Example Given
No. 39 Mar 2015
How many swallows make a summer? Mark Greene rejoices in signs of change in how we understand God’s mission.
Wisdom for Life - Antony Billington looks at living wisely in God’s world. Political Engagement - Paul Bickley offers a broad vision for politics ahead of the UK’s General Election.
How many swallows make a summer? 2014 felt like a breakthrough year and Mark Greene can’t help but rejoice, give thanks and praise God for signs of progress in God’s mission through LICC... How many swallows do make a summer? So far no one has been able to tell me. But it is, I am reliably informed by an ornithologist who can tell a raven from a crow at 100 yards, defınitely more than one. Which I kind of knew – even though, at 100 yards, I’d be hard-pressed to tell a raven from a black cab. What I am not so clear about is this: when is the right moment to say that I am really, really very excited about how many very encouraging things are happening in the cause of releasing God’s people into daily mission... right across the nation... And beyond. When is the right moment to say that what we are seeing is not just a few,wonderful and inspiring examples... not just fıgs and pomegranates and grapes brought by spies from some far away promised land, but perhaps the fırst fruits of the harvest here...
A Message and a Means Back in 2004 we offered a strategy for the evangelisation of the UK based on the scriptural, pastoral, missional imperative of whole-life disciple-making. The thesis was supported by the Evangelical Alliance ‘WE’VE LONGED FOR and Imagine how we can reach the UK was THE DAY WHEN WE distributed to around 75,000 people. And the EA then facilitated consultations and WOULD BEGIN TO SEE research. Hardly anyone disagreed.
A BROADSCALE SHIFT IN HOW THE SCOPE OF GOD’S MISSION IS UNDERSTOOD IN THE UK… AND WE ARE SEEING IT.’
Of course, we don’t want to let our joy in what God is doing in quite a few places lead us to see a signifıcant national shift where there is none, to assume that a few ripples are actually the harbingers of the big wave that so many have longed for. Still, as Joseph Heller wrote, “Just because you’re paranoid doesn’t mean they aren’t after you’. So, just because I am by nature a Tigger, doesn’t mean that there aren’t genuinely some things to bounce up and down about. And, whether the tide has turned or not, there are. We’ve longed for the day when we would begin to see a broadscale shift in how the scope of God’s mission is 2
understood in the UK... and we are seeing it. Stories abound from church leaders, from individuals, from denominational leaders.
“Back then”, as Neil Hudson, our Imagine Director, pointed out, “we had a message, now we have a means.”
Indeed, after years working hard alongside pastors and people, we do have a means, some wisdom – a growing body of tried and tested approaches to help people and churches begin well. For churches (Imagine Church and Leading a whole-life disciple-making church) and for people (Life on the Frontline, and Fruitfulness on the Frontline – book and DVD). Currently, the Diocese of London are pursuing this ‘means’ as part of their Capital Vision to commission 100,000 ambassadors for Jesus Christ in daily life – it’s an amazing shift for the biggest Anglican diocese in the UK to formally recognise and honour the ministry
of lay people in this way and to seek proactively to resource them. We have had encouraging reports back from the pilot churches and beautiful examples of how they are integrating the emphasis into their worship and community life. But they are not alone. Following our joint pilot with Methodist churches, a number of people in key appointments have made wholelife discipleship a central component of their ministry focus. On my desk I have their report, One Degree Shifts, which highlights the many simple ways that the pilot churches sought to help their people make an impact, and the differences they have seen. Elim made the issue of whole-life disciple-making the keynote of one of their recent national assemblies and continue to fınd ways to integrate it into their theological training. The Presbyterian Church in Northern Ireland have convened a conference this Spring to explore what it would mean for their denomination to be centred around equipping people for their frontlines. The Keswick Convention has made The Whole of Life for Christ their core theme this year, and Antony Billington and I have developed the Bible Study resource to support it. Spring Harvest gave the essay Imagine how we can reach the UK to every adult and, this year, the ‘fruitfulness on the frontline’ material features in their seminar programme.
Hope has broadened its missional emphasis, not only offering a wide range of fresh ideas for neighbourhood mission but integrating church-based service with innovative approaches to frontline mission.
