpsed a few home truths about our country and our church with fresh force. Outside, the tents of the Occupy movement were still pitched along its northern wall. What, I wondered, would John have made of it? Back in 1976, John invited Malcolm Muggeridge, the brilliant, iconoclastic broadcaster, to give the London Lectures in Contemporary Christianity on the subject of the media. Muggeridge concluded that nothing truly good could ever come out of broadcasting. But John would have none of it: you don’t blame the meat for going rotten, you blame the salt for not doing its job. ‘It’s our fault’, he said. It’s we Christians who should be in there ‘refining, reforming, rescuing for Jesus’.
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‘To recruit the people of God to use some of their leisure time to join the missionary initiatives of church-paid workers.’ This model has born fruit at a local level – but it is incomplete, ignoring as it does the contexts in which Christians spend the bulk of their time with those who don’t know Jesus. Certainly, in a time of economic austerity, growing poverty and anxiety, local churches are called to do all they can to alleviate suffering and to minister to the poor here and overseas. But, as we can now see, bad business is as swift a route to poverty as war or corruption. We need a transformed press, transformed government, transformed media, and transformed education. And we will not see these things unless the people of God become truly salty, by:
in his foreword to Neil Hudson’s new book Imagine Church: releasing wholelife disciples:
• Understanding biblically how we can begin to change the world around us
a pulpit or in a classroom alone, but is formed through community, and through godly habits, in the practice of mission and in the context of everyday life.
• Discerning, in our day-to-day life, what we can celebrate about our culture, and what we should challenge • Discovering how prayer can unlock seemingly intractable situations, and how it can give us the energy and power to make a real difference • Creating truly counter-cultural communities, which are driven by the ethic of costly love and servant leadership, and which help us to stay the course and walk the narrow path
I hold a number of strong convictions:
1. There is no way to re-evangelize this nation apart from the impact of the daily lives of ordinary, everyday Christians.
2. The ultimate test of the fruitfulness and authenticity of any church, irrespective of its style or tradition, is the quality of disciples it makes. As this book says, ‘Making whole-life missionary disciples is the core vocation of the church.’
3. Today’s church in the UK has inherited a disastrous split between evangelism and disciple-making, and often reduces discipleship to a narrowly conceived personal piety.
4. Discipleship cannot be taught from
5. We do not yet fully understand how to form whole-life disciples of Jesus in our seductive consumer and celebrity culture. The UK will not be transformed by social action initiatives alone but by a return to the church’s primary task to make disciples. So, what to do?
At LICC, we press on. After five years of focused research with local churches, we are launching a whole new set of Imagine resources and offering a series of workshops around the country to seek to catalyse a movement of whole-life disciple-making churches. In all this, our local At the same time, it churches remain the key. is clear that churches That’s why we began the are struggling to equip Imagine Project back in their people to be salty 2004. And ours is by no Bishop Graham Cray on the frontline of their means a lone voice. workplace. And that is Bishop Graham Cray why we have significantly increased the who wrote Mission Shaped Church and capacity of our team working on work, helps to lead the Church of England’s and that is why, in God’s providence, we Fresh Expressions initiative wrote this • Experiencing transformation for ourselves, and developing a depth of character that will inspire and challenge those around us to become effective disciples themselves
find ourselves with two years’ experience already in working directly with groups of youngish employees and with middle to senior executives. Together we are not only clarifying our theology but helping people to make an impact where they are. Like John Stott, we are looking to work closely with individuals, while seeking the widest possible audience for what we are learning. The sixth point in Graham Cray’s foreword to Neil’s book was this:
6. Many of the important things we do understand have been learned through LICC’s Imagine Project. Participating in it is a vital way to increase our understanding. Yes, we have made a start, but it is only a start. It is one thing to create a church community with the kind of soil in which disciples can grow, it is quite another to actually grow them. We all have much to learn. And the time to act is now, because it is not easy work, or fast work, or work that is likely to lead to the development of a single, all singing, all dancing resource that will solve all our issues. Of course, we do find ourselves at the beginning of a period of economic pressure. This year our proposed investment in whole-life mission will actually rise by over £200,000 to over £1,000,000. You might well ask if this is the wisest moment to radically increase LICC’s investment in helping the church make whole-life disciples. Is a time of drought the time to invest in digging wells? At least, there may be water tomorrow. As an organisation, we have pitched our tent. As for me, the combination of the sharp reminder of the scale of the challenge to the church and John Stott’s example of living in a way so utterly and intentionally consistent with his calling, has made me ponder and pray: what changes would God have me make in my rule of life? I suspect it’s a question we all face from time to time. For me, and I think for the church in the UK, the time is now. 3
