Opting in

John 6:66-69

Because of this many of his disciples turned back and no longer went about with him. So Jesus asked the twelve, “Do you also wish to go away?” Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom can we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.”

I recently heard a Pioneer Priest refer to "the church of slimming world" and, immersed in exploring discipleship models as I am at present, that phrase resonated with me.

Our communities, not least our church buildings, are populated by all manner of motivational groups for healthy living, groups that attract because people are unhappy with their lifestyle or with their body image. (The kind of media that encourages that dissatisfaction or dictates what is ideal is a whole other story) People sign up to these groups to be mentored through change. They become part of a community that stimulates and encourages the kind of changes that they perceive are necessary. Within those communities they experience motivation and accountability.

One of the interesting facts is that few people go along to such a group, learn the basics, pick up a schedule and then decide to go it alone - or if they do, they soon return to the community looking for help. Because the encouragement and accountability are necessary parts of the plan. And leadership is important too - someone dynamically bringing that all together, discerning when to be gentle, when to be more confrontational, when to encourage or cajole. 

What's more, such groups often really do offer supportive community. They are open, accepting and affirming, groups that most are comfortable inviting their friends to join.

Clearly there are parallels here for the church as an Attractional model.

But, alongside these groups, there is also an intensive leadership programme - and a different layer of community being formed among those leaders. A community that is intentional in training, in equipping and in empowering. A community that holds its members accountable and that expects results. A community that invites folk to step up, own the challenges, celebrating success and analysing failure. A community that expects leaders to model the programme.

Aren't those the kind of demands we want to make on those involved in discipling others? Those who have themselves experienced the kind of change that following Jesus brings, whose lifestyle demonstrates that change and who are willing to put themselves out there as a model of the transformative power of the love of God. Those who set targets and also deliver. Those who, in community will share openly and honestly, constantly learning new skills, finding growth in their journey of discipleship that will enrich and shape how they disciple others.

The question is: Would you want to be a disciple who disciples others?

Buzz words

Matthew 28:19-20

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you. And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Discipleship has become quite the buzz word in church in all its many hued forms at present. 

I have an aversion to being on trend. I'm a 4 on the Enneagram, so, as soon as something becomes trendy I'm off looking for the next distraction. 

Discipleship, it seems, is not to be so easily shucked off.

Our last gathering of ministers involved in the Path of Renewal Pilot focussed on Discipleship, as will, I imagine, many of our gatherings for the future.

Rich Robinson of 3DM-Europe helped us work through some of the essentials of being and making disciples: Information, Imitation and Innovation. 

How tempting it is to take what we think we've learned and then rush to put it into practice. From Information straight to innovation, without the imitation piece. Of course we'd much rather bypass the difficult work of modelling discipleship for others - that's the hard bit!

I'm currently trawling through books on discipleship, discerning what might work in different contexts. But, as one of the ministers involved in the Pilot reminded us, this is a journey we are on together. There are no guinea pigs - we share the road and the lessons learned along the way.

For my part, authentic relationships, vulnerability and the prompting of the Holy Spirit, along with studying Scripture to learn from Jesus' interactions with his disciples are leading me on paths long forgotten or avoided.

And so, as we consider Renewal in the church from the inside out, so too, discerning discipleship is proving to bring personal renewal from the inside out. We are absolutely, unequivocally on a journey of discovery together. Thanks be to God.

Love one another

John 13:34-35

I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

These words of Jesus, set against the backdrop of him washing the disciples' feet,in some ways make all our angst to find just the right model of discipleship a nonsense and, in other ways, sets us the biggest challenge possible:

How can we make disciples if we cannot Be disciples? 

I love that hymn by William Rutherford:

Lord, can this really be?

Is this your church, the people that I see, 

who gather here and worship you with me?

And must I love them all,

shoulder their loads, and answer when they call,

forgive their faults and raise them when they fall?

With the coda:

Lord, could this really be?

Lord, let it really be.

That challenge extends beyond the walls of our congregations. We are constantly called back to love, whether trying to be disciples or to make disciples.

All the books and all the programmes, tried and tested, in the world will make no difference until, first, we learn to love and love and love again.

Perhaps a very basic but always helpful reminder as we seek to be authentic in our relationships and in following Jesus' command to Go - and make disciples.

Minecraft - more than a game

So, I've never dabbled much in adventure or fantasy computer games,preferring the safety of simple number or word games. But I was intrigued by this article about Minecraft to which a friend directed me recently.

And, as ever, I saw in it all sorts of parallels for church engagement and, in particular, for Path of Renewal. 

These are just some of the insights:

Participants are creating, on their own or with others, complex virtual worlds, populated with elements that have to be figured out by others to discover how they work. It seems there is no limit on creative possibilities.

It is intergenerational though largely populated by younger people who inform others.

It encourages creativity, thinking laterally, building blocks that are both functional and aesthetic.

It is often surprising.

The Mine craft community is self governed - wreckers (or griefers) will be censured by peers and those who want to interact negotiate the rules of engagement together.

There are no official cheat sheets - though you tube hosts how-to videos.

There is no predictable outcome

With no blueprint, it is necessary to write the programme and the codes needed to make things work.

Everyone contributes to community shared learning.

There are lots of small communities as well as access to larger places of interaction.

It runs contrary to the quick fix, idiot proof world that is the norm in so many digital worlds today.

Players learn by engaging with it - there is no manual.