One Degree Shifts
Urban Saints is taking the frontline and fruitfulness concepts and developing pilot materials for children and teens. New Wine, committed as they are to the renewal of the nation, are not only running seminars on empowering people for the frontline of work but also offering teaching on whole-life preaching. Well, like some Oscar-winner’s endless acceptance speech, I could go on. And it seems right to. Because it is not just how many churches and leaders and individuals have engaged with the whole-life vision, it’s how many want to tell us about what they are seeing and learning and developing. The reality is that when you are excited about something, you want to tell someone. Sharing joy with someone completes the joy. A goal, a joke, a child’s achievement, the girl saying, ‘Yes’, to a date... “I can’t believe she said, ‘Yes’.” So a London priest sends Neil a picture of his fırst all-age group of Ambassadors for Jesus Christ in daily life and a copy of the prayer they all prayed... I’m texted a photo of the mission notice board of a church that’s doing bers Fruitfulness on the missioning church mem Holy Trinity Southall com for Jesus Christ dors assa amb as s age of all Frontline, and it has photos of a whole variety of people and their frontlines, as well as photos of the overseas work.
To read the report go online at www.licc.org.uk/onedegreeshifts.
How things were…
What was done differently?
What changed?
The Church coffee morning was just that.
Members now ask villagers for their prayer needs.
There is more prayer and talk about God in the village, there is answer to prayer.
The congregation didn’t know what was going on in each other’s lives.
This Time Tomorrow is led by our worship leader.
We are closer as a community and pray more for one another.
Minister was only able to visit members who didn’t work during the day.
Minister visited people in their workplace.
Members were more confident in having conversations of faith after the ‘vicar’ had visited.
I was a single parent and felt a disconnect between faith, life and church tasks.
I realised the whole of my life mattered to God.
I fell in love, spend more time with my new larger family, and spend less time organising church events. Reproduced with permission from the Methodist Church
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We’re emailed yet another chapter in the amazing story of Professor of Marketing said to me, “The vast majority of a charity shop opened up by one of our Executive Toolbox your target audience has yet to hear from you.” So there is Alumni... and then we receive an update from another who much to look forward to. launched a business to encourage a more Still, I want to end with perhaps the most ethical approach to asset management. By moving moment in my LICC year. I had ‘IT’S BEEN A FRUITFUL God’s rather amazing grace he already has been invited to speak in a church, a smallish 23 founding members representing around YEAR. AND IT IS THE church in a land far, far away. They’d done $8.5 trillion in assets. Fruitfulness on the Frontline and asked me LORD WHO GIVES THE It’s the same for the rest of the team. to say something about how they might GROWTH. PRAISE GOD Brian takes a call about a church that’s help one another keep going. There were FOR HIS GRACE.’ so enthused by Life on the Frontline that about 80 people there that morning and they set aside a big chunk of their Sunday I’d already heard a number of stories about service for live feedback about the difference how God had been working out on their it’s made to their lives... Tracy hops various frontlines... in workplaces and among the homeless over to Australia and hears a wave close to someone’s offıce... And so the service began. We of enthusiasm for our materials sang and prayed, and there was a short all-age talk about a from whole-life afıcionados... slow cooker – a fırst for me. Charles skypes with the leaders And then the congregation were invited to give thanks in of a church network in South prayer for the ways they’d seen God at work in their ordinary Africa who are rolling out the lives during the last week. And gently, seamlessly, person after material to 240 churches... person prayed: giving thanks for the feel of the mop in their And all that is ref lected in very hands as they swished out the hall of the summer camp for high of sales of our resources. the last time before closing it up for the winter; giving thanks for the chance to talk to some neighbours as they walked to It’s been a fruitful year. work, to develop the relationship a bit before the nights drew And it is the Lord who gives the growth. Praise God for in; giving thanks for the diffıcult people they found themselves his grace. with; giving thanks for the animals in their lives that give them so much joy; giving thanks for the conversations and At the same time, we recognise that we simply couldn’t sharing of photo albums that resulted from an older woman have travelled so far without the loyal and generous support who’d fallen over as they passed in the street... in prayer and wisdom, feedback and fınance that we have received from so many people who share this yearning to see Christ’s name honoured in our land - through the ministry of all God’s people. Thank you. Looking Ahead Still, if 2014 saw