Changed Focus, Changed Lives? What happens when churches grasp the vision for whole-life discipleship? The Imagine team have been working with a new tranche of churches in the North-West. Neil Hudson enthuses. ‘It’s been an absolutely lifechanging experience really – for me.’ This was Elaine’s reflection on the impact of the Imagine perspective on her life. It’d be easy to think that this comes from someone who is prone to exaggerate or keen to please. Or maybe someone who worked in advertising (Ed: Surely not). But watch the clip on YouTube (tinyurl.com/86u8lsf) and you’ll hear the heartfelt relief of someone who had been struggling to juggle her working life and the demands of her local church. She loved both. But she didn’t feel released to take her faith into her work. She certainly does now. Elaine belongs to one of the churches we’ve been working with in the North West. For the last two years Chick Yuill, our Imagine Consultant in the region, has been applying the principles we learned and the process we developed from our original pilot research and has
been testing them afresh in a number of individual churches and in an exciting project with some 30 Methodist churches. And we are already seeing the signs of growth that make us dare to hope that Imagine could catalyse a viral movement of whole-life disciple-making churches in the nation.
Signs of growth You see those signs in stories of changed perspectives, changed habits, changed communities. A pastor accepts the challenge to find out about his people’s frontlines and begins to visit people in their workplaces each week. After all, it’s hard to pray about someone’s frontline, or equip someone for it, if you have no idea what it’s like. As he arrives at one man’s office, ready to share lunch, he learns that no one there knows that the man is a Christian. ‘So how will we play this?’ the pastor enquires. ‘I guess this is the moment I let them know,’
Neil Hudson, Tracy Cotterell & Chick Yuill
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comes the reply. So, as they walk through to the desk at the end of the open-plan office, the pastor is introduced, smiles, shakes hands, and then, one sandwich later, leaves. Every day for the next two weeks a different person comes up to the man and begins a conversation with a sentence that begins something like: ‘I never realised you were a Christian…’ These stories of change happen in places like Smithy Bridge, a village out on the moors overlooking Rochdale. There in the small church some people were desperate for God to shake them up, for their church to come alive. When the opportunity came to be part of the Imagine Project, they grabbed it with both hands. They grasped the vision of whole-life discipleship but knew that if they were to fulfil the goal of helping one another be fruitful on their frontlines then they needed to challenge each other to embrace their frontlines, to make each other aware of what they were facing and to encourage one another to live as wholelife disciples. So one of the things they did was to add a ‘This Time Tomorrow’ slot (a short interview about someone’s frontline, http://bit.ly/thistimetomorrow) into their Sunday service. They ran TTT in their services for 24 weeks without a break – and they are a church of only forty people! Twenty four of them were asked about where they were, what challenges and opportunities they had, and were prayed for. Not surprisingly, it began to change their life together. People began to share their stories. People found confidence to express their faith. And they came with stories to tell. That church has changed. People are becoming more enthused about their faith, they are recognising how their life continued on page 6…
How to become a whole-life disciple-making church Mark Greene summarises 1. Cast the vision – root it in the whole-life Gospel – whole life discipleship is Jesus-following, crossshaped, Spirit-empowered, it’s missional, liberating and it’s rooted in Biblical revelation and Scriptural imperatives. It’s for everyone and it needs everyone: cleaners and accountants, builders and barristers, 5 year olds and 105 year olds. It’s for out there as well as in here, it’s for others as well as us, it takes a long time and it’s hard. It’s a revolution, it’s the way things are meant to be and it’s urgent…
This will not only have an impact on how pastors spend their time, it will affect everyone in the community. It will affect our expectations of one another and the kind of disciples we are there to help one another become – sent, empowered, equipped and supported to bless and serve and witness in God’s world…
2. Focus on the frontline – this isn’t about making the church run more smoothly but helping God’s people be more fruitful in all of life – doing good work, modelling godliness, ministering grace, making culture anew, being a mouthpiece for truth and justice and a mouthpiece for the Gospel… wherever they engage with those who don’t know Jesus in their everyday lives.
