I have been muddling through the day. I went out to the garage to repair the roof of the verandah over the workshop. I went looking for something, which meant some corner needed tidying. Then I found something which needed repaired so I did that. Then my wife mentioned an electrical cord we had running to a freezer which has since been discarded. So I pulled the plug off the end and removed it. That led to sharpening screw drivers. That led to tidying the bench throwing out some rubbish, sorting out to containers, installing another shelf, repairing a candle stick holder, replacing a plug on another cord, throwing out a couple of broken tools (yes I sometimes throw things out) moving some wood from workshop to firewood bin, renewing the cord in the weed eater, doing some weed eating... etc. etc etc. ...and so it went on all day. I have had fun muddling through the day in and around the workshop and garden. The roof of the verandah is still not fixed but I did have an hour and a half walk up and down Mt Cargill. That's what I call a holiday day! In the photo you can see some bench surface. Two days ago you couldn't. :-)
Just thinking about ministry...
When I was at Theological College in Melbourne we had special guests one afternoon. They were full time Workplace Chaplains. The thing I remember about their presentation was that they were very critical of the Church. They even came across as being quite bitter. They ranted about its irrelevance, about the lack of support and its unwillingness to be involved with the community. Here we were a bunch of enthusiastic ministry students thinking we were God's gift to the Church but these chaplains really challenged our thinking. We were keen to "build the church" etc etc. but these guys were essentially saying "you are wasting your time"! Even then, because of my experience as a plumber frustrated with church life, I tended to agree with them, so I was not as horrified and defensive as my fellow students and lecturers. I just hoped that the Church would change during my time in ministry. Years later before I became a chaplain I was invited to be a part of a national ecumenical gathering of "people on the fringe of the Church's mission". Mostly the participants were chaplains of various sorts; military, hospital, workplace, school. Once again I found that the chaplains were very critical and impatient with the Church which they saw as becoming more and more irrelevant. I remember both times being impatient because the people who were pushing for real and relevant change seemed to opt out of the church, when the Church really needed people to hang in there and be change agents. (I have often thought this about liberal thinking ministers - contemporaries of mine, who started out as traveling companions but have long since jumped ship and left the church to be run by fundamentalists who though modern in style drag the church backward ) Today while happily muddling I got to thinking about my life and my job and remembering these people and the issues involved. Forty years after that first encounter there has been little change in the directions these guys would have wanted. (In fact I think the NZ churches were and are behind the Australian counterparts in terms of community involvement) I am a Church minister AND a workplace chaplain. It is an interesting mix and the same impatience resides in me. I am determined not to get bitter though. I have seen too many old and bitter ministers - I think many older ministers who have a liberal streak in them have ended up with a form of post-traumatic stress. The experience of hanging in, compromising your essence while trying to minister has caught up on them. I tend to think the issue is that the Church needs to really rethink the heart of the gospel. What is the essence of following Jesus? We need to explore how we can word that in today's language. This is a bigger job that just translating first century thought forms and metaphors. It involves encountering the culture of today and trying to find out how our culture, our world would express the essence of Jesus. Dare I say - "Son of God" "Saviour" "Redeemer" "Atonement" "heaven" "hell" "last days" are all first century concepts reflecting issues and the world view of that day. Jesus is relevant for today, but how do we communicate that relevance? But it is much bigger than just language and thought forms. I believe we need to be asking questions about the shape of the Church. Looking at the essence of Jesus, what shape should the Church take? We have continued to see the Church as "parishes" and being focused on the Sunday worship "show" and getting people to fit into the "Church culture". Maybe there are other shapes, alternative ways of community, ways of servanthood, and ways of relating to the community that more truly give expression to Jesus in today's world? It is not a matter of being more efficient in "Church Growth" but more a matter of being a true expression of Jesus. Only in my current ministry have I been able to make just small steps (toes dipping in water) toward a different shape for the church. It really has been impossible (I am not skillful enough) to truly communicate the issues to even the Church leadership. I am not bringing most of my congregation with me though they are allowing some changes to happen. The congregation does not have the resources to fulfill the dreams and I am running out of time, ability and energy. But at least I have hung in there and am trying. I have wondered. Someone once said, "It is easier to give birth than to resuscitate the dead." Maybe if all the people who have opted out continued to think and work on new models better options (because I think there are lots of models) would be around today and the real Church would not be so far behind the eight ball? Just the way my mind has wandered during while repairing, tidying and weed eating.
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