the fırst fruits of past plantings, we also continued to invest in developing our understanding of how to empower people for the frontline. And so, out of the work we’ve been doing directly with some 300 people on the frontline of work, we’ll be launching Transforming Work nationally in the autumn. Out of the work we have been doing with pastors about preaching for the frontline, Antony and Neil will be developing material for a book; and out of the feedback we’ve been getting from people on the frontline, we’ve been able to identify at least two areas where there’s a need for fresh thinking and fresh resourcing. And we’ll be starting that. And, because our vision is to see wholelife disciple-making a reality in the whole UK church we’ll be adding three new people to our team – Stefan McNally to help Neil resource more churches more effectively, Ros Turner to help Charles launch Transforming Work and Beth Gaukroger to help get the message out more broadly. As a 4
It went on a while. And I realised that I had never, ever been in a prayer time such as this: God’s people simply thanking God, one by one, for the diverse ways they had seen Him at work, God’s people walking with him in mission in all of life and enjoying His presence in all of life. I had been given a gift, a glimpse of what can be... for us all. In him. And it was too beautiful to bounce up and down about. Sometimes we just have to be still and know that he is God. Mark Greene, Executive Director
Grace, grace, grace to you.
10by%
Empowering the Frontline 2024 5000
LICC’s mission is to help the whole Church in the UK empower her people to be fruitful for Christ on their frontlines. In doing this we have set a milestone target: to see 10% of UK churches, ministers and working Christians significantly engage in frontline discipleship by 2024 – that’s 5,000 churches, 3,000 ministers and 200,000 working Christians.
churches
3000
10by10%%
We’re defining a significant engagement as a church engaging in two or more activities such as:
ministers
200,000 workers
• Attending an Imagine on the Road training day. • Inviting an LICC speaker to an event.
• Using Life on the Frontline, Imagine Church or Leading a Whole-Life Disciplemaking Church. • Using Fruitfulness on the Frontline.
by
2024
2024
5000
Frontline Resources Distributed 0 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000 Life on the Frontline DVD
50003000 churches
ministers churches
200,000
1100 churches workers are now engaging with LICC, with ministers 220 in depth.
3000
Fruitfulness on the Frontline DVD Fruitfulness on the Frontline Book
Praying with LICC
200,000
Regular Email Subscribers workers
0 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000
2000 supporters pray for us monthly via email. 6000 supporters took part in a 40-day, workplace-focussed prayer journey.
Word for the Week Connecting with Culture
Expenditure & Break Even
LICC Budget 2015/16
In the last fifteen years, by God’s grace and the generosity of our supporters, we have broken even every year.
In any year, LICC only knows where around 65% of income is likely to come from.
£1M -
£0.5M -
£0 - 1998/99
2004/5
2005/6
2006/7
2007/8
2008/9
2009/10 2010/11 2011/12 2012/13 2013/14 2014/15
There are 1400 Friends of LICC who give to this work.
£800k
assured
£395k ?
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Wisdom for Life Antony Billington explores God’s gift of wisdom so that we might live wisely in God’s world.
‘Where is the Life we have lost in living? Where is the wisdom we have lost in knowledge? Where is the knowledge we have lost in information?’ These lines from T.S. Eliot’s The Rock were written in 1934, yet could too easily reflect today’s western culture. We have more k nowledge t ha n ever before, available literally at our fıngertips, but are we really any wiser? Any better able to live rightly in this world, live peaceably with our fellow human beings? A las, Job’s question, ‘ W here can wisdom be found?’ (Job 28:12), posed around 3000 years before Eliot, seems as pertinent and urgent as ever. And thankfully, the answer still rings out across the ages:
‘Where then does wisdom come from? Where does understanding dwell?... God understands the way to it and he alone knows where it dwells, for he views the ends of the earth and sees everything under the heavens... And he said to the human race, ‘The fear of the Lord – that is wisdom, and to shun evil is understanding.’ Job 28:20, 23-24, 28 6
The opening of the book of Proverbs makes the same point: ‘the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, b ut fo ol s d e s pi s e w i s d om a n d instruction’ (1:7). If, as disciples, we desire to live wisely in God’s world, then the fear of the Lord is the fırst principle. Wisdom cannot come from independence; rather it is found in deep, covenantal relationship with the Lord God, marked by reverence and humility. Biblical wisdom is not merely intellectual capacity, but includes discipline and discernment, shrewdness and skill and it produces a certain kind of character and demonstrates itself in particular sorts of actions. A wisdom that calls We see this worked out in Proverbs 1-9, where a ‘son’ is encouraged to follow the advice of his parents as he sets out on the journey of life where he will have to choose between wisdom and folly.