It’s not necessarily about doing new things but about doing things you already do with the new DNA: a change to the bulletin, a shift in the prayer focus of a home group, an interview in a service. Try things. Celebrate what helps. Dump what doesn’t. Learn from both…
6. Tell the stories, celebrate progress – you’ll know you’re succeeding when people tell the stories of what’s going on out there: at the school gate, in the supermarket, the office, the club. Listen for stories, and invite people to tell them – they may think their story is too small but stories about God at work are never too small – Jesus tells one about giving someone a cup of water. Try to help people to connect these stories to the Bible, to the principles they find there, to God’s priorities and character, to the way that He has dealt with His people in the past…
Yes, both mission in your local community and overseas mission are important but you’re creating a wholelife missional community not just a leisure-time missional community. So make sure that your community is growing in their understanding of each other’s frontlines: the people, issues, opportunities, obstacles, and the prayer they would value…
4. Grow a core team – the champions for the cause who really, really want to make this happen. It’s never easy to change the culture of any organisation so there needs to be a group who are responsible for following through – prayerfully, sensitively but purposefully. Make sure it includes lay and churchpaid members…
3. Expand the pastor/people contract – leaders are called to help create a disciple-equipping community, not just a disciple-caring community. They are not just there to help people with pastoral issues, to help us through the crises and pressure points in our lives – though they do, thank God. Rather, leaders are there to create a community that enables us all to live as whole-life disciples.
5. Make one degree shifts – you don’t need to change everything to begin and you probably shouldn’t. Look for the mustard seeds, the one degree shifts, those small but telling changes that express the values and take the community in the right direction. How can what we do in the 3 to 10 hours we spend together each week have an impact on the 110 hours we spend apart?
Principles and process are important but whole-life discipleship is not intended to be the latest version of salvation by works, a new set of hurdles to jump, a brand new way to feel inadequate and guilty. So cheer one another on. Love one another with grace and patience. We’re all learning to change – and God is our gracious Father, not a fingerwagging, grumpy old headmaster. This is a life-long journey – a long walk in a new direction, not a sprint to be completed by next September… but a long journey it is. Press on in Him. For His glory. Mark Greene is Executive Director of LICC and the author of Imagine how we can reach the UK.
continued from page 4…
together can help them when they are apart and they are seeing new people coming to join their community. The change, however, is not just to their communal life together but to people’s lives beyond the church. One woman finds that she is talking to people about faith as she goes about her daily business. ‘And that just wasn’t the sort of person I was,’ she says. She’s found confidence from belonging to a church that takes her frontline seriously. You see it in the spontaneous response of another woman who upon meeting an elderly lady in the village gets an overwhelming impression that she’s isolated and lonely.
So she tells her that Jesus wants her to know she’s not alone. The older lady asks her if she has time to sit and tell her more about her faith. These small but significant shifts in behaviour are all the more encouraging when you know that they are not being done by people who have been doing this for years, but by people who for years never realised that God could use them to make a difference in quite this way.