People who play build up a resilience, encountering failure regularly and having to rethink their strategy.

Creativity, problem solving, resilience - much, much more than a game.

Culture of Experimentation

Acts 1:6-8

The Ascension of Jesus

So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, is this the time when you will restore the kingdom to Israel?” He replied, “It is not for you to know the times or periods that the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Whenever I speak to groups about Path of Renewal, I try to make it clear that this Pilot Project is just one of a number of experiments being supported by the church in Scotland:

In response to a changing culture, the national church is fostering a climate of permission giving, recognising that the Pilots being trialled may lead us into territory that we have long avoided exploring.

And, particularly when it is recognised at the outset that few of these experiments, if any, are likely to result in an increase in church membership, we begin to gauge something of the brave new era in which the church finds itself. Indeed, finding new ways of "being church" may, in fact, in some respects, undermine the institution.

Is it true, as some suggest, that 500 years on from the Reformation, we are on the brink of another major shake up?

Has the global, digital age of communication and the, almost universal, access to informed debate on religion and science (among other things) forced us to rethink kingdom priorities?

Has the war on terrorism and unprecedented migration provided a new urgency to live out the great commandment to love God and neighbour?

Is being welcoming, invitational or affirming simply not enough in the midst of the diversity encountered in many communities today?

So many variables demand a plethora of responses, some of which are probably still inconceivable.

But an openness to the winds of the Spirit heralding change alongside the willingness to embrace and learn from failure seems like a healthy place to be - the sort of environment in which God has space to surprise us with unfailing love and grace and draw us into the mission of God in the world.

"To the ends of the earth" may well begin right where we are!

Moving in

John 1:14

The Word became flesh and blood,

and moved into the neighborhood.

We saw the glory with our own eyes,

the one-of-a-kind glory,

like Father, like Son,

Generous inside and out,

true from start to finish.

Recently, reading Samuel Well's: A Nazareth Manifesto and The Abundant Community by John McKnight and Peter Block, I have been drawn back to St John's prologue.

Although I've been involved in many conferences and conversations with church leaders and with civic leaders about Asset Based Community Development, what I've witnessed and experienced has largely been an attitude of "doing for" rather than "doing with" in community initiatives. More about enabling than empowering. More about filling gaps than encouraging growth. Sometimes considerable resources have gone into undertaking community research and then acting on findings, ploughing in further resources. And the reality is that resource rich intervention is hard to replicate.

Even when considerable assets have been identified within the community, it seems that the temptation to enhance the gifts present is still compelling. The question is: Whose needs are being met?

It's much more difficult to simply highlight potential and allow that potential to flourish without dictating direction.

Generosity calls not just for open hands but for open hearts and minds that allow natural growth and development as well as stumbles and falls. It involves the recognition that the gifts are there waiting to be released. It involves taking risks, gambling that the odds are stacked in favour of abundance rather than scarcity.

In the gospels, we see Jesus hanging out - in kitchens, in the temple, on the beach, by the lakeside, taking time to be with those around him. Not imposing an agenda. Not introducing a programme. But making friends, forming relationships, listening and entering into the story of those around him. "Moving into the neighbourhood" as The Message translates John 1:14.

As we discern where God is at work in our neighbourhoods today, it will always be tempting to plunge in, rolling up our sleeves as we go. But God invites us to find our place in the stories of our community by offering a generous presence - a presence that listens more than speaks, a presence that receives more than gives, a presence that connects stories rather than writes them, a presence that sticks around, becoming rooted, showing commitment to weaving stories together, to making connections simply by being present and open to the communities in which we live, in whom we are invested  and by whom we are changed. Our call is to be in our neighbourhood, practising those gifts of generosity. Not an easy call for those of us who are more comfortable doing rather than being and whose default is more ministering to than ministering with.

What might it be like to move into our neighbourhoods, practising the kind of generosity that releases the God given gifts of others?

Living out of abundance

Matthew 10:8-10

Bring health to the sick. Raise the dead. Touch the untouchables. Kick out the demons. You have been treated generously, so live generously.

"Don't think you have to put on a fund-raising campaign before you start. You don't need a lot of equipment. You are the equipment, and all you need to keep that going is three meals a day. Travel light.

A huge part of the work in Path of Renewal will involve finding and investing in local leaders in our communities.

I was reminiscing with a colleague recently about the folk who invested in me, gave me opportunities to discover and develop gifts and continually discipled me in faith. And who were disappointed when God called me to serve in another sphere from that in which I was nurtured. 

The way ahead, with God, is rarely predictable and never restrictive.

We tend to perceive the gifts of God as a limited commodity and yet our communities are filled with people with gifts, some yet to be discovered, some needing encouragement and some simply waiting to be released. 

Imagining our communities as incubators for the gifts of God helps us to appreciate God's extravagance and to live out of that abundance.

Building communities around the gifts of people was an important element in the Church Without Walls report - operating out of abundance and not scarcity. 

Changing our perception from scarcity to abundance makes a vast difference in our faith and in our hope. And operating out of abundance rather than scarcity allows us to find, to invest in and to nurture others, to move them from the confined space of an incubator, releasing them to follow God's call wherever that may take them, knowing that we have done our part and that God who is faithful will continue to raise up leaders and servants to work for the Kingdom. 

Our investment is never wasted in growing, with God, those who will live abundantly in the extravagant Kingdom of God.

In the words of Matthew 10:8 (The Message version) we who have been treated generously, live generously.