children; conduct my fınances; treat my spouse; and so on. So, Proverbs 1-9 instructs its readers about the nature of wisdom, and also provides a lens through which the later chapters, with their individual proverbial sayings, are to be understood. A wisdom that builds It may come as a surprise that the book of Proverbs hardly ever refers to the major biblical themes of covenant, redemption, law, kingship, and temple. As it turns out, wisdom is rooted much further back – in creation – and grounded in the orderly regulation of the world by the creator God, even while acknowledging (as Job and Ecclesiastes do in different ways) that there are great mysteries woven into the fabric of life in God’s world.
So, wisdom is equated with the tree of life in Proverbs 3:18, echoing the early chapters of Genesis. It is through wisdom ‘THEY CALL OUT IN God founded t he PUBLIC PLACES, WHERE world:
Here, wisdom and folly are personifıed as women who invite all who will listen (men and women THE HUSTLE AND BUSTLE ‘By wisdom the a l ike) to wa l k in LORD laid the OF LIFE TAKES PLACE, their ways; to live in earth’s foundations, REMINDING US THAT their houses (1:20by understanding WISDOM EMBRACES 33; 2:12-19; 4:4-9; he set the heavens 7:6-27; 8:1-36; 9:1-6, in place; NOT JUST PRIVATE 13-18). It’s perhaps by his knowledge CONCERNS BUT SOCIAL signifıcant that they the watery depths ACTIVITIES CONNECTED ca l l out in public were divided, places, where the and the clouds WITH FAMILY, WORK, hust le and bust le let drop the dew.’ AND COMMUNITY.’ of life takes place, Proverbs 3:19-20; cf. 8:22-31 reminding us that In using the verbs wisdom embraces not just private ‘laid’ and ‘set in place’, Proverbs 3:19 concerns but the whole of life and its portrays God as an architect and builder various dimensions – how I do my who establishes a strong foundation and job; speak about others; bring up my
secures in place a building’s walls or columns. And he constructs this cosmic house by his wisdom, understanding, and knowledge (3:19-20). Incidentally, these are the same sort of qualities as we see in those involved in the building of the tabernacle (Exodus 31:1-3; 35:30 - 36:7) and the temple (1 Kings 7:14) – structures that are microcosms of
God’s creation, built with wisdom, understanding, and knowledge. But then, wonderfully, Proverbs 24:3-4, using the same words, tells us that we too build in harmony with God’s work, in God’s way.
‘By wisdom a house is built, and through understanding it is established; through knowledge its rooms are fılled with rare and beautiful treasures.’ Proverbs 23:3-4
So it is that the wisdom used by God in building and sustaining the house of creation is the same wisdom now given to his people, to be eagerly desired by his people, in order to live wisely in his world.
T hen , a s t he re s t of t he b o ok demonstrates, the call to wisdom is applicable in different spheres of life – at the city gates and in the market squares, in our homes and in our workplaces, in our bedrooms and in our boardrooms – where God’s people are called to wise ‘building’ in God’s house of creation. Far from being removed from the rhythms of our everyday life, such ‘building’ embraces a range of skills and practices, worked out in the kitchen, on the fıeld, at the desk, in the classroom, wherever God has called us. And wherever that is, the model for such activities is God’s own wise work.
household, engaging in international trade in cloths and textiles, negotiating the purchase of fıelds, looking out for the poor, and more besides!