A marathon, not a sprint These beginnings are encouraging – and there are many examples. But you need more than a few quick wins to
change a culture. That takes time. It takes the resolve of people to persevere so that embracing our frontlines becomes the natural thing that everyone does. One church that has recognised the perseverance required is St Paul’s, Kersal Moor, Salford. Anthea Darlington, the Church Warden, explains their continuing commitment to the Imagine Project: ‘Why a second year of Imagine? Simple – to carry on making a difference to the life of our church and parish... enabling our members to grow in their Christian faith through a strategy for discipling believers at all levels of their Christian experience, and to help us keep thinking missionally, inspired by high quality worship and ministry, so that we can reach out to our communities and grow in numbers, depth and grace. ‘We are focusing more as a congregation on life beyond/outside of church in our sermon themes, in our activities, in our TTT time and through our prayers, especially parish and morning prayers, and in our praying for each other. We are creating more opportunities to hear each other’s stories and get to know more about each other, so that we can learn from each other, be inspired by each other, and be supported in our own ministry.’ Other churches have changed their noticeboards or, like St John’s,
Blackheath, produced cards for every member with the key Imagine principles. Thomas Risley United Reformed Church in Warrington expressed its commitment to the frontline by modifying their logo. They overlaid the ‘t’ and ‘r’ of their logo (conceived as a cross and its shadow) across LICC’s graphic depicting the scattered 6
St Peter’s Church, Woolton, Liverpool
church as a series of red dots lighting up and impacting the wider community. Obviously, changing a logo is not the same as changing a culture. And the key to all these kinds of initiatives is that they arise out of the biblical vision for whole-life discipleship and encourage a community commitment to frontline mission. Andrew Willetts, the minister, puts it with admirable brevity and clarity: ‘We decided to go for a second year because it takes that long to change attitudes. If we stopped now, people would revert to the old ways.’ Of course, change isn’t always easy or without opposition. And Chick helps churches to keep on track by, for example, encouraging them to assess the extent to which the core Imagine values are being lived out: 1. Are we valuing everyone’s frontline? 2. Are we connecting the ‘10’ to the ‘110’? Ensuring that the 3 to 10 hours we spend together equips us for the 110 hours or so we spend apart? 3. Are we growing together as wholelife disciples? So he encourages communities to rejoice – as they identify and celebrate evidence of change; to be realistic – to identify obstacles that impede their growth; and to reach forward – prayerfully seeking the changes that will foster growth. Still, for those who’ve caught even a glimpse of what it means to be a wholelife disciple-making church, going back
to the ‘old ways’ is simply not an option. Indeed, the further they go in developing a whole-life disciple-making culture, and the more that people catch the vision, the less likely they are to revert to a model of church life that excludes the daily mission fields of their members. As Kay, one of the church elders at Thomas Risley, put it: ‘Imagine has made me totally rethink my ‘ frontline’. I ask every day, “God what have I done to bring glory to you today?” And I ask him to give me the ‘tools’ to do the job. It’s made me realise that, instead of trying to be the ‘best mum’ and the ‘best wife’ first, if I try to be the best disciple first then that will make me a better wife, mother, friend, colleague, daughter, sister, auntie... And the church has begun to realise ‘the call to worship’ is not 10.40am on a Sunday morning but every day when we open our eyes until we shut them to sleep.’
A new movement? Can we at LICC see a whole-life disciplemaking movement become viral? Time will tell. Can we point to churches that are beginning to take firm steps on the whole-life journey? Absolutely. But the real joy is not seeing the activities of a church change, it’s the joy of seeing the fruitfulness of individuals who come alive to the ways that God can use them. And these stories become more common. Here is one I heard this week. It’s about a teacher who is supported by the prayers of a church as she goes about
her daily business. Four years ago, she met a young Year 7 pupil who stood out from his peers. In a confidently naive way, he would ask his friends if they knew that Jesus really loved them. I can almost see your concerned smile. But he was never bullied. He was never isolated. He was friends with these children. It was the teaching staff who were concerned about this ‘strange’ boy. But the boy had an ally in the Christian teacher who became his advocate and his defender. And as he grew older they began a Christian Union together in the school for the first time in the school’s history. And his friends came week by week. A church’s prayers. A teacher’s calling. A boy’s mission. A new mode of witness. Delightful. May we see more. May you see more on your frontline and on the frontlines of the people of the local church you are called to bless, serve and help fulfil its calling to make whole-life disciples. Join us. Have a look at the new resources for groups and leaders described in the following pages. Visit the Imagine section of our website. And if you aren’t in church leadership, encourage your leaders to come along to one of the many one-day workshops that we will be offering round the country. Neil Hudson is the Director of the Imagine Project and the developer of three new resources – Life on the Frontline for small groups, and, for leaders, Imagine Church: releasing whole-life disciples and, with Tracy Cotterell, Leading a Whole-Life Disciplemaking Church. 7