Several scholars argue the passage draws on motifs from so-called ‘heroic’ poetry which described the mighty deeds of wa r r iors A wisdom or heroes. Verse 10 that works ‘HERE IS A COMPOSITION of t he N I V c a l l s S i g n i f ıc a nt l y, w e her ‘a wife of noble reach the end of the AKIN TO A HEROIC character’; though b o ok of Prov er bs POEM ABOUT SOMEONE i t c o u l d e q u a l l y and discover that the ENGAGED IN EVERYDAY be translated as model to emu late ‘a woman of strength’, LABOUR! SO FAR AS is not a rel ig ious or ‘excellence’, but the ‘professional’, like a WE KNOW, THERE IS word can also carry priest or a prophet NOTHING ELSE LIKE IT IN military connotations, or a sc r ibe, but a suggesting she is to THE ANCIENT WORLD.’ woman whose faith is b e u nder s to o d a s shown in her daily life ‘a valiant woman’ or (31:10-31). ‘a woman of valour’. The woman’s In fact, this remarkable portrayal is the activities are celebrated by the author Bible’s fullest description of the regular in heroic terms. This is a composition activity of an ‘ordinary’ individual – akin to a heroic poem about someone a woman who ‘fears the Lord’ (31:30), engaged in everyday labour! So far as whose wisdom is demonstrated in her we know, there is nothing else like it everyday activities of being a wife to in the ancient world. her husband, a mother to her children, providing for her family, managing her
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Furthermore, in a book which begins Even this, though, is not the end of the with a portrayal of wisdom as a woman story. If biblical wisdom looks back to inviting people to come to her in order creation, it also looks forward to Christ. to receive insight and understanding In several cases, New Testament from God, the woman of Proverbs writers link ‘wisdom’ 31:10-31 is arguably and Jesus. The a picture of wisdom ‘ALL THE BLESSINGS OF open ing of John’s itsel f – a nd so is GOD’S WISDOM ARE NOW Gospel, for instance, applicable as much to assigns to the logos MEDIATED THROUGH men as to women. It (the ‘Word ’), some applies to all because JESUS, THE WISDOM of the attributes of it sets out the ideal OF GOD.’ wisdom highlighted of practical wisdom, in Proverbs 8 – involving words and deeds, operating in every sphere of life, embracing the describing the logos in personalised daily rhythms of eating, drinking, terms, as existing with God before working, sleeping. So, the book which all things, and as being God’s agent begins with ‘the fear of the Lord’ as the in creation. Then, in 1 Corinthians beginning of wisdom (1:7) concludes 1-2, Paul writes about the wisdom of with a demonstration of what it means the cross confounding the wisdom of the world, and about Christ being to fear the Lord in everyday life.
the ‘wisdom of God’ (1:24), ‘who has become for us wisdom from God’ (1:30). Elsewhere in his letters – in the great ‘hymns’ of Philippians 2:5-11 and Colossians 1:15-20 – Paul arguably uses wisdom theology to show that all the blessings of God’s wisdom are now mediated through Jesus, the wisdom of God. He is the one ‘in whom are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge’ (Colossians 2:3). So it is that, as we explore biblical wisdom, we do so with the confıdence that it will provide a way of orienting our ever yday lives towards God ’s good creation and to his Son, our Lord Jesus Christ. Antony Billington, Head of Theology
Good Reads, Resources & Events Renaissance: The Power of the Gospel However Dark the Times Os Guinness IVP, 2014
From a veteran in the conversation on cu lt ura l engagement come s t h is brac ing c r it iq ue of western societ y and challenge to Christians to be an inf luence in the world. While others might be pessimistic about the ability of the church to bring about real social change, Guinness points out that Christianity has changed the world in the past and 8
can change it again – through a new renaissance, a restoration of radical faithfulness to Jesus and his way of life, and a committed engagement with surrounding society. The power of Christianity to inf luence culture rests in its adherence to God’s truth and its ability, in God’s strength, to live out the gospel – not just in a ‘faithful presence’ but through ‘transforming engagement’. Antony Billington
The Stories We Tell: How TV and Movies Long For and Echo the Truth Mike Cosper Crossway, 2014
TV and fılms are pervasive in their reach and powerful in their ability to reflect and shape our deepest desires. Mike Cosper helpfully explores the
connection between the stories we tell ‘with the bigger story that God is telling, and... what these stories reveal about being human, being fallen, and longing for redemption’. Drawing on a variety of examples, from Avatar to The X-Fıles, he explores themes related to the loss of innocence, the search for love, the reality of frustration and fear, darkness and violence, the search for heroes, the yearning for a better world, and more. As Cosper shows, all these stories are echoed in t he bibl ic a l story and fınd their deepest answer in the gospel. Antony Billington
The Amazing Technicolour Pyjama Therapy Emily Ackerman Muddy Pearl, 2014
I wish this book had been written when I was suffering from ME. With practical advice for all suffering chronic illness, there is also extremely helpful insight for those in a caring role or those who know people who are ill. In The Amazing Technicolour Pyjama Therapy, Emily Ackerman explores the emotional and spiritual issues of long-term illness through the lens of the Biblical story of Joseph and the trials he goes through. Once a doctor, Ackerman became a patient suffering with ME for over twenty years. She shares her own struggles with frankness and graciousness as she articulates what so many think and feel. In consideration for those w h o s e illnesses r e d u c e concentration levels, the short sections make it very easy for the reader to dip in and out. Highly recommended - as soon as I fınished it, I bought a copy for a friend. Christine Hughes
Joy for the World: How Christianity Lost Its Cultural Influence and Can Begin Rebuilding It Greg Forster Crossway, 2014
Forster covers similar ground to ot hers on cu lt u ra l engagement, but is distinctive in naming ‘ joy’ as Christianity’s central contribution to society – where joy is ‘the state of f lourishing in mind, heart, and life
that Christians experience by the Holy Spirit’. Looking fırst at how we are formed t h ro u gh a n i nt e g r a t i o n of doctrine, devotion, and stewardship, he then explores three areas – sex a nd fa m i ly, work and the economy, and citizenship and community – reflecting on how Christians can bring the gospel to bear on every dimension of life. As Forster says: ‘Seeking to have an inf luence in our civlization does not imply captivity to the culture. It just means we’re answering the call to be good disciples within our spheres of influence.’ Antony Billington
EVENTS How to Build Trust Brennan Jacoby Monday 27 April, 6:30-8:30pm
LICC, Vere Street & Livestream
Worship Matters: Leading Sunday Worship with Monday’s Frontline in Mind Sam & Sara Hargreaves Tuesday 5 May, 6:30-8:30pm
LICC, Vere Street & Livestream
Bible Day: A Day in Hebrews Antony Billington Monday 11 May, 10:00-4:00pm
52 – A Daily Rhythm of Devotion and Mission
LICC, Vere Street
CellUK
A Wilderness of Mirrors: Trusting Again in a Cynical World
52 cards in a tin. These attractive postcards will engage you with the Bible and help you develop a missional rhythm for the next 12 months of your life. The cards fıt helpfully in your Bible, briefcase or handbag and have space to capt ure your week ly ref lec t ions. With contri butions from 20 thoughtl e a d e r s from a wide representation of church streams and business environments, including four members of the LICC team, your daily devotional experience is constantly refreshed with new voices and perspectives. Jay Butcher
Mark Meynell Thursday 18 June, 6:30-8:30pm
All Souls, Langham Place & Livestream
Imagine on the Road Workshops Confirmed... Leigh, Leighton Buzzard, Prestwick.
Coming soon... Birmingham, Somerset, Blackpool, Chester, Crewe, Lewes, Tiverton, Windermere.
For more information visit:
licc.org.uk/events 9
A Fresh Vısion for Political Engagement Paul Bickley examines how Christians can fruitfully and faithfully engage with politics, working towards change in society. Fo r a g e n e r a t i o n , C h r i s t i a n denominations, NGOs, lobby groups and campaigns have been consistent with their message: political participation is not just coherent with the gospel, but a direct entailment of a life of faith. And they’ve been successful. According to the 2009 British Social Attitudes survey, almost 75% of regular churchgoers, compared with 44% of non-religious people, see casting their vote as a civic duty. But citizenship presumably requires more than exercising our right to vote every couple of years? Political philosopher Sheldon Wolin certainly thinks so, offering a broader vision of what he calls ‘politicalness’. As cited by Luke Bretherton in Resurrecting Democracy: Faith, Citizenship and the Politics of Common Life, Wolin sees us as having the ‘capacity for developing into beings who know and value what it means to participate in, and be responsible for, the care and improvement of our common and collective life’. The signifıcant word here is capacity. This is not just exercising our rights and fulfılling our duties, but learning and expanding our abilities to take part in the common life. Our capacity for political participation challenges the view that politics is primarily an intellectual endeavour – something which ‘clever’ people take care of for the rest of us. Politics can 10
neither be reserved for the ‘experts’ nor wholly outsourced to them. Political engagement, seen in this fuller way, is one means by which we love our neighbour and – for the Christian – one means by which we also demonstrate our love for God.