Life on the Frontline LICC launches a new small group DVD resource to help local churches engage, equip and empower their people to serve God on the frontlines of everyday life. Rory Keegan reports. ‘Mission. Mates. Me.’ Most military personnel are familiar with this handy mantra, reminding them of the essential priorities of any deployment: there’s a job to do, a challenge to meet. The mission is your motivation. Fortunately, success doesn’t depend on gung-ho acts of individual heroism. Rather, it’s based on teamwork and trust. Your mates look out for you, and you for them. What’s more, such lifesaving interdependence creates the safe space in which your individual gifts and skills can flourish – which is the positive explanation of why ‘me’ has to take third place. Switch the context to Britain’s local churches today – how does the ‘3M’ maxim apply? Director of LICC’s Imagine Project, Neil Hudson comments: ‘Our experience from working with churches is that people feel liberated when they see how their daily lives can be wrapped up into God’s mission. They want to grow and be fruitful. But it’s hard to keep going on your own. So our “mates” matter. And this is the starting point for our new course Life on the Frontline.’ The reality is that we all have a frontline, we all have a mission field where we connect to people who don’t know Jesus. So Life on the Frontline is designed to help people in small groups recognise one another’s frontlines, see how God may be using them there, pray with real purpose for one
another and experience how the Bible helps us respond to God on our frontlines. Each session begins with a short, documentary-style film featuring real-life stories that help people discover the potential in their own contexts. Take Ed, for example. Convinced that he was called to service anywhere but in his workplace, Ed was frustrated by God’s seeming refusal to move him out of the warehouse. But one day he realised that maybe this was the place God had called him to be a blessing. It was then that he made his life-changing decision: to arrive ten minutes earlier every morning. This gave him time to chat to his co-workers and slowly forge better relationships with them. Ed didn’t ‘push’ his faith on to them, but nor did he make a secret of it. And he felt a new motivation to pray for his colleagues and, in whatever way he could, to minister to them. So, not surprisingly, he was prepared when one of them began to share a personal problem with him… Unspectacular, perhaps. But definitely transformational. Presented by Neil Hudson, Life on the Frontline builds on the films, using select
Bible passages and interactive exercises to explore Christ’s call and commission, and how the small group and the wider church can really work to equip and support their members. Indeed, whether we’re 18 or 80, this new resource is designed to help us grow confident in our calling, mutually supportive in our ministry and fruitful in our mission. Bring it on. Rory Keegan is a freelance writer, editor, resource developer and communications consultant. rhkeegan@ btinternet.com
Life on the Frontline is a 6 session DVD-based course. Disk contains videos, Leaders’ and Participants’ Guides. £8 for one pack; £5 per pack for multipack purchases. Available online from www.licc.org.uk/shop or by phone 020 7399 9555. Visit www.licc.org.uk/imagine for more information about the resource and multipack options.
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Imagine Church Spring Workshops How can churches become communities that envision, equip and support their people to be fruitful on their daily frontlines – wherever those are? Throughout this year, Neil Hudson will be leading training workshops for church leaders and leadership teams who want to help create whole-life disciple-making churches. He’ll be exploring the biblical vision and the practical principles and process he’s been learning in his work with churches of different sizes and denominations across the nation and offering a clear framework for moving forward. What are the implications for leaders and leadership teams who want to create
a missional disciple-making community? How have people grown in confidence to make a difference on their frontlines? What’s helped? What’s hindered? What keeps it going? What resources can help? And how can you discern the right first steps to take in your own particular context? Naturally, individual delegates are more than welcome, but, given the nature and vital importance of the topic, it’s often more helpful if leaders can come with others from the same church.