Good citizenship As Christians, we sometimes assume that we can fulfıl our responsibilities for political neighbourliness by choosing a representative whose views correspond most closely to Christian principles on this or that issue. That may well be part of the answer, though politics can’t be reduced to a theoretical or theological endeavour. It’s about real people, facing real challenges. Nor is
politics something which is just done to us; it’s also what we do – the actions we can take. If Christian engagement remains at the level of conjectural concepts and political positions, then we risk misunderstanding how change actually comes about in society. Our own political practice matters. L u k e Br e t he r ton h i m s e l f suggests the need for an everyday reasoning – what he calls a ‘wilywisdom’ – which will enable us to achieve the best end possible given the existing circumstances. This wisdom combines both v i r t ue a nd c u nn ing, as in Jesus’ paradoxical exhortation for disciples to be ‘as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves’ (Matthew 10:16). For Bretherton, the ideal ruler ‘is not a philosopher king, but a ship’s captain who is able to safely navigate the tumultuous and mercurial sea by means of experience, craft, and quickwittedness’. By extension, being a good citizen is more than just knowing the issues or turning up to vote, but of having the savvy, the know-how, to bring about changes consistent with the life of the kingdom of God in a complex society. Signs of redemption Certainly, we begin with prayer. So it is that Paul urges Timothy to encourage the young Ephesian church ‘that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people – for kings and all those in authority, that
we may live peaceful and quiet lives in supermarket in your local area. For all godliness and holiness’ (1 Timothy ‘ordinary’ people, who are not usually 2:1-2). We too can be encouraged to in formal positions of power, and set aside any weariness or cynicism who don’t usually have lots of money, or disappointment we may feel, and organising action is a powerful tool. renew or maintain This vision of politics faithful prayer for is realistic. It accepts ‘FOR BRETHERTON, those in positions of that we aren’t always, THE IDEAL RULE IS power, as we realise or e v en of ten , i n they share our own NOT A PHILOSOPHER control of the levers human limitations. of power, and that KING, BUT A SHIP’S change can be slow in In addition, though, CAPTAIN WHO IS ABLE coming. Yet it allows there might well be a TO SAFELY NAVIGATE us a sense of agency, God-given desire to which is what many do something. That THE TUMULTUOUS AND people feel they often something might not MERCURIAL SEA BY lack in contemporary even look ‘political’. MEANS OF EXPERIENCE, politics. Likewise, It might simply start Christians are not CRAFT, AND QUICKby actively listening merely passive to the experience of WITTEDNESS.’ bystanders in such our neighbours, or matters, but a sign of meeting a practical God’s redemptive presence in the world. need that faces our local community, or attending a local council meeting. In this sense, politics is more than that It’s in such contexts that our political ‘issue’ which churches are obliged questions, priorities and thinking will to give attention to once in a while begin to take shape. How can I love my when the electoral cycle demands it. neighbour, who is constantly troubled Rather, wisdom-fuelled political action by doorstep lenders? How do I love my should be a naturally occurring part of the life of churches and Christians neighbour, who has been sanctioned by who seek to witness to the gospel and the benefıts offıce? serve their communities. This is likely Then, beyond our persona l and to happen most effectively not only individual responses, we sometimes where churches equip their people to recognise more systemic issues at be responsible in society, but where play, which may lead to opportunities churches support the everyday witness to work with others to effect small- of the laity in their vocations, where scale, but meaningful, changes. It the grassroots practices of could be petitioning the council for discipleship spill over into adequate lighting on that dark canal active citizenship. path, making it safer for all who use Paul Bickley, it. It could be canvassing views about Political Programme the proposed opening of yet another Director at Theos
About the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity The vast majority of Christians (around 98%) spend the vast majority of their waking time (around 95%) in non-church related activities. So just imagine what the impact might be on our neighbourhoods, on our schools and clubs and workplaces, on our whole nation if all of us were really able to help one another to make a difference for Christ right where we are, out on our daily frontlines? That’s LICC’s focus: empowering Christians to make a difference in God’s world, and envisioning and equipping church leaders to help them do it.