Spring Dates & Locations Wed 25 April: Christchurch Winchester, Christchurch Rd, Winchester, SO23 9SR Thu 10 May: Coventry Elim Church, Butts, Coventry, CV1 3GR Tue 22 May: LICC, St Peters, Vere Street, W1G 0DQ Wed 30 May: Lymington Baptist Church, New Street Lymington, Hampshire, SO41 9BJ Cost: £15, including refreshments. Lunch not provided. To book, please email: gemma.curran@licc.org.uk Autumn dates and locations will be announced soon. If you’d like to host a training day, contact nigel.hall@licc.org.uk.
Neil Hudson is the Director of the Imagine Project at LICC and has been in ordained church leadership for over twenty five years. He still practices what he preaches two days a week as the pastor of a local church in Salford. So he not only brings his characteristically lively, down-to-earth teaching st yle to the workshops but a rich and helpful combination of practical experience and theological insight.
The Programme 9.30am Registration & Coffee 10.00am The Vision of a Disciple-Making Church 11.00am Coffee 11.15am Developing Whole-Life Disciples 12.30pm Lunch Break 1.30pm Changing a Church Culture 2.30pm Practical Next Steps 3.15pm Feedback & Questions 3.45pm Prayer & Commission
Leading a Whole-Life Disciplemaking Church Tracy Cotterell & Neil Hudson, Grove, £2.75, 28pp What happens when the central focus of a church is not what happens on Sunday, but how that equips people for living as disciples Monday to Saturday? What are the implications for leaders? This compelling booklet clarifies the importance of this shift in focus, how it can transform the understanding of a church’s mission, and how leaders can make it happen – amidst all the complexities and challenges of church life.
Imagine Church – Releasing Whole-Life Disciples Neil Hudson, IVP, £9.99, 184pp How can an ordinary church become a community of people who help one another live out their whole life – at home, work, church, in the neighbourhood – as followers of Jesus in his mission in the world? Read on. Drawing on five years of work with churches across the UK, Neil sets out the vision, the principles and the kind of process that can help a church community make disciples who live fruitfully on the frontline.
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Not another book on the Bible Antony Billington on Whole Life Whole Bible’s distinctive approach to Scripture. that one of the most valuable ways of ‘I believe in Christianity’, wrote C.S. More than a Bible overview, however, grasping the big picture of Scripture is Lewis, ‘as I believe that the sun has risen, the book has been written with the through its overarching story – perhaps not only because I see it, but because conviction that the scriptural story is especially useful for those by it I see everything else.’ crucial for shaping how we think and of us who struggle to join Something of that conviction live. A whole-Bible perspective nurtures the dots between different lies behind the pages of a whole-life perspective – for Monday to biblical passages. From Whole Life, Whole Bible, a Saturday as well as Sunday, in public Genesis to Revelation, brand new publication from and in private, in wider society as well the Bible can be seen as LICC’s Antony Billington, as in church, in work as much as in an epic narrative: a story Margaret Killingray, and worship. which begins with God as Helen Parry. Written out Importantly, this whole-life perspective Antony Billington Creator, which focuses on of a deep confidence that is not limited to a few biblical passages Israel as the people who will Scripture illumines every here and there, but is woven through the bring God’s blessing to the nations, which part of existence, the distinctiveness of story as a whole – from creation to new the New Testament declares has the book is captured in the two parts of creation. This means come to its promised fulfillment its main title – Whole Life, Whole Bible. that what the Bible has in the redemption brought about In line with others, the book advocates to say about family or through Christ, in whom God’s a whole-Bible perspective. It is now work, for instance, is purposes for the widely recognised not limited to the places universe will where those particular be finalised. topics are addressed So it is that directly. Rather, the Margaret Killingray Whole Life, whole biblical story of Whole Bible salvation is significant is designed to walk for our family life and our working week through the unfolding as we live out in our respective contexts story of the Bible in what it means to be created, fallen-but5 0 readings and redeemed members of Christ’s church, reflections. It has looking forward to the consummation of been deliberately all things. presented in bite Whole Life, Whole Bible is, then, an sized pieces (see expression of a vital part of LICC’s vision the opposite page for churches for an example) to and individuals help people step – that the whole into the drama people of God of S cr iptu re. might engage Questions after with the whole each ref lection word of God allow readers to in a way that Helen Parry dig deeper, if touches and they want to – transfor ms on their own or the whole of our lives, individually and with others or together, for the sake of the world. Our with their small hope is that the book will help many group. people do just that. 10
Holy, Holy, Holy An excerpt from Whole Life, Whole Bible. Available through the LICC shop – www.licc.org.uk/shop/books The Lord said to Moses, ‘Speak to the Israelites and say to them: “I am the Lord your God. You must not do as they do in Egypt, where you used to live, and you must not do as they do in the land of Canaan, where I am bringing you. Do not follow their practices. You must obey my laws and be careful to follow my decrees. I am the Lord your God. Keep my decrees and laws, for the person who obeys them will live by them. I am the Lord...” The Lord said to Moses, ‘Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: “Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.”’ Leviticus 18:1-5 and 19:1-2 The life of the people of God is to reflect God’s own character. ‘Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.’ The sheer range of regulations in Leviticus reminds us that the holiness in view touches all areas of life, not just the ‘religious’ ones; that holiness does not entail removal from the world but presupposes daily living in the world, as part of the rhythm of the week and the months, the cycle of the seasons; that holiness is not the preserve of the privileged few but is for all God’s people; that holiness is not a privatised experience but is bound up with living and working in community. Nor is holiness about floating free in some ethereal existence, untouched by the messiness of life. Rather, it is earthed (quite literally sometimes, on the ground) in everyday life – in working crops, maintaining soil, buying and selling goods; in looking after parents, observing sabbath rests and providing for the poor; in how one works, what one eats and who one sleeps with – consciously countering cultural norms in the process, living in the world but not living like the world. All of this is carried out as an integral part of our worship of a holy God. Lest we reduce the principle of holiness to an abstract system of laws, ‘I am the Lord your God’ reminds Israel that redemption comes before regulations, relationship before rules. The law is bound up with a commitment to serve their
covenant Lord, to be a distinctive people and to order their lives with each other appropriately. And it is for the greater end of fulfilling God’s promises to Abraham and the people’s calling to be a priestly kingdom, for the sake of the world. And lest we despair, knowing that the Israelites will never be able to live up to their calling, Leviticus assumes the reality and consequences of sin and makes provision for restoration through sacrifice. Of course, the new covenant necessarily changes the dynamics and the specifics, but the vocation to be a people set apart for God remains (1 Peter 1:13-16; 2:9-10), and, with it, the call to do things differently from those around us. As we do so, we can expect that the laws will still shape our moral vision, because they arise out of God’s holy character and express his mind for his people as we live in the face of the world for the sake of the world.
For further reflection and action 1. Read through the so-called ‘Holiness Code’ (Leviticus 18-20) and make a summary of the laws contained in it. Perhaps make a note of any surprises, and reflect on them further, alone or in conversation with others. Follow up the echoes of Leviticus in 1 Peter 1:13-16 and 2:9-10. How does Peter ‘translate’ holiness for the Christians to whom he writes? 2. What are some of the implications of the Old Testament law for a biblical worldview? Perhaps think personally about the implications for your own family life, business partnerships, leisure time, and so on. 3. How would you respond to someone who claimed that the laws in Leviticus are so buried in the culture of the time that they should be seen as of little or no value for today?
From Whole Life, Whole Bible: 50 Readings on Living in the Light of Scripture (BRF, 2012), pp56-58.
Ways of Reading Whole Life, Whole Bible is designed to be read in in a variety of ways: • By yourself – read it straight through in a few sittings, or use it as a daily reading guide over 50 days, as part of the natural rhythm of your day – first thing in the morning, maybe, or during your tea break in the afternoon. • With others – read it with a friend or spouse or prayer partner, or some colleagues at work, or in a church small group, perhaps using the questions to prompt conversation. • On location – whether by yourself or with others, read it in a public space – in a coffee shop, or on a train – and think about how the Bible might relate to where you are, to what takes place there, and to the people around you.