Recommended Reading: Votewise 2015: Making a Difference at the Ballot Box and Beyond Guy Brandon SPCK, 2014
Offers help on how to think from a Christian perspective about the issues that affect us: the economy, debt and austerity, Europe and immigration, the environment, the NHS, education.
Faith in Politics? Rediscovering the Christian Roots of our Political Values, Richard Harries DLT, 2014
Written from the perspective that ‘politics is too important to be left to politicians’, Harries argues that political values such as the rule of law, democracy and human rights are deeply grounded in a Christian understanding of what it means to be a human being in society.
To Change the World: The Irony, Tragedy, and Possibility of Christianity in the Late Modern World James Davison Hunter OUP, 2010
Builds an overall case against what he sees as misguided attempts on the part of Christians ‘to change the world’, arguing instead for the significance of ‘faithful presence’ in the world. This has generated considerable discussion since its publication.
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Alert to God, Fıt for Purpose. Mark Greene shares a story of simple obedience – it may not be spectacular, but when God is at work, it’s always amazing. I met ‘Sam’ at one of our recent Vision Dinners and the day after I met her, Sam went to her exercise class as, indeed, she did every Wednesday. She looked forward to them: the relaxing atmosphere, the variety of routines, the instructor’s style and reflections. But at the end of this particular session she noticed something different. She noticed that a lot of the things that Michael, the tall, well-built New Zealand instructor, was saying during the warm-down sounded really rather Christian.
And then he said, “It’s happening again!” A few weeks later she went back to her exercise class and took with her a Bible and a copy of Questions of Life. She gave her gifts to Michael and told him all about Alpha and how she’d be more than happy to go with him. Michael wasn’t quite ready for a course, and because Sam’s shift pattern at work
She felt prompted by God to mention this to him, and so she, slim, decidedly not tall, and rather Southern English, cast aside the fear that had often beset her and went up to the tall, well-built Antipodean and said: “You know, what you’ve just been saying sounds quite Christian.” Now, up until that point she hadn’t thought much about how he might respond – perhaps a nod, a quizzical look, an embarrassed laugh, or a disdainful gawp at the very idea that he might be considered Christian? But he said, “Funny, you should say that, but I was thinking about God last night in my f lat for hours. And all of a sudden I started to kind of shiver.” He sounded puzzled. And so, just as in Acts chapter 8 where an angel of the Lord and the Spirit put Philip in a position to explain Isaiah 53 to a puzzled Ethiopian offıcial, Sam explained to Michael, “That’s the Holy Spirit.” 12
Sam’s at ease. She knows that she doesn’t have to push things. She’s seen enough of the creative way that God works to know that he’s not fınished with Michael yet. And for her, the encounter with Michael was another example of how God just seems to line everything up – her coming to LICC the night before, alerting her to divine possibilities in familiar places, God visiting Michael the night before, the terrible time that she’d gone through in previous months that left her fed up with being afraid… All perfectly lined up. Sam simply had to do her bit and leave the rest to God. And she feels privileged, exhilarated to be a part of what he’s doing. When we met at the dinner she told me that only the day before, a woman she had fırst come across fourteen years ago had got in touch and told her that she’d recently become a Christian.
...and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. Ephesians 6:15
was changing she told him that she wouldn’t be back to the class in the near future, but that if he wanted to talk about faith at any time, well, “Here’s my number.” Now it also turned out that Michael, was about to go back to New Zealand for a break, but is that the end of the story? Where does it go from here?
Some things just take time. Who can tell how God is working today among the people we will meet tomorrow? Who can tell how he has been working in us tonight preparing us for the people and the situations we may meet tomorrow? Who can tell how the things we’ve been through in our wider lives have prepared us to minister in his ways to someone tomorrow? Daily we make ourselves available. Daily we play our part, trusting in him. Mark Greene