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Coming Up at LICC The End of the Word as We Know It? Or, What Now for the Bible? Ann Holt, Monday 30 April, 6.30-8.30pm
2011 witnessed a hive of activity to mark the 400th anniversary of the King James Bible. David Cameron asserted that the Bible ‘has helped to shape the values which define our country’. Even well-known atheists were falling over themselves to affirm its literary and cultural significance. But is the Bible no more than a cultural legacy or a literary classic? Join Ann Holt for an evening exploring what the Bible is for – in our personal lives as well as in the public space – looking at the place of Scripture in the range of ways God speaks today, and how Christians may ‘do’ the Bible in a cultural context which doesn’t even do God. Canon Dr Ann Holt was awarded an OBE for her services to education, led the Bible Advocacy Team at the Bible Society for 8 years, and is now their Director of External Relations. Cost: £7 (£5 concession) – includes light refreshments. Book online at www.licc.org.uk, email mail@licc.org.uk, or call 020 7399 9555.
Lyrics of Love: A Day in Song of Songs Antony Billington, Monday 28 May, 10.00am-4.00pm
Song of Songs begins with an expression of desire – ‘Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth’ – and goes on to voice the delights of romantic and sexual intimacy between a man and a woman. Not surprisingly Christians through the ages have disagreed on the most appropriate way of understanding the meaning and significance of the book. Is it just a collection of love poems? If so, what is it doing in Scripture, and what is its abiding significance for today’s church in a highly sexualized, promiscuous society? Combining teaching sessions with opportunities for discussion, this will be an opportunity to dig deeper into Song of Songs, exploring how Scripture nurtures and sustains Christian identity and discipleship in the world today. Antony Billington is LICC’s Head of Theology and, before joining us, taught Hermeneutics and Biblical Theology at the London School of Theology. Cost: £15 (£10 concession) – inc. lunch & light refreshments. Book online at www.licc.org.uk, email mail@licc.org.uk, or call 020 7399 9555.
Why We Love Men in Capes Mark Meynell, Monday 2 July, 6.30-8.30pm
Join Mark Meynell as he investigates the popularity of superheroes in contemporary culture. From Batman to The Incredibles, taking in Friedrich Nietzsche and C.S. Lewis along the way, Mark will look at the kind of superheroes we’ve created, the worldviews they represent, and what their stories reveal about our society’s fears and hopes.
Mark Meynell is Senior Associate Minister, All Souls, Langham Place, London. He has a particular interest in exploring contemporary culture from a Christian perspective and a reputation for being an excellent communicator. Cost: £7 (£5 concession) – includes light refreshments. Book online at www.licc.org.uk, email mail@licc.org.uk, or call 020 7399 9555.
Toolbox 2012 11-15 June and 10-14 September
Come join us for LICC’s innovative 5-day training course, designed to envision and equip Christians from all walks of life with the biblical frameworks and practical skills to live as whole life disciples, applying God’s word in God’s world as active members of Christ’s church. For a free brochure or to book, call LICC on 020 7399 9555, email mail@licc.org.uk or visit www.licc.org.uk/engaging-with-culture/licc-toolbox/
Why God Won’t Go Away, CD Professor Alister McGrath
Is religion delusional? Should we believe only in what can be proved through science? Is faith in God irrational? In this lecture, Professor McGrath assesses the significance of the New Atheism movement, and engages with the leading concerns it raises, showing why God won’t go away. To order your copy at £3.75 each, please call LICC on 020 7399 9555, or email mail@licc.org.uk
Become a Friend of LICC As demand for LICC’s vision and expertise grows, so too does our budget. More than ever, we wish to encourage all who are able to become Friends of LICC – to give regularly to the costs of keeping the Institute’s work going and spreading. A regular gift of just £10 per month can make a huge difference over the course of a year. To become a Friend of LICC, download and complete the form from our website (www.licc.org.uk/licc-friends).
Connecting to LICC If you would like to find out more about LICC – how to receive our mailings, or our ever-popular weekly emails, Word for the Week and Connecting with Culture – please call us on 020 7399 9555, email mail@licc.org.uk or write to us at the address below. The London Institute for Contemporary Christianity St. Peter’s · Vere Street · London · W1G 0DQ (t) 020 7399 9555 (f) 020 7399 9556 (e) mail@licc.org.uk (w) www.licc.org.uk @liccltd
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